Northern Gardener - January/February 2020

MINNESOTA’S ONLY HOMEGROWN GARDENING MAGAZINE

Gardener Northern

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THE EARLIEST BLOOMS IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD

SERENE OASIS

IN THE SUBURBS ORTH CENTRAL CIRCULATION

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FIVE WAYS TO GARDEN SUSTAINABLY

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editor’s note a nonprofit organization

The Minnesota State Horticultural Society (MSHS) is a nonprofit, educational and charitable organization established in 1866. Our mission is to serve northern gardeners through education, encouragement and community.

For information about subscribing to Northern Gardener magazine or becoming an MSHS member, visit northerngardener.org/membership, call 651-6433601 or email membership@northerngardener.org.

Minnesota State Horticultural Society

1935 County Rd. B2 West, Suite 125, Roseville, MN 551131334 Phone: 651-643-3601 Editor: Mary Lahr Schier, 507-581-4145 Horticultural Editor: Debbie Lonnee Copy Editor: Julie Jensen Design: Barbara Pederson

MSHS Staff

Interim Executive Director: David Fey; DFey@northerngardener.org Community Outreach Director: Lara Lau-Schommer; LLSchommer@northerngardener.org Communications and Marketing Director: Becky Swee; BSwee@northerngardener.org Development Associate: Diane Duvall; DDuvall@northerngardener.org MSHS thanks volunteer Dennis Feit, who assisted the staff for many months in 2019.

MSHS Board of Directors

Mike Heger, Waconia, Chair Joel Karsten, Roseville, Vice Chair Margaret Klis, Minneapolis, Treasurer Laura Wagner, Minneapolis, Secretary

Mary Lahr Schier

Early Risers

F

or years, I watched for the tiny Iris reticulata in my front garden to bloom. The bulb was planted in a south-facing bed, backed by the wall of our garage. It was the warmest spot in a cold garden.

One year, it bloomed as early as March 13; another year, April 22. Sometimes it bloomed only to be buried by a spring snowstorm. (See photo below.) Other years, spring came fast and my little harbinger of better days to come bloomed and faded quickly.

I know I am not the only gardener to have a signal plant—the one we watch and wait for each year. After a long winter, that bloom becomes the sign, as writer Kathy Purdy notes in her article on early bulbs, that “the back of winter has been broken.”

I almost hate to mention this, knowing that you will likely be reading this in early January—that moment when winter seems to be its longest. Take heart. This issue is about beating the winter blues with garden inspiration and a few really clever ideas for geting an early start on the season.

At large: Tina Dombrowski, St. Paul Jennifer Ebeling, Maple Grove Del Hampton, Minneapolis Debra Kvamme, Blaine Judy MacManus, Sunfish Lake Mary Marrow, Minneapolis

Kathy, who runs the garden blog coldclimategardening.com, knows a thing or two about getting through winter. Her article on where to plant bulbs and which bulbs to choose begins on page 32. You’ll want to save it as you seek ways to plant more early bloomers in your yard.

Meg Cowden offers an inspiring article on how she starts her vegetable garden in February and begins harvesting in late April and early May. If you are a gardener who likes to push the season, be sure to check out the helpful chart Meg provides on when to plant individual crops. The article begins on page 36. Finally, if you just want to sit back and relax, check out Diane McGann’s story about Lisa Moran’s fantastic secluded garden in Woodbury.

It starts on page 22.

—Mary Lahr Schier, editor

mary@maryschier.com P.S. You’ll also find in this issue a brochure about donating to MSHS and a list of the hundreds of folks who keep the society and this magazine going through their generosity. Thank you all!

Connect with us

Copyright 2020 by MSHS. Printed in the USA on recycled paper. All rights reserved. No portion of this publication may be reprinted without permission from MSHS. The information published in Northern Gardener reflects the experiences and opinions of the writers and is not necessarily endorsed by MSHS. Northern Gardener is a registered trademark of MSHS.

www.facebook.com/mnhort

(ISSN) 1529-8515. Northern Gardener is published bimonthly (January/February, March/April, May/June, July/August, September/ October, November/December) by the Minnesota State Horticultural Society, 1935 County Rd. B2 W., Suite 125, Roseville, MN 55113.

Periodicals postage paid at St. Paul, Minn., and additional post offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Northern Gardener, 1935 County Rd. B2 W., Suite 125, Roseville, MN 55113.

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Early blooming Iris reticulata sometimes gets caught in a spring snowstorm.

January/February 2020

1

MINNESOTA

STATE

HORTICULTURAL

SOCIETY'S

ANNUAL BULB FUNDRAISER SUSTANE PROVEN WINNERS AD AD

Members receive free admission to the show and 15% off all bulbs

Minneapolis Home & Garden Show February 26 - March 1 MORE

INFO

AT

NORTHERNGARDENER.ORG

www.northerngardener.org

contents

January/February 2020 | Volume 148, Number 1

in every issue

features

1

Editor’s Note

22

4

MSHS News: Classes,

14

Northern Natives:

calendar and more.

27

Wild ginger.

Kitchen Garden:

32

By Design: It’s the leaves.

BY DIANE MCGANN

18

Plant to Pick:

36

Ornamental onion cultivars.

Early Bloomers For the earliest blooms on the block, pick bulbs carefully and plant strategically.

Get Sowing!

Harness your garden enthusiasm to start vegetables in winter.

BY MEG COWDEN

How-to:

40

African violets: Make more plants.

BY ERIC JOHNSON

20

To add texture to your garden all season, think leaves.

BY KATHY PURDY

BY DEBBIE LONNEE

19

Feeling with Foliage

BY MICHELLE MERO RIEDEL

Plant a pizza garden.

BY SAMANTHA JOHNSON

17

Protected from a sprawling suburb, this secluded garden delights and soothes.

BY DIANE MCGANN

BY BETH STETENFELD

16

Serene Oasis

Sustainable Steps Five simple ways gardeners can ‘live lightly on the land.’

BY GAIL BROWN HUDSON

Pollinators: Bee and Pollinator Discovery Center.

BY RHONDA FLEMING HAYES

21

Garden Solutions: Jumping worms.

BY LAURA SCHWARZ

43

Gardener’s Market

44

Northern View Plant it and . . .

BY THERESA ROONEY

about the cover

Snowdrops are among the earliest blooms in the North.

Read more on page 32. Photo by Jennifer McGuinness

a nonprofit organization

Northern Gardener is published by the Minnesota State Horticultural Society.

MSHS classes Classes are sponsored by MSHS but held at various locations. Enrollment is limited, and registration is required. Register online at northerngardener.org/mshs-events. Questions?

Contact llschommer@northerngardener.org. Refunds will not be issued for nonattendance except by cancellation at least one week before class.

Vermicomposting: Create High Quality Compost at Home – Webinar Wednesday, Jan. 15, 6:30 to 7:30 p.m.

Cost: Free members, $10 nonmembers Location: Your computer.

Vermicomposting (or composting with worms) is a safe, efficient and yearround way to turn kitchen waste into rich, biologically active compost for your garden. In this class, we’ll go over all you need to know to successfully make this “black gold.” This class is for people who have never tried vermicomposting before and for people who may want to increase their capacity or volume of home vermicomposting. You will learn the details of how this composting system works scientifically and ways to avoid common vermicomposting mistakes.

Instructor: Nick Schneider owns and operates the personal chef company, Thrive Chef Works. He is a prolific backyard fruit and vegetable grower and former market gardener for Farm in the City, St. Paul. He’s been vermicomposting for 13 years.

Landscape Design Basics Five sessions: Mondays, Jan. 27, Feb. 3, 10, 17 and 24; 6 to 9 p.m.

Registration deadline: Jan. 22 Cost: $149 members ($249 per member couple); $159 nonmembers ($259 per nonmember couple). Price includes 15 hours of instruction, a comprehensive course packet, lab materials and a set of basic landscape design tools plus snacks, coffee and tea.

Location: 405 Alderman Hall, University of Minnesota, St. Paul campus, 1970 Folwell Ave., St. Paul.

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www.northerngardener.org

In this five-session workshop, you’ll learn the theory and basic principles of sustainable landscape design and how to avoid common mistakes made by novices and professionals alike. The curriculum is comprehensive and has been specifically developed to allow participants to use their own property as a class project by designing an entry garden, a deck or patio garden, or other landscape space.

Each workshop session will culminate in a hands-on, take-home assignment that will allow participants to put pencil to paper and apply the techniques learned to their personal landscape. The workshop will also include time for critiques of your ideas during the last four sessions as you develop your designs.

Instructors: Julie Weisenhorn, University of Minnesota Extension horticulture educator, and Jim Calkins, landscape horticulturist and former landscape design and management instructor at the University of Minnesota.

Year-Round Indoor Salad Gardening Tuesday, Feb. 4, 6:30 to 8 p.m. $10 members, $15 nonmembers Location: MSHS Classroom, 1935 Cty. Rd. B2 W., Roseville.

Did you know you can grow fresh salad greens throughout the winter with no lights, no greenhouse and little more than a cupboard and a windowsill? Lee Olson will teach you how to grow sprouted seeds in soil. You will leave with five trays to take home: broccoli, radishes, sunflowers, peas and buckwheat.

Instructor: Lee Olson is a popular presenter who has taught indoor salad gardening to more than 2,500 people.

2020 Make and Take: Sweet Petite Hearts and Roses Monday, Feb. 10, 6:30 to 8 p.m.

Cost: $40 members, $45 nonmembers Location: Bad Weather Brewery, 414 Seventh St. W., St. Paul.

Brush up on your floral design skills just in time for Valentine’s Day. At this class, you will make a floral arrangement with mixed foliage, sweet accents and beautiful red roses in a red vintage keepsake container. Arching midolino stems create a graceful heart sheltering the flowers. The overall design is 10 to 12 inches tall. This is the perfect gift for you or a loved one.

Instructor: Jenn Hovland is the owner and principal designer of Fleur de Louise Flower Studio in Stillwater.

Landscape Design Basics – One Day Class Saturday, March 28, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Cost: $130 members ($210 per member couple); $135 nonmembers ($220 per nonmember couple). Price includes a comprehensive course packet, lab materials and a set of basic landscape design tools.

Location: 405 Alderman Hall, University of Minnesota, St. Paul campus, 1970 Folwell Avenue, St. Paul.

This day-long workshop is your opportunity to learn the theory and basic principles of sustainable landscape design and how to avoid the mistakes that are commonly made by novices and professionals alike. The curriculum is comprehensive and covers much of the same material covered in the five-session course. This class will use a landscape case study to teach students the steps of the design process.

Instructors: Julie Weisenhorn and Jim Calkins.

Submit and view more events online at northerngardener.org/communitycalendar-of-events. Questions? Contact shoehn@northerngardener.org.

Community Events Hennepin County Horticultural Society Growing Roses and the History of Lyndale Park Rose Garden Andrew Gawboy, presenter Monday, Jan. 13, 7 to 8:30 p.m.

Faith Lilac Way Church, 5530 42nd Ave. N., Robbinsdale.

Learn about our local gem, the Lyndale Park Rose Garden, which has delighted visitors since 1908. Andrew will share how roses are grown for the park and tips for making rose care less complicated at home. You’ll learn how to select a rose, the best places from which to order, care, winterization and common pests and how to deal with them in an environmentally friendly way. Park and enter in the back of the church.

Contact: hennepincountygardeners@ gmail.com.

Men’s and Women’s Garden Club of Minneapolis The Chinese Garden at the University of Minnesota Landscape Arboretum Erik Lemke, arboretum landscape gardener, presenter Tuesday, Jan. 14, 7:30 to 8:30 p.m.

Lake Harriet United Methodist Church, 4901 Chowen Ave. S., Minneapolis.

Contact: Events at mwgcm.org.

Rochester Flower and Garden Club Beware the Asian Jumping Worm Beth Solie, master gardener, presenter Thursday, Jan. 16, 6:30 to 7:30 p.m.

Rochester Community and Technical College Heintz Center, 1926 Collegeview Rd., Rochester.

Beth has learned firsthand the damage these worms can do and will share her experience and photos with us. She will offer current information from the University of Minnesota on avoiding and combatting jumping worms.

Contact: Carol, dcnaatz@yahoo.com.

Orchid Society of Minnesota Orchids and Their Pollinators Natalie Goldston, Marjorie McNeely Conservatory, presenter Saturday, Jan. 18, 1 to 3 p.m.

Bachman’s Garden Center Heritage Room,

6010 Lyndale Ave. S., Minneapolis.

Learn what happens behind closed doors between orchids and their pollinators. See how specific structures of the orchid’s flower entice its special pollinator to gather and deposit pollen to fertilize the flower.

Contact: orchidsocietyofminnesota@ gmail.com.

Garden Club of Ramsey County Benefits of Native Grasses Mary Meyer, horticulturist, presenter Tuesday, Jan. 21, 7:30 to 8:30 p.m.

St. Luke Lutheran Church, 1807 Field Ave., St. Paul.

University of Minnesota horticulturist Mary Meyer has studied grasses for over 30 years and manages the Grass Collection at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum. Learn why native grasses are good for your garden and native butterflies as well as which grasses can tolerate dry sites, shade and wet conditions.

Contact: admin@ramseygardeners.org, ramseygardeners.org.

Orchid Society of Minnesota St. Paul Winter Carnival Orchid Show Sunday, Jan. 26, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Monday, Jan. 27, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Marjory McNeely Conservatory, 1225 Estabrook Dr., St. Paul.

Now in its 45th year, the Winter Carnival Orchid Show has become the premier winter event for orchid lovers throughout the Midwest. Hundreds of blooming orchid plants will be displayed by the Orchid Society of Minnesota, Marjorie McNeely Conservatory, commercial orchid vendors and individual society members. You can learn about orchid culture from orchid society members and vendors, and purchase quality orchids.

