Fall in Minnesota is known for warm days, cool nights, changing leaves that color the landscape with golds, oranges, reds, and greens, trips to local apple orchards, crackling bonfires, comfortable hoodies and jeans, and mugs of hot apple cider. Sounds wonderful, doesn’t it? It is, but this time period goes by so quickly. Within a […]
Flower
Sweet Clover, Summer Memories, and a Wildflower Bouquet
As the kids and I took a walk down our road to the lake, the intoxicating smell of sweet clover, vanilla mixed with fresh-cut hay, permeated the air. Late June in Minnesota is when the summer wildflowers awaken and adorn the sides of the roads, prairies, and edges of our 10,000+ lakes. On this particular […]
Designing Mixed Flower Pots
Calibrachoa (million bells), angelonia, dahlia, zinnia, geranium, petunia, coleus, and salvia greeted me each morning as I stepped inside the greenhouses I worked in throughout college. The smell as I entered my summer work space was intoxicating. I remember thinking how lucky I was to spend my summer days amongst the flowers with happy people. […]
A Flowering Lawn: Bees and Dandelions
A flowering lawn is not something that most people see as being beautiful or positive. When my husband and I had our first child we decided to forgo the fertilizer that treated the pesky dandelions, crab grass and creeping charlie because we didn’t want our little one crawling on chemicals. This was hard for me as […]
Mulch or Rock in Landscaping: Advantages, Disadvantages, and Application Tips
Ten yards of mulch, done! I should have bought 15 yards to finish off my gardens nicely, so I will make note of that so I order the right amount next time. One of the first questions many people have when completing a new garden or landscape project is “Should I use mulch or rock?” […]
Perennials: Spring Snow
Here in Minnesota, we never know what Mother Nature will bring us throughout the year. We almost hit 70F in February, and now at the end of April, we woke up to a dusting of snow that lightly covered our awakening perennials. I guess the weather is one thing that keeps Minnesotans on their toes. […]