Deep purple lilacs blooms hypnotize against the cerulean sky.

I have a specific memory of all of us first-graders bringing little bouquets for Mrs. Tews and filling her desk with them. Everyone needs a lilac bush in their yard. True, they can take up a lot of space, but their upright canopies can actually create a lovely little living space beneath for a patio or shade garden. Let’s take some time, take a tour and celebrate the lilac. She is a fleeting mistress of beauty in the garden.

Generally speaking:

French or common lilac
Syringa vulgaris

• 12 — 15 feet high at maturity, with nearly that in width
• Highly fragrant
• They require full sun to bloom in full splendor
• Tolerant of most soils, but require good drainage

By the way: Deadheading the spent, somewhat unattractive blooms does not encourage next year’s blossoms and is not worth the effort.

Lilacs against a blue May sky are chicken soup for the gardener’s soul.

Take caution: Sniffing a lilac blossom is highly intoxicating. Be prepared to swoon and be a little “heady” the rest of your day.

There are several white varieties of lilacs available. Stunning and rather ethereal, almost mystic.

‘Beauty of Moscow’ is 10 to 12 feet tall, 8 feet wide, with pearly-pink flowers.

Isn’t ‘Sensation’ sensational? 10 feet tall and about that wide, its deep purple flowers have striking white margins.

Dwarf Korean lilac is 10′ x 10′ and blooms purple/lavender just a touch later, into June. A nice smaller statured lilac with a compact form.

Even smaller, ‘Miss Kim’ is 6 x 6′ with a compact form and has lovely burgundy foliage in the fall.

Fall-blooming Feather Reedgrass is a great grass to incorporate into the back of your border for a softly-textured backdrop.

A quick shout-out to an oft-overlooked ornamental grass that really is one of my favorites. Fall-blooming Feather Reedgrass (Calamagrostis brachytricha) can work as an anchor in your perennial border, with its graceful, arching, inverted-V form. At 4-feet tall and a spread of about 3-feet, it fills holes and pockets in your design and sits happily in the back row of the garden stage.

In the fall, bottle-brush foxtail-like flowers emerge sandy beige and turn pinkish-rose and soft and feathery and lightly textured. They then blanch out straw-like and stay pert into the winter. Read my Northern Gardener article on great grasses to consider for your garden.

This grass is front and center in the Garden Drama test garden this week as it is an easy grass to divide in the spring, even late spring. It’s slow to emerge and you can easily send your spade into the center of it and work out a clump to move to another section of the garden. It’s highly tolerant of dividing.

It spreads slowly, but over 10 years or so, may grow into a patch that is larger than you would like, so dividing is helpful.

In summary, from my experience:

Fall-blooming Feather Reedgrass
Calamagrostis brachytricha
Height: 3 — 4 feet
Width: 2 — 3 feet
Bloom time: late summer to fall
Zone: 4A

Blue Fescue ‘Elijah Blue’ co-mingles wonderfully with creeping sedum in a rock garden border. Give it lots of sun and well-drained soil.

Blue Fescue ‘Elijah Blue’ has been greeting visitors at the front border of the Garden Drama test garden for over 10 years.

How does one make blue fescue  (Festuca glauca ‘Elijah Blue’) happy? From my experience — sun, sun, sun. Bake it to get that great, matte-blue cast to its spiky blades. And really well-drained soil, almost sandy, adds to success. When establishing blue fescue, it likes supplemental watering, but past the first year, it is quite drought tolerant. They say deer will pass it by, as well.

It really adds to the landscape. As far as small grasses, this is where it is at and how else do you get this groovy pop of blue? Dot it around the front of your border, like music notes on a staff or clump it in waves of 3, 5 or 7 for a sea of texture and color. It looks right at home tucked among the rocks and clings happily to stepping stones along the garden path.

An old chef’s knife is the perfect tool to divide blue fescue.

Dividing blue fescue every few years keeps plants as tidy little tufts, like the above photo. I let mine go, with no dividing at all over the past decade. They still looked pretty good, but were getting overgrown, a little misshapen and several had dead centers. So, it was time to divide.

The task isn’t too bad. The grasses dig up pretty easily and the root balls hold the soil as you lift the plants. Search for a dead, hollow center and carve it out and divide the clump into 2 or 3 smaller clumps. Take the opportunity to cut off all dead grass from last season until you have little Chia-pet-like clumps. Replant and keep them constantly moist for a few weeks and supplement water regularly the whole first season to encourage roots to send themselves down deep.

