Pasque Flower – March Plant of the Month
Pasque flower is our first Plant of the Month for 2023. A new year and a new set of plant of the month species. It can be very difficult to find suitable plants for our early months, especially for March. There just is not much blooming, anywhere. However, I can always count on my pasque […]
Underused Plants
As you spend your time planning for next year, look for underused plants. They come in all shapes and sizes, and many of them can be stars of the garden. I spend a lot of time with such plants, trying them in various places in my gardens. Some are ongoing trials, while others are stars […]
Late Summer Gardening Chores
Gardening chores for late summer include division, cutback, deadheading, fertilizing, and harvesting. We do not typically think of August as a time to be working in the garden. It is hot outside right? Now is the time when we gardeners want to be lazy or go on summer vacations before school starts again for our […]
Favorite Natives (And Nativars) of the Author’s Garden
How many favorite natives can you have? I have been gardening for more than 30 years, and adding natives into my gardens from the very beginning. At my parent’s home in North Central Kansas, I recognized several natives which made their way into my container gardens, and eventually into the landscaping I did for my […]
Dry Streams – Adding Functionality to the Garden
Dry streams are a way to hide or transform water using locations within the garden. These areas are not rain gardens, but low and sloped spots that water runs through quickly after a rain. It might be the location of the downspout outflow, a sloped spot in a level lawn, or a drainage swale used […]
A Look Through My Garden in 2021
My garden. Each year, I open up my garden to all of you, via the internet. 2021 was an interesting year, both in the garden and elsewhere. In my garden, the heat of summer played a big part in the amount (or lack thereof) of maintenance which I did. I am already changing some of […]
Best Native Plants (not cultivars) for the Landscape
Deciding what native plants to add to your landscape can be a daunting challenge. From landscape designers to botanists, homeowners are pressured into adding natives into their landscapes, often without knowing how those plants will do in a traditional garden or landscape setting. If your are designing a meadow garden or native plant garden, you […]
Bleeding Hearts – April Plant of the Month
The bleeding hearts are our 2021 Plant of the Month for April. I love these plants in my garden, as well as the native ones growing in the woods nearby. Each spring I look forward to their fern-like foliage, topped with pink, red, or white “hearts”. There are two separate genuses that the bleeding hearts […]
Attracting Hummingbirds to the Garden
Attracting hummingbirds is one of nearly every gardener’s dream. We all want these brightly colored, quick-moving birds flitting about in our gardens. Watching them sparring over mates and territory in the summer is as fascinating as watching the sunset in the Flint Hills of Kansas. But how do we attract hummingbirds to the garden? Can […]