Cost: $5; $3 for children ages 3 to 12 ($1 off admission for Como Friends members or for visitors with Winter Carnival button).

Contact: orchidsocietyofminnesota@ gmail.com.

St. Anthony Park Garden Club Salivating for Salvias Mary Maguire Lerman, retired horticul-

MSHS Office Hours Monday through Thursday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Friday, by appointment Office closed Feb. 24-28 for the Minneapolis Home and Garden Show.

turist, Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board, presenter Tuesday, Feb. 4, 7:15 to 8:30 p.m.

St. Anthony Park Lutheran Church, 2323 Como Ave., St. Paul.

Salvias benefit three pollinator groups.

Learn about hardy and non-hardy cultivars plus newer releases.

Contact: sapgardenclub@comcast.net.

Hennepin County Horticultural Society Humane Critter Control Theresa Rooney, author and master gardener, presenter.

Monday, Feb. 10, 7 to 8:30 p.m.

Faith Lilac Way Church, 5530 42nd Ave. N., Robbinsdale.

Theresa will share how to keep pests away safely and organically as well as clever ways to be proactive and stop pests from feasting on your garden. She will share ideas for protective barriers, how to use scent to your advantage and recommend methods and products that are kind to wildlife and insects but also healthier for children and pets. Her book, The Guide to Humane Critter Control (Cool Springs Press, 2017), will also be for sale. Guests welcome. Park and enter in the back of the church.

Contact: hennepincountygardeners@ gmail.com.

Men’s and Women’s Garden Club of Minneapolis Succulents for Minnesota Climates Susan Kennedy, Minnesota Cactus and Succulent Society, presenter Tuesday, Feb. 11, 7:30 to 8:30 p.m.

Lake Harriet United Methodist Church, 4901 Chowen Ave. S., Minneapolis.

Susan will share her knowledge of growing succulents and cacti indoors and outdoors, as well as those that are hardy and non-hardy for Minnesota climates.

Contact: Events at mwgcm.org.

Calendar continues on page 9 January/February 2020

5

Gifts from generous gardeners like you make the Society a valuable resource for the northern gardening community. honor roll of donors The following is an honor roll of those individual, corporate, foundation, business and affiliated organization donors who contributed during the twelve months from July 1, 2018 to June 30, 2019 at $50 and above. We are honored to partner with our donors at every level and thank each and every one of you for your generous support.

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www.northerngardener.org

Vendla Fahning Maryse Fan Kay Fellows Karen Fenske Sandra Fetyko Sally Finzel, Morning Sky Greenery Jack & Amy Fistler Marilyn J. Flath Mary Foster Bernadette A. Franckowiak Shirley Friberg Ellen Fridinger George Frisch Tami Gallagher, Home Sown Gardens Rebecca Ganzel Thompson Joan Gardner James P. Gehrey Leland B. Gehrke Arlene Geissinger General Mills Foundation Colleen Gengler Erin L. George Janice M. Gerke Larry Gieseke Mary Beth Giesel Daren Gislason Bryan Gjevre Nancy Glass Robert Glesne Susan Goldstein, Susie’s Garden Goodhue County Horticultural Society Google, Inc. Marilyn & Bill Gorham Monica Graham Janet Graves Daniel Greene & James Scott Greene Edith Greene Corrine Grochowski Nancy A. Gross Amy & Julie Gudmestad Marwy Hagen Pamela Haglund Margaret Hall Marsha Hamre Ramona Hanneken Peg Hansen Robert Harris Helen Hartfiel Gerald A. Haugen Blanche Hawkins Mary Beth Henderson

heirloom circle

MSHS

MSHS Heirloom Circle members have included the Society e ir l l o o m C ir c in their will or as a beneficiary of their retirement fund or insurance policy, providing long-term financial stability to inspire, educate and connect gardeners. e

Lynn Beihl Patricia Belois Keith Benker William Berg George Bergh Marty Bergland Nancy Berry Bonnie Beverly Gwendolyn Bisek John Bjorklund Mark Blakstad William Bleier Suzanne Blue Michael Boggess Karen Boros Mark H. Brakke Janet & Len Brenny Barbara Sue Brett Naomi Brill Deborah L. Brown Linda Bruemmer Nap Bruneau Katherine Burek Patricia Burns Peggy Burress Bran Callet Debra Calmes Margaret Cargill Foundation Theresa Carlson Karen Chandler Cherokee Heights Garden Club City of Minneapolis Health Department Kay Coddington Elaine Cole Ann Cooper Mary Jo Cosio Kathryn Crawford Tom Cytron-Hyson Nora Davis Mollie Dean Janie Delaney Robert Dolle, Jr. William B. Donnay Linda Donnelly Hurlburt Diane Duvall Faye Duvall Janet Eckroad Barbara Ego Nancy Eicher Rebecca & Tim Emory Debbie Enyeart Ron Erhardt Georgiann & Joseph Errigo Jim Ertl

H

Marjorie Hols Ruth & Alvin Huss Joel Karsten Margaret Klis & Dennis Feit Antoinette & Joseph Kluck JUNIPER John P. Longendyke $1,000 to $4,999 Medtronic Foundation Jan & Walker Angell Men’s and Women’s Gordon & Jo Bailey Garden Club of Susan & Joel Barker Minneapolis Barb Burleigh Russell & Marcelle Noyes James Cargill Katherine Meehan & B. J. Dahlberg Emmett Carpel Tina Dombrowski Frans & Sandy Officer Joan Duddingston Warren H. Olson Jennifer Ebeling Pat Peine The Judia Fund Andrew Peltier The Head Family Mary Jo Peterson Foundation Michelle Mero Riedel Hank J. Herrmann Sam & Vera Fund of the Janice Johnson Minneapolis Foundation Adele Kaufman Susan M. Kennedy Fund Marlin D. Schenck Renee Schlabach Marilyn R. Larson South St. Paul James Miller & Garden Club Cherie Peterson North Oaks Garden Club Linda Lorenz & Terry Smith John G. III & Marla B. Eric & Sara Werzel Ordway Charitable Lead Trust HARALSON Ramsey County SHIP $50 to $499 Ryan Family Fund Betty Ann Addison Saint Paul Garden Club James Almquist Gary W. Schokmiller Gretchen Ambrosier Jerald & Lee Shannon Carla Goers & Tom Iago Ameriprise Financial Valerie Ames Dennis Van Sloun Joan Andersen The John & Renata Ann Anderson Winsor Fund of the Minneapolis Foundation Dorothy Anderson Elwood Anderson Greg D. Anderson GINKGO Linda Sue Anderson $500 to $999 Marlys Anderson Anonymous Kathy Andrews Denis Bakke Anonymous (7) Kris Barnaby Martha Terry Beitlich Armstrong-Dorau Wayne Damerow Beverly Atkinson Eagan Garden Club Robert S. Ayers Garden Club of Laverne & Barbara Ramsey County Dunsmore GiveMN Bruce Barry Del Hampton Elizabeth Beck Margaret Harkness Kathleen Beck Mike & Jean Heger Carolyn Becker Hennepin County Janice Becker Horticultural Society OAK $5,000 to $50,000 Ruth Berg The Cargill Foundation HealthPartners PowerUp

Anonymous (3) Ira & Maureen* Adelman Carol Banister Terry Beitlich Ruth Berg * Kathy Cleary* Crystal Clift* Marlene Collen Rose M. Decker* Helen C. Fischer* Kenneth & Marjorie Fisher* Hank Herrmann * Andrew Holewa * Marjorie A. Hyland* Joyce & Terry Hochsprung Esther Johnson* Melvin Lindquist * Donald & Elsie Miller* Luanne Muller* Dennis Nelson Viann Pearson Joe Plante & Eric Neumann Marion Rohde* Annette Roth Jerald & Lee Shannon Ralph* & Loanne Thrane Esther Tikalsky Hazel Toppari * Helen C. Wilson* Bertha Ann Witte * *Deceased

WE DO OUR BEST TO LIST ALL DONORS ACCURATELY AND APOLOGIZE IF WE HAVE NOT DONE SO. PLEASE CONTACT US IF WE NEED TO MAKE ANY CORRECTIONS.

Charles Hendrix Hidden Valley Garden Club Joan Higinbotham A. Peter Hilger Roger Hintze Susan Hoehn Carl Hoffman Bonnie Hollibush Alice Holm Stephen Horan Terrence P. Horrigan, MD Kristin Hott Patty & John Hren-Rowan Leslie Hughes Ann Reginald Huidekoper Susan Hustings, Highland Nursery Audrey Ice Jerry Irsfeld Kathleen Jackson Kay Jacobson Rita Jacobson Marcia Jaeb Patricia James Charity Fretty & Jeff Kemmer Karl Johansson Lee Johnson Mick Johnson Renee Johnson Steven Johnson Susan Johnson Ellen Jones Kathleen Jones Diane & Dennis Jordan Rachel Kahler Roxanne Kallman John Keller Irma & Bruce Kelley Michaeleen Kelzenberg Sharon Kjellberg Katherine Knudson Cindy Kodada James Kortz Sue Kotz Tom A. Kraack Erin Krebs Sharon Krumme Evonne Kuyper Debra Kvamme Patricia Lahti Lake Minnetonka Garden Club Lake Owasso Garden Club

David Lande Bette Larson Dick & Carolyn Larson G. John Larson Teri Larson Dianne Plunkett Latham & Dan Latham Peter Laudert Dale C. Lauer Sandi Lauer Maurice Lazarus Norma A. Leino Renay W. Leone Mary Maguire Lerman Lisa Lewis Patricia Libra GayLynn Liljemark Mary Lilly Jean Ljungkull Aaron LeRoy Lofgren Kathy Lucas Mary Lustig Theresa Lydon Dana Mack Martha MacMillan Carol R. Madison Kathi Austin Mahleg Roy Maki Edward Maranda Fred Marken, Royal Weeder Paul W. Markwardt William Marth Craig Martin Robert Martin Alison Marzolf Elizabeth Massie Donna Maston Cindy Matiski Fred & Mitzi McCormick Catherine McGinnis Eileen McIsaac Pat Medbery Mendota Heights Garden Club John Mercer Kathryn Davis Messerich Mary Meyer Michael Fredrick Miller Susan Mollick Joyce M. Moody Joan Moseman Yoshinobu Motoyama Valerie Muckenhirn Patricia A. Mullen Joanie Murphy Karen Natwick Karen Neenan

Kristen C. Nelson Steve Nelson Karen Nemchik Sharon Nibbe Catherine Niewoehner Sandra Nussbaum David Olson Jennifer Olson Jerilynn Ommen Joan M. Osell Dru Osterud Douglas Owens-Pike Debra Palmquist Deb Parker Diane Pearson Helen Pennie Barbara J. Peterson Maren E. Peterson Susan Peterson Kent Petterson Jamie L. Pfuhl Joe Plante & Eric Neumann Dionette Polacek Barbara Price Randall Propp Susan Rasmussen Matt Ratliff Nola Relay Catherine Richter Kathy Robin Donna Rodel Katherine Rohe Tracy A. Rolf Deborah Roos John Rosenow, Cowsmo Compost Annette Roth Jackie Ryder Alexei Sacks George Salner Lorraine Sande Pamela Sanders Maria Scheidegger Mary Lahr Schier Eileen Schlentz Pat Schott Ben Matthew Schrepf Janice Schuler Mariana Schunk Kay Schwebke Penelope Scialla Margaret Searles Linda Sellars David Shaw Madelyn Shelstad Shoreview Community Garden Club

Betty Sjovall Beth Sletta Elaine Smith Kristine Smith Paula Soholt Kristine Solberg Charles Sorenson Joan Sorenson Jerry Starkey Marsha Starr Ruth Stephens Mary Stimson Bonnie Stockhaus Terri Stockinger Claire Stokes Karen Sutherland Jeffrey Suttle Dean Swanson Dorothy Thalhuber Andrew J. Thomas Marilyn Thompson Patricia A. Thompson Julie Tinberg Paul & Janet Tolzmann Deb Tomczyk Mary Trandem Paul Tuchman U.S. Bank Foundation United Health Group Kirk Vadnais Kathy Vagts Kris Van Pelt Maureen Vince Vicky Vogels Barbara Wagner Joanne Wahlstrom Cathy Waldhauser Susan Wampole John Webb Pamela Weinstein Norman Wente Deborah Wheeler Brenda Wickenhauser Sandra Wilkinson Beth Wilson Ronald Wilson Rosemary Wislofsky Kate Wolford Jim Wrobleski Theresa Yockey Mary Kay York William Zajicek Merrie Zakaras Paula Zollman DONATIONS, IN KIND Abrahamson Nurseries Alexis Bailly Vineyard

Gretchen Ambrosier AMC Rosedale Bachman’s Bailey Nurseries Beisswenger’s Hardware Bjorn Timeless Portraits Blue Heron Soap Blue Plate Restaurants Les Bolstad Brasa Rotisserie Nancy Cameron Chili’s Restaurant Como Park Zoo and Conservatory Crystal Cave Cub Liquor, St. Paul Steve & Helen Dahlman Dakota Jazz Club Wayne Damerow Tina Dombrowski Karol Emmerich Dennis Feit Foster’s Inc. Fresh Thyme Farmers Market Fruits, Nuts & Vegetables Farms, LLC Garden World Inc. Gardens of Salonica Gertens Gibbs Farm Glensheen Good Earth Restaurant Grand Cafe Green Earth Growers Guthrie Theater Hardware Hank Mike Heger Hennepin Technical College Carla Hibbison History Theater Susan Hustings HyVee, Oakdale Laurie Jensen Jester Concepts Katherine Johannes Joel Karsten Jeff Kasper Peg Keiser Kelley & Kelley Nursery Linda Kilcher Margaret Klis Antoinette Kluck Koehler & Dramm Kowalski’s Market Debra Kvamme Stephanie Laitala-Rupp

