by Jan Cashman It’s fun to watch birds out your window, especially in the winter. If you provide adequate food, shelter, and water for them, you can attract a wide variety of birds to your yard. Many species of birds are found in Bozeman and the surrounding area. Sparrows, finches, chickadees, cedar waxwings, grosbeaks, even … Read more
by Jan Cashman In the heat of the summer, a shade tree strategically planted on the west side of your house can keep your house a lot cooler. But which tree would be the best to plant? The only native trees that grow tall enough to provide some shade are quaking aspen and cottonwoods. However, … Read more
by Jan Cashman Everyone loves the color and fragrance of lilacs in the spring. They are truly the favorite shrub for northern climates because of their fragrant flowers in May and June and their cold hardiness. Here are a few interesting facts about lilacs: Lilac’s genus, Syringa, is taken from the word Syrinx, meaning a … Read more
By Jan Cashman 6/30/08 Roses are everyone’s favorite flower. Their perfect shape, intense colors, and heady fragrance areunparalleled. In spite of the fact that we don’t live in rose growing country, there are quite a few gardenersaround here that grow beautiful roses. How do they do it? It might help to know a little about … Read more
by Jan Cashman The summer gardening season is short here. The first frost kills tender annuals and nipsthe tops of some perennials. Suddenly, our gardens don’t look so good. Here are some ideas to brighten up your gardens and extend the season: Plant fall blooming perennials. Mums, asters, purple coneflower (Echinacea) and brown eyed susans … Read more
by Jan Cashman 5/4/08 Trends come and go in gardening, just as they do in clothing and home furnishings. This year, we are seeing lots of plants with colorful leaves of burgundy, purple, yellow, gold, and variegated combinations of white or cream and green. These plants give color to our gardens even when no flowers … Read more
by Jan Cashman April is the time to start planting shrubs. This year, consider shrubs that are not just pretty, but have edible berries. Intersperse them in your landscape as ornamentals that will also put food on the table. Although most of the berries of these fruiting shrubs are for jams and jellies, some are … Read more
by Jan Cashman In the middle of winter, the green foliage of evergreens gives us color in an otherwise colorless time of the year. One of these evergreens, American arborvitae, is a dense, compact shrub native to northeastern North America. As you can see from the photo, arborvitaes are beautiful in the winter (and summer, … Read more
by Jan Cashman One of Jerry’s favorite poems is As Rare As a Day in June by Lowell. The poem is about plants and animals coming to life in June. June is a favorite month for gardeners because everything is blooming. Gardens have been planted and are up and growing. Lots of the work is … Read more
by Jan Cashman If you’re hiking around our forests with your permit, looking for the perfect Christmas tree, it might be nice to know the correct names of the evergreen trees found there. Even if you don’t go hunting for your Christmas tree in the surrounding mountains, it is good to have some knowledge of … Read more