For a visual reminder of why soil matters so much to the health and vigor of plants, see the two photos below. These are identical sunflower plants. I planted them on the same day late in the spring. The plants are located less than 20 feet apart in identical full-sun exposure. Why are some of the sunflowers only waist-high, while…
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In clothing and home decor, I avoid white due to my unfortunate tendency to spill coffee. But in the garden, judicious use of white in blooms, accessories and even foliage is striking and it often gives a focal point to the garden. That’s one of the best ways to use white in the garden. Recently, I’ve been enjoying several white…
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Saturday I had a chance to attend part of the Minnesota Master Gardener Conference at the University of Minnesota’s St. Paul campus. The campus is about a mile north of the St. Anthony Park neighborhood where Minnesota had its first confirmed infestation of emerald ash borer. Two borers recently were discovered in traps on the campus. So it seemed an…
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I planted Yvonne’s Giant Salvia on the recommendation of Donald Mitchell, a speaker at the Rice County Horticulture Day in March. This annual salvia with prolific, bright red flowers is said to be a hummingbird magnet. The original plants seem to have been a natural variation on salvia and they often reach 5 feet tall. Mine have barely hit 3…
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Emerald Ash Borer has been a threat to Minnesota homeowners and our forests since about 2007. While lots of photos of Emerald Ash Borers are on the internet, many people do not know how to identify an ash tree and may not even know that they have an ash in their yard. (Odds are, you do — these are very…
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