Northern Gardener - March/April 2022

GUIDE FOR NEW NORTHERN GARDENERS INSIDE

Gardener Northern

A MINNESOTA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY PUBLICATION

MARCH/APRIL 2022

Wildflower WONDERLAND MEET THE

Front-Yard Foodies BEST

Pansies & Violas

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MARCH/APRIL 2022 l VOLUME 150 l NUMBER 2

Table of Contents 26

31

Go Wild

Keeping Good Company

BY DIANE MCGANN

BY JENNIFER RENSENBRINK

Ephemerals make Minnesota a wildflower wonderland each spring.

Science bolsters this gardener’s cache of companion-planting techniques.

34 Front-Yard Foodies

Growing food out front is contagious for Northfield neighbors.

BY SUSANNAH SHMURAK

IN EVERY ISSUE 2 Director’s Note 4 MSHS News: Classes, calendar and more.

39 Move Over, Maple

For sweet sap, you can tap more trees than you think.

BY SAMANTHA JOHNSON AND DANIEL JOHNSON

42 More than a Spring Fling Invest in pansies and violas for dividends in spring and fall.

BY MICHELLE MERO RIEDEL

15 Northern Natives: Eastern shooting star.

By Beth Stetenfeld 16 Garden Solutions: Most valuable tools.

By Laura Schwarz 17 Kitchen Garden: The Brassica family.

By Samantha Johnson 18 DIY: Designing with Powerpoint.

By Eric Johnson 20

By Design: Lilies: An essential element.

By Diane McGann 22 Pollinators: Habitat is infrastructure.

By Rhonda Fleming Hayes

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23 Plant to Pick: New Celosia varieties.

By Debbie Lonnee

Oh, Snap!

52 Northern View: Pick, pluck, pull.

By Carol Michel

When the weather turns suddenly cold, here’s what to do.

BY KATHY PURDY

ABOUT THE COVER: Virginia bluebells bloom in the wild and in gardens in the North. Photo by Kelly Povo

Check out our Discount Partners list on pages 12-14 for spring flowers.

MSHS Board of Directors Mary Hockenberry Meyer, Chair Mary Marrow, Vice Chair Paul Markwardt, Treasurer Renay Leone, Secretary Nan Eserkaln Debra Kvamme Judy MacManus Amee McDonald Steve Poppe Laura Wagner Rhys Williams

A NOTE FROM

The Director march madness, for us gardeners, is a winter’s worth of pent-up dream energy just bursting for a warm spring day. If you’re like my wife, you’ve got 60 milkcarton mini greenhouses in the yard starting to sprout, new seed packets arranged alphabetically on the shelf and a big container of vermiculture compost in the basement ready to enrich your soil.

Or maybe you’ve got none of that ready, and you’re just trembling and wondering what to do with that one planter on your porch and the one packet of tomato seeds your grandma gave you. Either way, this issue of Northern Gardener is packed with resources to help you spring into the new growing season.

Be sure to check out our spring garden tips from our archives on page 8.

You also may want to keep our updated list of Discount Partners (pages 12-14) somewhere handy for plant shopping this spring. You can enjoy your member discount at more than 60 garden stores and nurseries.

Minnesota State Horticultural Society

Rick Juliusson, Executive Director

Join a class or event—our spring classes list and community calendar are filled with opportunities to get yourself ready. These aren’t just for locals—there are offerings around the state and online that rock the world of our widespread members and Northern Gardener readers from Michigan to Montana, Iowa to the Dakotas, and my home country, Canada.

If your couch and fuzzy blanket are still calling louder than your garden, dive into our online Resource Hub for great suggestions about books, blogs and podcasts to enjoy. And, we hope you dig this year’s bonus Dig In! booklet.

Add in all the great articles and photos, and you’ve got a magazine as beautiful and bounteous as your garden will be this year.

651-643-3601 l info@northerngardener.org

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MSHS Staff

— Rick Juliusson (he/him) Executive Director

@mnhort

Lara Lau-Schommer, Education and Outreach Director Becky Swee, Communications and Marketing Director Diane Duvall, Development Director Courtney Tchida, Community Programs Director Ann Londrigan, Membership Associate Emma Krasky, Quaker Voluntary Service Fellow Betsy Pierre, Advertising Sales Manager

Northern Gardener Magazine Mary Lahr Schier, Editor Debbie Lonnee, Horticultural Editor Julie Jensen, Copy Editor Barbara Pederson, Designer Joe Luca, Newsstand Consultant

Copyright 2022 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. (ISSN) 1529-8515. Northern Gardener is published bimonthly (Jan/Feb, Mar/Apr, May/June, July/Aug, Sept/ Oct, Nov/Dec) by the Minnesota State Horticultural Society. 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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Northern Gardener l January/February 2022

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UPCOMING EVENTS

Hellstrip Gardening Tuesday, March 8, 6:30 – 7:30 p.m. $5 members, $10 nonmembers Location: Your computer Instructors: Becky Rice and Rich Harrison, Metro Blooms staff

Stormwater runoff is one of the leading contributors to poor water quality in Minnesota, and it often starts at the boulevard. Traditional turfgrass boulevards may be mounded such that the height of the vegetation is taller than that of the sidewalk and the curb cut.

Unfortunately, this creates a situation where water can easily flow over the top of boulevards and enter our streets, where it picks up contaminants that eventually enter nearby bodies of water.

In this class, we will teach you how to redesign boulevards to add beauty, protect pollinators and reduce stormwater runoff to protect local water quality.

Sustainable Landscape Design Basics for Homeowners Saturday, March 26, 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. $130 members, $135 nonmembers Registration deadline: March 13 Location: Your computer via Zoom Instructors: Julie Weisenhorn and Jim Calkins, U of M horticulturists

This full-day landscape design 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 both novices and professionals. Historically offered as an in-person workshop, we have worked hard to create a compelling online offering as an alternative.

The curriculum is comprehensive and focuses on the landscape design process in a logical, step-by-step fashion to introduce the basic principles of sustainable landscape design and includes a sequence of real-world, landscape-specific exercises to provide opportunities to put pencil to paper and apply the landscape design principles and techniques discussed during the workshop. Without a doubt, spring and the principles learned during this informative workshop should get your creative juices flowing as you consider the exciting possibilities for your home landscape.

Class participants will need a computer or tablet with internet access.

What Every Minnesotan Should Know about Tick-borne Diseases Tuesday, March 29, 6:30 – 7:30 p.m.

Free event Location: Your computer Instructor: Elizabeth Maloney, M.D.

CREATIVE COMMONS

MSHS Calendar

This free presentation reviews tick-borne diseases in Minnesota, focusing on Lyme disease, a potentially serious infection.

The talk highlights the need to prevent tick bites and discusses effective and readily available prevention strategies while enjoying time in your yard, garden or the great outdoors.

This event is brought to you in partnership with MSHS, Minnesota Women’s Woodland Network and Tri-Lakes Sportsmen’s Club.

Abundant Lawns, Landscapes and Gardens

Planning for Highly Productive Gardens

Tuesday, March 22, 6:30 – 7:30 p.m. $5 members, $10 nonmembers Location: Your computer Instructor: Russ Henry, owner of Minnehaha Falls Landscaping and founder of Bee Safe Minneapolis

Tuesday, April 5, 6:30 – 8 p.m. $5 for members, $10 nonmembers, free for Garden-in-a-Box or Minnesota Green participants Location: Your computer Instructor: Courtney Tchida, MSHS staff

Learn how to grow a healthy, thick lawn, luscious gardens and thriving trees and shrubs. We’ll discuss best practices for dealing with common problems facing Minnesota homeowners, including weeds, grubs, diseases, pests and invasive species, such as emerald ash borer and buckthorn. This presentation is for everyone who ever wanted to learn how the top organic pros grow. Russ will help you turn your landscape into a stunning, abundant, organic oasis for you and your family.

Using crop rotation (planting different crops of different families in the same place over time), companion planting (two or more crops that benefit each other together), and succession planting (multiple crops in the same space throughout the season) can maximize your productivity and minimize potential pests, diseases and weeds. We will look at each of these concepts in depth to help you create a cohesive plan for your growing space in the coming season and beyond.

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Minnesota State Horticultural Society

UPCOMING EVENTS

Grow Your Fruits and Veggies

Community Events

Tuesday, April 19, 6:30 – 8 p.m. $5 members, $10 nonmembers, free for Garden-in-a-Box or Minnesota Green participants Location: Your computer Instructor: Courtney Tchida, MSHS staff

Virtual Learning Garden Tour Hennepin County Master Gardeners Feb. 1 – April 30 Online tour of four unique home gardens plus classes on tree care and pruning. Log on at your convenience. Cost: $12.

Contact: hennepinmastergardeners.org.

This online class will cover arugula to zucchini—all the vegetables, fruits, herbs and edible flowers that you can grow in Minnesota. We will talk about the easiest and the most demanding crops to grow in our climate, with tips for every crop along the way. We will also touch on pest and weed control strategies for the beginning food gardener. This is a great class to prepare you for an abundant harvest from your garden. Class participants will need a computer or tablet with internet access to attend the class.

Building Healthy Soil Tuesday, May 17, 6:30 – 7:30 p.m. $5 members, $10 nonmembers, free for Garden-in-a-Box or Minnesota Green participants Location: Your computer Instructor: Maks Sandor Kopish, owner/ operator, Potter Ridge Farms

When soil is healthy, it supports your plants just as nature intended. When it is out of balance or outright destroyed, the plants suffer and may attract pests and disease. Come learn about the beautiful webs of life below ground and the ways that you can best support them and make your garden grow.

Gardening for the Health of It Seminar Series Olmsted County Master Gardeners March 1 – 24 Join gardeners from Olmsted County for this online series. Topics, dates and class registration numbers are: March 1: Shade Gardening with Cindy Tomashek, founder of Shades of Green Hosta Society (9004.031) March 10: Homeowner’s Guide to Tree and Shrub Care with Ryan Brick, Maier Tree Service (9006.031) March 15: Beneficial Insects with Shane Bugeja, extension educator (9007.031) March 17: The Healing Power of Gardening with Robert J. Stroebel, Mayo Clinic (9008.031) March 22: Return of the Heirlooms with Harvey Buchite, Hidden Springs Flower Farm (9009.031) March 24: Urban Water and Soil Conservation with Aaron Gamm, Olmsted County Soil and Water Conservation District (9010.031) Cost: $15 per class. Registration is through Rochester Community Education, rochesterce. org/register; use class number to identify your selections.

Contact: mnext-olmstead@umn.edu.

Unusual, Interesting and Uncommon Herbs Men’s and Women’s Garden Club of Minneapolis Tuesday, March 8, 7 – 8 p.m.

Author and herb grower Theresa Mieseler will recommend herb varieties and offer care tips. For up-to-date meeting site information or Zoom link, visit gardenclubmlps.org/ calendar/events.

Migrating Birds and Animals Hennepin County Horticultural Society Monday, March 14, 6:45 – 8:30 p.m.

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

Naturalist and author Stan Tekiela will discuss the garden visitors we may see in spring.

Contact: hchsgardeners.wordpress.com.

Community Events continue on page 6

See all upcoming classes and register at northerngardener.org/classes.

Northern Gardener l March/April 2022

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UPCOMING EVENTS

COMMUNITY EVENTS continued from page 5 Spring into Summer Ramsey County Master Gardeners Monday, March 21, 6:30 – 8 p.m.

Join us for this online class about how to wake up your garden in spring and enjoy it through summer.

Contact: ramseymastergardeners.org/ classes.

Todd County Garden Day Todd County Master Gardeners and the Sauk River Watershed Saturday, March 26, 8:15 a.m. – 3:05 p.m.

First Baptist Church, 401 Fourth St. S., Long Prairie.

Keynote: Diversifying Our Landscapes, John Ball, South Dakota State University.

Presentations on jumping worms, native plants for shade, rock gardens, gardening with rabbits and deer and more.

Cost: $30 before March 1; $35 after.

Contact: toddctymg@gmail.com.

Home Landscaping and Garden Fair Anoka County Master Gardeners Saturday, April 2, 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.

Bunker Hills Activities Center, 550 Bunker Lake Blvd. N., Andover.

More than 15 speakers, two “make and takes” and many vendors.

Cost: $20 for half day; $35 all day.

Contact: anokamastergardeners.org.

35th Annual Gardening Saturday NDSU Extension Grand Forks County, Grand Forks Horticultural Society, The Myra Foundation Saturday, April 9, 8:45 a.m. – 4:15 p.m.

Alerus Center, 1200 S. 42nd St., Grand Forks, ND. Join us to “Renew in 2022.” Featured speaker: Melinda Myers plus presentations on a variety of topics.

Contact: gardeningsaturday.info; 701-780-8229

Tuber Sale Minnesota Dahlia Society Saturday, April 9, 9 a.m. – 3 p.m.

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

More than 1,700 tubers and 150 different varieties of tubers. Growers on hand to answer questions.

Contact: minnesotadahliasociety@gmail. com.

Hennepin County Master Gardener Volunteers are offering two events this spring!

For more information: hennepinmastergardeners.org/events

“Virtual” Learning Garden Tour

Plant Sale

Have the winter blahs?

Need a bit of inspiration in your garden planning this spring?

Saturday, May 14, 2022 9:00 AM - 2:00 PM

Back by popular demand, this tour features four beautiful and unique

Hopkins Pavilion, 11000 Excelsior Blvd., Hopkins, MN

home gardens of Hennepin County Master Gardener Volunteers

Plenty of free parking!

along with two focused educational opportunities that include tree care and pruning and when and how to plant your spring bulbs.

WE’RE BACK! Offering perennials, annuals, natives, vegetables, herbs & more!

Tickets are $12.

Featuring our exclusive line of Minnesota Winners!

Tickets go on sale February 1, 2022.

One of the largest plant sales in Hennepin County.

LAST DAY TO PURCHASE tickets is Saturday, April 30, 2022.

Bring your wagon!

To buy tickets & learn more about the Learning Garden Tour: https://z.umn.edu/22MGVTour

Fully staffed by Master Gardener Volunteers ready to answer all your gardening questions.

MASTER GARDENER PROGRAM | HENNEPIN COUNTY

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Minnesota State Horticultural Society

MSHS GIVING

COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS Advanced Vegetable Gardening Ramsey County Master Gardeners Saturday, April 9, 10 – 11:30 a.m.

