Sharon's favorites
Sharon has a new garden on the hill behind the swing. It was a gift to her from the family for Mother's Day. Planting her garden has been a family affair ever since! The challenge is to find annuals that grow in dry shade, poor soil, and are deer resistant. Any suggestions?
Visit each family member's garden
- Jessica's Garden
See Jessica's favorite garden pictures
- Julianna's Garden
See Julianna's favorite garden pictures
- James' Garden
See James' favorite garden pictures
- Sharon's favorites
See Sharon's favorite garden pictures
- Don's favorites
See Don's favorite garden pictures
- A view of the fountain and sunroom in the winter. Bouganvilla of all colors are the mainstay of the indoor winter garden.
- Winter can be harsh in Minnesota, but a blanket of fluffy snow like this can soften the impact. The larger shrub in the foreground is a Star Magnolia. Its buds are formed in the Fall and must survive the winter to bloom. It is an excellent small tree for our area.
- The Moongold Apricot tree is hardy in Minnesota, but it may fail to bloom after a harsh winter. It is the first fruit tree to welcome the bees in Spring. If the tree is sprayed with a general purpose apple spray, small eatable fruit develop. It must be pollenated by a Sungold Apricot for the fruit to appear.
- Painted Lady butterflies were everywhere this year as the dry weather delayed hatching. This New England Aster was loaded with butterflies and bees for about 3 weeks in Sept/Oct. The dark purple aster seems to attract the most insects. Any flower that attracts bees will similarly be attractive to butterflies.
- Bird feeder in winter.
- Winter scene.
- The Blue Birds will return!
- The Prairie Fire Crab tree retains it fruit well into winter.
- (Ural) False Spirea is a useful plant to grow in a wild garden. It is winter hardy, spreads rapidly, has a nice white plume by mid summer and as seen here, turns yellow in the fall. It is also completely deer resistant and tolerates considerable shade.
- Three-Flower Maple. This is a dwarf maple tree that is seldom seen growing in Minnesota. It is hardy, but is very slow growing! The fall color is spectacular. The longer this tree grows in the garden, the more Don has come to recognize it's value. It's fall color and winter bark makes it a great tree for all seasons. It needs regular pruning.
- Great color from a group of Autumn Blaze maples.
- Purple Dome asters combine nicely with Autumn Blaze maples. The asters tolerate conditions below the trees better than most perennials. The Purple Dome aster is short (12 inches), tolerates some shade and drought and puts on a great show for about 3 weeks in the fall. Deer like it, so be ready to regularly use a repellent like Hinder. They divide easily so more plants are available every spring.
- Dahlias bloom late in the summer and continue to bloom until the first frost. Shown here are the Waterlily variety. Dahlias need to be dug up each fall or new bulbs planted each spring. Don hasn't have much luck with over wintering; finding a dry room with a steady temperature of 35-45 degrees in Rochester during the winter is difficult. It has been easier to simply buy new tubers each year. Dahlias need to be watered and/or mulched to promote growth. They are somewhat attractive to deer, but an ocasional spray with Hinder will effectively deter them.
- Jackmanii Clematis trails over a cedar chair.
- A self seeded Ironweed (center - purple flowers) grows to 10 feet (despite poor clay soil). This plant seems taller and more vigorous than it's parents suggesting the occurence of a unique subspecies. Lighting is everything in the garden (this picture was taken in the early morning and differs significantly from another picture taken for this portfolio in the late afternoon). Ironweed is a fine and reliable plant that generally comes back in the same place yearly, and also provides the gardener with a crop of well disciplined offspring for transplanting.
- Annual Mums need to be planted in the spring so they develop into longer lasting, bigger plants by fall. They occasionally make it through the winter, but don't count on it. A cover of straw might help winter survival. Consider the new winter hardy Mums (My Favorite TM) from the University of Minnesota flower breeding program.
- The Toka Plum tree is a consistently profuse bloomer. It is very hardy and the plums are good eating, but lack the flavor found in the Alderman plum. Like all plum trees in Minnesota, Toka has a short life span. Vigorous pruning may prolong life expectancy. It is best to replace them on a regular basis. They bloom at a young age and grow very fast!
