Vining Plants in the Garden
What good are vining plants? Well, besides the obvious attribute that they do not take very much space on the ground, vining plants also can be used to screen views, cover walls or fences, and many have showy flowers which attract pollinators and hummingbirds. You can create playscapes for kids with vining plants. Or grow […]
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 […]
Garden Maintenance – Spring Cleanups
Spring cleanups are starting. Even though spring is my favorite time of the year, cleanups are not my favorite thing to do. Especially as I get older, cutting back grasses, perennials, and shrubs, and leaf pick ups just do not sound as inviting as they once did. I still love working here, but more and […]
Creating A Meadow Garden in Your Landscape
I have mentioned the meadow garden many times now. Why do you think that is? I love the native prairie and the application of prairie into the landscape is not an easy one for most homeowners. But you can create a meadow garden in almost any landscape. The meadow is similar to a glade, in […]
Lenten Rose – March Plant of the Month
The Lenten rose is not a rose at all, but rather a member of the buttercup family. This family also includes such plants as anemones, clematis, and delphiniums. Native to southern and central Europe, Lenten roses have long been a part of traditions around the Lenten period. Lent is the period of 40 days from […]
Cottage Style – Reimagining America’s First Gardens
Cottage style gardens were the first American gardens, before it was America. When we were still part of the original British Empire, our gardens (not those of the wealthy) were a mixture of edibles, medicinals, and flowers. Most of what early Americans ate came from this garden, and their medicines as well. Annual and perennial […]
Shade Gardening: Creation and Maintenance
Shade gardening is more than just an idea, it is a way of life for those living among the trees. When I first moved east from central Kansas, I had no idea that shade gardening would become such a big part of my everyday life. But after moving from town to town, my wife and […]
What are Nativars and are They Better?
I have had very heated discussions over the use of nativars with my purest friends in the native plant community. They prefer to use only true from seed native plants in their gardens, but I think selected varieties can be combined with true natives. It is worth digging into. So, what are nativars? Nativar is […]
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 […]
