Julianna's Garden

Julie's garden is under the Basswood trees at the back of our property. The deer often pass by Julie's garden looking for snacks! She likes to choose flowers that the deer don't like.

Visit each family member's garden

Spring photos

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Mandy is waiting for lunch in the birdbath.
The Beauty Bush is a reliable large shrub. Occasionally, during a hard winter, branches die.
Amsonia Blue Star is a reliable and long lived perennial in Minnesota.
The tree peony is completely hardy in southeast Minnesota.
Blue Woodland Phlox
Walkway in morning sun.
Martigon Lily leaves (wild lilies) appear early in spring. This bulb was planted 13 years ago and has very slowly multiplied. It should be divided since it hasn't spread much of late. It is a consistent bloomer and is a lily that does well in the shade. Martagon lilies live longer than most hybrid Asiatic Lilies. The downside is that the avarage cost per bulb is about $15.00. They will seed themselves after some winters and provide more bulbs.
One of the first plants to appear in spring, Ligularia Desdemona is an excellent plant for shady areas and clay soil. It is hard to kill and it seeds in a very mannerly fashion to provide transplants. It gets droopy in bright sunlight.
Cornelius Cherry. This is a unique fruit tree that is completely hardy in Minnesota. Several varieties are available from One Green World Nursery in Oregon. The enlongated fruit from this shrub is red and lingers for weeks before dropping off or being eaten by birds. This is a very special plant. It looks like it will be long lived.
Grape Hyacinth - Muscari. This is a nice early spring bulb that appears to multiple over the years. It blooms for several weeks and then dies back allowing summer plants to take over the garden.
Allium Globemaster appears in the early spring. This clump of 6 stems has developed from a single bulb planted 13 years ago. Although difficult to establish, this bulb is reliable if sucessful. It blooms for about 3 weeks. Visitors often ask about this plant.
Common Flowering Quince. The Quince are really a zone 5 plant. However, our Quince have survived for years here in zone 4b. They wax and wane depending on the previous winter. The winter of 2003-04 was relatively mild. Still, blooms tend to occur at the bottom of the shrub and only a few quince actually make it to maturity.
Common Flowering Quince. The Quince are really a zone 5 plant. However, our Quince have survived for years here in zone 4b. They wax and wane depending on the previous winter. The winter of 2003-04 was relatively mild. Still, blooms tend to occur at the bottom of the shrub and only a few quince actually make it to maturity.
Cleveland Pear is a ornamental flowering pear tree. It survives in zone 4b, but took a hit after a particularly cold winter 5 years ago. However, it survived where nearly all other pears, ornamental and fruitbearing died. As shown here, it has made a good recovery. The pears flower a week or 2 before the crabapples.
One of the first perennials to bloom in the spring, this Dicentra Luxuriant (bleeding heart) continues to bloom throughout most of the summer. It is resistant to deer and disease.
Apple trees are hard to photograph! The blooms are not as robust and plentiful as plum trees. This is a Honey Crisp apple tree and blooms more profusely than most apple trees. There is nothing like a beautifully scented apple tree to shake off the winter blahs. Honey Crisp is the most sought after apple in Minnesota. It is also the most expensive to buy in the grocery store. It has rock star status right now! They taste great! Unfortunately, they are hard to grow and need a strict program of spraying to keep looking nice. It is a heavy annual producer.
A Red Splendor Crabapple tree is shown in the foreground and a Snowdrift is seen in the background. Crabapple trees are very popular here in Rochester. They are difficult to kill, and reliably bloom in the spring. The problem is that the bloom lasts only a week, and many become unsightly in the summer as disease takes it's toll on the foliage. The Red Splendor produces bright, red berries that persist throughout the winter. Early arriving robins eat them in the spring. They also attract the occasional pileated woodpecker. Red Crabapples blend nicely with newly budded Colorado Blue Spruce in this picture.
Red Splendor Crabapple trees line the driveway. Crabapple trees are very popular here in Rochester. They are difficult to kill, and bloom reliably in the spring. The problem is that the flowers last only a week, and many trees become unsightly in the summer as disease takes it's toll on the foliage. The Red Splendor produces bright, red berries that persist throughout the winter. Early arriving robins eat them in the spring. They also attract the occasional pileated woodpecker.
A pink Hyacinth buckles under an early Spring snow. The snow did little perceptible harm to this Hyacinth.
Bridle's Wreath Spirea is a reliable bloomer and is spectacular for a week or two. It is a low maintenance shrub, although it helps to prune the old stalks out in Spring and give it a trim after blooming.
This Ohio Buckeye Chestnut might develop into something larger if planted in a nice sunny location. Unfortunately, it is located in Julianna's shady garden. The best time to transplant larger trees is in the very early Spring as soon as the ground thaws.
There are hundreds of Narcissus varieties each with special characteristics. Here in Minnesota the long lasting, mid-season blooming, naturalizing bulbs are the most rewarding. This looks like a Narcissus Cherry Spot.
The Moongold Apricot is the first fruit tree to bloom in the spring. After a harsh winter, it may not bloom. It requires a Sungold variety nearby for pollination. The Apricot can be short lived and underproductive if care is not taken to protect the trunk from the winter sun and proper pruning is not maintained. Still, it is a welcome sight in the spring!
Purple Siberian Iris are a mainstay of the perennial garden. They are of limited interest to the bees, and the same can be said about the deer. The foliage remains in good shape for the summer making this a nice plant for the entire gardening season.
Single red herbaceous Peony. Bloom times can be staggered to extend the season, but for each variety, 2 weeks is about as long as a peony will bloom. Peonies are an incredibly sturdy plant and last for decades. They are completely deer proof.
The American Beauty Bush is a rarity in Minnesota, but has bloomed 6 out of 10 years. It dies back in cold winters, but always comes back. It is not planted in a sheltered location.
Theresa Bugnet hardy shrub rose. This is a fine rose for about 2 weeks, and then it succumbs to fungus. This is aggravated in this location by excessive shade. Reblooming is nonexistent.
Verigated Hosta stand out in the shade garden and are a staple of the Minnesota garden. It's almost impossible to kill a Hosta. Their only drawback is that they are attractive to the deer. Regular use of Hinder spray will control this problem and the deer will eventually leave the Hosta for something more attractive, hopefully in the neighbor's garden.

