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Published August 30, 2009, 12:00 AM

Gorgeous gardens


Susan Stokes of Esko has a passion for gardening and enjoys participating in garden tours. Susan believes in giving credit where credit is due and so credits the chipmunks for planting the sunflower seeds that have appeared among her perennials.

  • Susan Stokes of Esko has a passion for gardening and enjoys participating in garden tours. Susan believes in giving credit where credit is due and so credits the chipmunks for planting the sunflower seeds that have appeared among her perennials.
  • Kathy Kelly of Duluth shares these garden tips. Plant shade plants in the shade and sun plants in the sun. Mulch with compost in the spring and manure and peat moss in the fall. Water as needed.
  • Gail Polkoski of Superior turned a former playspace into this garden.
  • Liz Blix of Duluth started out with two smaller gardens but then went to one big garden (40-feet-by-35-feet).
  • Laurie Mattson of Duluth says. “The hosta photo is only a quarter of all the hostas I have. I agree with Tom Kasper; hostas are the best and hardiest flower to grow! I love them for borders, texture, and they are the ‘backbone’ of any garden.”
  • My wife and I have a little garden spot behind our house, below the deck. It’s a perfect place to leave the noise and clutter of the day behind us, and enjoy a little slice of green heaven. The only tip I have is to approach gardening with a gentle, but persistent, diligence. Here are a few photos of this year’s efforts. Enjoy!<br /><br />Submitted by Warren and Beth Post of Duluth.
  • Rebecca Johnson of Proctor's garden before work.
  • Rebecca Johnson of Proctor's yard after work.
  • Emi Schrock grew this 32-pound cabbage last summer as part of the Bonnie Plants Farm’s Third Grade Cabbage Contest to see who could grow the biggest cabbage in each state. Mrs. Burnson, Emi’s third-grade teacher at St. Joseph’s Elementary School in Grand Rapids, gave each of her students a 4-inch cabbage plant in April. We had no experience at all growing cabbage, and we had never tried to grow anything big. We read that cabbage like cold weather, so we planted it outside right away on April 23. A few days later we got hit by a snowstorm! We felt sorry for the poor thing and dug it up and brought it inside. Our cats, having devoured all of their catnip plants over the long winter, found it and ate two of its four leaves. At that point we figured it really was better off outside and back out it went until we harvested it in August. We used only organic fertilizer.<br /><br />Submitted by Sheri Schrock of Grand Rapids
  • "I’ve now officially spent more on deer 'repellent' and technologies than I have on flowers and I have lots of gardens. Luckily, by covering the gardens with sheets, I was able to preserve enough of the flowers to host a garden wedding last week," Barb Soderberg says.
  • Brenda Alanen of Cloquet quit her garden many years ago because the trees grew too large and blocked the sun. But she has now started a new, much smaller, garden behind her house. Considering the size, she’s thrilled she has room for grapes, blueberries, strawberries, rhubarb, potatoes, corn, cucumbers, carrots, peas and asparagus. This year’s secret is water! With the weather warming her plants, they are now in their glory. She plans to learn how to compost next.
  • Carol Andrews of Duluth says to include some native perennial plants in your flower and vegetable gardens.