Three large clumps of blue fescue can produce a dozen little plants.

Side note: It helps to cut your blue fescue back in either late fall or very early spring until you have less than an inch of growth. In essence, give it a buzz cut. If you don’t get it cut back in time and you have new growth sprouting, you can gently comb the dead grass out with your fingers and still get a pretty neat-looking plant.

You can check out the article online at the moment. The Minnesota State Horticultural Society is making Northern Gardener magazine available online for free for the first half of 2013. If you garden in colder climates, this is THE magazine for you. Check it out and get a membership or subscription.

A garden artist, Heidi sprays spent allium blossoms silver to bring the garden indoors.

Back to Heidi. Spending time with Ms. Heiland taught me how a great garden cannot be separated from the gardener who tends it — the two are inseparable. We’ve all visited a garden that is perfect, pristine, stunning even, but after a few minutes, we’re ready to move on. These are gardens, I believe, that lack the personal stamp of the gardener.

Give me a garden where you can just feel and sense the gardener’s hand. This was Heidi’s garden and also represents all my favorite spaces. By the way, Heidi’s yard in pristine, stunning, and personal!  Here are a few more impressions I picked up while spending time in the world of Heidi:

The entry garden sets the stage. Heidi’s hubby is a cowboy and the front walk announces this to the garden visitor. What does your entry garden say about you?

Designing a garden to exhibit year round interest keeps the gardener engaged. When I visited Heidi’s garden in September, it was glorious. My garden was pooped out in September and Heidi pointed out that the garden doesn’t give up on us, we give up and disengage from the garden.

Tropicals do work in northern gardens! I’ve always had a bit of a distaste for hibiscus and palms and such in zone 4, but the banana tree in Heidi’s garden is a wonderful focal point and the colors just work. Plus, it’s an old garden friend, spending year after year in the garden. It happily overwinters indoors.

The shrub rose ‘Hope for Humanity’ is considered one of the deepest blood-red roses you will find. It blooms in clusters all season long and is disease and pest resistant. Hardy to zone 3, it maxes out at 3 feet by 3 feet. In Heidi’s garden, it holds court front and center in a front yard bed, where it’s delicate fragrance can be enjoyed. It does give one hope for humanity.

Near the heart of the city, yet miles away. The helianthus blooming near the lake is a family heirloom plant, passed down from a close relative. We need to fill our gardens with heartfelt plants.

Hosta and hydrangea are always the ideal shade plants and perfectly accented with blue garden art. A well-tended woodsy feel in the garden.

Heidi’s canine and feline friends are at home as much as the plants in her garden.

Dogs and cats are a common find in Heidi’s garden.

Heidi’s garden is a diverse mix of the old standards and the latest developments in horticulture. She really got me interested in the old stalwart perennials, though, the tried and the true. They are the backbone of the northern garden.

Though Heidi’s garden beds are highly and thoughtfully designed, she leaves plenty of space for the reseeders, like stunning verbena bonariensis. Plan for the randomness of nature is what I took away. Make room for Mother Nature to make her magic.

Asparagus ‘Jersey Giant.’ Vegetables co-mingle freely with ornamentals in Heidi’s garden to great visual effect. After you harvest the asparagus in the spring, you enjoy the plant in it’s full glory. Picking and harvesting further engages the gardener in the garden.

Black and blue salvia is a hummingbird magnet, in addition to being a striking addition to the garden. Heidi communes with the hummingbirds in her garden.

But, my overarching garden theory is that it’s best to make things manageable and do-able and then actually manage and do it. I want to see people get out there and try things. And it’s better to go small than not at all. That whole “go big or go home” thing is not for me. Super-sizing has its place in the drive-thru, but let’s not get overwhelmed.

You can do a pond in an afternoon. I did this one and it has served me for many years. Or you can do one in an hour. Here are a few ideas. And remember, moving water creates negative ions which release serotonin. Water gardens are good for the soul. Why do you think we linger in our showers in the morning?

Float a head of water lettuce in a fetching watering can on the deck. It’s magical.

A birdbath is a good thing for us and the little creatures. Can’t you just smell the peonies?

A Red Wing crock, no matter the size, makes a great container water garden. You can keep the plants minimal.

The popular container accent plant fiber optic grass will live merrily in a pot of water. It turns electric green and the little seed head bulbs plump up.

