Thank you to all the folks who stopped at our table at the Isanti County Master Gardeners event in Cambridge last Saturday! The Master Gardeners do such a great job of organizing these programs. The keynote speaker was excellent, the classes offered were interesting and informative, and the food – mmm. It started out as a cold & wintery day, but everyone was thinking Spring, and by afternoon it was quite nice outside. I think it was all of the garden and landscape planning that made the weather start to improve.

If you’re in the area, do plan to come to the Chisago County Master Gardeners Spring Gardening Bonanza on March 12 in Center City. They have a number of excellent classes planned – check their blog for more details!

It’s still winter, but we can see indications of the impending change of season. The days are getting longer. My afternoon commute is more pleasant because the day is still bright when I leave work for the day. The sun is starting to drill into the snowbanks, leaving lacy patterns. Our bird watching friends are noticing the first migrating scouts. The days are getting warmer, and the nights are not as cold.
The waves of seed catalogs in our mailbox have started to slow. Now we will start to go through them, keeping the old favorites, discarding the obvious misfits, checking into the few new and intriguing ones. What will we do with the gardens this year? Maybe we’ll take the safe path of repeating last year’s activity, or maybe we’ll try something completely different. Or maybe we’ll compromise, trying just one or two new things.
I hope you’ll keep Landscape Alternatives in mind as you plan your gardening activity. Our native plants are ideal for rain gardens and naturalized areas, but don’t forget that many of them will be right at home in the perennial bed next to cultivated varieties.
What are your garden plans?

Check out our newly refurbished web site! Let us know what you think!

OK, I haven’t made any updates here for a while. That will be changing! In the meantime, check  out our Facebook page: Karl has been posting lots of great pictures!

We had a booth at the Wild Ones spring conference on Saturday, and at the Chisago Lakes Home & Garden show this weekend. Upcoming are the Isanti County Master Gardeners Burst into Spring on March 6, and the Chisago County Master Gardeners Town and Country Expo on March 13. We are also planning to be at the Living Green Expo at the Minnesota State Fair Grounds on May 1 & 2. Watch this space for more information!