What holiday is your cactus blooming in?


Wed. Nov. 16, 2022

Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show/podcast: What holiday is your cactus blooming in?

I hate to disappoint you but your “Christmas” cactus is not an overachiever…

 I changed my cover photo on my personal Facebook page and got a lot of comments so I thought it was time to revisit this subject. 

Every year people are mixed up on what kind of flowering cactus they have. If yours is blooming now, like mine is, it’s a Thanksgiving cactus.

It’s not just because that’s the  … [Continue reading]

UMN 2022 Annual flower trial results


Tue. Nov. 15, 2022

Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show/podcast: UMN 2022 annual flower trial results

Yesterday was about AAS Landscape Design winners, today I’m sharing the results of the University of Minnesota Extensions Annual flower trials!

With November being the “cloudiest” month, I wanted to brighten it up with pretty flowers.

The U’s Horticulture Display Garden is in Morris, Mn. which is located in Zone 4. Each year, the Top Ten Performing Annuals are selected from the hundreds of cultivars trialed.

Annual flowers are evaluated on

 … [Continue reading]

AAS Landscape Design winners 2022


Mon. Nov. 14, 2022

Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show/podcast: AAS Landscape Design winners 2022

 I have often talked about All-America Selections. They are an independent non-profit organization that tests new, never-before-sold varieties of edibles, annuals and perennials for the home gardener.

AAS also has a landscape design challenge each year for their Display Gardens around the country. This year’s theme was Games in the Garden.

For the challenge, AAS provides the gardens with recent AAS Winner seeds and plants. The gardens have the option to  … [Continue reading]

Veterans Day & the healing properties of nature


Fri. Nov. 11, 2022

Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show/podcast: Veterans Day & the healing properties of nature

Today is Veterans Day aka Armistice Day. World War I – known at the time as “The Great War” – officially ended when the Treaty of Versailles was signed on June 28, 1919, in the Palace of Versailles outside the town of Versailles, France. However, fighting ceased seven months earlier when an armistice, or temporary cessation of hostilities, between the Allied nations and Germany went into effect on the  … [Continue reading]

Amaryllis – the Art & Soul of winter


Thu. Nov. 10, 2022

Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show/podcast: Amaryllis – the Art & Soul of winter

Amaryllis, the “art and soul of winter”. I just came across that line from a company out of Connecticut and thought it was pretty appropriate!

Amaryllis bulbs are usually in garden centers in early October and online even earlier. Some varieties are already sold out, but there’s still time!

Amaryllis are synonymous with the holidays as we watch their growth and those incredible blooms!

Bulbs take 4 to 6 weeks  … [Continue reading]

Quit bugging me! Boxelders and Asian lady beetles


Wed. Nov. 9, 2022

Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show/podcast: Quit bugging me! Boxelders and Asian lady beetles

The swarming of Boxelder bugs on our homes and garages means they’re still looking for a cozy place to spend the winter.

Annoying, most definitely. Harmful, nope. Then again, who wants to walk into a swarm of bugs? 

While some bugs bury themselves in leaf debris, which is much more preferable than our homes, these two annoyances seek out any opportunity to come indoors.

You can bet there are plenty  … [Continue reading]

Moving indoors and thinking houseplants


Tue. Nov. 8, 2022

Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show/podcast: Moving indoors and thinking houseplants

Winter approaches as daylight savings time just ended Sunday. So we get dark an hour earlier. To me that just means I have one less hour of getting things done since it feels like it’s time to go to bed an hour earlier also! It also means that many of us are putting more focus on our indoor plants.

Greenery during winter is proven to lift spirits. And that’s not all, studies have

 … [Continue reading]

The Dropmore Scarlet Saga


Mon. Nov. 7, 2022

Click below to lsiten to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show/podcast: The Dropmore Scarlet Saga

Last weekend I culled my out of control honeysuckle vine ‘Dropmore Scarlet’.

Planted in 2014, this vine was a haven to hummingbirds but hid my view after all these years. Gorgeous but overgrown and the plant looked to be weakening.

Ideally Honeysuckle vine ‘Dropmore Scarlet’ will live up to 20 years but underneath, even after trimming it back multiple times, it just got to be more than what I want for that space. 

I  … [Continue reading]

Brighten up the winter landscape


Fri. Nov. 4, 2022

Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show/podcast: Brighten up the winter landscape

If your winter landscape just feels brown and bleak, you might consider adding some color. While it’s too late to plant for many of those in my listening area, keep these options on your wish list this winter.

Evergreens certainly come to mind but I’m thinking more broadly.

Red-twigged dogwood comes to mind right away.

I saw a winterberry holly from Proven Winners that would definitely put a smile on your face! ‘Berry  … [Continue reading]

Preparing your trees and evergreens for winter


Thu. Nov. 3, 2022

Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show/podcast: Preparing your trees and evergreens for winter

The blend of winter sun, wind, temperature fluctuations, snow and ice can make for a deadly combo for some of our trees and shrubs. 

And there’s critter crunching too. Wildlife needing sustenance during winter may gnaw on your nannyberry and other woody plants, especially young plantings under 3 years old. Tree wraps and guards can help substantially with that AND are a pretty decent guarantee against sunscald.

Sunscald happens when the  … [Continue reading]