Spring is probably the best time to 'prune' plant material in your garden, especially if your garden is a landscape garden.. I am about to give a demonstration for a dear client and friend of mine in her landscape garden Masteripiece installed about four or five years ago. The 'show' will be also attended by her neighbor. I shall have to rush. The vast majority of homeowners nearly everywhere in these parts of the good...
Read More >>"Our" garden world refers to the geography of Midwest USA with a Horticultural Zone of, let's guess, 3.8 to 4.8..........So, then.... What are ground covers in the landscape garden which I grow and have something to write about? Those plants whose forms tend to creep along the garden floor forming horizontal masses usually no higher than two or so feet, are called ground covers. The most popular groundcover in Minnesota regardless of horticultural zone, is...
Read More >>During the evenings of the early part of this week, our Twin Citiy, Minnesota area was hit with night frost lows of 27F, 26F, and 32F, although at my place Wednesday evening's frost of 32F didn't arrive. Instead my landscape garden escaped the third day of damage with a low of 35F. The damage had already been done. The blooms of my 40 year old PJM Rhododendron were on the ground by Tuesday morning. Those...
Read More >>The temperature low last evening was televised locally as 29F. Plant deaths have been on my mind for the past 24 hours with the return of hard frost. Unaware, I discovered that my sprinkler system had turned on at 3AM this morning making most of the grounds appear frozen solid. I had potted about 100 Angelica gigas leftovers from last year's growth now anxious to get into bloom mood for August displays, but they all...
Read More >>And what is a Minnesotan supposed to do when it is April 09, 2012, and it is already May 15th in the landscape garden, and frost is in the forecast for the evening? French lilacs in open sun are about to bloom, redbuds in the city are already opening their flowers, crab apples appear about to open theirs as well and the temperature is expected to drop to 26F tonight. If your tomatoes were already set out...
Read More >>Sunny Schneiderhan, starette landscape gardener beautifying her space in Dinkytown USA, reported active sawflies on a mugho pine last Wednesday. Fortunately, for those of us who live in suburban Twin Cities where our horticultural zone is not yet #5, we usually have a four or five day respite from such attacks than our city brothers and sisters who grow Scot's and mugho pines. Do note and remember that Spring on a sunny South and the Southwest...
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