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Tips for installing a garden path

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As cooler weather arrives, consider “hardscape” projects such as installing a garden path. Here are some tips:

• The path should go to something — preferably something attractive.

• Make the path at least 3 feet wide.

• Materials for the path can include pavers (my favorite), poured cement, stone, loose pebbles or mulch. Just be sure that the surface is easy to walk on and stable.

• When using loose stone or pebbles, be sure to use materials that are angular verses round. Round stones keep moving around, and this is uncomfortable to walk on. It’s like a million marbles!

• For paths with loose materials as a surface, line the path with a metal or stone edge to keep it neat and attractive.

• Landscape lighting along the path is an invitation for an evening stroll.

Here are more tips for your garden this week.

• Continue to remove leaves from the lawn with a rake or mulching mower. When raking, put the leaves in a compost pile.

• Use ornamental kale, mustards and cabbage in containers for added color and interest.

• Stack firewood on a wood pallet to prevent wood decay. When stacking, use a “criss-cross” pattern. All fire wood should be at least 20 feet from the house because of termites.

• Spring bulbs are on sale now for as much as 50 percent off. Daffodils reliably flower year after year in our area. Bulbs can still be planted in beds, so buy a bunch!

Todd Goulding provides residential landscape design and consultations. Contact him at www.fernvalley.com, 478-345-0719 or on Facebook.

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Native praying mantis is beneficial to garden

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I found an egg case when pruning my shrub. It has light brown “Styrofoam,” like a praying mantis egg case, but it’s narrow with a cross hatch down the back. Will this hatch caterpillars?

In the spring, your egg mass will hatch cute baby Carolina praying mantises, our native species. (The bulkier egg masses commonly seen are from Chinese or European praying mantises.) The praying mantis is a deft predator whose strategy is to remain perfectly still until its prey — such as stink bugs — comes close and then pounce. You’ll want this beneficial insect patrolling your garden. If you’ve already pruned off the branch with the egg mass, simply tuck that portion into a shrub until it hatches next spring.

I’m getting too old to spray deer repellant constantly. Do I have to give up on my garden?

Try a granular product that you can sprinkle around plants. Success has been reported with Deer Scram, for instance. Remember to rotate products so that deer do not become too accustomed to the scent. Meanwhile, switch to plants that deer usually ignore. There are many excellent choices. Our website has a list of plants by deer resistance under the Wildlife category.

University of Maryland Extension’s Home and Garden Information Center offers free gardening and pest information. Call 800-342-2507 or send a question to the website at extension.umd.edu/hgic.

Plant of the Week

Crab apple

Malas species

Crab apple trees can be more than one-season wonders. Besides their fabulous spring flowers, winter trees can be red with crab apples and alive with feasting birds. To attract birds, plant trees that produce small crab apples. Birds also favor crab apples that must freeze and thaw several times before they’re edible. Some are native plants. Good choices to attract birds include Sargent, Sargent Tina, Adirondack, Snowdrift, Profusion, Indian Magic, Harvest Gold, Ormiston Roy and Prairiefire. Avoid varieties with fruit that birds are known to dislike (Adams, Donald Wyman and Red Jewel) and those that do not fruit (Spring Snow or Prairie Rose) or fruit in alternate years (such as Bob White, David and Evelyn). Adaptable crab apple trees do best planted in full sun and moist, well-drained, acid loam soil. —Ellen Nibali

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Fall Garden Tips For An Easy Spring

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HIAWATHA, Kan., Nov. 5, 2013 /PRNewswire-iReach/ — Grimm’s Gardens, an online garden center and local nursery in Hiawatha, Kansas, recently released fall care tips for ensuring your garden is ready for winter and ready to thrive come spring.

The article, which can be viewed in it’s entirety on their website, provides a wide range of tips for caring for your lawn, trees, garden, and more to ensure your garden will make it through the winter and be ready to blossom in the spring.

“Add leaves to a compost pile or mulch them into the lawn where they will slowly decompose” says Rebecca Bohling, a landscape designer and blogger at Grimm’s Gardens.  “You can also discourage insects and diseases by blowing out your landscape beds with a leaf blower and removing any fallen fruit from the ground” says Bohling. 

While many garden centers and online retailers are getting ready to close up for the winter, Grimm’s Gardens continues to provide year round tips via their blog and continues to regularly update their online store with products and seasonal items available to be shipped nationwide.  

For more information, visit Grimm’s Gardens online at www.GrimmsGardens.com.

Media Contact: Mary Strotkamp, Grimm’s Gardens, 888-459-2586, info@grimmsgardens.com

News distributed by PR Newswire iReach: https://ireach.prnewswire.com

 

SOURCE Grimm’s Gardens

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PHOTOS: Guru shares tips at gourmet garden party

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Topics: 

gardening,

spring,

springs garden world,

toowoomba

Enjoying the Spring Garden Party at Springs Garden World are Shannon Hudson, Michelle Mesner and Kaitlyn Thorne.
Enjoying the Spring Garden Party at Springs Garden World are Shannon Hudson, Michelle Mesner and Kaitlyn Thorne. Bev Lacey

THE highlight from The Gourmet Garden Party at The Springs Garden World was the presentation from guru Melissa King, according to owner Marie McEwan.

