The art and craft of mosaic seems to have suffered an identity crisis as of late — maybe a few too many uninspired stepping stones have popped up here and there and it’s been done to death — but I would like to encourage you to consider creating one for your garden. Mosaic is like … Continue reading »
I had the pleasure of speaking at two garden club meetings this week at opposite ends of the city — the Hennepin County Horticultural Society and the Dakota Gardeners. They were both lively, spirited groups with gardening enthusiasm for days! I spoke of the winter gardening turning point in my head; that moment when you … Continue reading »
Check out part 1 on making your own terrarium. Read my article at Northern Gardener (it’s the sample article this month). Consider a membership or subscription while you are there. Planting the garden. When selecting your terrarium’s plants, use the same design principles you use in your outdoor garden. Look for a contrast of textures, sizes, … Continue reading »
Last summer, I wrote and photographed an article on making a terrarium, for Northern Gardener magazine. You can read the entire piece online, it’s the sample article on the homepage, from the Nov/Dec issue currently on newsstands. I’ve learned a few things since putting the piece together–most of all, that I LOVE terrariums. I built several … Continue reading »
One of the greatest things about gardening in Zone 4, is that you get a pretty big break from it. Absense makes the heart grow fonder, and I guess I can only speak for myself, but by frost, I am ready to hang up the hoe for a while. Then comes the winter winds and … Continue reading »
Last Saturday was one of the most stunning exhibitions of hoarfrost, also known as white frost, that I have seen in a while. Hoarfrost is frozen dew that flocks all the trees, shrubs and plants in its path. Hoarfrost develops when a cold surface (anything outside in Minnesota in the winter!) is exposed for a … Continue reading »
The elusive Minneapolis miniature front yard moose was spotted this week fleeing the crazy-driving mini-vans near a school at 4th and 47th in south Minneapolis. It is a long-held belief that his sighting indicates the we have seen the worst of winter and spring is on its way. His sighting is a more reliable forecast … Continue reading »
I’ve always shyed away from using the terms cabin fever or stir-crazy to describe my January state, fearing that the naming of it would even more fully claim it. Well, I’ve got it big time. I think it’s a worse state of affairs for those who rely heavily on digging in the dirt. I come … Continue reading »
Oh, to order or not to order. That is the question sparked by the buy $25 worth, get $25 free stickers on each. In years past, I would pile up the catalogs, making lists, even spreadsheets noting what I was ordering from each of the tomes of impulse purchasing. Then the boxes would come. Don’t … Continue reading »
Every year I experience the phenomenon of the gardening turning point. It is that moment when I no longer love Jack Frost for bringing the season to an end (my knees were achy, my tomatoes full of blight) and I begin to get jazzed about what next season will bring. I believe the turning point … Continue reading »
