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Ann Bartlett
Jun 6, 2020
The Weavers
The highlight of the gardening season for master gardener volunteers in west-central Nebraska was our garden tour. This all-day event,...
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Ann Bartlett
May 30, 2020
Time for Tea Trivia! (Tidbit)
Did you know that June is Iced Tea Month? June 10 is National Iced Tea Day. Let’s celebrate by learning a trivial factoid about tea:...
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Ann Bartlett
May 23, 2020
Joy of the Mountain
Origanum, the botanical name of the oregano family, contains 45 species and six sub-species of perennials and sub-shrubs. They are native...
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Ann Bartlett
May 16, 2020
NIce and Easy
Looking for a low-maintenance, problem-free, long-lived shrub? Look no farther than the viburnum. Know as “cranberry bush” in Europe,...
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Ann Bartlett
May 9, 2020
If You Can’t Be with the One You Love
As my first Mother’s Day in this area approached, I was amazed by the fabulous bouquets families were bringing to cheer up hospitalized...
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Ann Bartlett
May 2, 2020
Aztec Tears
We may call them French or African but marigolds are native to Mexico. The Spanish who came to the Americas took them home where they...
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Ann Bartlett
Apr 25, 2020
Living Antiques
I have often promoted the use of heirloom roses in the landscape. They are easy to grow, rewarding the gardener with vigorous, long-lived...
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Ann Bartlett
Apr 18, 2020
Monarchs and Milkweed
Milkweed is a North American native plant that is a food source for hundreds of small creatures but critical for monarch butterflies....
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Ann Bartlett
Apr 11, 2020
Lovely Lily
Every gardener has an irresistible favorite flower. Mine is the lily. I buy lilies from catalogs and on impulse in garden centers. With a...
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Ann Bartlett
Apr 4, 2020
Battle of the Blues
Until 1856 when Sir Henry Perkins accidentally discovered a mauve-colored coal tar product, all dyes were from natural sources. Most (but...
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Ann Bartlett
Mar 28, 2020
Spice Up the Patio Pots
Herbs are plants valued for their usefulness. Cooking with herbs certainly comes to mind, but they are also used for fragrance,...
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Ann Bartlett
Mar 21, 2020
Beautiful Containers
The famous garden designer Gertrude Jekyll grew containers of flowers to fill in dull spots in perennial borders. As a longtime perennial...
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Ann Bartlett
Mar 14, 2020
Bountiful Containers
Growing garden-fresh veggies gets more popular every year. It allows us to experience truly vine-ripe tomatoes and other fruits harvested...
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Ann Bartlett
Mar 7, 2020
Containers 101
Container gardening has much to recommend it. It allows those of us with few sunny sites to make the most of what we do have. It brings...
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Ann Bartlett
Feb 29, 2020
Fifth Saturday Tidbit: Peas in Pods
I confess that I’ve always loved peas. When I was a young child, frozen peas were sold as rectangular bricks that were a tad bigger than...
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Ann Bartlett
Feb 22, 2020
Mannerly Climbers
In Nebraska, we gave into “old house fever” and bought a gaslight-era place that needed a little TLC. There I indulged myself creating a...
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Ann Bartlett
Feb 15, 2020
Adventures in Gardening: Rambling Rose
About 30 years ago I began collecting heirloom roses. Inspired by the large arbor we had built over our patio, I succumbed to the Wayside...
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Ann Bartlett
Feb 8, 2020
Jurassic World
At the end of the Carboniferous Period, radical changes occurred on the planet. Approximately 335 million years ago, the continents...
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Ann Bartlett
Feb 1, 2020
Meet the Fern Family
Vascular plants, those with specialized tissue for the circulation of water and nutrients, evolved more than 400 million years ago. Early...
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Ann Bartlett
Jan 25, 2020
Carpet of Green
Our backyard is dominated by a grove of trees. When we first moved to this place there was a grassy area between the house and the grove....
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Ann Bartlett
Jan 18, 2020
Some Like It Hot
Is there anything more welcome on a cold winter day than a bowl of chili? Red or white, vegetarian or with meat, it warms from the inside...
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Ann Bartlett
Jan 11, 2020
Blueberry Hill
In the early days of the new year, gardeners everywhere dream of new projects. You might be thinking about growing your own...
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Ann Bartlett
Jan 4, 2020
Winter’s Weedy Wonderland
Early last spring a fellow master gardener and I volunteered to tidy up two pollinator gardens that the Tennessee Aquarium had helped...
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Ann Bartlett
Dec 30, 2019
Holiday Greens
Last month I read an illustrated article about holiday foods around the world. It is always interesting to learn about special treats in...
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Ann Bartlett
Dec 15, 2019
Holiday Jewels
Pomegranates, Punica granatum, are only briefly available in stores here. They are in season between September and February with the main...
