Transplants are ready to go in the garden here at Plant Exchange! It’s mid-May and the average frost date has passed, so in the next couple of weeks, the transplants here are ready for the flowerbeds, gardens, and containers. Flowers and vegetables were started from seeds and germinated under florescent lights indoors. When the plants … Continue reading
Garden Bloggers Bloom Day May 15th
Spring has arrived at Plant Exchange Blog in South Dakota! Pelicans have migrated north and songbirds are everywhere. In our USDA Zone 4-5a region, we may have encountered the last frost to start the season. Wild native plums are quite showy in early mornings and evenings these days. New leaves dress trees and shrubs … Continue reading
What Do We Need to Know About Emerald Ash Borer?
Ash tree loss due to emerald ash borer (EAB) is a public issue when it concerns trees in local parks and a homeowner’s issue when deciding what is best for ash trees in the yard. Green, black and white ash trees are widely planted in South Dakota but are not always a tree of symmetrical … Continue reading
Regional Plant-Related Event
Sioux City, IA area events: Loess Hills Prairie Seminar The Loess Hills Prairie Seminar‘s outdoor sessions at the Loess Hills Wildlife Management Area northeast of Onawa, offered on Saturday and on Sunday morning, allow participants to see many native plants in both prairie and woodland. Evening programs at West Monona High School in Onawa on Friday … Continue reading
Art and Garden in Synchrony
Welcome to Plant Exchange Blog where we try to showcase the talents of people of the Northern Plains who like plants. Amy Fill is a local sculptor and painter and also gardens. She’s also the interim director of university art galleries at University of South Dakota. Fill lives and works in an art studio in … Continue reading
Honoring Dr. David Graper
Dr. David Graper is highlighted in Plant Exchange Blog this week for his service to everyday gardeners. David Graper is a Horticulture professor at South Dakota State University and S. D. State Extension Horticulture Specialist and McCrory Gardens horticulturist. He spent much of his career in service to the people of South Dakota and with … Continue reading
Lauritzen Gardens Dinosaurs and Plants
Plants and dinosaurs were well connected in ancient times in our mid – region of the now United States. Fossil evidence shows us that dinosaurs ate plants or dined on plant-eaters. Lauritzen Gardens in Omaha, Nebraska, has an exhibit that shows realistic dinosaurs and living plants they likely ate. “Dinosaur UpROAR” exhibit, until May 12th, … Continue reading
Garden Bloggers Bloom Day April 15th
Welcome to arrested bloom development in South Dakota at Plant Exchange Blog. We’ve had a few warm spring days and the first pollinators have enjoyed Hellebores or Lenten Rose. Recent snow and freezing temperatures slowed the insects more than these hardy blooms. Daffodils are yet to bloom. Digging out from over 10 inches of snow … Continue reading
Regional Plant-Related Event
Public is invited to a garden tour of the United States White House grounds for the weekend of April 13-14. The local Washington, D.C. KTUU TV Station filmed the gardens so that all may enjoy this event. See the garden tour at this link: https://www.ktuu.com/content/news/508447482.html
Landscape Designer’s Yard
How people make their yards one-of-a-kind, is amazing. At a regional Garden Writers Association tour held in western Michigan last summer, Cami Geschwendt, a professional landscape designer, showed her private suburban yard. Trees, perennials, flowers and sculptures are dominant elements in her design. Let’s take a peek: Among the pansies, a sculpture container wears a … Continue reading
