Rain gardens


Wed. Mar. 31, 2021

Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show: Rain gardens

Some folks asked what plants work well in raingardens. From marshes to savannas to dry prairies, there are some wonderful choices. You need to know what your sun/shade conditions will be and your climate zone. Follow this link for a list of many plants for various sites: University of Minnesota Extension

As a primer, native plants work best, lots of grasses are good choices too including Big and Little Bluestem, tall manna grass for lakeside and  … [Continue reading]

Tomato and pepper seed starting time


Tue. Mar. 30, 2021

Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show: Tomato and pepper seed starting time

The AVERAGE last official frost date for Zone 3 and 4 is May 15th while zone 5 and 6 is looking at about April 15th. But that’s changing. Minnesota state Climatologist Mark Seeley says it’s getting warmer.

Warm season crops such as tomatoes and peppers, like soil temperatures to be at least 60 degrees. Now is a good time to start seeding tomatoes and peppers indoors.

These veggies are  … [Continue reading]

Easter lilies – choosing and caring for your lily


Mon. Mar. 29, 2021

Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show: Easter lilies – choosing and caring for your lily

Easter is early this year arriving in just 7 days. This Christian Holy Day is marked by cherished traditions including the Easter Lily. The beautiful trumpet-shaped white flowers of lilium longiflorum symbolize purity, hope and life – the spiritual essence of Easter – a time of renewal. 

They’re often given as gifts and have adorned every home I’ve lived in.  When choosing an Easter lily, look for one in  … [Continue reading]

Garden magic


Fri. Mar. 26, 2021

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

Just over a year later, we continue to deal with the COVID pandemic, our desire to get outside continues too.

Remembering how much beauty we have in nature, the joy in getting our hands in the soil, seeding our gardens, gives us relief from our thoughts and struggles.

Gardens feed our bodies but, for me, they also deeply feed my soul. So now more than ever, the magic of our gardens continues to lift our Spirits. … [Continue reading]

Lawn spots from Fido, Fifi or snow mold


Thu. Mar. 25, 2021

Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show: Lawn spots from Fido or Fifi

We love our dogs but not so much what they do to our lawns over the winter.  Spot may have left some dead spots around the yard. 

You can buy a lawn repair kit at most garden centers or you can mix your own.  After the soil has warmed up and isn’t wet, you can lift out the dead grass, loosen the soil and mix a handful of seed with a bucket  … [Continue reading]

Well drained soil – what does THAT mean?


Wed. Mar. 24, 2021

Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show: Well drained soil – what does THAT mean?

Nearly every plant catalog or tag says your plant wants “well-draining soil”. But what IS well draining soil?

It’s soil that contains enough pores, the gaps between soil particles, to allow air and water to flow freely.  Ideally, the sand, silt and clay particles are arranged so they occupy only half of the space, leaving the other half as pore space.  A 50/50 split is primo.

Now, most of us  … [Continue reading]

Making your own maple syrup


Tue. Mar. 23, 2021

Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show: Making your own maple syrup

As promised… a primer on making your own Maple Syrup.  It IS an adventure.  It’s time consuming but the flavor can’t be beat.

You can make your own taps from 3/8 inch pvc pipe about 5 inches long. Or buy them.  Tap into your trees about 3 feet up and at an upward angle.

  • He made his own taps from 3/8 inch pvc pipe about 5 inches long.
  • Tapping into the trees about
 … [Continue reading]

Maple syruping


Mon. Mar. 22, 2021

Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show: Maple syruping

The sap is flowing! It’s not too late to tap your trees for some golden goodness.  Although it looks like water coming out of your tree!  You don’t have to have Sugar Maples to make some great syrup.  The only difference is the percentage of sugar content in the tree sap.  

Years ago we tapped Silver Maples that produced delicious stuff.  YOu can also tap Boxelder trees.  So, apparently there is one good thing from a  … [Continue reading]

Spring Equinox 2021


Fri. Mar. 19, 2021

Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show: Spring Equinox 2021

Looking for hope after a long isolating year plus, Spring hopes eternal and Saturday, March 20th, is the Equinox.

“Hope springs eternal in the human breast;
Man never Is, but always To be blest.
The soul, uneasy, and confin’d from home,
Rests and expatiates in a life to come.”

? Alexander Pope, An Essay on Man

Happy Vernal Equinox!  That’s a funny word, vernal.  The word means ‘fresh’ or ‘new’ and related to Spring.

Frost  … [Continue reading]

St. Patrick’s Day and the Shamrock


Wed. Mar. 17, 2021

Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show: St. Patrick’s Day and the Shamrock

 What’s St. Patricks day without shamrocks?  Shamrock is a kind of slurred pronunciation of the Irish word seamrog, meaning little clover.  It’s really White Clover also known as  trifolium repens.  A 3 leafed plant that WAS thought of as a weed but is now a great lawn replacement!

It’s also related to oxalis, also called shamrock. I have a super cool video of how the plant closes it’s leaves at night  … [Continue reading]