Vegetables for part shade


Tue. Feb. 18, 2020

Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show: Vegetables for part shade

Yes, it’s possible to grow some vegetables in part shade! Wahoo!  Certainly warm season vegetables like tomatoes, peppers and melons need full sun (8 hours of direct sunlight), there are plenty of delicious options for less sun!

Jeff Gillman (former U of M Hort Professor and currently Director of the UNC Charlotte Botanical Gardens in Charlotte North Carolina) points them out in his book ‘Decoding Gardening Advice’.

Gillman says these vegetables/herbs need as little  … [Continue reading]

Prepping and pruning in late Winter


Mon. Feb. 17, 2020

Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show: Prepping and pruning in late Winter

Late Winter is a good time to prune trees and shrubs… if you can get at them!

Timing is everything! Do NOT prune any spring blooming shrubs now, however, it IS a good time to prune any summer or fall flowering shrubs. First rule of pruning – THINK TWICE, PRUNE SECOND

I have a lot of icicles from my front porch… the lilac and grasses take the attack of the ice

Dogwoods,  … [Continue reading]

Valentine’s Day history


Fri. Feb. 14, 2020

Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show: Valentine’s Day history

Uh… today is Valentine’s Day!  Just a reminder in case you would like to make an impression on a loved one… today would be a good day for that!

The history of Valentine’s Day is a bit convoluted as there are plenty of versions!

There were 3 Christian martyrs all named Valentine and in 500 AD, Pope Gelasius created St. Valentines Day to commemorate the martyrs.  At that time there was no romantic meaning to  … [Continue reading]

The message of roses and more


Thu. Feb. 13, 2020

Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show: The message of roses and more

While there are plenty of gorgeous flowers, most choose to give their Sweetheart roses  for Valentine’s Day.  There are messages in the COLOR you choose!

Red is the most popular color and means “I love you”.  Simple and sweet. But the other colors… well, let’s check them out!

  • Coral represents desire
  • Lavender means enchantment.  This is a good choice for a newer relationship or love at first sight!
  • Pink stands for perfect
 … [Continue reading]

Foliage plants with flare


Wed. Feb. 12, 2020

Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show:  Foliage plants with flare

Under layers of winter, I’m thinking of my gardens. 

As I do, I ask you, have you ever looked out at your garden in the waning days between Spring and Summer, Summer and Fall and thought, man, my garden looks pooped?

It’s a great time to consider adding foliage plants to your landscape! Sipping on a hot beverage and perusing catalogs or the internet.

These foliage plants are workhorses of a sort, not only  … [Continue reading]

Buckthorn, bunnies and blue pee?


Tue. Feb. 11, 2020

Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show: Buckthorn, bunnies and blue pee?

From 2004 to 2009, I lived on 5 acres in Lakeville, MN.  While wandering through our woods, I discovered smurf blue stains in the snow!

Since the property had been deigned a “farm dump”, we lovingly cleaned it up.

But after spotting that blue stain, we thought “oh no, there’s a bubblin’ crude but it ain’t oil!  What the heck is it?”. It’s not like we went out there to spit out our  … [Continue reading]

Size does matter – when planning your garden


Mon. Feb. 10, 2020

Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show:  Size does matter – when planning your garden

Urbanites have joined suburbanites who joined those with some acreage, into the vegetable growing trend.  From urban apartment dwellers to folks moving out to hobby farms to community gardens. That’s great but I still want folks to consider SIZE.

 My intent is to help you make the best choices so you can fully enjoy your veggie garden.  What I don’t want to see happen is people becoming overwhelmed and losing  … [Continue reading]

More 2020 plants


Fri. Feb. 7, 2020

Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show: More 2020 plants

It never ceases to amaze me how plant breeders come up with some amazing choices. Feast your eyes on these beauties!

 SunSeekers® Salmon Coneflower was introduced by Breck flowers and is hardy to zone 3.  

Its semidouble flowers start as a lovely shade of salmon-pink with some soft yellow petals in the centre. As the aromatic blooms mature, their salmon-pink petals become pale pink and large, dark crimson cones form. Pollinators eat this flower’s  … [Continue reading]

Using the color wheel in garden design


Thu. Feb. 6, 2020

Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show: Using the color wheel in garden design

Winter’s always a good time to make plans for your garden.  Yesterday I shared pre-planned garden designs, today I’ll talk about using the color wheel to help you choose colors that compliment!

Having a mishmash of color is certainly fine if it doesn’t give you visual overload, however, mixing too many colors doesn’t allow our eyes to gaze more thoroughly, but instead, can deliver a dizzying sight that isn’t necessarily calming. … [Continue reading]

Pre-planned gardens


Wed. Feb. 5, 2020

Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show: Pre-planned gardens

If you’re new to gardening or if you don’t think you have an eye for garden planning, or you just don’t want to have to think about it too much; there are a LOT of tools out there to help you.   Garden Puzzle

From front yards to vegetable gardens to patios and more. They offer various price options.

When planning your perennial garden, keep in mind the hardiness zone you live in as some of these  … [Continue reading]