CEDAR RAPIDS — Generations of families have made a tradition of visiting the Noelridge Greenhouse for an annual open house. This year’s Easter Showcase is set for Saturday, April 20, and Sunday, April 21, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the greenhouse at 4900 Council Street NE. Admission is free. The first 500 children […]
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Category: gardening
Is this Friday good (enough) for potato ...
Gardening folklore calls for planting potatoes on Good Friday, but that date can fluctuate from the wintry throes of March to somewhat balmy days in late April. In 2019, Easter falls on the latest date in nearly a decade, April 21, placing Good Friday on April 19, weeks later than last year’s Good Friday on […]
Solon couple transforms acreage into nat...
By Cindy Hadish/for Iowa Gardener Nearly two acres of turf grass continues its transformation into a nature-friendly habitat in rural Solon. Cindy Reed and her husband, Steve Lamer, have been working on that evolution for seven years, with a design by Iowa City-based Backyard Abundance to create a sustainable landscape featuring fruit trees and bushes, […]
How to (hopefully) save a frozen rain ba...
(UPDATE: Nov. 30, 2021) Since this de-icer experiment, the rain barrels have successfully captured rain water in subsequent years, and lesson learned to empty them before ice forms. This fall, they were perhaps emptied too soon, as Iowa is predicted to experience 50-degree temperatures, even into December. A week or so before Thanksgiving every year, […]
Preparing for an early frost
Some parts of Iowa may experience frost Saturday morning, which would be early for the first frost of the season in Iowa. Temperatures are predicted to dip to the low 30s between Sept. 28-29, which wouldn’t necessarily be a killing freeze, but gardeners can take precautions to be on the safe side. If frost is […]
Pretty and practical potting sheds
By Cindy Hadish/for Lure magazine Call them potting sheds, garden houses or “she sheds” – the female equivalent of a man cave – these outdoor sanctuaries are growing in popularity for homeowners, not only for practical purposes, but for entertaining and aesthetic appeal, as well. Take a look at several of these backyard beauties in […]
Nature Watch: the sphinx, or hummingbird...
This is the time of year that gardeners notice larger spiders and interesting insects, including one that resembles a hummingbird. Hummingbird moths, the common name for hawk or sphinx moths, are often mistaken for hummingbirds, with the rapid pulse of the moth’s wings resembling that of its namesake. Whitelined sphinx is one of the many […]
Surprise! Lilies make early appearance
This year has been one surprise after another, with extremely extended winter weather into April, followed by sweltering summertime heat in May. Many fall bloomers were in full glory by mid-July and already a few days ago, surprise lilies, which reliably come up at the end of July or early August, were making their annual […]
Magic in miniature: fairy gardens move i...
By Cindy Hadish/for Lure magazine Josh Spece, co-owner of In the Country Garden & Gifts, was on the cutting edge of a garden trend when his shop in rural Independence opened seven years ago. Fairy gardens were coming in vogue at the time and have since seen their popularity soar, moving into the mainstream with […]
Battling the return of the Japanese beet...
Hopes for a late appearance of the Japanese beetle were dashed when I saw the first cluster of the voracious pests on June 22, a few days to more than a week earlier than I’ve spotted them in the past. The excruciatingly late winter weather in Iowa, which dragged well into April, was followed by […]