Prairie Plantings: Improving your Quality of Life
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 walk on […]
Common Landscape Plants with Unusual Edible Qualities: Not Your Typical Fruit or Vegetable!
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 in our backyard? And what […]
How to Cut Garden Flowers for Floral Arrangements: Fall Floral Design
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 7 stems of Miscanthus (Maidenhair) Grass 1 […]
Using Native Grasses in the Landscape
Native grasses have always fascinated me. Living in the Great Plains, and growing up in the Smoky Hills Region of Kansas, I got to find grasses from two separate ecoregions. The tall grasses of the east and short grasses of the west seemed to collide in my backyard. Now, I use native grasses and sedges […]
Plant Bulbs in Fall for Spring Color!
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 even in early spring; […]
Aronia Berry Recipes-The Miracle Fruit
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 jellies, salsa, and icecream are all great uses of this berry. […]
Garden Diversity-Cottage Gardens
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 roses, hostas, cool season grasses, daylilies, […]
How to Cut Garden Flowers For Floral Arrangements: Country Floral Design
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: 1 Quart Mason […]
Six Perennials for Tough Conditions
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 […]