Don’t hate on the store-bought fountains and fixtures. Soften the edges by surrounding with plantings and poof, they’re naturalized.

I picked up so many tidbits of info and great ideas from her. One that has stuck with me, is the notion of establishing the garden emblem in your space. Consider placing a piece of art or sculpture that is distinctively you at the entrance or a focal point in your garden. It’s your personal billboard. Great gardens sing of the gardener who tends them and this establishes the tune of the space. It creates a harmony between the garden and the gardener. Plus, it’s pure fun. It’s your garden logo! Your own Nike swoosh.

Heidi’s entry garden sports a giant cowboy boot — an homage to her cowboy hubby.

Perhaps you are a farm kid at heart or a dreamer. The cow jumping over the moon says something about the gardener.

Garden masks ignite the tree spirits. We like to see faces in the garden. They make us feel less alone.

A giant metal daisy is a boutonniere for your house. A loving corsage that says so much about the home-dweller.

My mother’s maiden name is Klucking, so suffice it to say, chickens abound in her home and garden. Chickens are hot right now. Do they speak to you? They are a very spiritual creature.

That said, all I can think is how glorious it will be when spring arrives in Minnesota. There is nothing like it — the gentle, musical dripping of melting snow; the sweet, earthy smell of thawing dirt; the surprise appearance of a perennial you planted last fall and forgot. When this year’s pent-up spring orgasm blows, it’s going to be a big one. A real party.

I’ve had the fun of speaking to a few gardening groups lately and the thing I’ve noticed about gardeners is we good-naturedly kvetch about the crappy spring — after all, our life-blood is cut-off — but we also know that it’s all part of Mother Nature’s grand plan. Her big scheme. This late spring is balancing something. The pay-off will be great. And isn’t there something about an April and May snow being worth a load of manure? Nutrient-wise?

I’ve always thought that a vacation begins the day you book the ticket and reserve the hotel room. Think of it that way and enjoy the extra month of planning and dreaming about the greatest gardening season you will ever have.

And to keep you going, here’s a gallery of photos I took this week last year. Delayed gratification is the surest sign of trust and maturity.

I got to write on the subject in Northern Gardener magazine a few years ago. Read: Succulent Choices: Sedums Add So Much to the Garden.

Now is the time to pick yourself up a kalanchoe. Delicate star-shaped flowers in pink, peach, yellow, fuchsia, purple, and red are long lived on waxy green foliage. They are easy to find in stores in late winter and spring.

While researching the article, I stumbled upon a few succulents that I wasn’t that familiar with.

Euphorbia. Commonly known as spurge, euphorbias have the great, low-maintenance characteristics of all succulents. What you think may be their flowers, are actually bracts (modified leaves). Think poinsettias, which are in the non-hardy limb of the family. These colorful bracts give the impression of flowers in the spring garden, when their fluffy pops of color are really a welcome sight!

Myrtle or cushion spurge is a bright, fluffy welcome sight in the spring. They reseed prolifically, so you can have many plants around your garden if you so choose. Cutting them back after the bracts fade keeps them in check .

Hardy cacti. Opuntia are the  ”Prickly Pears” of the western US and Mexico.  This large genius contains the most cold hardy of all cacti.

The prickly pear. They can look sad as could be in the spring, but they perk up and offer stunning blooms.

Yucca. There is something distinctly non-Minnesotan about yucca, with its acupuncture sharp leaves like swords and nearly 6-foot-high stalks producing bell-shaped flowers. That said, they are striking specimens and several varieties do well in the North. They love to bake in the sun and demand well-drained soil. The varieties below are hardy to zone 4 and bloom from July to August. 

• Yucca filamentosa ‘Ivory Tower.’ Height: 60 inches. Width: 36 inches. Green foliage with white flowers.
• Yucca filamentosa ‘Color Guard’ PP9393. Height: 72 inches. Width: 48 inches. Green and white variegated foliage with white flowers.
• Yucca glauca. Sometimes referred to as soapweed. Height: 72 inches. Width: 36 inches. A more native looking yucca with matte green leaves and white flowers.

Yucca is a strong presence in the northern landscape and can really stand up to whatever Mother Nature hands her.

Maybe you would like to create your own succulent dish garden for your patio table.

Here’s a link to my step by step instructions.

And of course, a shout out to my favorite succulent. The good old-fashioned mother-hen-and-chick.

‘Silverine’ hen and chick. Tuck them in anywhere that’s sunny and well-drained and let them take off.