Summer photos

(27 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 (the one in the picture happens to be a double flower). 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.
Close up of the Virgin's Bower Vine flower, also known as Wild Clematis. It is a nice vine that is completely hardy here in Minnesota. I reseeds all over the garden so be careful. It grows in all sorts of conditions.
Ligularia japonica is a different kind of Ligularia. Planted in very moist ground it will spike up to 6 feet and spread over 3 feet. It is completely deer resistant.
Red Monarda or Bee Balm is a nice plant when in bloom. It is rather uninteresting in spring and after blooming it needs to be cut back to keep tidy. In bloom it is a stunning plant, attractive to bees and highly resistant to deer. Marshall's Delight (light pink in color) is the most fungus resistant of the cultivated varieties, while the wild Bee Balm - purple in color and taller than the cultivated Bee Balm - is immune to fungus.
Turtle head - chelone obliqua. This is a wonderful addition to the Johnston Honey garden. It is very adaptable and grows in most any soil, including the clay that predominates here. It is very shade tolerant and deer resistant. It tolerates drought and wet soil equally well. Hotlips is a popular version of Chelone, but don't be fooled by the new comer. The Obliqua is still the one to grow!
Hydrangea Tardiva tree form. This is a great shrub, either as a tree or clump. It blooms late in summer when the perennials have given up. The dried blooms persist into winter. It needs wire protection in Fall from the scraping of buck's antlers. In winter, without wire, the deer tend to nip at the branches but nothing too serious. You would probably want to trim the branches in late winter anyway.
Hydrangea Tardiva tree form. This is a great shrub, either as a tree or clump. It blooms late in summer when the perennials have given up. The dried blooms persist into winter. It needs wire protection in Fall from the scraping of buck's antlers. In winter, without wire, the deer tend to nip at the branches but nothing too serious. You would probably want to trim the branches in late winter anyway.
Don has worked hard to establish an attractive mid summer perennial garden. The mainstays of this garden are the rudbeckia goldstrum, ironweed, wild sunflower (Jerusalem Artichoke) Heliopsis helianthoides (Oxeye Sunflower) and Chelone. A scattering of annual Impatients also helps.

