12 Things Every Gardener Should Know
You know the song… “and a partridge in a pear tree”. Well, I do not know about the partridge, but I would take the pear tree. Anyways, as 2020 comes to a close, I was thinking about all the gardening questions I answered through the year. And I have a list of the 12 most […]
The Kansas Gardener’s Garden – 2020
It is that time of year again; time to take a tour through my gardens! Even in other years, the only people that visit my gardens are my family, so the pandemic did not change much. I love sharing plants and ideas with people, so this yearly virtual tour is exciting to do. I will […]
The Care of Trees – Major Diseases of Trees
As we head into autumn we need to start preparing for next season’s round of diseases. Some of these diseases of trees will affect us now and into winter, while others pop up during spring and summer. Knowing which disease is most likely to be a problem for our trees is important to preventing major […]
Watering Instructions
by Nadine Champlin, Landscape Designer Container Trees, Shrubs, Groundcovers, and Perennials For new landscapes: For all landscapes and containers: Watering: Watering is the key to successful planting. There are a few types of plants that require more water than others. In particular, watch Barberry, Potentilla, Spirea, and container Shade Trees. These plants tend to dry […]
In the Garden: Tips for July
The beginning of the heat has officially arrived. With summer’s onslaught, we can usually expect temperatures to soar into the 90s and 100s. Gardeners hardly want to go out into the garden at all, but we have things to do. This to-do list will help keep your garden in check and give you as much […]
In the Garden: Tips for June
June is the start of summer vacation, when America’s kids come to the garden to play, to romp, to enjoy life! June can be a very rewarding month for all of us, with strawberries ripening and cherries red, ripe, and plump. It can also stress us gardeners out, as it is the “last” good month […]
Creating a Butterfly Garden
by Nadine Champlin, Landscape Designer, Owner of Prairie Place Designs, Sabetha, KS Design Consultant for Grimm’s Gardens, Hiawatha, KS Why have a butterfly garden? A Native American legend tells us: “If you have a secret wish, find a butterfly and whisper your wish to it. When you release the butterfly it will carry your wish […]
Attracting Birds – Part 1
I was recently discussing attracting birds with a church member. She was disappointed by the lack of diversity in bird species that visited her yard on a yearly basis. She lives in the country, away from large populations of people, surrounded mostly by crop ground, with a few narrowly wooded ravines and ponds. Even though […]
Kansas Gardener’s Garden April-May
This year, my garden did so well that I had to break my tour of it into 4 separate posts. Up first is April through May. I cannot remember a wetter May than what we had this year – 26 inches of rain! Most of the plants handled it by putting on tons of lush, […]