Patrick Larson Lexington Floral Mary Maguire Lerman Malmborg’s Garden Center Marcos Pizza and Family Video Menards, Blaine Mickman Brothers Minnesota Twins Moe’s of Mounds View Monrovia Growers My Sister’s Garden Olive Garden, Roseville Panola Gardens Perfect Pitch Piano Mary Prokopiuk Proven Winners Resolution Graphics Michelle Mero Riedel Riedel Photography Royal Weeder Running Aces Casino Rush Creek Growers Tom Saby Sailer’s Greenhouse Mary Lahr Schier Gary W. Schokmiller Smart Pot Soderberg’s Kristine Solberg Spring Meadow Nursery Springwood Gardens Stages Theatre Co. Superior Outdoor Expressions Tangletown Gardens Target Center, Blaine Toro Foundation Theater in the Round Theater Latte Da Paul & Janet Tolzmann Toro Foundation Total Wine & More Trader Joe’s, Shoreview Urban’s Nursery Villa Bellezza Winery & Vineyard Vicky Vogels Laura Wagner Wagner Greenhouses & Garden Centers Waldoch Farms Jeanne Weiggum Wells Piano Deborah Wheeler Young Joni

TRIBUTE GIFTS Alexandria Garden Club In Memory of Bill Skalisky Cherokee Heights Garden Club In Memory of Nancy Kane Garden Club of Ramsey County In Memory of Luann Muller Mendota Heights Garden Club In Honor of Lee & Jerry Shannon & Ginny Black Terry Beitlich In Memory of Nola Wagner

Keith Benker In loving memory of Adena Mayer Janet & Len Brenny In Honor of Rose Eggert Lynda Carlson In Memory of Thomas J. Davies Marie Clough-Nelson In Memory of Ilert Anderson Lone S. Cooke In Memory of Eileen Sirny

Mary Jo Cosio In Memory of Anna Muehlis B. J. Dahlberg In Honor of Ainsley Hensel Faye Duvall In Honor of MSHS staff Charity Fretty & Jeff Kemmer In Memory of Margaret Haapo ja & Marie Kragenbring, our beloved northern gardeners

Mary & Wayne Hagen In Memory of Marie Clou Nelson Mary & Wayne Hagen In Memory of LaVonne Swart Roy Maki & Susanne Miller In Memory of Judith A. Crute Dianne Plunkett Latham & Dan Latham In Memory of Virginia Bodine

Heather Smith In Memory of Nola Wagner Julie Tinberg In Memory of Mary Rosch Vicky Vogels In Memory of Nola Wagner Sandra Wilkinson In Memory of Bette Levin

January/February 2020

7

mshs news

For more information on MSHS events and activities, visit our website at northerngardener.org.

Growing With New Leadership MSHS welcomed David Fey as interim executive director in November. David brings more than 20 years of executive leadership experience, and has served over 30 nonprofit and public-sector organizations during the last decade. With a focus on facilitating strategic thinking and improving organizational effectiveness, he loves helping mission-driven organizations build strong partnerships, manage leadership change and evaluate changing community needs.

Most recently, David served as interim executive director for JustUs Health, a statewide nonprofit agency working to achieve health equity and lead Minnesota’s fight to stop HIV. Previously he served as deputy mayor of Minneapolis under Mayor R.T. Rybak.

David holds a master’s degree in architecture from the University of Minnesota and was one of the designers of downtown St. Paul’s Minnesota History Center.

Born in Wisconsin and a Minnesota resident for most of his life, David is not a stranger to the Midwest and cold-climate gardening. He spent most of his weekends, while growing up, on the hobby farm his family owned in the beautiful Driftless Area.

He lives with his partner, Hugh, in Minneapolis, where he starts each day with yoga and meditation. He also sings with the Twin Cities Gay Men’s Chorus.

David will lead MSHS as the organization transitions to a new full-time executive director and strengthens its mission, goals and programs. Please join the MSHS Board of Directors and staff in welcoming David to the society.

Double Your Impact Now is the perfect time to make your gift above membership or subscription dues— especially if you have not donated before. Thanks to a generous MSHS member, a gift of any amount from every new donor will be matched dollar for dollar up to $5,000 until Jan. 31. Please donate today and help us take advantage of this very special opportunity to expand our program outreach!

Join Us at the 2020 Minneapolis Home and Garden Show Stock Up on Bulbs MSHS holds one of its biggest fundraisers of the year at the Minneapolis Home and Garden Show (Feb. 26 to March 1)—a plant sale, featuring lily bulbs, bare-root hostas, dahlia tubers and other summer-blooming plants.

Why buy bulbs in the middle of winter? Because the prices are exceptional!

We pack the bulbs in a medium that keeps them from drying out, so you can store them in the vegetable bin of your refrigerator until spring.

Once the ground is thawed and dry, plant sun-loving bulbs in an area that gets at least six hours of sun a day, in soil that drains easily. By early July, your bulb will be in bloom! Hostas prefer a shadier location and will provide you with beautiful foliage throughout the season.

Hear Great Garden Speakers This year there will be one stage at the show featuring leaders in both the home and garden sectors. MSHS is a co-sponsor of the stage, and we have booked an amazing lineup of speakers on topics such as soil, pollinators, seed starting and more.

Meet Our Partners MSHS will be joined at the show by some of our local partners. The Hennepin County Master Gardeners will be available to answer gardening questions.

The University of Minnesota Bee Squad will field pollinator questions. And, the Master Gardeners Youth Program will host activities for children. Kids will learn about the stages of butterfly development, and master gardener volunteers will assist youth in planting seeds in a small pot with a butterfly-friendly plant.

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Volunteer at the Show

Thanks to donors, the MSHS Garden-in-a-Box program reaches thousands of children each year.

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Scheduling for volunteers for the show begins in early January. Please visit our website to find job descriptions and the link to our sign-up page. Thank you for your continued support. We couldn’t do these shows without you.

Events continued from page 5

Orchid Society of Minnesota New Phragmipedium Hybrids and Culture Jason Fischer, Orchids Limited, presenter Saturday, Feb. 15, 1 to 3 p.m.

Bachman’s Garden Center Heritage Room, 6010 Lyndale Ave. S., Minneapolis.

Jason is a leading hybridizer of phragmipediums. Discover the new beautiful phragmipediums that are available and their cultural requirements.

Contact: orchidsocietyofminnesota@ gmail.com.

Rochester Flower and Garden Club The Magic of Bonsai Mary Beth Thesing, floral designer, presenter Thursday, Feb. 20, 6:30 to 7:30 p.m.

Rochester Community and Technical College Heintz Center, 1926 Collegeview Rd., Rochester.

Mary Beth will share her in-depth knowledge of plant varieties suitable for bonsai, propagation and plant care.

Contact: Carol, dcnaatz@yahoo.com.

Minnesota Peony Society Floral Design and Cut Flower Production From Peonies Phyllis Andrews, National Garden Club, and Piet Wierstra, owner of Oregon Perennial Co., presenters Saturday, Feb. 22, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Bachman’s Garden Center Heritage Room, 6010 Lyndale Ave. S., Minneapolis.

This daylong event is free and open to the public. Presentations include: 11 a.m.: Floral Design Seminar, featuring Phyllis Andrews. Learn more about floral design using peonies, from Andrews, a National Garden Club judge, MSHS instructor and supervisor of floral competitions at the Minnesota State Fair.

1 p.m.: Cut Flower Production from Peonies with Piet Wierstra, a longtime producer/wholesaler of premium rootstock for peonies, daylilies and other flowering perennials. This presentation will cover growing peonies as well as peonies as a cut flower for the florist trade.

Contact: http://mnpeony.org/events.

Dakota County Master Gardeners Spring Expo—Let’s Get Growing Saturday, Feb. 29, 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

Rosemount Community Center, 13885 S. Robert Trl., Rosemount.

This event is for gardeners of all skill levels interested in home gardening. This annual event includes classes, a keynote speaker, lunch, silent auction and a chance to win door prizes.

Cost: $40, includes lunch.

Contact: dakotamastergardeners.org.

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9

Landscape Design Basics Workshop

SPOTLIGHT

Discount Partners 10

tensive experience (and fun) to the class. Longtime friends and colleagues, they taught landscape design classes together in the U’s Department of Horticultural Science and co-wrote a manual on landscape design with Professor Emeritus Brad Pedersen in 2003.

As an extension educator, Julie has statewide responsibility for horticulture education with a focus on plant selection, sustainable residential landscape design and best gardening practices especially for pollinator health. “It’s the best job I’ve ever had,” she says. You can also find Julie some Saturday mornings on the WCCO Smart Garden radio show.

A landscape horticulturist, Calkins describes himself as “a Ph.D. with a ISTOCK.COM

MSHS is collaborating with University of Minnesota Extension again to bring gardeners the workshop, Landscape Design Basics for Homeowners. This comprehensive class focuses on the landscape process from site analysis (including soil sampling) to concept plans to site-specific plant selection. Hands-on labs during class allow students to practice developing good bed-lines, mixing and matching plants and building flexibility into designs. You can take the workshop as a five-evening class where students work on their own project or as a one-day class where students work on a residential landscape design case study.

With so much information and hands-on time, it’s no wonder this is our most popular class. Instructors Julie Weisenhorn and Jim Calkins bring ex-

sense of humor” and strongly supports the notion that there are no bad plants—only good plants in the wrong place. Jim is a horticultural consultant, landscape designer and educator as well as research information director and regulatory affairs manager for the Minnesota Nursery and Landscape Association.

For registration information for this popular class, visit northerngardener.org.

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How to Make a Plant Love You

HOT OFF THE PRESS

By Summer Rayne Oakes Optimism Press, 2019 Knowing that Summer Rayne Oakes lives in a Brooklyn, N.Y., apartment with about 1,000 plants, I expected her first gardening book to be about houseplant care. While you certainly can learn elements of plant care from this book, it is not a how-to manual. Rather, Oakes delves into the why-to of gardening and caring for plants.

She grew up in a rural area and developed a fascination with the nearby plants and animals. She holds a degree in entomology, but work as a writer and fashion model took Oakes to New York City, where she began to care for plants as a form of contemplation. As humans, she notes, “we want to be

around plants; we know deep down that they make us feel at home.”

Oakes particularly addresses young plant lovers (she’s in her mid-30s), who have moved to urban areas in unprecedented numbers and are less likely to own homes or have outdoor gardens. Learning a plant’s history, its needs and developing rituals to care for it takes a gardener from a possessive “plant lust” to a giving “plant love,” she says. It also expands our creativity, resilience, artfulness and connection with others, Oakes says. “Organizing my life around nature has, no pun intended, helped me feel grounded as the world around me has been uprooted,” she says.

The book is peppered with quotes from fellow plant-lovers and exer-

MAKE IT YOURS

cises to increase the reader’s awareness of plants and nature.

—Mary Lahr Schier

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Centro Tyrone Guzman and Master Gardeners

Latino communities in the Twin Cities had not traditionally received services from the Hennepin County Master Gardener program. That’s precisely why Terry Straub and six other master gardeners reached out to Centro Tyrone Guzman, the oldest and largest multi-service Latin nonprofit in Minneapolis. What better way to cultivate confianza (trust) between Latino and Anglo gardeners than to spend a summer planting seeds, growing veggies and herbs, and making fresh salsa together?

Extension master gardener volunteers offered a full summer curriculum to help more than 60 Centro community members, ages 4 to 70, grow as gardeners. Centro youth and elders enjoyed weekly presentations on starting seeds, growing healthy vegetables, creating

READY TO

pollinator habitat, and learning a variety of plant names—in both English and Spanish, of course. A mix of classroom time and hands-on gardening sessions brought all ages together and sparked a lasting bond between the groups.

Beyond growing gardeners, this program has had a lasting impact on the Centro community. The summer sessions were so successful (and fun!) that the Centro community and the master gardeners decided to continue gathering for gardening activities twice a week throughout the year. Two Centro staff members have now entered the master gardener program. And, Centro’s youth have been busy using homegrown ingredients to make their sought-after salsa—next time you visit a Twin Cities metro area farmers market, bring a

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GROWING TOGETHER

jar home and support these budding gardeners!

For more information about the work of Centro Tyrone Guzman, visit centromn.org.

Information on the Hennepin County Master Gardeners program can be found at hennepinmastergardeners.org.

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13

northern natives

Beth Stetenfeld

W

ild ginger is a plant with many surprises—also many names. It is commonly called woodland ginger, Canada ginger, snakeroot, colic root, coltsfoot, namepin and sturgeon potato.

In the garden or in the wild, it seems unassuming, but take a closer look: Its fuzzy, bright green foliage emerges in pairs of folded leaves in early to midspring. Delicate, soft hairs cover the stalks and the undersides of the leaves, with the appearance of a plush fleece fabric. Once unfurled, the leaves are heart- or kidney-shaped, with pointed or rounded tips and deep clefts at the base.

Hidden under the attractive foliage of this stemless plant is a small brown to burgundy, tubular, bowl-shaped flower that tends to face downward. The outside of the tube is covered in hairs similar to the foliage and the stems. You’ll miss these diminutive blooms when walking by the plants because the flowers usually are hidden by the larger foliage.

Pollinators see them, however. Both the color and the scent of the blooms attract early spring gnats, flies and beetles. To them, the flowers look and smell like rotten meat, although the scent isn’t strong enough for most humans to detect. A. canadense is a host plant for the pipevine swallowtail butterfly, a rare stray in Minnesota. Even without pollinators, however, wild ginger produces seeds because it has the ability to self-pollinate.

Wild ginger has a lot going for it, and it offers benefits for its garden companions and its human gardeners, as well.

Just a few strategically placed plants can form colonies over time. It’s not a bully, but it is taller and thicker than many nonnative, invasive groundcovers, which makes it an excellent choice for battling those thugs in the landscape. In addition, the foliage generally persists through early autumn; it’s even semi-evergreen with adequate moisture in warmer climates.

