Dig This!

        Master Gardener Bonnie says, "I've never posted on the blog but I purchased this Baptisia from Dyck Arboretum 2 years ago and it is beautiful."  Bonnie sent this gorgeous picture of her blue baptisia, commonly called Blue False Indigo, the scientific name is Baptisia australis.  There are other colors for the popular indigo plant, Baptisia alba has cool white spikes. There are also Yellow Wild Indigo, Baptisia tinctoria, and B. sphaerocarpa. The Indigo plant seems to be a native herb and grows in dry poor soil. The yellow indigo grows erect, with many branches, is leafy and grows to 2 to 3 feet. Although a perennial, it like a Peony, does not like to be divided. If you try, be sure to get down deep to get the taproot and most of the rest of any root system.     Indigo is an early summer bloomer, it likes sun but can take part shade. Too much shade reduces the blooms. Indigo attracts butterflies and is a showy plant. I

Most gardeners are aware of NOAA (National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration), as we keep one eye to the sky and one to the garden with both ears listening to the weather. NOAA tells us over the past 20 years, the U.S. has averaged 51 annual lightning strike deaths.    We have all been taught the safety measures we should take during a storm, including "take cover". Trees are subject to whatever the storm may do to them and are frequently a conduit in sky to ground bolts.   The tree responds by the sap heating to the point that it explodes, causing bark to fly off the tree and huge splits in the tree.    While the damage to the tree may be severe, it does not necessarily cause the death of the tree. On May 27, a fast moving storm marched thru Hutchinson.   At around 2 AM, there was a crash loud enough to levitate most of us at least 6" off the bed, then the storm moved on. The next morning, we realized we were victims of the crash, as our