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Enjoy this nice November weather - start your decorating!

October's Peak Performers

The autumn season in Southeastern Wisconsin is usually pleasant and pretty… but the interesting color hues are usually attributed to a variety of hardwoods that thrive here.

Sugar maples, as well as a variety of maple cultivars, contribute to the fall landscape along with deep red sumac, oaks and an assortment of trees.
With all those trees donning their fall wardrobe, it might be easy to overlook other plantings in our autumn landscape.  Shrubs, perennials and annuals contribute color and texture at eye level and ground level; these plantings are also peak performers during October.  A few of my personal favorites:

In the shrub category, I’m impressed with blooms on Hydrangea paniculata ‘Bobo’ which is pictured here.  The genus Hydrangea has a variety of offerings for your enjoyment during autumn:  ‘Pinky Winky,’ ‘White Diamonds,’ ‘Little Limelight.’   Each cultivar produces white or light blooms during summer, but the dramatic colors arrive in autumn (shades of pink, burgundy, green, tan).   Dried blooms can be incorporated into floral arrangements as well—with or without a wisp of spray paint on the blooms!

In the perennial category, an obvious autumn charmer is Sedum ‘Autumn Joy’ stonecrop. This plant is monochromatic during summer—usually a light green— but the stems are sturdy and support developing flower heads.  When fall arrives, the deep pinkish blooms appear and mature to a copper color.   Although I grow a few types of tall sedum, ‘Autumn Joy’ is my favorite during October.












In the annuals category, I can’t resist these dainty ornamental peppers called Capsicum annuum ‘Twilight.’  After purchasing seeds in New Mexico and planting those seeds in early MAY, I was impressed with their performance all summer long.  They formed tiny upright peppers in early JULY, which were purple and pretty!  Later, purple faded and red-orange colorants emerged; ‘Twilight’ provides a spark of color in the autumn landscape.  (After these peppers die from frost, I will toss them under our shrubs to deter critters from munching on stems during winter.  ‘Twilight’ is rated higher than 30,000 units on the Scoville heat scale.)



M. Lynn Schmid,  Certified Master Gardener
A.A.S. Landscape/Horticulture/Arboriculture

Fun & Educational field trips for your group this Fall :)

Pleasing those Pollinators!

A garden can be a butterfly banquet, providing you offer a colorful array of nectar-and-pollen rich host plants for butterflies to feast upon. Butterflies (and other beneficial pollinators) provide a vital function in the garden, pollinating flowers and vegetables as they flutter among the plants.

This afternoon our backyard garden had a variety of winged visitors… hummingbirds, yellow swallowtails, and bumblebees. Each visitor was drawn to the Monarda blooms, which provide nectar and pollen for all. My favorite cultivar of Monarda is ‘Raspberry Wine’ (hardy to Zone 4) with its vivid magenta flowers that invite pollinators during the hottest weeks of summer. Monarda, also known as bee balm, stands nearly four feet tall and grows aggressively so requires some space in the garden. (It has square stems which can be an indication the plant will spread. The ‘Raspberry Wine’ cultivar thrives in a sunny location and is also resistant to powdery mildew.)


Besides butterflies, bumblebees hover over the Monarda blossoms, gathering nectar and pollen granules continuously. I watched a yellow swallowtail for several minutes, gathering nectar from various flowers; she wasn’t deterred by the bumblebees. These bees have velvety bodies which are ideal for collecting pollen and moving it from blossom to blossom. If you watch closely, sometimes bumblebees use a vibrating technique to loosen pollen granules, allowing them to collect more pollen.
Each gardener can assist our bees, hummingbirds and pollinators by planting pollen-rich plants, as well as host plants for female butterflies to deposit eggs. Ideally, a succession of blooms throughout the growing season will keep these desirable pollinators coming back to YOUR space. (One of my horticulture instructors taught us to include flowering perennials within the borders of the veggie garden. This keeps pollinators coming back to your garden. Thanks for the great tip, Ms. Laurie Weiss!) Here are a few pollinator attracting plants: coneflower, milkweed, geranium, liatris, hyssop, lavender and… monarda!

M. Lynn Schmid,
Certified Master Gardener A.A.S. Landscape/Horticulture/Arboriculture

Join us for our Fireflys & Fairies event TONIGHT! 5-8pm

Join us for a summer evening in our gardens! Wear your wings, play some games, see the trains & get your face painted too! 

Create your fairy garden at our workshop with your family!

FREE admission to this event :)

See u soon!

'Tis the Season.... for Japanese Beetles

With the onset of hot summer days, our trees, shrubs and flowers are lush and lovely, beckoning us to savor the beauty each provides for our viewing pleasure.  

Of course, hot summer days also mark the arrival of adult Japanese beetles to our landscapes; these insects with their voracious appetites do NOTHING to enhance our summer gardening experiences!  

Adult Japanese beetles (Popillia japonica) can decimate blooms and foliage of more than 300 species of plants (they cannot be considered picky eaters!)  Some of their favorite deciduous trees are in the genus Tilia.   The foliage of Tilia cordata (little leaf linden) and Tilia americana (American linden or basswood) are extremely attractive to adult Japanese beetles.   However, I also encountered an infestation on the thick foliage of Quercus bicolor (swamp white oak).  These beetles can skeletonize foliage on ANY plant they visit from June through August! 

The genus Rosa provides another culinary delicacy for these adult insects; in the photos I took at a botanical garden this week, the beetles were congregating on Rosa floribunda ‘Cherish.’  Rose bushes provide a perfect gathering place where they meet and mate all summer long!  These gorgeous ‘Cherish’ blooms have no defense against the ravages of a Japanese beetle infestation.  

Even the buds are a favorite gathering place for these little destroyers… 

“Little” is a relative word.  Popillia japonica is much larger than a lady beetle or ladybug.  Measuring 3/8” (10mm) long by 1/4" (7mm) wide, Japanese beetles sport iridescent rust-colored wings and barbed black legs. Beneath their wings a patch of iridescent lime green appears, but it’s not apparent when wings are closed.  Japanese beetles are classified as arthropods in the order of Coleoptera.   Adult females often deposit their eggs in lush, irrigated turf throughout summer and early fall.   The larvae, when hatched, feed upon turf roots causing brown, dead patches of grass.  These larvae are “C” shaped white grubs with brown heads. 

Originally from Japan, in the early 1900’s the Japanese beetle was introduced into the USA accidentally from plants brought to NJ.  The beetles have found ways to migrate to other states, and in 2015 for the first time, they found my raspberry patch in Southeastern Wisconsin.  I captured and drowned dozens in soapy water (the preferred method for organic gardeners to kill this little destroyer.)  However, they ate most of the tender buds, preventing berries from developing.   Result:  a scant yield of twelve raspberries from nearly one hundred canes!  

Keep containers of dish soap/water solution in covered containers in your garden areas.  Scout for Japanese beetles often; new migrations can arrive daily.   Drown in soap water—do not “squish” them— or a pheromone is released that will attract more beetles to your garden!  

M. Lynn Schmid,   Certified Master Gardener

A.A.S. Landscape/Horticulture/Arboriculture