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An added bonus: Rabbits and deer don’t like this dense groundcover. Unfortunately, most above-ground parts of the plant are toxic to humans, although early Americans used the roots for spicing and medicinal purposes.

Because of its persistence, wild ginger is a great companion to other woodland plants—particularly spring ephemerals that bloom and quickly fade, while wild ginger foliage persists throughout the growing season.

Great companions include bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis), great white trillium (Trillium grandiflorum), Virginia bluebells (Mertensia virginica) and false rue anemone (Enemion biternatum), among many others.

Wild ginger thrives in deciduous forests— sites with winter and early spring sun and summer shade. It really takes off during wet years, with adequate drainage, but it may struggle or enter dormancy early during drought years. It preWith its heart-shaped foliage, wild ginger is mostly grown as a groundfers neutral to acidic cover, but it has a dainty spring bloom, too. soils, but it’s not picky er wearing gloves when planting it. Place about its soil consistenpotted nursery plants in partial to nearly cy and grows well in sand, loam or clay, full shade locations under the canopy of as long as it gets adequate moisture and deciduous trees. Wild ginger generally drains well. doesn’t thrive in coniferous woodlands.

Note: The foliage of wild ginger irriIt spreads by underground rhizomes or tates the skin of some people, so consid-

BETH STETENFELD

Asarum canadense Wild Ginger

COWSMO THE FINEST QUALITY ORGANIC COMPOST

stolons; a few plants spaced widely in a small area can form a pleasant groundcover mat within a few years.

Wild ginger can also be grown from seed, but it can take several years to establish. Transplants and cuttings planted in spring or fall should establish easily in a woodland or a woodland edge. ng Native-plant enthusiast Beth Stetenfeld is a garden blogger and writer, and a master naturalist volunteer and instructor.

At a Glance: Wild Ginger Hardiness: USDA Zone 3.

Native Habitat: Rich deciduous woods, floodplain forests, ravines, and wooded bluffs and slopes throughout the Midwest; across the northern tier of states through Maine; and south through Louisiana to Georgia.

Size: 6 to 12 inches tall; 12 to 18 inches wide.

Site: Average, medium to wet, welldrained soil, in part shade to full shade.

Prefers moist, acidic soils. Tolerates temporary drought in summer; with extreme drought and heat, it may prematurely enter dormancy for the season.

With adequate moisture and warmth, foliage is semi-evergreen.

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Propagation: Easily transplanted from containers in spring, early summer or fall. Best methods are softwood cutting and fall root division. (Note: The leaves are poisonous and can cause skin irritations for some people). Can be grown from seed, but development is slow.

Grayish seeds are in the lower section of the fruit; seeds ripen several weeks after flowers appear in the spring.

Cultivars and Other Species: There are 60 to 70 species of woodland perennials in the genus Asarum. The subspecies, A. canadense reflexum, has smooth, semi-evergreen foliage and longer, thinner rhizomes. Only a few cultivars are available, including ‘Eco Choice’ and ‘Eco Red Giant’.

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kitchen garden

Samantha Johnson

Plant a Pizza Garden

A

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Grow your own onions, peppers and tomatoes in a pizza garden, then enjoy the produce in a homemade pie.

Oregano It’s the cornerstone herb of Italian cuisine and is an obvious choice for any pizza garden. Oregano is a beautiful herb, though it can spread. You may want to consider planting it in pots in your garden. You can use fresh or dried oregano on your pizzas, but be aware that fresh oregano packs a powerful flavor punch and you may prefer dried. Try including dried oregano in the sauce as well as on top of the pizza. Delicious!

onions. Although I’m usually partial to heirloom vegetable varieties, I love the hybrid onion called Candy. It’s consistent, reliable and absolutely delicious.

These onions store really well, too, which prolongs the opportunity to make onion pizzas.

Basil

Peppers

Another superstar of Italian cuisine!

There are many lovely varieties of basil that are incredibly flavorful, but for your pizza garden, you’ll definitely want to consider Genovese and Italian large leaf—both are excellent choices. And if you’re making Pizza Margherita, basil leaves are an absolute must-have.

Tomatoes A pizza garden isn’t complete without a tomato plant, and even though there are hundreds of delicious and beautiful tomato varieties available, the one I like best for pizza is Costoluto Fiorentino. It’s a charming Italian heirloom tomato that produces abundantly and is truly exquisite. I can’t think of a tomato variety more appropriate for a pizza garden. (Note: If you plant plenty of tomatoes, you might be able to harvest enough to make your own pizza sauce. Scrumptious!)

Onions To me, a pizza just isn’t a pizza without

DANIEL JOHNSON

t this time of year, as the wind blows and the snow swirls, it’s nice to think ahead to the peak of the summer growing season. It might seem far away, but before we know it, we’ll be harvesting tomatoes and pulling up onions and maybe even making pizza.

In fact, these blustery winter days are the perfect time to plan a pizza garden.

A pizza garden isn’t a new idea by any means, but it’s one of those ideas that we always think about doing and never actually do. So this year, let’s make it happen.

The basic idea is simple: in a pizza garden, you grow all the vegetable toppings you’ll need to construct the perfect homemade pizza. Just start with some pizza dough (maybe even a cauliflower crust for the ultimate garden pizza), some sauce, and a little bit (or a lot) of cheese, and let your garden provide the rest.

Here’s the best part—the ingredients that you’ll grow in your pizza garden generally require similar growing conditions, so they will thrive together in full sun with regular watering and welldrained soil.

You can keep things super-simple and plant your pizza garden in existing beds.

But if you want to exercise some creative flair, you can prepare a pizza-shaped, circular garden bed. You might even divide your pizza garden bed into smaller, wedge-shaped beds (reminiscent of pizza slices) for each individual garden ingredient. It’s up to you—a pizza garden is fun regardless of how elaborate you decide to make it.

Now, let’s get down to the plants themselves. The possibilities for pizza toppings are endless, and so are the possibilities for your pizza garden. But we’ll assume that you’re not going to try planting a pineapple tree in your northern garden, tasty though pineapple pizza might be. The specifics that you choose for your garden will depend on your preferences and those of your family. But a basic pizza garden will almost definitely include the following.

Another necessity for the pizza garden are peppers, and my favorite pizza pepper is Jimmy Nardello’s Sweet Italian Frying Peppers. They are a true delight, and plants produce an abundance of bright red, 10-inch-long peppers.

Although you might assume that these elongated red peppers are hot, they’re actually a delicious sweet variety with a long history and a well-deserved spot on the Slow Food USA Ark of Taste.

So, the good news is that it’s easy and fun to plant a pizza garden. The bad news is that it’s January, and planting season is months away. Until then, let’s enjoy the daydreams of our summertime pizza project! ng Samantha Johnson is the author of several books, including The Beginner’s Guide to Vegetable Gardening, (Voyageur Press, 2013). She lives in northern Wisconsin and writes frequently about pets, gardening and farm life. Visit her online portfolio at http://samanthajohnson.contently.com.

by design

Diane McGann

D

on Engebretson’s column on landscape design has always been the first page I turned to when Northern Gardener appeared at my door. One of Don’s earliest pieces became an “Aha” moment for me and changed my gardening mantra. “It’s the leaves!” said the recently retired By Design columnist, going on to explain that leaves are a constant during our growing season while flowers are not. I had always focused on flowers, seeking long-lasting, colorful and repeating blooms. But he was correct—leaves are there when flowers are not. That epiphany changed my garden design outlook.

Don’s advice saved me during last summer’s Washington County Master Gardeners tour. My garden was on the tour and the normal bloom schedule was three weeks late. Things I had expected to be in full flower were not. But the garden still looked good, and almost all of the comments from people on the tour were about the leaves. People loved the bright upright stalks of Japanese forest grass (Hakonechloa macra ‘Aureola’), the ruby hues of ‘Britt Marie Crawford’ large-leafed Ligularia, and the bluish cast of Artemisia ‘Silver Mound’.

Thank you, Don.

So Many Choices Luckily for us, there are so many vibrant foliage plants from which to choose, including brilliant reds and blues, chartreuse and silver. I can’t resist chartreuse plants; they bring a bit of sunshine to my garden on otherwise cloudy days, and golden groundcovers such as pennywort simply gild the earth. Pairing chartreuse with magenta or ice blue makes a good thing even better. Contrasting textures as well as colors also enhance the garden.

Think delicate, swaying meadow rue bumping into bold elephant ears. Then add height and form to the mix. Consider the flower giants such as plume poppies, tall black-eyed Susans or sunflowers, and their juxtaposition with shorter, rounder plants.

Gardens composed of mostly green foliage plants can also be dazzling. Green is calming and soothing, which is why it’s omnipresent in Japanese gardens and hospital therapeutic landscapes. Those seeking contrast in a primarily greenleaved garden look to texture, form and size. Envision an airy delicate plant, such as a maidenhead fern, snuggled next to a bold hosta.

Leaf variegation draws another contrast and helps areas of otherwise blandleaved blooms pop, while spattered leaves and contrasting veins provide interest as well as a color hint for their garden companions to copy. The discovery of a variegated-leaf Brunnera macrophylla ‘Jack Frost’ PP13,859 on sale at a local nursery this fall sparked my imagination and triggered my newfound philosophy.

Where to place it? What would be the ideal companion? Applying my mantra of contrasts—rough foliage vs. smooth, thin leaves next to fleshy ones, medium green next to red-edged foliage, ‘Jack Frost’ ended up next to another shade plant, Bergenia cordifolia, which sports thick, glossy foliage and burgundy fall color. One caveat about foliage-forward gardening: Be careful with the amount of patterned foliage you use. Too much can create confusion and destroy that garden serenity we all seek.

The nurseries are awash in great foliage options. Read Michelle Mero Reidel’s article on page 27 to find illustrated ideas on how to expand your choices across three seasons.

I’ll miss Don’s columns, but I am looking forward to sharing my ideas with you.

Landscape design has long been one of my passions. I’ve both taken and taught classes on the topic, and it’s what I notice most in any garden. Please share your ideas and questions, and together we’ll explore different aspects of design and, I hope, add a new dimension to our gardens. ng Award-winning garden writer Diane McGann is a master gardener in Washington County.

PHOTOS: DIANE MCGANN

It’s the Leaves

Above: Different textures and form add interest to this all-green bed. Below: Barberry and dianthus offer contrasting color and textures.

Don’t Forget Foliage Conifers – Needles provide fine texture, and small conifers add contrast and winter interest to any garden. An added bonus is that some conifers offer brilliant shades of chartreuse or blue.

Grasses – Choose your size and color; grasses form an often-needed spike in the flower garden.

Big leaves – Think hosta, ligularia and annuals such as elephant ears and cannas. They contrast wonderfully with the more voluminous smaller leaves of most perennials.

Fall color – You’ll so appreciate that Amsonia you purchased last spring once fall arrives.

Trees and shrubs – Creating contrast from the start with their comparatively larger size and form, shrubs and trees can be a striking asset to any flower garden. As with the other choices, think of leaf color, form and texture.

—D.M.

January/February 2020

17

Ornamental Onion Cultivars Allium spp.

T

he genus Allium (commonly known as onion) consists of several species that many northern gardeners know well, most commonly chives, which have been used for eons in cooking.

But, in recent years, there has been an explosion of Allium used for ornamental, not culinary, purposes. If you are looking for perennials that are truly easy to grow, this article is for you. Few perennials are as easy-care and beautiful as ornamental onions.

Here are three great cultivars that you can easily find at your local garden center. What I really like about these is that you can extend the bloom time in your garden by planting all three because they will bloom one right after the other.

I’ll start with the earliest bloomer:

‘Summer Beauty’ The cultivar ‘Summer Beauty’ has been available for quite a few years. For many gardeners, this was the first ornamental onion we put in our perennial gardens.

Blooming in midsummer, the 2-inch, round, pinkish-purple flower heads rise just above the foliage, which looks like chives. The flowers are sterile so no worries about invasiveness, which is a problem with some bulbous Allium that are heavy seeders. This variety matures at 12 to 18 inches tall and just a bit wider. It has an upright, vase shape.

troduction. It is one of the last to bloom in summer. Medusa’s foliage is a bit different—it twists and snakes and is a gray-green in color. The name is a shoutout to the mythological Medusa who had snakes for hair. The 2-inch flowers are a light amethyst purple in color. Slightly taller than the others, it can reach a height and spread of 24 inches.

These plants are almost difficult to kill! They thrive in full-sun sites and can tolerate soils that are dry. They will also tolerate salt, making them appropriate for boulevard plantings. They need no extra winter covering in most of Minnesota because they are hardy to USDA Zone 4.

I suspect they may tolerate zone 3 with good snow cover, too. Another benefit: the deer and rabbits just don’t like that onion taste and smell of the foliage, so they stay away. Yet, the plants attract bees, butterflies and other pollinators.

And, they make great cut flowers so use them in your summer bouquets. I prefer to cut my Allium back in the spring, leaving the spent flower heads to collect some snow in the winter.

These are just great in a perennial garden. Because of their mature size,

Debbie Lonnee

More Options With so much breeding happening in the genus Allium, keep your eyes open for new varieties arriving each year. I happened to see, in person, a brandnew variety called ‘Lavender Bubbles’ PPAF, bred at Walters Gardens in Michigan. This one has really big flowers with a rich purple color. It was outstanding!

And, if you really want to extend the bloom season, look for Allium ‘Ozawa’s Variety’, which is extremely short at 6 inches and blooms magnificently in the month of October.

These newer varieties may be more difficult to find, but most garden centers will have a wealth of Allium to choose from.

—D.L.

use them in the middle of the garden, just behind the low plants. I love using them in masses of three, five or seven plants to really make an impact. Because of that long strappy foliage, use them in combination with perennials with larger foliage, such as cranesbill. ng Debbie Lonnee works in the horticulture industry and gardens in South St. Paul.