- Two Washington Hawthorne trees in full bloom. These trees consistently flower each spring and produce red berries that persist into the winter, providing food for the birds. The flowers are white and the leaves turn red in the fall. Suckers grow on this tree and it needs to be pruned. It has thorns, but these are not a problem. This small tree grows to about 20 feet. It is fully hardy in Southeast Minnesota. This tree is unusual in this area but is an excellent replacement for crabapple trees.
- This is a sour cherry tree. It is either a North Star or Meteor cherry tree. It blooms consistently each year and always has a good crop of cherries. It is a nice small tree to have just for it's spring flowering. With near perfect timing, it is possible to pick ripe cherries just before the robins start feasting. If left a little longer the racoons will climb the tree and clean it off in a single night. Male racoons weigh up to 50 pounds and frequently break large branches while having desert at the Johnston Honey Farm! Sour cherry trees are a bit like plum trees and have a fairly short life span in Minnesota (10-15 years). Of course some live less time and some live longer.
- 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.
- What Minnesota garden album would be complete without a picture of a Hosta? Who knows which one this is! There are thousands of them, and this one falls into the catagory of white to cream edged types. These plants are difficult to kill, are well behaved and look good.....until mid summer. Try and pick ones that bloom late in summer so as to preserve their attractiveness for as long as possible.
- Common Flowering Quince (?Orange Delight). 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 (Orange Delight). 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.
- Virginia Bluebells get a headstart on spring (front). Autumn Joy Sedum can be seen behind to the right. This bluebell was transplanted from the wild and has since propagated by self seeding.
- Aconitum Arendsii, or Monkshood. This plant is a excellent early spring perennial. It appears reliably each year and remains a point of interest in the garden until October when it blooms. The blooms tolerate mild freezes before finally succumbing to winter's call.
- The Blue Woodland Phlox (background) contributes to a pleasing combination in early spring. Don is not sure about it's hardiness and it could be relatively short lived (bleeding heart - left; Joe Pyeweed - right; Grape Hyacinth - center).
- Pink Fernleaf Bleeding Heart is a very reliable early spring perennial. It doesn't dies back like the old fashion Bleeding Heart and blooms throughout most of the summer. It grows well in shade or sun.
- Purple, white and blue Siberian Iris intermingle with peonies. Both grow well here in Rochester. Most Siberian Iris need to be divided every 4 years or so, although these haven't been divided in years. Every Minnesota garden needs a generous helping of Siberian Irises, Peonies and Daylilies.
- Raspberry Splash Pulmonaria makes an early appearance in the spring garden, but it is not overly hardy. Pulmonaria enjoy shade.
- Merrill Magnolia is fully hardy in Minnesota. However, after a cold winter or a late spring, bloom is reduced. It is fine sight when in full bloom. It has an oval shape and grows to about 25 feet. It needs to be pruned ocasionally to shape.
- Hydrangea Tardiva clump 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. The shrub tolerates a fair amount of shade (shown here), but thrives in full sun.
- Russian Sage atriplicifolia is of the mint family, so bees love it and deer hate it. It is slow to appear in the spring but is a welcome flower in the late summer. It needs space and sun, so don't underestimate it's place in the spring garden. The other species are OK, but atriplicifolia is the best performer.
- This is an unusual aster...tataricus Jindai. It has a more upright shape, broad leaves and scattered flowers. It seems hardy here. The deer like it as they do nearly all asters.
- The Pacific Sunset Maple is a small (30 feet tall) tree that is hardy is SE Minnesota. It is rated for zone 4b. It's color is terrific most years and as shown here seems to tolerate some shade.
- Tall Ironweed - Vernonia. This is a fine plant for the garden that is a little bit on the wild side. It self seeds just enough to provide a few plants each year. It is slow to start in the spring, but it is one of the few perennials putting on a show in the late summer/fall. Bees and butterflies crowd around the blooms. It needs full sun for the best effect. It is free of disease and is totally deer resistant. It seems to self hybridize in the garden and some species will grows up to 10 feet tall!
