Last fall, I collected seeds from and started several types of perennials. The containers of planted seeds stayed outside all winter, and I opened the tops of the containers when the weather got warm enough this spring. The containers sat all winter in one of my raised garden beds. This photo was taken March 1, … Continue reading perennial seed starting update 5.20.2021
I've collected perennial seeds in the past and started them in small pots, but after I watched this video about seed starting, created by the park staff where I live in Dane County, Wisconsin, I decided to "go bigger!" Perennial seeds in the midwest need a cold period to germinate, so they have to spend … Continue reading perennial seed starting 11.19.20
Here are photos of the glorious lilies that bloomed in my garden this year.
I started seeds this week. The last frost date where I live, in Madison, Wisconsin, is around the first week of May. So I have about 7 weeks until then to get my plant babies grown large enough to transplant into my garden outside. All the seeds I'm starting in advance are flowers. The red … Continue reading starting seeds 3.21.2019
My garden is looking gorgeous this spring. Here are photos of just a few 😉 of the plants that I tend. Ferns: Ostrich (Matteuccia struthiopteris,) Maidenhair (Adiantum) and Japanese Painted (Athyrium niponicum) Barrenwort (Epimedium) - three types Forget-Me Not (Myosotis) Hosta and Lungwort (Pulmonaria) Columbine (Aquilegia) (Hybrids) Leaves of Peony and Japanese Red Maple (Acer … Continue reading spring garden 5.24.2018
The late-summer light brings on a change in feeling/emotion for me. Rather nostalgic, and in a good way. I always considered autumn my favorite time of year here in what we call the "midwest" of the United States. Perhaps it's because this year's weather has been unusually cool-- or perhaps it's the angle of the … Continue reading late-summer garden 8.24.2017
Last month I went on the annual local garden walk put on by one of Madison, Wisconsin's gems, Olbrich Botanical Gardens. At one of the gardens, the gardener had all of his plant markers piled on his backyard table in about 8 different piles. As I looked closer, I saw that each pile was held together … Continue reading plant marker organization 8.10.2017
I don't like the white plastic plant markers that usually come with plants. I've also tried making my own plant markers out of old window blinds. Or wood popsicle sticks. They fade and break over time, and they're not aesthetically pleasing to my eye. I usually plant the plant in the ground and save the … Continue reading spoon plant markers 5.18.2017
After the week-long ceramics workshop I attended a few weeks ago, I've visited Midwest Clay Project, the ceramics studio where I work, only a few times. May and June in Wisconsin means high gardening season for me, where weeds seem to grow faster then other plants. Â Of course, "weeds" are in the eye of the … Continue reading gardenista 6.18.2016
