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…
Read More
My vegetable garden is like a jungle these days, but it’s yielding some wonderful produce, including parts of this delicious two-bean summer salad I made recently. I had some leftover green beans and a tomato from the Northfield Farmers’ Market and a half a Vidalia onion from Just Food Co-op. From my garden, I picked a pile of the delicate…
Read More
Earlier this week, the cherries on my ‘Bali’ cherry tree looked like rubies; they were shiny, lush, bright red and definitely ready for picking—time for cherry pie. So after removing the layers of netting that kept the birds off the tree, I got to work picking. When positively ripe, ‘Bali’ cherries come off easily, and I pitted most of the…
Read More
I like to plant flowers that attract wildlife to the yard: bees, birds, butterflies. Seeing butterflies dance on top of a coneflower or watching a bird as it works diligently to remove a seed from a dried sunflower increases my appreciation for nature and — not to sound too sappy — life itself. So, discovering a plant that attracts wildlife…
Read More
You would hardly call our lovable snout house a cottage, but that doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy cottage plants. Right now, I am lovin’ this hollyhock. Hollyhocks (Alcea rosea) are biennials, which means it takes two years for the plant to complete its lifecycle. I bought this plant at the Dakota County Master Gardener plant sale. Last year, it was…
Read More