Your home outside the city limits.
Maybe you’re like me, in that you work all day and aren’t around to enjoy your landscape and gardens much during the day. Or maybe you’re a night owl and, when the weather is nice, enjoy the hours after sundown in your gardens. Whatever the reason, there are ways to increase your garden’s appeal during... Continue Reading →
One great way to get your child or grandchild interested in plants and gardening this summer is to help them create a miniature garden that’s all their own. In their simplest form, miniature gardens are small container plantings decorated in a way that appeals to your child’s interests. Let your young gardener build some... Continue Reading →
There is no other flower that creates the feeling of an “English” or cottage garden, more than delphiniums. Delphiniums are majestic plants with their long, colorful flower spikes making spectacular additions to a perennial garden. The name delphinium is derived from the Greek word delphis, which refers to the dolphin-shaped flower buds before they... Continue Reading →
Lightly shaded areas receive 3-5 hours of direct sun per day
Pest control - insects, diseases and weeds - are challenging for the home organic vegetable gardener. Today we’ll focus on techniques for insect and disease control. Organic gardens may have a higher level of insect and disease damage. Decide how much damage can be tolerated as a threshold for determining when control is needed. Pest Prevention Start... Continue Reading →
All-America Selections (AAS) announces three flower award winners – ‘Profusion Red Yellow Bicolor’ zinnia, ‘Kelos Candela Pink’ celosia and ‘Sweet Daisy Birdy’ shasta daisy. To see pictures of these and other great plants visit the All-America Selection website, www.all-americaselections.org. Zinnia 'Profusion Red Yellow Bicolor'. New and older flowers create a beautiful mix of colors. Zinnia ‘Profusion Red Yellow Bicolor’ – This is the newest entry in the popular Profusion series, which features... Continue Reading →
Unseasonably warm, mid-70 to nearly 90-degree temperatures in early April lured trees, shrubs and perennials out of dormancy. Many trees and shrubs have been blooming for the last two weeks, only to be threatened by normal late April frosts. April 14-15, Lincoln nighttime temperatures dip to 27°F and 26°F degrees, respectively. April 19-22, had nighttime temperatures of 31°F, 32°F, 29°F and 23°F degrees, respectively. Gardeners always have concerns... Continue Reading →
Now is the time to prepare your roses for another growing season. Many gardeners are hesitant to prune landscape roses, fearing they will do something wrong and damage or kill the plants. However, pruning provides several benefits including: Improved flower quality.Improved plant health through increased air movement around and through plant foliage.Maintains plant shape and size so that it... Continue Reading →
So far this spring we’ve looked at the National Garden Bureau Plant of the Year categories for annual (sunflowers), perennial (monarda) and vegetable (garden beans). The last one we’ll discuss is the “shrub” of the year, which really isn’t a shrub – at least not in Nebraska. It does have woody stems, but they die down to... Continue Reading →
Monarda is a genus that has a long history of being used as a medicinal herb. As the common name Bee Balm implies, it has also been used to soothe bee stings. But did you know the Oswego Indian tribe used this plant to make an herbal tea and they taught the early American settlers how... Continue Reading →
This year the National Garden Bureau features the sunflower as its annual flower of the year. Sunflowers originated in the Americas and domestic seeds dating back to 2100 BC have been found in Mexico. Native Americans grew sunflowers as a crop, and explorers eventually brought the flowers to Europe in the 1500s. Over the next few centuries, sunflowers became... Continue Reading →
Conservation plantings of wildflowers and grasses may range in size from a few plants in a home garden, to extensive plantings on a farm or acreage. Usually these plantings are intended to create habitat for butterflies, pollinators, birds or other wildlife. But if the planting isn’t well-maintained, it’s benefits and beauty many decrease over time. ... Continue Reading →
