Rattlesnake Master – June Plant of the Month
Rattlesnake master is our 2025 June Plant of the Month. This is one of my favorite native perennials, and for many reasons. The first time I came across this species was in the native plant garden at Kansas State University, while I was going to college there. I spent many hours in that garden, watching […]
Big Perennials for Sun
Sometimes, you need something big in the garden. Usually, gardeners fill large spaces with trees or shrubs. But sometimes that does not work. Say you have a large island bed in the middle of a big open space, and you want color most of the season, but you want it to have the potential to […]
Biodiversity for Birds, Butterflies, and Bees (And More)
Adding biodiversity to your yard and garden means an increase in all types of life. But what do I mean by “adding biodiversity”?. And what is biodiversity? Biodiversity is defined as the variety of life in a habitat or ecosystem. And you add to it by adding what you life you can. For gardeners this […]
Hazelnut – March Plant of the Month
Hazelnut is our 2025 Plant of the Month for March. This native shrub is commonly found in wooded areas on on woodland edges, from the Great Plains eastward. It can be a large shrub, growing 4 to 15 feet tall and can be thicket forming. It is one of our earliest blooming shrubs, starting its […]
Keystone Plants for the Central Great Plains
Just what are keystone plants? Well, keystone plants are plants which a habitat or ecosystem is mostly dependent on to thrive. By removing these species, you may collapse an ecosystem or limit its ability to keep biodiversity in place. If add keystone plants back into the landscape, you can increase biodiversity within region. We gardeners […]
The Kansas Gardener’s Garden – 2024
It is Christmastime again! And you know what that means, it it time to show you my gardens from this year. 2024 was the 9th year of gardening on our property, but that does not mean that things are safe. Gardening is always changing and the garden never looks exactly the same from one year […]
Soft Landings – Protecting Pollinators With Plants
What are soft landings? When I first came across this term at a native plant conference in winter of 2024, I had no idea what it was. And now, I see that I have been using soft landings most of my career, without even planning for it. Soft landings are plant filled places under key […]
New Plants – I Cannot Keep Up!
New plants are always coming down the wire. But there have become so many that I cannot keep up with them! In the past, we have always strived to bring the best product to our customers, from years of trialing in our own gardens and at the arboretum. But now there are so many new […]
Grass-Like Plants
In the landscape, the lawn has become more than just a breaking point for the plants. It has become the most important part for many gardeners. But it is only supposed to be a place to play and run, or as a separation between larger landscape beds. But what is our appeal with grass? The […]
