Rain Garden Plants
What is a rain garden? A rain garden is an area within the landscape that gets the majority of its moisture from rain. It may also get wet from a hose runoff or hillside springs. The rain garden can be a functional and beautiful part of the landscape. I have heard some people call their […]
Native Wildflowers – Late Summer Bloomers
Late summer and into fall is a hard time for native wildflowers. While there are many things still blooming from earlier, not much gets going this time of the year. Except for aster and goldenrods, the 2 big powerhouses of late summer blooms. Even though not much else starts to bloom now, you can still […]
100 Sunny Cottage Garden Perennials
How many perennials do you need for the cottage garden? Well, that really depends on your layout, design, and the size of land you are working with. I have a small backyard garden area, roughly 15 feet by 30 feet, in which I have around 70 species of perennials, shrubs, and grasses. And this is […]
Native Plants – July Bloomers
Continuing my series on native plants, the July bloomers are quite spectacular. There are a number of new species that just begin to bloom at this time. And continuations of many June bloomers. Native plants have become more and more popular with each year, especially as climate and weather concerns grow. As you look to […]
Mountain Mints – July Plant of the Month
Mountain mints are our July Plant of the Month. One of my favorite natives for the landscape, mountain mints are a slow-spreading, non-invasive member of the mint family. I first became acquainted with it after moving to Northeast Kansas, and I found slender mountain mint (P. tenuifolium) goring in a ditch by the Hiawatha, KS […]
Plants for a Mediterranean Garden
Choosing plants for a Mediterranean garden is a hard thing to do if you live in wet parts of the US. But here in Kansas, many things that would go great in a Mediterranean garden would be great here too. I have never desired to try this style of gardening, but as it turns out, […]
Native Wildflowers – June Bloomers
What native wildflowers bloom in June? Well, a lot of them. June is considered to be the best month for native wildflowers. It is also Native Plant Month in Kansas, of the governor remembers to sign the proclamation anyways. There are hundreds of species of natives which begin to bloom in June, and many of […]
Maintaining The Butterfly Garden
It feels strange to not do anything in the butterfly garden, but that is exactly the best thing to do. At least, as long as you have no invasive insects or plants. June is the month of flowers, bees, and butterflies, at least here in Northeast Kansas. It used to be “April showers bring May […]
Stachys – June Plant of the Month
Stachys is our June Plant of the Month for 2023. One of my favorite natives and nonnative perennials, ever since I read about them in Piet Oudolf’s book, Planting: A New Perspective. Also, while on a wildflower hike near our local lake, a friend of mine pointed out a native species, Stachys tenuifolia, which is […]
