November to-do’s


Thu. Nov. 1, 2018

Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show:  November to-do’s

Got fruit trees?  Got rotten fruit debris?  Might want to clean that up!

Oftentimes, that debris is a hiding spot for disease that overwinters and then presents itself next season.  I also cut back any perennials with slimy foliage like hosta and heuchera, for instance.

Again, those leaves can harbor spores of fungi that can be rejuvenated in the Spring and start a disease cycle all over again.

If you have a paniculata hydrangea such as  … [Continue reading]

Halloween and tradition


Wed. Oct. 31, 2018

Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show;  Halloween and tradition

There are differing opinions as to the origin of the celebration of Halloween.  For my purpose, I’m going with the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain (pronounced Sow in).  These people celebrated the new year on November 1st as the end of summer and harvest and the beginning of the dark, cold winter.

Celts believed that on the night before the new year, the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead became blurred.  … [Continue reading]

Nature’s nocturnal mischiefs


Tue. Oct. 30, 2018

Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show:  Nature’s nocturnal mischiefs

When I lived out east, the night before Halloween was called “Mischief Night”, the night the older kids went out and soaped windows, tee peed trees and got into trouble!  Halloween lore from 1970 to 2000…..

What creatures create nighttime mischief in our backyards?

The top prankster has got to be that cute little bandit, the Raccoon!  From tossing our garbage to making their home in our uncapped chimneys, they are a nuisance to  … [Continue reading]

Orchid love – indoors and out


Mon. Oct. 29, 2018

Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show:  Orchid love – indoors and out

When I say orchid, what’s your first thought?  Most likely it’s those gorgeous delicates you see on sale everywhere from grocery stores to gas stations, and, of course, in local flower shops.

However, there are some natives too!  Yes, natives in Wisconsin and Minnesota.  In fact, the Showy Lady’s Slipper is Minnesota’s State Flower. Found living in open fens, bogs, swamps, and damp woods where there is an abundance of natural light,  … [Continue reading]

Fall journaling


Fri. Oct. 26, 2018

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

Now before you get all worked up about another “chore”…. there are many reasons to journal the seasons…

  • For those times you can’t remember WHAT variety of tomato worked really well
  • For those plants that are beautiful but seemed to be plagued with disease every year, can you say “monarda” (at least some cultivars are NOT resistant to mildew
  • For those wonderful annual combinations you loved in your containers and swore you would remember what they
 … [Continue reading]

Tool attention


Thu. Oct. 25, 2018

Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show:  Tool attention

As a cold wind blows… it’s time to turn to our garden tools.  They’ve likely had a workout this year between gardening and storm clean up!  They could use a little TLC…

Every year I intend on putting neon tape on my tools so I can spot them when I get distracted to take a phone call or wander off to another project and nearly every year I still manage to lose a tool or two  … [Continue reading]

Fall this&that – more garden to-do’s


Wed. Oct. 24, 2018

Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show: Fall this&that

There are still some sales going on at garden centers.  If you find a must-have, go ahead and buy it but be sure to give it extra TLC.  That means adding organic matter to the soil and digging a wide enough area to spread those roots out into soft soil.  Water well up until the soil freezes, sometime in December.  THEN add about 3 inches of mulch.

-Tough perennials such as monarda, hosta and sedum  … [Continue reading]

Grandma’s plant – Episcia cupreata


Tue. Oct. 23, 2018

Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show:  Grandma’s plant – Episcia cupreata

At my Uncle’s funeral, he was 94 and lived a good long life, my cousin brought my sister and I cuttings from my Grandma’s plant… a plant my cousin had for 37 years and who knows how long Grandma had it!  She died in 1998.

I don’t know the name of the cultivar but Nancy sent me a picture of her recent cutting and some of the leaves are as big as her  … [Continue reading]

Canna Care


Mon. Oct. 22, 2018

Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show:  Canna care

Cannas are those gorgeous plants that look like they should be in the tropics.  They bloom late in the summer and have these marvelous leaves that make you think of being fanned in a cabana and eating grapes… or maybe that’s just me!

Anyway, for those of us in cold climates, these plants come from bulbs that do not tolerate our temperatures.  Each Spring they’re planted and each Fall, you dig them up… That sounds like  … [Continue reading]

Howling Fall displays


Fri. Oct. 19, 2018

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

GBTK 10-19-18

Some folks grow gourds or specialty squash for howlingly cool Halloween or Harvest displays.  Or those monster pumpkins that, literally, weigh a ton!

Well, maybe not that many of us have room for that, but there are those who grow some unique varieties.   Head to your local farmers markets!!  

If you grew corn this year you have a great tall accent for your decor, cut the stalks and tie them to bamboo  … [Continue reading]