Peyton’s Potting Shed

07/06/2025

Our last seed order for this year has arrived! New species we will have for Fall and Spring are :
Bush's Poppy Mallow
Jack in the Pulpit
Maximillian's Sunflower
Golden Alexanders
Prairie Smoke
Royal Catchfly
Wild Petunia
Wild Sweet William
Wild Strawberry
Wild Hyacinth

If you would like to know more about these seeds, be sure to check out : https://kswildflower.org/commonNames.php

07/05/2025

So you've planted your garden and you are patiently awaiting those pollinators to arrive, what's next? How about listing your garden as a Monarch Waystation and getting it listed on the national registry!

Did you know you can view a list of all registered Monarch Waystations in your area by looking them up on this list? This also helps if you are searching for layout guidance for your own waystation by seeing how others have created theirs.

We are proud to have our area listed as a National Monarch Waystation and we think you should too! 🐛❤️

https://monarchwatch.org/waystations/

07/04/2025

A new pollinator to our garden! Maybe a Fiery Skipper?

https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/50340-Hylephila-phyleus

07/04/2025

Happy 4th of July to all of our gardening friends! May your day be both blessed and safe!

Photo by Ann on Unsplash

07/04/2025

A great message from Arnold’s Arnold's Prairie Greenhouse & More.

07/03/2025

Soil health is an important topic that assists in the success of your plants. No matter if you are planting in the ground, in a raised bed or a pot, introducing helpful fungi is one important ingredient you don't want to forget.

Many commercial potting soils have this beneficial fungi (not to be confused with a fun guy, those are totally separate), that assist plants in developing healthy roots for optimum plant growth.

Next time you purchase your preferred potting medium, be sure to read the label and not only the price, as it matters just as much as what is in the soil, as does the cost. Just because the bag is more expensive doesn't necessarily mean it is better, just a helpful tip!

https://extension.okstate.edu/programs/gardening/grow-gardening-columns/grow-columns-2020/june-21-2020-beneficial-fungi.html #:~:text=Mychorrizae%20are%20fungi%20that%20develop%20a%20partnership,supply%20the%20mychorrizae%20with%20water%20and%20carbohydrates.

Photo by Neslihan Gunaydin on Unsplash

There are lots of culinary uses for fungi.

07/03/2025

This is what happens when you take a day of vacation, turn your alarm off, and experience the best sleep in your life, sleeping past 9:00 AM. You miss the morning blooms and pollinators. Oh well! Here are some from last evening! Enjoy!

07/03/2025

Black-eyed Susan’s are members of the Rudbeckia genus and often times, thought of as being only one species. But the diversity of this genus shows many species are available to add to your garden, so don’t be afraid to utilize a few different species to add that pop of yellow color for years to come.

And besides, how can you not love the cheerful presence of this beautiful wildflower in your garden? It proudly yells “goooood morning” to all that witness its beauty.

Oh… and they are also pollinator host plants as well.

Find more information on the native species that are present in Kansas and learn more about the species of pollinators it is a host plant for at the included links. You won’t be disappointed!

https://kswildflower.org/flower_details.php?flowerID=180

https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=ruhi2 #:~:text=more%20at%20BAMONA-,Gorgone%20Checkerspot,Learn%20more%20at%20BAMONA

Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center focused on protecting and preserving North America's native plants through native plant lists and image galleries, conservation, education, natural landscapes, seed collection - Millennium Seed Bank (MSB) Project, preserving and restoring native communities, sprea...

07/02/2025

Sunflowers. Ahhhh, need we say more? Their beauty and presence in a garden or simply along a fence row, brings such an ambiance that hints at rural living and country aesthetic at its finest!

But sunflowers have a much bigger role in your garden beyond bringing natural beauty, they provide many vital opportunities to pollinators as well. Oh…. And they are the state flower of Kansas.

The article below has many valid, great points to support the benefits of growing sunflowers in not only your garden but anywhere in your yard. Be sure to click on the link at the bottom of the article for great information about each of the varieties to plant!

https://www.vpm.org/2023-06-23/sunflowers-for-pollinators

07/02/2025

If you have recently found a few of these critters on your milkweed and neighboring plants, don’t panic! They are common insects that go hand in hand of the ecosystem in which milkweed lives.

They won’t harm the plants anymore than your monarch caterpillars and rarely if ever kill the plants. However, if they do bother you, you can give them a good spray from the garden hose and that should remove most.

Here is an interesting article about the insects that use milkweed or Asclepias variety plants, to their benefit to survive.

https://hort.extension.wisc.edu/articles/common-milkweed-insects/

07/01/2025

A great article on ridding your plants of aphids.

If you grow milkweed, you will most likely have aphids. I constantly get asked, “How do I get rid of the aphids on my milkweed?” Read here for my answer: http://butterfly-lady.com/aphids/

06/30/2025

Two out of three seed orders came in today! New species we will have starting this Fall and the others in the Spring:
Rose Mallow or Hibiscus lasiocarpos
Aquilegia canadensis or Columbine
Baptisia alba or White wild indigo
Echinacea pallida or Yellow coneflower
Eryngium Yuccifolium or Rattlesnake master
Glandularia Canadensis or Rose verbena
Heliopsis helianthoides or Oxeye sunflower
Marshallia caespitosa or Barbara's buttons
Mimulus Alatus or Sharpwing monkeyflower
Penstemon cobaea or Purple beardtongue
Ratidbida pinnata or Grayhead coneflower
Silene Virginica or Fire pink
Symphyothrichum oblogifolium or Aromatic aster
Asmonia Tabernaemontana or Eastern blue star
Dicentha cucullaria or Dutchman's breeches
Chichorium intybus or Chicory

Be sure to watch our page for availability! And don't worry, starting them in the Fall is NOT too late, remember, they are native perennials and they are designed to survive!

If you would like to see what these look like, please visit: https://kswildflower.org/commonNames.php