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Gardening in Minnesota is all about identifying what thrives in a harsh climate, is resistant to deer and rabbits and stays in flower the longest. Perennial gardens change constantly; the key a good garden is to have plants of interest throughout the seasons - daffodils and peonies in the spring, shrub roses in early summer, Rudbeckia Goldstrum in late summer, asters in the fall and ornamental grasses all winter.

Take a tour of the Johnston Honey Gardens and see what works and doesn’t’ work here in Southeast Minnesota.

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Helianthus 'Lemon Queen'. This is a very vigorous,. large sunflower. It blooms for 2 months, late in the summer when other perennials have long since given up. This plant is fully hardy in zone 4 and it tolerates some shade. Bees really love it!
Nearly Wild hardy shrub rose is the best shrub rose available. It survives the coldest winter, blooms consistently and profusely early in summer and then again in early fall, it is relatively deer resistant (the deer still like it!), and it is highly disease resistant. There is nothing better!
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.
Pink Turtlehead or Chelone is a great plant. It is completely deer resistant, tolerates drought and thrives in wet ground. It does particularly well in shade. It blooms in the fall for an extended time and is very attractive to bees. It provides winter interest and is easy to cut down in the winter or spring. The cut stems can stay on the ground and serve as mulch. The white version is not hardy and the new Hotlips version is less vigorous, albeit darker green and shorter in stature.
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.
Heucherella Stoplight. This shade plant looks good spring, summer and fall. It faithfully retains it's leaf color without the slightest hint of deterioration until winter (tolerates frost). In spring unimpressive flowers appear on stems. This plant is better than any of the new Heuchera's (Marmalade, Lime Ricky) for maintenance of leaf color.
Putting it all together. Purple Phlox in the foreground reseeds to survive. Yellow Heliposis in the background bloom for months. Ironweed (left tall plant) grows to about 10 feet and blooms in late summer. This garden is dense enough to prevent weeds from getting a start. Surrounding trees must be pruned in the winter to keep deep shade from taking over.
Dark Mullein, Verbascum nigrum is a tall biennial plant that is impossible to get rid of! It reseeds to the extent of being a bit of a nusiance. It is indfferent to soil or moisture and thrives in sun while tolerating shade. As you can see, it has a place in the cottage garden. Another plus - it is deer resistant.
Deer resistant hosta??? You are looking at one. It seems that hosta with yellow color in their leaves are unattractive to deer. This variety is unnamed but is passed by deer every day and remains in great shape. Green and blue hosta nearby are regularly eaten and must be sprayed with the deer repellent Hinder.
This shady pond does not have a problem with algae. Exposure to sun is one of the most important factors in the development of pond algae.
Hollyhocks grow well here in Minnesota. They reseed from year to year providing blooms each summer. They are very attractive to deer and the plants must be surrounded by wire.
Waterfall and pond - midsummer. This pond is prone to Algae and is resistant to all forms of treatment except chlorine! Don has discovered that shady ponds are much less prone to algae.
Shades of green cover this dry creek. To the right is Silver Feather ornamental grass, Miscanthus floridulus is to the left and flowering raspberry (Rubus Odoratus) is at the back. Purple Loosestrife is in the center.
Hostas and Bishop's Weed form a nice combination in the shade.
Echinacea - Big Sky Sunrise. This is one of the new colored Coneflowers. It seems to be vigorous and capable of producing volunteers, suggesting that stands of these coneflowers will form, similar to the old fashion Purple Coneflower stands.
A stand of Purple Coneflower. The flower color is less intense when grown in the shade (front). This reliable perennial is at risk of being displaced by the many variations of Coneflower now coming on the market.
An old stand of Rubeckia Goldsturm. Fungus has invaded the stand and a fungicide is needed in the summer to keep them from turning black. The fungus has spread to most of the other stands of Goldsturm at the Johnston Honey gardens. Goldsturm growing in shade is resistant to the fungus.