Join us for this online class to learn advanced techniques to take your vegetable garden to the next level.

Contact: ramseymastergardeners.org.

Container Design for Sun/Shade Incorporating Houseplants Hennepin County Horticultural Society Monday, April 11, 6:45 – 8:30 p.m.

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

Contact: hchsgardeners.wordpress.com.

Nature-Based Therapeutics Men’s and Women’s Garden Club of Minneapolis Tuesday, April 12, 7 – 8 p.m.

Lakewood Cemetery Garden Mausoleum Reception Room, 3600 Hennepin Ave., Minneapolis.

Speaker: Heather Greeley-Benson.

Contact: gardenclubmpls.org.

Microenvironments for Orchids at Home Orchid Society of Minnesota Saturday, April 16, 1 – 3 p.m.

Bachman’s, 6010 Lyndale Ave. S., Minneapolis.

Contact: orchidsociety ofminnesota @gmail.com.

Introduction to Vegetable Gardening Ramsey County Master Gardeners Saturday, April 23, 10 – 11:30 a.m.

Learn the basics for your first garden in this online class.

Contact: ramseymastergardeners.org/ classes.

Master Rosarian Plant Sale Twin Cities Rose Club Saturday, April 30 and Saturday, May 7, 10 a.m. – 1 p.m.

3851 Queen Ave. N., Minneapolis.

Many hard-to-find varieties available.

Contact: twincitiesrose.org.

Food, Flowers and Community Grow in Mower Fair Garden a small plot packed with food and flowers grows in the heart of the Mower County Fairgrounds in Austin. The Mower County Master Gardeners’ Teaching and Donation Garden benefits from both MSHS community outreach programs: Garden-in-aBox since 2019 and Minnesota Green in 2021.

In coordination with extension’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Education and 4H programs, gardeners grow edibles and ornamentals to create pollinator habitat, while also providing education, gardening experience and access to healthy, homegrown foods for children. In 2021, many of these young gardeners entered their homegrown produce and fairy gardens into county fair competitions. Some even won ribbons!

Together, the students and master gardeners built an irrigation system to keep Garden-in-a-Box beds watered during the 2021 drought. The result?

They grew 3,000 pounds of fresh produce, donating it all to the Austin Salvation Army Food Shelf. In summer 2020, they harvested and donated 2,000 pounds of food from the same plot.

“Minnesota Green contributed to our success in 2021,” says Don Smith, master gardener coordinator for the county.

With help from master gardeners, 4-H members created fairy gardens and grew food.

Participating in this program, “expanded the number of crops and pollinator flowers and beautified aging flower beds,” he says, ensuring that this little garden gem will continue to grow both plants and gardeners for years to come.

Find out more about Minnesota Green and Garden-in-a-Box at northerngardener.org/community-programs.

Northern Gardener l March/April 2022

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0

YEARS OF PU BLISHING

G

TI

PS

15

THIS SEASON IN THE GARDEN

150 TIPS from 150 YEARS

AR

DENIN

G

W

ith age comes great wisdom … right? That’s what we tell ourselves with each passing year. 150 years into publishing northern gardening information, we’re still going strong, and we’re proudly broadcasting this milestone. As one of our social media followers says, “You don’t get to 150 years without doing something right.

Way to go, MSHS!” The hort society wouldn’t have outlived bell-bottoms and buckthorn praise without you.

We’re grateful to still be part of this community of 20,000-plus northern gardeners.

We’re constantly connecting with northern gardeners, writers, bloggers, friends and neighbors, reading hot-off-the-press gardening publications and scouring cyberspace for trending topics and new and improved ways to grow up North.

5 Spring Garden Tips and Tricks from the Archives

1

PLANT A RUG GARDEN

Don’t miss the next issue of Northern Gardener and bookmark our blog—we’ll add more of our favorite seasonal tips from the archives each month: northerngardener.org/blog.

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Minnesota State Horticultural Society

GET A JUMP ON SPRING

How much food can you get from a small vegetable garden? In 1944, William H. Alderman wrote about his “rug garden,” a 9-by-12-foot garden that produced an abundance of food. The secret: “Keep every inch of it working all summer.” northerngardener.org/ plant-a-rug-garden.

Getting a jump on spring has long been a goal of northern gardeners. In 1996, the magazine introduced readers to Ray Brink, who designed the Stalk Aid Plant Support and Protection System.

Using hoops, circular cages made of wire mesh and a plastic covering, he was able to give warm-season crops an early start. He also mulched his vegetable garden with dark plastic to warm the ground sooner.

This year, we’re looking back in the archives and digging up 150 of our best growing tips from past issues of the magazine—many of which, remarkably, are evergreen and still relevant. Follow along as we continue unearthing our favorite growing ideas in every issue and on the blog throughout 2022.

WANT MORE TIPS?

2

3 Alderman detailed exactly how many inches he would dedicate to each row of plants.

4

ENRICH YOUR SOIL

If you are applying manure or compost to enrich the soil in your vegetable garden, add 3 to 4 bushels (4 to 5 cubic feet) per 100 square feet of garden, recommended Orrin C. Turnquist in the April 1972 issue of Minnesota Horticulturist.

DREAM ABOUT SUMMER MELONS

In 1890, J.A. Sampson recommended soaking melon seeds as long as four days to encourage germination.

Plant in a sunny area where the soil has warmed and watch out for cutworms.

5

START SEEDS EARLY

To harvest a crunchy head of iceberg lettuce in June, start seeds indoors under lights in late winter, advised Meg Cowden in a 2021 issue of Northern Gardener. In late April, move them outdoors under row covers to protect against chilly nights.

THERE’S NEVER BEEN A BETTER TIME TO

Grow Your Own! SHOP THOUSANDS OF

SEED PACKETS, SOILS

STARTING SUPPLIES, HEAT MATS & LIGHTS

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MEMBER SPOTLIGHT

MEMBER SPOTLIGHT

Gardeners Stay North and Love It! “living in minnesota in winter, it’s so wonderful to pick up the magazine and see some color,” says Jean Mueting, a dedicated MSHS member and reader of Northern Gardener since 1976. She, her husband, Don, and their 13-yearold rescue dog Bella are also dedicated to staying in the northlands in their retirement. “We are here for the duration,” Jean says. “There are so many advantages to living here—frigid weather and all.”

Jean grew up in Nebraska on a large suburban property, where her parents grew their own food and had lots of farm animals. “That’s just how things were done back then,” she says. She learned a love of gardening from her paternal grandmother, helping harvest her grandmother’s huge potato patch.

“When you’re a kid, it’s fun to a point.

I sure appreciate those early lessons now, though,” she says.

Jean and Don moved into an old house in St. Paul in 1972, when Don started a new job. The property had a beautiful, established garden. “Lots of peonies and roses—we killed ourselves maintaining those gardens,” she says. Although childhood lessons in gardening helped, Jean and her

Don and Jean Mueting

“

If you have a new family moving in, they need help to get started. I thought that the [membership gift] bundles might spur them on!”

– Jean Mueting

husband had careers and it was hard to find the time to garden. After five years, they moved to their current home in Eagan. Now retired, they were excited to plan their own space, and worked with a designer from Dundee Nursery to establish a pollinator garden. After losing backyard elm trees, Don put in raised vegetable beds. “No chickens, but we are growing food,” says Jean.

Jean, who is the president of the Eagan Garden Club, doesn’t claim to be a gardening expert, but she is frequently asked for planting advice from her neighbors. She was pleased to see the society membership gift bundles offered in the online MSHS store, so she purchased some for her young neighbors. “If you have a new family moving in, they need help to get started,” says Jean. “I thought that the bundles might spur them on!”

Jean and Don became hort society donors in 2021. “We just started talking and there are some places that make a difference,” says Jean. “We’re gardeners and thought the hort is local and needs our support.”

For information on helping MSHS grow, visit northerngardener.org/support.

Master Gardener Spotlight: Anoka County

“

It’s very rewarding to give back to the communities that we serve by providing fresh produce to those in need. Our members learn through their work, and then share what they learn with the public through educational signage and interactions.”

–Dawn Bryant, master gardener, MSHS member and 2021 project lead for two Anoka County Master Gardener garden sites To learn more about master gardener projects around the state, visit northerngardener.org/blog.

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Minnesota State Horticultural Society

’ Dawn Bryant, far right, and volunteers at work at the Bunker Hills Giving Garden

MSHS DISCOUNT PARTNERS

SHOP AND SAVE WITH OUR

2022 Discount Partners society and affiliated members of the minnesota state horticultural society receive a discount membership card to shop with our trusted partners across the Upper Midwest.

Not a Society or Affiliated member? Join today at northerngardener.org/membership.

Members must present a valid, current membership card at time of purchase to qualify for the special offers listed below. Discounts not valid with other coupons, sales or special offers.

101 Market

8980 Quantrelle Ave. N.E., Otsego, MN (763) 441-4487 10% off all regularly priced trees, shrubs, perennials and annuals in stock. nathes101market.com

Abrahamson Nurseries

Three locations: 20021 St Croix Trail N., Scandia, MN (651) 433-2431 2100 Tower Dr., Stillwater, MN (651) 439-2140 1257 State Rd. 35, St. Croix Falls, WI (715) 483-3040 10% off all regularly priced items.

Not valid on landscape services. abrahamsonnurseries.com

Anoka-Ramsey Farm & Garden

7435 Hwy. 10 N.W., Ramsey, MN (763) 421-0223 10% off annual plants and bulk seed. anokaramseyfarmandgarden. com

Arden Hills Nursery

Shoreview Village Mall (Hwy. 96 and Lexington Ave.), Shoreview, MN 5% off regularly priced 1.6 cu. ft.

Cowsmo Compost (limit 2), and $1 off any regularly priced 1 gallon or larger perennials and nursery stock (limit 5). Valid seasonally May and June 2022. facebook.com/ardenhillsnursery

Axdahl’s Garden Farm & Greenhouse

7452 Manning Ave. N., Stillwater, MN (651) 439-3134 10% off regularly priced in-stock items. axdahlfarms.com

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Bachman’s

Six locations: 6010 Lyndale Ave. S., Mpls, MN (612) 861-7600 7955 150th St. W., Apple Valley, MN (952) 431-2242 770 Prairie Center Dr., Eden Prairie, MN (952) 941-7700 8200 University Ave. N.E., Fridley MN (763) 786-8200 2600 White Bear Ave. N., Maplewood, MN (651) 770-0531 10050 6th Ave. N., Plymouth, MN (763) 541-1188 10% off regularly priced retail purchases at all six retail floral, gift and garden centers. May not combine with employee discount, and cannot be applied on account.

Not valid on delivery, phone, Bachmans.com, Teleflora, FTD, hardscapes, wedding, landscape service orders, gift cards, Weber grills, Patrick’s Cafe, Lunds and Byerlys, event or ticket purchases.

Not valid at Cedar Acres or Bachman’s Nursery Wholesale Center. bachmans.com

Beisswenger’s

1823 Old Hwy. 8 N.W., New Brighton, MN (651) 633-1271 10% off all trees, shrubs, perennials and annuals. beisswengers.com

Cedar Brook Garden Center

26800 Langford Ave., New Prague, MN (952) 758-5099 10% off all regularly priced in-stock plants and supplies. cedarbrookgc.com

Como Park Zoo & Conservatory

1225 Estabrook Dr., St. Paul, MN (651) 487-8229 $10 off any Como Friends membership. Discount not available online. comofriends.org

Minnesota State Horticultural Society

Costa Farm & Greenhouse

9411 Dellwood Rd. (Hwy. 96), White Bear Lake, MN (651) 653-1269 10% discount at the greenhouse.

Valid through June 15. facebook.com/costafarmgreenhouse costaproducefarm.com

Countryside Lawn & Landscape

50 Jefferson Dr., Zumbrota, MN (507) 732-4404 10% off all regularly priced annuals, perennials, trees and shrubs in stock, and garden décor. Valid April-October. countrysidellinc.com

Dan & Jerry’s Greenhouse

2121 90th St. N.E., Monticello, MN (763) 271-6767 10% off all regularly priced annuals, perennials, trees and shrubs in stock. Valid April-October. djgreen.com farmfreshselects.com

Dolan’s Landscape Center

3108 4th St. N.W., Austin, MN (507) 433-3239 10% off plants through June. 15% discount on plants July 1November 1. dolanslandscapecenter.com

Visit the online 2022 Discount Partner Guide. northerngardener.org/ discount-partners.

Drummers Garden Center & Floral – NEW!

281 Saint Andrews Dr., Mankato, MN (507) 388-4877 10% off regular priced hardgoods, including gardening and houseplant supplies, pottery and more. April-October. Some exclusions may apply. drummersgardencenter.com facebook.com/DrummersGardenCenterAndFloral

Duluth Flower Farm – NEW! 6138 Rose Rd., Duluth, MN (218) 409-2520 15% off any purchase of produce, plants, cut flower arrangements and online wreaths. balsamwreath.com

Ecological Design

4105 Washburn Ave. N., Minneapolis, MN (612) 588-3942 $25 off landscape design consultation, April-November. ecologicaldesign.land

EggPlant Urban Farm Supply

1771 Selby Ave., St. Paul, MN (651) 645-0818 10% off all plants and seeds. eggplantsupply.com

Where do I find my member card?

Society and Affiliated members receive their card by email when they join or renew. Check your inbox (and junk or spam) for an email from membership@ northerngardener.org. Then, scroll to the bottom to find your card. You can print the email card or take a photo of it.

MSHS DISCOUNT PARTNERS

Fair’s Nursery

9340 Fair Way, Maple Grove, MN (763) 425-4212 10% off all regularly priced trees, shrubs, perennials and annuals in stock. fairsnursery.com

Farmington Greenhouse

519 Willow St., Farmington, MN (651) 463-7215 10% off all non-sale plant material April 1-June 30. farmingtongreenhouse.com

Fiddles & Fronds

Minneapolis, MN 15% off an arrangement, DIY bucket of flowers or container design. Organic, sustainable and artisan-direct flowers from your local Twin Cities florist-gardener.

