Green Thumb
Gardening has been a lifelong passion for Wende and she’d like to share her passion with her readers. Follow her as she writes about her gardening adventures, lists tasks to do depending on the season, and gives easy to understand gardening advice.
Spring Cleaning
As the days get warmer I am compelled to get outside and start looking at my flower beds. We moved to this house in late November, so I have no idea what spring flowers may pop up, and what perennials will emerge soon. I did a walk around the last few days to see if I can see some bulbs popping up, and I did notice a few, but there were some obvious empty places still. Friends that live in the Waukesha area have told me that their spring flowers are already up and blooming!
While I really want to start clearing away the dead leaves and branches from fall's dieback, I know that it is still too early. Southeastern Wisconsin can have overnight frosts through early May, although that doesn't happen often. I remember more than a few ice storms in April though, so I resist the urge to clear the flower beds of their protective layer of plant debris.
What's in a Color?
I've found that landscapers first pay a lot of attention to solving functional needs, creating the hardscapes and paths, and picking plants to cover or focus on an area. These are important things that need to be planned, but it seems that color ends up being the last consideration. When someone asks me for help to design their yard, one of the first things I ask them are what colors do they like and dislike. When you sit down in your backyard to relax, what do you want to look at? If you hate yellow and you have a yard filled with Stella D'Oro daylillies, it would be a bit upsetting. That is why I make sure that color is part of the plan from the beginning.
Everyone has color preferences. A famous color authority once said, "Color is the one experience in life that requires no conscious struggle of the intellect to appreciate." - Faber Birren
Gardening Ideas and Advice
Check out this Saturday morning Gardening Radio show: http://www.wlip.com/Plant-Chatter/4551147
Plus this week is the Realtors Home and Garden Show at the Wisconsin State Fair grounds throgh April 3rd: http://www.realtorshomeandgardenshow.com/gardens/index.cfm