PHOTO COURTESY OF WALTERS GARDENS INC.

plant to pick

‘Millenium’ Allium ‘Millenium’ was the 2018 Perennial Plant Association Plant of the Year and you may have seen lots of promotion about it then. A very heavy bloomer, it starts flowering just as ‘Summer Beauty’ is finishing. The flowers are a rosy purple shade and are slightly larger than 2 inches in diameter. It reaches a mature height of 15 to 20 inches and spreads only 10 to 15 inches.

‘Medusa’ Allium ‘Medusa’ PP28701 is a 2017 in18

www.northerngardener.org

Allium ‘Millenium’

how-to

Eric Johnson

African Violets: Make More Plants

A

frican violets. Could a name sound more magical? Even though they have suffered an identity crisis of late— sometimes being pegged as stuffy and old-fashioned—African violets are enchanting, easy-care bloomers. They are a colorful addition to the houseplant landscape, with countless varieties of color and texture.

I’ve had one violet for decades and a large part of keeping them alive and thriving is to regularly divide them. One violet will soon be several, but first, how do you keep them happy?

Light

Dividing African Violets

African violets do best with regular watering that allows them to dry out a little in between sessions. There are special African violet pots designed to provide water below the roots, but I have always had good luck with a regular pot with good drainage. Make sure to water at the base of the plant. You don’t want to get the leaves wet. African violets love humidity. A quick and easy way to get this is to group several plants together or tuck them among your other houseplants.

Over time, plants will produce babies, as they basically divide themselves into more plants. I recently divided a twoyear-old plant into four smaller plants.

The process is easy, with the violet doing most of the work for you. It’s easiest to do when the plant is on the dry side, so wait to water until you have repotted the new plants.

To divide, lift the entire plant out of its pot and set it on a flat surface. You will be able to easily see the natural division among the plants. Gently break them apart from one another, while trying to keep each individual root ball somewhat intact. When you have the individual plants separated, repot in light, porous soil and water. You can either grow your own little colony of African violets or give them away and let your friends discover what a joy they are to have in the house. ng

Soil and Fertilizer Use a light and porous potting mix.

Blends designed for African violets are available or you can amend a standard mix with peat moss and perlite. Fertilizing African violets is necessary for regular blooming. Use a mix specifically for them, following the directions.

Minneapolis-based Eric Johnson blogs at www.gardendrama.wordpress.com.

ERIC JOHNSON

African violets are native to Tanzania and Kenya and favor a tropical habitat.

They love bright, but indirect, light. Find the brightest location you can for them, without having sun directly striking their leaves. Bright light is necessary to get consistent and full blooms, which is the reason to grow them in the first place.

Water

Violets do best in rooms with bright but To divide, let the plant dry out a bit, then lift it from its pot. Gently indirect light. These are kept away from separate the pieces and re-pot. Water well. the window in a south-facing room. This two-year-old plant is ready to divide.

While purple is pretty, African violets come in a variety of shades and colors.

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pollinators

Rhonda Fleming Hayes

Bee and Pollinator Discovery Center

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If You Go The Tashjian Bee and Pollinator Discovery Center is open 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., MondayFriday, and noon to 4 p.m., SaturdaySunday. For more information, visit the arboretum website: arb.umn.edu. —R.F.H.

RHONDA FLEMING HAYES

y now, the bees are tucked away for winter in their hives and hollows. Yet there are ways to learn year-round about the tiny creatures that in many ways make our world work. One nearby opportunity is the Tashjian Bee and Pollinator Discovery Center at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum. If you’ve already been there, good for you!

If not, don’t delay. I am always amazed by the number of people I meet who rarely go to the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, and I am truly shocked by the ones who admit to having never been there.

Just because this jewel is in our own backyard, don’t procrastinate in planning a visit or several. The Bee and Pollinator Discovery Center that opened in late 2016 should give you a big nudge to make the drive. You’ll find pollinators front and center there, but be prepared to learn so much more.

The center is located in the southeast side of the arboretum property in Chaska, near The Farm at the Arb, with its iconic red barn presiding over the pastoral setting. The farm is closed until April, but go in the spring to see the new crop fields and gardens, orchard and vineyard that celebrate the history and process of food-growing in Minnesota, from the indigenous Dakota tribes to early immigrants to the present day and a peek at the future.

The Garden Gallery will host a different garden theme every season. The first will be a collection of plants brought along with the Great Migration, as African-Americans moved to the northeast, west and Midwest, including Minnesota, starting in 1916. (Look for cultural events connected with this in 2020.)

When you get to the bee center itself, stop to behold the stunning architecture before you explore the various interactive learning stations. Designed as an homage to the farm’s history and with a nod to the red barn, the building is both simple and sophisticated. Constructed with glulam (glue laminated engineered

wood prized for its strength) trusses, exposed timbers and steel tie-rods, the roof soars like a cathedral. The thin steel appears fragile, perhaps alluding to the precarious place bees occupy in our current ecosystem.

Walk in and peer through the facing windows at working hives with busy bees.

Appealing to kids as well as curious adults, the exhibits have been carefully interpreted to be informative and thought-provoking. What percentage of your weight in pollen could you lift?

What different roles do honeybees perform in their hive as worker, forager, nurse and lofty queen? Displays show the miraculous migration of the monarch butterfly as well as a milkweed primer. A honey-extraction room shows the process of honey-making from hive to jar.

A high-tech learning lab occupies one side of the building and is a place for classes and conferences for sharing information with other institutions. Floor-

to-ceiling windows at the other end of the building let in beautiful natural light and allow for a broad vista of the rolling countryside. Often there are wild turkeys or deer grazing just outside.

Pollinator-friendly gardens surround the building, providing a rotating cast of blooms. The gardens provide abundant inspiration for gardeners hoping to make their own pollinator gardens.

While other botanical gardens have developed pollinator gardens and offer occasional traveling exhibits, our bee and pollinator center is fortunate to have a dedicated facility for that purpose. It is a unique outreach vehicle for the work done by noted bee researcher Marla Spivak and her crew of dedicated students at the University of Minnesota.

Don’t take it for granted! ng Rhonda Fleming Hayes is the author of Pollinator Friendly Gardening (Voyageur Press, 2016).

garden solutions

Laura Schwarz

Jumping Worms

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p until a couple of months ago, I had not heard of jumping worms, an invasive pest that has devastated some gardens farther south and now threatens Minnesota gardens. But within a week of hearing about the worms, I discovered not one, but two, at a client’s house in the northeast suburbs of St. Paul.

It seemed fated that I write about this topic. I’m fascinated by invasive species; it’s like being unable to look away from something bad that’s happening. If you ever come across a jumping worm in the landscape, you might feel the same way as you watch them aggressively hop and squirm when they’re disturbed. They’re gross yet compelling.

Jumping worms include multiple species from the genus Amynthas. They are native to Southeast Asia (which is why they’re sometimes referred to as “Asian jumping worms”), and it’s likely that they were transported to the United States in potted plants or other nursery stock. In the United States, researchers suspect that they spread via soil, sod, compost and other transported landscape materials. Jumping worms were first confirmed in Minnesota in 2006, when University of Minnesota researchers found Amynthas agrestis in Minneapolis. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) now classifies them as an invasive terrestrial animal.

litter layer of the soil, where it feeds on readily available organic matter. Established populations increase quickly, and large quantities of worms alter soil structure and texture over time. By eating the soil’s organic matter before it breaks down naturally, jumping worms remove nutrients and increase soil erosion. In our native forests, nonnative worms affect plant communities, soil organisms and soil chemistry, which ultimately changes forest ecology altogether.

In our gardens, jumping worms can threaten plant establishment and root growth. The University of Minnesota reports that there was a “swarm” of jumping worms in a Minneapolis garden that uprooted an entire bed of hostas and other perennials. These jumping worms had churned up the soil, tearing the plant roots in the process. Soil infested with jumping worms often changes to the consistency of coffee grounds or cat litter, which is one way you can identify this pest’s presence in your garden.

Prevention There is currently nothing we can do to remove jumping worms once they arrive,

so I don’t have a good solution for this garden problem. Jumping worms are new enough to Minnesota that researchers are mostly collecting data about their populations here, and we still don’t know exactly how they’re spreading.

To prevent the problem, don’t buy worms advertised as snake worms, Alabama jumpers or crazy worms for any purpose. Also, check the soil in purchased plants for worms. Since jumping worms overwinter their eggs in tiny dark-colored cocoons that are difficult to see, it’s important to clean soil from garden tools and vehicles before transporting them. Don’t move soil, mulch or compost if jumping worms are confirmed in the area. If you are purchasing compost or mulch from a landscaper, ask if it has been heat-treated, which would kill the worms.

If you see evidence of jumping worms, tell the Minnesota DNR by contacting laura.vanriper@state.mn.us. ng Horticulturist and writer Laura Schwarz lives in Minneapolis, where she works in garden design, installation and maintenance.

Jumping worms are big, reaching up to 7 inches in length, although most are closer to 5 inches. We have other large earthworms in Minnesota, but jumping worms are darker and smoother than the night crawlers that people use as fishing bait. They have a narrow beige band toward one end of their bodies. Aside from its physical characteristics, a jumping worm’s most telltale feature is the way it thrashes its entire body as a defense mechanism. Sometimes, a disturbed jumping worm will lose its tail, which continues thrashing around despite being detached.

This invasive species lives in the leaf

Their distinctive band and tendency to wiggle wildly helps to identify jumping worms.

January/February 2020

LAURA SCHWARZ

Easy to Spot

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Lisa’s colorful front border features beebalm, phlox and dill for pollinators.

SERENE OASIS Protected from a sprawling suburb, this secluded garden delights and soothes.

Story and photos by Diane McGann

Remember the fairy tales in which the princess lives in a hilltop castle that overlooks a town?

In this modern-day tale, Lisa Moran lives on top of a hill that overlooks a town, but her castle is a 1929 farmhouse and the town is Woodbury. When Lisa and her husband, Peter, moved their family to a former dairy farm in 1993, all they could see from their elevated perch were farm fields and a century-old granary. The granary is still there, home to one of Lisa’s favorite gardens, but the fields have made way for Woodbury’s expanding suburban vision, and Lisa’s perch is now surrounded by new development.

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Luck and Challenges A few years after moving to their 5-acre plot, Lisa spotted a bulldozer mowing down 4-foot-tall evergreens planted nearby because they were too big to be potted for the owner’s retail nursery.

Knowing that new development was on the horizon, Lisa asked if she could take them, but the bulldozer operator declined, saying she would just get in his way. Lisa continued to watch the operation, however, and a malfunction in the bulldozer, while unlucky for the nursery, was pure luck for Lisa. She harvested about 100 of the conifers to encircle her property. Now fully grown, those trees provide almost total privacy for her site.

Lisa’s persistence is reflective of her determination to surround herself with gardens, plants and wildlife. She singlehandedly killed the surrounding field grass and planted seeds to start her lawn and gardens, a several-years-long effort.

With no helpers and no watering system, she double-dug all of her gardens and, armed with a wheelbarrow, she moved all of the limestone that now embellishes her gardens.

Six Special Gardens One garden has led to another, so that at present Lisa tends six planted areas, which she describes as shade and pollinator gardens (her favorites), the granary garden and vegetable garden, her very first garden and a pool garden. She looks for early and late bloomers so that she can extend the flower season as long as possible and is purposeful about her garden choices. “I have what you would call cottage gardens,” she says. “Because I don’t want chaos, I have rules: swaths of grass forming graceful lines around curving edges, mulched paths with carefully placed rocks to lead you into each space, and thought put into the placement of

Lisa and Finnegan, her gardening companion, take a moment to rest.

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Serene Oasis

plants by heights, textures and bloom times.”

After installing a pig-themed weathervane on a whim, Lisa and Peter found themselves the recipients of several items of pig decor over the years. While not quite sure that the large metal pig at her back door is the perfect greeter for her guests, Lisa loves the structural components the sculptures add. “I think every garden, no matter the size, benefits from some hardscape or structure,” she says. “A trellis adds height or a boundary and gives you an opportunity to plant a flowering vine. A bench provides a quiet place to sit and listen to the hum of bees. I love the sound of water in the garden, so I have incorporated small water features in every garden. Any of these elements give the eye a place to settle or rest for a moment and gives a sense of order.”

Lisa fashioned the granary garden as a separate room, with shrub walls and an arbor entrance.

Plants for Shade and Sun One of Lisa’s first efforts was to plant a double row of river birch to anchor the shade garden, home to many of her favorite plants. “I’ve heard lots of people say hostas are overused, but they are a mainstay of my shade garden, and if you plan it right, they can be very dramatic,” she says. “I plant mine with a ‘cascading waterfall’ effect—tall in back, medium in the middle, short in front. I plant them so they blend together and include different-colored and variegated leaves. I plant these groupings in islands with masses of shade-loving perennials flowing around them. Many shade gardens have sunny edges where the tree canopy ends so I install some sun lovers around the perimeter to brighten the space. I also like to dedicate areas for planting annuals like impatiens every year for a full season of color.”

The pollinator garden incorporates both native and nonnative plants that flower in intense hues and draw masses of bees and butterflies. Prairie and meadow varieties of Liatris, cupflower and joe-pye weed form a backdrop for phlox and beebalm. “Big yellow swallowtails lay eggs 24

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Above: One of Lisa’s iconic pigs greets visitors.

Right: A pergola shades this patio space.

