More Plants!
I got home from work today to find two boxes waiting on the steps for me. Both contained plants. One was from Prairie Nursery in Wisconsin, the other from Prairie Moon Nursery in Minnesota.
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Notes from a wildlife-friendly cottage garden
Gardener, Spare That Stem!
Do you ever wonder if it is better to clean up the garden in fall or wait until spring? Well, stop wondering. Garden clean up in spring is far better – that is, if you want your garden to be full of birds, bees, butterflies, and other beautiful or helpful creatures.
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A Host of Daffodil (Bulbs) Arrive
A few days ago I received 2oo daffodil bulbs from Colorblends Wholesale Flowerbulbs. This is a joyful occurrence in itself, but what made it especially delightful was that the bulbs were free. This was thanks to the generosity of Colorblends and the hard work of the organizers of the Minneapolis Garden Bloggers Fling, which Judy and I attended back in July.
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My Year of Living With ‘Betty’
Clematis viticella ‘Betty Corning’, that is. Person or plant, time together can bring greater understanding. At the same time, a hastily-made commitment to a plant (or a person) can bring pain and disappointment. These negative experiences could be avoided through careful consideration, which did not occur in relation to my first year with ‘Betty’.
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Zigzag Goldenrod, the Lovable Thug
Zigzag Goldenrod (Solidago flexicaulis) may be a thug, but it’s a thug with good qualities, kind of like Tony Soprano from The Sopranos. (Though I know people with deeply opposing views on Tony’s character.)
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Supernova: an Explosion of Asters
The name Aster comes from the Greek word for star. At this time of year, it feels like the Asters are exploding into a sort of floral supernova.
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Three New Native Plants for Our Front Garden
The first plants have arrived for fall planting. Yay! All are sun-lovers destined for the front garden.
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Ignore the Flowers Day: September, 2016
For me, blooms make the garden. This attitude is considered unsophisticated by some, who say we must pay greater attention to more enduring plant features: foliage, texture, structure, yada yada.
Grudgingly, I admit that there is something to what these people say, which is why on the 22nd of most months I participate in Ignore the Flowers Day, hosted by Christine of My Hesperides Garden (she calls it Garden Bloggers’ Foliage Day). This ensures that at least once each month this blog has a whole post devoted to something other than blooms.
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My 2016 Tulip Order!
Yes, once again it is time to order the tulips. This year’s order is a mix of old favorites and promising newcomers.
First, for the old favorites:
‘Annie Schilder’ – A mid-season orange tulip, about 18″ tall. Annie is a Triumph tulip, a cross between Single Early and Darwin Hybrid.
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A Grass Roots Effort?
Sometimes I get emails that look interesting enough not to delete right away, but also not interesting enough to actually open and read. I might get around to reading them weeks later.
For example, at the beginning of August I got an email with the subject line: “Turf is Tops: Environmental benefits of a lawn”. It was sent to me by a PR firm working with an organization called Grass Seed USA, which describes itself as “a national coalition of grass seed farmers and academic turf specialists”.
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