It’s a snowy day at Plant Exchange Blog. The kind of day to think about the yard and flowerbeds for next season and enjoy a peony bouquet of ideas. Below is a suburban city lot in the Midwest. The homeowner skillfully created a soil berm in the flat yard that displays all the flowerbed plants … Continue reading
Filed under Plants That Grow Here …
Search for Beautiful Plants that Grow Well Here
Some people like to discover their own new plants. They choose them from seed company catalogs or websites providing seeds nationwide. They read the general growing tips, choose a plant and see what happens when they grow it locally. Some people use the recommendations of regional nursery personnel who have tried many new plants. Some … Continue reading
The Plots Thicken
Pollinator plots continue at Lewis & Clark Recreation Area after challenging weed and weather issues of the past five years. Shane Bertsch, District Park Supervisor at Lewis & Clark Recreation Area and Dale Dawson, Conservation Foreman there, planned and implemented large wildflower and native grass pollinator plots at the park entrance. Wildflowers such as these … Continue reading
Fall Spirit at the Prairie
Earlier this fall, we strolled the path to the top of Spirit Mound. This site is documented by the Lewis and Clark expedition in their Corps of Discovery up the Missouri River. They left their boats and trekked about five miles north on land to see the vista from this spot that they had heard … Continue reading
Garden Bloggers Bloom Day December 15th
Welcome to Garden Bloggers Bloom Day for December 15th. It’s hat and glove weather in our USDA Zone 4-5a, with a little snow on the ground and more today. These native perennials left for birds and other wildlife and winter interest, become more defined against white. Joe Pye weed’s mauve flowerhead is long spent but … Continue reading
What’s Global Warming to Lilacs?
Lilacs in bloom across northern states are a reliable marker of spring. The common lilac (Syringa vulgaris) is so predictable in the plant’s adjustment to seasonal conditions before it presents its spring bloom, that lilacs have been studied nationally since the 1970’s as a harbinger of spring. Here’s a photo from this spring of local … Continue reading
A Few Dibbles And Bits
Reason to prune trees, chickens as a pesticide alternative, and a plant labeling tip are this week’s Plant Exchange Blog topics. We are grateful to all who share plant-relative information, ideas, and tips from experience that come from professionals and experienced gardeners of the region such as these below. Trees that are properly pruned have … Continue reading
Milkweed Lady Mystery
Ariana Terry of Yankton revealed the mystery of milkweed plants that just appeared among door prizes for attendees at several Master Gardener sponsored public plant talks. Butterfly weed with its attractive flowers grows well in this region. This is one of the milkweeds that grow here and help protect the showy monarch. Terry shares a … Continue reading
Change of Season
First frost reminds us that change of season is underway. Some leaves have fallen and others are changing colors in this last half of October. A few houseplants return directly indoors. This potted camelia already began blooming outdoors under the magnolia tree where it spent the summer. Some other kinds of camelia will bloom later and are … Continue reading
Wayne’s Hobby Garden
We look for what adds dimension and a bit of passion to an ordinary day. Wayne Nelson-Stastny says his vegetable and ornamental gardening hobby adds to his mind, body, and spirit. The way he chooses to garden, he is involved in it most of the year. His plans for the garden include seeds from many cultures. … Continue reading