Below: Lisa’s pollinator garden abuts nearby development.

on the dill that’s scattered throughout this garden, making it really ethereal, and two dozen monarchs at a time visit the liatris,” says Lisa. Other brilliantly colored perennials, including several lily varieties, frame the fence surrounding her vegetable and fruit garden, and peonies, possibly her favorite flower, take pride of place in the granary garden. “I tried to make this garden a separate room with a row of shrubs on the edge and plantings radiating in size from taller on the border

to shorter in the center area surrounding the fountain,” she explains. Everyone’s favorite spot, however, is the pool garden. Lisa designed it herself, laying out the design with a garden hose, and it’s become her property’s focal point. An adjacent patio and pizza oven complete the hangout spot. “Many a pizza has been cooked there,” she says with a chuckle.

Shrubs soften the background, waterlilies grace the surface, and fish greet her when she approaches.

Tithing for Wildlife A white picket fence surrounds the fruit and vegetable garden with the purpose of warding off Lisa’s worst enemies—rabbits. “I think of it as tithing,” she says.

“They can have 10 percent, but I want the rest.” Honeyberries, blackberries, rhubarb, raspberries and orange goji berries are some of the riches that lie within.

Wanting to grow more vegetables without having to dig up yet another field grass-infested area, Lisa planted seeds in straw

Above: Lisa’s pond and surrounding garden are favorite spots for many visitors. The treehouse at rear adds to the garden’s whimsy.

Left: River birch were among the first trees Lisa planted. Now mature, they form the bones of the shade garden.

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Serene Oasis

bales placed behind the pollinator garden and swears to their efficacy. “It really works,” she says. “We get lots of squash.”

Lisa employs a variety of shrubs and grasses to add height and interest to her many gardens and to help extend the bloom season. One of her must-haves is forsythia, which heralds spring with its cheery yellow blossoms. She has also planted a newer hydrangea variety, ‘Quick Fire’, sporting soft pink blooms.

“I put mine in front of the Annabelles to prop them up a bit, as Annabelles tend to drop their heads after heavy rain,” she says. “The combination is really nice and you can fill up a large area with just a few plants.” Lisa also looks for soft, frothy grasses to act as vertical design features

Right: ‘Shocking’ lily is one of Lisa’s favorites.

Below clockwise: ‘Tardiva’ hydrangea; fern-leaf bleeding heart (Dicentra ‘Luxuriant’); and dill flowers

in the middle of her gardens or as background for the border.

From a sea of field grass, Lisa has fashioned a riotously colorful garden on a hill, and she’s done it singlehandedly with a minimum of tools. Although surrounded by intense development, she has created an oasis of beauty that she shares with others, often hosting meetings and gatherings. Shielded by tall evergreens, her visitors can imagine that they’ve escaped from the rest of the world, even though it sits just a short distance away. Now that’s truly a fairy tale. ng Diane McGann is an award-winning garden writer and a master gardener in Washington County.

Lisa’s Favorite Plants Fern leaf peony (Paeonia tenuifolia) “It’s the first to bloom with blood-red flowers and finely textured leaves.”

Beebalm (Monarda) ‘Raspberry Wine’ and Grand Marshall™ Daylilies (Hemerocallis) ‘Ruffled Apricot’ and ‘Decatur Apricot’ Phlox paniculata Purple Flame® Joe-pye weed (Eutrochium purpurem) ‘Phantom’ Lungwort (Pulmonaria) “Their deep green mottled leaves look great paired with any purple-leaved coralbell.”

Fern leaf bleeding heart (Dicentra ‘Luxuriant’) “This sweet little mounding plant blooms all summer long and doesn’t die back like common bleeding hearts.”

Geranium ‘Rozanne’; ‘Biokovo’ “The scented leaves just beg to be stroked.”

Japanese anemone (Anemone tomentosa) Lilac (Syringa pubescens subsp. patula ‘Miss Kim’) “It’s the last lilac to flower, smells heavenly and keeps a nice compact shape.”

Ninebark (Physocarpus opulifolius) “I love Summer Wine® for its intense purple foliage.”

Hydrangea paniculata ‘Tardiva’ —D.M.

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Feeling Foliage with

To add texture to your garden all season, think leaves.

Story and photos by Michelle Mero Riedel

Once you understand how texture works in the garden, it’s easy to design an appealing space using contrasting and complementary textures. Texture is created largely with leaves, and combining foliage textures gives a landscape visual excitement.

Foliage offers many textures—more than flowers—and pairing opposites is a good way to add interest and drama to your design. Fine or soft, bold or coarse, smooth or fuzzy, glossy or dull, large or small, bright or soft color—the combinations are endless. For example, take the sizeable leaves of tropical elephant ears and pair them with the delicate shape of a feathery grass. Or combine the fragile leaves of a fern with a chunky, corrugated hosta. The secret is balancing these foliage texture opposites throughout the garden, creating strong contrasts.

Throughout the design process, remem-

ber that leaves can be more interesting than flowers.

Fortunately, there are countless leaf choices for each season. Here are 24 plants with great texture to bring feeling to your garden from spring to fall.

Spring into the Season Spring is a time of astonishing renewal.

Besides deciduous shrubs, there isn’t much going on in the landscape on the first day of spring here in the Midwest.

You can bring spring to life by planting a lot of bulbs. Their out-of-the-ground, oblong or pointed leaves provide excellent texture at the start of the season when everything else is hibernating. Early perennials such as lungworts, bleeding hearts and astilbes announce their rebirth by producing early, interesting foliage form and color. And as soon as Brunnera macrophylla ‘Alexander’s Great’

our last average frost day hits, I plant annuals to add additional texture with my perennials and shrubs.

Brunnera macrophylla ‘Alexander’s Great’ PP25,789 (perennial) This is a beautiful, short springtime flowering plant for the shade. It has large, heart-shaped, shimmery silver leaves adorned with green veins. The early flowers are similar to forget-me-nots, but its foliage stands out, spring through fall.

Bergenia crassifolia ‘Redstart’ (perennial) This is another spring bloomer, but its thick, wide, glossy, wavy leaves are the focal point in my sunny garden border.

This is my favorite bergenia, also called pigsqueak, because of its compact habit.

Bergenia can tolerate part sun.

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Bergenia crassifolia ‘Redstart’

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Euphorbia x martinii ‘Ascot Rainbow’

Euphorbia x martinii ‘Ascot Rainbow’ PP21,401 (annual/perennial) An excellent, dwarf evergreen shrub for USDA Zone 5 but if you live in a colder zone, it’s a beautiful choice to enhance any sunny container garden. The plant’s thin variegated foliage of yellow and lime green will blend nicely with brightly colored plants.

Athyrium niponicum ‘Red Beauty’ (perennial) This plant is a favorite of mine, and it’s a cousin to Japanese painted fern. This version boasts burgundy-red veins and stems that contrast nicely with the lacy, greenish-gray foliage. Remember to plant in light shade and fairly moist soil.

Pulmonaria ‘Silver Shimmers’ PP13,290 (perennial) This plant has a mounded form for the part-shade garden border, and it features long, strappy, silver leaves. It has more silver, summer-long leaf color than most lungworts, as well as larger spring-blooming flowers than most.

Acalypha wilkesiana ‘Kilauea’ (annual) This is a sunny, tropical, dwarf plant with spindlelike leaves of pink, red and green.

It maintains its spectacular beauty from spring through fall. It has a wonderful texture that combines beautifully with coarse-shaped leaves or large, contrasting flowers.

Pulmonaria ‘Silver Shimmers’

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Athyrium niponicum ‘Red Beauty’

Picea glauca ‘Hedgehog’

Picea glauca ‘Echiniformis’ (shrub) This is a slow-growing and miniature plant, only growing 1 inch per year. This dwarf white spruce has soft but spiky needles. It’s bluish green in color and goes by the name “hedgehog,” because of its form.

Ajuga reptans ‘Black Scallop’ PP15,815 (perennial) This is a desirable low-growing carpet plant in the garden as well as a fantastic trailer in pots. It’s prized for its midnight color and round, glossy, showy texture. I have it planted in masses in several areas of my garden, and the compliments I receive are endless.

Ajuga reptans ‘Black Scallop’

SUMMER SHIMMERS The peak of heat and sunshine are perfect for thriving, textured landscape plants. Here’s where the bold foliage of tropical plants, such as canna lilies and elephant ears, shine in the garden. Hostas are at their peak height with looming flower stalks that create upright contrast, and the warm-season grasses are stunners. Summertime hosts the showy coralbells and calla lilies, which brighten up the shady areas of the garden. It’s no wonder we want summer to last and last.

Tropicanna® Gold canna (annual bulb) This plant’s big, bold leaves thrive through autumn, with bright, tropical hues of

Tropicanna® Gold canna

green-and-gold stripes. At a final height of 4 to 6 feet, this plant is a perfect fit for the back of a sunny garden border.

Heart to Heart™ caladium (annual bulb) This fancy tropical plant has large, heartshaped and oh-so-colorful foliage. You could say it has a December theme of red outlined in green. This plant and others in the Heart to Heart series can handle more sun than the usual caladium.

Colocasia esculenta ‘Jack’s Giant’ (annual bulb) This plant is named after “Jack and the Beanstalk.” At a dramatic leaf length of 3 feet with heart-shaped foliage, this elHeart to Heart™ caladium

ephant ear will bring giant joy to a shade container garden or landscape.

Gingko biloba ‘Slovakian Princess’ (tree) This is a short-in-stature, slow-growing tree that’s perfect for a small, sunny garden. The leaves attract the most attention; they’re bluish green in summer while turning yellow in the fall, dense and fan-shaped.

Heuchera ‘Zipper’ (perennial) A mound of fall color and heavily ruffled foliage describes this fancy coralbell for the shade. The plant’s magenta back combines well with the attention-getting gold top. The glossy leaves change color depending on the season.

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Gingko biloba ‘Slovakian Princess’

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Feeling with Foliage

Heuchera ‘Zipper’

Hosta ‘Big Daddy’ (perennial) This is a favorite of mine, and it’s best known for its blue, puckered, chunky leaves. It’s large in size and upright in habit. Because of its leaf thickness, it’s more slug-resistant than other hostas.

Acer palmatum disectum ‘Nigrum’ (shrub or tree) This lace-leaf Japanese maple tree exhibits dramatic foliage all summer, turning to a deep burgundy in the fall. It’s often container planted for zones 4 or less, and it needs winter protection.

Strobilanthes dyerianus (annual) This tropical plant’s common name is Persian shield, and it grows fast with an

iridescent silver sheen over purple leaves outlined in green. For brighter foliage, plant this one in the shade or part shade.

FABULOUS FALL PLANTS Who doesn’t like fall’s ultimate end-ofseason color celebration? Not only is the garden foliage turning color, but trees and shrubs reign with their stunning hues. It’s all about the graceful, cool-season, airy grasses at their spectacular showiness blowing in the late-season breezes. And kales, especially my favorite ‘Peacock Red’, pick up the last of their remarkable, florescent color in October. It’s the warm colors that form during the chilly nights producing gold, apricot and burgundy everywhere in the landscape, while saying Strobilanthes dyerianus

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Acer palmatum disectum ‘Nigrum’

Thuja occidentalis Mr. Bowling Ball®

goodbye to the growing season.

Salvia argentea (annual/perennial) This plant has the softest and furriest leaves of any plant around. Its dramatic silver leaf displays beautifully in both gardens and containers. Commonly called silver sage, this is a zone 5 perennial that comes back if the winter is lenient.

Ginger Wine® ninebark (shrub) The deep burgundy color is phenomenal on this deciduous, showy ninebark. It grows slowly and is easy to grow, with unusual peeling bark. In the sunny spring garden, ‘Ginger Wine’ emerges an orange-red color.

Amsonia hubrichtii

Thuja occidentalis ‘Bobozam’ Mr. Bowling Ball® (shrub) Evergreens provide unusual texture to the landscape. This bowling ball-shaped evergreen has threadlike, lacy foliage that’s smooth to the touch. It’s another blue-green plant with dense foliage, and it rarely needs pruning.

Amsonia hubrichtii (perennial) With its light-blue flowers, this plant is pretty in the spring. But when the season changes to cooler temps, Amsonia—also called thread-leaf bluestar—turns from green to golden yellow. The fine, feathery foliage looks terrific when mass planted in a sunny garden.

Miscanthus sinensis var. purpurascens

Miscanthus sinesis ‘Purpurascens’ (perennial grass) With its tall, arching, willowy, cream plumes swaying in the fall breeze, this flame grass is a conversation starter. The plumes are held up by strong blades in vivid fall colors.

Sedum telephium ‘Emperor’s Wave’ (perennial) The plant’s thick and toothed, succulent blue-and-lime-green foliage is perfectly poised on upright stems. This sedum’s sun-loving umbrella mound and coarse texture make it a season-long winner.

Abies koreana ‘Horstmann’s Silberlocke’ (tree) This hardy, slow-growing plant can hold up in zone 4b (and higher). At first glance, this pyramidal Korean fir looks frosty. Needles are turned upward, and they reveal silver on the undersides and dark green on top, creating two tones.

The plant’s upright cones create even more texture.

Brassica oleracea ‘Peacock Red’ (annual) This bold, fancy, cut-leaved, ornamental kale is a late-season garden prize. Its multi-shades of blue and purple combine well with many plants during the fall season. In cool weather, a stunning rosette of florescent rose forms in the center of the plant. ng

Abies koreana ‘Horstmann’s Silberlocke’

Brassica oleracea ‘Peacock Red’

Master gardener and photographer Michelle Mero Riedel gardens in Washington County and frequently contributes to Northern Gardener.

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Choosing early bulbs, such as spring snowflake (Leucojum vernum), and planting them in warm spots will give you early, profuse blooms.

Early Bloomers For the earliest blooms on the block, pick bulbs carefully and plant strategically.

Story and photos

by Kathy Purdy

HAVING THE FIRST BLOOM ON YOUR BLOCK IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN HAVING THE FIRST RIPE TOMATO— AT LEAST IN MY OPINION. The first outdoor bloom is a potent morale booster, telling you that the back of winter has been broken. We have such a long winter that by the time it ends, we are just hanging on by a thread. A bloom, even in snow, eases our cabin fever like nothing else.