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Ann Bartlett
Dec 7, 2019
Time for Thyme
At this time of year I love to peruse cooking magazines in pursuit of fresh takes on holiday side dishes or a new twist for everyday...
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Ann Bartlett
Nov 30, 2019
November Tidbit
The holiday season is officially in full swing. Many folks may celebrate by popping a cork or two. Cork grows on trees. The cork layer...
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Ann Bartlett
Nov 23, 2019
An All-American Fruit
Would Turkey Day seem complete without cranberry sauce? Whether we love it or loathe it, most of us will not be without this uniquely...
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Ann Bartlett
Nov 16, 2019
A Tale of Two Tubers
Few topics have sparked more discussion among my old garden club buddies than the age-old conundrum: What is the difference between sweet...
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Ann Bartlett
Nov 9, 2019
Red for Remembrance
In Flanders fields the poppies blow Between the crosses, row on row, That mark our place; and in the sky The larks, still bravely...
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Ann Bartlett
Nov 4, 2019
Olive Oyl
The olive harvest is in full swing. It began in late September as the dark green fruit matured to a light green. All olives will...
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Ann Bartlett
Oct 26, 2019
Black Magic
Many years ago I read a magazine article about a woman who tore out her two-year-old professionally-planned landscape because she had to...
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Ann Bartlett
Oct 19, 2019
Tulip Time
Does any flower trigger more impulse buying than the tulip? I confess to perusing every colorful catalog that lands in my mailbox. When I...
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Ann Bartlett
Oct 12, 2019
Battling Bambi
No topic leads to enthusiastic discussion at a rose club meeting more than dealing with deer. Both members and visiting speakers share...
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Ann Bartlett
Oct 5, 2019
Oktoberfest
Tomorrow is the last day of Oktoberfest in Munich, Germany. The festival began in 1810 as a celebration of the crown prince’s marriage...
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Ann Bartlett
Sep 28, 2019
Can Two Become One?
Grafting, or joining parts of two plants so that they grow as one, is a commonly employed technique in the nursery industry. It is a...
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Ann Bartlett
Sep 21, 2019
September Song
Each year as we pass through the fabled dog days, I notice the changing angle of the sun in my garden even before the shortening days...
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Ann Bartlett
Sep 15, 2019
When Bad Things Happen to Good Gardeners
Much of the time when bad things happen in the garden I just accept that we can do nothing about the weather. It is what it is and it is...
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Ann Bartlett
Sep 7, 2019
Marvelous Mahonia
One of the most striking shade-loving plants is mahonia. This family of evergreen shrubs is native to the woodlands of Asia and North and...
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Ann Bartlett
Aug 31, 2019
August Tidbit: Apothecary Gardens
Horticultural gardens in Europe began as apothecary gardens. Universities established them on their grounds so that medical students...
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Ann Bartlett
Aug 24, 2019
Time for Tea?
Though we are a nation of coffee drinkers, during the dog days of August iced tea is popular everywhere. In this area “sweet tea” is the...
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Ann Bartlett
Aug 17, 2019
For All the Tea in China
Tea is the quintessential Chinese product. For millennia only the Chinese knew how to grow Camillia sinensis and how to process the...
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Ann Bartlett
Aug 10, 2019
Summer Showstoppers
One of the loveliest summer blooming landscape plants is the hydrangea. The genus contains at least 80 species of deciduous and evergreen...
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Ann Bartlett
Aug 3, 2019
Dog Days
It’s that time of year again: The dreaded “dog days” of summer when it is so hot and humid that gardeners have to rise early to scurry...
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Ann Bartlett
Jul 27, 2019
Bursting with Blue Blooms
After an herbicide incident killed a mature shrub in the midst of a hedge row, we decided it was time for a fresh start for the front...
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Ann Bartlett
Jul 20, 2019
Hit the Road
Summer is upon us and area gardeners might enjoy a break from weeding. Let’s explore some opportunities for quick getaways, day trips...
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Ann Bartlett
Jul 13, 2019
Ladies' Fingers
If there is one vegetable that thrives throughout a long, hot summer, it has got to be okra. In theory, it should do well wherever corn...
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Ann Bartlett
Jul 6, 2019
Water Witch or Wizard?
Ah, the dog days of summer when the gardener can relax and reap the harvest of spring’s hard, hopeful efforts. Alas, while the sun tea...
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Ann Bartlett
Jun 29, 2019
June Tidbit From The Master Gardener
Gardeners should wash clothing worn while spraying pesticides in a separate wash load. Run an empty washer load after washing that...
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Ann Bartlett
Jun 24, 2019
Pest Control Sum-Up: How Big Can My Sunflower Climb?
Pest control has been the topic of the month. There are many ways for gardeners to achieve acceptable levels of pest populations. Pests...
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