Your home outside the city limits.
Let’s face it – most of our flowering shrubs are showy in spring. In order to avoid the lack of color, interest and appeal, incorporation of summer/fall flowering shrubs such as rose of Sharon will infuse color as well as an interesting arching architectural structure to the landscape.
The summer months are great, but they can be hot. Being outdoors in the summer months is preferred, but when it gets too hot, it can be difficult to sit outside. Shade trees can really relieve the heat of outdoors. Temperatures underneath the shade of trees can be 10-15 degrees cooler or more, according to... Continue Reading →
Bob Henrickson, Nebraska Statewide Arboretum, plantnebraska.org Many gardeners plant “everlastings,” flowers and herbs that maintain their color and form when dried, specifically with the idea of using them in craft projects. Included in wreaths or other displays, they extend the beauty of summer’s bloom. There are many plants that hold their shape and color well,... Continue Reading →
Late summer can be a ho-hum time of year for landscape perennials. Colorful flowers of the early spring and summer bloomers are long-gone and mid-summer bloomers are looking ragged after the tough months of July and August. Fall bloomers like asters and chrysanthemums haven’t started blooming yet. One plant that pops out at this time... Continue Reading →
Do you have beautiful herbs in your garden and want to preserve them for use this winter? August and September are the time to get started drying your herbs. Harvest herb stems for drying from stems that are in the bud stage, but have not yet flowered. This is the stage at which leaves contain the highest amount... Continue Reading →
Gooseberries are one of those unusual fruits not grown by many home gardeners. But they certainly are worth consideration for home fruit production, especially if you’re creating an edible landscape and need plants with good ornamental appearance as well as food production. Gooseberry plants can be used as a foundation shrub or hedge, having nice... Continue Reading →
The best time to seed cool season grasses, such as Kentucky bluegrass and tall fescue, is between August 15th and September 15th, so its time to start your site preparation. Getting your seeding done as early as possible is really important, because each week of delay in seeding translates into 2-4 additional weeks required for the grass... Continue Reading →
Have you ever thought about saving seeds from your own vegetable garden to grow next year? It can certainly be done and isn’t as hard as you might think. However, before you get started there are a few important things to keep in mind when selecting plants from which to save seeds. Avoid Hybrid Plants Many, if... Continue Reading →
Due to extremely frequent spring rains, some vegetable gardeners may not have been able to plant all the vegetables they would have liked. You might think “vegetable gardens can only be planted in spring, right?” Wrong – you can go on planting vegetables throughout summer and even into August if you choose your crops and... Continue Reading →
If you live on an acreage, or a large lot in town, or even a medium sized lot in town, you need a shed. Sure, you could store all of your stuff – mower, tools, seed, mulch, lawn art, pots, wood, etc. – in your garage or basement, but depending on where you put it,... Continue Reading →
Most gardeners are purposeful in their planting. The priorities vary from one person to another, but we want things like hardiness, beauty, drought-tolerance, focal points, food for pollinators, multi-season interest. From late July on into fall, blazing star or Liatris offer all that and more… including usage as dramatic, long-lasting cuts. In the landscape, people... Continue Reading →
Japanese beetle season is here! Defoliated plants – in some cases entire trees - look horrible and no matter what you do they seem to keep coming. So, what’s the best strategy for managing them? Below are some tips to help minimize damage in your landscape. But first - realize that when Japanese beetles first come... Continue Reading →