To have the very first flower blooming in your neighborhood is not a matter that can be left to chance. You must employ your powers of observation and your plant-hunting skills to make this happen. You need to know what to plant and where to plant it. In USDA Hardiness Zones 3 and 4, very early blooming spring bulbs are the psychological weapons of choice.

Where to Plant The end of winter is the best time to decide where to plant your earliest spring bulbs. Look around or grab your camera, and record the places in your yard where the snow melts first. These areas are your warmest microclimates. They may include such 32

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places as: over the septic tank, if you have one; up against a house wall; the south side of trees and shrubs; a corner of the house that traps heat; and the south side of paved areas.

Your images won’t look like much, and to make sure you remember why you took them, put them in a folder on your computer labeled “Plant Bulbs Here.” Then make a note in your calendar to order bulbs in June, when there are discounts for early online orders. Many of these locations are not what you would think of as typical garden spots. We’re not going for tradition—we’re going for results. Most of the earliest blooming plants are small and go dormant by summer, so they won’t interfere with lawn mowing or house maintenance.

Above: Snowdrop (Galanthus nivalis) Below: Winter aconite (Eranthis)

What to Plant Many gardeners are unaware of how many flowers bloom during mud season, that nebulous period that fluctuates daily between winter and spring. That’s partly because some of them are hard to find. (See source list.) All of the following plants are hardy to zone 3.

Snowdrops Snowdrops (Galanthus spp.) are tied with winter aconites for the prize of very-first bloom. Snowdrops usually emerge from the ground—millimeter by millimeter—well before the aconites do but won’t actually open their flowers until the temperature reaches 50 degrees F. Snowdrops have three small inner petals, white marked with green, that form an inverted cup. Hanging over this cup are three long petals, also white. When they first emerge from the ground, the flower buds point straight up like a rocket preparing for takeoff. Then the bud drops, pointing downward. Finally, the flower opens wide, hanging like a miniature ceiling fan, when it’s warm enough.

My first snowdrops were pass-alongs from a gardening friend, who said she found them “in the wild,” presumably where a house had once stood. I later learned they were the common snowdrop (Galanthus nivalis). In my damp, somewhat shady location, they made huge colonies in late winter, the perfect motivation to leave my warm home to check on their progress and pick a handful for a tiny bouquet. I was content with these sweet little things until I found out there were other snowdrops that bloomed earlier. That got me planting ‘S. Arnott’, a hybrid snowdrop that is not only earlier but bigger—and fragrant, too. The giant snowdrop (Galanthus elwesii) blooms earlier than either of these. It’s taller than the common snowdrop and prefers slightly drier soil.

ISTOCK.COM

Winter Aconites Winter aconites (Eranthis spp.) are jackrabbits compared to snowdrops, emerging and blooming in the space of 24 hours when conditions are right. Shorter than snowdrops, with flowers that look like buttercups and a ruff of leaves like a Renaissance collar, winter aconites are January/February 2020

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Early Bloomers

Top left: Spring snowflake (Leucojum vernum) Bottom, from left: Bulbocodium; Crocus korolkowi; glory-of-the-snow (Chionodoxa forbesii ‘Blue Mound’)

little spots of sunshine against the dark earth. They are tricky to get established because they die if they dry out, and they often do so in bulb warehouses. Try soaking them in damp coir for 24 hours and then immediately planting them. Better yet, get some from a friend’s established patch, digging and replanting them while they’re still in active growth.

Spring Snowflakes Spring snowflakes (Leucojum vernum) could almost be mistaken for huge snowdrops. The downward-facing round white bells, on stems 6 to 8 inches tall, are about the size of a nickel, each petal tip dipped in green. Unlike many other bulbs, they enjoy dampish soil. When dug and cured like most other fall-planted bulbs, they tend to rot, so spring snowflakes are not typically sold by bulb merchants who get their stock from overseas.

This is where your plant-hunting skills are needed. If you’re really lucky, you’ll have a friend who will share some plants with you. Otherwise, look for a U.S.-based seller and order immediately, before they’re sold out. Don’t confuse this plant with the widely available summer snowflake (Leucojum aestivum), which is a fine plant but blooms later in spring.

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Bulbocodium Bulbocodium vernum has the lavender-pink color of a fall-blooming colchicum, and some botanists call it Colchicum vernum. It’s quite short, with six strappy petals that contrast beautifully with Cyclamen coum. Try planting them as a carpet around the base of February daphne, whose flowers are the same color as the bulbocodium.

Crocus korolkowii To look at American bulb catalogs, you’d think there were only two kinds of crocuses—big ones (Dutch crocuses) and little ones (species crocuses). It turns out there are so many different kinds of crocuses, an entire book was written about them. Crocus korolkowii blooms earlier than the species crocuses that are usually for sale, and deserves a spot where you can see it from the house or by a frequently traveled path.

The problem with crocuses is that deer and rodents like to eat them. To deal with this, you have four options. 1. Surround them with grit as you plant them. This will keep the corms from being eaten, but won’t help with above-ground munching.

2. Spray them with Plantskydd® or another repellant before planting. They may need another application as they emerge.

3. Plant in really hard-packed clay soil that voles can’t be bothered to dig in. 4. Give up on crocuses—most of the other bulbs mentioned here are rodent-resistant.

More early options: Top: Striped squill (Puschkinia libanotica ‘Sky Vision’) Bottom: Helleborus niger

Glory-of-the-Snow

Hunt and Experiment

Glory-of-the-snow (Chionodoxa spp.) produces blue-lavender flowers along a 6-inch stem. Chionodoxa forbesii is the most common; ‘Blue Giant’ is taller and a tad deeper blue, but I have given my heart to ‘Blue Mound’, which is an even deeper color and more floriferous. There are also white, pink and violet forms of C. forbesii (sometimes called C. luciliae).

Chionodoxa sardensis is cobalt blue and lacks the white eye of the others.

Desperate times call for desperate measures. And who is more desperate than the cold-climate gardener who’s been inundated with social media images of flowers blooming in warmer climates?

The sooner you have your own blooms, the better you will feel about the lingering piles of snow and your sodden lawn.

Just remember that even when you get location and varieties right, weather plays a big part in when you get that first bloom. Keep hunting for early bloomers and experimenting with sites. Next year, you’ll have your earliest bloom yet! ng

Striped Squill Striped squills (Puschkinia libanotica) have stems loaded with white flowers that have a pale blue stripe down each petal. It’s a good plant to grow along a walk where you can admire that stripe up close. I have indulged in ‘Aragat’s Gem’ and ‘Sky Vision’ from Odyssey Bulbs, which have more flowers per stem and better color.

Christmas Rose If you grew the Christmas rose (Helleborus niger) in Great Britain, it would bloom in December in accordance with its common name. Sometimes I get lucky and see a flower in late November before the plant gets buried in snow. Usually, this hellebore opens its flowers after the snow has melted, in late March or early April. Hybrids with H. niger in their parentage (such as the Helleborus Gold Collection) also bloom after snowmelt.

Kathy Purdy gardens in upstate New York.

She hosts the award-winning blog, coldclimategardening.com.

Sources Brent and Becky’s Bulbs, brentandbeckysbulbs.com.

Wide selection of common bulbs.

John Scheepers, johnscheepers.com.

Wide selection of common bulbs.

Leafari, leafari.com. Wide selection of common bulbs.

McClure and Zimmerman, mzbulb.com.

Wide selection of common bulbs.

Odyssey Bulbs, odysseybulbs.com.

Crocus korolkowii and Chionodoxa ‘Blue Mound’ plus lots of other bulbs you’ve never heard of. —K.P.

Invasive Bulbs?

Two commonly offered hardy bulbs may be invasive and should be avoided.

Siberian squill (Scilla siberica) produces lovely blue flowers at the same time as glory-ofthe-snow. It propagates itself by seed and by multiplying bulbs. Although not on the invasives list in either state, Minnesota and Wisconsin gardeners report that it has grown into wild areas, where it crowds native plants.

Visit minnesotawildflowers.info, and search for Siberian squill for more details.

Star-of-Bethelem (Ornithogalum umbellatum and O. nutans) has white starry flowers and crocus-like leaves. It is not a problem in Minnesota, but gardeners in other states have found it self-sows and multiplies aggressively.

—K.P. January/February 2020

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Harness your garden enthusiasm to start vegetables in winter.

Story and photos by Meg Cowden

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Get Sowing!

EVEN THE MOST PATIENT NORTHERN GARDENERS MEET THE ENDS OF THEIR VERY GENEROUS ROPES BY LATE WINTER, EVENTUALLY PINING FOR A SMALL PATCH OF VISIBLE GROUND. TO THWART THE WINTER BLUES, ESPECIALLY WHEN MID-APRIL BLIZZARDS BLANKET OUR YARDS AND DAMPEN OUR HOPES FOR AN In late March, Meg takes brassicas to the low tunnel.

“EARLY” SPRING, MY FAMILY LIKES TO START GROWING A MEDLEY OF VEGETABLES IN MID- TO LATE FEBRUARY. I didn’t grow up gardening in this climate, and I moved north with no idea of when the gardening season is supposed to start. My first serious vegetable garden was in balmy USDA Zone 8a, so I maintained my February 1 tomato-sowing schedule after relocating here with my husband. Why? Mental health, zone-bending daydreams, and possibly a bit of stubborn and crazy. I refuse to wait until Mother’s Day to get my tomatoes in the ground. For the past 17 years, I have planted out tomato plants in mid- to late April, under some kind of protection, and consistently harvested my first ripe cherry tomatoes by late June—often sooner.

An April blizzard in 2019 buried the garden, but seedlings were snug under cover.

Why Start Early?

There are many advantages to starting your vegetable garden early. After a long, mandatory break from the garden, energy and drive is high. I capitalize on my late-winter yearning and grow vegetable starts at a time when I need to believe that spring will eventually arrive.

I also enjoy tending seedlings under grow lights, embracing the peaceful lull of fresh snow with the promise of warmer days to come and homegrown food as early as I can possibly harvest it. Perhaps we take it to an extreme, but with robust garden salads in early May, mature kohlrabi and cabbage by Memorial Day, and ripe tomatoes before the Summer Solstice, the extra effort always feels worth it.

In addition to super-early harvests, starting early offsets pest pressure, providing our plants a pest-free growing

period for some or most of their life cycle. Pest pressure was all but nonexistent last spring, for example, and my mini cabbages were picture perfect. I’m sure that the extra-early start contributed to that success.

Finally, starting early sets the garden up for multiple plantings during our all-too-brief season. Without this early start, we would not have as much productivity in the garden—and our indoor winter entertainment would be rather bleak. So we like to get sowing early and keep it up all season long.

Early starts bring a cabbage harvest in late May.

Kohlrabi plants on April 25—looking good!

January/February 2020

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Get Sowing!

Radishes, herbs, kale and kohlrabi are harvested in May.

Tomato and pepper starts are potted up indoors until the weather warms.

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Fall is the Time to Spring Ahead

Top Contenders for Early Spring

The season starts in October as the garden is put to bed and summer’s remnants are heaped on the compost pile.

My husband and I discuss our rotation plan, most notably giving our tomatoes a full rotation around the garden. Once we determine which bed we will use for our earliest brassicas, we amend the soil in that bed with compost and install simple PVC hoops, securing them with rebar stakes driven into the ground. The beds accumulate snow for the first half of the winter before we cover the hoops with 6 mil poly to warm the soil in late February.

The key is to get these structures set up before the ground freezes solid. You’ll have plenty of time to think about what you’d like to sow or transplant into this extra-early space, but you won’t be able to jumpstart the thaw under a low tunnel unless you get the structure set up before the ground freezes. We install our low tunnels by early November.

It’s possible to push your early season by indoor sowing cool-season crops, even without a low tunnel. To do that, sow your earliest cole crops indoors before the end of March, assuming they won’t have any protection when transplanted into the garden in late April or early May. Selecting fast-maturing varieties should give you the best chance of harvest by early July.

While you could sow brassicas directly into the garden, the only thing I sow under row covers in late winter are radishes, peas and carrots; everything else gets sown indoors and transplanted. This holds true throughout the growing season, as strong transplants are more resilient against pest pressure than little seedlings. Also, starting plants indoors maximizes every last ounce of sunshine and square footage outside during the season.

I sow a tray of my earliest brassicas in late February, the earliest seeds planted the same time my tomatoes and peppers are sown. I grow all of our starts in 2-inch soil blocks under a 48-inch fourlight fluorescent fixture with half cool and half warm light. The setup has an adjustable chain and, of course, seedling mats for warmth.

While the seeds are sprouting, I maneuver my way back into the garden, sometimes with snowshoes, and cover the low tunnel with a sheet of 6 mil plastic. Sometimes I use the snow I had to shovel out of the bed to locate the ground as weights. It takes about four weeks for the snow to melt and the soil to warm enough to be hospitable to my prized transplants. With a little cooperation from the elements, I transplant these into their protected bed around the end of March, sometimes sooner.

Setting plants out before the soil is warm enough will severely shock them.

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I take the temperature of the soil using a digital meat thermometer to determine when the soil is adequately thawed. While it’s purported that cool-season crops can tolerate soil temperatures as low as 40 degrees F, I aim for temperatures closer to 45 degrees at 6 inches depth. The warmer the soil, the happier these plants will be during this often snowy and cold shoulder season.

The other main group of plants I start extra early are tomatoes, peppers and eggplants, the heat-loving nightshades that take longer to fully mature. Because we like to get them planted out as early as possible, we start them indoors and pot them up once or twice before they head into the garden. They live inside under lights in a bright room for about 8 weeks before hardening off and then transplanting in their own protected garden bed.

