Container Gardens – Regular and Unique

There’s the traditional “garden variety” container garden and then there are unusual, unique or out of the ordinary, edgy ones. Traditional patio planters or front porch pots tend to be round or rectangular and flat, facilitating the display of flowers on a horizonal and perhaps cascading plane. Other types of planters expand the viewing of the plant material in vertical, rounded and hanging arrangements, often in combination of other hardscape elements of the landscape.

Prune Your Shrubs Now?  It Depends

Here’s a quick quiz – when do you prune your shrubs? When they get too big for the space they are growing in, when you think about it or when they look shabby? For many of us, the answer is all 3. Pruning your shrubs in a horticultural sense depends on 2 things: when they bloom and their age.

Pansies & Violas – Great for Early Spring!

If you’re anxious to see some early color in the landscape, and your tulips and hyacinths aren’t up and blooming yet, think about a pot of pansies. Pansies and violas work great for scratching the itch, both in ground beds and container gardens.

Plan for Spring Color

This time of year can become long and full of anticipation for spring flowers. You can plan now for different plants to add to your landscape to help with winter interest next year, even flowers. Helleborus Lenten Rose or Helleborus is a perennial plant with evergreen leaves. It grows up to 15-18 inches in tall…

2023 USDA Plant Hardiness Zone

The USDA updated their Hardiness Zone map publicized in November 2023, reflecting changes in average extreme minimum temperatures, moving several Nebraska and Iowa counties to zone 6a. The author reminds gardeners to consider factors not covered by the map, such as anomalies and soil conditions, before purchasing new plants.

Fall Bulbs in Minor

Fall has finally arrived in Nebraska and now is the time we can start thinking about fall planted bulbs for next spring. There is an endless parade of options to choose from – so which one do you pick? Let’s talk about some of the lesser-known options that you can choose to plant in your…

Fall is for Planting Shrubs

The phrase “Fall is for Planting” is a common one in the horticultural world and for good reason. One of the best groups of plants to install in your landscape in fall is shrubs. Here’s why:

Rethinking Sweet Autumn Clematis

When we first think about invasive plants, we often conjure images of plants that are not pretty. I often think of the brambles that Maleficent casts around the castle in Sleeping Beauty. Sharp thorns, jagged edges, overall, a barren landscape. Invasive plants are not new. We know that some thistles, leafy spurge, and palmer amaranth…

Saving for the Future: Seed Saving Tricks and Tips

Many gardeners turn their attention to saving seeds in the fall, hoping to save the best and brightest from this year’s garden to grow in future years. There are definitely some do’s and don’ts that start even before you planted the garden this year. Check out this article I wrote for the Garden Professors blog…