Best Annuals for Pollinators
When we think about pollinators, most gardeners see swaths of perennial flowers in bloom, covered in bees and butterflies. But what are the best annuals for pollinators? Here in the Central Great Plains, I continue to expand my list of best annuals for pollinators. As each season progresses, I track insects coming into my garden, […]
Bee-Mimic Insects
The insect world is a fascinating place. Within it, there are are many which mimic other insects, for a variety of reasons. The Viceroy butterfly for instance, mimics the Monarch in order to trick birds into not eating it. While the Monarch actually tastes bad to birds because of the chemicals its caterpillars ingest from […]
Biodiversity for Birds, Butterflies, and Bees (And More)
Adding biodiversity to your yard and garden means an increase in all types of life. But what do I mean by “adding biodiversity”?. And what is biodiversity? Biodiversity is defined as the variety of life in a habitat or ecosystem. And you add to it by adding what you life you can. For gardeners this […]
Native Gardening – A Shift In Styles
As we continue into the future, native gardening has become more and more popular. I saw this trend coming years ago, when I was doing my internship in Minnesota. But I could not expect the delay it has taken to get here. Even when I was a kid growing up in the Smoky Hills of […]
Do You Have a Healthy Landscape?
What exactly is a healthy landscape? Well, that term might mean something different to each one of you. But to me, as an ecological horticulturalist, it means how healthy is the landscaping in regards to overall habitat health. There are a number of factors which relate to whether or not a landscape can be deemed […]
Keystone Plants for the Central Great Plains
Just what are keystone plants? Well, keystone plants are plants which a habitat or ecosystem is mostly dependent on to thrive. By removing these species, you may collapse an ecosystem or limit its ability to keep biodiversity in place. If add keystone plants back into the landscape, you can increase biodiversity within region. We gardeners […]
My Meadow Garden – 3 Years Later
3 years ago I started my Meadow Garden, planting around an existing bed of native plants. I started this bed in order to create a “naturalized” space within my landscape where the only regular maintenance needed is yearly burning and occasional woody plant removal. What has changed in 3 years? How is it going? Is […]
Proven Winners Annual Flowers
When it comes to annual flowers, Proven Winners is ahead of the game. Even though they are not the only name on the market, they have upped everyone else’s quality by competition. In other words, becuase they do so well, it makes everyone else better. In the past, I was not as fond of annual […]
Shrubby Plant Picks – Proven Winners
Now that 2025 is here, we need to talk more about Proven Winners shrubby plant picks. Yes, I said shrubby. Proven Winners has been working on their shrub line for a while now, and we love them! It is nice to be able to find plants that work in a host of ways within the […]
