We have gotten a lot of snow and ice and icy snow this winter. My poor zebra grass (Miscanthus) is showing the effects! Here it is all sprawled over coated with ice. It looks like a sad sea creature washed up on shore. This grass is vigorous and picks itself up after the ice melts or the … [Read more...]
Bunny Wars III Rabbits 3, Kathy 1 Losing Despite Mr. Hawk
My last post I claimed we were slowly winning the war against rabbits eating my flowers. Despite losing almost a third of my peonies and all our nasturtiums, I thought we had found a cure for the bunny infestation. Dave got some pellets that are supposed to get taken up into the plants to make them … [Read more...]
Moving Means a New Garden – Flower Gardening in Our New Home
We moved here October 2011. The former owners didn't have a flower garden, only a few small spots with flowers. I needed much more room for the flowers that we took with us. Dave and I picked out our favorite phlox from our old garden. Then he divided most of the peonies and daylilies, dug up … [Read more...]
Sweet Williams – Beautiful Sun Loving Flowers Ready to Bloom Next Year
My Dad always enjoyed the Sweet Williams my Mom planted. The flowers are big heads of pink, rose, white, crimson and bicolors and smell like cloves. Mom always grew them and once we got a garden I did too. Sweet Williams are supposed to be biennials in Michigan, but we had plants survive for … [Read more...]
Beautiful Flowers On A Fence – Morning Glories in Pink, Blue, Purple and More
Our yard is planted with grass down a slope for about 150 feet beyond the house where the former owners fenced off the lawn section. Behind the grassy section the land undulates for another mile or so, covered with wild grasses, assorted weeds, and milkweed. This is a view from the back of our lot … [Read more...]
Planting Last Fall Perennials for a Beautiful Summer Garden Next Year
We started with eight plants from the $1 markdown table at the garden center. This collection of perennials needing a good home were all in good health, and most were flowers that I planned to get - sometime - but there are two that slipped in. The plant second from the right back row isn't … [Read more...]
Planting Fall Perennials – Salvia Flowers in Rose and Blue
Last time I shared my new plants rescued from the garden center for $1 each. I'm a soft touch and for a buck, well, it's really hard to say no. You can read that post here: Planting Fall Perennials – Taking Advantage of Bargain Plants We started with this collection of plants: There are … [Read more...]
Planting Fall Perennials – Taking Advantage of Bargain Plants
OK, I admit it. I'm a real sucker for sad plants that need homes. Last week I went grocery shopping and the garden center next door had perennials for a buck. Well! Most of the plants were varieties I have already or am not looking to add, for example ajuga (aka bugle weed). There were a few … [Read more...]
Bunny Wars II – We’re Winning the Battle – Keeping Rabbits Out of the Garden
Bunny Wars: Opening Battle A few weeks ago I showed how my peonies were attacked by rabbits with some of my favorites eaten! It's Bunny War time at our home. No, I'm not going to kill the little cuties. All I want to do is let them enjoy the great prairie acres behind our fence. They have … [Read more...]
Follow Up on Using Preen This Summer to Control Weeds
This spring I posted about using Preen to control weeds instead of mulching. You can read that article here: Mulch In the Flower Bed - What Type to Use? I haven't liked any of the mulch materials we used in past gardens - newspapers (yuck!), grass (weedy and smelly), bark (can't cultivate and it … [Read more...]