A bright spot with 2020 AAS winners


Thu. Sep. 19, 2019

Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show:  A bright spot with 2020 AAS winners

With that w-word coming out of my mouth yesterday, winter… I thought I’d bring you something to look forward to in 2020!

As I’ve talked about renovating my gardens, I mentioned my Blackeyed Susans, which are currently monsters! Gorgeous, but large and in charge.

Coming in 2020 is a new Rudbeckia, the latin name for blackeyed susans. It’s called ‘American Gold Rush’. Growing to just 2 ft tall, it’s narrow  … [Continue reading]

Too early to prepare your plants for Winter? Nope


Wed. Sep. 18, 2019

Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show: Too early to prepare your plants for Winter? Nope!

I know… we haven’t even had the Autumnal Equinox, so what the heck am I doing asking you THAT question? Well… once again my favorite magazine, Northern Gardener, comes out with a timely reminder.

The best thing you can do to prepare your evergreens, newly planted shrubs and trees and any borderline zone-friendly plants is to water them consistently from now until the ground freezes.

Trees can use  … [Continue reading]

Soil potpourri, organic matters!


Fri. Sep. 13, 2019

Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show: Soil potpourri, organic matters!

There’s still harvesting to do, perennial, tree, shrub and bulb planting; but this is also a good time to start preparing a new garden bed.  Maybe you want to expand your vegetable garden or start a new perennial bed, add some shrubs.   Starting a new garden bed requires some prep work.  You need to kill the existing grass and weeds.  Chemicals are an option but for those of us who would rather not use  … [Continue reading]

Fall allergies and monarchs


Thu. Sep. 12, 2019

Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show: Fall allergies and monarchs

Goldenrod sometimes gets a bad rap because it blooms the same time as ragweed and some people thing IT’S the problem…  more likely it’s ragweed that’s causing allergy symptoms.     Ragweed – WI         Ragweed – MN  

I looked up a chenopod and, the clearest explanation would be that it’s a type of weed like amaranth, lambs quarters and pigweed. Pollen counts are a bit higher in Minnesota and Wisconsin right now.

 We’ve got some late  … [Continue reading]

Falling into Fall gardening


Wed. Sep. 11, 2019

Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show: Falling into Fall gardening

It’s a week of changes as the kids are back in school, the air has turned a bit crisper and our summer flowers are spent. I’ve got a maple tree that’s already mostly turned – however it IS a stressed tree that I’ll be losing next year, and that adds to the quick change.

My container plantings that looked so wonderful are now kinda wilting, the petunias are pooped and the other annuals needed  … [Continue reading]

Fence garden renovation


Tue. Sep. 10, 2019

Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show: Fence garden renovation

So, as I was saying… yesterday, in the middle of my fence garden renovations, I tried to pawn off some daylilies to my friend who so graciously came over on Labor Day weekend and labored in my gardens with me!

It’s not that I dislike lilies, it’s just that they multiply so much and then crowd out other plants I want highlighted.

 My blackeyed susans are spectacular, as is my baptisia.. Unfortunately they’re also spectacularly  … [Continue reading]

Gardens aren’t static


Mon. Sep. 9, 2019

Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show: Gardens aren’t static

Last weekend was the Labor Day holiday and a good friend of mine came over to help me do some garden chores. Oh, the joy of sharing hard work and laughs with good friends!

We dug into my perennial gardens. After 5 years, some plant choices I wasn’t completely pleased about and an ant farm that lifted some plants out of the ground, it was time to create some change.

I realized that’s not something  … [Continue reading]

Fall foliage


Fri. Sep. 6, 2019

Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show: Fall foliage

Weather plays a large role in what our Fall colors look like.  In particular, we get more vibrant reds when we have warm, sunny autumn days and cool nights.  Yellows and oranges tend to stay pretty consistent from year to year but all colors will be duller if we have a warm wet period during the Fall.  

My current situation…

Immediately to the other side of my sidewalk is this red maple that hasn’t turned at  … [Continue reading]

Fall plant picks – assorted varieties


Thu. Sep. 5, 2019

Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show: Fall plant picks – assorted varieties

As we work our way into Fall there are some plants that we all associate with that time of year.  I talked about some Fall picks last week, in particular the MUM!  But there are more!

But what about perennials. Smooth Blue Aster is a true native plant with sturdy growth habit of just 3 feet tall.  The foliage is a waxy blue-gray that stays neat and clean all season long. This  … [Continue reading]

Uncle Charlie plant aka sedum ‘Autumn Joy’


Wed. Sep. 4, 2019

Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show: Uncle Charlie plant aka sedum ‘Autumn Joy’

My sister and I called sedum ‘Autumn Joy’, “Uncle Charlie plant” for years.  DECADES ago, he gave my mom a few slices of his ‘Autumn Joy’ sedum, who gave my sister some, who gave me some and to this day, some of them still survive in other peoples landscapes.  Remnants of “Uncle Charlie Plant” are scattered from northern Illinois to northern Minnesota!  I just moved more!

When I moved into my  … [Continue reading]