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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Drought Tolerant Plants – Learning From 2022
Drought in 2022 has been very tough on a lot of gardeners, not just those in Kansas and Nebraska. However, a lot of good has also come from the drought and heat. We have learned a lot about our landscapes, and just how tough our plants can be. Besides drought, we have also had extensive […]
Borders – Edging the Garden with Plants
Recently, I became much more aware of the various types of borders in my gardens. Why you ask? Because of the curse of the lawn mower. Since late summer 2021, I have had an endless string of bad luck with mowers. First, our long running rider broke down and refused to go. The repair man […]
Fall Cleanups – To Do or Not To Do?
Fall cleanups have become a source of great tribulation for the gardener in the past few years. And not because of the work involved. Rather, it is a trial on social media and among fellow gardeners, as a moral issue. As gardeners trend toward using more natives, and less pesticides in their landscapes, it becomes […]
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 […]
