Monarch butterfly on 'Will Rogers' zinnias. A couple of weeks ago, Carol Michel, my podcast cohost, told me about a lecture from the Horticultural Research Institute in their tHRIve - WEB SERIES presented by Dr. Daniel Potter, a recently retired urban landscape entomologist from the University of Kentucky. Sadly, the video is no longer available, but we think the information is important enough to share on the Gardenangelists' podcast, and in our podcast newsletter. Monarch butterfly in flight headed toward zinnias. Now, I'm writing a post about it. Why? Because some of their research should change how we plant milkweed and which ones we choose to grow. Here's a quick recap of what we learned. Plant more milkweed. We need 2 billion more stems of milkweed. Urban and suburban gardens are more important than ever as there are fewer places where native milkweed grows in the wild. Everyone needs to...

As usual, I'm a day late for September Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day, but I have good reasons. I had garden coaching clients in Tulsa and Edmond this week. I was also on babysitting duty yesterday, and you know Little Bit comes even before flowers. Garage border and tiered gardens from the side in September. Agastache 'Blue Fortune' looks as tired as I feel. The yellow shrubs in back are 'Ogon' spirea, one of my favorites. Not much change Things haven't changed that much since August GBBD, except the weather is a little more cooperative. It isn't quite as hot--we're only in the 90s now--and the nights are cooler. Each morning when I get up at 6:00 a.m., when it's 66°F, I open the back French doors and listen to the night creatures still singing. The days are growing shorter. I can see a change in the color of the ornamental...

I'm in the middle of an early fall garden rescue. I have six garden problems, 'er weeds, I'm trying to eradicate this fall. While I was traveling, temperatures around the world, including in my own state, soared, and my garden became a tangle of terrible tyrants. The plants you like may die in extreme temperatures, but the weeds march on. The back garden is over 30 years old and is the worst place for these garden problems. Clematis terniflora ripped out from the roots. I need a small spade to dig this one up. Some aggressive plants are true weeds. Others are native adventurers, and some are my own mistakes I planted years ago. Which six garden problems? Let's discuss. Mulberry weed Mulberry weed is the epitome of an aggressive plant. It may look innocent, but mulberry weed is a nightmare. Check out all of those seeds on that stem....

If you're thinking about ordering fall bulbs, read on for what I'm planting this year. Fall bulbs make great spring flowers. Narcissus and tulip border. This runs from the garage to the back garden. Scilla siberica, so tiny and so true blue Scilla siberica 'Spring Beauty', Siberian squill, flowers early and into the middle part of Spring. I grow them for my honey bees because, although tiny, the flowers are the color of an Oklahoma spring sky. The pollen is blue so the honey bees have blue bees' knees which makes me smile. My friend, Layanee, wrote about it on her blog. I wish she'd resurrect it. I loved her blog. She did write one post this year. Scilla bulbs are supposed to multiply, but they don't seem to do it much here. Maybe too much mulch? I don't know. Scilla siberica Scilla siberica, where else can you get blue...