Fall photos

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Anemone Robustissima - this is the one Anemone that seems to tolerate Minnesota's winters. Not completely hardy, but acceptable. Does well in moist, semi-shaded conditions.
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. The dinnerplate variety are huge and need staking. 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.
Of all the shrub roses, The Fairy blooms the most. It is also long lived as long as it is covered each fall. It looks like this most of the summer and unlike all other shrub roses, it doesn't take a rest.
Arendsii Acontium finally bloom in late October. This shade tolerant plant will survive several frosts before finall succumbing to winter. It is one of the first perennials back up through the newly thawed ground in spring. This plant is truly a 3 season perennial for the shade. It is poisonous if eaten (animals seem to know this without testing the plant first).
Aster October Skies. This is a great plant that keeps coming back year after year. It is resistant to fungus and grows up early in the year, looking good even before it flowers. One plant can take up a lot of space.
Aster Bluebird is very resistant to fungus. It stands about 2 feet high and occasionally seeds itself so that new plants can be obtained. It is not invasive. It is an excellent fall plant. However, it needs to be protected from the deer.
Autumn Blaze maples. These trees showed more color than most maples in the fall of 2004, but even this color is muted compared to a good fall foliage. These are soft, fast growing maples, prone to limbs breaking off if not pruned correctly. Branches should have an L shape as they exit from the trunk, not a V shape (these break easily). Also, the tree should be pruned at an early age so that a main leading trunk develops.
Fall Fiesta sugar maple. This is a new release from Bailey's Nursery in St. Paul. Even in the poor fall year of 2004, the colors were more vibrant than other sugar maples. It also grows faster than the older sugar maples. Remember that bucks love to rub the velvet off their antlers on young maple tree trunks in the fall. Be sure to wrap the trunk with a 4 foot high piece of chicken wire. This will expand with trunk growth, so if put on loosely, you won't have to keep replacing it. This tree has a bigger piece of welded wire around the trunk left from when it was a smaller tree and the lower branches needed protection from marauding deer.

Winter photos

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Yellow Hosta are deer resistant.
This oriental lily tolerates some shade, but too much shade will lead to a gradual decline in plant vigor. The Sunburst locust tree overhead provides light shade, but a nearby Autumn Blaze maple is quickly growing and the shade is increasing.
Hyacinths grow reasonably well in Southern Minnesota. In contrast to this lonely individual, they need to be planted in groups to maximize appeal. Their scent is terrific. Deer like to snack on them.
Washington Hawthorne tree retains it's berries well into winter.
Winter scene.
The Amur Maple retains it's leaves in winter.
Amur Maple stand along the split rail fence. These small trees can be a treat, but some varieties, including these often fail to turn bright colors in the Fall. Flame Amur Maple provides consistent Fall show. Amur Maples tend to widen over the years, and require a lot of pruning to train 4-5 main trunks. It is not uncommon for one or two trunks to die only to be followed by a rapidly growing replacement branch.
The Merrill Magnolia is a wonderful small tree for Minnesota. It grows to about 30 feet, is very well behaved, has yellow leaves in the fall, and needs very little pruning. It's buds are formed in the Fall and must survive the winter to bloom.
Johnston Honey Jar

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