Jessica's Garden

Jessica's garden is at the top of the hill behind the house. It is a sunny garden, and Jessica likes to pick bouquets of brightly colored flowers. The parade starts in April, when the daffodils appear above the frozen ground. It finishes in the autumn when the Asters put on their remarkable display of color and swarms of bees visit for one last taste of sweet nectar.

Visit each family member's garden

Spring photos

(35 photos) click on photo for larger view and caption

This woodland garden contains Miss Kim Lilac, bleeding hearts turtlehead and Ligularia (all deer resistant). The Ligularia need a lot of moisture.
The tree peony is completely hardy in Southeast MInnesota.
The large pond in late spring. Everything is green!
Epimedium Rubrum (Barrenwort) is a surprisingly sturdy, albeit, delicate spring plant for the shade garden. It expands in size over decades not years, especially when located in deep shade. There are many varieties available but we suspect that only a few are reliable here in zone 4. This is a subtle plant, easily overlooked on a garden tour!
Spring in the garden. Daffodils are blooming. Certain daffodils return year after year without thinning and replanting. Others die out after 5-10 years. Don will identify the ones that last for decades in a later update.
Bright yellow spring follage of the Ninebark. The Ninebark is a hardy shrub that has small white flowers in the spring. Older branches need to be pruned out every year or two.
Magnolia Jane. The blooms appear before the leaves. More blooms after a mild winter. Recurrent blooming tends to occur into summer. The tree is perfectly hardy in Southeastern Minnesota.
Close up of a Toka Plum tree. This tree puts on a termendous flowering display each spring. The plums are decent, but not quite up to the standard set by Superior and Alderman. Toka are needed to provide pollination for other varieties of plum trees.

Summer photos

(33 photos) click on photo for larger view and caption

The Monarda or Bee Balm is a long lived plant that no garden should be without. It is low growing in the spring (did it make it through the winter or not?), but has a growth spurt before blooming. This red version is probably Gardenview Scarlet and is a standout when in bloom for about 3 weeks. It needs to be cut back after blooming and unfortunately, leaves a hole in the garden for the rest of the season. It doesn't like to be crowded by other plants.
Small pond with Rudbeckia in the foreground and Karl Foerster ornamental grass on either side. Both tolerate some shade.
Hypericum is a 2 foot high shrub that is covered with yellow flowers by mid-summer. The flowers are extremely attractive to bees. The shrubs pictured here died back after a few years and did not respond to aggresive pruning. It is deer resistant and demands full sun. It is more attractive than Potentilla.
This orange Clivia is indistructible. It blooms in shade on the patio in July and must be brought indoors for the winter. It continues to look nice and green indoors with practically no care. When all risk of frost is gone out it goes on the patio again.
Veronicas seem to underperform here in southeast Minnesota. Once the bloom is done, they need to be sheared to tidy them up.
Aster Frikartii is an early blooming aster that tolerates shade. It is a reliable, hardy plant here in Zone 4.
According to the experts Purple Loosestrife is a noxious weed and is banned from the nurseries. It will overtake shallow bodies of water, but in a garden it is beautiful and well behaved. It definitely likes wet soil but is perfectly happy in regular garden conditions too.
Yellow Peony - Bartzella. This is an intersectional or Itoh peony which is a cross between the tree peony and the standard garden peony. It is resistant to peony fungus and the blooms don't fall over. The flower shape and array of color comes from the tree peony. It is fully hardy in southern Minnesota and totally deer resistant. A great plant!

Fall photos

(16 photos) click on photo for larger view and caption

the Fall Fiesta sugar maple is a very attractive hard maple. It tolerates wet clay in this location. That's Silver Feather ornamental grass in the foreground.
Don grows Dahlias for their impressive size and late summer/fall beauty. There are thousands of names plants, which means little once they start to bloom. This pink, unnamed variety is an especially strong variety. Behind it is the shrub Hydrangea Tardiva. The bulbs need to be dug every fall after the first frost and stored in wood shavings in a cool (40-50 degrees F) spot.
Witch Hazel Hamamelis virginiana is hardy to zone 4 and survives in some very poor conditions. It tolerates shade and poor soil but thrives in sun and fertile soil. Note the subtle yellow, ribbon like flower petals that appear in late fall.
Sweet Autumn clematis suffers from a name idenity crisis. It is also known variably as Clematis paniculata, C. maximonowicziana and C. terniflora. It is a terrific fall bloomer. It is scented, vines up to 20 feet and is covered in white blossoms for a month. The problem with this plant is that it is not completely hardy in Rochester, MN. It is such an important contributer to the fall garden that you should consider replacing it on a regular basis.
Sweet Autumn clematis suffers from a name idenity crisis. It is also known variably as Clematis paniculata, C. maximonowicziana and C. terniflora. It is a terrific fall bloomer. It is scented, vines up to 20 feet and is covered in white blossoms for a month. The problem with this plant is that it is not completely hardy in Rochester, MN. This might be overcome to some degree by not cutting it back until spring. It is such an important contributer to the fall garden that you should consider replacing it on a regular basis.
Emerald Carousel Barberry. This shrub has abundant yellow flowers in early spring, green leaves all summer, and a beautiful red color in fall. It is deer and disease resistant.
Emerald Carousel Barberry. This shrub has abundant yellow flowers in early spring, green leaves all summer, and a beautiful red color in fall. It is deer and disease resistant.
The Autumn Blaze maples turned more yellow than red this fall. Lots of rain allowed the trees to produce more Chlorophyll later into fall than usual. Thus, softer yellows not brillant reds dominated.

Winter photos

(6 photos) click on photo for larger view and caption

The Amaryllis bloom indoors in the winter. Here is a great way to keep the bulbs healthy and blooming year after year. Place the plant outdoors after the last frost in the spring and fertilize. Bring the potted plant indoors in the fall, cut the leaves off, let it dry out until November-December, then start watering again. Plant in a larger pot so that the bulb has room for daughter bulbs to develop over the years.
Prairie Fire Crab tree retains it's apples well into winter.
Winter cottage scene.
Ornamental Pear in winter.
Winter scene.
Colorado Blue Spruce contrast with the surrounding Deciduous trees following an ice storm.
Johnston Honey Jar

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