Container gardening
Home and Garden Show Ideas Aplenty
The Minneapolis Home and Garden Show will be running two weekends this year (instead of just one), and we are excited to once again have scheduled a host of great garden speakers for you to hear. The talks will be held at the Garden Theater, just outside of the main doors to the show in…
Read MoreGarden Trends for 2016
It’s fun to see all the garden trends that marketers and other soothsayers are predicting. Another way to find out about what’s new in gardening is to see the kinds of presentations that are being made at garden shows and hort days around the state. You can get a sneak peak at many of the…
Read MoreEasy Tips for Fall Garden Decor
We’ve had such a warm and glorious fall, it’s been hard to let go of summer. But, really, when you are four days away from Halloween, there is no more pretending. Brighten your spirits and cheer up those who pass by your house with some fall garden decor. A few pumpkins, a spray of asters,…
Read MoreContainer Design by the Numbers
Thursday was the opening day of the St. Paul Home and Patio Show so I dropped by to catch a talk by Northern Gardener columnist Don Engebretson, a.k.a, the Renegade Gardener. Don was a pioneer in putting garden knowledge on the Internet and speaks at a variety of home and garden shows each winter. (He’s…
Read MoreGrowing Hostas in Pots? Why Not!
Using perennials—and even small shrubs—in containers has become more and more common as gardens shrink and breeders develop compact varieties. Hostas are among those perennials that do very well growing in the confines of containers. They come in thousands of cultivars and they are easy to care for, making them the perfect plant for busy…
Read MoreBare Minimum Fall Garden Clean Up
The weather over the next week in Minnesota looks exceptional with sunny highs in the 50s, 60s, maybe a minute or two of 70s. It’s the perfect time to clean up the garden! Of course, it’s also the perfect time to take a drive along the Mississippi River to see the leaves, to visit an…
Read MorePlant Shopping for Mother
Mother’s Day weekend is the traditional start of the plant shopping season. While this weekend’s weather may be unsettled, it won’t be cold. (And, we can all be grateful for that!) That means eager shoppers will be out selecting hanging baskets, pansies, petunias and other annuals to give as gifts to mom or just to…
Read MoreGarden Trends: Woody Plants in Containers
One of the garden trends we’re hearing about for 2014 is the greater use of woody plants — shrubs and trees — in containers. Using woody plants in containers offers greater choices to those with small or patio gardens. It also gives gardeners an opportunity to try plants that may be outside of our hardiness…
Read MoreFive Easy Fall Container Ideas
By this time, most Minnesotans have experienced a frost or even a freeze, and that means summer container plantings may be looking a little raggedy. We could still have another month or more of decent weather, so why not update a container — or plant a new one — for fall. Here are five easy…
Read MoreSummer Container Care
Your containers may look lovely in early summer, but what happens when the weather gets hot and the summer gets long? Sometimes the containers get bedraggled. On a garden tour not long ago, we asked the homeowner how she kept her containers fantastic all summer long. She gave three pieces of simple advice. First, she…
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