Creating Homemade Holiday Decor
Christmas is right around the corner and my wife is already starting to get the boxes of Christmas decorations from the garage. With just 2 weeks until Thanksgiving, I am beginning to gather materials for our annual Holiday Creations – setting up outdoor décor for businesses and some homeowners. I try to use primarily locally […]
Plant Trees for Great Fall Colors
Here in Northeast Kansas, we think highly of our beautiful fall colors. While we certainly are not New England, there have been hundreds of sugar maples planted throughout the area, giving us a name for quality fall color in the Great Plains. Hiawatha, KS is known as the “City of Beautiful Maples” for this reason. […]
15 Host Plants for Butterflies
Butterflies are the flying flowers of the garden. Everyone notices them and everyone loves them. To attract a wider range of butterflies to your garden, you need to have a variety of host plants and nectar plants, and even a variety of ecosystems would be helpful. The best butterfly populations are going to be common […]
March Gardening Tips
Garden Tips for a Happy March! Spot treat winter annual or perennial weeds in your lawn on days above 50°F. Follow all label directions Cut back perennials and grasses in the landscape. Use hedge shears or gas powered trimmers to prune back grasses. Never use a chainsaw on grasses! (Note: Use of a chainsaw on […]
Small Trees for Small Gardens
There are many small trees that may fit into any sized garden, but are they better in small gardens? Small gardens may be defined as those that are on a small lot in town, or have a small amount of useable space. Or even a garden room that needs a small tree. Small trees fit […]
Year in Review: Annual Color
It is that time of year again, time to go through everything and see how this year stacks up against the previous ones. First on the agenda is annual flower power. Annual color is enjoyed by nearly everyone across the country. I only know of one client who dislikes annuals. Annuals can provide a bit […]
Year In Review – Insects
This year brought a new look at some insects I had seen little of in the past, and some outbreaks of major pests. I love insects almost as much as I love plants and I love photographing them-though it can be difficult with just smartphone! I will not show the over 1000 photos of insects […]
Year in Review – Annual Color Program
What a year this has been! We have had a lot of ups and downs with the weather, and a long dry spell through the summer. The annuals we put in have had to be tough and most of them looked awesome through summer and late fall. I did not get very many photos of […]
Renewal Pruning
What is renewal pruning? Renewal pruning is referred to as rejuvenation pruning; the severe cutback of deciduous shrubs for a response of new, succulent growth. This is done to a number of shrubs to promote better health, prolonged life, and better fruiting and flowering of the plant. Rejuvenation is usually done in later winter or […]
