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: Pick the perfect Poinsettia to complement the holiday season

There is no plant that says Christmas more than the Poinsettia. It comes in vibrant colors that are just what we need to brighten up our winter.

• Poinsettia

A farewell to the garden, now is the time for fall maintenance

November is a non-descript month. The autumn color is gone, the vegetables have been harvested and flowers are but a memory. It is time to hang up the hoe and put away the mower.

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

Home & Garden: Gardening with rocks provides unique feature to landscapes

On the Soroptomist’s West Fargo area tour this summer, I was intrigued with the garden of Ron and Cindy Mootz. Cindy is a local artist who has shown at the West Acres Art Show. Her home is full of her art projects and furniture that she constructed using skills learned from her father.

• Cindy Mootz
• Raised Bed
• Rock Garden

Home & Garden: West Fargo couple branching out as ‘yard farmers’

I recently visited the home of Kit and John Miles and the term avid gardener does not fit them. I would call them excited garden crusaders. They call themselves ‘Yard Farmers.’

• Kit Miles
• Veggies

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: Art in the park

West Fargo has a little gem on Seventh Avenue called Citizens’ Park. I walked by one day and was enthralled by the latest addition, a lovely art piece. Park Director Barb Erbstoesser responded to my questions about it.

• Girl with Butterfly
• Circle of Fun

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: Consider cool season plantings

The weatherman has been predicting that temperatures will be below normal well into June. Gardeners should consider this when selecting annuals to plant this season.

• Pansies

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.

Home & Garden: A long season of blooming bulbs ahead of us

We reap the benefits of last falls labor when the spring bulbs come into bloom. Even though they are still under a few feet of snow, the tulips know that it is time to come up and crocus bloom right through the snow. Daffodils, Galanthus (Snowdrops), Hyacinths and Lilies are other bulbs that we plant in the fall.

• Tulips

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.