Dianthus – May Plant of the Month
Dianthus is our May Plant of the Month for 2023. Also known as cottage pinks, cheddar pinks, carnation, sweet William, and maiden pinks. Here in Northeast Kansas, just dianthus for most of them. True, carnations and Sweet William are different species than the pinks. The dianthus we want are the short, groundcover type of pinks. […]
Pollinator Pockets
What are pollinator pockets? Well, there is no official term for it, but pollinator pockets are small pieces of garden just for pollinators. It could be any size, but by my definition, it would be no larger than a 10 foot by 10 foot bed. However, the possibilities of a pollinator pocket are not small, […]
Easy to Grow Plants for New Gardeners
In the past few years, a lot of new gardeners have come on the scene. Some of it has happened through boredom during the years of the pandemic, while other have come into gardening through a desire to feed their families healthy food. Many new gardeners are finding that gardening is more fun than they […]
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 […]
Rabbits – Keeping Them from the Garden
Rabbits in the garden? Oh no! Yes, rabbits can be a very detrimental pest in any garden, whether growing vegetables, cut flowers, or fruit. I deal with the problems associated with rabbits every season, and spring and winter the most. Keeping them out of the garden is not easy, and many of the things most […]
Gardening for Bumblebees
Bumblebees may not be the most favorite bee of gardeners, but they are important. They are one of the first bees I see each spring (along with honeybees) and they are the largest. My kids like to ask if they can go and pet the bumblebees. And of course, I say no, because I want […]
Garden Tour with the Kansas Gardener
It is that time of year again, time for a tour through my gardens! 2022 was one of the most difficult years for me at our house. Besides gardening through a drought and hot summer, my mower never did work right, the front yard is still torn up, and I only got 2 raised beds […]
Garden Review – 2022
It is that time of year again, time for an annual garden review. Each December, I look back on the year to see how annuals, perennials, and more fared during the year’s weather and extreme events. For example, 2021 was the year of wind; we had a tornado and 2 wind events which toppled many […]
Flowers for Honeybees
Honeybees are often considered the important bee on this earth. While that is strictly not true, honeybees are an important food producer for us and do a great job pollinating our flowers. And I do not know a beekeeper who does not love his or her bees. So what kind of flowers can we grow […]
