I’ve noticed that mint really likes being repotted in a larger container. We repotted our peppermint in The Herb Garden this spring. The result was a lush and gorgeous plant! I didn’t repot my mint at home, and it stayed small and scrawny.

I’ve already begun anxiously watching the weather forecasts, as I’m nervous of the possibility of another stretch of weather with little or no rain. If this happens, everything changes for the gardeners at Minnetrista. We go from making improvements in the landscape to the basics of trying to keep plants alive. We can maintain the gardens with little rain, but it takes planning and thoughtfulness on how we water. For your own garden at home, keep the following tips in mind to help take some of the guess work out of watering plants correctly.     

Did you know that some types of ferns can be red, purple, or even copper in color? Or that some ferns spread rapidly, some gradually, and some don’t spread at all?

I’ve learned this and more about ferns recently. That’s one of the great things about being a Minnetrista gardener—I learn new things every day. 

It’s time to stop by your favorite garden retailers to pick up some plants for your summer garden. Before doing so, here are some plants you should avoid or at least use with caution. 

Hi, my name is Clair Burt, and I’m a full-time gardener at Minnetrista. I’m in charge of the ornamental gardens, including the Rose Garden and Culinary Herb Garden, among others. Right now I’m really enjoying the spring weather and all of the beautiful flowers that are blooming. I even like coming to Minnetrista on my days off to enjoy the blooms and snap some pictures.

March is a busy month.  Apple trees are getting their annual maintenance pruning, branches are being cut for a project on the riverbank, and early spring flowers are blooming!

Is there more to putting a garden together besides simply picking pretty plants? You bet! When considering overall garden design: plant placement, form, color and leaf texture all play a vital role in giving a garden a dazzling appearance.

There's been a lot of buzz at Minnetrista lately about rain gardens. I had a foggy notion of what a rain garden was. A garden full of rain? A garden built to attract rain, like a rain dance? Really, I had no idea.

We have now officially entered what Dustin, one of our Gardeners here at Minnetrista, calls "the dry season." For the past few years we've noticed having quite a lot of rain during the spring months, almost too much to really be able to do many spring projects in the garden. However, as July rolls around the rain just disappears, as if someone turned off the rain switch.

Storm water management and rain gardens go hand-in-hand. A rain garden allows rainwater to collect and soak naturally into the ground before it flows into the river. The ground naturally filters out pollutants. One of our big garden projects in 2011 has been the Rain Garden that runs along the White River Greenway.