Ideas & Inspiration Garden Tips
Whether you are a beginner or veteran gardener, our experts have some how-to tips to keep your garden looking great.
Houseplants
Benjamin Ficus Care-Dropping Leaves
Ficus plants can be a bit finicky, especially during the low-light months of a Minnesota winter. If your plant is dropping leaves, don’t panic! Here…
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Houseplants
Kokedama Care-Moss Wrapped Roots
1. Watering Submerge the root ball in water until it is fully saturated. Allow excess water to drain before placing it back in its display.…
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Fruits, Herbs & Vegetables
Herb Care 101: Flavorama!
Indoor herb gardening allows you fresh herbs at your fingertips, as well as a home filled with fresh fragrance and greenery. We’re sharing a few easy tips for growing your own herbs indoors including:Â Sun, heat, water, trimming and organic fertilizer.
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Holiday
O’ Christmas tree…how lovely are your branches.
Christmas Trees Holiday decorating at its best! The Christmas tree is a unique expression of you and your family, with sentimental ornaments hung from every…
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Winter
Fraser, Balsam and Canaan Fir Christmas Trees-What’s the difference?
While debates about real versus artificial Christmas trees continue, true holiday enthusiasts know that a real, fresh tree brings unmatched charm to any home. Real…
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Holiday
Holiday Decorating
Let us introduce one of our favorite little accents: the kissing ball! Made from boxwood and arranged in a sturdy floral foam core, these outdoor…
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Holiday
Evergreen Tree Top Pots: Caring For And Building Your Own
The Sunnyside team shares tips for caring for your tree top pots (ready-to-go or DIY), as well as the basic steps to building your own evergreen pots for the holiday season.
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Specialty Pumpkins and Gourds-How to “Carve”
With their thick, tough outer shells, specialty pumpkins and gourds can be so much tougher to carve than a traditional jack o’lantern pumpkin. But they would look so cool glowing from within! Power tools to the rescue!
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Succulents
Chinese Money Plant–Pilea Peperomiodes
The sometimes hard to find, Chinese money plant, or Pilea has become a hit in the gardening and home decor world.
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Passport to the 44th and France Shopping District
Pick up a passport at any participating 44th and France business and stop in to say hello all around the neighborhood. We want to encourage…
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Critter Control
Mosquito-Repellent Plants
No one likes having to share their patio with mosquitoes. Keeping them away is as simple as growing mosquito-repellent plants! You can plant mosquito repelling…
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Fruits, Herbs & Vegetables
What to do with all that Basil?
I love basil, the smell reminds me of my great-grandmother’s kitchen and always makes me hungry. Yet, aside from a couple caprese salads, I never seem to use much and always end up cutting down a giant plant in the fall.
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Annuals
July in the Garden: Tips to Beat the Heat
July is for patriotic porch time, hot lazy days spent listening to the cicadas, and shaded evenings staying up late on the deck or patio.…
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Critter Control
Top 9 Perennials You Can Use to Start a Perennial Garden
Looking to grow a garden but not sure where to start? You’ve come to the right place! Read about the top nine perennials you can…
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Annuals
Late Summer In the Garden: Everything You Need to Know
Late summer is a busy time for most, between some of the hottest weeks of summer and busy schedules, it can be easy to overlook…
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Seed Starting
Growing plants from seed can be a fun and exciting project to jump-start the gardening season for the whole family.  Growing seeds is a lot…
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Bees & Butterflies
Bee & Butterfly Boulevard Beds
We’re creating Bee-friendly and Butterfly-attracting boulevard gardening options! A Garden with a Greater Purpose An effective way to garden with a greater goal is to…
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Perennials
Perennial of the moment… The Peony
Peonies are about to burst! These colossal blooming perennials always catch my eye and my nose. Hurry up and stake yours if you haven’t yet, they are about to bloom in the landscape.
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Summer
Gardening With Mom-(80s & Original Mom Jeans)
Mom wasn’t a farmer, but she could grow a mean head of cauliflower. One of my fondest childhood memories is spending countless hours out in the garden with my mom.
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Fruits, Herbs & Vegetables
You can grow grapes in MN. Get started today!
Tomatoes, apples, blueberries, raspberries and other tasty fruits are fun to plant and watch grow into treats for your dinner plate, but did you know…
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How to grow veggies like a rockstar!
What do you need to grow vegetables– and actually have something to show for it? Think prep early, and reap the reward later.
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Fruits, Herbs & Vegetables
It’s About That Thyme: Herb Care & Food Pairings
As Minnesotans, we know how short summers can seem. We tolerate grocery store greens most of the year, and look forward to the season where…
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Spring
Spring Grass Care
Turf 101 To get started right away on a great looking lawn, lightly rake to loosen up dead grass and thatch from the previous…
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Summer
Cut Flower Gardening – Planting and Decorating
Design simple, stunning bouquets with plants from your own garden. A landscape can be more than just curb appeal and trees for shade. Consider how you like to enjoy your beautiful home on the inside.