Instagram.com/fiddlesandfronds fiddlesandfronds.com

Flower Power Garden Center & Fred Holasek & Son Greenhouse

18364 County Rd. 9, Lester Prairie, MN (320) 395-2780 10% off all non-sale items. holasekflowerpower.com

Forest and Floral Garden Center

701 Fair Ave., Park Rapids, MN (218) 732-4504 10% off regularly priced in-store purchase. Open April-December. forestandfloral.com

Friends School Plant Sale

MN State Fair Grandstand, Falcon Heights, MN Largest selection of plants in the Midwest, most from local growers. $5 off purchase of $50 or more during Mother’s Day weekend.

Free admission, free parking, check website for COVID protocols. Fri, May 6, 9 a.m.-8 p.m.; Sat, May 7, 10 a.m.-6p.m.; Sun, May 8, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. (remaining plants 1/3 off). friendsschoolplantsale.com

Garden Divas

N7789 State Rd. 65, River Falls, WI (715) 222-0436 10% off fun garden art, home décor, plants and more. We love local, fair trade, organic, vintage, eco-friendly, re-purposed . . . facebook.com/gardendivasrf

Garden Expressions – NEW!

2050 Hwy. 65, New Richmond, WI (715) 246-0257 $3 off 18 lb. Suståne Concentrated Compost while supplies last, expires Sept. 1. gardenexorders.wixsite.com/ gardenexpressions

Gordy’s Gift & Garden Center – NEW!

4899 Miller Trunk Hwy., Hermantown, MN (218) 722-8666 10% off all in-stock regularly priced trees, shrubs, perennials, annuals and gift and garden décor. gordysgiftsandgarden.com

Green Lake Nursery

270 Lake Ave. N., Spicer, MN (320) 796-2178 15% off green and growing products, April 1-Aug. 1.

Cash and carry only. greenlakenurseryofspicer.com

Green Space, LLC.

Landscapes in step with nature and set apart by design!

Minneapolis, MN (612) 558-3161 $10 off your first one-hour garden/landscape consultation when mentioning this offer. greenspacemn.com or roxanne@ greenspacemn.com

Green Valley Greenhouse 6530 Green Valley Rd., Ramsey, MN (763) 753-1621 10% off all garden center purchases. gvgh.com

Hartman Garden Center & Landscaping

8099 Bavaria Rd., Victoria, MN (952) 443-2990 10% off regularly priced plant material. Spring-Oct. 31. Not valid on landscape services. hartmancompanies.com

Heidi’s GrowHaus

7555 County Rd. 116, Corcoran, MN (763) 420-2909 10% off all non-sale items. growhausmn.com

Hiawatha Supply – NEW!

3233 East 40th St., Minneapolis, MN (612) 991-5563 10% off our products including topsoil, garden blend, compost, Cowsmo, Class Five and five varieties of mulch in bulk. Hiawatha Supply is also a disposal site. hiawathasupply.com

Home Sown Gardens

3345 Lexington Ave. S. #301, Eagan, MN (651) 434-7349 10% off all design, restoration and container planting services. homesowngardens.com

Hugo Feed Mill & Hardware

5582 146th St. N., Hugo, MN (651) 429-3361 10% off regularly priced plants, May-June. Known for our large selection (over 500 varieties) of peppers and tomatoes, including some rare, exotic and ornamental plants, plus vegetables, seed potatoes, onion sets, herbs, annual flowers, patio pots and hanging baskets. hugofeedmill.com

Jean’s The Right Plant Place 420 3rd Ave. S.E., Perham, MN (218) 346-4051 15% off entire purchase (excluding gift certificates). Valid through Oct. 1. rightplantplace.com

Kelley & Kelley Nursery

2325 Watertown Rd. S., Long Lake, MN (952) 473-7337 10% off regularly priced items. kelleyandkelleynursery.com

Kern Landscape Resources 915 Albert St. N., St Paul, MN (Pierce Butler and Albert St.) (651) 646-1553 10% off all products, and discounts on delivery, April-November. kernlandscaping.com

An organic garden center providing an affordable boutique experience.

Two Minneapolis locations: 3738 42nd Ave. S., Minneapolis 2318 Lowry Ave N.E., Minneapolis 10% off all regularly priced items. motherearthgarden.com

Nagel Sod & Nursery

6200 Frontage I-35 W., Medford, MN (507) 451-9605 10% off concrete statuary, June-October. nagelsnursery.com

Nature’s Garden World

1335 Hwy. 210 E., Fergus Falls, MN (218) 739-9641 10% off all non-sale items, excluding landscape services and materials. naturesgardenworld.com

Knecht’s Nurseries & Landscaping

1601 Hwy. 19 W., Northfield, MN (507) 645-5015 10% off regularly priced trees, shrubs and perennials, April-November. knechts.net

Landscape Alternatives

25316 Saint Croix Trail, Shafer, MN (651) 257-4460 10% off regularly priced plants, April-October. landscapealternatives.com

Lilydale Garden Center

941 Sibley Memorial Hwy., Lilydale, MN (651) 457-6040 10% off entire purchase, non-sale plant material only, March 1-Nov. 1. Not valid on landscaping services. lilydalegardencenter.com

Nelson Nursery Garden Center

25834 Main St., Zimmerman, MN (763) 856-2441 10% off regularly priced annuals, perennials, trees and shrubs. nelsonnursery.com

Otten Bros Garden Center & Landscaping

2350 W. Wayzata Blvd., Long Lake, MN (952) 473-5425 10% off all regularly priced plants. $10 off any garden center delivery. Offers not valid on labor or landscaping services. ottenbros.com

Pahl’s Market

Living Sculpture Trees

5900 Zehnder Rd., Sunfish Lake, MN (near 494 and Robert Street) (612) 803-9033 10% off regularly priced trees. lstrees.com

6885 160th St., Apple Valley, MN (952) 431-4345 20% discount on regularly priced annuals and perennials in stock.

Not valid on landscape projects or in combination with loyalty program. pahls.com

Paisley Gardens

600 Division St. S., Northfield, MN (507) 645-7078 10% off regularly priced items. paisley-gardens.com

Lynde Greenhouse & Nursery

9293 Pineview Ln. N., Maple Grove, MN (763) 420-4400 10% off any purchase April-December. lyndegreenhouse.com

Patio Town

Mickman Brothers

14630 Hwy. 65 N.E., Ham Lake, MN (763) 413-3000 15% off regularly priced green goods. mickman.com

Minnesota Landscape Arboretum

Mother Earth Gardens

3675 Arboretum Dr., Chaska, MN (612) 301-1257 10% off the Solo, Duo and Duo +2 levels of membership. Kids 15 and under always free. member@umn.edu arb.umn.edu

Three metro locations: 8500 Jefferson Ln. N., Brooklyn Park, MN (763) 488-1300 2801 Hwy. 13 W., Burnsville, MN (952) 894-4400 6300 Hwy. 36 Blvd., Oakdale, MN (651) 770-1391 10% off retail for all regularly priced landscaping supplies. Not valid toward tax, delivery or pallet charges. patiotown.com

Northern Gardener l March/April 2022

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MSHS DISCOUNT PARTNERS

Prairie Moon Nursery – NEW!

South Cedar Garden Center

Sargent’s Nursery

Spring at Last Garden Center – NEW!

Winona, MN (507) 452-1362 (866) 417-8156 10% off your online order! Native seeds, plants, seed mixes and tools. Use coupon code: MSHS at checkout. prairiemoon.com

23111 Cedar Ave. S., Farmington, MN (952) 469-3202 15% off all regularly priced annuals and perennials, May-September. southcedar.com

3352 N. Service Dr., Red Wing, MN (651) 388-3847 $5 off a retail purchase of $25 or more. Garden center cash and carry purchases only. Available year-round. sargentsnursery.com

Schulte’s Greenhouse and Nursery

2960 LaBeaux Ave. N.E., St. Michael, MN (763) 497-3747 10% off all regularly priced items. schultesgreenhouse.com

Seed Savers Exchange

3094 N. Winn Rd., Decorah, IA (563) 382-5990 Exclusive heirloom seeds, shopping discounts and more! $5 or $10 off an Annual Membership. seedsavers.org/mshs

4112 W. Arrowhead Rd., Duluth, MN (218) 728-3785 10% off all annuals. duluthgreenhouse.com

Terra Garden Center

20230 Kenrick Ave., Lakeville, MN (952) 469-3506 10% off live goods. Open year-round. terragardencenter.com

Terrace Horticultural Books

503 St. Clair Ave., St Paul, MN (651) 222-5536 Free shipping for online orders (minimum order $6.01) of books, periodicals and ephemera. terracehorticulturalbooks.com

The Garden By The Woods

78 W. 78th St., Chanhassen, MN (952) 949-0726 Pick one of three discounts! 50% off Pollinator Paks™ (while supplies last). OR get a FREE 3-inch Minnesota native plant with every $25 purchase, up to four plants per visit. OR receive 10% off granular organic lawn fertilizer. One discount per day, per visit. bythewoods.com

VIP Floral and Garden Center – NEW!

2539 20th St., Slayton, MN (507) 836-8260 10% off regularly priced plant material and gardening supplies. vipfloral.net

Wagner Garden Centers

Two locations: 6024 Penn Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN (612) 922-6901 4860 Frenchman Rd., Hugo, MN (651) 653-8863 10% off regularly priced plants year-round. Not valid with Wagners rewards program or consignment merchandise. shop.wagnergreenhouses.com

Winter Greenhouse

W7041 Olmstead Rd., Winter, WI (715) 200-5430 10% discount on all regularly priced plants April 28-Oct. 15.

Choose from over 800 varieties of hardy perennials, as well as a large and varied selection of trees, shrubs, bedding plants, miniature plants and mixed containers. Pick up practical and inspiring ideas from our extensive display gardens. We are 38 years old and growing strong! Call for a free catalog. wintergreenhouse.com

Wolcyn Tree Farms and Nursery – NEW!

4542 Hwy. 95 N.W., Cambridge, MN (763) 689-3346 10% off regularly priced trees and shrubs wolcyntreefarms.com

Zywiec’s Garden Center – NEW!

10900 E. Pt. Douglas Rd., Cottage Grove, MN (651) 459-3001 10% off all regularly priced annuals, perennials, trees and shrubs in stock. Valid April-October. zywiecs.com

The Minnesota State Horticultural Society is a 501c3 nonprofit. We thank our Discount Partners and members. Your support powers our mission to deliver the best programs for gardeners of all skill and income levels in our cold-climate region as well as our signature programs Garden-in-a-Box and Minnesota Green.

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Minnesota State Horticultural Society

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Bachman's .......................... inside front cover Broman's Greenhouse................................. 50 COWSMO, INC................................................ 21 Egg/Plant Urban Farm Supply.................... 50 Farm Fresh Selects........................................ 19 Gardens of Rice Creek.................................. 51 Gertens...............................................................9 Heidi's Growhaus & Lifestyle Gardens...... 21 Hennepin County Master Gardeners..........6 Hiawatha Supply............................................. 19 High Mowing Organic Seeds..................... 25 Holasek Flower Power Garden Center.... 50 Home Sown Gardens.................................... 51 Horta Culture at Squire House Gardens.50 Jean's - The Right Plant Place..................... 51 Kelley & Kelley Nursery and Greenhouse....51 Kern Landscape Resources........................ 50 Knecht's Nurseries & Landscaping............ 51 Minneapolis Home + Garden Show........... 14 Morning Sky Greenery................................. 25 Mother Earth Gardens.................................. 50 Morning Sky Greenery................................. 25 Paisley Gardens............................................. 50 Plaisted Companies........................................ 11 Proven Winner Color Choice.........................3 Osmocote..........................outside front cover Schulte's Greenhouse & Nursery............... 51 Terrace Horticultural Books........................ 50 UW River Falls Horticulture.......................... 51 Wimmer's Yardware...................................... 50 Winter Greenhouse........................................ 51 Sustane................................inside back cover for advertising information contact: betsy pierre, mshs ad sales manager at 763-295-5420 / betsy@pierreproductions.com

NORTHERN NATIVES

Eastern Shooting Star

BETH STETENFELD

planting shooting stars (Primula sect.

Dodecatheon meadia) in the garden is a journey of chance—they can be challenging to establish but are well worth the endeavor.

There are more than a dozen species of shooting stars native to North America. Two are native to Minnesota—Primula meadia and P. amethystinum—but both are rare. Both perform well in gardens once established, however. Formerly of the separate genus Dodecatheon, the plants are now placed as a section within the genus Primula. Eastern shooting star (P. meadia) is common throughout the Upper Midwest, although it’s listed as endangered in Minnesota.

Eastern shooting stars add grace and character to the garden with their clusters of eight to 20 downward-nodding blooms on each flower scape. Flowers range in color from white to light pink or lavender.

Beyond the basic beauty of these early- to late-spring bloomers, they bring many other benefits to the garden. They provide plentiful pollen for native bees; they’re virtually disease-free; they bloom for about a month; and they tend to be rabbit- and deer-resistant.

The blooms benefit bumblebees and other native bees, which visit the flowers to collect pollen. Bumblebees are specially equipped to hang from below the flowers and vibrate, shaking pollen loose for “buzz pollination.”

Eastern shooting stars are ephemeral; after their extended spring blooming and early summer seeding, they go completely dormant by mid- to late summer.

Good companion plants include those that bloom in summer and fall, as well as those that prefer similar growing conditions. Examples include wild geranium (G. maculatum) and New England aster (Symphyotrichum novae-angliae).

Once plentiful on America’s prairies, eastern shooting star is still often found in dry to wet prairie remnants; in moist, open woods; and along rocky slopes within its native range. Shooting stars prefer slightly acidic, moist soil, although they can be found in mesic to dry, clay, rocky or sandy soils. While they prefer

Roses are a natural choice for a fragrance garden.

partial shade, they can tolerate full sun in cooler zones and full shade if soil is moist in the spring.

Shooting stars can be started from seed, but planting by division is more reliable. Seeds should be sown fresh in summer or stratified over the winter.

Plants grow slowly and can take several years to flower.

Becaue of its relative rarity and its ephemeral nature, this plant is a pleasure to encounter in the wild. Eastern shooting star wasn’t found in the state until 1980, according to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, although it was more common just east and south, in Wisconsin and Iowa. While endangered in Minnesota, it grows well in garden settings and is readily available throughout the nursery trade.

Native-plant enthusiast Beth Stetenfeld is a garden blogger and writer, and a master naturalist volunteer and instructor.

