Healthy Roses
"Roses are a favorite in so many gardens. But let's face it, those gorgeous flowers are sometimes accompanied by various rose diseases and pests. Is there an alternative to regular pesticide applications to keep these beauties producing the blossoms we so covet? Definitley, but it takes starting with the right rose and just a little attention throughout the season." via www.rose.org
Preparing a New Planting Bed
I get asked often about how to start a new planting bed - for flowers, veggies, whatever. We had a planting bed on the side of the house that got all day sun, and had very little growing there, so we decided to use it to grow tomatoes and peppers. I documented the steps in pictures as we went through it.
Rabbit Wars
I look out my front window seething, watching well-fed bunnies happily hopping all around my yard. Don't let them fool you - even though they are fluffy and cute, they are pure evil under all that silky soft fur and innocent demeanor. Just ask Elmer Fudd and his friends – who have hunted and tracked their silly prey for over 70 years. Bugs Bunny is less interested in escape than in driving his pursuer insane and can be heard to say (with casual unconcern), “What’s Up, Doc?”. Well, bunnies, I will hunt you down, trap you all, and get rid of you – for the next 70 years if I have to! You have eaten your last tulip just as it opens up – sawing off the flower stem with a diagonal bite and leaving the flower petals to dry up on the lawn in the spring sun. To use your own catchphrase, "Of course you realize this means war!" This is not fun and games. You seriously have to go.
Yard Problems To Look For
There has been a few days in the last couple of weeks that were nice enough to get out into my yard. I was itching to get out there! I moved into my current home in late November, so I had no clue as to what types of perennials or bulbs or woody shrubs I had. I'm anxious to assess the yard, see what is already there and determine what stays and what goes. There are a lot of things I want to change about it - and I was making mental notes as I did a thorough walk around. There are many aesthetic things I want to change, but there are a few things that if not corrected quickly will result in bad things happening. Here's a few of the bad things I found:
Home Landscape Work – What Do You Do First?
It’s Spring! You want to get out there and do some of those landscaping projects you didn’t get to last year. A new flower bed would be nice, or you want to plant a tree, maybe create a retaining wall. You have been thinking about what you want it to look like all winter. Maybe you have already purchased materials for your project. I’m sure you have also drawn a rough sketch of what you want to do. It should be easy, right? You have a free weekend, let’s go!
Gardening Ideas and Advice
Check out this Saturday morning Gardening Radio show: http://www.wlip.com/Plant-Chatter/4551147
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.
