I wanted to get some exercise today and at the same time check out Lauritzen Gardens in the summer. It was a hot and humid day and I went in the middle of the afternoon but it was wonderful once you got down into the shady areas. “Lauritzen Gardens is a living museum of unique…
Category: Floral Design
Summer Solstice Lecture: Native Plants of the Midwest
Last night I attended a Summer Solstice Lecture featuring Alan Branhagen at Lauritzen Gardens located at 100 Bancroft Street in Omaha, NE. Alan Branhagen is currently the director of operations at Minnesota Landscape Arboretum and is also the author of Native Plants of the Midwest. We learned which natives grow to best suit your conditions…
Garden Journal 06/02/2019
It’s the beginning of June here on the farm. We’ve had lots of activity in the garden and many different visitors in the landscape. Here’s a little bit of what’s been going on this week. I’ve posted about these peonies before and have even made a very similar arrangement, but I’ll never get enough. Original…
2019 Spring Garden Conference
The West Pott. Master Gardeners hosted their 2019 Spring Garden Conference today at Holiday Inn & Suites at Ameristar Casino in Council Bluffs, Iowa. The conference sold out in just a few weeks at 160 attendees due to an impressive lineup of speakers. They included Kim Todd with Backyard Farmer, Scott Evans, Jan Riggenbach, Michelle Biodrowski,…
Favorite Online Gardening Resources
Like many of you, I am constantly seeking new resources for advice on gardening and landscaping. I’ve scoured the web for the best of the best and thought it was time to share my favorite resources with you. Garden Answer The queen of annuals, perennials and just about anything related to home gardening, Laura with…
Flower Arranging Workshop
This week I hosted a flower arranging workshop for my coworkers where I work full time as a Director of Marketing. I pitched the idea of the workshop to our wellness committee as a “mental’ wellness event because I think everyone can use a little extra time for themselves and to learn something new. I…
Flower Field Update
The flower field didn’t get planted until really late this year so it’s just now finally coming into bloom. Not going to lie, it’s pretty gorgeous out there right now. If you want to start your own cut flower garden, check out this post about my top flowers for cutting. “Happiness radiates like the fragrance from…
Peonies, peonies, peonies
It seems like the peony season came and went very quickly this year. I’m glad I got out to take lots of photos right away because the HOT weather flushed all of our peonies out very quickly. I’m so disappointed that I didn’t make a single bouquet this year. These peonies at our new house…
Garden Journal 4/14/2018
This spring here in southwest Iowa has been one for the record books. Yesterday alone had a mix of rain, tornadoes, snow and flooding forecasted across Iowa. The day before the high was 71 and this weekend it’s supposed to snow. Most of my free time is on the weekends and we haven’t had many great…
Amaryllis Update
If you saw my last post, you know that I have several Amaryllis bulbs that I forced indoors this winter. It’s been a few weeks now so I thought I would share some updated photos. They all bloomed consecutively over the last few weeks resulting in constant blooms. How To Force Amaryllis Bulbs Indoors: Some…
Forcing Amaryllis Bulbs Indoors
Forcing Amaryllis bulbs indoors is a great winter gardening project. Most Amaryllis bulbs are sold as set with a pot, compost and even moss. Take apart your set and read the instructions. How To Force Amaryllis Bulbs Indoors: Some sets come with expanding compacted soil. Set your compacted soil disc in warm water and let…
‘Tis the Season
Over the last seven years I have lived in either an apartment or a very small house so I don’t have a lot of Christmas decor. Now that we have our new big house I can finally do some decorating! We had some Cedar trees growing on one of our terraces (you don’t want that)…
Exploring Iowa 