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June 2019

Patience Is the Key To A Successful Butterfly Garden

One of my favorite things to do this summer is to quietly sit on my deck, watching dozens of butterflies floating through the yard enjoying the nectar buffet I’ve planted. This is the first year that I’ve had a steady stream of visitors and it feels like the time, effort and money I’ve put into …

What's In Bloom Today?

The Golden Rain Tree is in bloom across Kansas City right now.     Introduced from Japan in 1763,  the Golden Rain Tree has been a gorgeous addition to the landscape for decades. This smaller, rounded head tree, usually 30 to 40 feet tall, can withstand air pollution, heavy clay soils and drought. In June …

Nightlife

I have a new favorite time of day. For years, the early morning hours, just as the sun was beginning to rise, was my magic hour. Everyone else was tucked in bed fast asleep; I could wander the yard at my own pace without feeling guilty that someone needed something from me RIGHT NOW.  Those …

What's In Bloom Today?

Oak Leaf Hydrangeas are show stoppers right now!     These easy to grow, long-blooming deciduous shrubs are the perfect choice for a hedge, a garden focal point, a foundation planting or to naturalize in a mass at the edge of the property. Reaching up to 8 feet tall, they prefer full sun, but will …

Intimate Spaces in Large Places

Our eldest daughter is a textbook type A personality. She finds it difficult to just sit and relax because there is always another task to be completed. Her ability to keep going and going and going is truly amazing and somewhat exhausting.       The other day, while she was at our home, she …

What's in Bloom Today?

  The unusual native perennial, Indian Pinks, or Spigelia marilandica are at their peak bloom right now.     Glossy green leaves and brilliant scarlet blooms with bright yellow interiors and star shaped petals on the top grace this late spring/ early summer blooming native perennial. Indian Pinks prefer shade and grow in clumps in …

Enhance Your Outdoor Living -- Add a Pergola

Sprinkled in between this year’s bouts of torrential rain,  we’ve had some absolutely glorious spring days — the kind where you can easily be outside all day long and well into the evening. Sadly though, with the arrival of June, I know that the temperatures will soon soar, the breeze will stop blowing and I …

What’s In Bloom Today?

The pink Missouri Primrose is in bloom here in Kansas City.       This tough little native perennial, also known as pink ladies, eagerly rambles over tough terrain and rewards you with masses of fragrant flowers that begin as white blooms and gradually change to pink, blossoming profusely from early to mid-summer. This primrose loves the …