Clik here to view.
Shade Plants in Their Natural Habitat
On vacation in early July, some friends and I explored Devil’s Lake State Park, Wisconsin. Rocky and rainy, with lushly forested slopes, it is a very different landscape from my beloved Kansas. While...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Little Known Natives
Our FloraKansas Plant Sale is the largest native plant sale in the state of Kansas. We do our best to provide a wide selection of native and adaptable perennials that will grow reliably, but will, over...
View ArticleClik here to view.
A Short List of Sun-Loving Favorites
This time of year as we greet the true arrival of spring and the FloraKansas Native Plant Festival, I am asked quite a few questions about native plants. Often people ask about how to establish their...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Plant Profile: Rattlesnake Master (Eryngium yuccifolium)
There are quite a few native wildflowers that everyone knows – coneflowers, gayfeathers, prairie clovers, evening primrose and so on. But when I tell folks to try some rattlesnake master, Eryngium...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Plant Profile: The Versatile Viburnums
In addition to our interest in native trees, shrubs, wildflowers and grasses, one of the goals of the Arboretum is to grow plants which, while not native, are adapted to the rigors of the central...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Stately Natives
This past Monday, at the swearing in of the new Kansas governor, some native plants from Dyck Arboretum got their time in the limelight. Cuttings from our grounds of evergreens, red twig dogwood, big...
View ArticleClik here to view.
A few plants for your sunny spot
Over the past several months, as I have been working on landscape designs for homeowners, I have been noticing a few trends. First, homeowners are increasingly interested in native plants. They...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Woodland Phlox
Few plants are as visually striking to me in spring as woodland phlox with its showy lavender color, blooming mid to late April in Kansas. Woodland phlox (Phlox divaricata) is a woodland understory...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Shade Plants in Their Natural Habitat
On vacation in early July, some friends and I explored Devil’s Lake State Park, Wisconsin. Rocky and rainy, with lushly forested slopes, it is a very different landscape from my beloved Kansas. While...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Plant Profile: Possumhaw Holly, Deciduous Holly
If you have been walking through the Arboretum over the past few weeks, you probably noticed the deciduous holly. Ilex decidua gets so much attention because of its incredibly lustrous fruit of red,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Short and Sweet: Short Plants for the Prairie Garden
Prairie gardens can sometimes be seen as messy. I have heard it many times while discussing garden plans with Arboretum members. They don’t want it to look too wild. This is a very natural tendency;...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Shrubs for Wet Areas
Last week while splashing around in a lake in Missouri, I noticed a shoreline of shrubs blooming and covered with pollinators. And wouldn’t you know, someone had just recently asked me to recommend...
View ArticleClik here to view.
New Favorite Plants
Every plant sale I find myself enthusiastically telling customers, “This is my favorite plant!” And every plant sale, that plant changes. Lets be honest, every DAY that plant changes! I am always...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Beautiful Bluebeard
Caryopteris, also known as bluebeard, is a family of shrubs native to Mongolia and northern Asia. When I first started working in the nursery trade, I regarded bluebeard as just another in a long line...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Pandemic Picks for the Prairie Landscape
Do you have an out-of-the-way plot of ground that needs to be vaccinated from the maladies of soil erosion or a lack of biological diversity? Is this planting area safely physically distanced from...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Plant Profile: American Beautyberry
This time of year, I look for those little surprises in the landscape that extend the season of beauty in the garden. Asters in September and October and the native grasses in the late fall and...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Silver and Gold
Even when the mercury drops and the snow flies, I am still thinking about gardening! Winter is the best time to sketch and plan; to dream up additions to your landscape so you are ready to install...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Keystone Natives for the Food Web
Last week during my Native Plant School class, I had an interesting question posed to me and it made me pause to think. The question was “Do you have a list of keystone native perennials for a...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Keystone Natives for the Food Web, Part 2
A couple weeks ago, we laid the ground work for enhancing the food web by listing some of the keystone species gardeners should include in their landscapes. When choosing plants to support insects,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
New Plants: Part I
There are no new plants; they aren’t flying in on a spaceship from a galaxy far, far away. But when it comes to Florakansas Native Plant Festival we try to keep the inventory fresh by always adding...
View Article