At a Glance: Eastern Shooting Star Hardiness: USDA Zone 4.

Native Habitat: Moist open woods; dry to wet prairies. Native from Minnesota through New York, and south from Texas through Florida.

Size: 1 to 2 feet tall; 9 inches to 1 foot wide.

Site: Best grown in evenly moist, well-drained soil, in part shade; but tolerates full shade and full sun with adequate soil moisture.

Propagation: Difficult to grow from seed; must be sown fresh in summer or stratified during winter.

Grows well from purchased plants or division.

Cultivars and Other Species: Primula meadia and related species in North America—including P. amethystinum and more than a dozen others—are members of the primrose family. Several cultivars are available.

—B.R.S.

Northern Gardener l March/April 2022

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GARDEN SOLUTIONS

after 10 years working as a professional gardener, I have strong opinions about which gardening tools I use for each specific gardening task. Professional gardening is a mobile endeavor, in which you often travel from job site to job site carrying all your supplies and tools. It’s far too easy to forget to bring one of every tool you might need for the job, and nothing makes a tool feel more important than driving 30 miles back to retrieve it once you’ve realized you left it behind.

Although I’ve mostly learned to make do with whatever tools I have on hand, I’d rather use tools that make doing each job as efficient and comfortable as possible. Here are six that I consider “Most Valuable Tools,” and how I like to use them.

Square-Headed Spade

Over time, I’ve come to prefer a square-headed spade (shovel) to the classic pointed one. Whether it has a long or a short handle, the square-headed spade is perfect for cutting clean, straight, new edges along garden beds and chopping stray roots that get in the way while I’m digging planting holes.

I use this tool to scrape and sculpt the soil when I’m grading a new garden bed or attempting to level something. It can also work well for removing small amounts of sod.

Steel-Handled Shovel

If you’re not planning to dig in rocky, root-laden soil; remove minor tree stumps; or relocate small landscape boulders, you probably won’t need a steel-handled shovel. But for gardeners who dabble in hardscaping or who have difficult soil conditions, this tool can be a lifesaver. Because this shovel’s handle and blade are all one piece, it’s much easier to increase your leverage when trying to pry or move a heavy object— and you won’t snap it in half accidentally, which can easily happen with a wood or fiberglass shovel handle.

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Minnesota State Horticultural Society

ISTOCKPHOTO.COM

Most Valuable Tools

Scoop Shovel

For big garden projects, I prefer buying landscape materials in bulk. When it’s time to start moving a mulch or compost pile from the middle of my driveway to my garden beds, I use my short-handled scoop shovel. Similar to a snow shovel, this tool is perfect for loading your wheelbarrow or lifting mulch straight into the landscape. The wide shovel head can conveniently serve as a dustpan for your push broom, too. Note: for heavy materials like sand, soil or gravel, use the longer-handled, smaller-headed transfer shovel so you don’t hurt yourself trying to lift too much weight.

Digging Fork

My digging fork (also known as a “potato” or “garden” fork) has become one of my most valuable gardening tools. This short-handled, four-pronged fork is my secret weapon when excavating pesky creeping bellflower tubers, digging up dahlias to save at the end of the season and, of course, harvesting potatoes. It works best when you’re trying to remove weeds that have elaborate and/or brittle root systems—bellflower, quack grass or Canada thistle—because you can pry up the surrounding soil without chopping the roots into even tinier pieces that will just cause said weed to spread.

Garden Rake

Also known as a “hard” or “bow” rake, this rake is made from inflexible metal.

Its oblong head has many short tines along one side. The garden rake is great for grading uneven terrain and for spreading mulch, compost or topsoil.

Using this rake upside down (tines facing up) can make it easier to move large piles of soil before flipping it back over to complete any detailed grading work.

Leaf Rake

This is the quintessential rake: it has a wide, flat, fan-shaped head made from many long metal or plastic tines. As its name suggests, the leaf rake is intended for raking fallen leaves from the yard and garden in the fall. I also like to use it for fine-detail cleanup after I’ve completed any messy garden task. I’ll rake the edges of my lawn after applying mulch or use this tool to collect stray debris and spread loose dirt after renovating perennials.

Horticulturist Laura Schwarz writes and gardens in Minneapolis.

PHOTO: ERIC HUNT, CREATIVE COMMONS

KITCHEN GARDEN

The Brassica Family spring is coming, and with it, our triumphant return to the garden. It’s easy to get impatient at this time of year, but today let’s pass the time by talking about that group of cold-hardy plants that we all know and love: brassicas.

Specifically, let’s look at seven members of the Brassica oleracea clan: broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, collard greens, kale and kohlrabi.

It’s easy to love brassicas. They grow well in our northern climate; they’re resistant to frost; and they’re packed with nutrition. Even if they’re occasionally overlooked in favor of vegetables like tomatoes and beans, there are still plenty of reasons to add brassicas to your garden.

Planting specifications will depend on which brassica you’re growing, but as a family they like fertile, well-drained soil with a pH in the range of 6.0 to 7.0.

Remember to practice crop rotation and avoid planting brassica family members in the same place in successive years.

Pests can definitely be problematic for brassicas (ask me how I know this), including cabbage worms, beetles, aphids and more. Good news: floating row covers can minimize pest damage.

How about sun? Full sun is acceptable for kale, kohlrabi and Brussels sprouts, but not so great for broccoli, which is notoriously fond of bolting as temperatures warm in summer.

Cauliflower likes a bit of light shade.

Even though brassicas are cold-hardy, they aren’t quick growing. You’ll most likely want to sow your seeds indoors in late March or early April to give them a jumpstart before transplanting outdoors in May. So, which brassicas will you plant?

Kohlrabi, with its octopus-like appearance and surprising versatility, is a superstar in the kitchen. Or maybe you like the streamlined ease of growing kale, while also appreciating its incredible hardiness and unbelievable nutrients.

Perhaps you’re on Team Broccoli and your mouth is watering for some homemade broccoli soup. Maybe you have plenty of patience and want to put it to use growing Brussels sprouts, which take a long time but are well worth the wait. Then again, maybe you want to add a taste of the South to your northern garden, in which case I will point you toward collard greens. Or you could be in the mood for coleslaw or sauerkraut,

making cabbage your best bet. And don’t forget cauliflower with its snowy beauty and abundant usefulness in the kitchen.

Or grow some of each type.

When harvest comes, the brassica family will invariably brighten your meals with their hearty flavors and impressive nutrients. The sky’s the limit in terms of tasty ways to serve these vegetables, but roasting is always a flavor-packed option.

You can stir fry them, steam them or sauté them; or put them to splendid use in all manner of soups. Try your brassicas in gratins or casseroles, or serve with pastas or in salads.

So, even if we can’t head out to the garden quite yet, why not start some brassica seeds indoors this spring?

You’ll be harvesting plenty of hardy (and hearty!) vegetables in no time.

Wisconsin-based Samantha Johnson is the author of several books, including Garden DIY, (CompanionHouse Books, 2020). Visit her online portfolio at samanthajohnson.contently. com.

Northern Gardener l March/April 2022

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DIY

Designing with Powerpoint

Create a Blank Canvas Begin by opening a new document in Powerpoint. Name it what you wish and save it. Once you’ve determined the garden space you plan on designing (entry garden, sunny border, mailbox garden), take measurements of its length and width, any existing hardscape features (sidewalks, retaining walls, landscape boulders), and adjacent doors and windows. It’s also helpful to have a good idea of how much sunlight the space gets to help you pick plants. To create a blank canvas for your design, go to the Design tab in the toolbar at the top of the Powerpoint window, then Slide Size, then Custom Slide Size and enter your basic length and width dimensions and click OK. I go with a simple 1 inch equals 1 foot ratio in my designs. Go to View and check Ruler and Gridlines to display both items to help you with your layout. Checking Guides will insert lines that divide your canvas in half.

Add Hardscapes Begin by adding the hardscapes, both existing and imagined, to create a framework. Adding adjacent windows, if applicable, will help you plot shrubs or trees that could block views and any vertical elements that might go on a wall.

Use the Shapes tool to create the elements of your design. Go to Insert in the Toolbar, then Shapes, and explore the myriad shapes to choose from. Locate a shape that most closely mimics your hardscape feature and

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Minnesota State Horticultural Society

ERIC JOHNSON

If you’re a visual person, capturing your garden design ideas on paper helps you make the most of a space. You can plot the right number of plants for an area, play around with colors and establish the function and feel of your garden. Plus, it’s a lot of fun.

You can even create a garden plan in Microsoft Powerpoint, an accessible and versatile software program. It works well for creating a ground plan for new or existing garden projects. Here’s how I do it:

Powerpoint allows you to create shapes and add images to your garden design.

select it. This will create a crosshairs shape, then go to Shape Format, then icon controlled by your mouse that, Shape Fill, then Picture, and options to when you click Insert Pictures on the canvas, will come up. If will create the you have phoYou can create shape. When you tos of your own a garden plan in select the shape, to use, you can Microsoft Powerpoint, you can move navigate to them an accessible and the shape around on your computversatile software and small white er. There is also program. circles will appear the option to use on the sides and stock images that corners that you come with Powcan drag to change the dimensions. erpoint. The Online Pictures option ofIn the Format Shape tab, you can also fers the most choices and will bring up enter the height and width of the shape. options that have Creative Commons Using the gridlines and rulers as guides, licenses and are free for personal use. I position the hardscape element in the have always been able to find any plant correct place on the canvas. Repeat with variety I was searching for with this opadditional hardscape elements. tion. You can also search copyright-free Filling shapes with photos is what websites for photos. After you have brings the ground plan to life. Select a filled the shape with the photo, click

on the shape and go to Picture Format.

Click on the down arrow on the Crop icon, select the Fill option, then click the main Crop icon. This will keep the photo from not distorting in the shape.

“

It’s also helpful to have a good idea of how much sunlight the space gets to help you pick plants.”

Add Plants Use the same process as adding hardscapes. Select shapes (I use the circle shape), size them to the plant’s mature dimensions, fill with a photo and begin playing with placing them in your landscape plan. You can label your elements by clicking on a shape and typing. You can also insert a text box and type. Then format the text to a size and color that contrasts with the background. Adding a shadow often helps with this.

As you add hardscape elements and plants, you can layer them by selecting the shape, then selecting Format Shape, then Bring Forward and Bring to Front or select Send Backward and Send to Back. Add additional depth and a professional look to your elements by going to Picture Format and Shadow and applying a Drop Shadow. Play with increasing the size of the shadow to create a dramatic effect.

Designing this way promotes creativity as you can try things endlessly.

Unfortunately, Powerpoint will not print out the gridlines on your plan, but you can add your own at the top of the plan by “tracing” the gridlines on screen by inserting the line shape and drawing lines over the grid.

Eric Johnson is a Minneapolis-based garden writer and designer. His website is gardendrama. wordpress.com.

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Northern Gardener l March/April 2022

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BY DESIGN

lilies are the one constant in the most stunning gardens that I’ve toured. Vibrant, colorful, fragrant lilies, grown in large swaths and reaching to the sky. Realizing a woeful lack of lilies in my own garden and wanting it to be stunning, too, I learned more about these effervescent plants, including how to grow them in my mostly shady landscape.

If you’re like me, you may be confused about what exactly belongs to the lily family. Does the genus Lilium include daylilies? Which ones are most colorful? Which are most fragrant?

Will they work in shade? How do I keep the display coming? There are five lily divisions that work well in our northern gardens, each with its own special characteristics. Here they are, listed in order of bloom time.

Martagons are a popular choice for shade gardens. They grow best in filtered light and need only about two hours of direct sun a day. Martagons are the first lilies to flower, usually around Father’s Day. A species lily (meaning those originally found in the wild), its mostly down-facing flowers hang pendulously from the center stalk.

Asiatic lilies are a good choice if you want your plants flowering at a time when not much else in the garden is blooming. Most Asiatics open in early summer after the peonies fade, and they’re a good size—2 to 3 feet tall— for the middle of the border. I love that they offer brilliant color—think deep reds, oranges, purples and yellows. For this reason, the Asiatics are my first choice among lilies.

Orienpets, a hybrid of oriental and trumpet lilies, usually begin blooming during midsummer, right after the Asiatics fade. Most reach 6 feet in height and combine the best characteristics of both parents—large flowers plus fragrance.

Oriental lilies are famous for their alluring fragrance but, unfortunately, aren’t as long-lived as the other

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Minnesota State Horticultural Society

PHOTOS: DIANE MCGANN

Lilies: An Essential Element

Above: Super hardy Martagon lilies bloom in June. Right: ‘Stargazer’ is the most popular modern lily sold.

divisions. Orientals grow 3 to 4 feet tall and bloom mid- to late-summer.

Their color offerings are softer, more pastel, and many display speckled petals. A member of this division, ‘Stargazer’, is the most popular lily in modern history.

Trumpet lilies are also deeply fragrant, and they bloom at the same time as the orientals, mid- to latesummer. Stretching 6 feet tall, they stand like soldiers in the back of the border.

While these are the lily stalwarts, we have other choices as well, such as the recently introduced Asiatic-oriental lilies. They offer the bright colors of Asiatic lilies with the larger flowers and taller habit of orientals. LongiflorumAsiatic lilies, reaching 4 feet in height with a light fragrance, are hybrid

crosses between longiflorum lilies, the variety to which our Easter lilies belong, and Asiatic lilies. They display thick, smooth petals and upwardfacing flowers.

And no, the genus doesn’t include daylilies, which are similar in flower appearance but belong to another genus, Hemerocallis.

The North Star Lily Society recommends planting orientals in spring and martagons in the fall.

Gather more information from northstarlilysociety.com and lilies.org to see which lilies might best meet your needs.

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Growing Tips

Other than being deer candy, lilies are easy to grow. They prefer welldrained soil, shady feet and at least six hours of sun, although they can usually tolerate some shade. While you can successfully plant bulbs in either spring or fall, the North Star Lily Society recommends planting orientals in spring and martagons in the fall.

Lilies multiply readily, so if you don’t have the quantities you want, wait a year or two, and you’ll be rewarded with new bulbs, which will soon turn into baby lilies. If you choose from the different varieties, you’ll have blooms all summer long. They make great cut flowers; be sure to bring some inside so that their alluring fragrance can permeate your home.

