with Teri Knight
Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show: Bird love in Winter
Wow, I hope you are surviving our roller coaster of cold arctic air! As I write this, the temperature is 6 below zero but tomorrow is supposed to be 30 above. And then the deep freeze comes again.
How on Earth do our wild birds stay warm? Ruffling their feathers is number one. Most of our birds look twice as chubby in winter as in summer due to fluffing their feathers to provide insulation. … [Continue reading]
Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show: A new Prairie Grass for 2022
I’ve been chatting up Prairie Grass and today I introduce a new cultivar for 2022! Developed by the University of Minnesota Department of Horticulture, ‘Golden Sunset’ Yellow Prairie grass is the 2nd grass coming out of the U of MN’s Mary Meyer!
Sorghastrum nutans is the Latin name for this type of grass, common names include Indian Grass and Yellow Prairie grass. While new to the market, it takes decades of … [Continue reading]
Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show: Plant catalog terms – another language
I’ve talked about cuddling up with your plant catalogs but to some, the terms used could sound like a foreign language!
If you’re looking up lettuce and see the term “slow to bolt” – that’s a good thing. It means that your lettuce won’t flower early. Lettuce is best harvested and eaten BEFORE it flowers. Once that process begins, the lettuce leaves can be bitter. I would suggest trying a mesclun mix. … [Continue reading]
Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show: Stretching your zone with a gorgeous grass
I talked about microclimates on Tuesday. This zone 5 grass is one you might consider in YOUR microclimate. Hakonechloa macra ‘Aureola’ is a lovely grass for shade.
It’s often used in Japanese gardens, where it originated. Variegated but nearly all yellow, the leaf blades have narrow green stripes, mostly near the margins. The leaves cascade, arching in the same direction. Makes it look a bit like a golden waterfall.
It would … [Continue reading]
Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show: NGB Bulb of the Year 2022
Each year the National Garden Bureau chooses a bulb, an annual, a houseplant, a shrub, an edible and a perennial of the year. Plants are chosen because they are popular, easy-to-grow, widely adaptable, genetically diverse, and versatile.
For 2022, they chose Gladiolus for the bulb of the year. Glads are as American as apple pie! They are, however, actually native to Africa and other arid regions.
For those of us in cold … [Continue reading]
Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show: Nativars
Reading my favorite magazine, Northern Gardener, I came across an article titled ‘Nativars’ by the Editor, and a friend of mine, Mary Schier. These are plants which are cultivars of our native plants. There are a LOT of them.
Think coneflowers alone and you’ll think of plenty from that native purple one.
The question posed in the article is how much a native plant can be changed and still perform it’s environmental functions like providing food … [Continue reading]
Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show: What is a microclimate?
I mentioned having a microclimate in your landscape last week when I talked about a zone 5 plant. However, what exactly IS a microclimate?
It is a small area that’s different from the rest… makes sense!
The area may be as small as a part of your yard or as large as a city. For instance, in my yard, the west side next to my home is a microclimate due to heat from … [Continue reading]
Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show: Perennial of the Year 2022
The Perennial Plant Association announced their winner for Perennial of the Year 2022. It’s Schizachyrium scoparium and its cultivars. It’s common name is Little Bluestem and there are some real gems.
One in particular for our zones 3 and 4 was created at the University of Minnesota Department of Horticulture by Mary Meyer. ‘Blue Heaven’ grows to 4 ft. tall at maturity.
The foliage is dark blue to burgundy during summer turning purple, … [Continue reading]
Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show: Garden planning
Odds are pretty good you’ve already been getting catalogs in the mail from plant and seed companies.
Here’s to a bigger, bolder, saucier YOU in 2022! HA!
As you peruse those catalogs, it’s also a good time to look over last year’s journal.
As you page through those wish books, jot down some of your favorites and do some research or email me with your questions, tkgardenbite@gmail.com.
Most catalogs paint a glossy picture of the … [Continue reading]
Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show: Epiphany and what to do with the Christmas tree
Today is the official last day of the twelve days of Christmas. It’s the Epiphany, the time when Christians around the world remember the three Wise Men. January 6, according to Merriam-Webster, is observed as a church festival in commemoration of the coming of the Magi as the first manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles or in the Eastern Church in commemoration of the baptism of Christ.
Other … [Continue reading]