These warm-season crops are set out early, too, but we wait an additional four weeks for the soil to warm before sending them to the garden. I aim for soil temperatures around 60 degrees F before transplanting under row covers. Tax Day (April 15) is our goal for getting tomatoes in the garden, and that’s a purposefully aggressive target; we usually get them in the ground within a week of that goal. I tend to coddle my peppers and transplant them under covers around the end of April or beginning of May, though I typically don’t set that tunnel up until spring, thus the delayed planting.

SOWING TABLE FOR JUMPSTARTING YOUR SPRING & SUMMER GARDEN VEGETABLE BROCCOLI BOK CHOY CABBAGE CAULIFLOWER KALE KOHLRABI

February 28

March 15

indoor sow

March 22 harden off

March 31

April 15

harden off harden off harden off harden off harden off indoor sow

harden off

transplant

harden off

transplant

harden off

transplant

harden off

transplant

transplant under cover indoor sow

LETTUCE

transplant

transplant under cover indoor sow

indoor sow

harden off

transplant under cover indoor sow

indoor sow

transplant

transplant under cover indoor sow

indoor sow

harden off

transplant under cover indoor sow

indoor sow

April 30

transplant under cover indoor sow

indoor sow

April 22

harden off

transplant under cover

indoor sow

harden off

transplant

RADISH

direct sow under cover

direct sow

CARROTS

direct sow under cover

direct sow

PEAS

direct sow under cover

direct sow

Tomato harvest from July 8, 2019.

pot up

harden off

transplant under cover

indoor sow

pot up

harden off

transplant under cover (early May)

indoor sow

pot up

harden off

transplant under cover (early May)

TOMATOES

indoor sow

EGGPLANT

PEPPERS

With early sowing, this was the author’s harvest on June 18.

Harvest Time This may seem extreme to some seasoned northern climate gardeners, but it works for me. The earliest homegrown tomato I’ve harvested in Minnesota was before Memorial Day. It happened once—and maybe someday it will happen again—but ripe tomatoes in June is now the norm at our home.

Winter can be a great time for rest and renewal. It is also a great time to get growing. Take inventory of what you love to grow and imagine what could be.

Maybe a Mother’s Day homegrown salad, complete with radishes, would be a fun goal to pursue. Then see how far you, too, can push the season. ng Orono-based Meg Cowden is a self-taught gardener, writer and photographer. Follow her on Instagram at @seedtofork.

January/February 2020

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A perennial bed planted in gravel requires less water once established.

Plant Sustainably

SUSTAINABLE STEPS

5 simple ways gardeners can ‘live lightly on the land.’

1

“Sustainability is easy gardening, smart gardening,” Heiland says. Sustainable planting techniques don’t require much effort—just a change in perspective about your yard and garden.

For instance, instead of hauling plant waste to the compost pile at the back of your property, consider using the “chop and drop” method. Heiland cuts back a plant, and then leaves the cuttings in the planting bed to decompose, adding nutrients to the soil.

Growing some of your own food reduces the carbon emissions produced from transporting produce to and from the grocery store. To be more sustainable, Heiland heavily interplants edibles among her perennials. For example, strawberry plants edge her garden borders. An arbor holds both grapes and cucumbers, which thrive happily together. The cucumber pops up early with its blooms and fruit, while the grapes mature in late summer and early fall.

She also uses companion plants— plants that help each other. For example, she planted a pear tree near blue false indigo (Baptisia australis), a member of the legume family, which fixes nitrogen in the soil. She planted comfrey nearby, which has a long taproot that allows water and air to reach the roots of the tree and draw up nutrients deep in the soil. When comfrey leaves are used as mulch, those nutrients can be added to the soil surface.

Story and photos by Gail Brown Hudson

2020 IS HERE—a fresh new decade of the 21st century, which might be just the right time to challenge yourself as a gardener to try something new, something better for the planet and future generations, something more sustainable.

Many of us want to garden sustainably, but the idea seems to encompass so much and sometimes recommendations are confusing. Heidi Heiland, owner of Heidi’s Growhaus and Lifestyle Gardens in Corcoran, simply says it’s “a way to live lightly on the land.”

We can do our part as individuals to improve the environment, conserve 40

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resources, support native pollinators and other wildlife, and sequester carbon in our landscapes.

Where to begin? Reducing the use of pesticides, moving away from using “chemical” (synthetic) fertilizers, composting plant material and incorporating pollinator-friendly plantings in your landscape are great suggestions.

In this article, we’re going to zero in on five additional, often overlooked, ways to create a more sustainable landscape.

Start small and see where it goes. “It doesn’t have to be your whole landscape,” Heiland says.

Vegetables such as purple kale and other edibles edge Heidi Heiland’s perennial beds.

Get ‘Water-wise’

To Learn More

2

Companion planting.

Permaculture Research Institute, permaculturenews.org; search for companion planting chart.

Water-wise gardening.

University of Minnesota Extension, extension.umn.edu; search for water-wise yard.

Making soil blocks.

Urban Homestead, urbanhomestead.org; search for soil blocks.

Gravel gardens.

University of Wisconsin, extension.wisc.edu; search for gravel gardens. —G.B.H.

A key resource for all plants, of course, is water. Heiland encourages her clients to landscape with drought-tolerant plants and more low-maintenance “woodies”—perennials and shrubs with woody stems that require less water and attention.

Another sustainable goal is to retain the moisture that falls and keep it on the land. Start by observing carefully how water flows on your property when it rains or when you water. Is it going straight to the street? Are there ways to direct or channel that water?

IMAGES: TENTH ACRE FARM

Rain gardens (planted depressions) and rain barrels that catch water from a roof help keep water at home. But it’s simpler to dig along a planting edge and add a swale—a dip, a ditch or a trench in a landscape anywhere from 6 to 18 inches deep and 1 to 2 feet wide. Swales slow, store and spread water without being too obvious. Larger swales on a slope can be filled with gravel or wood chip mulch, which doubles as a path, and include a planted berm on the downside.

Shrink the Lawn

Small swales added next to planting beds keep water on your property.

When watering planting beds or your lawn, forget the sprinkler—it loses a lot to evaporation. Conserve water by using drip irrigation when possible. Smart irrigation controllers and rain sensors avoid overwatering with sprinkler systems.

3

Shrinking the size of your lawn can be a dramatic change. But any area of diverse plantings requires fewer resources than most turf plantings. Turf covers 40 million acres or 2 percent of the landmass in the United States, making it the largest crop in the United States, according to the journal Environmental Management.

Another study reports Americans spend $30 billion annually to fertilize and water that “crop.”

To create a smaller, more intentional lawn, think of your grass as you would a large rug in your home. It’s a focal point, a place for the kids and dog to run around, but it’s no longer your yard’s predominant groundcover.

If that’s not something you’re able to do, introduce a lower-maintenance turf variety by over-seeding your existing lawn. Fescue grass blends for lawns require less water (up to 30 percent), less fertilizer and here’s a bonus—less mowing.

Think of lawns as an area rug in your home, an accent rather than the entire space.

January/February 2020

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Bare-root trees need a wider hole, but eventually outpace trees started in plastic pots.

Sustainable Steps

5

Design Sustainably

Homemade newspaper seedling pots are economical and good for the earth.

4

Cut Back on Plastic Pots Like most gardeners, I have a pile of plastic pots at the end of each season.

My city curbside recycling program won’t accept them. Most Minnesota garden centers don’t either. Some big-box stores have recycling programs. Some nurseries accept containers if the plants were purchased at their store—be sure to ask!

Or try to avoid plastic pots altogether.

For example, start seeds at home in compostable containers. Peat pots are great, but you can also make your own paper pots by rolling up newspaper around toilet paper rolls or make a soil block out of lightly compressed potting soil.

Look for vendors that sell plants in biodegradable pots. Some vendors use pots made from coconut husk fibers, which can be planted directly into the ground. Some nurseries also use natural materials like rice hulls, bamboo and straw, which can be composted commercially.

And finally, consider buying plants like rhubarb, asparagus, roses, trees and shrubs in bare root form—not in a pot or wrapped in burlap. “If you plant [trees] directly, they have a really good chance of living their full genetic lifespan,” says Jim Nayes who owns Living Sculpture Tree and Shrub Care in Sunfish Lake.

Over the summer, this arborist keeps 200 to 300 trees in a gravel bed to help them establish superior bare root systems. Other than needing a wider hole, Nayes says the bare-root trees are easy to plant and don’t require staking.

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Bare Root Vendors Bergeson Nursery, bergesonnursery.com, Fertile MN Honker Flats, honkerflats.com, Middle River, MN The Apple Tree Guy, theappletreeguy.com, Carlton MN Drummers Garden Center, drummersgardencenter.com, Mankato, MN Nelson’s Nursery, nelsonnursery.com, Zimmerman, MN Steve’s Elk River Nursery, steveselkrivernursery.com, Elk River, MN Dragonfly Gardens, dragonflygardens.net, Amery, WI Farrill’s Sunrise Nursery, farrillssunrisenursery.com, Hudson, WI Bergmann’s Greenhouses, Clayton, WI. Norms Greenhouse, normsgreenhouseandnursery.com, Aurora, SD Parkview Nursery, parkviewnursery.com, Aberdeen, SD Oakridge Nursery & Landscaping, oakridgenurseryinc.com, Brandon, SD Landscape Garden Centers, landscapegardencenters.com, Sioux Falls, SD —G.B.H.

Jeff Epping’s home garden is entirely drought-tolerant perennials planted in 6 inches of gravel.

Educating people about sustainable design is the personal mission of Jeff Epping, the horticulture director of Olbrich Botanical Gardens in Madison, Wis. The garden uses fewer annuals, which demand more water and fertilizer. Crews only plant bulbs that return year after year. And since 2012, Epping has been introducing visitors to gravel gardens.

“It’s a lean and mean system,” he says.

Drought-tolerant plants, typically prairie plants in 3½- to 4½-inch pots, are planted dirt and all into 4 to 5 inches of gravel. The gravel mulches the plants so they are cool underneath. There are few weeds. No other organic matter is added.

For two years, the plants are watered regularly. After that, they require little or no watering because they’ve produced extensive root systems. “Once the plants are filled in and mature, people don’t even know the plants are growing in gravel,” he says.

A Sustainable Future Whether it’s adding low-maintenance shrubs to your landscape or turning your front yard into a gravel garden, there’s plenty gardeners can do to help the planet. And, it’s nice to know that when we garden, we are laboring for a deeper purpose. ng Minneapolis-based Gail Hudson is an award-winning writer and video producer.

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January/February 2020

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northern view

Theresa Rooney

Plant It and . . .

S

ometimes I miss the obvious.

I have always loved nature and animals, and long had pets and gardens. Even as a teen, my bedroom was filled with plants. During my years as a renter, plants packed my apartments. Finally, I got my own home.

A huge elm shaded the small yard, and I grew to love shade gardening. I loved the flowers and shrubs and all the wildlife they brought in. Eventually, my yard became a Certified Wildlife Habitat. My flowers, plants, chickens and I were content. Then disaster hit. Dutch elm disease took my beloved 100-year-old elm, and all the shade.

For a couple of years, I watched my shade plants die, my chickens get overheated and my previously comfortable home become a hot house. I embraced the sun and planted lots of edible fruit trees and bushes.

My plan was to have a “garden of eating,” and I pictured myself wandering the yard, picking cherries for dessert or grabbing a peach for a snack. Currants would become jelly and apples would find their way to applesauce and apple pies. The gooseberry planted under the living room window would provide security. The cherry and peach trees in the side yard along with the columnar apples would add privacy from neighbors. I planted jostaberries under the sunny side of the witch hazel bush lining the sidewalk so I could nibble them as I took out the trash and the recycling.

Cherry trees in the backyard were chosen to flower and fruit over a few weeks’ time so that I would have a long season of picking and could still share some with the birds. These cherry trees would protect my still barely surviving shade plants and help me on my way to a permaculture edible forest garden.

In the sunniest area, I planted a small veggie garden and put containers and straw bales filled with greens and more tomatoes near the house on the patio.

Apricots flanked the front yard, bringing in pollinators early in the season and the turtlehead (Chelone) fed them at the end of the season. During the rest of the time, pollinators could find flowers, herbs and vegetables to pollinate.

I had it all planned.

Well, I planted it—and they came. First, the apricots became food for the squirrels—even before they were ripe. The peaches and cherries were still safe, so I didn’t mind sharing a few apricots.

But the next year, the squirrels discovered the peaches and cherries, too. The baby raccoons climbed the fruit trees and ate all the tiny, barely fertilized apples, pears and plums. Rabbits nibbled the jostaberries and blueberries to the ground.

My garden of eating was not being enjoyed by me, but by all these wild animals.

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Then it hit me—the obvious that I sometimes I miss. I had created a wildlife habitat—it was wonderfully successful. The only problem was my viewpoint. I actually laughed out loud as the realization hit me. In permaculture, there are no mistakes, only learning opportunities.

Here’s what I learned: if you grow it, they will come. I can easily fence the blueberries I like. I have plenty of cherry trees and can happily share the wealth. The apples, apricots and peaches that I want for myself can be wrapped with nylon footies or bagged. By growing lots of vines on my chain link trellis (aka fence) I limit where the raccoons and possums enter my yard.

Now I rejoice in the chipmunk enjoying the apricot, the rabbits nibbling the clover, squirrels being baffled by the covers I put over the pots of greens. I see the beauty in the cherries disappearing from the trees with birdsong as payment. I enjoy watching the chickadees and other parent birds darting all over the yard, grabbing caterpillars, sawflies and even Japanese beetles to feed themselves or their chicks. The ants continue to clean up dead insects, eat weed seeds, pollinate the Canadian ginger and aerate the soil. Squirrels plant amazing seeds for me to identify as they germinate.

My yard is filled with life and vitality. I can always head to the farmers’ markets for those carrots if I want some. ng Theresa Rooney is a master gardener in Hennepin County and author of The Guide to Humane Critter Control (Cool Springs Press, 2017).

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