Gather more information from northstarlilysociety.com and lilies. org to see which lilies might best meet your needs, and then head to the nursery. With an abundance of lilies, our gardens will be standouts, too.

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POLLINATORS

Habitat is Infrastructure

“

Gardens and public land set aside for wildlife are vital to pollinator protection.

that savvy suggestion runs through my head whenever I think about wildlife habitat loss. Here, as I sit in our winter hideaway in northwest Florida, that loss hits especially hard. Beyond the strip of beautiful beaches are vast tracts of native landscape, longleaf pine, live oak, palmetto, Yapaun holly and other flora knitted together, with boggy patches of pitcher plants, their veiny fly-trapping funnels lit up where light sneaks through. You can see fat carpenter bees and sulphur-yellow butterflies that catch the sun while cruising above the thickets.

We are located in the fifth fastest-growing county in the country. Our place is surrounded by protected forests but just up and down the road, future developments of ginormous proportions are planned, whole new cities. Numerous other smaller subdivisions pop up seemingly overnight, acres scraped clean with only beach sand left behind.

What does this have to do with pollinators in Minnesota? Well, habitat loss is everywhere. It may be more dramatic here, but it is no less devastating in our own region. What habitat is left is fragmented.

Habitat fragmentation can be caused by natural events like floods, fires and volcanoes. Humans contribute to the phenomenon with roads, commercial and housing developments, and agricultural crops. Habitat is broken into isolated islands by these occurrences, physically disconnected, resulting in food and water shortages, safety issues, reduced mating territory and reproductive sites, and consequently a smaller gene pool among wildlife, including pollinators.

The conundrum is how to reconcile human needs with those of wildlife.

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Minnesota State Horticultural Society

MARY LAHR SCHIER

Far be it from me to offer financial advice but, as Mark Twain once said, ‘Buy land, they aren’t making it anymore.’ ”

Good News

I’m heartened by the inclusion of funds for pollinator habitat restoration in the new Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. It finally acknowledges pollinator habitat as part of our infrastructure, critically important to our food supply and the health of the planet. That’s a big deal. According to the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation, the money will be used to create and maintain roadside habitat corridors.

Specifically, grants would fund: • Planting or seeding locally appropriate native wildflowers and grasses, including milkweed and other host plants for butterfly larvae, on roadsides and highway rights-ofway to enhance pollinator habitat; • Changing mowing strategies to promote early successional vegetation (flowers and grasses) and limit disturbance during periods of highest use by target pollinator species; • Removing nonnative grasses from planting and seeding mixes; and • Implementing integrated vegetation management plans.

The money set aside for pollinators isn’t a lot, $10 million over five years.

But the really big deal is that other money in the infrastructure bill, billions in fact, has been designated to help

wildlife across our country in the form of wildlife crossings to connect habitat, restoration of aquatic habitat, restoration of native vegetation and help to combat invasive plants among other actions to improve the resiliency of our ecosystems.

Whenever we move to help one species, it overlaps to aid other species.

Those dollars to help all wildlife will benefit pollinators in the process.

I preach a gospel that encourages gardeners to plant for pollinators in the hope that the number of gardens multiplies to reach some sort of critical mass that makes a dent in habitat loss. I further aspire to spur neighbors to connect those gardens to combat small-scale habitat fragmentation on a residential scale.

However, we also need to pay attention to and attend meetings about development and current and future land use.

We need to support land conservancy.

We need to vote in pollinators’ best interests. We need to think bigger while we continue to plant for pollinators.

Because they aren’t making land anymore.

Minneapolis-based Rhonda Fleming Hayes is the author of Pollinator Friendly Gardening (Voyageur Press, 2016).

PLANT TO PICK PHOTO COURTESY OF PEPPERHARROW

Celosia spp.: New Varieties, Big Impact celosias are not what they used to be. Whether grown from seed or bought from the nursery, celosias offer more colors, sizes and types than they did 20 years ago and are well worth including in your gardens and containers.

Easy to Grow

Celosia is a small genus of edible and ornamental annual plants that are in the amaranth family (Amaranthaceae).

The most commonly grown types here are the plumed and cockscomb.

An ounce of seed may contain up to 43,000 seeds so they are easily started indoors, and you can buy seed from many different online nurseries or your local garden center. Start your seed indoors about four weeks before the last frost date in your area. Seedlings are sensitive to cold, so be patient and wait for the danger of a hard frost to be over before moving seedlings outside.

Plant celosia at the same time as your tomatoes.

Celosia is easy to grow, especially if you can provide even soil moisture.

They won’t tolerate wet feet and grow poorly in droughty soil. They love sunny and dry conditions. They are resistant to most pests and diseases, but do watch out for the occasional aphid or mite or powdery mildew.

Depending on the size of your plants and when you plant, celosias bloom from June through the first hard frost.

Taller varieties may need staking, especially the cockscomb types.

Mature heights on celosias can range from 6 inches all the way up to 3 feet. Check the seed packet or plant description in the catalog to pick the right height for your garden. If you pinch your young seedling back before planting, you will stimulate more branches to the mature plant, thus more flower stems.

‘Chester Copperpot’ ’

Celosia as Cut Flowers We have a thriving cut flower industry in Minnesota and breeders are creating varieties with long stems that are perfect for the mixed bouquets you see in local garden centers and farmers’ markets.

Here are five terrific celosias for cut flowers recommended by Rachael Ackerman of Blue Sky Flower Farm in Lakeville. You may have to ask for these from your favorite seed purveyor.

1. Celosia ‘Chester Copperpot’ – Perfect long stems for cutting. Available from pepperharrowfarm.com; sold out for 2022, seed available for 2023.

2. Celosia ‘Act Diva’ – From Evanthia Genetics in the Netherlands, a new cut flower cockscomb type with a unique copper-red color.

3. Celosia Sunday™ Yellow – One of many colors from Ball Seed Co., this yellow reaches a mature height of 28 to 40 inches. Great for large bouquets!

4. Celosia ‘Sylphid’ – From Japan, this lime green celosia is 30 to 36 inches in height and contrasts beautifully with other colors.

5. Celosia ‘Coral Reef’ and ‘Pink Champagne’ – From Floret Flower Farm, unusual cockscomb flowers of pastel shades on very long stems. These may be a bit hard to find this year.

—D.L.

Northern Gardener l March/April 2022

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PLANT TO PICK Best Cultivars for Northern Gardens

r

PHOTO COURTESY OF BURPEE INC.

PHOTO COURTESY OF ALL AMERICA SELECTIONS

Plumed (Celosia plumosa) ‘Arrabona Red’ – Consistently listed as a favorite variety among gardeners, this beautiful red with orange tones variety blooms all summer long on plants that reach a mature height of 14 to 18 inches. It can be used as a cut or dried flower. It won the FleuroSelect Gold Medal award recently, very high praise indeed.

‘Fresh Look’ series – You can buy

q seed that is a mix of colors, or you can

PHOTO COURTESY OF BALL HORTICULTURAL

First Flame™ series – From PanAmerican Seed Co., this mid-size series is very quick to bloom. You can buy seeds as a mix or separate colors.

The purple is an amazing change from the classic reds and yellows of celosia.

Matures around 14 inches.

PHOTO COURTESY OF BALL HORTICULTURAL

buy the colors individually, depending on your design. While not the newest series on the market, it is a strong performer, reaching heights of 12 to 18 inches. You’ll find this series commonly available in local garden centers.

r

Ice Cream series – Also from

q PanAmerican Seed, this dwarf series

matures at 10 to 12 inches. Look for the unusual Ice Cream Salmon color.

PHOTO COURTESY OF BURPEE INC.

q

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‘Gypsy Queen’ – Complemented by dark burgundy foliage, the purple/ crimson 6-inch flower plumes of Gypsy Queen are sure to delight. Ranging in height from 8 to 16 inches, these make great cut flowers and can be tucked into mixed containers.

Concertina series®

Minnesota State Horticultural Society

PHOTO COURTESY OF BALL HORTICULTURAL

Cockscomb (Celosia argentea var. cristata) This plant reminds me of my childhood.

My mom loved growing cockscomb types, and we children were fascinated by the fasciated flowers. We called them “brains.” Some cockscomb plants may need staking because of their heavy flowers.

PLANT TO PICK

‘Red Velvet’ (may also be listed as ‘Red Velvet Cake’) – Dark red, fuzzy cockscomb flowers top plants reaching a mature height of 12 to 14 inches.

Concertina™ series – Only 10 to 12 inches in height, there is a large range of colors, including yellow, pink, red and red with reddish foliage.

‘King Coral’ – Each small plant, topping out at 10 to 12 inches, produces only one monstrous, coral pink flower that can be up to 12 inches wide.

series from seed house American Takii, with flowers in orange, purple, red, yellow and a mix of colors. Grows 12 to 15 inches tall.

New and Unusual Sol™ Gekko Green and Lizzard Leaf – If you want some unusual foliage, and perhaps a substitute for coleus, look at the Sol™ series from PanAmerican Seed. These plants were introduced solely for their foliage, which is a combination of green and purple. They are best grown in full sun to bring out those purple tones and are being promoted as container plants. Long days actually delay the flowering, so in our short Minnesota season, you may not see flowers until autumn, depending on when the first frost hits.

These are funky and different plants for you adventurous gardeners and will be available as seed this spring.

PHOTO COURTESY OF BALL HORTICULTURAL

PHOTO COURTESY OF BURPEE INC.

q ‘Crested Armor’ – A very uniform

r

Debbie Lonnee works in the horticulture industry.

Native plants for shoreline restorations, rain gardens and infiltration basins as well as backyard butterfly, birdwatcher and pollinator gardens.

Thank you for nourishing the pollinators!

•

•

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Northern Gardener l March/April 2022

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GO Wild

Ephemerals make Minnesota a wildflower wonderland each spring.

Story by Diane McGann Photos by Kelly Povo

“

When searching for woodland flowers in the wild, keep your eyes on the ground; most woodland wildflowers proliferate in moist, shaded areas.”

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Minnesota State Horticultural Society

T

rue harbingers of spring, woodland wildflowers will soon beckon us into the woods. Four major biomes, more than in any other state, converge in Minnesota, resulting in a varied wildflower wonderland just waiting to be discovered. You can begin your hunt in southern Minnesota in late March or early April, even when snow is on the ground, and still be discovering ephemerals two months later near Lake Superior’s northern shore.

While viewing them in the wild is wonderful, many of these woodland blooms can add spring color to cultivated gardens, too. Decorative and longer-lasting varieties include bellwort, bloodroot, orchid, forget-me-not, trillium, Solomon’s seal and red columbine. All offer flowers or seeds that last awhile, then disappear among the emerging spring perennials.

Finding Ephemerals

Above: Trillium Below: Bloodroot Above right: Geranium maculatum

Woodland ephemerals must complete their life cycles in the short time between their emergence and the dense shade created by unfolding tree leaves, which is sometimes only a two-week period. The flowers usually begin blooming in late April in the southern part of the state and continue into June in the north. Numerous environmental triggers spark their bloom, resulting in a huge time variance from one year to the next—so much so that scientists use this phenomenon as a tool in studying climate change. Phyllis Root and Kelly Povo, authors of a wildflower guide, scour Minnesota regularly, searching for the ephemerals. Root chronicled a five-week variation in first bloom at one wildflower site they frequently visit.

When searching for woodland flowers in the wild, keep your eyes on the ground; most woodland wildflowers proliferate in moist, shaded areas. While the listed wildflowers are the ones you’re most likely to see, look also for Virginia spring beauty, trout lilies, hepatica, rue-anemone, miterwort and wild blue phlox, all part of the spring wildflower show.

Anemone (Anemone patens) The most common variety, wood anemone is 4 to 8 inches tall. It tends to grow in thick mats, spreading via rhizomes. A single plant may take five years or longer to flower, so often only a few flowers are seen among the leaves.

Bellwort, large-flowered (Uvularia grandiflora) Bellwort sports bright yellow, twisted flowers that droop from the center stalk. The blooms last for two weeks and attract queen bumblebees. Bellwort often grows in large clumps on forest floors.

Northern Gardener l March/April 2022

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Go Wild Virginia bluebells

Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis) Bloodroot derives its name from a red liquid that “bleeds” from any broken leaves, stems and roots. Its seeds, like those of many other spring wildflowers, are dispersed by ants. Bloodroot sometimes emerges when snow is still on the ground.

Bluebells (Mertensia virginica) Virginia bluebells’ buds emerge pink, then turn purple and finally a brilliant cobalt blue. They are sometimes seen in masses in Carley State Park in southeastern Minnesota. Look, too, for a northern species growing along the north shore of Lake Superior.

Columbine (Aquilegia canadensis) This tall native wildflower is especially hardy, adapting easily to a number of sites, including home gardens. Once considered for the national American wildflower because the flower petals resemble an eagle’s talons, it unveils delicate red and yellow flowers.

Worm Concerns All is not well in the wildflower world, with recent sightings of jumping worms adding to the damage done by European earthworms. “Wildflowers are disappearing in a lot of areas,” says Lee Frelich, director of the University of Minnesota Center for Forest Ecology.

“The jumping worms … are a second wave of earthworm invasion that will have additional effects on woodland wildflowers on top of the European earthworm invasion.” See the January/February 2022 Northern Gardener for an update on jumping worms.

—D.M.

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Anemone

Dutchman’s breeches (Dicentra cucullaria) The name originated from the teardrop-shaped pink or white bulblets that look like white breeches hanging upside-down on a clothesline.

Geranium (Geranium maculatum) The lovely wild geranium is ubiquitous in the wild. Look for 1-inch pink to purple flowers on a plant standing 1 to 2 feet tall. It makes a great groundcover in shady gardens as well.

Ginger (Asarum canadense) Canadian wild ginger makes a lovely woodland groundcover and works in shady yards, too. Look for heart-shaped leaves and a small dark-red flower at the plant base.

Jack-in-the-pulpit (Arisaema triphyllum) Jack-in-the-pulpit, so named because the plant resembles a canopied church pulpit, has a cluster of shiny green berries that turn red in the fall.

Mayapple (Podophyllum pellatum) Mayapple is primarily seen in the southeastern portion of Minnesota, but it also does well in garden settings in the north. Presenting as a cluster of large leaves, its single white flower is hidden by foliage.

