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My Northern Garden

Small Batch Composting: Assembly Required

How to

In my prior garden, I had the room and the setting to take a relaxed attitude toward composting. I built a cage for food and yard waste, tossed things in there and once or twice a year, gave it a turn with the garden fork. It took a couple of years, but I had nice compost. In my new, urban…
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Book Review: Beyond Rosemary, Basil and Thyme

Books/Writing

There are many reasons to grow herbs and many herbs to grow. But most gardeners confine themselves to just a few favorites: basil, mint, chives, rosemary, oregano and thyme. In her book Beyond Rosemary, Basil and Thyme: Unusual, Interesting and Uncommon Herbs to Enjoy, Minnesota author Theresa Mieseler encourages gardeners to expand their herb knowledge and adventurousness. Mieseler owned Shady…
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frank lloyd wright esplanade

Garden Ideas from Frank Lloyd Wright

How to

A recent winter escape to Florida introduced me to Frank Lloyd Wright’s last and largest design project, one that speaks to gardeners as well as architecture fans. In the late 1930s, Ludd M. Spivey, president of Florida Southern College decided he wanted to transform the struggling college of 300 students into the “college of tomorrow.” It was a big dream…
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native plant garden

Lessons from a Native Plant Revolutionary

Plants

“What is going on here?” How many times have you asked yourself that question, while facing a dead plant, a diseased one or one that is spreading wildly where you don’t want it? It’s the right question, according to Larry Weaner, author of Garden Revolution: How Our Landscapes Can Be a Source of Environmental Change (Timber Press, 2016) who spoke…
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no snow in January

This is Not a Perfect Winter for Plants

Climate

As we brace ourselves for the second snowstorm of the week on top of last week’s record-setting cold, I’ve been wondering about how my plants (especially two newly planted trees) will do during the winter of 2018-2019. This has not been the perfect winter for plants — not even close. As an experienced gardener once told me, the perfect winter…
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Grow it, Minnesota Podcast

Now Available!

My Northern Garden book

mynortherngarden_mary

What’s a northern gardener to do all winter? In What’s a northern gardener to do all winter? In these pandemic times, I’ve been having fun making quilts. Small, easy, no stress quilts. And, these garden themed fabrics on discount through Etsy were irresistible. 

I’m a beginner quilter and learned the craft through YouTube! (My favorite tutorials are the scrap buster quilts from @justgetitdonequilts) This fabric bundle included 21 different half yard prints, so I’ll probably have fabric left over for next winter too. 

How are you keeping sane/busy this winter? 
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#gardenlife #gardenfabric #modafabric #offseason #beginnerquilter #winter #minnesotawinter #minnesota
Sometimes amaryllis are just so extra—like extra Sometimes amaryllis are just so extra—like extra large! What I really like about this one (it’s called Magic Green) is that the blooms are just right. Showy but not excessive. So far, the color is more cream than green though there is a pale green undertone. Beautiful variety! 

And, for those who may notice those tell-tale yellow strips in the pots—yes, I am having an ongoing fungus gnat issue. Not out of control, but definitely irritating. 

How’s your indoor garden 🪴 growing? 
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#amaryllis #amaryllisflower #magicgreenamaryllis #indoorplants #bulbs #wintergarden #indoorgarden #houseplants #topview #mngarden #mngardening #bloomingbulbs
We’re still a few weeks away from seed starting We’re still a few weeks away from seed starting time, but I’m looking forward to having baby plants in the house. 🌱My conversation with Meg from @seedtofork on the Grow it, Minnesota podcast got me thinking about how I might change my set up this year. I’ve never used heat mats for seed starting since I keep my seedlings in the heated part of the house. But maybe this is the year to try that for peppers and tomatoes? Meg swears by heating mats! 

She also got me thinking about LED lights vs. fluorescent. I’m not inclined to replace lights that are still good, but light technology is changing. A lot to learn! 

Link to the podcast in the bio. Also links to seed starting charts and tips in the show notes at growitminnesota.com. 
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#seedstarting #growyourownfood #startfromseed #gardentipsandtricks #seeds #veggies #vegetablegarden #coldclimategardening #gardenpodcast #mnpodcast #mngardening #minnesota
Succulent Sunday. I bought this trio from the loca Succulent Sunday. I bought this trio from the local Boy Scout troop during the holidays. It came with  snowman decorations and Christmas glitter, but once that came off it has a subtle charm. Low maintenance too!
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#succulents #succulentsofinstagram #succulentdish #houseplants #januarygarden #echiveria #mynortherngarden
Wondering about what garden zone you are in or wha Wondering about what garden zone you are in or what first and last frost dates mean for your vegetable garden? Here’s the zone info for Minnesota and Midwest gardeners. 

