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)…
DIY Mini Living Christmas Tree
Create your own mini living Christmas tree with a Norfolk Island Pine tree from Sherbondy’s. Sherbondys Garden Center is a locally owned and operated garden center and landscape firm located in Council Bluffs, Iowa. Get your own between 8:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Monday through Saturday.I brought my tree home and placed a drip saucer under the…
Chrysanthemum Update
This will be my second year growing heirloom chrysanthemums from Kings Mums and I just love absolutely love it. You have to have a little bit of patience, as my cuttings arrived in May and are just now starting to bloom here at the end of October, but I think its worth the wait. I…
Saving Love in a Puff Seed
Love in a Puff, also known as Balloon Vine or Heartseed, is an annual vine that carries seed in ‘puffs’ and looks great in arrangements. The vine can be grown on a trellis but I just had mine out in the flower field this year and it did fine. You can see it here in one…
Passion Bouquet
This bouquet was inspired by passion flower vine and hyacinth bean vine. The purple theme carried all the way through this arrangement. Can you spot the passion flower in the bouquet? Featured in this bouquet are dahlias, celosia, scabiosa, cosmos, ammi, hyacinth bean, passion flower along with love-in-a-puff, scented geranium, lemon verbena and artemisia for…
Red & Gold Bouquet
In honor of yesterday’s game, ISU vs. Iowa, I created this ISU themed arrangement. As some of you know, I attend Iowa State University – GO STATE! Unfortunately they lost the game but I still hope they have a great rest of the season. What do you think of this color combo in an arrangement? This…
Dinnerplate Dahlias
Dinnerplate dahlias are SO fun to grow. They are difficult to work into arrangements but look stunning alone in a vase. They take longer to bloom and have less blooms per plant but I think they are very worth the time and space in the garden. I absolutely love this color palette of creamy peaches,…
Islander Bouquet
One of my favorite dahlias is called Islander. It’s absolutely huge and the most amazing magenta pink color. It just screams TROPICAL flower. I had two perfect Islander blooms today that were the inspiration for this bouquet. Also included in this arrangement are celosia, scabiosa, ammi, zinnia and amaranth with scented geranium, millet and love…
Jewel Bouquet
I wanted to try making a jewel-tone bouquet of deep reds. I pretty much have every color palette under the sun growing here at the farm… so why not give it a try. Featured in this bouquet are dahlias, zinnias, celosia, amaranth, gomphrena and then millet, basil, ornamental kale, love-in-a-puff and scented geranium for foliage….