Mayflower (Epigaea repens) Canada mayflower is an erect native perennial growing 6 to 7 inches tall. It has fragrant pink or white flowers.

Orchid (family Orchidaceae) Minnesota is home to 49 different orchid species. Bloom begins a bit later than other woodland wildflowers, usually around mid-May. Orchids thrive in moist partshade, and the best place to find them is in the northern part of the state.

Solomon’s seal You’ll find two varieties: the smooth (Poygonatum biflorum) and the false (Maianthemum racemosum). They’re similar in height, up to 3 feet tall, but the smooth has bell-

Resources Minnesota Wildflowers is a continually updated online guide that includes a listing of native plant nurseries where wildflowers can be purchased. minnesotawildflowers.info Searching for Minnesota’s Native Wildflowers (University of Minnesota Press, 2018) by Phyllis Root and Kelly Povo. Their blog (flowerchasers.com) provides ongoing information about finding wildflowers.

Wildflowers of Minnesota Field Guide (Adventure Publications, 2021) by Stan Tekiela, is an easyto-use guide to more than 200 species of wildflowers.

—D.M. shaped flowers hanging from short stalks off the main stem. The false grows a cluster of white flowers at the end of the stalk. Another great native for the shade garden.

Trillium (Trillium grandiflorum) Large-flowered trillium is the most common variety of the four species present in Minnesota. Unlike most wildflowers, its nodding, single flower lasts a long time, about three weeks, and the leaves remain even longer.

Violet (Viola) Yes, they are considered wildflowers, but the common purple violet can become a problem plant when it enters areas where it’s not wanted.

The downy yellow violet (Viola pubescens) is Minnesota’s only springtime woodland yellow violet and is a welcome addition to the wildflower festival.

Clockwise from far left: Canada ginger; bellwort; Dutchman’s breeches

Northern Gardener l March/April 2022

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Go Wild

Wildflowers are everywhere, and they’re near you. Check local parks and nature centers. Many offer walks with naturalists and have online calendars showing times of bloom and special events. If you’ve found a wildflower you love, consider buying plants to add to your garden from native plant nurseries. Then you can enjoy the show without traveling from home.

Stillwater-based Diane McGann is a master gardener and writes the By Design column for Northern Gardener.

False Solomon’s seal

Popular Viewing Sites Whether you are considering adding wildflowers to your garden or just want to enjoy them in their native habitat, there are many great places to see wildflowers. Please note: Never take wildflowers from wild places.

Buy garden plants from native plant nurseries and garden centers to add to your home landscape.

Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden and Bird Sanctuary at Theodore Wirth Spring ephemerals in the wild Park near Minneapolis is the oldest public wildflower garden in the United States. It offers naturalist tours on the weekends, and you can even see showy lady slippers in late May. Carley State Park in southeastern Minnesota teems with masses of bluebells each spring, usually in early May. Look for the groves of false rue-anemones.

Interstate State Park on the St. Croix River hosts legions of columbines and trilliums in May. Jay Cooke State Park near Duluth has over 50 miles of hiking trails and an abundance of wildflowers, including orchids.

Nerstrand-Big Woods State Park in southeastern Minnesota is home to the dwarf trout lily, an endangered species that is rarely found elsewhere.

Columbine

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Minnesota State Horticultural Society

Whitewater State Park near St. Charles has a full palette of spring ephemerals as well as naturalists who lead guided walks.

—D.M.

Science bolsters cache of companionplanting techniques.

Interplanting strawberries and shallots increases yields from a small garden.

KEEPING GOOD COMPANY Story and photos

by Jennifer Rensenbrink

When I was a new vegetable gardener, I read lots of books on companion planting. However, when I took the Minnesota master gardener course, I learned that science couldn’t prove much of what those books asserted—do carrots actually love tomatoes? I held off on recommending those books to the public, but I kept experimenting at home with interplanting, polycultures, trap cropping and other companion-planting methods.

Imagine my delight when Jessica Walliser’s book Plant Partners: Science-Based Companion Planting Strategies (Storey Publishing, 2020) came out. I was happy to see a scientist’s take on companion planting—the book provided both validation that some of what I was doing had merit and some great new ideas to try. Let the experiments begin!

A mix of kale, collard and mustard greens grows together, with each harvested at its best time.

All Together Now

I have a very small garden. I experiment every year with interplanting, trying to find ways to fit two or more vegetables into one area, or to grow edible plants that are also pretty flowers, like okra and sunchokes.

One of my favorite interplanting strategies is to scatter a mix of mustard greens, collard and kale seeds in my garden in April. As the seeds sprout, I thin them, enjoying the baby greens and using the mustard greens first. I keep pulling and thinning until I’ve achieved proper spacing, then allow the last few collards and kale to grow to their mature size.

I’ve interplanted many different plants with great results, from shallots and strawberries to jalapeños and holy basil to chamomile and leeks. They may not necessarily “love” each other but their Northern Gardener l March/April 2022

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Keeping Good Company

growth habits complement each other and they grow well together, giving me more harvests from my small space.

Cover cropping was another strategy that was validated in Walliser’s easy-to-follow book. Winter rye, one of the cover crops she recommends, has allelopathic tendencies—it produces chemicals that discourage other plants from growing nearby. This helped explain results I’d seen several years ago, when I inherited an impossibly weedy community garden plot. A friend advised me to plant a mix of winter rye and hairy vetch in fall. (This mix can be purchased from High Mowing Seeds.)

It would grow a bit, stall out for winter, then start growing vigorously in the spring. Two or three weeks before planting my vegetables, I would turn it over to decompose. Not only did it significantly reduce the number of weeds I had to contend with, but it brought the soil back to life in a big way.

Another eureka moment I had while reading the soil-building section of this book was about cucumbers, which are also allelopathic and can even affect each other if they’re planted too closely. I realized that I’d made this mistake in my garden—trying to cram four or five cucumber plants where I really ought to have used one or two. I planted far fewer cucumber plants in 2021 and my harvest was great—the plants were far bushier and more vigorous than I’d seen in recent years.

Walliser also has some great suggestions for plant companions that benefit each other through nitrogen transfer, such as alternating rows of green beans and potatoes so that the potatoes benefit from the nitrogen nodules on the beans’ roots. I tried this in 2021 and really liked how it worked. In addition to the extra nutrition boost that the potatoes received, it was a great space-saving concept.

In 2022, I’ll be creating new raised beds for my raspberries and plan to try white clover, another nitrogen-fixing plant, as a living mulch.

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Minnesota State Horticultural Society

Supportive Plants

Plants can also help each other by providing structure, Walliser notes. I tried one of the recommended combinations last year: Sunchokes (Jerusalem artichokes) and cucamelons (Mexican sour gherkins), the tiny cucumbers that look like a miniature watermelon. The tall, sturdy sunchokes provide support to the delicate cucamelon vines. Unfortunately, I planted the cucamelon seeds too late; by the time they sprouted, my sunchokes were over a foot tall and shaded them out. Timing matters.

Plants that attract beneficial insects, such as chamomile and other herbs, are also good companions, Walliser says.

I’ve experimented with interplanting chamomile with various vegetables for

several years. Last year, I grew chamomile interplanted with leeks; although they don’t necessarily benefit each other, they also didn’t hinder each other. The leeks didn’t get large until after the chamomile was pretty much done.

Another insect-control strategy she suggests is interplanting cole crops, such as broccoli and cabbage, with dill, chamomile or hyssop to control cabbage worms. I’ve done this for several years and it’s been a game-changer. I used to spend hours each summer handpicking cabbage worms. I’ve not pulled a single one for at least three years with this method—and I still see cabbage worm moths in my garden all summer long. I prefer to use dill, but I also have lots of anise hyssop all over the wildflower gar-

Resources Plant Partners: Sciencebased Companion Planting Strategies for the Vegetable Garden (Storey Publishing, 2021). dens that surround my vegetable patch.

Dill sets seed prolifically, so I scatter the seed all over the vegetable garden as I’m harvesting. Dill plants that emerge in the wrong spots can be moved, and I always have plenty to spare. By letting it grow around my tiny vegetable plot, I ensure that I’ll bring in the friendly beneficial insects that eat cabbage worms.

Planting native flowering plants, annual flowers and herbs near your vegetable garden is another of my favorite pest-control strategies that Walliser backs up with science. Place pots of nasturtiums all over your yard. Grow plenty of dill, fennel and cilantro and let them go to flower. Add mint-family plants such as anise hyssop and bee balm. At-

tract plenty of bumblebees with browneyed Susans and purple coneflowers.

Create habitat by leaving dead foliage and leaves in place over the winter.

Surrounding my vegetables and fruits with habitat has made them healthier and easier to manage—and watching the daily insect and bird drama unfold is endlessly fascinating. This book both showed me scientific proof for some things I knew were working, but also gave me new things to try.

I can’t recommend Plant Partners enough. Although I’m a relatively seasoned gardener, it would also be a great introduction to these concepts for a new gardener. And who knows? Maybe this year it will help me fit just a few more varieties of plants into my yard.

Above left: Beans and potatoes share garden space; nasturtiums and other flowers attract beneficial insects, such as this bald-faced-hornet feasting on a lovage flower.

Left: Chamomile interplanted with leeks resulted in good yields for both crops.

High Mowing Seeds, highmowingseeds.com —J.R.

Grow plenty of dill, fennel and cilantro and let them go to flower.

Jennifer Rensenbrink somehow has a miniature prairie, vegetables, herbs and several fruit trees and shrubs in her tiny Minneapolis yard. Find her on Instagram at @jenniferrensenbrink.

Northern Gardener l March/April 2022

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Minnesota State Horticultural Society

Front-Yard Foodies

Growing food out front is contagious for Northfield neighbors.

Story by Susannah Shmurak Photos by Tom Roster

ixteen years ago, three neighbors in Northfield began replacing their front lawns with gardens. Their evolving landscapes have reshaped the way their neighbors think about what’s acceptable to grow in a front yard and have borne some unanticipated fruits.

When Kathy Tegtmeyer Pak and her family moved to a new housing development in Northfield in 2003, the front yard was covered with struggling sod and a few “gross” shrubs. She discovered that builders had laid the sod on top of construction waste covered with clay excavated when they dug her basement. Kathy disliked lawns for environmental reasons, and she wanted to screen her home and family from the cars that sped through a nearby curve in the road, twice knocking down the family’s mailbox.

“It was terrifying to have my kids playing in this yard with people driving through all the time,” she says. She built a rock garden with large shrubs to create a barrier between oncoming cars and her family. Each season she replaced more lawn with herbs, native plants and large stones she obtained from nearby farms. She added raised beds along her driveway and planted strawberries, blueberries, edamame, tomatoes, kale and other greens.

She planted alpine strawberries for neighborhood children to pick throughout the season. “It’s a lot of fun,” Kathy says of her It’s a lot of fun. adventures in front-yard gardening. “It’s just It’s just a great big a great big experiment.”

S

“

Neighbor-to-Neighbor

experiment.”

– Kathy Tegtmeyer Pak Kathy remembers many conversations about plants with her next-door neighbor, Mari Casper, and another young mother across the street, Katie Casson, who also wanted to plant living screens to shield her family from passing cars. Over time, the three replaced their struggling lawns with mixed gardens of native plants and edibles.

Mari wanted a garden filled with flowers and fresh food that she could see from her front window. She didn’t want to waste water or have to worry about lawn upkeep, so she dug up her sod, little by little. “It was a lot of hard work,” she says, but perennials require less maintenance in the long run.

Front-yard gardeners, left to right, back row: Stacy Nguyen, Kathy Tegtmeyer Pak, Mari Casper, Katie Casson, Rebecca Hillman, Nate Hillman Middle row: Midori Krieger, Peter Hillman, Sheloa Hillman, Anders Hillman Front row: Ayana Krieger and Mika Turner.

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Front-Yard Foodies

“

We chose this house and this neighborhood because it seemed friendly to this approach.”

SUSANNAH SHMURAK

Mika Turner harvests edible foxtail millet in her front-yard garden. She uses a home mill to grind the grain.

Left, from top: Late-season kale, millet ready to process

– Midori Krieger

She also planted a cherry tree, raspberries, mint and other herbs as well as annual vegetables including tomatoes, cucumbers, tomatillos and hot peppers. She shared the idea of growing food in the front yard with other neighbors, who planted fruit trees and built vegetable beds.

The three recall a constant exchange of ideas and children, who played in each other’s yards as their mothers gardened. “These people were really

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Minnesota State Horticultural Society

instrumental in raising my children when they were tiny, and the garden was where we were doing it,” Katie says. Together they made trips to nurseries, dug plants from others’ gardens to bring to their own, trucked in compost and shared what they grew in their gardens. “We egged each other on,” Katie recalls.

The trio didn’t think of themselves as front-yard garden trailblazers. “I didn’t set out to make a front-yard garden,”

says Katie. “I set out to grow things and this is where the sun comes.”

When Stacy Nguyen moved to the neighborhood in 2004, she had fond memories of her grandparents’ enormous garden in the country and wanted her kids to experience some of the wonder and joy of growing their own food as well.

For a while, she gardened between her house and a neighbor’s. When that neighbor moved, Stacy realized her

Sheloa Hillman harvests some late-season tomatoes in her family’s garden. She also enjoys weeding.

front yard was the only place sunny enough for vegetables to grow. Kathy, Mari and Katie gave her a model for her front-yard gardening endeavors, offering what she thinks of as “positive peer pressure.” She added raised beds for annual vegetables and planted perennial berries, herbs and native flowers. She also planted several fruit trees, both in her yard and on some unused city property that adjoins it.

The neighbors share the fruit harvest from the city land.

Front-Yard Gardens Multiply

By 2015, when Mika Turner was looking for an empty lot to build on, the vibrant front-yard gardens Kathy, Mari, Katie, Stacy and others had built over the years made her confident that some of her unconventional approaches to landscaping would be welcome on the block.

“We won’t be as weird here as we were previously,” she remembers thinking.

Once their home was finished, Mika planted clover to stabilize and nourish the soil. She added perennial shrubs and trees, including hazelnuts, paw paws, serviceberries, currants, goumi, salad burnet and sunchokes, as well as milkweed and cutleaf coneflower, both of which she uses in cooking.

