george bonnema
By Mavis FodnessApril 24, 2024Members of the Magnolia Juniors 4-H Club spent time Thursday night, April 18, raking leaves, picking up branches and remembering community volunteer George Bonnema. “We’re kind of picking up where George left off,” said club adviser Marsha Fick. “His hands touched many areas in town and many are left with ‘now who?’” Bonnema was a former floral shop owner and in his retirement was an active…
By Brenda Winter, columnistJanuary 10, 2024(If you haven’t yet read Lori Sorenson’s Jan. 4th column, “Be Like George,” do it now. Then read this one.) A week and a half before he died, Flower George Bonnema marched into my living room. Observing the wilting leaves on my Peace Lily plant, he poked the dry dirt. “This needs water.” He paused. “And it needs to be repotted. It’s root-bound.” George was at my house to drop off a Christmas…
By Lori SorensonJanuary 03, 2024Community members are mourning the loss of longtime businessman and volunteer George A. Bonnema, who died at age 74 on Dec. 26. His obituary (see page 7) lists personal and professional landmarks, but he will be best remembered for his untold, unpaid contributions to the community. George and Corrine came to Luverne in 1974 when they purchased Luverne Flowers and turned it into a thriving…
By Lori Sorenson, editorJanuary 03, 2024George Bonnema has been gone for only a week, and already we feel his conspicuous absence. (See our front page tribute story) Who will lead Generations and be the voice of our newly energized senior citizens? Who will tend the boulevards and update the seasonal planters? Who will place fresh arrangements on tables for senior dining? Who will bake and donate award-winning carrot cake for…
January 03, 2024George A. Bonnema “Flower George,” age 74, of Luverne, Minnesota, died Tuesday, December 26, 2023, at the Sanford USD Medical Center in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. George was born on July 18, 1949, in Canton, South Dakota, to Jay and Jennie (Baker) Bonnema. He grew up on a farm near Inwood, Iowa. He learned about farming and the saving work of Jesus from his family and fellow church members.…- By George Bonnema, Luverne HorticulturalistApril 18, 2023Earlier in March I gave you nature indicators when to plant what for your vegetable garden. I was reminded when I saw all the pre-emergent crabgrass preventer in stores that I had not given you that indicator, which is when the lilac buds are ready to open, but not yet open. Crabgrass is an annual weed, and the seed will not germinate until the ground is warm. These preventers are pre-emergent,…
By George Bonnema, Luverne HorticulturalistApril 04, 2023It is Sunday afternoon, and I just went for a walk in my yard. I see the tulips are 2-3 inches tall as are the alliums where the snow has melted. That is exciting, and it also means I need to get out there very soon to clean off the perennials or I’ll be stepping on shoots that I can’t see when I am working. My hesitation is that once I clean off last year’s debris, hungry critters will easily…
By George Bonnema, Luverne HorticulturalistMarch 28, 2023To say that I am happy to see our snow cover disappearing is an understatement! Snow is melting in spite of the temp being slightly above freezing, and that is a blessing. I am not seeing much water running, so hopefully what is melting is soaking into the ground to replenish our deficit from last year. Visiting some friends last week, the “guy gardener” asked me about his unhappy-looking…
By George Bonnema, Luverne HorticulturalistMarch 21, 2023I, as well as many of you, am getting weary of winter. The lengthening hours of daylight and warmth of the sun on the days we see it are encouraging. A road trip to Sioux Center yesterday (Sunday) to visit a relative showed lots of open ground, a sharp contrast to our white landscape and the snow-piled road ditches. My therapy this week is to go and cut a few branches of pussy willow, apricot and…
By George Bonnema, Luverne horticulturalistMarch 14, 2023In my years of being a gardener, I have had many people ask when the best time is to plant various vegetable crops in the garden. I can’t tell you how often I have been asked if I have my potatoes planted on Good Friday. My simple answer is “No, I plant them when the soil conditions are right,” because the calendar has nothing to do with what day to plant anything … nature does. Considering that…
By George Bonnema, Luverne HorticulturalistJanuary 24, 2023Yes, we have lots of deep snow, and yes, we have cottontail rabbits, and yes, the rabbits get hungry when their food source is buried by the snow, and yes, they will eat most anything palatable they can find, and no, they don’t ask your permission to ruin the plants they choose to eat in your landscape. As a rule, they will not dig down into the snow to find something to eat, but they will eat…
By George Bonnema, Luverne HorticulturalistJanuary 10, 2023Christmas has come and gone, and some people get a little depressed when the fun and business subsides. But for us gardeners, we’re almost waiting by the mailbox on the day after Christmas because that’s the day the new seed catalogs arrive. Magically, those vendors know that we’re ready for a new focus. Well, that’s me, and I got four catalogs on that day (not counting the legal holiday and in…
By George Bonnema, Luverne HorticulturalistDecember 13, 2022(First paragraphs are carried over from last week’s column. Amaryllis are the drama plants for winter. They grow from a bulb, and like a tulip, the flower buds form in the bulb prior to its going dormant. Your job as the plant keeper is to persuade that flower to come out of the bulb and bless you with its beauty. In recent years “waxed” bulbs are the easy route because you don’t have to plant…
By George Bonnema, Luverne HorticulturalistDecember 05, 2022We visited our son in Detroit over Thanksgiving weekend, and that trip always includes visiting a couple of the biggest and best greenhouses in the city as well as the Eastern Market in downtown Detroit. For a gardening and plant addict, this makes driving 14 hours each way a bonus on top of the time spent with Grant. I am inspired but not tempted by some of the plants and fresh holiday décor we…
By George Bonnema, Luverne HorticulturalistOctober 18, 2022It is Monday and the wind has been and is making short work of our beautiful fall color. That is not unusual for this part of the plains. That is why I encourage those of us who live here to take a picture or two of how amazing the fall color can be on a sunny day before it is demolished by the weather! And speaking of the weather, a couple of weeks ago I mentioned the importance of your…
By George Bonnema, Luverne HorticulturalistSeptember 27, 2022We are in late September, and if you have had house plants “vacationing” outdoors for the summer, I have a few tips to help them acclimate to their indoor location. First, make sure there are not hitchhikers coming in with the plant. Insect pest populations are kept in check to a degree by outdoor weather and predator insects. That potential is eliminated indoors. Three primary pests to eliminate…
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