MINNESOTA’S ONLY HOMEGROWN GARDENING MAGAZINE
Gardener Northern
6 NATIVE ASTERS YOU’LL LOVE
Country Garden Charm
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Created on 2-20-02 at 11:26:01 by SYMBOLOGY, INC. Maple Grove, Minnesota, 55369 763-315-8080
GROW YOUR OWN GRAPES AND HOPS
TREES TO PLANT NOW
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Display until October 31
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a nonprofit organization
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editor’s note a nonprofit organization
The Minnesota State Horticultural Society (MSHS) is a nonprofit, educational and charitable organization established in 1866. Our mission is to serve northern gardeners through education, encouragement and community. For information about subscribing to Northern Gardener magazine or becoming an MSHS member, visit northerngardener.org/membership, call 651-643-3601 or email membership@northerngardener.org.
Minnesota State Horticultural Society
1935 County Rd. B2 West, Suite 125, Roseville, MN 55113-1334 Phone: 651-643-3601 Editor: Mary Lahr Schier, 507-581-4145 Horticultural Editor: Debbie Lonnee Copy Editor: Julie Jensen Design: Barbara Pederson
MSHS Staff
Acting Executive Director: Dennis Feit; DFeit@northerngardener.org Development Associate: Diane Duvall; DDuvall@northerngardener.org Community Outreach Manager: Lara Lau-Schommer; LLSchommer@northerngardener.org Communications and Marketing Director: Becky Swee; BSwee@northerngardener.org Garden-in-a-Box Coordinator: Maria Brosofske; MBrosofske@northerngardener.org Minnesota Green Coordinator: Becky Grefthen; mngreen@northerngardener.org
MSHS Board of Directors
Mike Heger, Waconia, Chair Wayne Damerow, Shoreview, Vice Chair Margaret Klis, Minneapolis, Treasurer Joel Karsten, Roseville, Secretary
Mary Lahr Schier
Site and Style
W
hen I was in college, I made a cross-stitched wall hanging that read, “Bloom where you are planted.” It hung proudly on my dorm wall at the University of Minnesota and moved with me several times after graduation. Cliché, yes, but the sentiment encouraged my very future-oriented younger self to focus on where I was at the moment and to enjoy and make the most of that place and time. It’s still a relevant idea in life, and in the garden. Every garden has its limitations and its possibilities. The garden is where it is. It has the neighbors and topography it has. Its plants may be young or old—too small or too large. It experiences the sounds, the weather, the soil, the weeds and the critters endemic to its location. Of course, the gardener can change some of those things—water can be rerouted, plants dug up or given time to grow. But some cannot be changed and site is bound to dictate style to a degree. The most comfortable gardens are those where the gardener has made the most of the site without trying to make
At large: Tina Dombrowski, St. Paul Jennifer Ebeling, Maple Grove Del Hampton, Minneapolis Debra Kvamme, Blaine Mary Marrow, Minneapolis Susan Rupert, Forest Lake Laura Wagner, Minneapolis JoAnne Wahlstrom, Sunfish Lake
it something it isn’t. This issue of Northern Gardener includes profiles of three gardeners who have embraced their sites, modifying them to make gardens that fit their lives and style as well as their location. On page 20, Meleah Maynard introduces us to two urban gardeners. Cathy Skalicky and Marta Knutson each have small properties in Minneapolis where they have created refuges with a city style. On page 26, Ariel Emery Butler profiles the country garden of Cathy Hoban, who uses her space and her creativity to draw in people and pollinators. These are gardeners who know how to bloom where they are planted. Subscribers and members will get this issue just before the Minnesota State Fair. We have lots of fun planned for the fair with new T-shirts, an exhibit on using herbs, vegetables and fruit in beverages, and a new tote bag for those who join or renew at the fair. Stop at our booth in the Horticulture Building to join in the fun. —Mary Lahr Schier, editor mary@maryschier.com
Connect with us
Copyright 2019 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.
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(ISSN) 1529-8515. Northern Gardener is published bimonthly (January/February, March/April, May/June, July/ August, September/October, November/December) by the Minnesota State Horticultural Society, 1935 County Rd. B2 W., Suite 125, Roseville, MN 55113. Periodicals postage paid at St. Paul, Minn., and additional post offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Northern Gardener, 1935 County Rd. B2 W., Suite 125, Roseville, MN 55113.
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www.youtube.com/mnhortsociety September/October 2019
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contents
September/October 2019 | Volume 147, Number 5
in every issue
features
1
Editor’s Note
20
4
MSHS News: Classes,
12
calendar and more.
26
Northern Natives: Cardinal flower.
Kitchen Garden:
30
By Design: Foliage, always foliage.
33
Garden Solutions: Preventing winter damage. BY LAURA SCHWARZ
17
Pollinators:
36
The dark side of butterfly gardening.
Plant these native choices for fall beauty and pollinator food.
Booze Bower Grow your own beverage supply with grapes and hops.
Trees to Plant Now Tree choices for the North will change as our climate does. BY DIANE MCGANN
Plant to Pick:
39
Panicle hydrangea, tree form. BY DEBBIE LONNEE
19
Aster Abundance
BY JENNIFER RENSENBRINK
BY RHONDA FLEMING HAYES
18
The memory-packed beds of this farm garden welcome pollinators and people.
BY BENJAMIN VOGT
BY DON ENGEBRETSON
16
Country Charm
BY ARIEL EMERY BUTLER
Spotlight on kohlrabi. BY SAMANTHA JOHNSON
15
You can pack a lot of personality into a small garden. BY MELEAH MAYNARD
BY LYNN M. STEINER
14
Tiny and Terrific
Pesky Pests A pest that’s bigger than a bug requires special garden strategies. BY SUSY MORRIS
How-to: Planting spring bulbs. BY ERIC JOHNSON
42
Gardener’s Market
44
Northern View: Nature’s call. BY MELEAH MAYNARD
about the cover
Hummingbirds flock to Cathy Hoban’s rural garden. Photo by Ariel Emery Butler
a nonprofit organization
Northern Gardener is published by the Minnesota State Horticultural Society.