With more time at home during the pandemic, Mika started an annual vegetable patch in the middle of the

front yard where she grows several types of kale, cabbage and salad greens as well as herbs, tomatoes and other annual crops. Now that she’s working more, she plans to replace it with more perennial food plants.

Mika’s sister, Midori Krieger, moved to Northfield from Colorado to be closer to Mika in 2019. She bought a house a few doors down, planning to garden the front yard intensively as well. “We chose this house and this neighborhood because it seemed friendly to this approach,” she says. Midori immediately began smothering her lawn with her broken-down moving boxes and topped it with truckloads of compost, manure and wood chips to create a thriving annual vegetable bed.

She grows tomatoes, garlic, broccoli, carrots, cabbage, beets, potatoes and leeks along with several perennial herbs and fruits, including cherries, plums, rhubarb, black raspberries, chives, horseradish and asparagus.

In spring, she cooks maple syrup on a stove she built at the front of the garden. In fall, she plants oats and peas as cover crops and follows Charles Dowding’s no-dig method to preserve soil structure.

The most recent additions to the front-yard garden club are Rebecca and Nathan Hillman, who moved in two years ago. The family had always had

a huge garden and planted one in the backyard their first summer. The shade there made it, “pretty much the worst garden we’ve ever had,” Rebecca says.

They wrestled with their assumptions about what front yards should look like. “Is that weird to have a front-yard garden?” Nathan recalls wondering.

But encouraged by their neighbors, they decided to till up the front lawn and plant vegetables.

Now their tidy rows of peas, corn, peppers, tomatoes, potatoes, cucumbers, carrots, onions, beans and squash attract compliments from neighbors and passersby. Rebecca admits that it “hurt to cut into perfectly good sod.” But she says, “there’s never been a regret.”

Their three kids each play a part in the garden. Peter, 9, likes helping plant; Sheloa, 7, loves to weed; and Anders, 11, favors harvesting, though all pitch in energetically with every task. “I like that everybody can see it,” Anders says proudly.

Unexpected Benefits

In addition to the plentiful food they grow, the neighbors noted several advantages to their front-yard gardens.

They find themselves interacting more frequently, which has allowed them to exchange ideas and share materials.

Katie moved to another neighborhood in 2015, and she’s noticed that Northern Gardener l March/April 2022

37

Front-Yard Foodies Below: Vegetables and flowers thrive in this yard.

Right: In fall, sunflowers brighten the yards.

Lower right: Dill and other herbs surround garden boxes.

since she no longer spends much kimchi shared among the neighbors. time gardening in her front yard, she Nathan and Rebecca toured Mika’s sees neighbors considerably less. She yard last season to learn about many admits missing those fruits and vegetables everyday meetings. they hadn’t encoun“That level of interactered before. Mika has tion is not something taught her neighbors Is that weird to you can just conjure,” to recognize and use she says. the edible wild plants have a front-yard One season Midori that pop up in their garden?” ordered a truckful of gardens. Midori built a compost, which she seed library during the – Nathan Hillman shared with the group. pandemic seed shortage Kathy has invited to help share seeds with neighborhood children to sample the wider community. berries, vegetables and herbs. Midori “The fact that it’s in the front yard tends the apple trees that Katie planted means we talk to each other,” Midori over a decade ago, and all share in the says, “and people in the streets see it apple harvest. Surplus produce makes and talk to you about it.” its way to everyone’s kitchens. Last During the pandemic especially, summer, Stacy and Mika pooled their Rebecca found that front-yard gardencabbage, onions and carrots to make ing allowed for more socializing with

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SUSANNAH SHMURAK

“

neighbors and passersby. “All of that stuff more organically happens when you’re not tucked away in your backyard,” she says. “You feel more connected with people because we’re out there more.”

Northfield-based Susannah Shmurak is the author of Everything Elderberry: How to Forage, Cultivate, and Cook with this Amazing Natural Remedy, (Skyhorse, 2020).

By Samantha Johnson and Daniel Johnson Photos by Daniel Johnson

MOVE OVER,

Maple For sweet sap, you can tap more trees than you think.

IT’S A COMMON SIGHT in the early spring in woodlands around the Upper Midwest and beyond: happy people in cold-weather gear hiking from tree to tree—sometimes through deep snow—drilling small holes into the sides of sugar maples and collecting the sap that begins to flow. Much of the moisture content of the gathered sap is boiled away to leave behind delicious sugary remnants—syrup! It’s a wonderful tradition, a wonderful time of year, and in the end, it makes a wonderful and delicious product.

Northern Gardener l March/April 2022

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From left: After drilling a hole, tap in a spile to drain sap.

Blue collection bags fill quickly in warm weather.

A young syrup fan admires a bag of sap.

After boiling, finished maple syrup is a deep amber color.

But here’s a question: Since all trees produce sap, and all sap contains sugar, why do we tap only sugar maples? Make no mistake: sugar maples are called sugar maples for a reason. The famous sap-giver produces a high volume of sap and it contains the highest sugar-to-water ratio—allowing for a maximum amount of syrup per tree. Yield can vary a lot depending on climate and weather, but generally about 40 gallons of raw maple sap produce 1 gallon of syrup; on other tree species, much more sap is needed to make syrup.

©PAULETTE JOHNSON

Move Over, Maple

That said, there are other tree species that can successfully be used for tapping—and there are reasons to give these trees a try. Maybe you don’t have a sugar maple to tap or maybe you want to supplement your current syrup harvest with the sap from other trees you have available. Trees take years to mature to the point where tapping can take place, so it makes sense to take advantage of what already exists on your property—even if they’re not industry-standard s ugar maples.

Black Walnut

While nuts and beauty are why you planted a black walnut, these trees can pull double duty as trees for tapping. In addition to their sweet sap (some say black walnut produces a slightly “nutty” flavor that nearly keeps pace with sugar maples in sugar content), black walnuts grow fairly rapidly, so they might make a nice addition to maples. There aren’t many studies comparing black walnut sap yields to sugar maples, but you should probably expect less volume— but still plenty of flavor.

Butternut

Sometimes called a white walnut, this species is closely related to the black walnut, and is another good candidate for tapping. It has a flavor similar to black walnut syrup—nutty and sweet.

Birch

Syrup from black walnut trees has a nutty taste.

Birch produces abundant, savory sap.

Other maples In addition to the unequaled sugar maple, these maple varieties can be used for tapping—if you have them on your property, go for it!

Black maples – A very close relative to sugar maples, black maples make wonderful tapping trees and often crossbreed with sugar maples to the point where it can be difficult to ascertain the difference.

Red maples – Not as “sugary” as sugar maples, but a serious contender.

Silver maples – Weaker sugar content, and the taste may suffer when the buds begin to appear.

Box elder – Sometimes described as a “butterscotch” syrup flavor, it requires around 60 gallons of sap for a gallon of syrup.

—S.J.

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Minnesota State Horticultural Society

Birch (and alder) trees can make a fun addition to your family’s syrup production. Besides their attractive coloring and unique bark, birch trees also produce a decent amount of sap. Be warned though: your birch syrup will have a much more savory flavor than maple syrup. One upside to using birch trees is that they require a higher temperature than sugar maples to get their sap running, so their sap season may begin just as sugar maples are winding down—an ideal way to extend your sap-harvesting season. Birch tapping has a long history in Europe and Asia, and cold-hardy birch trees are quite popular as tapping trees in Alaska. Why not give them a try, too?

©PAULETTE JOHNSON

©PAULETTE JOHNSON

How to Tap Sap from sycamore trees is at the low end of the sugar-content scale, but the flavor of the syrup is sometimes compared to butterscotch or caramel, and it tends to increase in flavor later in the season. Sycamore sap production is more work—you may be looking at boiling upwards of 100 gallons of sycamore sap to achieve a single gallon of syrup. Still, if you have the trees and the time, it can be well worth the effort to obtain this uniquely flavored sap and create a rarely experienced syrup.

Don’t choose trees with mushrooms for tapping.

No matter what tree species you try, remember to have fun and enjoy the experiment! Who knows?

Maybe you’ll find a new syrup flavor you really enjoy.

Samantha Johnson and Daniel Johnson are a brother-sister writing team and the authors of several books, including Garden DIY, (CompanionHouse Books, 2020).

Be choosy when selecting individual trees for tapping. The best trees are at least 12 inches in diameter, although some folks experiment with tapping trees that are smaller than this—particularly birch trees that have shorter lifespans. Avoid any trees that have been exposed to pesticides and select trees that appear to be healthy overall—watch out for mushrooms, old wounds or similar imperfections and move on to a different tree if you see them. Tapping will not harm a mature, healthy tree.

Tapping takes place when the sap begins flowing up and down the trunk.

This is caused by a difference in pressure inside the tree and the atmosphere outside. Location determines when this happens, because it requires warm spring days (well above freezing) combined with nights that are still cold and below freezing. It could be late February or early April. Once the cold nights end, the saptapping season is over.

To tap a tree, use a drill with a small bit (5/16 inch and 7/16 inch are popular sizes) to make a hole about 2 inches deep and about 3 feet high on the trunk. Place the hole on the sunny side of the tree where the sap is warmed during the day. Tap in a spile (a narrow metal pipe with a spout) that fits the hole you drilled, and hang a collection bag or covered bucket on it.

Sap should start dripping immediately.

On a good day, with a good tree, your container can fill amazingly fast!

Small amounts of sap can be boiled on the stove until it reaches syrup consistency and taste. It’s then filtered to remove sediment and stored. However, boiling produces a sticky steam and larger amounts of sap are usually boiled outside. For detailed instructions, see tapmytrees.com.

—D.J. and S.J. ©J. KEELER JOHNSON/PAULETTE JOHNSON

Sycamore

Northern Gardener l March/April 2022

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Spring Fling MORE THAN A

Story and photos by Michelle Mero Riedel

Invest in pansies and violas for dividends in spring and fall.

chase them fully loaded.

HERE IN THE NORTH, we look forward to waking up from winter hiberSowing and Planting nation. We check outside for signs of If you’re growing these plants from spring: snow melting, a chorus of birds seed, use the winter sowing method and bright green daffodil leaves emergbeginning in February or March. (See ing out of frozen soil. At nurseries, the January/February 2022 issue for we shop for plant packs and bowls of more information on how to do that.) annual pansies and violas—a sure sign If you’re growing the plants indoors that spring has blossomed. The dazzling under lights, start colors of pansies and about 10 weeks violas combined with before transplanttheir delicate, sweet ing as they grow scent and ability to slowly and need grow from April into time to acclimate November are reato the cool outsons why they attract side. Start seeds so many gardeners. in a good-quality Pansies and violas germination mix. are from the same Sow seeds over the genus Viola, makmix, then add more ing them botanical soil and water them cousins. Violas are well, keeping the miniature versions soil evenly moist. of pansies. Both are The plants may easy to grow from take up to two seed and readily weeks to germiavailable as bedding nate; after they plants. In southern do, thin them if states, they are penecessary.

After rennials, but we can Hardy pansies and violas can two true leaves enjoy them for seven handle a hard freeze and snow. appear, transplant to eight months.

The flowers wilt, but recover your pansies and They are the longest when temps warm up. violas into a 2- or blooming cold-toler3-inch container. ant annuals.

Allow them to When buying continue to grow, then transplant them pansies and violas in the spring, look into a sunny garden location.

I usually for stocky plants with loads of buds prefer to purchase nursery stock plants and blooms. If the weather doesn’t get because they offer instant color and above 40 degrees F, they won’t produce have deeper roots than what I can grow many new buds, so it’s best to pur-

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Viola x wittrockiana ‘Pink’

My best-loved pots are reserved for pansy blooms.

Plant cool weather pansies in the spring or fall.

Northern Gardener l March/April 2022

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More than a Spring Fling

from seed. Deep roots safeguard the plant on ultra-chilly nights.

Pansies and violas grow best in well-drained garden soil, enriched with organic matter. Growing them in containers is a win-win as long as you are using fresh potting mix. In the ground, plant them about 5 inches apart. In a container, you can plant them closer.

Either way, plant pansies and violas at the same level as in the nursery pot.

I recommend mulching plants in the ground to keep them cool with evenly but lightly moist roots. The penalty for allowing them to dry out is fewer blooms.

The planting location is important. In the spring and fall, pansies and violas need full to part sun. During the three hot months, a spot in shade or morning sun is their happy location. That’s why I like to move them from the ground to planters or start with them in spring planters. In the fall, I will purchase new plants to put in the ground or transfer from summer containers. During the summer, expect fewer and smaller blooms with leggy stems. They are still pretty, but they don’t give the stunning floral display the cool spring and fall months provide.

For maximum bloom, pansies and violas need deadheading, pruning and fertilizing. In spring, I deadhead regularly by removing the spent bloom and single stem. Summer is for pruning— cut back stems and foliage to encourage bushier plants. Fertilize with an all-purpose fertilizer every week or two during the season. Since the flowers are edible, consider using an organic fertilizer. The flowers are frequently used as plate decorations and in leafy green salads.

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Minnesota State Horticultural Society

Compare the size of the viola, left, to the pansy flower.

These fall-blooming pansies (‘Delta Premium Pure Primrose’) successfully survived the exhausting summer heat of 2021.

Pansies vs. Violas

Both pansies and violas have five round petals (some pointing up or down) that are flat or frilly. They come in oodles of colors and color combinations though pansies have more color choices.

Blooms can be solid colors (sometimes known as clear), solid with markings or bicolor. Viola blooms are about 1 to 2 inches, while pansy blooms range from 2 to 4 inches wide.

Both plants are compact, usually 6 to 9 inches tall and wide. Some may go smaller or taller and look for the new trailing varieties. Pansies and violas also carry a sweet fragrance,

most noticeable in the early morning and late evening. I like to get close while shopping and select the most aromatic plants. The fragrance attracts pollinators, especially bees, and plants offer necessary nectar for early- and late-season foragers.

Just like humans, deer and bunnies find the blooms delicious. It may be necessary to spray the plants with a deterrent. I place some plants in pots on my raised deck, out of hungry critters’ reach. Other pests include aphids, white flies and spider mites, although they are unusual and easy to combat with organic insecticides.

A Local Expert I stopped by Leitner’s Garden Center in St. Paul last fall to check out their pansies and violas. General Manager Joan Westby has been selling both for more than 20 years. She’s a knowledge whiz on these cool-weather, perky, colorful plants.

