The Year of the Dahlia


Thu. Feb. 7, 2019

Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show:  The Year of the Dahlia

The National Garden Bureau chooses an annual, a tuber, a perennial and a vegetable each year to highlight.  For tubers, 2019 is the year of the Dahlia.

These are beautiful plants and we can appreciate their beauty as an annual in our northern gardens.  The National Flower of Mexico, the Dahlia, is the genetic source for the modern hybrid dahlias grown today.  And there are some beauties.

Dahlias are related to the sunflower,  … [Continue reading]

Out of the Polar Vortex with hopes of Spring with my first seed order!


Wed. Feb. 6, 2019

Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show: Out of the Polar Vortex with hopes of Spring with my first seed order!

My phone read -33 degrees F last week…  Air temperature… not a mistake…

So, today it’s about willing Spring to come with my first seed order!!!!

 There’s a new petunia called ‘Spellbound Dark Purple’.   The flowers are huge at 4 to 6 inches in shades of dark purple. There’s a flurry of whirling dense blooms with dark centers that look hand-painted, and frilly  … [Continue reading]

Milkweed Heaven


Tue. Feb. 5, 2019

Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show:  Milkweed Heaven

Milkweed.  THE monarch butterfly magnet!

But it’s not just the common milkweed.  There are, in fact, several options. I’ll get to those.   Karen Oberhauser, Director of the University of Wisconsin- Madison Arboretum, says part of the massive decline of the monarch is weather related.  Early, warm springs tend to be associated with low monarch numbers. She says that may be due to the mismatch in the timing of milkweed availability. Habitat loss, is the number one  … [Continue reading]

A change of climate for gardening too


Mon. Feb. 4, 2019

Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show:  A change of climate for gardening too

As we talk climate change in the midst of our polar vortex with temperatures that even closed bars in Wisconsin and shut down the US Postal Service,  there’s a change of climate in the gardening world.

I talked last week about the dying trees in a MN State Park, how other areas are measuring changes.  Anecdotally, climate change is changing the way we see trees and the planting of them.

Greg  … [Continue reading]

The Grapes of Cold


Fri. Feb. 1, 2019

Click below to listen to my  2 min. Garden Bite radio show:  The Grapes of Cold

At least in MY lifetime, the thought of vineyards in the North matching anything in Napa was unthinkable!   But here we are and the Grapes of Cold exist and so do the wines!

Just to show you the proliferation of wineries, this tour has been set up through MN, WI and IA!  Here’s the description and link.  The Great River Road follows the Mississippi River from Minnesota to the Gulf of Mexico. We think  … [Continue reading]

The Great American Lawn and Climate Change


Thu. Jan. 31, 2019

Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show:  The Great American Lawn and Climate Change

I have good news, lazy lawn folk rejoice, letting your lawn have weeds, mowing less and not bothering with all those loud, gas-powered machines to keep it manicured will help reduce climate change!  Say WHAT? Even though grass sequesters carbon dioxide, the leading human-generated greenhouse gas, tending to your lawn through mowing, irrigating, and fertilizing creates a lot more greenhouse gases.  

Most of the carbon footprint of an urban lawn comes  … [Continue reading]

Teri Knight talks with Carla Beaurline


Wed. Jan. 30, 2019

I had the chance to chat with my friend Carla Beaurline on her show “Around Town” live on Facebook on January 29th, 2019!  We talk about Garden Bite, my philosophy, the trends I’ve seen, the most asked questions and much more!  What fun!!  Please push through the pauses as they came when people commented….  it gets better and they don’t last long!

Tagged: /
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It’s raining climate change in the Big Woods


Wed. Jan. 30, 2019

Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show:  It’s raining climate change in the Big Woods

It’s raining climate change in a State Park in Minnesota. The Minnesota DNR’s new Park Ranger for Nerstrand Big Woods, Katie Foshay, recently shared that 12% of the park is experiencing forest death due to lack of oxygen around flooded tree roots. Note:  photos courtesy of MnDNR

The loss of maples, oaks, basswood and more is devastating and, worse, Ash trees, that tolerate wet soil are sprouting up but they’re  … [Continue reading]

Native grasses


Tue. Jan. 29, 2019

Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show:  Native grasses

Native plants provide for a wide diversity with an established track record in our climate, although things are changing and I’ll talk more about that tomorrow.  

Native plants don’t ask for much, just the right sun/shade conditions and the right soil, wet, moist or dry. We’re lucky to have some very lovely native grasses stretching into zone 3 climate.

Some native grasses that can work in the urban landscape include panicum virgatum or switchgrass!  They are  … [Continue reading]

Native salt tolerant plants


Mon. Jan. 28, 2019

Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show:  Native salt tolerant plants

While half of us have received little snow, the other half seems to have been inundated.  Temperatures have fluctuated and our climate doesn’t seem too sure WHAT to do!

One thing WE know is that, when our roads get slick, slimy and/or snow-covered, the salt trucks come out.  Something else we know is that our plants are not fond of the seasoning.   Road salt can damage plants by interfering with their water uptake through  … [Continue reading]