Articles

Home & Garden: Flowering groundcovers provide great gardening variety

Since this past winter was so mild, it will be interesting to see how it has affected our perennial plants. I lost many of the spring blooming ground cover plants. I believe it was because of the lack of snow cover.

• Rock cress
• Basket of Gold

Home & Garden: Spring garden seminars provide nice winter break

I had the opportunity to meet my favorite garden author at the Green Thumb Gardeners Expo recently. I have had Melinda Myers’ ‘Month by Month Gardening in Minnesota’ for a few years and more recently her ‘Gardening in the Dakotas’.

• Rose garden

Home & Garden: Caring for houseplants good for the soul

The obvious value of houseplants is their use as decorations, but they also create coziness. There are scientific studies showing that living plants make people feel calmer, satisfied and more efficient.

• House plants

Home & Garden: Fall Bulb Planting, still plenty of time for tulips, lilies

As we clean up the flowerbeds for the winter, it is time to think of adding bulbs to bloom next spring.

• Magic Lily

Perfect time to enjoy midsummer gardens in full bloom

Midsummer is peak time for flower gardens. Take time to visit and enjoy as many as you can.

• Ottertail Garden
• Hostas

Home & Garden: Water gardening in containers way of achieving soothing effect

Water features give a sense of coolness and a serene beauty to the landscape. Those that include fountains or waterfalls tend to draw people to the soothing sight and sound of trickling water.

Home & Garden: Rain gardens help with run off, add splash of beauty

With all of the recent rains, we have had to modify our rooftop drainage and I decided to investigate rain gardens. One of the articles asked these questions. Do you worry about pollutants such as fertilizer and pesticides going into our lakes and rivers? Do heavy rains collect in areas of your yard?

Home & Garden: Nice selection of annuals that can take the heat and like it

It may be cool now, but certainly, by August we will experience some very hot weather. In mid to late summer, it is sometimes difficult to keep things blooming. Plan ahead to include annuals that can take the heat and like it. Fortunately, there is a good selection of these plants.

• Impatiens and Dragon Wings

Home & Garden: Due to changing conditions, gardening work is never done

One thing that we can be sure of other than death and taxes is that things always change. This is so true of our yards and gardens. When we buy our first house, it may be in a new development with no trees, or in an old area with large shade trees. In the first case, most people plant trees and shrubs that create shade over time. In the latter instance, a storm may knock down the trees or disease and age require their removal, and suddenly there is bright sunlight.

Spring flowering trees: Take care in plantings you select

Throughout February, I enjoyed the sight of flowering trees, since I was in California. Beautiful pink or white blossoms adorned trees in yards, along streets, in parking lots and of course, orchards.

Columns

A garden in the shade perfect backyard setting

Gardening in the shade presents problems to many homeowners, especially if you want color.

• Large hosta collection
• Flowers, flowers everywhere
• Fountain and plants
• Whimsical statue

Create a garden sanctuary

Spring has arrived, and as we look around all we see is the work that it entails.

Cacti and succulents make great dish gardens

It is popular these days to create dish gardens with a combination of succulent plants.

• Succulents

Gardening truly is a Neugebauer family venture

Eighteen years ago, Brian and Kathy Neugebauer moved into their dream home along the Sheyenne River. The large lot only had trees along the river and a row of evergreens on one side. Over the years, they planted 150 trees and shrubs, starting with little saplings. Today the lot has an abundance of mature maples, birch, dogwoods, spruce, viburnums and numerous other woody plants. Even so, they left a large green area to be used by their three sons, Mark, John and Karl for play and sports.

• Neugebauer family
• Neugebauer family gardens

September’s beauty reaching peak, bring outdoor plants in

Our gardens have reached their peak and are almost more beautiful than they were all summer. Sadly, this always occurs just before a killing frost. The median first frost in Cass County is September 16-30, with the average date on the 24th.

Colorful wildflowers abundant throughout the region

Wherever you go, it is important to slow down and allow yourself to notice what is around you. Although walking is the best way, road trips are also good, but whizzing by in a car makes it difficult to focus on interesting things.

Garden visits are good idea this time of summer

July to mid-August is a good time to visit friend’s gardens and to go on garden tours. I also like to walk around the test gardens at NDSU, which is just off of 12th Avenue North on 18th Street. You can get many ideas for your own garden and see what plants do well in our area. Be sure to take along a notepad and pencil to write down names and varieties of your favorites.

• NDSU trial gardens
• NDSU gardens
• NDSU gardens

Garden problems cover gamut from unwanted animals to plant disease

Early in the gardening year we were plagued with rabbits, squirrels, birds and other animals munching on our plants. Now when everything is lush and beautiful, other gardening problems begin to show up.

Floral arranging tips important to bouquet longevity

Local gardens continue to show an abundant display of flowers. The iris and peonies were first and now the roses and lilies are stars. I believe that continued cooler than average temperatures have been a large factor. In addition, the blooms last longer when they aren’t subjected to 90-degree days and high winds.

Welcome summer, still time to plant warm weather annuals

The cool spring weather, while not appreciated by most of us, seemed to be very beneficial to the spring bulbs and the flowering shrubs and trees. I can’t remember when the lilacs and other shrubs were so full of flowers and lasted for such a long time. Other plants did not fare so well when the temperatures dropped into the 40’s and even high 30’s. Growth was held up and some leaves appeared damaged. With the recent rain, humidity and warmer temperatures, especially at night, plant growth is exploding. The weeds, of course, are multiplying too.