Strawberries

My neighbor and I were just discussing that we both have non-productive strawberry patches. Here's where it would be nice to have some followers so I could get some feedback! I was about ready to give up on my own little patch but she talked about how her husband was the gardener and she just hasn't known what to do for those strawberries since he passed away, so it would be nice to be able to help her bring the plants back to life.

So... strawberries in Northern Minnesota. What do I need to know? Probably time to pull out my MN Horticulture Society Month by Month Garden Guide.

2010 Garden Wish List

After spending a few hours with my Bluestone Perennials catalog last night, here is my wish list of new plants for 2010 for my woodland shade garden. Any feedback on these picks would be helpful!

Alchemilla Mollis (Lady's Mantle)
Anemone Sylvestris (Snowdrop Windflower)
Baptisia Australis (False Indigo) - for the less shady part of the garden
Cimicifuga racemosa (Black Snakeroot)
Eupatorium Chocolate (White snakeroot)
Filipendula Flore Plena (Meadowsweet, Dropwort)
Geranium catabrigiense Biokovo
Helleborus (Lenten Rose) - though I've never seen this in anyone's garden up here so I'm not sure how successful that will be
Hosta - Big Daddy, Blue Mouse Ears, Sum & Substance, Great Expectations
Lupine - blue shades

For other area in the yard:
Harvest Moon or Summer Sky Echinacea - both are orangish varieties
Cerastium Slver Carpet (Snow in Summer)
Helianthus Microcephalus (Small headed Sunflower)
Sedum - Autumn Fire
Hydrangea - Quick Fire (have one now that was beautiful last year!)
Philadelphus (Mock orange) - Innocence.


This is quite a hefty list. I might need to get a summer job just to pay for all of this!

Pictures from last Memorial Day

Twenty Below!

It seems strange to be starting a gardening blog when the average daily high is 15 degrees. But it's about this time of year when all the seed and perennial catalogs start arriving in the mail that I get anxious for the snow to melt (ha!) and the gardening season to begin.

I have no delusions that I will have any readers of this blog. My primary purpose for this is to feed my gardening addiction! I'm hoping by the end of the 2010 gardening season I'll have a nice record of what worked well in my gardens, what didn't, and more importantly a photo journal to visit during the cold, barren winter months when I'm missing my gardens.

Please feel free to comment, criticize (kindly would be nice), and otherwise give me suggestions on how to make the most of my Zone 3 plantings.