Attracting butterflies includes larval host plants


Tue. Jul. 2, 2019

Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show: Attracting butterflies includes larval host plants

The milkweed is beginning to flower and the milkweed bugs are taking advantage. The jury is out on  the red long-horned beetles as to whether to kill them, they’re pretty easy to squish this time of year while they’re trying to procreate.

Here’s the scoop, the grubs eat the plant’s roots, on the other hand, it’s not generally enough to kill the plants. 

Milkweed has migrated to my perennial garden, having been  … [Continue reading]

Mosquito eaters aka bats!


Mon. Jul. 1, 2019

Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show:  Mosquito eaters aka bats!

 I get up very early and am on my way to work at about 4:45 in the morning.  It’s about the same time the bats are flying back to their homes after a grand night of feeding.  Let me introduce you to the Little Brown Bat.

I know, some of you have just turned away or are covering your ears saying La La La… but the little brown bat can munch down 1200 mosquitoes  … [Continue reading]

Diagnosing dilemmas


Fri. Jun. 28, 2019

Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show: Diagnosing dilemmas

Why do my leaves lay over?  How come they’re yellow? What are those holes in the leaves? My plant just doesn’t look healthy, what’s wrong?  UGH, I think the toughest part of gardening is trying to figure out why a plant isn’t thriving!

The above hosta and some of it’s pals had this, from just THREE days of hot weather! At first I though it might have been chemical damage because the scorch showed up when  … [Continue reading]

Strawberry season


Thu. Jun. 27, 2019

Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show: Strawberry Season

Oh boy berry picking!  The season is upon us.  Hello Wisconsin!  (yes, a That ’70’s Show reference)  also Minnesota and the Dakotas.  Hang on northern Minnesota, you might be a week behind but soon it’s Strawberry Fields forever… or until July.

The typical strawberry season is two-three weeks long but the length of harvest varies from farm to farm depending on varieties planted, weather, and soil type.

Mild temperatures in the 70s and 80s extend the  … [Continue reading]

Reusing and recycling those plant pots


Tue. Jun. 25, 2019

Click below to listen to my 2 min Garden Bite radio show:   Reusing and recycling those plant pots

I had stacks of pots from plant purchases I made and, I admit, I put them in my recycling bin because I thought that’s where they went.

Then I read an article from another gardener who noted that Home Depot reuses them and then recycles them. ANY pots.

UPDATE 6-26-19 Lowes Home Stores will accept any and all plastic garden pots, including labels, for recycling. The stores also accept nursery trays and  … [Continue reading]

What you see in nature!


Mon. Jun. 24, 2019

I just had to share this awesome photo I took in Lakeville, MN last week. I’ve never seen anything like it. The tail was SO long!  I did a little research and learned it’s a type of wasp.

Giant Ichneumon Wasp – Megarhyssa atrata – turns out it’s pretty widespread but in the woods.  It’s body is bendable!

More information from BugGuide

Tagged:
 … [Continue reading]

Tree talk with Treequality


Mon. Jun. 24, 2019

Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show: Tree talk with Treequality

A couple of week’s ago I was able to enlist the assistance of a high school student to help shoot videos for me. Part one of a 2 part series came out last week with my friend and arborist, Faith Appelquist of Treequality.

First up was a sugar maple that has a large long hole in the middle of it.

Through the city I live in, which is redoing my streets next year,  … [Continue reading]

Garden Bite special edition! It’s tree talk problems


Fri. Jun. 21, 2019

Hey GB lovers….  I have a treat with information from my friend and arborist, Faith Appelquist, of Treequality. In this 2 part series on trees, we discuss an issue with my Sugar maple, pruning a red maple, how to “raise the canopy” on a crabapple, where to cut lilacs and what to do about a Century Oak tree with more issues than I realized!  Take a peek and PLEASE, subscribe to my youtube channel and comment there. Let me know what you think. What subjects you’d like to hear  … [Continue reading]

Summer solstice 2019


Fri. Jun. 21, 2019

Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show:  Summer solstice 2019

It is officially the first day of Summer!  The summer solstice will take place at 10:54 this morning!  

This is the longest day of the year, for some it means the middle of summer, but I would say for most of us in colder climates, it’s more like the beginning of summer!  I’m cool with that! 

I will say, the other morning it was 42 degrees! But a week before we had 3 days of  … [Continue reading]

Watering tips for your lawn or go rogue!


Thu. Jun. 20, 2019

Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show: Watering tips for your lawn or go rogue!

As we march into our Summer, with the solstice tomorrow, let’s talk about watering. The University of MN Extension has some great ideas to train lawn to be water-wise.

They say, water lawns deeply and infrequently to encourage deep rooting. Shallow watering results in root growth in only the top few inches of the soil which means plants will be unable to survive hot dry conditions in mid-summer.

Sounds  … [Continue reading]