Growing Lavender
Growing lavender in the Great Plains can be rewarding for gardeners. This aromatic plant can be used for a variety of different things, from soaps to jelly. I have grown lavender for years in my own gardens with great success. Where does lavender grow best? It is a Mediterranean plant and likes well-drained soils Lavender […]
Coming Soon – Plant of the Week
Starting in March, we will be showcasing a different plant of the week, each week until mid-November. Our team has picked from their favorite annuals, perennials, grasses, shrubs, and trees. We have also decided to showcase some of our best sellers and some award winners as well. I tried to format each week’s plant pick […]
Allium ‘Millenium’ the 2018 Perennial Plant of the Year
Each year the Perennial Plant Association chooses a perennial of the year, based on its landscape value, popularity, floral characteristics, and pollinator friendliness. The 2018 Perennial Plant of the Year was chosen to be Allium ‘Millenium’. There are beginning to be a plethora of new alliums on the market, and some are closely related to […]
Kansas Gardener’s Garden August-Septemer
Part 3 of my gardens. The saga continues…. This is the Monarch Waystation in late summer, full of rudbeckias and garden phlox and grasses. The double-flowered rudbeckia variety is ‘Hortensia’ from my grandmother’s garden in Cloud County, KS. The tallest grass in the middle is switchgrass ‘Dallas Blues’, one of the first things I […]
Best Border Plants for Your Garden
Now that fall is here and plants are on sale across the nursery, remember Grimm’s Pink Flag Sale, we can talk about how to put in borders along your garden beds. Over the years, I have experimented with many different plants for borders, from groundcovers to squatty perennials to annuals. I like to use the […]
Plant Perennials (and Trees) Now!
Autumn is finally here with the advent of some much wanted and needed cooler temperatures, and lovely fall rains. When the weather cools down to daily temperatures in the 50s, 60s, and 70s, and the night-time temperatures stay around the 50s, then it is the best time to plant most of our perennials, shrubs, grasses, […]
Bellflowers for Your Garden
In many parts of the country and even in other countries, many plants have been trialed and tested by gardeners and horticulturalists alike. However, here in the central Great Plains, many nurseries and gardeners take for granted our own unique growing situation and use plant recommendations that may not belong to us. With extreme temperature […]
Natives Spotlight: Willowleaf Sunflower
In 2016, I was introduced to a new native sunflower, new to me anyways. Willowleaf sunflower (Helianthus salicifolius), was growing in the prairie ditches on my was to an event in Ft. Scott, KS. Back at Grimm’s, we ordered some ourselves and planted a few plants around the office. Let me tell you, this plant […]
Natives Spotlight: Aromatic Aster
The Nebraska Statewide Arboretum puts out its Great Plants for the Great Plains each year. In 2019, they selected Aromatic Aster (Symphyotrichum oblongifolium) as its perennial of the year. This shrubby type aster is a wonderful addition to the garden or landscape. The native aromatic aster can be found across the Great Plains, Midwest and […]
