The Minnesota State Horticultural Society offers expert articles about how to coax the greatest yield from our unforgiving climate. And local favorite Rebecca Kolls adds her suggestions for beautifying your lawn and garden. All of these sites allow you to spruce up your knowledge base before getting those hands dirty. The site aims to inform members of the horticulture and landscape industry, as well as the public, with very in-depth articles on proper design and implementation. The site's four main sections lead you from designing your project through plant selection, and finally to implementation and maintenance.
Pictures illustrate both positive and negative characteristics of a site.
The section is filled with drawings to show each piece of the design process, all the way through to the plan view drawing-the completed landscape design. The Plant Selection section includes only those native plants adapted to our climate. You can search by a number of different categories to find trees, flowers and shrubs to fill out your design plan. Under Maintenance, much of the information pertains to lawn care, but also features a page on selecting fertilizers and understanding their labels. The site even has a glossary to explain such things as a base map or easement or entry garden, and all the design principles mentioned in the design section.