Joan has a large inventory of hard-to-find violas. Some of her favorite violas include the spreading varieties, classic yellow, ‘Frizzle Sizzle Mini Mix’ and ‘King Henry’. Joan also loves Johnny-jump-ups, a common name for Viola tricolor, saying “if you allow them to reseed, they will pop up everywhere.”

Her pansy selection featured some not-so-common varieties such as ‘Persian Medley’, ‘Cats Mix’ and ‘Matrix Sangria’.

To help violas and pansies survive summer, Joan suggests placing them in a morning sun location. The summer blooms are fewer and smaller, but once the cool weather arrives in September, they get bigger and prettier. Patience is necessary for these long-season must-haves.

—M.M.R.

Bees and other pollinators rely on their fresh nectar early and late in the season.

Viola cornuta ‘Bicolor Yellow Purple’

Foliar diseases are also easy to control.

Prevent disease by providing plenty of air circulation, avoiding overhead watering and keeping soil evenly moist but not saturated.

Frost-resistance is one of the best reasons to grow pansies and violas.

Pansies can handle temperatures in the low 20s, and because of their smaller flower, violas can tolerate temps as low as 15 degrees. Last fall, I observed both when we had several evening temps dipping close to 20 degrees. The next day the soil was frozen and the plants’ flowers were lifeless. But when the weather warmed, they gained back

Container filled with ‘Frizzle Sizzle Raspberry’ pansy and ‘Frizzle Sizzle Mix’ viola

Viola cornuta ‘Colormax Icy Blue’ The Colormax series has larger flowers and is more heat tolerant than other viola varieties.

their vigor. Impressive indeed.

If you know temperatures are going to dip well below freezing, it’s best to give pansies and violas a dose of water a day before or in the morning, giving them plenty of time to absorb it. Water them again in the evening around the base at the soil line. Additional water doesn’t necessarily change the temperature of the plant, but it provides extra hydration throughout the plant cells that retains heat and protects them from the chilly night.

If you’re combining pansies and violas in a pot with other plants that can handle freezing temps, but not as low as 20 degrees, it’s best to cover them with a blanket or move them to a warmer location on cold nights. I like to combine pansies and violas with tulips, daffodils or hyacinths—bulbs that are comfortable with temperatures below freezing. That way I won’t have to cover them.

Liven up your garden and containers with long-lasting pansies and violas.

They are some of the best cold-tolerant annuals available.

Michelle Mero Riedel is a master gardener, professional photographer and regular contributor to Northern Gardener.

Pansy Ring Round, ring-shaped vases are perfect for your favorite, short-stemmed flowers for yearround display. The pottery’s unique shape perfectly holds seasonal pansies and violas, whereas most vases are best for long-stemmed flowers. In the spring, mix pansies and violas with grape hyacinths, chrysanthemums and petite petal tulips. In the fall, add mums, small zinnias and asters.

My favorite? Combine pansies in many colors for an impressive tabletop display. And then enjoy their delicate scent while indoors.

—M.M.R.

Northern Gardener l March/April 2022

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Oh, Snap!

When the weather turns suddenly cold, here’s what to do.

Story and photos by Kathy Purdy

The hoar frost looks pretty, but this late freeze damaged the rose (right). It did recover.

Is there anything more amazing to a northern gardener than a mild winter and an early spring? And does anything induce more panic than news of an imminent cold snap?

After the panic subsides, your first inclination is to cover vulnerable plants. But how does covering help?

If you wrap a blanket around yourself, you start to warm up because your

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Minnesota State Horticultural Society

body generates heat that the blanket traps close to your body.

Plants don’t generate heat, but the earth absorbs heat from the sun. When the air temperature is lower than the soil temperature, the soil releases heat into the atmosphere. This is the heat you are trying to trap. That means whatever you use to cover the plants must reach all the way to the ground.

There’s no point draping an 8-foot shrub with a sheet unless you can secure the sheet to the ground with rocks or landscape pins.

Deciding what to cover depends on your priorities and such factors as plant type, age, weather the past few weeks and how far along in the growing season this cold snap will occur. Below are things to consider as you make your decisions.

What’s a Freeze?

Plant Priorities

Unless the tree or shrub is very small, there is not much you can do to protect it. You may see evergreen shrubs wrapped in burlap—that keeps wind from drying them out. You may see shrubs sheltered with wooden A-frames—that protects them from heavy snow loads. Neither protects against cold.

Most perennials—including bulbs— that emerge in early spring are used to dealing with cold snaps. A severe drop in temperature may cause damage to leaves or flowers but will not kill the plants. In the case of bulbs, if the flower gets ruined or the leaves suffer damage, they won’t grow new ones.

Perennials will send up new leaves and, in a month, you won’t know they were damaged.

Cold-hardy annuals can take a light frost. Self-sowers, such as poppies, larkspur and alyssum, usually won’t sprout before it’s safe to do so. The early-spring vegetables, such as lettuce and peas, should also be fine. You shouldn’t plant tender annuals or vegetables before your area’s last frost date, but sometimes gardeners are seduced by mild weather and gamble. Did you hedge your bet and keep some plants safe in their pots? Good, they can wait out the cold in the garage. If they’re all planted in the ground, follow the protection guidelines below. Other factors to consider: Age: Anything that was planted the previous fall doesn’t have a strong root system and is vulnerable. These plants can tolerate cold as well as their more established brethren, but if they are damaged, they don’t have reserves to fall back on. They deserve top priority for protection.

Recent weather: Plants have many cold-protection strategies that they gradually relax as the weather warms up. If there is only a week or so of warm weather before the cold returns, the plants that are used to emerging early will do fine. If there has been a month of frost-free weather and frost is returning, that’s a problem, especially if it’s a bona fide freeze. The general principle is, the more plants have been tricked into thinking it’s spring, the worse damage they will sustain. Also, the wider the spread between the temperature extremes (for example, going from 60 degrees F to -10), the greater the damage. Let’s face it: there’s not much you can do against a catastrophic shift in the weather. Frost protection will afford— at most—8 degrees of protection.

Snow and ice: Snow will trap heat to the ground for you. As long as the snow falls before the temperature plummets,

Gardeners refer to light frost (29 to 32 degrees F), hard frost (25 to 28) and freeze (below 25). The National Weather Service has its own definitions: • A Frost Advisory is issued when the minimum temperature is forecast to be 33 to 36 degrees on clear and calm nights during the growing season.

• A Freeze Watch is issued when there is a potential for significant, widespread freezing temperatures within the next 24 to 36 hours.

• A Freeze Warning is issued when there is an 80 percent chance that the temperatures will fall to 32 degrees or lower in the next three to 30 hours during the growing season. If the temperature is expected to fall below 28 degrees, this is considered a Hard Freeze.

—K.P.

Note that the Colchicum foliage (far left) fared better next to the wall than that in the planter.

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Oh, Snap!

your plants are protected. Ice causes damage from its weight, not its temperature. Trees and shrubs are most vulnerable, especially if they’ve already leafed out. Don’t try to knock the ice off. Wait until it melts and then prune broken branches as needed.

Study your frost patterns. Here plants under the tree experienced no frost compared to those in the lawn.

How much do you care? Plants with sentimental value, exceptional financial value or great amounts of time invested in them should get top priority when you’re considering what to protect.

How to Protect Plants

Self-sown hardy seedlings can be given protection with evergreen boughs or the stalks of trimmed ornamental grasses. Cloches are the elegant and time-tested devices for protecting plants, but if you haven’t any on hand, improvise with an overturned flowerpot with a single hole in the bottom.

Cover the hole with a rock and you’re all set.

For bigger plants, use a 5-gallon bucket. Anything too big to be covered by a 5-gallon bucket had better be worth the fuss and bother. For larger areas, try row covers made of spunbond polyester, which lets in sunlight, or in a pinch, old bedsheets. Use a tomato cage turned upside down with a sheet draped over it, making sure the edges of the sheet are snug to the ground and secured against blowing wind. For any plant larger than that, or large areas of a vegetable garden, you will have to rig up a network of stakes or hoops and find a big piece of row cover.

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A covering of sheets protects peonies and lilies. The stakes prevent wind from lifting the protection. Already blooming, the lilacs at right survived mostly undamaged.

Despite being covered, this dahlia was damaged, but soon started to recover.

When the Cold Snap Ends

Remember to remove the protection (unless it’s spun-bond polyester) the next day if it’s sunny—even if you think you’ll need to use it a second night. The plants will overheat under their covers and cook. How ironic (but still sad) to lose a plant to heat when you were trying to save it from cold.

Then, survey the garden and make repairs. Trim any flowers or foliage that turned brown or mushy, but leave any part that’s still firm and green, especially bulbs. What’s left of their leaves is all they have to nourish the bulb for next year. If the leaves of woody plants were damaged, don’t assume the branch itself was killed. Give it two months to see if it will push out new leaves. Broken branches should be pruned, of course.

A cold snap can teach you about your garden. If possible, take pictures of your garden before the cold arrives. Pay atten-

Hostas can get severely damaged in a freeze.

Cover your favorites!

tion to the flower buds on spring-blooming shrubs and anything you think will take a hit. Then take another set of photos after the cold has gone.

Were plants damaged because of their location, how far along in growth they were, or are they just not able to sustain hard freezes at all? Does it happen frequently, such as with my Cynanchum, or rarely, as with daylilies?

And if it happens frequently, is it a plant you really want to keep? Record in your garden journal any plant that you wished you’d covered but didn’t, and anything you suspect was covered unnecessarily.

The next time an unexpected cold snap is predicted, you won’t panic— you’ll know exactly what to do.

Kathy Purdy gardens in USDA Zone 4 in upstate New York. She hosts the award-winning blog, coldclimategardening.com.

Cover or Not? When choosing which plants to protect, give priority to these perennials.

Old-fashioned bleeding hearts – You might lose this year’s flowers.

Astilbes – Frost damage delays them, but they do grow back.

Rodgersia (Astilboides tabularis) – I moved this to a colder spot so it takes longer to emerge in spring.

Agastache – Anise hyssop is less cold-sensitive than the hybrids.

Cover them if they are in growth.

Barrenwort (Epimedium) – Flowers could be damaged.

Sedums – The groundcover types tolerate cold, but the taller ones might benefit from being covered.

Lilies – These always seem to be up too early for me, and if the tips get damaged it can ruin the flowers. I always cover them.

Big-leaf hydrangeas (H. macrophylla) – If their leaves have emerged, they will be damaged by frost.

—K.P.

Northern Gardener l March/April 2022

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14 labeled display gardens Perennials you’ve only seen in catalogs 250+ varieties of hostas Over 1,300 perennial cultivars (20,000+plants) ...and the people who know how to grow them.

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"The Place To Go For Things That Grow" Since 1963 1 mile south of St. Michael, MN, on Cty. Rd. 19 Phone: 763-497-3747

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Northern Gardener l March/April 2022

51

NORTHERN VIEW

Pick, Pluck, Pull while pulling out some radishes one late spring day, it occurred to me that new gardeners—really all gardeners— might find it useful to understand the language of harvesting. Yes, now we are mostly seeding, transplanting and dreaming but before you know it, it will be time to pick, pluck and pull our bounty.

We’ll begin our study of harvesting language with pull. I pulled out my radishes, meaning I pulled them out of the ground, and once pulled, they were no longer growing, One pull, one radish.

Done. This is true for most root crops.

We pull out carrots, beets and turnips— to name a few common root crops—and leave no plant behind.

However, we do not pull potatoes. To harvest potatoes, you need to dig them out of the ground. So, add dig to your list of harvest words.

Now that you’ve mastered pull and dig, we’ll go on to pick and pluck.

We pick tomatoes, beans and peas, meaning we twist or cut them away from the plant, leaving the plant intact so it can continue to grow and produce more of what we picked.

This is closely related to pluck, as you can imagine, and I won’t cringe if you pluck a cherry tomato or two while out in your garden, but I’d prefer you pick them and pluck a few leaves off your spinach, kale and lettuce plants. That’s right, I reserve pluck for the removal of edible leaves or other non-fruit parts of a plant. You pluck a bit of baby kale for a salad in May. But if you decide to pick

DIG

52

PULL

Minnesota State Horticultural Society

a bit of kale, no one will mind. ing just for root crops? Well, yes, pullWhat about snip? Do we sometimes ing is primarily for root crops with the snip instead of pluck? Absolutely. We exception of corn which can be either snip bits of herbs, as in we snip a few picked or pulled. “Pulled” because the leaves off the basil to add to a lovely sal- action of picking corn involves pulling ad we made by plucking some lettuce, down on the ear of corn and then twistpicking a few tomatoes, ing it off. and pulling a few radishes.

So. there you have it.

The difference is snipping The language of the harusually involves using litvest explained. Dig, pull, Go forth now, tle clippers or scissors so pick, pluck, snip. Go forth seed your crops, now, seed your crops, we don’t tear up the plant with plucking. transplant them, transplant them, watch Not to get too technithem grow, then freely watch them cal, but pluck versus pick gather your harvest ... sometimes depends on wait, did I just add anothgrow, then your harvesting mood. er harvest word? Gather. freely gather The more excited you I think I did. We gather are, the more you tend to when we pick, pluck, pull, your harvest.” pluck instead of pick. I dig, snip and otherwise might inadvertently pluck harvest a big variety of a cherry tomato from its vine when I fruits and vegetables at one time. am excited to see the first one ready to So now there you have it. Go forth harvest, but when there are loads and and freely pick, pluck, pull, dig, snip, loads of them all ripe and ready to eat, I harvest and gather your bounty, with pick them. a smile on your face because you are Which leads us right back to harvest. growing your own vegetables, and you When do we harvest? We often harvest know how to properly describe what it when we are taking the last of a crop, is you are doing out there in your garsuch as sweet corn, and know there will den. You are reaping what you sowed. be no more. It’s a term for much later in Wait, reaping? Is there no end to this the garden season when we are picking, language of the harvest? plucking, pulling and digging those vegetables for the last time. Let us harvest Carol Michel is an our potatoes by digging them out. Let author, blogger, podcaster us harvest our sweet corn by pulling and gardener. Check the ears. out her books and Wait, what? We pulled the ears of other information at corn instead of picking them. Isn’t pullcaroljmichel.com.

“

PICK

PLUCK

SNIP

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Northern Gardener l January/February 2022

3

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