This past week I had the pleasure of speaking at the Blooming St. Paul awards. Officially speaking, the purpose of the awards is to promote and recognize beautification efforts by Saint Paul’s citizens through gardens and art in the public realm. Good on them! In my world, it was like speaking at the Oscars.

“All gardeners live in beautiful places because they make them so.” -Joseph Joubert, 18th century French writer.

Below are some of the photos from my presentation, Full-frontal Gardening, to help you get ready to bare it all this spring.

I will not disclose the location of this photo, but it is in our greenzone, maybe its on your block. It’s next to one of the least inspiring parking lots in front of a Subway/gas station in the city. Typically, I crop out the hardscapes in such photos but I love a group that is as intrigued in the blight as they are in the beauty. This could be a field out in southern Minnesota. Full frontal gardening, its about the contrast — the power is in the contrast. It’s ike music: music happens in the negative space.

This could be one of your cars for all I know, I roam the streets, snapping inspiring photos. It’s a car after a full-frontal gardener’s heart. A pure petal pusher drives this car.

Overdosing on tulips on the boulevard is a welcome practice. It makes the neighbors love you and welcomes spring in a big way. The gardening equivalent of bingeing on Easter candy.

Sometimes no design is the perfect design. A wildflower stand of English painted daisies makes a friendly fence.

Pee-ah-nee or pee-ooh-nee, no matter how you say it, nothing speaks Minnesota spring like a stand of them.

Travelling plants salesmen would roam the countryside selling these to homeowners in days gone by, and we still reap the benefits. Sweet garden confection.

Poppies are really my favorite flower. Beautiful before, during and after blooming, then they slowly fade away until they pop up renewed in the fall, die-back until spring, then begin the show again. Put them in your front border; they will stop people in their tracks.

A walk to the front door past a lush stand of ‘Moonbeam’ coreopsis doesn’t get much more inviting.

Is the front entry of your home welcoming? Inviting friends to enter? I mix of soft textures and a cozy sitting area helps.

Delphiniums are a flower I let other gardeners grow–boy, do they make an impact in a front border.

Happening upon a highly naturalized area in an urban setting slows the pulse. This is near a busy intersection, yet miles away.

Spikes of Veronica are like candles in the garden.

A window box of petunias is grand. Window boxes will make any place a garden home.

Droopy sunflower heads are an almost melancholy expression, but sunflowers in the front border are like neon–they command attention.

A bowling ball makes a great base for a garden mosaic gazing ball. Broken mirror pieces and blue marbles glued on and grouted do the trick. Leave a hole open to prop the ball on a dowel or stake pressed into the earth.

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 knitting for the gardener. The gentle repetition and gradual crescendo to the end-product is calming and uplifting and the perfect activity for evening TV watching.

The Good Dishes:
Circles work well in garden design and decoration. This mosaic garden plate was created using two separate broken-to-pieces platters glued and grouted on a large bamboo disc found at Ikea. P.S. Being a potter grooves well with being a gardener.

The process is pretty simple: break stuff up and put it back together. It’s an incredibly satisfying DIY project with dramatic results. The  placing of the pieces is extremely calming and what could be more fun than smoothing on the grout?

Time to break up

The art and craft of mosaic is a fun and forgiving activity. In a nutshell, you break something up, then reassemble it in a pleasing pattern of your choice and secure it with grout, like in your kitchen or bathroom.

Mirrors and pottery of various sorts are common materials for mosaic, but anything that will set in grout will do. Glass marbles always work, as well. If you are breaking up materials, always wear protective safety goggles and gloves and be all-around careful.

Tacky craft glue works great for affixing your pottery, mirror, or glass pieces to the surface of whatever you are working on. Nearly any grout will do, with a special nod going to the pre-mixed varieties for making the process so much easier. Lean towards darker shades to make your mosaic pieces pop. A coat of polyurethane will help seal and protect the grout.

Generally speaking, I keep mosaic pieces in more protected areas in the garden to preserve them as long as possible.

You don’t need to break up your tile to use it to decorate your garden space. Kitchen and bath tiles, attached to a 4 x 4 fence post with Liquid Nails or secured with small nails, add color, flair and visual appeal. Vibrant and richer shades, such as this rusty orange, stand out best in the garden and you will never go wrong with orange in accents and flowers. It’s a magical color. Coreopsis and salvia ‘May Night’ (in the background) are friendly flowers in the landscape.