Garden Experiments
For the love of gardening and wildlife habitat
Information about how to grow, where to plant, how to propagate, soil and sun requirements, and more for garden plants and flowers. Discover new plants for your garden or learn more about plants already in your garden.
Have you ever found a plant in a garden center that caught your eye, then planted it in your garden, only to have it start taking over? It can be quite the surprise! Many popular ornamental plants are actually invasive species that spread quickly and can disrupt local ecosystems. But don’t worry! This short guide will help you identify some of …
Continue Reading about 10 Common Garden Plants You Might Not Know Are Invasive
As spring arrives, our garden has a carpet of low-growing, bright pink flowers that catch your eye. It’s a splash of bright color before the rest of our garden has awoken. It really is a sight to see. Blooming Time Creeping phlox (Phlox subulata) blooms in late March through May. Flowers come in pink, lavender, magenta, purple, white, and …
Continue Reading about Creeping Phlox: Spring-blooming Ground Cover
As soon as the weather starts to warm, we begin to scour our garden for the first sign of flowers. The daffodils and crocuses are usually the first ones to show up, but if you want a carpet of color in early spring, a low-growing phlox is the way to go. Woodland phlox (Phlox divaricata) forms dense clusters of delicate, fragrant blooms that …
The temperatures are in the 20s at night and barely above freezing during the day this January, and my daffodils are putting out leaves already. What gives? Will the daffodils still bloom in the spring? Should I cover the leaves up to protect them? What should you do if daffodils come up early in winter? Daffodils, irises, tulips, and other …
Continue Reading about My daffodil bulbs are coming up too early. Will they still bloom in spring?
Native Ironweed Feeds Butterflies in Late Summer In the mid to late summer, the deep purple flowers of ironweed start showing up. They stand out in the landscape, not just for the bright color but also because they are so tall. What caught my eye were the many butterflies that land on the flowers to feed. American ladies, monarchs, sulfur …
Continue Reading about Ironweed Grow Guide – Late-Season Butterfly Food
Large, copper or brick-red colored flowers adorn the flower spikes of the copper iris (Iris fulva). Native to wetland areas, this unique plant thrives in wetter soils, making it an excellent addition to gardens with moist conditions. We planted this iris in our backyard in a spot with wet, clay soils. It has flourished, spreading and producing …
Continue Reading about Copper Iris (Iris fulva) – A Native Plant for Wetlands and Wildlife
