The vegetable garden at Lexington Elementary School looks mostly barren right now, but hopefully it will grow into a thriving ecosystem in a few years, especially with the new addition of a number of native plants. Volunteers of all ages helped plant a lawn of miniature camas, Douglas firs, currants, huckleberries, Oregon grapes and other … Read more
Since it is already the end of March with April just around the corner, we need to plan what annuals we want to buy this year as the sale of plants and plants will soon be in the stores. Annuals can be used in many different ways in the garden because they are relatively small … Read more
Have you heard the term “back season”? Sometimes it refers to times between resorts, when neither winter sports nor summer activities are available. Recently I have been thinking that it also applies to late winter and early spring in our gardens. Many plots of the home garden will be ready to burst with heat-loving crops, … Read more
Esther McGinnis NDSU Extension Last week while teaching class, a student asked me to comment on a recent viral news article that claimed urban agriculture generates six times more carbon than conventional agriculture. After class, I read the news article as well as the original scientific study. What I read left me perplexed and skeptical. … Read more
The harvest of last year’s summer and autumn crops is over. I harvested my veggies, elderberries, pineapples, guavas and pomegranates. I cleaned the garden and put away my tools. It was time to leave my garden of rest. We begin the new year with a renewed sense of joy and hope, and with the goal … Read more
It is easy to inspire to grow new plants. Inspiration can come from travel, books, magazines, or other gardens. You can also find inspiration in the most unlikely places. The other day, I placed one of the US Postal Service’s “Snowy Beauty” stamps on a piece of mail. Always looking for new plants, I studied … Read more
