Clik here to view.
Water Smart: Steps to Establishing Your Native Plants
Originally published on April 29, 2015, here are some helpful hints from our Executive Director Scott Vogt on getting your native plants established using “waterwise” methods. Over the past few weeks,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Johnsongrass Problem
This summer in my travels through Kansas and surrounding states, I have seen more Johnsongrass than ever before. It is everywhere. It has proliferated to the point that it is pushing out native...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Importance of Site Analysis, Part 3
As we have discussed over the past few weeks, beautiful gardens don’t happen by accident. You need to analyze and deeply understand your garden over time. Once you have a pretty good handle on what...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Importance of Site Analysis
Over the past few months, I have been working on some landscape designs. These designs have reminded me how important site analysis is to a successful design. Choosing the right plants for an area...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Callery Pear: Cut Them Down
Originally posted on May 1, 2019 This is such an important topic and such a huge problem that we thought it is worth sharing again. Several years ago, I noticed something disturbing was happening to...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Benefits of Planting Perennials
As gardeners, we have many choices of plants to introduce into our landscapes. From trees, shrubs, annuals, and perennials (including grasses), the options seem to be endless. Here at the Arboretum,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Learning About Leaves
Every year I learn more and more about how important leaves are for the ecosystem. We have several blogs about leaves already, (including Scott’s best management practices and my sustainable...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Plants for hillsides and slopes
One of the more common landscaping conundrums is deciding what to plant on steep slopes or hillsides. These areas require plants that can establish quickly, have fibrous root systems, that hold soil...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Summer Garden Checklist
Kansas summers can discourage even the hardiest gardeners. However, taking time to manage your garden now will help your garden later. Here’s my Summer Garden Checklist for the Kansas gardener....
View ArticleClik here to view.
Do You Have Nutsedge?
This time of year, yellow nutsedge (Cyperus esculentus) and purple nutsedge (Cyperus rotundus) become problematic in the landscape. These problem weeds have triangular grass-like leaves and form...
View ArticleClik here to view.
All About Bindweed
It’s a plant all gardeners know well: the infamous bindweed. Thought to have been accidentally introduced from Europe by crop seed contamination in the 1700s, it has established itself all over the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Preparing to Establish a Landscape with Native Plants
It’s obvious to me that interest in landscaping with native plants continues to expand. More and more people are reconnecting with the natural world through their native landscapes. Besides creating...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Keystone Natives for the Food Web
I have been reminded over the past few weeks about about the importance of keystone natives. There is a growing body of research that touts the benefits of keystone species of trees, shrubs,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
March Gardening Checklist
While March can still be cold in Kansas and we can get some significant snow and ice, there are still opportunities to spend time in your garden. Here is a March gardening checklist that will prepare...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Native Grasses FAQ
After my Native Plant School class last week, there were several good questions about native grasses that are worth addressing again. Question 1: How do you clean up native grasses in the late winter...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Songs of the Solstice
When the weather is cold and the days are short, I just want to curl up on the couch and rest. And according to prairie plants, that’s exactly what I should be doing! As much as it pains us to see our...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Leave The Leaves
Leaves are everywhere this time of year, and for good reason! Leaves have an important role in the ecosystem. Trees and the organisms living in and below them have evolved for millions of years...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Final update: Buffalograss Experiment
As the growing season comes to a close, I like to take account of the garden before it goes completely dormant. Certainly, this has been a challenging year in the garden. The plants I installed last...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Fall Planting of Native Grasses
One of the questions we get at every fall plant sale is “can we plant these grasses now?” The answer is “yes, we encourage fall planting of native grasses”, but with some caveats. Here are a few...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Saturated Soils and Wilting Plants
This year we have been facing many environmental challenges from wind, drought, torrential rain for a lucky few, and now soaring temperatures. Nobody said gardening in Kansas would be easy. One of the...
View Article
