Have you ever experienced a bouquet of fragrance lilacs held tightly in the arms of a child to present as a gift, maybe on Mother’s Day? Lilacs are a commonly grown, low maintenance shrub or small tree of the Northern Plains. Long abandoned farmsteads still have lilacs that bloom in early spring. Some associate the … Continue reading
A Star of Spring
Right now, the uncultivated star of spring that unfolds here on the Northern Plains is the plum. After a few warm days and promise of more, deciduous trees nearby are beginning to leaf out. The plum’s blossoms glow white early and late in the quiet of the day. Like many of us needing haircuts with … 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
Spring Arrives Each Year
Moments of spring shake us from all that swirls around us. A perfect daffodil blossom survives a frosty night. Not quite here, but in mind from last season, the redbud tree, northern magnolia, and native plum will soon display again. There is so much we do not know. Ginkgo trees are not native here but … 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
Celebrating Greens
We celebrate greens of all ethnicities the whole week at Plant Exchange Blog! One way we celebrate is watching seeds turn to salad greens when it’s too cold to grow them outdoors in spring or fall. Though a south-facing windowsill will do, we use the same fluorescent bulb lights that will help starter plants grow … Continue reading
