Articles

DARREL KOEHLER: Bulb planting time

With summer soon but a memory as crickets chirp, days lengthen and temperatures drop, it’s time to think about planting. While most gardeners think of spring as the time to do major planting in their yards, we can do more in autumn and get a jump on 2010.

DARREL KOEHLER: It’s time for morning glories

With some area students heading back to classes this week after a summer sojourn, morning glories should be getting their act together. In fact, the Prairie Gardener has long referred to them as the “back-to-school” flower.

PRAIRIE GARDENER: Edible flowers are a good way to use summer bounty

Daylily, nasturtium and squash blossoms can end up on your dinner plate. The latest rage in horticultural circles is edible flowers, and you don’t have to be a gourmet to enjoy these tasty treats either. We will deal with five flowers in today’s column. There are many other edible flowers in addition to these listed, too. A good reference is “Edible Flowers: From Garden to Palate” (Fulcrum, $24.95) by Cathy Wilkinson Barash. You also can check the horticulture section in your local library or with your extension service if you want to expand your list of edible flowers. It’s best to make sure before that the flower is safe to eat.

DARREL KOEHLER: Homage to hostas

While the real glory of hostas is in their foliage, the thin spikes of white or blue trumpet-shaped flowers that appear for several weeks in the summer can be a bonus. Originally from Asia, this perennial, which is also known as plantain lily, comes in a wide variety of leaf shapes, sizes and color.

• Darrel Koehler

DARREL KOEHLER: Hydrangeas

Lush, full-figured flowers are a perfect way to describe the beauty of the late-summer blooming hydrangeas we are now enjoying in many gardens. When the blooms first appear in early summer, they are a lime green. Now, as we go into the final third of summer, they are snowy-white. They will take center stage now as many of the other flowers begin to decline.

DARREL KOEHLER: Battling the bunny boom

Blame it on global warming, or even the Greenway, but we are undergoing a major bunny boom in Grand Forks-East Grand Forks. In fact, some gardeners are referring to the current growing season as “The Year of the Rabbit.” Rabbit numbers have soared in recent years, and this has driven more of them into residential areas where they can dine on the bounty put forth by gardeners, including flowers, vegetables, trees and shrubbery. Even the past winter — the harshest in more than a decade — didn’t shrink the population.

DARREL KOEHLER: Tomatoes are busting out

The tomato crop is shaping up to one of the best in years – thanks to warm, dry weather. In recent years, gardeners have had to battle tomato diseases, brought on by cool, damp conditions. But this year, rains have been relatively infrequent and there has been lots of sun – perfect conditions for keeping early and late blight at bay.

DARREL KOEHLER: Garden tour puts the spotlight on six area gardens

Six Grand Forks and East Grand Forks gardens are in the line-up for the silver anniversary Grand Forks Horticulture Society garden tour next weekend. The gardens selected for the tour represent both new and former tour gardens.

DARREL KOEHLER: July is busting out

July’s arrival can mean only one thing — high summer. Hopefully, our vegetable gardens will soon be yielding a plethora of vegetables as we approach the halfway point of summer in mid-month. Fresh tomatoes and sweet corn are what summer is really all about. Our flower gardens will be filled with perennials and annuals in full bloom.

DARREL KOEHLER: Mulch can be a gardener’s best friend

Warm summer weather finally has arrived which means it’s time to mulch our gardens. Summer mulch, which can range from well-rotted compost to a wide variety of other plant materials, is said to be the gardener’s best friend. We agree.

Columns

PRAIRIE GARDENER: Wasps won’t solve ash borer problem but should help

Several thousand tiny Chinese wasps will be released this month in the Twin Cities in hopes they will help stop the spread of the dreaded emerald ash borer. These borers, now confined to the Twin Cities and a small corner of southeastern Minnesota, pose a threat to about a half million ash trees in the Twin Cities and nearly 1 billion statewide in Minnesota.

• Darrel Koehler

PRAIRIE GARDENER: Red Splendor flowering crabapple provides beauty and bounty

When the late Melvin Bergeson, longtime Fertile, Minn., nursery man, introduced the Red Splendor flowering crabapple back in 1948, little did he know what impact it would have on the region.

• Darrel Koehler

PRAIRIE GARDENER: Minnesota Landscape Arboretum features ‘Steelroots’ sculpture exhibit

Once again outdoor sculpture will be the major attraction at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum here this summer. This premier garden attraction always has something unusual for visitors. This exhibit will be on view until early 2012, so if you don’t get a chance to visit this summer, you can go in either autumn or winter.

• Darrel Koehler

PRAIRIE GARDENER: How we love our home-grown tomatoes

When it comes to delectable treats from the garden, tomatoes probably top the list. If we plan ahead, we can enjoy home-grown tomatoes from early July until the first hard frost of autumn

• Darrel Koehler

PRAIRIE GARDENER: With container gardening, you don’t need a garden plot to grow vegetables

If you don’t have a garden plot, you can still grow your own fresh veggies. One way would be to rent a plot or take part in a community gardening project. Or, you can grow your vegetables in containers.

• Darrel Koehler

PRAIRIE GARDENER: Many bulb flowers may not bloom for Mother’s Day

After a long winter, the sight of blooming spring bulbs is a delight. If you garden, you probably have been checking your bulb beds for the past several weeks.

• Darrel Koehler

PRAIRIE GARDENER: 2011 will be another big year for home-grown veggies

May Day, which is observed today, brings back memories of trekking through the forest, searching for the elusive May flower. These tiny white, pink or blue flowers were the first to emerge from beneath the forest floor of rotted leaf mold.

• Darrel Koehler

PRAIRIE GARDENER: It doesn’t take a lot of work to have a beautiful lawn

A beautiful lawn can set off your home and garden as something special. And, it doesn’t take a lot of work, money or effort to do so. If left alone, your grass will normally deteriorate and grow thinner and weedier as the years go by.

• Darrel Koehler

PRAIRIE GARDENER: Lilies have a long, rich history, dating back to biblical times

For pure elegance, aroma and beauty, there is no indoor holiday plant that tops the Easter lily. The season is short, but after enjoying the blooms in your home this holiday season, you can plant it in a sunny corner of your garden and enjoy an encore performance in mid-September.

• Darrel Koehler

PRAIRIE GARDENER: Get a jump on spring by doing some indoor gardening

If you want to get a jump on spring, plant some vegetable or flower seeds indoors. That will give you will a chance to enjoy the sweet aroma of fresh soil along with getting your fingers dirty. It may be awhile before you can be out in your gardens, so indoor planting will be good therapy.

• Darrel Koehler