Peyton’s Potting Shed

11/19/2025

Fall is a great time to take a few hours and make sure all of your plants are marked before the Spring Season. When Spring arrives, plants erupting from the ground may look or resemble other undesirable plants. Taking that extra few minutes of effort to carefully mark and identify your plants will save you from incorrectly pulling your favorite, or expensive, plants!

Plant markers can be as stylish as one wants to make them, ranging from plastic spoons with a non-fading marker, and if you want to add the plants name to them, try using aluminum plant marking stakes from Amazon. Other ways to mark your plants is to use decorative metal stakes found in the garden center or your local dollar store. It also helps to save the plants in the summer from the “weed eater”.

Also remember, many plants do not appear until the middle to late May after other species has already appeared. Hence, making it imperative to mark your plants, so you can remember what you planted for years to come! Here are a few pictures of the markers that we love to use!

11/19/2025

Your garden deserves a sleep in too.

Not just on weekends but during the cold winter months. Don’t be in a hurry to tidy it up before the first snowflake falls.

Leave the leaves.

Leave the stems.

And let it rest, if you want one of the healthiest gardens next year.❤️

11/19/2025

Look at all of those Monarch’s! Our progress from backyard gardens is truly helping to sustain the Monarch’s along their journey.

Keep up the good work my friends, 2026 is looking to be even more beneficial for the Monarch migration.

Keep planting the plants, spreading the seeds and germinating hope, because you ARE making a difference! ❤️

(Look at the flight path in the four state region)

Look at the map of this years’ of monarchs tagged with electronic transmitters. For more information check the comments.

11/18/2025

Rough or Button Blazing Star, or known by its scientific name of Liatris aspera, is a beautiful native plant to add to your pollinator garden. Although it is similar to our favorite, Liatris pycnoostachya, it brings about an interesting display of "button " appearing blooms.

Paired with Asclepias tuberosa or butterfly milkweed, this combination makes a stunning statement in your butterfly garden that is sure to bring the pollinators to your yard. The last picture is paired with Senna marilandica and we think it is a great compliment!

Be sure to watch our Spring sales for this favorite to be in our lineup.

11/17/2025

Holy Mother Nature! Look at that Swamp Milkweed (Asclepias incarnata), 8” tall and stems almost as big around as pencils! 😱

And those roots…. Stems and roots baby, stems and roots! 🙌🏻

11/16/2025

Today, we took a different direction from potting plants and building greenhouses, for a walk at our favorite trail. We took our four-legged family members with us for a much needed day in nature. ❤️

If you have never visited the trails at Rogers State University, you are missing out! One of Claremore’s best kept secrets. 🤫

11/16/2025

Common Persimmon or Diospyros virginiana L. plays a very important role in wildlife management in Easter Kansas and Oklahoma. This fruit bearing native tree not only supplies wildlife such as birds, raccoons and deer, but also is a favorite of humans. But one must be warned, do not eat before the first frost or freeze or you may get quite the bitter surprise!

The light orange colored fruit can be made in to many desserts or even jam! This valuable tree can grow to 15 meters and the fruits appear between September-October but typically do not ripen until after the first freeze.

We will have a select amount of trees if you are interested in adding them to your garden. We have three growing on our block and hope to provide for wildlife for many years to come!

https://kswildflower.org/tree_details.php?treeID=16

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11/16/2025

Slowly but surely, greenhouse #4 is getting closer to completion! This one is for early, Spring ephemeral plants and shade loving plants.

Now I just need to fill it up! What are your favorite shade loving plants?

11/16/2025

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11/16/2025

Scatter those seeds! (If you need some, give me a shout out!)

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1D3AXRfiMJ/?mibextid=wwXIfr

Milkweed isn’t just a plant — it’s a lifeline.

As autumn arrives and the seeds mature, now is the time to help butterflies with their future.

Why sow milkweed right now?
• Nature cold-stratifies the seeds through the winter.
• Come spring the rain wakes them up at the right moment.
• Monarchs return and first seek out milkweed. How to scatter the seeds (early November):
• Pick an area that gets plenty of sun. • Lightly rake the soil or press the seeds onto bare ground.
• Do not bury the seeds — they need light to germinate.
• Leave the fallen leaves in place as a natural blanket.

Plant once and you’ll support life for years. Source: LaVaute, Kelly. (2022). Guide to Milkweed Plants & Monarch Butterflies. Garden for Wildlife.

11/15/2025

A great example of a free, natural mulch versus red, brown or black mulch which is an expensive, heavy and blighted alternative.

If you have the leaves, then leave them be! It is the best mulch for your yard, and nature will thank you!

11/15/2025

A little history for all of the Milkweed lovers out there.❤️ Be sure to read the article.

Did you know that during World War II, 4-H youth across the country including here in Kansas, played a vital role in supporting the war effort? One unique example was collecting milkweed pods to help fill life jackets for soldiers overseas, just like the story shared by the Wisconsin DNR in “Back in the Day: When Picking Milkweed Was a Patriotic Pursuit.”

In honor of Veterans Awareness Week, we remember how service has always been at the heart of 4-H and Extension work. From growing Victory Gardens to today’s community service and citizenship projects, our members continue to live the 4-H pledge “hands to larger service.”🍀

Check out “Back in the Day: When Picking Milkweed Was a Patriotic Pursuit” here: https://bit.ly/4oFu4jN