UPDATE: March 8, 2022: The final in a series of three Second Sunday Garden Forums will be held from 2-4 p.m. Sunday, March 13, 2022, in Iowa City. Project GREEN and the Iowa City Public Library will present the free event at the library, with COVID-19 precautions in place. Learn more from Project GREEN: Andrew […]
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Category: gardening
Freeze warning in Iowa hits later than a...
UPDATE Oct. 31, 2021: Some parts of Iowa have yet to experience a hard freeze or even the first frost of the season. That will change this week, as temperatures are predicted to fall below freezing early Monday, and even colder Tuesday morning. By some definitions, a hard, or killing freeze happens when temperatures dip […]
Iowa gardener forced to remove sunflower...
UPDATE Sept. 7, 2021: Roy Hesemann, utilities director for the city of Cedar Rapids, said due to the Labor Day holiday, the property had not yet been inspected, but was expected to be done this week. In an email, Hesemann said “City Code does not determine which plant varieties are allowed to be planted in […]
Delayed blooms offer surprise
Surprise lilies, also known as naked ladies and several other names, are typically incredibly consistent. If you see them in one person’s garden, like clockwork, you’ll see them all over town. This year has been an anomaly, with the first flowers spotted around July 24, 2021, but then none — at least of any noticeable […]
Cedar Rapids threatens derecho victim wi...
UPDATE July 20, 2021, with comments from Roy Hesemann, utilities director for the city of Cedar Rapids. By Cindy Hadish CEDAR RAPIDS – Tara Farris worked hard to turn blight into beauty after Iowa’s hurricane-strength derecho downed one of the trees in front of her house and the city removed the other. As Farris and […]
Where have all the beetles gone
As usual, my first sighting of a Japanese beetle — on June 24 this year — coincided with the ripening of my raspberries, one of their favorite foods. Iowa has coped with this voracious invasive species since it was first recorded in the state in 1994, but at least in my backyard, 2021 is proving […]
Tour 30-plus gorgeous gardens this weeke...
Organizers canceled the 2020 Project GREEN Open Gardens Weekend in Iowa City due to the pandemic, but the event is back for 2021 with more than 30 gardens, free to tour. Gardens, which include 29 private sites in Iowa City and Coralville, as well as the historic Ashton House and Xtream Arena roof garden, will […]
Gardeners encouraged to share a row with...
Gardeners unsure of what to do with their surplus bounty can participate in the Share A Row program, a community-wide effort to grow fresh produce for those in need. Sandy Rosenberger, Master Gardener Coordinator for Linn County Iowa State University Extension & Outreach, said the program’s goal is to increase the amount of fresh produce […]
Czech Three Kings lore warns gardeners o...
Temperatures that soared into the upper 80s in Iowa and elsewhere in the Midwest this weekend are giving way to overnight lows in the 30s. While a hard freeze isn’t predicted, at least for now, it’s not unheard of to have a late-season frost in Iowa. Czech lore, brought to the United States by immigrants, […]
Spring plant sales a mix of online and i...
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit last year, many plant sales went online or were suspended for the season. At least one of those returns to an in-person sale in 2021, with the Linn County Master Gardeners annual plant sale set for 8 a.m. to noon, Saturday, May 8, at the American Legion Post 298, 625 […]