Year in Review: Annual Color

Year in Review: Annual Color

Every year, I review the annual color performance to help decide what plants to plant next year at all my commercial and residential locations. This year was a tough one for annuals; we had winter that stayed around until nearly May, torrential rains of over 25 inches in May, another 20 inches of rain in […]

Read More…

Kansas Gardener’s Garden June-July

Kansas Gardener’s Garden June-July

Here is the second part to the garden tour. enjoy the photos and comments!   Above you can see my driveway Border Garden. I had to put in this fence to keep visitors from parking too close to the edge of the drop off where the culvert it. I added some of my favorite rustic […]

Read More…

Bluestar for the Garden

Bluestar for the Garden

Selecting perennials for the garden can be a difficult task given the number of species and the amazing number of cultivars per species. It would be easy to be a collector of certain species, there are over 1200 daylily varieties alone! In several species: echinacea, hosta, iris, peony, dahlia, and others; there may be over […]

Read More…

2019 Perennial Plant of the Year: Stachys ‘Hummelo’

2019 Perennial Plant of the Year: Stachys ‘Hummelo’

Every year, the Perennial Plant Association promotes a perennial of the year. In the past it has been butterfly milkweed, allium ‘Millenium’, switchgrass ‘Northwind’ and others, since starting the list in 1990. This year, the PPA has selected stachys ‘Hummelo’ as the perennial plant of the year.  That is good news for us here in […]

Read More…

15 Host Plants for Butterflies

15 Host Plants for Butterflies

Butterflies are the flying flowers of the garden. Everyone notices them and everyone loves them. To attract a wider range of butterflies to your garden, you need to have a variety of host plants and nectar plants, and even a variety of ecosystems would be helpful. The best butterfly populations are going to be common […]

Read More…

Spring Pollinator Plants

Spring Pollinator Plants

Finding plants for pollinators in springtime can be a bit frustrating. While there are lots of trees and shrubs, not to mention natives, blooming around you, it can be difficult to discover exactly which plant is best suited for your own pollinator paradise. And spring blooming flowers for the garden can be difficult to come […]

Read More…

Year in Review: Annual Color

Year in Review: Annual Color

It is that time of year again, time to go through everything and see how this year stacks up against the previous ones. First on the agenda is annual flower power. Annual color is enjoyed by nearly everyone across the country. I only know of one client who dislikes annuals. Annuals can provide a bit […]

Read More…

Top Plants for Bees/Butterflies: June-July Part II

Top Plants for Bees/Butterflies: June-July Part II

Welcome back! The glorious Independence Day is over and summer is bearing down upon us. I am always so busy getting things done for the holidays, that I hardly have time to put posts together. The second half of the season has started and we need some flower power to steer us through. The second […]

Read More…

Top Plants for Bees/Butterflies: June-July

Top Plants for Bees/Butterflies: June-July

Seems everywhere I go these days I hear about pollinator gardens, bee-friendly plants, and bee gardens. Everyone is finally getting into planting for bees and butterflies and not just to make their home look nice. Although it is easy to do both, have a nice looking landscape and have pollinator friendly gardens. So what pants […]

Read More…