When do volunteer plants go from being a welcome volunteer in the garden to a dreaded weed? I remember the moment — early in my gardening life — when I discovered that if you left tomato fruits in the garden over winter, they might grow the next year. Amazement! Thrill! Whether the tomato grew to produce the same tomatoes it…
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The ‘Bali’ cherry tree in our front yard is weighed down with hundreds of big, sour cherries. Birds love these cherries even more than people do, so some kind of cherry tree protection is necessary if I want any cherry pie this summer. As I discovered the first couple of years we had the tree, the birds will clean it…
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Despite the rain outside, today is a day for celebrating, because my Martagon lilies are blooming! Martagons are a hardy lily that enjoys a shady location, the perfect complement to hostas and other shade-loving plants. I was introduced to these wonderful lilies by Frans Officer, a member of the North Star Lily Society and a full-blown martagon lily fanatic. Frans…
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We missed the April showers, but we got a few in May, and now we have the flowers that bloom in May to prove it. I just love this tree peony, which is in its third season in my yard. It may be located in a spot that is just a bit too shady, but the blooms are a lovely…
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Last night, I was one of about 30 people attending a talk by Northern Gardener writer Eric Johnson at the Northfield Public Library on creating a big impact with a small garden. Eric gardens on a standard city lot in Minneapolis, yet he manages to have a prairie area, a water garden, a shade garden, a vegetable garden, and many…
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