For a late June garden party, we’d be sure to invite some of these easy-to-grow annuals and perennials of this region. Planters overflowing with Supertunias draw our party guests with color to the front entrance. Annabelle hydrangeas radiate excitement after rain overnight. The Catalpa tree in bloom is abuzz with pollinators. Fragrant lanky milkweed stand … Continue reading
Filed under Container Gardens …
Window Box Container Gardening
Romans gardened with window boxes when urban habitation afforded them little growing space. Some Europeans decorate windows with containers of flowers beneath. Gardeners in the United States later adopted the window box as an outdoor decor option. As in other methods for container gardening, consider choosing the window box transplant with function in mind. At … Continue reading
Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day June 15th
Welcome to spring fast approaching summer at our USDA Zone 4-5a Northern Plains location. Perennials are now about on season schedule after an unsettled, somewhat cool spring. We depend on the skills of our local nursery for early annuals such as petunias to add color while perennials wake up. Breeze and often wind is a … Continue reading
June Veggie Notes
Variety leaf lettuce from seeds intended for harvest as small leaves and balsamic vinegar makes a great June salad. This tray of salad greens was planted and harvested indoors. Moved to a sun- and-shade spot outdoors, it’s ready for the third cutting. Our traditional garden has been underway the past month. July beans are progressing, … Continue reading
Little Spring Moments
Naturalized plums, some planted by birds or left at the edges of farmer’s fields, are just beginning to bloom, with native grasses beyond. Hellebores have had two snowfalls and several nights of frost since blooming. Today they get a visit from bumblebees, a first sighting this spring. The greenhouse is filling with flower and vegetable … Continue reading
Dancing with Daffodils
Here at Plant Exchange Blog, the snow is mostly gone today, frosty days and nights appear to be declining, and daffodils are in bloom. As with Wordsworth, our hearts also dance with the yellow daffodils! Daffodils are members of the amaryllis family that are native in southern Europe. The bulbs were planted in ancient Greece … Continue reading
Garden Bloggers Bloom Day April 15th
Welcome to Plant Exchange Blog on the Northern Plains! Our region is USDA Zone 4-5a and spring is in arrested development after heavy snowfall and freezing temperatures. Instead of what’s blooming here, let’s look at flowers at the United States Botanic Gardens in our nation’s capital. The Washington, D.C. area has had a mild spring. … Continue reading
Our One-of-a-Kind Garden
Gardening is sustainable when it supplies the irreplaceable taste of sun-ripened tomatoes at your place this summer. As well as yielding other benefits, gardening is also a creative expression. Even planting a seed catalog pre-planned garden where no flowers grew before! Our own creative garden, no matter its form or size, expresses something about us. … Continue reading
Earth Awakens
First signs of spring are the most memorable. It makes winter yard clean up almost fun! Finding a perennial that emerges to grow again fills me with hope. In this world, being among the first is a kind of vulnerability that many plants avoid. After all, here at Plant Exchange Blog, we will probably reach … Continue reading
Houseplants Add Pep
Too early to lounge outdoors here. It’s about eight weeks before the last frost when starter plants and houseplants needing rejuvenation are taken outdoors. What can we do with houseplants to add pep to our indoor surroundings now? Rearrange houseplants. Consider moving plants to different rooms where light is better as the angle of the … Continue reading
