2023 Year of the Spirea


Tue. Mar. 7, 2023

Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show/podcast: 2023 Year of the Spirea

Spirea, years ago I really didn’t like them. They seemed a bit boring and I sort of ignored them. Then along came Double Play ‘Candy Corn’.

It’s changing colors throughout the seasons are something to behold.

The National Garden Bureau has named their shrub of the year for 2023, it’s Spirea! With nearly 100 unique species, NGB reports that this hardy group of plants boasts a wide range of colorful foliage ranging  … [Continue reading]

Host plants for butterflies and moths


Mon. Mar. 6, 2023

Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show/podcast: Host plants for butterflies and moths

Plowing out from our blizzard I received my Prairie Moon Nursery catalog. Oh the joy it brings! Inside the catalog is a list of native plants that are hosts for specific butterflies and moths.

I share some with you today! For earlier bloom and the first to provide nectar for hummingbirds, choose Columbine. This plant is host to the Columbine Duskywing. Red and yellow flowers bloom from April to June  … [Continue reading]

Newspaper recycling and your garden


Fri. Mar. 3, 2023

Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show/podcast: Newspaper recycling and your garden

 While I don’t always enjoy the news, I’ve always enjoyed getting the big Sunday paper. My Sunday paper didn’t show up… so this is a previous photo!

I’d really hate to see print go away completely although I understand the push to online formats, spreading the paper out and reading while enjoying a cup of coffee isn’t something I want to give up. I’m not good and scrolling and drinking my coffee!! HA,  … [Continue reading]

What to know about bare-root plants


Thu. Mar. 2, 2023

Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show/podcast: What to know about bare-root plants

Once again, it’s time to check out bare-root plants! From perennials to shrubs (including roses) to trees, planting bareroot is less expensive.

Bare-root plants are typically one to perhaps even 3 years old when dug out of the ground where they’ve been growing.

Prairie Moon Nursery has a great PDF on Installing Bare-root which includes the various roots systems and planting specifics.  They’re shipped to you with no soil, just moist  … [Continue reading]

Getting a jump on summer bulb planting


Wed. Mar. 1, 2023

Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show/podcast: Getting a jump on summer bulb planting

Get a jump on summer bulb planting! Karen is an expert at Gertens Garden Center in Inver Grove Heights, Minnesota and shares some great info. Oh, and I share some too!

You can purchase bulbs from local garden centers or maybe you dug up your gladiolus, cannas, your dahlias or your tuberous begonias last Fall and want to get started.  PS, as Karen says, if you get it a little be  … [Continue reading]

New shrubs for 2023


Tue. Feb. 28, 2023

Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show/podcast: New shrubs for 2023

‘Purpink’ you say? Why, yes I do!

I’m sharing new shrubs for 2023. Introducing a new Proven Winners Bloomerang Lilac ‘Purpink’! Since they couldn’t decide if the flowers were a lovely shade of purple or pink, they chose to name the plant combining the two colors!

With incredible rebloom and disease resistance, this is a perfect shrub for spring from zone 3a (the tundra) all the way to zone 7b. It grows 3  … [Continue reading]

Fireflies and plants


Mon. Feb. 27, 2023

Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show/podcast: Fireflies and plants

Have you noticed over the past several years seeing fewer and fewer fireflies? Or maybe you call them lightning bugs? They were always such a delight when I was a kid seeing them light up and chasing after them.

Fireflies are a type of beetle and there are over 150 different species in the United States alone with Britannica reporting over 2,000 species worldwide.

And here’s more from pestworld.com.

Prairie Moon Nursery, a  … [Continue reading]

GMOs and more


Fri. Feb. 24, 2023

Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show/podcast: GMOs and more

Earlier this week I discussed seed terminology and briefly talked about GMO’s and GE’s. I offer a little more clarification on today’s Garden Bite. This is a big topic and I have links to more information below.

First, modifications, genetic mutations take place in every living thing naturally. When 2 people have a baby, there’s some mutation going on. Not sure that’s real romantic but you catch my drift. 

Hybridizers have been modifying plants since

 … [Continue reading]

Small space garden plants


Thu. Feb. 23, 2023

Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show/podcast: Small space garden plants

 A small space doesn’t mean you can’t have a garden!  I have a raised bed for my vegetables but I also plant in pots. I like to have a few cucumbers but don’t want to give up space for them. ‘Patio Snacker’ is the perfect size cuke to plant in a 15 inch pot with a trellis for the 3 to 5 foot vines to grow on. Bonus, they mature in 50 days!

Peppers  … [Continue reading]

Seed buying 101


Wed. Feb. 22, 2023

Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show/podcast: Seed buying 101

 Tis the season of seeds! A perennial topic this time of year as we really start the gears rolling on early seed starting. All America Selections put together some great information regarding seed terminology. Descriptive terms to know as you search out seeds. Click on that link for more.

So what is a “cultivar”? It’s often presented as the ‘variety name’ after the genus and species in seed catalogs. So ‘San Joaquin’ is the cultivar  … [Continue reading]