A sliver of Minnesota is officially in USDA Zone 5, according to the new Minnesota hardiness zone map released today by the USDA, the first update to the map since 1990. Beyond that corner of Jackson and Martin Counties going officially zone 5 (a place where the lowest winter temperatures don’t sink below -20 degrees F — like say, Chicago),…
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A Gardener’s Reading, 25 of 30 By Cassandra Danz (Three Rivers Press, 1993) Mrs. Greenthumbs: How I Turned a Boring Yard into A Glorious Garden and How You Can, Too is a march through the gardening year with a hilarious, opinionated guide: Cassandra Danz. I was sorry to read elsewhere that Danz died in 2002, but she left behind two…
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A Gardener’s Reading, 24 of 30 By Gayla Trail (Fireside, 2005) I can’t believe (well, yes I can) that my 30 book reviews planned for the holiday season stopped at 23. Life and laziness intervened, but I’m back at it this week with some new and old books, including You Grow Girl, and, with any luck, we’ll hit 30 by…
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I’m not sure which is more disconcerting–that I spent 15 minutes outside today wearing only a cardigan and was comfortable doing it, or that I found an unusual number of signs of life in the garden. Just a reminder: It’s Minnesota and it’s January. Yet, today when I pulled aside some leaves I found this Salvia sending up several new…
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A Gardener’s Reading, 23 of 30 Like many northern gardeners, I’ve battled critters pretty much as long as I’ve gardened. At my old house, the issue was raccoons, who had a cozy home in the storm sewer under our street. At my current house, we’ve dealt with mice, pocket gophers, and most recently moles and beavers. Unlike many northern gardeners,…
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