Amaryllis – an extraordinary holiday plant


Tue. Dec. 17, 2019

Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show: Amaryllis – an extraordinary holiday plant

What are the holidays without Amaryllis?  Not quite as lovely!  And what a spectacular hostess gift!!

  • Choose large, firm bulbs – grapefruit size will give you the most blooms for your buck
  • Before bloom, keep your Amaryllis in a sunny window away from cold drafts.
  • When the flower buds start to show color, move your plant OUT of direct sunlight to a bright, indirect sunlit area
  • Water well, letting the water drain
 … [Continue reading]

Pantone’s 2020 Color of the Year


Mon. Dec. 16, 2019

Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show: Pantone’s 2020 Color of the Year

Every year, Pantone chooses the Color of the Year. 

It’s a company that started as a printing business back in the 1950’s, however, a guy that worked with chemistry, came up with a color matching system in the early ‘60’s and bought the company. It’s a world-wide phenomenon now and every year since 2000, a bunch of color-matchers get together and decide.  They give meaning to every color depending on what the  … [Continue reading]

Adaptive gardening


Fri. Dec. 13, 2019

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

There’s no better stress reliever than to play in the dirt!  I have often taken for granted my ability to move through my gardens easily.  Oh maybe my knees give me a little trouble now and then, but I can bend down and pluck a weed or snip a flower with ease.  Other gardeners can’t.

The other day I was browsing the National Garden Bureau site and found an article on Adaptive Gardening by Toni Gattone.  … [Continue reading]

The story of the Poinsettia – Flowers of the Holy Night


Thu. Dec. 12, 2019

Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show: The story of the Poinsettia – Flowers of the Holy Night

Happy National Poinsettia Day!

The Poinsettia is a native of Mexico, where it grows like a weed and can reach 10 feet tall.  Mexican legend holds that the leaves, shaped like the star of Bethlehem, first bloomed red for a poor girl who wanted to bring a gift to the manger scene at the local church but had no money.  Her cousin, who walked to the church  … [Continue reading]

A low salt diet for our roads


Tue. Dec. 10, 2019

Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show: A low salt diet for our roads

22 inches of snow in Duluth! Yowza… Well it’s definitely plow time! Road treatments and sidewalk treatments are important for public safety. However…

Did you know that one teaspoon of salt pollutes 5 gallons of water? Neither did I!   From the MN Pollution Control Agency – what sodium chloride does 

A friend of mine, Sonya Goins, reported this story a few years back. Same good information to know!

An estimated 365,000  … [Continue reading]

Oh deer!


Mon. Dec. 9, 2019

Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show: Oh deer!

Oh, those beautiful Bambis.  Have you ever looked a deer in the eyes?  Those big brown beauties seem to apologize for destroying your perennials, your trees, your shrubs?  Oh, such a love/hate relationship with deer.

Short of hunting in your backyard, what seems to work?  An electric fence comes to mind but that’s rather impractical and expensive.  So are other fencing options. Kinda Ugly too. Some people swear by Irish Spring.  Hanging bits of soap at  … [Continue reading]

Spotlight on New Jersey Tea and Winterberry Holly


Fri. Dec. 6, 2019

Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show: Spotlight on New Jersey Tea and Winterberry Holly

 I wanted to highlight a little native shrub that is super tolerant of some lousy conditions as well as being a butterfly and hummingbird magnet.  New Jersey Tea is also recognized for being a native bee magnet too.

The shrub is a larval host for Spring Azure, Summer Azure, Mottled Duskywing butterflies. Turkeys and quail consume seeds. New Jersey Tea is part of the buckthorn family BUT, it’s not the  … [Continue reading]

Gardener gifts 2.0


Thu. Dec. 5, 2019

Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show: Gardener gifts 2.0

 It’s not too late!  To tell your loved ones what the gardener in their life wants for Christmas!  Tools, an essential part of gardening! This is the gift to spend the extra dollars for quality.  You won’t regret it.

One of the top tools is the Hori Hori Japanese gardening knife.  Hori means “digging” in Japanese. This knife has been called the MacGuyver of gardening tools.  A brand that comes highly recommended at a reasonable  … [Continue reading]

The benefits of bats and birds


Wed. Dec. 4, 2019

Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show: The benefits of bats and birds

While some may scoff, bats have benefits.  You may not feel that way as you battle one inside your bedroom, however, before killing it, capture it and set it free.  Then look for the place in the bats are coming in and seal it up!

Take a look at this site, eXtension, to find great information on finding the bat in your house and how to release them.

Bats won’t suck  … [Continue reading]

BEE the change


Tue. Dec. 3, 2019

Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show: BEE the change

In May of this year, the Minnesota Governor signed legislation that set aside $900,000 in financial assistance to individual home owners who are willing to install pollinator-friendly native plantings. Yowza. As a taxpayer, I’m not sure where that money is coming from but I am happy to have more pollinator plants. The program helps cover up to 75% of the cost of each conversion project, and up to 90% in areas with a “high potential”  … [Continue reading]