Serviceberry: Utilitarian name, showy shrub. Whenever you can get three-season interest out of a shrub, it gets a gold star in my book. Spring flowers, fall color and berries that birds love Native and cultivated serviceberry (Amelanchier) varieties can grow to more than 25 feet, but ‘Regent’ serviceberry tops out at 6 feet and still…
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New on the scene: The ‘Pazazz’ apple
I never met an apple I didn’t like, so it really doesn’t take much from a new variety to make my mouth water. The introduction of the newly devloped ‘Pazzazz’ apple has made the hort and foodie headlines recently, so I had to try it. Yes, it is delicious – sweet like a ‘Honeycrisp’ but a little…
The slow reveal: cutting back grasses; leaving the leaves
The garden blog is back, baby! I employ a certain slow rhythm to my spring garden clean-up. It’s not laziness, I don’t think, and certainly not a lack of enthusiasm – it’s the greatest time of year. It simply does not feel right to do it quickly or certainly, hastily. That would be akin to…
Is the entrance to your home dark? Infuse with yellow.
As a garden writer, I get to visit a lot of garden homes and they all seem to make an impact. Yesterday, I was at the home of great local gardeners Shirley and Dick Friberg. Shirley is helping me with an upcoming article for Northern Gardener magazine on rock gardening. What struck me as I…
The water lilies are alive! They’re alive!
Hardy water lilies are an investment plant, usually running between $30 and $50 a plant at the nursery or garden center. With that in mind, overwintering them is a wonderful way to build your lily collection and conserve your garden funds. I peeked at my overwintering lilies this week, and they are all showing new…
An espaliered apple tree is beautiful, fruitful, and surprise … E-Z to do
Six summers ago, I went French in my backyard potager (kitchen garden), and I espaliered an apple tree on my 6 foot privacy fence. Patience while I waited for the first fruit has been the only hard part. Espalier is the French art of pruning, usually a fruit tree, into a decorative shape. Sort of…
The Garden Drama “Best of the Twin Cities” Gardening Issue
In the spirit of the City Pages annual “Best of” issue, Garden Drama is releasing its first annual “Best of” in the gardening world issue. There is a lot to love about gardening in the North, in particular, the Twin Cities and Minnesota, so the choices were tough. At times, the decisions were nearly impossible…
Seed catalog temptation
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…
Kiss my aster
I could kiss my perennial aster I love it so much. I am not sure of the particular variety , but I believe it is ‘Purple Dome.’ It is hardy to zone 4 and was purchased at Home Depot when it was in bloom. All the tag gave me was “Hardy Aster.” I used to…
Basil Hay Day
Whenever I see a bouquet of basil at the grocery store for $5, I say a little thank-you prayer for my stand of it out back in my veggie garden. I will always overplant basil. Undoubtedly, some will bite it on that first killing frost, but even then, it is rather like freeze-drying a batch….
The off-season gardening turning point
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…
A Tale of Two Pink Flamingos
My love of garden ornamentation began in the window of the Coast to Coast hardware store in the small town of Gaylord, Minnesota. It was right around the corner from the Sibley Hotel, which my Grandma owned and ran her catering business out of. The Coast to Coast was a bastien of tchotzke, a haven…
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