In a two-week-before frenzy to add color to a family celebration, I repotted a flowering tropical plant into a pot without holes in the bottom. (With a drill not handy, I will remedy that later.) I watered the plant extra, figuring it would be forgotten in the rush. Days later, noting some bloom drop and … Continue reading
Tagged with container gardening …
Create a Sustainable Yard
A blanket of snow covers our yard. Before winter dormancy ends and the spring rush begins, there is time to think about parts of the yard to reinforce, add to, or change. A February 2023 Fine Gardening magazine feature shows how a professional might access their yard. It stirred some thoughts about my own yard. … Continue reading
More Happy Days of Summer with Sunflowers
Some of the best parts of summer are when there are few days left. Lots of sunflowers, symbols of happy days, grow here. In our region of the United States, archeologists have found evidence of corn, bean, squash, sunflower and amaranth cultivation about 1000 A.D. Sunflowers can be found planted in a field in this … Continue reading
Outdoor Container Garden Nursery
Garden flowers or vegetables you plant together in a container take a little time to look their best before they are displayed. These succulents are an example. Container flowers and vegetables mature at different times, and it’s handy to have a dedicated space, a nursery, with adequate sunlight and water nearby to care for them … Continue reading
Dibbles and Bits
We’re looking at winter interest, rewilding, and season wind-down for today’s Plant Exchange. ***Nearly mid-December, the first “shoveling” flips the landscape into contrasts we haven’t seen for a year. Now the red hues of Little Bluestem and Miscanthus appear against white snow cover. Snowcaps adorn the spent golden yarrow from summer. No wonder this is … Continue reading
More About Container Sunflowers
Sunflowers are known for the sterile yellow, red, orange, or purple ray flowers and the seed and pollen-producing disc flowers. Helianthus annuus, in bloom as fall approaches in this region, is found in vacant lots and along road rights-of-way. Most sunflowers are annuals that may re-seed. Sunflowers are native to the North and South American … Continue reading
A Mid-Summer Flower and Salad Greens
Annabelle Hydrangea (Hydrangea arborescens ‘Annabelle’) or smooth hydrangea is in full bloom at Plant Exchange Blog. The six-inch round flower head (corymb) of flowers is vase-worthy and can be dried, suspended upside down in a garage for fall arrangements. White flowers pair with other flower colors of the season. This deciduous hydrangea (USDA Zone 3-9) … Continue reading
Flowers in Hot Weather
We can hardly wait for spring in our Northern Plains region! It’s not uncommon to have lots of cool and erratic temperatures during spring, this year included. Now, as summer begins, the unseasonal sweltering days with little rain stress perennial vines like clematis. Its roots flourish with supplemental soil watering and mulch to slow moisture … 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
Grow Sunflowers in Containers
Sunflowers and the sunny outdoors in summer go together. Sunflowers are easy to grow when direct seeded into flowerbeds. Seed catalogs advertise some sunflowers as having features for growing in containers. Plant them after the danger of frost is past. With 6-8 hours of sunlight a day, even the tallest sunflowers will mature, bloom, and … Continue reading
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