There are the usual perennials we plant in South Dakota, knowing the cold winters will not harm them. The standards, hollyhocks, hosta, peonies, etc. There are the unusual perennials than the standbys, try planting different kinds of perennials with their…
All-America Selections, North America’s oldest and most well-known non-profit plant trialing organization has announced the first winners for 2020 including two entries from the Perennial Trial. Only those entries that performed better than the comparisons are granted the AAS award…
I hate mums—or more properly Chrysanthemum sp.—with a passion second only to my distaste for the new “fancy” petunias that never last through the summer. But mums are about as worthless in the garden in my estimation. Yes, they provide us some…
Choosing a vine for the garden is a tricky business. The perfect vine would be one that is beautiful, easy to grow and stops at the end of the trellis. The stopping part – or perhaps more accurately failing to…
It will be a jungle out there when my morning glory vines grow up! The morning glory can grow to be ten feet tall or more in a season, which made it a popular privy plant in the old days…
Another one of my favorite flowers are blooming now: Four o’clocks or Marvel of Peru. It is an unusual plant, in that it may produce flowers of different colors on the same plant—including white, yellow, and a variety of pink,…
First year in growing purslane. I have planted a couple of plants in a cement block and they are doing good. In the Mediterranean, it is used in soups and salads and has lots of potential health benefits. It lowers…
Bloodroot (Sanguinaria Canadensis) Bloodroot, one of the earliest Spring Wildflowers Bloodroot is more of a groundcover than a bedding plant, but its small, white flowers can really brighten a shady or woodland garden. After the flowers disappear, the blue-green leaves…
Plants that love sun in containers: 1. Lantana: It is great for a hot spot and the Lantana colors are nice too, with yellow, confetti and some lavender and white. It does good in sun and is drought tolerant. Try a…
Perennial Sunflower Helianthus Probably one of the most-loved flower, sunflower is a long-time favorite for borders and for bouquets because of their huge blossoms. While not quite as large as its annual cousin, the perennial sunflower makes up for what…
Marigold has an old variety called Victorian (spun orange) marigold. It is an extra-large, attractive, super-double flowers with tubular petals. The color is a pleasing, clear orange rather than the harsh orange-brown so often seen in African marigolds. Plants are…
If your plants’ leaves have a white or gray dust on them, powdery mildew is probably attacking your garden. It’s a common disease, and different strains of powdery mildew attack a wide range of plants. This problem usually occurs toward…
Cosmos are freely flowering annual plants that are ridiculously easy to grow. If you’re looking for a flower that will stay in bloom for months and can be grown by simply scattering seeds, cosmos is a great choice. The flowers…
“What’s that unusual plant?” is a question that almost always indicates someone has just spied the cleome blooming in my garden. I enjoy watching their eyes widen when I tell them they are “spider flowers.” Cleome common name captures how…
Over thousands of years, gardeners and farmers have carefully selected the best specimens of a season’s harvest (say, the sweetest or most frost-hardy carrots) and saved the seeds from those exemplary plants to sow again. Continued across generations, this process…