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December 31, 2012 · 3 Comments

Favorite Garden Photos of 2012

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The Red Wing Garden Tour featured accordian players. What’s not great about that!
These daylilies were about to open at Lynn Steiner’s home. I like the house in the background.
What an artful way to create a hedge. This was taken on the St. Cloud Garden Tour.

These are my daughters in the gardens at Versailles outside of Paris. That’s the hubby marching ahead of us all.
I love photographing ray flowers.
Another Paris shot, taken by my daughter, of Notre Dame through a rose arbor across the Seine.

Mickey Mouse spuds.
Magnolia about to bloom.
The sun looks so striking on this clematis bloom.

A sea of hydrangea blooms. The shot was taken at the Hudson Garden Tour — a highlight of my summer.
Sedum and roses.
The pot has such great texture, and then there’s that owl.

Texture, texture, texture.
Roses at the MSHS State Fair garden.
I took this in late summer at the gorgeous garden of a Rice County Master Gardener. The little mushrooms add whimsy to the garden.

favorite garden photos of 2012

The pot has such great texture, and then there’s that owl.

Do you ever have that experience downloading photos where you go — wow! — I can’t believe I captured that image?  Garden tours often leave me with that sensation — though it’s more due to the beauty of the gardens than any skill I bring to the party. This year, I visited Monet’s Garden in France, where nearly every picture was lovely. Here are a few other favorites from 2012. Interestingly, several of them were take on the same day — June 23 — when I visited the Hudson Wis. Garden Tour. The light was perfect that day — a little overcast, but bright — and the gardens were gorgeous. What was the favorite photo you took in 2012?

Happy New Year!

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Comments

  1. commonweeder says

    January 7, 2013 at 6:16 pm

    What a lovely tour through your year. Giverny! I guess it would be hard to take a bad photo there. So much of good photography is about light so you got lucky with a whole June day with perfect light. My post today is about light, but I’m going to have to think a lot harder to choose a Favorite photo for 2012. Actually we just printed up photos of family and friends for 2012. When I put the photos in an album it made me think we really had a great year – gardens aside.

  2. commonweeder says

    January 14, 2013 at 6:31 am

    I’ve just visited the on-line digital edition of the Northern Gardener. Fabulous! Easy to navigate, beautiful photos and great information. Congratulations.

  3. Penelope says

    January 21, 2013 at 9:49 pm

    These are wonderful! (I can just hear your voice saying, “And then there’s that owl.”

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New plants. Gear. New zones (yikes!) The trends th New plants. Gear. New zones (yikes!) The trends that are driving what you’ll see at nurseries in 2024 is my topic next Tuesday, Dec. 5, in a webinar hosted by my friends at @mnhort.

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The desert landscape could not be more different t The desert landscape could not be more different than Minnesota’s but so interesting to visit. Here it’s all about texture, size and drama. If you are ever in the Phoenix area, the Desert Botanical Garden is a must-see. 

#gardentravel #thanksgiving #desertgardens #cacti #sonomavalley
What’s your new plant zone? Be sure to check you What’s your new plant zone? Be sure to check your zip code over at planthardiness.ars.usda.gov because there are some portions of the Twin Cities and a whole lot of Minnesota that is still in zone 4 or zone 3. I have more on my blog. Find the link in bio or stories. 
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#hardinesszones #zone5a #zone4b #zone5 #zone5 #mngardening
Lots of zone 5 in MN in this new USDA map. #hard Lots of zone 5 in MN in this new USDA map. 

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RIP, Lola. First photo, 2013, when I was taking he RIP, Lola. First photo, 2013, when I was taking headshots of @resawithoutherspoon and Lola decided to pose, too. Second photo, August 2023, snoozing in the sunroom as an old dog should. She was 15 and spent 13.5 years of her life with us. We will miss you, old girl.
Northern gardeners love their daylilies, and none Northern gardeners love their daylilies, and none more than Wayne and Bonnie Johnson. I had a chance to visit their garden in Alexandria and Wayne shared his 40+ favorite daylilies for the north. Check out the blog post and video over at @mnhort or read the article in the latest issue of Northern Gardener. 📷: Wayne Johnson & me. Link in bio and stories. 

