Plant a Container

Even though we garden on an acre in the ground and in raised beds, I wouldn’t be without my containers—at least 40 of them. Large pots sit on our front stoop, flanking the doors, and at the head of paths. Strawberry pots filled with tiny alpine strawberries perch on garden walls while canna lilies bloom in pots set among perennials in the shade garden and sunny borders. I use containers in the vegetable garden and alongside the greenhouse. Containers filed with soilless potting mix let me change my plantings every year—vegetables, annuals, perennials, tropicals—it’s fun to experiment and if you have limited space, pots and window boxes are the way to go. Check out our container gardening videos.

Join a Club

Whether it’s a local garden club, a birding group, a photography club, an Earth day celebration, or a plant society, joining any one of them will give you access to like-minded gardeners and experienced hobbyists. You’re bound to discover new ideas and make new friends and perhaps acquire new plants through members’ plant exchanges and sales. There are clubs for native plants and specialty plants ranging from bamboo to sedum and everything in between.

Grow a Bird-friendly Landscape

Birds are an important means of pest control in our garden. They scoop up plenty of insects and caterpillars that would otherwise chomp on our tomato plants and squash leaves. (And they are so entertaining to watch.) We set out nest boxes for them and plant trees and shrubs, such as native serviceberry and winterberry to provide food. But of all the birds that visit, I love watching ruby-throated hummingbirds. One of their favorite plants is the annual salvia. They also seek nectar at liatris and tithonia (Mexican sun flower).

Read Up

Pick up a book, make some herbal tea and pull up a chair in the garden. I’m partial to garden history books, especially those dealing with Victorian-era gardens. Here are some of my favorite titles at the moment:

“Native Plants of the Midwest” — Alan Branhagen (Timber Press)

“Tallgrass Prairie Wildflowers” — Doug Ladd (Nature Conservancy and Falcon Press)

“Bringing Nature Home: How You Can Sustain Wildlife with Native Plants” — Douglas W. Tallamy (Timber Press)

“Insects and Gardens: In Pursuit of a Garden Ecology” — Eric Grissell (Timber Press)

“Butterfly Gardening: Creating Summer Magic in Your Garden” — The Xerces Society and the Smithsonian Institution (Sierra Club Books)

“Gardening for Butterflies” The Xerces Society (Timber Press)

“Caterpillars in the Field and Garden: A Field Guide to the Butterfly Caterpillars of North America” — Thomas J. Allen, Jim P. Brock, Jeffrey Glassberg (Oxford)

“The Midwestern Native Garden” – Charlotte Adelman, Bernard Schwartz (Ohio Press)

“Pollinators of Native Plants: Attract, Observe and Identify Pollinators and Beneficial Insects with Native Plants” — Heather Holm (Pollination Press)