Blog
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Compost Pile Potatoes
Last week while bringing a load of debris to the compost pile I spotted something growing in the mass of leaves, sticks, vegetative kitchen scraps and garden debris. After a few moments, I realized it was a compost pile potato vine. A few weeks ago I tossed potatoes in the pile and I guess they…
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Patient Craftsman of Exceptional Landscapes
I don’t want to say it’s been a bad year, it hasn’t. It’s been typical of what a year as a landscape designer and a contractor has been as long as I can remember. Typical meaning constant change and no guarantees. You Never Get Every Job It took me years to realize you’ll never get…
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Bird Baths and Husbands
Yesterday, I started the search for a bird bath for the back yard. I was hoping to find something simple, a flat stone with a bowl carved into it. Indeed I’ve admired a few like that over the years. I headed off to Swenson Granite. I spotted what I was looking for. Unfortunately, there was…
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Sugar Snap Peas First Bloom
Yesterday I spotted the first flower on my Sugar Snap Peas in my Square Foot Garden. I can’t wait to try them out! After some quick reading on the Burpee website I realized I made a few mistakes on my first try with Sugar Snap Peas. First, I should have staggered two to three planting…
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Husker Red Beardtongue – Penstemon digitalis ‘Husker Red’
Husker Red Beardtongue has a gorgeous flower. Clean foliage. Easy to care for. Slow to spread. Attracts hummingbirds. Drought tolerant. Husker Red Beardtongue may be the perfect perennial! I don’t use Beardtongue as often as I should but every year when it comes into bloom I can’t figure out why. It’s mid-June and Beardtongue is…
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Rabbit in the Garden
The last couple of nights this rabbit has been sitting on the edge of the woods eating carrots. It’s encouraging to see rabbits in the garden.
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Kitchen Compost Bin: The Best Laid Plans of Mice and Landscapers
The past few years I’ve been walking green kitchen scraps to the compost pile in the hopes of improving my soil and saving the environment. Unfortunately, the compost pile is about 80 feet from the kitchen. It takes time and I don’t enjoy making the trip in the rain, snow, and cold. I don’t like…
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Small Details Make a Big Difference
I installed the landscape above last fall. It’s along a lake and required plenty of natives to work with the habitat and regulations. Blue Flag Iris – Iris Versicolor While designing the landscape I noticed Jewel Weed growing next to a footbridge. I wondered if I could do better with a more colorful plant. As…
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White Fringetree – Chionanthus virginicus
Last week while driving I spotted the beauty above, a White Fringetree (Chionanthus virginicus) in full bloom. The tree was a sight to behold. I took this picture the first week of June in Zone 6a. Bloom time is in line with the Kousa Dogwood (Cornus kousa), possibly starting a little earlier. Dirr’s Hardy Trees…