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How Does Your Garden Grow?
Many of our readers and webinar participants have asked for an update on my native front yard project, and I am happy to oblige! As with every native garden, it had it’s ‘ugly duckling’ phase wherein...
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Fireflies of Summer
The longest days of late June in Southcentral Kansas for me feel synonymous with sweltering hot swimming weather, carefree kids riding bikes, backyard BBQs, blooming milkweeds, butterflies, and the...
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The Edible Landscape
I am a big fan of a landscape that is functional as well as beautiful. Functionality might mean wildlife and pollinator attraction, water absorbing (rain garden) or water conserving (xeriscaping). But...
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Garden Retreat
As much as we love our work at the Arboretum, sometimes the staff need to get out and about! Once or twice a year we take a staff retreat, spending a day in leisure time together. We eat, laugh, and...
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Coneflowers: A Lesson in Host Plants
Coneflowers are so emblematic of the prairie. I love to include these prairie denizens in many of my designs. They are quite adaptable and I love the yellows, purples and pink colors of the true...
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Seeded Prairie Checkup
I recently did a seeded prairie checkup to see how our December 2020 sidewalk planting described in the earlier blog post “Seeding After Disturbance” is doing. I’ve been informally monitoring it...
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Plant Profile: Black-eyed Susan
Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia sp.) are one of the most recognizable summer-blooming wildflowers. Their bright yellow flowers explode in the summer and are covered with all sorts of pollinator activity....
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Insects – Motivation for Native Landscaping
Early September blooming plants are attracting loads of nectar-sipping insects right now. Host plants are green and thriving from timely rains and providing food for munching larvae. All this insect...
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Landscaping with Plant Communities in Mind
This blog post is updated and republished. Previously published as “The Social Network for Plants” in September 2017. One of the landscaping concepts I touched upon in my recent Matrix Planting class...
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Considering Caring for Common Ground
I am going to pull back the curtain for you regarding the potential development of some programming here at Dyck Arboretum of the Plains. This fall we have begun considering an initiative called...
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Site Analysis to Guide Planting Decisions
While preparing for my “Site Analysis to Guide Planting Decisions” class last week, I came across the snippet below. I believe it is worth sharing because it helped me visualize the details needed to...
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Flower Form and Function
Who doesn’t love a perfectly round peony or a deep red rose? While humans are mostly concerned with the aesthetic qualities of flowers, that’s only half the story. The shape, size and color of a...
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Shiny New Plants for 2023
In one of the horticulture magazines I received this week, I was drawn to an article about some shiny new plants for 2023. I don’t know what it is about new plants, but I like to see the unique,...
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Advantages to Using Ornamental Grasses in the Landscape
As I was preparing for my next Native Plant School class on the Wonderful World of Grasses, I was reminded why I love grasses in the landscape. Here are a few thoughts about why ornamental grasses...
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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...
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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...
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Seven Lessons I Have Learned About Native Plants
Over the 26 years that I have been at the Arboretum, I have made my share of mistakes. Some examples include planting prairie dock in a formal garden design, starting a garden too fast, and/or not...
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Know Your Garden Priorities and Purpose
Portions of this article can also be found in our Summer 2023 issue of the Prairie Window Newsletter. Having a summer intern here at the Arboretum is a lot of fun. Not only because I have someone to...
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Hard To Find Plant Species Available This Fall
Due to the diligent nursery work of our suppliers, and a bit of searching on my part, we will have interesting new species to offer at our fall FloraKansas event, as well as some old favorites that...
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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...
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