Peonies have long been cultivated throughout the world and valued for their durability, fragrance, flower colors, and longevity. Peonies have been used in nearly every American garden since our ancestors set foot on this land. There is a certain air of age and wonder associated with p

I know it seems crazy to think about adding more daylilies to your garden, but for me, it is not a stretch. Back in 2000 when I first thought about becoming a landscape designer, I constantly studied plant materials and their use in American landscapes. Here is what I noticed: America

Summer is far upon us now, and yet the gardens at Grimm’s are at their peak performance. Jeryl Grimm has a walk through her kitchen garden lined with annuals and some perennials for the enjoyment of her family and those who visit her. Around their house, Doug and Jeryl have plan

The weather has been steadily getting cooler; the western portions of Kansas and Nebraska have had freeze warnings and even snow! It is time to prepare our gardens and yards for winter. Here are some great tips to get your autumn work going! Spend time with your kids! If you have kids

As the rain beats steadily against the windows of our office, I sit and think about the upcoming season. This is my 6th season as the Maintenance Foreman at Grimm’s Gardens, I look forward to even more to come. Autumn always brings about a relief and dread. I love to see the col

Last year, several us here at Grimm’s Gardens attended a lecture by the renown plantsman and landscape designer Roy Diblik in Omaha, NE. Roy’s talk, along with his book “The Know Maintenance Perennial Garden” had inspired several of us to try out his ideas here

With Mother’s Day coming this weekend I started to think about the different flowers I could put into a floral display for my mother and my wife. My cutting garden is not ready yet, but I can easily find flowers among the other beds. There are not many flowers open for Mother

Mid-Spring brings forth an eruption of color on all sides, from trees, shrubs, and perennials! Everywhere you turn there is a cacophony of color to enrich your life. Many of the best blooming plants in early to mid-spring are ephemerals and understory plants. Spring ephemerals are pla

Miniature gardens (often referred to as fairy gardens) are a very popular method of introducing gardening to those who do not have the space or time for large scale landscape, as well as helping to spark the imaginations of a generation of children who do not have the resources availa

It is very interesting how insects, birds, and plants can coexist naturally and amazingly, without killing each other off the planet entirely. Insects are around us, literally everywhere. While I can generally identify some 50 species of insects or more, there are another 200 lurking

Gardeners and plantsmen alike have a knack for getting plants in our gardens to grow well, sometimes too well. We all have those plants that looked so great at first-blooming in their pots and looking so contained. Then we set them in our garden beds, expecting them to stay where plan

Grimm’s Gardens believes that knowing where your natives come from is important.  We are grateful for all the work that Elliot and Applied Ecological Services, Inc. have put into tracking and labeling their native plant sources.  This is why we chose this company to supply most

One of my favorite customers absolutely loves rudbeckias; she loves the yellow in her garden. We often redo beds at her house, and she always asks to have some rudbeckias added in. I try to fit them in whenever I can. In my home garden, the rudbeckias steal the show, whether it be the

Fall is such a lovely time of year! I love watching the birds look for berries, the wind blowing red, yellow, and orange leaves across the drive. I even enjoy raking leaves. The rich earthy hues that the world takes on are so wonderful. I like watching the sway of grasses in the wind,

It’s getting to be that time of year again. Everyone thinks that the heat of July and August immediately stops weeds and plants from growing, meaning they need no maintenance. Unfortunately, this is the time when we cut back plants to produce new blooms and buds and keep plants thrivi

When pruning to increase blooming, it is vital to know what time of year the plant blooms. Generally, if it flowers in the spring, it is blooming on growth from last year. If it blooms in late summer or fall, it flowers on new growth in the current year. These two categories of bloome

Planning your garden can be an exciting time. Here are some tips to start at home so that you have a plan when you come to the garden center! Make a Plan Carefully plot out large beds. Make allowances for height and proper spacing of each plant. Put the plan on paper and color it in w

When friends and neighbors ask me what I do for Grimm’s Gardens, I have a difficult time explaining my job. As the landscape maintenance foreman, I have a job that entails much attention to detail, a vast knowledge of plant life and growth stages, electrical and plumbing maintenance,

Winter time is the best time to plan and prepare for next year’s gardens. We at Grimm’s Gardens are busy with ideas and preparations for the upcoming spring season. From now until March 1st, we will receive many calls and emails from customers wanting to know if they can plant somethi

Black Walnut trees are wonderful if you are a cabinet maker, eat the walnuts, or leave them as forage for wildlife, or use the husks to make a colorfast dye.  But if you are a gardener, they provide a challenge, to say the least. A toxic chemical, juglone, diffuses from the roots into

Last spring I went to a conference in Lawrence, KS and was inspired by Dr. Chip Taylor of KU’s biology department. In 2005, Dr. Taylor created a program to develop “Monarch Waystations” across the United States. The goal of the program is to educate the public on the importance of but

Recently I had a consultation to look at a stressed dogwood. While we were talking, the customer asked about shade gardening. He had several new perennial beds, but the west side of his property was heavily shaded and he needed planting advice for the shade. Since this is a common pro

This is a beginners guide to cooking with fresh herbs.  Use the following chart as a guideline to begin experimenting with new flavors in your recipes.  This is an excellent way to ‘spice up’ your favorite dishes so that they seem like new! Basil Magical Michael Annual Orn

There something so simple and calming about the prairie. Growing up in north central Kansas, I knew too well the heat and drought of the plains states.  Even in the shade of the wooded creek bottoms near our house, it was sultry and hot. Later, when I lived in Manhattan, KS, a quiet w

We all want a landscape that is easy to maintain, provides beauty all year round, and provides benefits for our families, right? What if we create landscapes that are even more beneficial to our families and to wildlife, where we could, in season, simply pick fruit right off the tree

Ever wonder how to use your landscape to create beautiful floral designs?  Follow the step by step guide in this second edition of How to Cut Garden Flowers for Floral Arrangements. (See first edition here) Materials: Vase Scissors Permission to cut plants in the landscape Water 6 or

Native Grasses Living in the Great Plains regions brings all sorts of joy-the ability to grow a wide variety of plants, wide open spaces, and grasses blowing in the wind. Here we have the luxury of being able to enjoy some of the prettiest grass in the country, with little or no input

Fall is the Time to Plant Spring Flowering Bulbs!   Even as leaves begin to change color and our fall perennials are blooming best, we have to think about next year’s spring color. Spring flowering bulbs really gear me up for my late spring and summer gardening. They show me that

10 Super Shrubs Each year about this time I get questions in the nursery about what shrubs/trees have the best fall color display.  And it’s something I think about too when planning my garden each year, but I include three or four season interest in my choices, not merely fall

What do I do with Aronia Berries? (Find Grimm’s Garden’s recipe for freezing peaches!) These berries have a plethora of uses. Consider eating them fresh or frozen.  They make a great summer snack frozen.  Pies, breads, and other baked goods, salad toppings, jams and jellie

Garden Diversity-Cottage Gardens “I want more color.” Most of my customers want more color, and they want it to bloom all the time. The problem with many of our landscapes now is the “cookie cutter” design. I can pick out most designers’ landscapes just by the plant selection. Shrub r

I absolutely love cut flowers.  I look forward to bringing in a new bouquet into my house every chance I get.  If you want to bring some of your landscape flowers indoors but don’t know how to, you are in the right place. (Click to our second edition of Floral Design) Materials:

Summer is here and the heat is on! Over the course of the last two summers I have noticed the good and the bad of perennials in my gardens. I don’t have an irrigation system, and I rarely water after planting, even when it gets hot. My plants seem to perform in the heat, really thrivi