- Hydrangea paniculata 'Tardiva' is a great shrub for Minnesota. It blooms profusely and at length late in the summer when the garden is at its dreariest. It grows to about 8 feet tall and requires occasional pruning to keep in shape. Rabbits like to chew at the bark in severe winters so keep the base of the shrub wrapped in welded wire, just to be safe.
- Winter scene. This is a butterfly house, but it is just an ornament. The butterflies never go near it!
- Early spring scene. The daffodils have finished blooming. The purple flowering shrub in the upper left hand corner is a Jane Magnolia.
- This is a great trumpet lily for Minnesota - likely the Regale Jumbo Trumpet Lily available from Dutchgardens.com. It comes back reliably each year. Trumpet Lilies can tolerate some shade but need to have full sun to thrive year after year.
- This summer garden is spectacular from July to mid August. In the forground are white coneflower, mid garden are heliopsis of several types and in the background are Jerusalem artichoke (Helianthus tuberosus) standing about 10 feet tall without staking. Asiatic lilies are to the right.
- You can't kill this Plume Poppy! It spreads aggressively but is is easly to control by pulling the nee plants. This plant needs lots of space and is about 10 feet tall.
- Asters (October Skies and Bluebird) and Autumn Clematis.
- Hosta and Bleeding Heart
- Baptisia (False Indigo) is a reliable and long lived perennial here in Minnesota.
- This is a hardy Oriental Lily. Many Orientals die out after a few years. A few, like this one - and it is hit or miss - live on. Deer love them.
- This Ladybell is also known as Adenophora Amethyst. It is a handy plant to have with its only fault is that it is NOT deer resistant. It grows in modest shade and spreads rather aggressively. It can be controlled by pulling the seedlings. It is completely hardy in southeast MInnesota.
- Day Lily (Hemerocallis Fulva) is the wild version that is seen along the roadsides in Minnesota. They most likely escaped from cultivation by European settlers. Spirea are in the foreground.
- Ironweed grows to 12 feet. It can get to 3 feet wide. It is a butterfly/bee magnet and blooms later in summer when the rest of the garden is quiet. It is fully hardy in SE Minnesota. It self hybridizes in the garden and the version in the picture is a little more burgundy in color than the original.
- 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.
- This may be a Harrington's Pink New England aster. New England asters reseed freely and may hybridize. They resent overcrowding in the garden and require full sunlight. Bees love them and deer leave them along when in full bloom. An early season haircut by the deer does not interfere with the fall show.
- A variety of Maximilian sunflower (Helianthus). It grows as a wildflower in the nearby church meadow. In Don's fertile perennial garden it grows to 10 feet and needs to be staked. It can be controlled with an early shearing but doesn't seem to bloom as profusely. It blooms in October and is the latest native sunflower to appear. It resents crowding in the perennial garden.
- Buttonbush is a 6 foot shrub that tolerates wet soil and is deer resistant. It has a bottlebrush like flower that fades to seed pods shown here. Branches die back over the years but it always seems to recover. It is an excellent plant for wet sunny areas.
- This unnamed Kaufmanniana tulip is a reliable perennial, unlike most tulips. It blooms before the larger tulips and nearly all daffodils. It is a beautiful sight on a sunny early spring day!
- Magnolia stellata 'Rosea' is a very hardy small tree that blooms reliably each spring. In the background is the white Royal Star Magnolia, also a very reliable small magnolia tree. Both of these trees grow very slowly, but unlike most magnolia, seem to live beyond the usual 10-15 years. These ones are 20 years old.
- Close up of Virginia Bluebells.
- The flowers of the Gold Heart are as bright and red as the standard bleeding heart. The nearly perfect heart shape of the flower is evident here.
- Bristly Locust Shrub grows to about 8 feet and spreads rapidly. It needs a lot of space because of its spreading habit via suckers. It tolerates poor soil and has attractive flowers.