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Romance Cherries

We have always loved cherries. When my husband, Jerry, was a child, his mother bought some “Flathead Cherries” and he found out that Flathead Lake in Montana was a cherry growing area. (Flathead is not a variety of sweet cherries—many varieties are grown around Flathead Lake.) He loved to eat sweet cherries and although living

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Lilacs

by Jan Cashman 6/13/20 Everyone loves lilacs…and what’s not to love? Lilacs (genus Syringa) are beautiful to look at and wonderfully fragrant. They are hardy in our climate and grow well in our local soils that tend to be alkaline. Lilac bushes are long-lived; they make good hedges. If you choose carefully, you can have

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Why are pollination, pollinators, and pollinator plants so important?

By Jan Cashman 7/20/20                                                 Pollination is one of nature’s most important functions; it is the way many plants reproduce. Pollinators assist plants with reproduction; they take pollen from one plant to another. If plants aren’t properly pollinated, they can’t bear fruit or produce seeds to grow new plants. Many plants are wholly dependent on the

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Why are pollination, pollinators, and pollinator plants so important?

Pollination is one of nature’s most important functions; it is the way many plants reproduce. Pollinators assist plants with reproduction; they take pollen from one plant to another. If plants aren’t properly pollinated, they can’t bear fruit or produce seeds to grow new plants. Many plants are wholly dependent on the presence of pollinators to

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Barberry

There are many reasons why barberries are one of the most popular deciduous shrubs—they are deer resistant, they do well in full, hot sun, and have thorns that keep animals and foot traffic away. They are dense, respond well to pruning, and are hardy. Barberries are dwarf shrubs that are perfect for small planting spaces.

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HOW DID YOUR GARDEN GROW in 2019?

by Jan Cashman 10/13/19 The weather in a large part determines how our gardens and plants grow each year.   This year’s weather was unusual. If you remember, last winter was unusually cold and snowy.   At MSU there still was 16 inches of snow on the ground on March 31. And February and March were the

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