Northern Gardener

08/21/2026

Visit us at the Minnesota State Fair for our interactive seed display inside the DIRT wing of the Ag-Hort Building.

Learn about seed appearances for vegetable and flower seeds, germination codes for native seeds, sowing advice and more! All activity participants will get to walk away with a few free seeds to enjoy courtesy of our generous Minnesota Green donors.

We want you to go home with the resources and knowledge you need from the Northern Gardener Tool Shed. Be sure to take our "What Kind of Gardener Are You?" quiz to receive additional tips and follow-up advice!

08/18/2026

Senator Dornick visited and helped harvest fresh produce at the Mower County Master Gardeners location at the Mower County Fairgrounds earlier this month! He joined the children who help maintain this garden space. Children learn about food and gardening supported by our Garden-in-a-Box program and the Children’s Garden in Residence curriculum developed by the University of Minnesota Extension!

A total of 200 pounds of potatoes, tomatoes, onions and summer squash was donated to the Austin Salvation Army Food Bank! We want to thank Senator Dornick for his enthusiasm and willingness to help in the harvest!

08/11/2026

"Good updated look at bee lawns. I learned something and I liked how you went back and forth with the pros and cons of bee lawns."

"Hudson has found a real story here. Not just "here's what bee lawns are" but "here's a credible expert questioning something the gardening world has enthusiastically embraced" and she handles the tension with skill. The sourcing is exceptional: Heather Holm as the skeptic, Marla Spivak as the original innovator who partially agrees, Wolfin defending the research, Evans playing pragmatic middle ground. That's sophisticated multi-source journalism that respects the reader's intelligence. The "dirty doorknobs" virus transmission detail is exactly the kind of vivid, specific science that makes a story stick, and the 40 percent native bee specialist statistic lands with real force. The piece never tells readers what to think, it presents the tension honestly and lets them sit with it."

In last year's fall issue of Northern Gardener magazine, we published a story by Gail Hudson featuring bee lawns and the arguments for—and against—installing these 'buzzy' flowering plants in your landscape.

Nearly a year later, we're proud to announce Gail's article won a Silver Laurel Media Award with Garden Communicators International! The quotes above came from judges at the awards ceremony, highlighting the impartial coverage Gail provided to everyone involved with bee lawns and pollinator plants. It's now on to the Gold Laurel Awards later this month.

Visit the link below for limited-time access to this award-winning article. Then, make plans to visit us at the Minnesota State Fair's Agriculture-Horticulture Building to see some potential 2027 award-winners in our latest Fall issue!

https://northerngardener.org/the-new-buzz-over-bee-lawns/

Photos courtesy of:
Gail Hudson
Twin City Seed Company
Heather Holm
University of Minnesota Extension
Minnesota Landscape Arboretum

08/06/2026

It's Vintage Veggies time! ⏱️
For August, we are highlighting the ever-versatile summer squash! ☀️

Compared to other cucurbits, summer squash grow relatively quickly and require less space, making them surprisingly viable for container gardening!
The rambling vines of a squash plant produce vivaciously in the late summer. If you find yourself with more zucchini than you can eat, gift friends and family some of your crop and share the bounty! 🎁

Read all about zucchini and other summer squash in our August 1990 edition of Northern Gardener Magazine.
Link:🔗https://collection.mndigital.org/catalog/p16022coll64:47525 #?xywh=646%2C684%2C3996%2C2949&cv=25

08/05/2026

A few weeks ago, our Programs Manager, Anna, met up with Project Sweetie Pie to talk with youth in the community about possible careers in the green field. It was great to hear their ambitions, connect with partners, and inspire the future generation of green jobs.

08/03/2026

Many areas in southern Minnesota saw over an inch of rain last Friday—but that doesn't mean gardeners are off the hook! Trees, community gardens and newly planted landscapes are still under significant moisture stress and need our stewardship to continue growing.

While we await this week's drought monitor report from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, we wanted to share our resource from the Tool Shed on Effective Watering Strategies for Northern Gardeners. Visit the link below to read the full article and be sure to share these tips with your gardening friends.

https://northerngardener.org/effective-watering-strategies-for-northern-gardeners/

08/03/2026

07/30/2026

to the Jun/July 1988 edition of The Minnesota Horticulturalist (now Northern Gardener® Magazine), when we published the article "Landscaping for Wildlife: Butterfly, Bee and Moth Plants" by Carrol L. Henderson. 🦋🐝

Although written 38 years ago, this article remains useful and relevant as we work to help feed our pollinators into the modern day! ⏱️

Read the full magazine article (and the rest of the issue!) in the online archive!
🔗https://collection.mndigital.org/catalog/p16022coll64:33714 #?xywh=-634%2C-94%2C2544%2C1877