My latest blog post on MyNorthernGarden.com has the basics on zones and frost dates. (Link in bio.) Knowing a few simple things about your climate is a key to success in the garden. 

With the warm temps we have had this winter, it feels like we are gardening in about zone 6, but never fear, it will get cold again. Listening to the weather the other night, I was reminded that in early January of 2019, it hit 47 (!) in the Twin Cities. On January 29 that year, I recorded the coldest temp I’ve ever seen in my garden—minus 23. 🥶🥶🥶 
 If you haven’t listened to it yet, check out the latest episode of Grow it, Minnesota to find out how to beat the cold with hoops, cold frames and more. Link to that in bio, too. Stay warm! 
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#garden #coldclimategardening #gardenzones #zone3garden #zone4garden #itscoldouthere #gardenfacts #minnesota #minnesotaweather #minnesotagardens #minnesotapodcasts #growingundercover
Super excited about tomorrow’s episode of the Gr Super excited about tomorrow’s episode of the Grow it, Minnesota podcast. My guest is Niki Jabbour to talk about cold frames, mini hoops, poly tunnels and her new book, Growing Under Cover. The book is packed with information for northern gardeners who want to stretch our short growing season. The episode goes live tomorrow morning and you can subscribe in Apple, Google, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. 
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#vegetables #growyourown #growtourownfood #storeypublishing #extendtheseason #greenhouses #hoophouse #coldframe #polytunnel #growitmn #gardenpodcast #minnesota #minnesotapodcast
Top nine images from 2020! A bit surprised my tool Top nine images from 2020! A bit surprised my tools made it into the list 🤔 but the rest are plants I love. I’m looking forward to more gardening friends and fun in 2021. Happy New Year! 🎈 
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#goodbye2020 #happynewyear #gardeninglife #gardeninspo #gardenlife #gardenlove #mynortherngarden #northerngardener #mngarden #mngardening #minnesota #stpaulgarden #coldclimategardening #mnhort #gardentools
Yea! Look what came in today’s mail. The latest Yea! Look what came in today’s mail. The latest Northern Gardener is out with lots of great garden advice from @renegade_gardener @kopurdy @gbrownhudson (cover photo by Gail) and more. Just the thing for a long winter weekend. 
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#northerngardener #coldclimategardening #gardenmagazine #magnoliascale #lavender #garden #mnhort #mnhorticulturalsociety
I was listening to the @plantramapod podcast on my I was listening to the @plantramapod podcast on my walk and the hosts were waxing poetic about wax plant, aka Hoya. I could not agree more! It is a great house plant, and the first one I had success with. My two plants are offspring of a Hoya that my grandmother had, which was passed to my mom and now me. The original plant 🪴 was planted at least 60 years ago! Hoya are long lived, don’t need much watering or fuss and do well in many sun situations even in our dry Minnesota homes. 

My plants have bloomed in the past but not since we’ve been in our current house. Maybe 2021 will be the lucky year. Anyone have tips for getting them to bloom? 
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#hoya #hoyacarnosa #houseplantsofmsp #houseplantsofinstagram #houseplants #gardenpodcasts #gardeninfo #indoorgarden
#garden #mygarden #mynortherngarden #gardeninspo
#mngardening #minnesota #mnhort
#gardeninglife #coldclimategardening
#stpaulgarden #stpaulmn
#Zone4garden #zone4b
We snuck in a walk at Lebanon Hills park this morn We snuck in a walk at Lebanon Hills park this morning before the weather turned. This old tree seemed to be smiling at us. 
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#mntrees #dakotacountyparks #nature #takeawalk
Can’t imagine why my sister thought this would b Can’t imagine why my sister thought this would be a good shirt 👚 for me?  Thanks, @kelzenbergs ! 
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#plantmama #plantsmakepeoplehappy #mynortherngarden #justonemoreplant
Keeping my spirits bright with this book on arrang Keeping my spirits bright with this book on arranging flowers. Inspiring and educational. Now, if I just had an acre or two of land for all the 🌻🌷🌺🌸.
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#gardenbooks #flowerarranging #cutflowers #floretflowerfarm #myreadinglife #flowerfarm #alwayslearning #mynortherngarden #coldclimategardening #bloom
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