If I could give you one word of advice to guide your yard care activities during the month of April, it would be “wait.”
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All articles filed in gardening
Rebuilding lost habitat connections, one yard at a time
More than 47,000 people have joined the “Homegrown National Park” in its first five years and these regular everyday Americans have collectively restored 170,000 acres of native habitat.
Here in Washington County, Minnesota, we’ve observed similar enthusiasm over the past twenty years as native landscaping has grown in popularity.
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These are a few of my favorite things
If spring naturally has you dreaming of flowers and gardens, I’d like to encourage you to enhance your vision a bit this year to include native flowers, shrubs, and trees that can help to provide habitat for birds and wildlife and protect our water resources. March is the perfect time to begin planning, and there are numerous resources available to help you get started.
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Fall yard & garden – no it’s not too late to plant!
In the coming weeks, there are several steps you can take to prep your yard and gardens for winter and continue to support pollinators, birds and other wildlife. But, you might be surprised to learn that fall is also a really great time to plant a native garden!
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Submit a nomination for 2025 Natural Shoreline Awards
The Natural Shoreline Award Program recognizes beautiful lakeshore, riverfront and streamside properties that incorporate native flowers, shrubs, trees and plants. Award-winning properties can be located in Chisago, Isanti, Ramsey or Washington Counties.
2025 Program Timeline:
– July 1 – August 7: Call for nominations
– August 7 – 31: Program judges will tour and evaluate shorelines
– September 9: Award recipients are announced
Learn more and submit your nominations.
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Always the right time to plant a garden
To plant a tree or a garden is an act of hope. We hope that the snow will melt and the sun will return. We hope that that neighborhood deer and rabbits will find enough food to eat, though not so much that our garden fails to grow. We hope that the earth will keep spinning, and the rain will fall, that there will be a warm home to live in, and hands to do the work. It’s a small act of courage in an uncertain world, though really, when you think about it, not so small at all.
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Lazy gardening tips for chubby bird enthusiasts
Learn how to create a bird-friendly landscape at your home.
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And it was all yellow
If you peruse the Minnesota Wildflowers online field guide, you will find an impressive 303 species of plants native to Minnesota that all have yellow flowers. Check out this weekend’s Master Gardener Garden Tour or an upcoming event to learn more about gardening with native plants.
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Three ways to help pollinators this spring
The single most important thing you can do to protect pollinators is to plant and preserve native habitat on your land and in your community. Washington Conservation District and Blue Thumb – Planting for Clean Water have resources to help you get started.
Pollinator Friendly Alliance, Washington County Parks, Washington Conservation District, and Wild Ones – St. Croix Oak Savanna are also seeking volunteers to help plant more than 1000 native plants at Lake Elmo Park reserve on Saturday, May 4 at 11am. Visit http://www.pollinatorfriendly.org to learn more and register.
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Leave some for the birds and bees please
I pretended to eat a maggot in the name of science. Once you learn why, you’ll you’ll want to do it too.
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East Metro Water 