It's hard to get a perspective on the height of this plume poppy, but it is about 10 feet high! You need lots of space for this perennial. It comes back from root, suckers and also seeds itself (some call it invasive). It is very hardy, and makes a bold statement, if you have the room. It's a cool plant, but not one you will find in many nurseries.
Butterfly Bush - perhaps Buddleia davidii 'Windy Hill', which is a little hardier than most. This group of plants has been in this spot about 10 years. After mild winters, the plants come back from the roots. After hard winters (none lately) they come back from volunteers scattered around a large area. These naturally seeded plants are transplanted back to the Butterfly Bush area and are fully grown and ready to bloom by mid summer. They are a spectacular sight and bloom from mid summer to late fall. They are totally deer resistant.
Day Lily - recurrent bloomer. If you can name this variety you should buy it because it is a recurrent bloomer that really extends the bloom time of day lilies. The standard recurrent blooming day lily Stella D'Oro has nothing on this unnamed plant!
University of Minnesota's Hardy plant program (www.maes.umn.edu/MNHardy) developed these Mums. They seem to be winter hardy and these ones, Centennial Sun - yellow; Centerpiece - pink; Minnwhite - white, bloomed in mid summer, rather than than fall as Mums are suppose to. Johnston Honey Gardens is testing all the Minnesota hardy Mums and early results indicate that Autumn Fire is a nice one.
Black Beauty oriental lily (foreground) is one of the oriental lilies that do well in Minnesota. It is nearly covered by Silver Feather ornamental grass. Rudbeckia Herbstonne is in the background.
Rudbeckia Herbstonne is a tall version of the Rudbeckia Goldsturm. It thrives in fertile soil, but struggles in poor soil, gradually dying out over several years. It blooms for most of the summer and doesn't require staking if grown in full sun.
Tiger Eyes Sumac was developed by Minnesota's very own Bailey's Nursury. The spectacularly yellow-green leaves stand out all summer. Fall color is a yellow-red. Rabbits like to eat the stems in winter so wire is helpful. However, the shrub comes back even when the stems are completely debarked. Suckers form as far as a yard away from the main stem, so leave lots of space for this plant, or plan to weed. Hydrangea Tardiva (tree form) stand in the background. Endless Summer Hydrangea bloom to the left.
Hydrangea Tardiva (tree form) bloom during late summer when the day lilies(front) are spent. Dahlias are just beginning to bloom (center). Besides blooming when little else is, the dried blooms of Tardiva look nice all fall and a good part of winter. The shrub is moderately resistant to deer. The trunks should be surrounded by wire to prevent rabbit damage during harsh winters.
Citronella Tiger Lilies grow in the middle of this garden (www.dutchgardens.com), bordered (top) by Jerusalem artichoke, and Heliopsis (front). All are hardy in Minnesota.
The tall (10-15 feet) flowers in the back are Jerusalem artichoke (Helianthus tuberosus). The tubers can be eaten and taste like potatoes. They need to be protected from the deer. Heliopsis (center), lilies (right) and white Coneflower (front) complete the picture.
This Oriental Lily (variety unknown) tolerates quite a bit of shade, but develops an overly tall stem that requires staking. It's a spectacular flower for a couple of weeks in the summer. It is hit or miss as to which varieties of Oriental Lilies thrive in Minnesota.
Snakeroot or Bugbane (Cimicifuga Racemosa) is a wonderfully reliable plant for partial shade and poor soil. It is also very attractive to bees. Seedlings appear after certain winters, neatly spread out around the parent and these are very easy to transplant. It takes 3-4 years for the plant to become established but then it just never goes away.
Collection of new Coneflowers. All the new coneflowers seem to do well in the Johnston Honey garden, even the double decker version ('Razzmatazz'). It generally takes 3-4 years for a Coneflower stand to become well established.
Annabelle Hydrangea. This shrub does well in the shade, and thrives on neglect. It should be cut back to the ground each winter. It gradually spreads and can be easily transplanted. It's only limitation here in Minnesota is that the deer like it.
Gooseneck Loosestrife is very hardy and not all that invasive. It tolerates some shade. A nice, reliable plant.
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