Last... But Is It Least?

Picking Through The Garden Center Aftermath

As is typical at this time of year, the stock of plant inventory at the garden centers is visibly winding down. For most garden centers across the North, May and June are the big selling months; by the time July rolls around, the shelves are starting to empty, and of the plants still on the shelves, the pickings are getting slimmer and the varieties fewer.

So you as a summer-shopping gardener come along and are interested in buying a few of these varieties. Perhaps you have a...

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Labrador Tea And Lappland Azalea

The Native Azaleas Of The Far North

Labrador Tea (Ledum groenlandicum)

One of the great envies of all northerners is the lack of azaleas and rhododendrons in our gardens. We now have a few cultivars that are hardy to zone 4 courtesy of the Northern Lights breeding program at the University of Minnesota, but for those in zones 3 and colder, they are not really a reliable option. And thus the status of rhododendron is elevated to that of unreachable, a flowering shrub of warmer climates.

The truth is, rhododendrons are among the most diverse and...

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Legginess Exposed

Neither Good, Nor Bad, Just Leggy!

Tatarian Honeysuckle grows to be characteristically leggy when mature

Professional garden designers will often refer to a particular plant as "leggy". Exactly what do they mean by this, and how should Northscapers use this to benefit our own landscapes and gardens?

First of all, "legginess" is mostly used in reference to shrubs. It is simply a measure of how low the "bushy" or leafy part of the plant comes to the ground, and in its absence, how much "leg" the shrub shows, i.e. exposed parts of the stems or trunks. A shrub is considered to be leggy if...

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Musings On Native Landscaping

Learning From The Ways Of Creation

Amelanchier alnifolia - Saskatoon

As a lover of plants big and small, I find myself torn on a particular issue. I appreciate biodiversity and the beautification of our northern yards and gardens using as wide a palette as we can possibly get. Since our local array of plants is often limited by our climate, we find ourselves traveling to distant lands to find new plant choices that will grow in our gardens without too much disdain for the cold winters. As a result, we are familiar with plant names that harken from the Amur River...

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Unseating The Weedlings of Spring

The Time To Weed... Is Now!

Here's to a clean and beautiful spring!

When it comes to weeding, gardeners either love it, hate it, or are somehow blissfully indifferent to the task. Regardless of how you feel about it, gardens have to be weeded - it's a fact of gardening.

Spring is the easiest time of the year to get the upper hand on weeds. The soil is usually moist and pliable after the spring thaw, and it's pretty easy to get even the deepest-rooted perennial weeds out. They are smaller and their roots are less established. As the season progresses,...

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