Ginger is an exotic plant that grows in climates far warmer than we have here in Wisconsin. The good news is that we can grow it in containers either permanently indoors, or outdoors in full sun in summer and moved inside for the winter when night temperatures drop below 50° F. The part the ginger [Continue]
Have you noticed a little blue and red “AAS Winner” logo on some of the flower and vegetable photos in mail order nursery catalogs? Have you wondered what that means and how a particular plant earns that designation? AAS stands for All-American Selection. The AAS designation is like the Good Housekeeping Seal of [Continue]
Longer days and warmer temperatures signal that it’s time to begin serious planning of this year’s garden. Seed catalogs were mailed months ago and the big box stores have seed offerings on prominent display. It’s a good idea to begin with a list of everything you want to plant including seeds, purchased seedlings, and larger [Continue]
What are some good plants for shade gardens? The first answers to that question that come to mind for most people are hostas and ferns, right? There are better answers to the question. Native woodland plants provide beauty as well as ecological services in the form of food and shelter for insects, birds and larger [Continue]
The International Herb Association has chosen hops as its 2018 Herb of the Year. Hops are known for use in beer making, but also serve as pretty ornamental vines that have other uses as well. Hops are a perennial vine with vigorous growth – up to one foot a day! Vines get to 25 [Continue]
The Perennial Plant Association has named Allium ‘Milenium’ its 2018 Perennial Plant of the Year. Like most alliums, ‘Milenium’ grows upright on a stiff stem topped by a perfectly round sphere of tiny flowers called umbels. ‘Milenium’s’ are rose-purple and last for up to four weeks, much longer than many perennial plant flowers. Better [Continue]
Numerous birdseed mixes are sold so humans can help birds survive the winter months. Each is blended for certain target bird population. There are songbird mixes, woodland bird mixes, blends specific to mourning doves or finches, waste-free mixes, and regional blends, as well as single ingredient bags of sunflower seeds, safflower seed and thistle seed. [Continue]
I hate to admit this even to myself, much less make it public, but this year I had physical limitations that changed the way I garden. I slipped on the ice last winter and unknowingly broke my back. It took many months for the pain to present itself, but when it did, oh boy! Gardening [Continue]
I was recently tasked with summarizing the principles of organic gardening on just a half sheet of paper. Given that there have been thousands of books and articles written on the topic, it was a tough assignment. A search of the Winnefox Library system turned up 231 titles! After some thought, I realized that [Continue]
One of the first flowers children learn to draw are tulips. A few curved petals, a stem, and two pointy leaves. There are some beautiful tulips that look just like those simple drawings, but others differ greatly. Some look like peonies or roses or carnations. Others look like no flower you’ve seen before. ‘Queensland’ is [Continue]