with Teri Knight
Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show: Plant diagnostics
What’s wrong with my plant? OH, such a loaded question. UGH, I think the toughest part of gardening is trying to figure out why a plant isn’t thriving! Sometimes it’s easy, like the photo below:
Much happier this year. PS, others know this plant by it’s more common name Coral Bells.
Sometimes, it’s not easy at all and could be a number of ailments at one time. Is it an insect, is it a disease, are … [Continue reading]
Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show: Keep weeds away with ground cover
Weeds a problem? Likely.. They are in my landscape. But ground covers come to the rescue!
Ground covers can mean several things, plants, mulch or something else, which perform in other ways.
Ground covers can also enhance soil health, provide food and habitat for pollinators and other beneficial insects, and reduce soil erosion.
Check out these plant options from the University of Minnesota Extension. It’s a great variety of plants that … [Continue reading]
Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show: Watering tips for your lawn
We’re expecting the heat to really kick in this week. It’s a good time to look over some watering tips for your lawn!
The University of MN Extension has some great ideas to train your lawn to be water-wise. 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 … [Continue reading]
Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show: 2022 – The Year of the Phlox
The National Garden Bureau chose Phlox as the 2022 perennial of the Year! I have creeping phlox and I just planted a pink garden phlox late last year.
I’m excited to watch it this year!
Phlox are one of the classic American perennials and one of the earliest North American natives to enter cultivation. Colors range from white to pink to magenta, purple and blue.
There are roughly 2 … [Continue reading]
Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show: Vegetable garden tips for June
June is an exciting month for vegetable gardeners! We’ve got our warm season plants in the ground and we’ve already been munching on salad greens!
I have two tomatoes, two peppers, some garlic growing from 2021, thai basil, regular basil, oregano and parsley… the sunflowers are starting to grow. Will show this in another post when they’re really showing off!
You can start successive plantings of beets, peas and shorter season crops. Also … [Continue reading]
Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show: Shrubs, shade and dogs
Want shrubs? Got shade? Got dogs? Hmmm, could be an issue. One shrub that won’t work is the Yew…
It’s toxic to nearly everything. The seed inside the berries is toxic to pets and people. This from Science Direct: The taxine alkaloids contained in yew berries, needles or bark are poisonous. The lethal dose for an adult is reported to be 50 g of yew needles. Patients who ingest a lethal dose frequently die … [Continue reading]
Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show: Ants – again
If there’s one creature I really wish would social distance it’s ANTS. They were bad last year and are back in abundance this year.
They’ve lifted some sedums and hollowed out some of my Karl Forester grasses.
I tried the non-toxic diatomaceous earth, a fine white powder that sticks to their bodies and dries them out. It killed some and sent the rest of them fleeing. No suitcases necessary, they just scurried down a … [Continue reading]
Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show: Audible gardens – for the birds
With the exception of hummingbirds, most of us plant gardens for beauty, fragrance and taste, not thinking too much about songbirds.
Birds sing for 2 reasons, for territory and for mating. Native plants attract native insects which native birds eat. Seed eaters tend to go for native grasses and flower heads.
Follow this LINK for the bigger picture from the UofMN. And more on a native plant list HERE. These lists … [Continue reading]
Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show: Ode to Creeping Charlie
Creeping Charlie ever present in our lawns will be, blooming purple flowers, oh so pretty to me.
Ode to the weed that creepingly reseeds with stem and rhizome. Not content to stay in place, Creeping Charlie, sets a pace to cross your lawn, it’s a race.
Embrace the creeper or let loose on the leaper?
Creeping Charlie really doesn’t spread as quickly as, say the dandelion, but it is annoying to those with lovely … [Continue reading]
Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show: Perennial supports
We may have gotten a late start but we gardeners are up to the challenge! And so are our perennials. Most of them are a hardy bunch, however some do need support from time to time, especially in windy locations. Today’s ‘Bite is about options. PS, these work for annuals too!
Stakes are good for tall perennials like Hollyhock, Foxglove and delphiniums. I’ve used bamboo stakes and artwork too!
Place your supports in the ground at … [Continue reading]
