You’ve turned in after a productive day of gardening. Beginning to doze off, you feel something ever so slightly brushing against your thigh. You reach and feel a small hard object crawling up your leg. Lights on. It’s a tic, ambling along, looking for a nice warm place to suck your blood! It is tick season and there is good reason to be wary.

As the snow melts this spring, you may observe trails of dead grass in your yard. Or, you may find that the bark near the ground of your small trees or shrubs has been chewed bare. What is the cause of this damage that occurred over the winter? Most likely, the culprit is voles. Read this article learn more about voles and how you can reduce the damage they may bring to your yard.

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On September 22, the path of our Sun crossed the equator, headed south. We all know what’s coming to Minnesota: longer nights and lower temperatures. Our beautiful gardens are dying back, leaves are changing to stunning colors before dropping and blowing away, and many of our warm weather birds are departing for warmer climes.
But some birds say in Minnesota year-round and other birds fly south to our state from the Arctic. We all enjoy watching beautiful, colorful birds in the winter. Here are some ideas for helping our winter resident birds make it through a Minnesota winter.

The Eastern Red Columbine is an erect, branching perennial, up to 2 ft. tall, and is well known for its showy red and yellow flowers. Here are some reasons why they may be a great addition to your landscape.

Many of us associate worms in the soil as an indicator of “good garden soil.” Unfortunately, that is not necessarily true in Minnesota these days. “Jumping worms” have become more common in local gardens recently and that is not a good thing. Read this article to understand why.

Pear trees can be just as easy if not easier to grow than apples! Find out how in this article. I am sorry to report that Partridges are a mostly ground-dwelling bird, so you’ll likely not see any in your trees.

In 1485, Leonardo da Vinci designed the first helicopter, though it was never built. 454 years passed before Igor Sikorsky finally developed an aircraft that could fly forwards, backward, straight up and straight down, and hover in air. Hummingbirds, meanwhile, have existed on our planet for roughly 42 million years and fossils of these aerial acrobats, dating from 30 – 35 million years ago, were unearthed in Germany in 2004. Those fossils reveal that the early ancestors of these birds, that capture our awe today, also hovered and flew in any direction they pleased.

Now that the plants in our gardens are starting to bloom, we are also seeing insects on those plants. Some of those insects are certainly pests but others are actually beneficial. We know how pollinators are beneficial insects - many of the foods we enjoy rely on pollinators for fruit and seed development. But how do we identify other insects that are beneficial to our gardens and landscapes in other ways? Read this article to find out!

Calling all Family Insect Investigators! Along with plants and people enjoying the summer, many insects are traveling around in our yards and parks, too. Gather your family and friends in July to investigate insects in the Minnesota outdoors. Learn how to identify insects from other types of bugs, view some common Minnesota insects and how to do your own investigations of these creatures.

We know that most insects in our garden are beneficial. But when we find insect damage on our beloved flowers, vegetables and fruits, it’s hard not to focus on the damaging insects. A good gardening practice is to keep abreast of the latest research on how to attract good insects and adopt pest management practices to minimize damage from the “bad” insects. By seeking out research-based information on good and bad insects, you can learn about potential damage and a range of control options to make well-informed decisions about managing the pests in your Minnesota garden. Read this article to learn more about good and bad insects and how to tell the difference.

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources defines an invasive species as “species that are not native to Minnesota and cause economic or environmental harm or harm to human health.” This article defines and identifies the invasive species that can cause harm to the economy, environment, or human health.