Underused Plants
As you spend your time planning for next year, look for underused plants. They come in all shapes and sizes, and many of them can be stars of the garden. I spend a lot of time with such plants, trying them in various places in my gardens. Some are ongoing trials, while others are stars […]
Flowers for Honeybees
Honeybees are often considered the important bee on this earth. While that is strictly not true, honeybees are an important food producer for us and do a great job pollinating our flowers. And I do not know a beekeeper who does not love his or her bees. So what kind of flowers can we grow […]
Drought Tolerant Plants – Learning From 2022
Drought in 2022 has been very tough on a lot of gardeners, not just those in Kansas and Nebraska. However, a lot of good has also come from the drought and heat. We have learned a lot about our landscapes, and just how tough our plants can be. Besides drought, we have also had extensive […]
Borders – Edging the Garden with Plants
Recently, I became much more aware of the various types of borders in my gardens. Why you ask? Because of the curse of the lawn mower. Since late summer 2021, I have had an endless string of bad luck with mowers. First, our long running rider broke down and refused to go. The repair man […]
Goldenrods – October Plant of the Month
Goldenrods are the October Plant of the Month for 2022. One of the most recognized fall flowers, goldenrods are native across the entire United States. Despite its wide distribution, it is often blamed for the allergies associated with hay fever, which is caused by ragweed, not goldenrod. However, that blame is starting to disappear as […]
Long-Lived Perennials for the Garden
Long-lived perennials should be a staple in the garden, right? Well, with so many options these days for perennials and plants, finding the truly long-lived ones is not as easy. Some of our Grandmother’s favorite flowers are the long-lived plants we desire now, but cannot find. Sometimes we need to go back to our roots […]
Bonesets – September Plant of the Month
Bonesets are the September plants of the month. Members of the Aster Family, and closely related to blazingstars, bonesets are found primarily from the Rocky Mountains eastward. The name boneset comes from break-bone fever, an influenza-like fever, which causes severe bone pain. Native Americans used Eupatorium perfoliatum (Common boneset) to treat the fever. Native to […]
Late Summer Gardening Chores
Gardening chores for late summer include division, cutback, deadheading, fertilizing, and harvesting. We do not typically think of August as a time to be working in the garden. It is hot outside right? Now is the time when we gardeners want to be lazy or go on summer vacations before school starts again for our […]
Planting for Pollinators – August and September
We gardeners do not typically think as much about flowers for pollinators in late summer. Once August hits, its time to be a lazy gardener, resting in the hammock or taking the family on vacation. But the insects never get to take a break. They are always working. Therefore, we need to remember to plant […]
