| Milkweeds (Asclepias spp.) were mostly overlooked wildflowers until the last few decades, when they have gained significant popularity because of their association with Monarch butterflies. Milkweeds are vital to the Monarch butterfly life cycle, and adding the flowers to landscapes and gardens supports butterflies and other pollinators. |  |
 Ready to get your hands in the dirt this gardening season? The first few warm days of late winter beckon many gardeners to begin landscape and garden tasks. Instead of engaging in planting or garden cleanup activities on these random fair weather days, use the time to look closer at the yard or garden and make solid plans for the season and future.  Early spring in the Midwest often brings fluctuating temperatures that challenge many species of plants and the gardeners who tend them. Warm days fool plants into breaking dormancy, but the new growth is damaged when temperatures drop again. Gardeners use everything from frost blankets to heated structures to protect plants, but plant selection is often overlooked as a method of minimizing weather-related damage to plants. Native species are adapted to typical weather fluctuations and in many situations are better options than nonnative species.
 Lilacs and irises are longstanding low-maintenance performers in the Kansas landscape that bloom in spring. Sometimes they fail to produce flowers, though, and the gardeners who tend them wonder why. Insect borer infestations are the most likely culprit for bloom failure in established plantings of lilacs and irises, but the insects are difficult to detect without prior knowledge of their existence. To keep lilacs and irises blooming and healthy, gardeners must be diligent in watching for signs of borer presence and removing infested material.
Feeding birds is a fun way to benefit wildlife and attract these creatures to your yard for your viewing pleasure. Winter is an especially good time to get started by feeding the cardinals, chickadees, titmice, finches, juncos, woodpeckers and other species that are year-round or winter residents in Kansas.
Food type, feeder type, and placement of food and feeders are all important for success in feeding birds, but the options can be overwhelming. Also, many guides to feeding birds are defined by the species and fail to account for seasonality. Novices are unlikely to know what birds they want to feed and when to put out specific types of food for them.  For plant lovers and those who seek gifts for them, the holiday season offers a wide variety of garden-themed gift sets. These sets sometimes offer great opportunities to pick up new tools, heirloom seeds and other fun garden items at reasonable costs. Some options are better than others though, and consideration should be given to the quality and usefulness of the item as well as the recipient.
Garden gift sets are usually themed around tools, seeds, plants, hand/skin care, and education. Garden centers, plant shops and other stores with plant-knowledgeable staff typically offer the best options.  Research shows that looking at flowers influences peoples' moods and makes them happier. An easy way to get more flowers in your life is to plant them in your landscape or in containers on a porch or patio where they can easily be viewed.
Annual flowers bloom all season but only live one year. Perennial flowers live many years but only bloom for a portion of the year. One way to get season-long color with perennials is to interplant a mix of species that bloom at different times.  Cold frame demonstration at a flower, lawn and garden show. Bookstores, libraries, the Internet, friends and neighbors are full of gardening information. Ask or search for almost anything gardening-related and you will receive a wide variety of answers. Why is there so much variability? And how do you decipher which resources are best or most appropriate for your situation? Read on for tips on discerning good information from myths and sales pitches.  Garden dreams Every 60-degree day in March gets gardeners and would-be gardeners excited about spring planting. That's fine for some types of plants, but for others, early planting could create extra work or cause the loss of your investment before the season even gets started. |