Summertime Green We gardeners can get carried away with always focusing on colorful flowers and foliage. Yes, such is important to a beautiful garden and landscape but don’t forget the GREEN! I find myself enamored with summertime’s green leaves, the sizes and shapes of leaves, and level of translucency in the leaves. Our intense summer sunshine (we’re at the latitude
Read moreBindweed: a noxious weed Like most gardeners I have a strong dislike for weeds. They create more work and rob our plants of much needed nutrients and water. But like many things in life not all weeds are created equally. By that I mean some weeds tend to be more of a pain in the backside than others. Some
Read moreClose your eyes and follow your nose around the garden. Here are some fragrant-blooming shrubs that local gardening gurus plant to stimulate their sense of smell. Korean Spice Viburnum Susan Mertz of Loma Vista Nursery really likes Korean Spice Viburnum (Viburnum carlesii) for its early blooms and easy care. She says, “They are such a useful plant in the landscape
Read moreNinebark? Why not ten or eight bark my husband inquired. These are the type of questions I get when walking through a garden and trying to talk about plants with him. Gladly, this is my chance to wax poetic about plants. Here begins my enthusiasm about Ninebark. Physocarpus opulifolius, commonly called ninebark, is an upright, spreading, somewhat coarse, deciduous shrub.
Read moreExtended wet periods can cause problems with our area soils. Soils in this part of the country, for the most part, tend to have high clay content. Clay is poorly drained and aerated, and holds high levels of water, which can be detrimental to many plants. Identifying water-damaged plants Waterlogged soils exclude oxygen from the roots thus causing decline
Read morePeppers, a highlight in any garden are one of the easiest plants to grow. Bringing a rainbow of colors, a plethora of shapes and different degrees of heat to your table, peppers are an attractive addition to any garden or container. It’s easy to value these plants for looks and flavor alone, but the pepper is a nutritional powerhouse as
Read moreTheir Babies Eat Your Aphids Photos and Text by Tom Schroeder When I say the word “Fly”, you probably do not imagine brightly colored, harmless Flower Flies feeding on flowers in your garden. Their larvae spend the night voraciously eating aphids on your garden plants while you sleep. By modifying a few gardening practices, you can encourage this natural pest
Read moreNot far from several bars at Westport in Kansas City is an oakleaf hydrangea that I have admired for many years. No doubt, it has received substantial abuse from late night revelers wandering back to their cars after hours of fun. Yet, this plant is always beautiful with huge flowers in the summer, gorgeous fall foliage and attractive bark in
Read moreMaking your own nectar couldn’t be easier. In a few easy steps, you can bring these nectar-loving birds to your feeder. Materials: 1/4 cup of refined white sugar 1 cup boiling water bowl spoon Important: Don’t use honey; it can promote dangerous fungal growth. Organic, natural and raw sugars contain levels of iron that could be harmful. Plain white table
Read moreA campaign to register a million public and private gardens and landscapes to support pollinators. The Million Pollinator Garden Challenge (MPGC) is a nationwide call to action to preserve and create gardens and landscapes that help revive the health of bees, butterflies, birds, bats and other pollinators across America. We will move millions of individuals, kids and families outdoors and
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