Care for New Bedding Plants 

Home gardeners are itching to get outside and will soon be buying bedding plants – both annual flowers and vegetables - from local garden centers and greenhouses. Selecting strong, healthy plants, along with proper care and planting, will help insure a successful start to the gardening season.  Select short stocky plants with dark green foliage.... Continue Reading →

Creating Beauty in the Shade

Many gardeners struggle with their property’s shaded areas. True, turfgrass won’t grow in heavy shade (anywhere with less than 6 hours of direct, full sun), but there are many plants which prefer either partial or even full shade. All it takes is a shift in your landscape vision for shaded areas to go from thin,... Continue Reading →

Garden Math 

While you may not think of it much, mathematics is an important part of yard and garden care. Planning for planting, fertilizing, mulching, and pest control all involve some math, yet it is often overlooked.  For example, do you know square footage (sq.ft.) of your planting beds, vegetable garden or lawn? Once these figures are... Continue Reading →

Extension Master Gardener Volunteers – Now Accepting Applications for 2023 Program

A frosty winter day is a great time to stay indoors and enjoy a good book, a warm fire in the fireplace and a hot cup of cocoa. But for gardeners, winter is also time to dream and plan next summer’s gardens. Soon gardeners will be looking through mail-order catalogues, making up their 2023 plant and seed orders.  But for Nebraska Extension Master Gardener volunteers, winter is also a time... Continue Reading →

Chrysanthemums Brighten Up the Fall Garden

Mums are the stars of the fall perennial garden. They bloom profusely and continue blooming even after frosts have zapped tender annual flowers.  They are now available at garden centers in a wide range of colors including white, yellow, orange, bronze, red, purple and pink.  “Chrysanthemum” is now a common name for this large group of plants.... Continue Reading →

Dog Friendly Landscapes

According to the Humane Society of the United States, over 69 million or 54% of American households own a dog and 85% of those pet owners view their dogs as family members or companions. So naturally dog owners want their landscapes to be a safe place for their companions.  A Healthy LawnLawns get a bad... Continue Reading →

Foundation Plantings

        The term “foundation plantings” generally refers to landscape plants purposely placed at or near the foundation of a house. In the past, such plants were regularly used to help hide unappealing foundations and first-floor basements and typically consisted of shearable evergreen shrubs such as boxwood, juniper, or yews with a few easy-to-grow daylilies or... Continue Reading →

7 Garden Gaffes to Avoid this Year 

What’s the difference between a new gardener and an experienced one? The experienced gardener has killed way more plants - or so the saying goes!   Even armed with a substantial amount of knowledge, gardening is still a highly trial-and-error venture. Sometimes that’s on purpose, as gardeners try new plants in their gardens. Sometimes it’s... Continue Reading →

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