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January 2020

Caring for Your Indoor Cactus

By Sandra Nelson   Nurseries, garden centers, big box stores, grocery stores, discount centers, florists, online retailers  — they’re all offering vast displays of cacti to tempt their customers into impulsively picking up one or two to take home. Before giving in to temptation however, it’s wise to take a few minutes to do some …

Oak Leaf Hydrangea -- A Must Have For Your Garden

  By Sandra Nelson   This week’s pick is by Sandy Defoe,  Artistic Director.   Oak Leaf Hydrangea    “In summer, the attractive green leaves show off other plants. The flowers last all summer long and then the dried flower heads stay on through the winter.”   Long a favorite for Midwest gardens (introduced in …

Cactus -- An American Treasure

By Sandra Nelson For years I thought that succulents and cacti were two entirely different and unrelated types of plants that just happened to be marketed together. It’s only been in the last few weeks that I’ve learned the actual relationship between the two. The truth is that all cacti are succulents, but not all …

Gomphrena globosa -- A Must Have For Your Garden

  By Sandra Nelson       This week’s pick by Jo Ann Prieto, horticulturist and seasonal color specialist.   Gomphrena globosa   “An interesting plant in masses, in pots it gives a nice structural interest to the pots.”     Providing a burst of blooms from summer until frost, globe amaranth is a hardy, …

Succulents -- The Almost Perfect Plant

By Sandra Nelson Our weekends almost always include a trip to one of the local big box stores. For some reason, no matter what task he is completing, my husband never seems to have “the right tool.” (After 45 years, I would think we would already have every tool known to man …but evidently not. …

Echinacea  -- Sombrero Series: A Must Have For Your Landscape

    By Sandra Nelson The seed catalogs have begun to appear in my mailbox, which always gets me dreaming about the multitudes of plants  — both new varieties and old favorites — that I want to add to my landscape. With so many to choose from though, it’s difficult to narrow down the list …

Set Your Sights On Spring

  By Sandra Nelson To many in our part of the country, January and February (and sometimes March) are prime months for happily hibernating indoors. For those of us who are tried and true gardeners however, being out of the dirt and away from plants is akin to being held hostage by Mother Nature. In …

Who's Showing Off Today?

  By Sandra Nelson       Often disparaged as just a common roadside plant, the native Eastern Red Cedar is truly a boost to a winter garden.     Eastern red cedars, or junipers, are easy to grow, tolerating conditions that would quickly wipe out other species. They prefer full sun, shallow rocky, well-drained …