Welcome to Plant Exchange Blog. We’re along the Missouri River on the southern edge of South Dakota on the Northern Plains, USDA Zone 4 and 5. We have high temperatures in the 90’s, like some other areas. This season, a goal is to add more colorful perennials to flowerbeds. I enjoy trying to grow some … Continue reading
Filed under Landscape Design …
Planned, Wild, and Free
Many herbaceous and woody perennials are growing again. It’s a time to celebrate plants that have broken dormancy in the fall and winter drought conditions. Likely, we will find gaps in the flowerbeds, and local greenhouses have many options. Don Engebretson, design writer for the Northern Gardener magazine, is quoted in an article in the June issue … Continue reading
Trees for the Prairie
Greenhouses burst with alluring annuals for our gardens. If these flowers were wearable, we might consider them jewelry, and the trees that anchor our yards as fundamental as the black dress. Trees and shrubs add a vertical shape to the area above the annuals and perennials in a yard. Trees can be the welcoming presence … Continue reading
Goals for the Garden Season
Before the daffodils bloom and the first turn of the soil, I consider a shortlist of what I aim for this gardening season. Add More Native Plants They are more adapted to the environment and thrive year to year, require less watering once established, and are more likely to benefit pollinators and other wildlife. More … Continue reading
Dream a Garden Space
February can be the creative start to your personalized garden space. The cozy indoors with lots of photos of your landscape or a stack of gardening magazines with pictures that show aspects of spaces you are attracted to is a place to begin. Collect images that show your space as it is and the look … Continue reading
Midwest Plant Breeder Hans Hansen
Flowers and foliage in yards and public spaces have been beautiful this season! Where do the new bright colors and variety of leaf patterns originate? At Plant Exchange, we’ll focus on one plant breeder who may have introduced a yellow False Indigo, Hosta, coral Monarda, pink Phlox, or red hibiscus you have seen growing nearby. … Continue reading
Dibbles and Bits
It’s a reflective time of year. Even bunnies are pausing a moment as they find today’s path. Plant lovers thinking about next gardening season have all the seed catalogs a table can hold and plenty online besides. At Plant Exchange, garden magazines are a hit for reading and reflection now. Articles in the January/February 2021 … Continue reading
Landscape with Grasses and Companions
On the Northern Plains, grasses move with the wind and blend naturally in an authentic landscape. Miscanthus is an ornamental grass that is dramatic as a specimen plant and as a field of feathery heads. Some kinds of miscanthus have voluminous roots and are less compatible with other plants. You might not consider this characteristic … Continue reading
A Little Something Different with Containers
When I awoke this morning, I realized a container of sunflowers had come into bloom. While I enjoy seeing them out the window in their staging area on the deck, I began to think about how to include them with the other flower containers that we see every day for a new look. Here’s a … Continue reading
On the Way to “After”
Unlike yard renovation on reality TV, some projects at home take a long time. Garden bloggers see many others’ beautiful results. As of mid-summer at Plant Exchange blog, we have a little progress here! The vision for this area of the yard came from a previous owner who installed cement steps and a wall of … Continue reading
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