Plant Spotlight

     Some perennials have a come look at me attention in the garden center and this brunnera is just one of them.  'Silver Heart' has large heart shaped leaves that appear to have been whitewashed.  This relative of the forget-me-not plant is a long lived perennial that is both cold hardy and very tolerant of heat and humidity.  A great shade plant that will illuminate those shady dark spots of your yard! Emerging from a winters nap.  Taken on 3/19/19

All things are lawful, but not all things are helpful.  This is a huge point in gardening.  Somethings just are too much labor and fighting against the natural structure of how plants obtain nutrients, coexist with other organisms, and flourish within a set environment.  There a numerous ways to garden, yet taking it back to the delicate balance of how nature was intended to operate really enhances yields, productivity, and flavor. Soil is an active compilation of mineral, organic matter, and organisms.  It is within this biosphere that plants obtain the sustenance needed to grow, bud, flower, and fruit.  It...

       What's kohlrabi?  A general question when you mention this plant and one that is kind of hard to answer.  It is a turnip cabbage thingy that looks like kale...  Yeah, not so clear right.     This member of the broccoli family is commonly called the german turnip because it looks just like a turnip, but one that grows out of the soil.  The "bulb" of a kohlrabi is actually an enlarged stem and if you can picture a turnip bulb and a head cabbage becoming one then you have pictured the kohlrabi exactly.  These bulbs can grow rather large, but are normally harvested...

  I have been growing trailing pansies for a few years and the Cool Wave® collection is by far the best and easiest to grow.  Last October I transplanted runts (4 leaves or less) of the Golden Yellow, Morpho, Frost, and Purple. The plants bloomed a little before winter and were the size of regular pansies in December.  Then in spring they went crazy, spreading to almost a foot and a half across and were smothered with blooms until the middle of June.  A recipe to success...     When transplanting in the falI I use a blend of feather meal, bone meal, and azomite...

      A choice perennial that highlights the edge of the garden.  This perennial is perfect for dry areas and poor soils.  The texture and rich silver leaves present themselves in the middle of spring and then carry their color until fall.  Once the days start getting shorter in late September the foliage transitions to buttery yellow before dying back at this time we trim  This basal clump resembles silver sedum throughout the winter.  The blooms, which are secondary to the foliage, are borne in early summer, are silvery white, and blend in with the foliage.  A very easy to care...