Our gardens, homes and hobbies don't have to be perfect. They just have to be good enough for me - and yours just has to be good enough for you! Join me as I garden in Zone 5a (formerly 4b) in Southeastern Minnesota.
Our lot is only about 1/10 of an acre. I try to make the most of a small space and prioritize native perennials and gardening for not only myself but the creatures with whom I share the garden. Aside from native plants, I love growing tomatoes, hostas, dahlias and building patio ponds. I love to plan but rarely follow through - so if you like haphazard chaotic gardening with no pressure to make things perfect, you're in the right place!
I had a tuber called maarn i ordered from swan Island and the center is always open, all the others I see online, all have a closed center. kept it anyways. They still make good cut flowers. Now that i see your maarn, my stems are green and not dark like yours.
Love love love your garden. I’m in zone 8B myself now 9a and I actually now shop for plants that can withstand a Minnesota ❄️ winter and not melt through an Indian Summer. I love all the colors of your garden.
@@spicyritas4795 thank you so much! And yes it’s great to have those versatile plants- it’s amazing how many of them can thrive in different environments.
I had a crawling worm eating leaves on a coleus. I wrapped the base loosely with tulle fabric, I guess he didn’t like crawling over strange fabric because it never came back. Maybe it will work for earwigs unless they can fly up.
Oh that's a great idea! I have heard that lots of snails/slugs etc don't like climbing over something scratchy. I love a creative non-chemical solution! Thanks for sharing. :)
I clicked on the video because of the EARWIGS. I am also SE MN but not buying into the zone 5 as I live on a ridge top. Besides earwigs, I'm battling Japanese beetles. I'm using Captain Jacks organic spray and picking them off into dish soap twice a day. Ugh. Your garden looks nice.
Oh yeah. It's wild how different the weather is whether you're on a ridge top, in one of the valleys, or somewhere in between! They all have their own little microclimates. Good luck with the Japanese beetles! I haven't found any just yet but I am keeping an eye out. Thankfully it's starting to dry out a bit so the earwig pressure is letting up a bit! 😅
That very odd quality of Jennifers wedding mine came out beautiful and large and full size. Maybe you need more hours of sunlight. I'm in western Pennsylvania.. zone 5B. I think you would get bigger blooms and better quality of plants if you use 5-7 gallon pots oer tuber.
All this rain is revenge because we complained about the drought. But most of my plants are loving their lives this year and I'm not flooded so I can't complain. 😊 I love your little coleus pots too and the blue container with the elephant ear. Looking good!
@@laurelrosegardens6454 thank you so much! And I know - definitely need to be careful what I wish for. I am also glad for the rain, though, and fortunately I’m not flooded either. Whew!
Love the bee slow-mo at the end 😊 It's nice to have a real spring for once, isn't it? It seems we are now getting as rain all the snow we didn't get this winter. Maybe some of last summer's rain too! Slug bait has worked for me but I read you should put it away from your tasty plants so it draws the snails away from the garden.
I agree! I was worried it would be a dry spring but all the rain has been so nice! Trying to appreciate it and not complain too much about the bugs 😊 I may have to try some slug bait - thanks!
Really enjoyed the tour and your easy nature, but I did almost fall off my chair when you spun around the camera so quick!😂😂 Slow down girl!🤣😂 I love your Spiderwort and will be getting some now that I’ve seen a good view of it, it has a grassy texture which I love. Doesn’t look like slug damage to me, I don’t know but I don’t believe they take the whole leaf? Slugs I get usually just attack Hostas and you can usually see where they have chomped away half or so of the leaf, but I’m no expert! I have always used Slug Bait and it does the trick. Great video, loved the slow motion bumble bee view, such cute bums❤️ Brenda🇨🇦ZN4
Hello from Edmonton, Alberta 🇨🇦 This is my first year seeding verbena bonariensis & mine are about the stage of yours. I was concerned that they wouldn’t mature & bloom bc they’re so small. I assume i don’t have to worry about it?
Hello fellow northern gardener! It’s likely they will mature and bloom during this growing season. Last year I also winter sowed verbena and got some great blooms! They were later in summer but still made it. Good luck!
I have a type that is also called “swamp” but I’ll have to see if it’s the same as yours. The type I started from seed is “butterfly weed” aka asclepias tuberosa. I haven’t had great luck growing it from seed before so I’m happy it’s taking off!
Being in the southeast, zone 8A, it is interesting to see how different our growing seasons are. Redbuds and daffodils have been done for around a month. Although you have us beat on lilacs, which is something we can’t grow too well down here. Love your garden:)
It's wild how different some areas are! I'm often jealous of folks like you in warmer zones, but you're right - there are some pluses! Lilacs are some of my favorites, and I would miss them if I was somewhere warmer. Thanks for watching!
Let the garden tour it was beautifully put together love that little cat so cute. Looking up at you such a wonderful display and a wonderful video you put together today.
Great video! Just found you and subscribed, love your laid back nature… kinda like me. I’m interested in the tall plant with purple blooms you referred to as ‘Honesty’? I can’t find any info on it, so wondering if I heard you correctly. Does it have another name? Thank you, Brenda 🇨🇦ZN4
Thanks for subscribing, Brenda! The plant is "honesty", also called "money plant" or "lunaria". I got the seeds in a flower seed swap. Here's some more info I found, if you're curious: plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/lunaria-annua/