Their 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 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
Read moreBy Dennis Patton, Johnson County Extension horticulture agent Spring explodes with color, making this season one of the best times of the year here in Kansas City. Bright, colorful blooms fill our senses and remind us of the renewal that spring brings. Unfortunately, this colorful display does not last long. The end of a shrub’s flowering cycle triggers the time
Read moreEasy and Tasty Basil Basil likes the warmth of full sun to grow best. Lift transplants carefully by the leaves instead of the stem. Set outdoors only after soil and air temperatures are warm. One chilly night can set plants back. Sweet green basil can be dried, frozen in ice cubes, or used fresh. Blended with pine nuts, oil and cheese, this
Read moreWhile carrots are one of the top 10 most economically important vegetable crops in the world, they also are one of the most popular vegetables to grow in home gardens – and for good reason. Carrots are delicious, nutritious, versatile, and with just a little bit of know-how, this root crop is easy to grow. It is “root” to tell
Read morePlanning this year’s garden: Time to start seeding cool-season crops indoors K-State horticulturalists recommend using a planting calendar. MANHATTAN, Kan. – A few abnormally warm winter days might have gardeners thinking ahead for next spring’s planting. Planning now isn’t premature, however, because most cool-season crops should be started from seed in early February. Don’t be alarmed, it’s not too late.
Read more2016 Year of the Delphinium Delphinium is a perennial favorite as the tall spikes of blue flowers in the background of a stately English or cottage garden. The modern delphinium flower may be a single or double rosette in popular blue or red, pink, white, violet and yellow. Many of the flowers have white or black centers known as “bees.”
Read more‘Leading Lady Plum’ Bee Balm typically bloom in midsummer, but ‘Leading Lady Plum’ leads the way in early summer, flowering earlier and forming a more petite clump than other Bee Balm (like ‘Pardon My Purple’). She typically blooms from early summer into midsummer and grows just a foot tall. Her densely branched, dark green, somewhat glossy foliage is topped
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