#daylilygarden #mngarden #coldclimateplants #dayliliesofinstagram
Both Christmas and Thanksgiving cactus (Schlumberg Both Christmas and Thanksgiving cactus (Schlumbergera) bloom in response to lengthening periods of darkness. Street lights, lights in the house and other artificial light can interfere with bloom, so move them to a spot where they will get 12 to14 hours of darkness.

As to which is which, it’s in the leaves. The Christmas cactus (Schlumbergera bridgesii) has a rounded tip on its leaves. The Thanksgiving cactus (Schlumbergera truncata) has a pointed tip. The Thanksgiving cactus blooms sooner though I have had mine bloom in November, December and April! 

They are not desert plants but are native to the rainforests of Brazil. Water them when the potting mix is dry to the touch. Fertilize monthly from April to October for best growth and bloom, and let them get slightly pot-bound before even thinking about re-potting.

#Christmascactus #thanksgivingcactus #Schlumbergera #holidayplants #indoorplants #mynortherngarden
Most flowering plants sold in grocery stores and f Most flowering plants sold in grocery stores and florists are like bouquets. They’re beautiful but fade. But some of them can be kept growing in the garden. 

I believe this was a daisy mum (Chrysanthemum x morifolium) which is USDA Zone 5 hardy. It probably would not come back next year in zone 4, but it sure thrived in a container. Plants are forced into bloom to be sold as gifts — and I think this one was even dyed to give the bloom that more pure purple color it has in the before image. But, I love the magenta color of the second flush of blooms.

To get this to rebloom, I removed it from its original pot, cut off the blooms and put it in a larger container on my deck with fresh soil and occasional fertilizer. (A salvia grew in the same pot.) It didn’t start setting buds until October, so I knew it was touch and go on whether it would bloom before frost. I ended up putting the pot in the sunroom so it can finish its bloom and we can enjoy those amazing magenta flowers. 

What’s next? I may take a cutting of the plant to see if it will bloom again next year!
Are you a bonsai person? They’re not easy but I Are you a bonsai person? They’re not easy but I picked up a few tips from the bonsai curator at @longwoodgardens this fall. Link to blog post in bio and stories. #bonsai #gardentips #indoorgarden #mngardener
Why grow mint in a pot? To prevent it from taking Why grow mint in a pot? To prevent it from taking over your garden! Check out the roots one plant produced in one dry season in USDA Zone 4. If this had been in the ground, it would be mint everywhere. #mint #howtogrow #herbgarden #containergardening #mngardening
Rocks over black plastic — the worst. Here I rip Rocks over black plastic — the worst. Here I rip out four hostas by cutting the plastic in order to plant hydrangeas. The roots of the hostas were both above and below the plastic because when you give a plant a tough situation, it’s going to find away. The rocks are part of my HOA’s design aesthetic so I can only work around the edges to make things healthier for the plants around my townhouse. Wish me luck! 

#rockmulch #justsaynotorockmulch #replanting #hydrangeas #provenwinnerscolorchoiceshrubs #letsdancehydrangeas
Too many blooms weighing down your hydrangea? Clip Too many blooms weighing down your hydrangea? Clip a few off for dried arrangements. I follow the method from Laura of @GardenAnswer. Cut the branches at an angle between two nodes and put them in a vase with just 2 inches of water. That’s it! Don’t add more water. Just let them dry in the vase. You can leave them there for winter decor or use them in fall and winter decorating projects. Easy! 

#gardendecor #falldecorating #hydrangeas #FirstEditionsVanillaStrawberryHydrangea #driedflowers #easyproject
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