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Winter
Create a Car Stopping Window Box Display
Create a car stopping window box display This 4 foot window box is loaded to the MAX with some great color and essential greens. You…
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Annuals
Container Design for Fall
SIMPLE DESIGN FOR FALL *Container design for fall can be fun and rewarding. When you hit the garden center in September there are way…
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Houseplants
African Violet-Pet Friendly Houseplant
African violets are pet friendly. Fido and Mr Kitty can rest easy knowing these traditional blooming plants are not going to give them a belly…
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Fall
Fall Grass Seed
Fall grass seeding may be on your mind and we have a few expert tips to help you along. The MN lawn that survives through…
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Spring
To the Cabin! & the plants to bring along.
Gardening at the Lake Low maintenance, winter hardy and deer resistant plants for cabin. Why not incorporate some easy maintenance beds to your favorite family…
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Critter Control
10 Plants You Didn’t Know Repel Mosquitoes
âMinnesota has two seasons, winter and road construction.â
âWe’ve got 20,000 lakes when it rains.â
âThe state bird? Mosquito.â
Fruits, Herbs & Vegetables
Strawberry Fields Forever
Gardening for life! Growing plants that produce fruit is delightful for your spirit and your dish of ice cream. Strawberries are probably one of the…
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Spring
What is a Spring Clean up?
Clean up your garden and get ready to start growing! The purpose of a spring clean-up is to prepare the garden for the upcoming growing season.
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Spring
Spring Sweet Spring
Spring is arriving with her later than usual April showers this week. The challenging weather can make it hard to get out and enjoy your…
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Houseplants
Fiddle Leaf Fig Tree
The Ficus lyrata, commonly called the fiddle-leaf fig, is a perfect indoor specimen plant. The plant features very large, heavily veined, and violin-shaped leaves that…
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Spring
Pussy Willow Stems
Pussy Willow stems are the plant of the week! We have all kinds of indoor plants here at the garden center, but when it comes to outdoor planting…
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Houseplants
Tips on caring for houseplants
This is the time of year when we get a lot of questions about houseplants at Sunnyside. We Minnesotans are coming out of a dark, cold, dry winter season and your plants may be showing signs of distress.
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Houseplants
9 Houseplants That Clean the Air
Decorate your home and benefit from clean air with houseplants! The NASA Clean Air Study found that many common indoor plants provide a natural way…
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Fall
Protecting tender plants
Some plants aren’t as tough as others.This can be a grim fact to face for northern gardeners. We invest our sweat, lower backs and money into certain plants only to see them crumple and die by the cold hands of our Minnesota winter.
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Fall
Scented Greens. That smelly time of year!
Delightfully scented, that is. This pre-holiday season, late fall is known as one of the more aromatic times of the year.
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Holiday
Eucalyptus Pods
Long lasting, with a silvery-blue tone and a graceful habit, Eucalyptus pods are a wonderful addition to your winter containers, as well as to your holiday centerpieces.
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Fall
Pine Cone 101
From large to small, ornate to ordinary, plain or on a stick, Sunnyside Gardens is the place for pine cones! Varieties Sugar – The largest…
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Fall
Ceramic Pots–RIP petunias–Caring for Ceramic Pots
Fall is quickly turning to winter in Minnesota, so it’s time to think about what to do with the beautiful ceramic containers that served you so well over the spring, summer, and fall.
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Fall
How to Overwinter Roses
Before you start to worry about whether or not your roses need winter protection, check to see if they are a Zone 3-4 hardy variety.
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Critter Control
How to Prepare Trees for Winter
Winters in Minnesota are not only hard on humans, they are tough on plants, too. Even fully hardy plants can be affected by a variety of stressors during the winter.
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Fall
DIY Succulent Pumpkin Garden
Create a beautiful fall centerpiece with a pumpkin, squash, or gourd of your choice and some succulent clippings! Read more for methods and care.
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Fall
Fantastic Pumpkin Varieties
There are countless varieties of pumpkins and winter squash in this big, beautiful world. Here are just a few of the varieties we have this…
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Fall
How dandelions behave going into winter & other famous perennial weeds.
Like all living things that overwinter in MN, fall is the time to start preparing to be isolated from warmth and sun. Squirrels are busy…
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Bees & Butterflies
Be a BEE habitat helper this winter
Let’s talk about how we can help native MN bee habitats. As a quick review, native bee populations are in need of our help. Food…
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Succulents
What’s in that bag of soil?
Soils: Demystified Here at Sunnyside, we offer a variety of soils and soil amendments. The array of options to choose from can be daunting, but…
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Critter Control
So many rabbits!
At any given moment there are more rabbits in my yard than anyone could successfully shake a stick at. For me, the concern is winter…
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Have a great gardening idea you want to share? Send us a message with your tip today and if it’s a great tip, we’ll help you share it with the community.