Category
Invasive perennials become “weeds” in a garden when the environment is in the plant’s comfort zone. Rocky Mountain gardens where plants are not as vigorous grow slower and shorter so we get away with growing some of the...
Question: Native Perennials are supposedly hardier for Western Gardens but what plants are considered native? Native Perennial species are defined as plants growing naturally in a particular geographic area prior to European settlement. Native plants are considered plants of...
Question: I keep hearing about alkaline soils from Rocky Mountain gardeners but what are they and how do they differ from regular soils? How do I need to garden differently in alkaline soils? Soils in the Rocky Mountains...
Question From a Gardener: I’m an organic gardener in the western Rocky Mountains and realize that all mountain gardens are lacking nitrogen. I would rather not use chemical fertilizers and wonder how to solve this dilemma using organic fertilizing....
Preventing Frost Damage in Springtime Spring in the western Rocky Mountains has nothing to do with a calendar but is dictated by the weather. Just when gardeners and plants are suckered by warmer weather, Jack Frost pays us a...
Staking perennials is a real pain in the butt. Sometimes it’s not until the poor perennial is lying in the mud that a gardener decides to take action. In the west where plants grow shorter and sturdier due...
Each year the Perennial Plant Association, a trade group that works to educate gardeners on great performing perennial plants, selects their choice for Perennial Plant of the Year. Nepeta, ‘Walker’s Low’ received this award in 2007 by meeting...
One of the most delightful projects you can try if you are a perennial gardener, is creating a children’s hollyhock garden. Using these tall, long-blooming perennials provides a delightful “screen” allowing children to have a “hideout” where they...
Voles and Moles Voles will be the death of my gardens! I blamed last year’s very warm winter on the population explosion of voles at Bear Lake, Idaho. These greedy little animals even climbed in our cold frames...
Why Compost is Important and How to Create Your Own Compost The three most important words in real estate are; “location, location, location” but in gardening they are; “compost, compost, compost.” Compost or mulch is organic material that...