“Melissa’s talk about container gardening and organic gardening was very interesting,” she said.

Mrs McEwan said the party was a great success and one with a relaxed atmosphere.

“We also had Helen Tyastungaal talk about the Kids Grow program, which teaches children all the different things about gardening,” she said.

Theresa Hegarty, Annie Sendall and Iris Baird.
Theresa Hegarty, Annie Sendall and Iris Baird. Bev Lacey

The party, which was held on October 26-27, included a Mediterranean lunch and cooking demonstrations from the head chef from the Kingfisher Cafe.

Dawn O'Neil and Joan Falvey.
Dawn O’Neil and Joan Falvey. Bev Lacey
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Garden tips for November

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Ryan Sproul

Ryan Sproul



Posted: Monday, November 4, 2013 10:07 am

Garden tips for November

Ryan Sproul

Grove Sun – Delaware County Journal

Lawn Turf


•Fertilize cool-season grasses like fescue with 1 pound nitrogen per 1000 sq. ft.

•Continue to mow fescue as needed at 2 inches and water during dry conditions.

•Control broadleaf winter weeds like dandelions.

•Keep falling leaves off fescue to avoid damage to the foliage.

Tree Shrub

•Prune deciduous trees in early part of winter. Prune only for structural and safety purposes.

•Wrap young, thin-barked trees with a commercial protective material to prevent winter sunscald.

•Apply dormant oil for scale infested trees and shrubs before temperatures fall below 40 degrees Fahrenheit. Follow label directions.

•Continue to plant balled and burlapped and containerized trees.

•Watch for arborvitae aphids, which tolerate cooler temperatures in evergreen shrubs.

Flowers

•Tulips can still be successfully planted through the middle of November.

•Leave foliage on asparagus, mums, and other perennials to help insulate crowns from harsh winter conditions.

•Bulbs like hyacinth, narcissus and tulip can be potted in containers for indoor forcing.

Fruits Nuts

•Delay pruning fruit trees until next February or March before bud break.

•Harvest pecans and walnuts immediately to eliminate deterioration of the kernel.

Miscellaneous

•Leftover garden seeds can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator or freezer until next planting season. Discard seeds over 3 years old.

•Gather and shred leaves. Add to compost, use as mulch or till into garden plots.

•Clean and store garden and landscape tools. Coat with a light application of oil to prevent rusting. Drain fuel tanks, irrigation lines, and hoses. Bring hoses indoors.

More about Ryan Sproul

  • ARTICLE: Caterpillar the culprit in tree damage
  • ARTICLE: Poultry waste effects improving in area
  • ARTICLE: Growing bred replacement heifers
  • ARTICLE: Litter treatment to conserve, reduce ammonia

More about Delaware County Osu Extension

  • ARTICLE: Growing bred replacement heifers

More about Osu Extension

  • ARTICLE: Growing bred replacement heifers
  • ARTICLE: Hunters provide necessary deer management in Oklahoma
  • ARTICLE: 4-H cookbook to debut at Delaware County Free Fair
  • IMAGE: Learning to floss

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Planting tips to attract bees, other pollinators (Garden Talk) – The Huntsville Times

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By Bethany A. O’Rear

Q. In the last several months, I have heard a lot of talk about pollinators. Unfortunately, the most recent discussion revolved around the devastating bee kill that occurred in Oregon. This fall, I am making some landscape improvements at my home, and would love to encourage more pollinators to visit. Can you provide some information regarding suitable habitats, proper plant selection and pollinator care?

 A. Fall is the perfect time to plant, and I am thrilled that you are choosing to incorporate some pollinator plants!

Pollinators are essential to the reproduction of a vast majority of flowering plants and food crops. Plants depend on a plentiful, healthy population of pollinators for fruit set, quality, and size. Just as plants need pollinators for survival, pollinators are extremely dependent on plants. Throughout the year, these industrious creatures rely on a wide variety of flowers to provide the nectar and pollen that serve as their food source.   

Who are our pollinators? Most of us automatically think of bees, but they are only one of several species. Butterflies, beetles, moths, flies, birds and bats are also instrumental in the success of our cultivated and natural habitats.

 What you do in your own backyard can greatly affect pollinator activity and health not only in your garden, but in your community, as well. Adequate provision of food, water, and shelter are essential to increasing pollinator numbers.

