Most gardeners are familiar with ground covers that are the “creepy, crawly” type, – those that hug the ground and form a thick mat on the soil surface. There is another category of ground covers, however, that is just as useful in the landscape and the good thing about this group of plants is that
Tall Perennial Ground Covers
A Summertime “Blizzard”
During the summer months we Prairie gardeners do not like to be reminded of winter – it will come again soon enough! When I exclaim about the beauty of someone’s “Blizzard” at this time of year, I am not even thinking about winter; I am referring to a wonderful flowering shrub that when in bloom
It’s All About Curves
Curves. When I write that word, some of you may think that I am referring to the popular women’s fitness business that has taken up shop in many towns. Others might think that I am a lecherous old man referring to the female form. What I am really going to write about, however, is how
Early July Is The Perfect Time
We don’t often think of July as the time to be digging up our perennials and dividing them. Usually this task is relegated to either the early spring before much new growth has developed, or in the fall after the plants have gone into dormancy. Bearded iris are special, however, in that they should be
Perfect For The Prairies
The campanula plant family is a huge one made up of thousands of different plants, many of which we use in our gardens. Many campanulas are tough and versatile, just the kind of plants Prairie gardeners are looking for to withstand the harsh climate and sometimes benign neglect that our rural gardens must endure. One
Planting For The Future
There are many things that gardeners do which do not reward them with immediate results. As one senior gentleman told me years ago, “We plant trees for the next generation.” Indeed, unless you are substantially younger than I am, any trees you plant will not reach full maturity in your lifetime. It takes a certain
Dwarf Lilacs — Perfect For A Smaller Landscape
In years past there were very few farm sites which were not graced with long rows of lilacs, some left to grow in their natural form and others clipped into neat hedgerows. The untrimmed ones put on a spectacular display of bloom in June and at the same time infused the farmyard with the wonderful
Drying Peony Blooms
I have been interested in the craft of drying flowers for years. Even though I have vowed to give up this hobby because it is so time consuming and involves having a lot of “stuff” around, I cannot seem to give up completely this intriguing pastime. I have, however, found particular “shortcuts” and one of
Names Can Be Misleading
What’s in a name? Well, plenty evidently if you are discussing plants, because common names that we have given to plants over the years may not be accurate at all and can be quite misleading. When someone says to me, “Are you growing geraniums this year?” I suspect that they are referring to those wonderful
Create A Petunia Tree
If you do not want to have an in-ground flower bed or you do not have a suitable place in your yard to put one, you might adopt an idea that I have seen several times in yards and public places in the past few years. For lack of a better name, I call the
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
