Foliage plants with flare


Wed. Feb. 12, 2020

Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show:  Foliage plants with flare

Under layers of winter, I’m thinking of my gardens. 

As I do, I ask you, have you ever looked out at your garden in the waning days between Spring and Summer, Summer and Fall and thought, man, my garden looks pooped?

It’s a great time to consider adding foliage plants to your landscape! Sipping on a hot beverage and perusing catalogs or the internet.

These foliage plants are workhorses of a sort, not only  … [Continue reading]

Buckthorn, bunnies and blue pee?


Tue. Feb. 11, 2020

Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show: Buckthorn, bunnies and blue pee?

From 2004 to 2009, I lived on 5 acres in Lakeville, MN.  While wandering through our woods, I discovered smurf blue stains in the snow!

Since the property had been deigned a “farm dump”, we lovingly cleaned it up.

But after spotting that blue stain, we thought “oh no, there’s a bubblin’ crude but it ain’t oil!  What the heck is it?”. It’s not like we went out there to spit out our  … [Continue reading]

Size does matter – when planning your garden


Mon. Feb. 10, 2020

Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show:  Size does matter – when planning your garden

Urbanites have joined suburbanites who joined those with some acreage, into the vegetable growing trend.  From urban apartment dwellers to folks moving out to hobby farms to community gardens. That’s great but I still want folks to consider SIZE.

 My intent is to help you make the best choices so you can fully enjoy your veggie garden.  What I don’t want to see happen is people becoming overwhelmed and losing  … [Continue reading]

More 2020 plants


Fri. Feb. 7, 2020

Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show: More 2020 plants

It never ceases to amaze me how plant breeders come up with some amazing choices. Feast your eyes on these beauties!

 SunSeekers® Salmon Coneflower was introduced by Breck flowers and is hardy to zone 3.  

Its semidouble flowers start as a lovely shade of salmon-pink with some soft yellow petals in the centre. As the aromatic blooms mature, their salmon-pink petals become pale pink and large, dark crimson cones form. Pollinators eat this flower’s  … [Continue reading]

Using the color wheel in garden design


Thu. Feb. 6, 2020

Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show: Using the color wheel in garden design

Winter’s always a good time to make plans for your garden.  Yesterday I shared pre-planned garden designs, today I’ll talk about using the color wheel to help you choose colors that compliment!

Having a mishmash of color is certainly fine if it doesn’t give you visual overload, however, mixing too many colors doesn’t allow our eyes to gaze more thoroughly, but instead, can deliver a dizzying sight that isn’t necessarily calming. … [Continue reading]

Pre-planned gardens


Wed. Feb. 5, 2020

Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show: Pre-planned gardens

If you’re new to gardening or if you don’t think you have an eye for garden planning, or you just don’t want to have to think about it too much; there are a LOT of tools out there to help you.   Garden Puzzle

From front yards to vegetable gardens to patios and more. They offer various price options.

When planning your perennial garden, keep in mind the hardiness zone you live in as some of these  … [Continue reading]

Worm composting


Tue. Feb. 4, 2020

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

The worms crawl in the worms crawl out, they play pinochle on your snout!  They also compost your food scraps!  Really, who would have thought that we’d be welcoming worms inside our homes?  It’s called vermicomposting.

All you need is a box, moist newspaper strips, and worms. Worms need moisture, air, food, darkness, and warm (but not hot) temperatures. Bedding, made of newspaper strips or leaves, will hold moisture and contain air spaces essential to their  … [Continue reading]

Groundhog Day


Mon. Feb. 3, 2020

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

Well, here he is….  the rodent responsible for Spring:

The little fella rose early yesterday morning, did NOT see his shadow and declared an EARLY SPRING FOR 2020! But I will say that statistically speaking, I wouldn’t bet on Punxsutawney Phil.  Apparently he’s been right 39% since 1887. He does have his own fan club! 

Phil is one old groundhog… according to legend, every summer, Phil is given a sip of what’s called Groundhog Elixir,  … [Continue reading]

Pericallis – pair o’ what?


Fri. Jan. 31, 2020

Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show: Pericallis – pair o’ what?

As I was perusing new plants on the National Garden Bureau website, I found a beautiful white flower with dark blue/gray eyes. It looks like a daisy but it’s called Pericallis ‘Senetti White’.

Senetti is a series of cultivars created by a company out of Japan called Suntory.

Honestly, I’ve never heard of them but I’ve seen them and, likely you have too as you shopped for your annual Spring planting  … [Continue reading]

Romaine heaven


Thu. Jan. 30, 2020

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

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced just a month ago that it had confirmed 138 cases of E. coli in 25 states, with the most recent one occurring on December 1. The good news, on January 15th of 2020, the CDC believes the outbreak over. 

But here’s even more good news. Grow your own romaine! 

And the National Garden Bureau suggests a window delight. It’s called Lettuce Bronze Mini Romaine. It’s a  … [Continue reading]