10 STEPS FOR PLANTING A TREE | HERBAL TEA GARDEN DESIGN
Gardener Northern
FALL 2024
FALL HARVEST The Bounty of the North
GARDEN GREENER
GARDEN TO TABLE
Fermenting Veggies
EASY NATIVE PLANT SWAPS
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A Foray into Foraging The “Best Berries” List Hosta Showcase Garden
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GROW YOUR FALL
garden
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TREES & SHRUBS
Feel the crisp air and embrace the harvest hues. Your fall garden is calling. Answer with
GARDEN GEAR MULCH, SOILS & FERTILIZERS
vibrant mums and ornamental annuals. Enhance with unique perennials. Plan your garden with the expert help of the purple thumbs at Bachman’s.
Mpls. | Apple Valley | Eden Prairie | Fridley | Maplewood | Plymouth | Cedar Acres
Contents FALL 2024 / VOLU M E 152 / NUMBE R 3
52 36
42
48
Seasonal Guide
Garden for Good
Spotlight
9 Fall Checklist
21 Karamu, The People’s Garden
36 The Idea Garden
Garden to Table
42 A Gardener’s Foray
Your fall garden to-do list.
10 Ask the Expert
Tips for planting a new tree.
11 Weed-Free Brick Tricks Take a torch to pesky weeds.
12 Easy-Care Perennials
for Zone 3
Colorful, hardy additions to far-north gardens.
14 Garden Plan
Create a backyard herbal tea garden.
16 A Strong Foundation
Take your curb appeal from meh to magnificent.
18 Four-Season Garden
A Maplewood, Minn., garden with year-round flair.
A North Minneapolis communal garden cultivates more than just fresh food.
24 A Fine Brine
Ferment vegetables to preserve flavor and make the most of your summer bounty.
Garden Greener 28 This for That
Try replacing traditional nursery plants with native doppelgangers.
32 Smitten with Mountain Mint Attract pollinators with this sun-loving perennial.
34 Bee the Solution
Rusty-patched bumblebee numbers are declining, but you can help.
An expansive hillside garden offers endless inspiration.
into Foraging
Five expert foragers help us rethink how and what we eat.
48 Berry Bounty
Juicy, sweet, tart and ubiquitous, native berries abound.
52 Made in the Shade
A wooded Minnetonka yard showcases the incredible beauty and variety of hostas.
In Every Issue 3 Editor’s Letter 6 MSHS Classes and
Community Events 58 Gardener’s Market 60 Growing Together
ON THE COVER: Delicious, homegrown treats abound in autumn northern gardens. “As the garden turns from wild to tired, it’s entering the most colorful time of the year,” writes full-time food gardener, writer and cold-climate gardening champion Meg Cowden of her September harvest.
CONTRIBUTORS
Writers & Photographers / Fall 2024 Susan Barbieri has been a writer
and copy editor for the Star Tribune, Minnesota Monthly and Pioneer Press. She gardens in St. Paul, Minn.
Alan Bergo is a James Beard award-
winning chef, author, show host and forager from Minnesota. ForagerChef.com | @foragerchef
Michelle Bruhn is a gardener, writer,
speaker, local food advocate and coauthor of Small-Scale Homesteading (Skyhorse Press, 2023). forksinthedirt.com | @forksinthedirt
Meg Cowden is a garden writer, speaker and author of Plant Grow Harvest Repeat (Timber Press, 2022) based in Orono, Minn. seedtofork.com | @seedtofork
Soni Forsman is a garden
writer and avid water gardener in Eagan, Minn.
Gail Hudson is a horticulturist,
Emmy award-winning journalist, writer and video producer and avid gardener in Minneapolis.
Eric Johnson is a longtime contributor to Northern Gardener, blogger and lifelong gardener based in Roseville, Minn. gardendrama.com
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FALL 2024 / NORTHERNGARDENER.ORG
Amy Kainz is an organic flower and vegetable gardener specializing in pollinator-friendly landscaping in central Minn. @milkweed.and.daisies
Burton Laine is an award-winning photographer, writer, author and editor. He is a USDA Zone 3 gardener in Cloquet, Minn. burtonlaine.com
Diane McGann is an award-winning writer who maintains perennial and shade gardens on 4 1/2 acres in Stillwater, Minn.
Jennifer Rensenbrink grows native
plants and delicious treats in her south Minneapolis garden.
@JenniferRensenbrink
Michelle Mero Riedel is celebrating 15 years writing and photographing stories for Northern Gardener. She is a master gardener in Washington County, Minn.
Beth Stetenfeld is a Wisconsinbased garden blogger and writer, native plant enthusiast and a master naturalist volunteer and instructor. plantpostings.com
Tracy Walsh is a professional
photographer. She has been photographing the plants, productions and people of Bailey Nurseries since 2015.
tracywalshphoto.com
EDITOR’S LETTER
HEADSHOT: TRACY WALSH PHOTOGRAPHY | HARVEST PHOTO: MEG COWDEN
Late fall harvest from the garden of Northern Gardener contributor Meg Cowden.
H
ungry for crisp air, tart apples, flowering asters, crimson leaves, hearty stews and berry pies? Fall in the north serves them up in spades. This issue celebrates the bounty of the north, the expansive and incredible variety of berries, mushrooms, cabbages and other treats our northern gardens provide in abundance. Autumn is the season for harvesting, canning, preserving, drying, storing, sharing and feasting on our homegrown harvest and savoring a few final bursts of blooms (shoutout ‘Autumn Joy’ sedum, orange coneflowers and meadow blazingstars) as we batten down the hatches for another one of our notorious winters. Fancy fermenting? Don’t miss Minneapolis expert Mike Stewart’s kimchi and kraut recipes for the whole family (pg. 24). Wisconsin-based Beth Stetenfeld highlights the best native berries for
noshing (pg. 48). Dry and steep some chamomile flowers for a cozy cup of tea, with help from Amy Kainz’s tea garden tips. And our foray with some of the most experienced foragers in the Upper Midwest is a must-read—who knew the irritatingly persistent purslane could be rolled up into a tasty taco? So, as you prepare to dig up the dahlias and compost your annuals, take a moment to clear a shelf in the pantry and bring the garden inside. We’re falling into one of the most beautiful seasons Up North—savor it.
Rebecca Swee, Editor in Chief editor@northerngardener.org
NORTHERN GARDENER / FALL 2024
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