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

Spring photos

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Baptisia (False Indigo) is a reliable and long lived perennial here in Minnesota.
Hosta and Bleeding Heart
Early spring scene. The daffodils have finished blooming. The purple flowering shrub in the upper left hand corner is a Jane Magnolia.
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.
Raspberry Splash Pulmonaria makes an early appearance in the spring garden, but it is not overly hardy. Pulmonaria enjoy shade.
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.
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.
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).
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
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.

Summer photos

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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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!

Fall photos

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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.
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.
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.
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.
Great color from a group of Autumn Blaze maples.
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.
(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.
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.

Winter photos

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Asters (October Skies and Bluebird) and Autumn Clematis.
Winter scene. This is a butterfly house, but it is just an ornament. The butterflies never go near it!
The Prairie Fire Crab tree retains it fruit well into winter.
The Blue Birds will return!
Winter scene.
Bird feeder in winter.
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.
A view of the fountain and sunroom in the winter. Bouganvilla of all colors are the mainstay of the indoor winter garden.
Johnston Honey Jar

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