Blazingstar – September Plant of the Month
Blazingstar is our September Plant of the Month. These perennials are one of my all-time favorite flowers, because the first one I learned to identify bloomed around the time of my birthday, in September. Since then, I have learned about the many species of blazingstars, which start flowering as early as July and continue into […]
Coneflowers for the Garden
Coneflowers have long been one of the most widely planted flowers in our gardens. I have seen an explosion of cultivars in the last 15 years, making it very difficult to choose which to grow. It seems as if you get a favorite, then its pulled for a new color and size. But, with so […]
September Tips for the Garden
September is here and fall is right around the corner. It almost time to get the garden ready for winter – but not yet! September to me was a time of birthday parties, picnics before school, and the last summer vacation. What needs done in September first? Remove spent and over-grown annuals from the landscape […]
Celebration of Flowers
With the 4th of July and the 245th Celebration of the United States coming in just 2 days, I am going to start off July with a celebration of flowers! Instead of long paragraphs of information (useful I know), I am just showing you the up to now best photo shots of 2020. Enjoy! Happy […]
Superb Shrubs: Ninebarks
Ninebarks have long been one of my favorite shrubs and I know they will become yours too. They come in a wide array of colors and sizes, and there is one for nearly every corner of your garden. In the past decade there has been a lot of breeding and releases of new ninebarks to […]
2020 Kansas Native Plant of the Year – Baptisia australis
The 2010 Perennial Plant of the Year was Baptisia australis, Blue Wild Indigo. It was also picked to be the 2020 Kansas Native Plant of the Year. It is a great, native perennial for the garden and landscape. Add it into a spot and let it be, it will outlive many other perennials. About Baptisia […]
Cutting Garden Favorites for Mother’s Day
With Mother’s Day coming this weekend I started to think about the different flowers I could put into a floral display for my mother and my wife. My cutting garden is not ready yet, but I can easily find flowers among the other beds. There are not many flowers open for Mother’s Day, but the […]
Fountains and Pondless Waterfalls
Winter weather is here again and my thoughts turn to dreams of lush, brightly colored landscapes, afloat with perennials, shrubs, and flowing water. I have known many landscapes through my work in Kansas and Nebraska, but none have seemed quite complete without a water feature. Water can be displayed in many forms, from large, open […]
What Will Grow Near a Black Walnut Tree?
Black Walnut trees are wonderful if you are a cabinet maker, eat the walnuts, or leave them as forage for wildlife, or use the husks to make a colorfast dye. But if you are a gardener, they provide a challenge, to say the least. A toxic chemical, juglone, diffuses from the roots into the soil, […]
