By RICK WILLIS Star-Herald Staff Reporter “Take two inoculations and call me in the morning.” Homeowners should be preparing to medicate their trees. Conditions prevalent in the Panhandle cause pine trees to be especially vulnerable to drought, wilt, beetles, moths and sun and windburn. In Torrington, stress from drought,... 

A Prairie Garden Journal 2006 I have spent many years observing the above ground portion of trees and other plants in an effort to better understand how and why they grow (or not grow, as the case may be) in the widely variable locations that we humans and also Mother Nature plant them. So it has been an unusual treat for... 

A Prairie Garden Journal 2007 I am often asked if I have favorite plants, and I can answer without reservation that I don’t. That said, I do have a list of plants, or more precisely a list of types of plants that I think are essential to a successful Wyobraska landscape. These are plants that meet two criteria—1. they... 

A Prairie Garden Journal 2007 That old philosophical question about a tree falling in the forest turned out not to be so philosophical this past week on Scottsbluff’s 5th Avenue. Trees fell on 5th Avenue, and the sound of their falling is still reverberating throughout the community. Click to read full article  Read More →

strong>A Prairie Garden Journal 2007 We hear a lot about the plants that are struggling and declining as a result of what appears to be consistently warmer summertime temperatures, and I will admit to having been more on the lookout for plants that are suffering from the heat in recent weeks. Click to read full article  Read More →

A Prairie Garden Journal 2007 Special Ssection about the Blue Spruce Decline in the Panhandle Over the past 15 years, the Theatre West Garden Walk has very ably documented a significant change in the composition and design of Wyobraska gardens and landscapes. Typical of the changes are more perennial flowers and ornamental... 

A Prairie Garden Journal 2007 Unfortunately, one of the most versatile groups of shrubs for Wyobraska landscapes is also one of the least known by local homeowners. Ask the average Wyobraska homeowner, “What’s a viburnum?” and you’re likely to get an answer that has something to do with a device that eases muscle... 

A Prairie Garden Journal 2007 The day was sunny. We hadn’t caught any fish to speak of on this particular once or twice a year fishing trip that one or two of his sons got to take with their father. Perhaps that’s because fishing trips were often scheduled in the middle of the night, as a heavy thunderstorm passed over... 

A Prairie Garden Journal 2007 No, they’re not the three kinds of adolescent slasher movies showing at the Monument Mall this weekend, it’s how you select your flower and foliage plants to get those dramatic flower-filled planters, pots, and containers that you’ve been seeing in catalogues and magazines all winter. Click...