Garden  Planning: Monarch Waystations

Garden  Planning: Monarch Waystations

Last spring I went to a conference in Lawrence, KS and was inspired by Dr. Chip Taylor of KU’s biology department. In 2005, Dr. Taylor created a program to develop “Monarch Waystations” across the United States. The goal of the program is to educate the public on the importance of butterflies and their habitats, to […]

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Improving Quality of Life: Improving Heavy Clay Soils

Improving Quality of Life: Improving Heavy Clay Soils

Living in the central Great Plains can be a challenge: prairie fires, extreme temperature swings, wind, chemical drift, drought, and soil quality. For many of us, soil quality can be a determining factor in choosing plants for our garden. I have been fortunate to have great silt clay loam soil in my garden, but I […]

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Gardeners are Romantics

Gardeners are Romantics

Gardeners are romantics, dreamers, artists, composers, painters, wanderers, charmers, extremists, poets, sculptors, BELIEVERS. Valentine’s Day is just around the corner and everyone is thinking about what to get for their special someone. St. Valentine’s Day got its history from ancient Rome, when Pope Galasius changed the pagan festival of Lupercalia on February 15th to the […]

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Prairie Plantings: Improving your Quality of Life

Prairie Plantings: Improving your Quality of Life

There something so simple and calming about the prairie. Growing up in north central Kansas, I knew too well the heat and drought of the plains states.  Even in the shade of the wooded creek bottoms near our house, it was sultry and hot. Later, when I lived in Manhattan, KS, a quiet walk on […]

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