When selecting and planting food sources, diversity of plant material, bloom season and plant groupings are crucial to success. While there are many lists of numerous pollinator plants, be sure to select those that are adapted to our climate (please see the table at the end of this article). It is also necessary to provide a clean, reliable water source, whether natural like a pond or stream, or man-made such as a bird bath or even rocks that serve as puddling areas. Pollinators need sources of water for many purposes, including drinking and reproduction. The provision of some type of shelter is another key component to increasing your pollinator population. Pollinators need sites for roosting and nesting as well as protection from severe weather and predators.

Minimizing pesticide use is an extremely important (and often overlooked) step in the support of pollinators. Bees and other pollinators are easily injured by many insecticides so it is important to use them only when absolutely necessary. In the event that insecticides are required, be sure to choose one that is the least toxic to bees. Also, it is important to consider the formulation of the insecticide. Dust formulations are particularly dangerous to bees because they stick to their bodies and are then transported back to the hive. Application timing of the insecticide is also crucial. If you must apply an insecticide in an area where bees are active, do so only late in the evening or early in the morning when bees are less active.

 I hope these tips are helpful! With a little research and proper planning and planting, you can increase the number of pollinators calling your area of the world home.  

 

 

 

Garden Talk is written by Bethany O’Rear of the Alabama Cooperative Extension System, C. Beaty Hanna Horticulture Environmental Center, which is based at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens. This column includes research-based information from land-grant universities around the country, including Alabama AM University and Auburn University. Email questions to Bethany@auburn.edu, or call 205 879-6964 x15. Learn more about what is going on in Jefferson County by visiting the ACES website, www.aces.edu/Jefferson or checking Facebook.

 

 

 

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Experts offer garden and lawn tips to prepare for winter season

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A panhandle leader in renewable energy thinks Nebraska should better utilize its solar power capabilities to provide electricity to consumers.

 

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Tips on lighting a room well

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Your choice of lighting has a huge impact on how your home looks and feels. But how do you choose when the options include everything from retro Edison-style bulbs with glowing filaments to compact fluorescents, plus lamps and fixtures in every shape and size?


“Lamps are one of the most important factors in a room’s design,” says designer Brian Patrick Flynn of Flynnside Out Productions. Yet homeowners often give lighting less attention than they do furniture or wall colors.

Here, Flynn and designers Betsy Burnham of Burnham Design and Molly Luetkemeyer of M. Design Interiors share tips on choosing the perfect lamps, lampshades and light bulbs to achieve maximum style and function.

If a room has no overhead lighting or wall sconces, these designers say it’s worth hiring an electrician to add them.

Flynn recommends using 2-inch or 4-inch recessed halogen lights overhead, rather than brighter 6-inch can lights.

“They instantly fill a room with the much-needed illumination,” he says, “but without looking tacky or heavy.”

Wall sconces also cast a flattering glow, and can serve as striking decorative pieces.

But don’t light a room exclusively with overhead lighting: Light from above that isn’t balanced by lamplight can be “prison-like,” Luetkemeyer says. “It casts a bunch of shadows and makes you look like a cadaver.”

Instead, create “pools of light” at different levels for a warm, layered effect, she says.

Flynn accomplishes this by choosing lamps at various heights. “It’s all a game of scale and proportion,” he says. “If the lamps are going on a tall console table with a super long piece of art hung above it, I’m definitely going to be looking for tall, slender, maybe candlestick-style lamps. On low-to-the-ground end tables, I’m most likely going to aim for something squatty, which is balanced with the proportion of the table and its nearby seating.”

A vintage option is the globe light that first appeared in the 1950s. Their “milky white finish and perfectly round shape” can cast a flattering glow, Flynn says. “I use these a lot, especially in kids’ rooms due to their fun shape and nostalgic appeal.”

Buy plastic globes rather than glass if you’ll be hanging them in rooms where kids may be roughhousing.

Another option: vintage Nelson pendants, which are made of wire and vinyl in many shapes and sizes.

“One of the best investments as far as lighting is concerned is to invest in classic George Nelson bubbles,” Flynn says. “I love to group them together and hang them above beds or dining tables.”

Don’t feel obligated to use the lampshade that comes with a lamp, Burnham says. You can replace it with another of similar size but a different shape, style or color. Or keep the shade but add piping or ribbon to change its look.

Another bit of rule-breaking: “Chandeliers should not be limited to living rooms and dining rooms,” says Flynn. “I use them in bathrooms a lot simply to bring more of a decorative look to an otherwise task-oriented space.”

His trick for making chandeliers appear less formal? “Swap out flame bulbs for globes. It modernizes an otherwise traditional, heavy element.”

Dimmers, too, aren’t just for dining rooms. The designers suggest adding dimmers in every room of the home. Installation is easy enough that you may want to do it yourself, Luetkemeyer says, and “it’s a complete game changer” in how the home is lit.

Also, consider using a floor lamp as a bedside reading lamp. Many floor lamps have bulbs that sit between 4 and 6 feet above the floor — perfect for illuminating a book when you’re propped up in bed — and they take up little space.

Some lamps come with warning labels advising owners to use only low-wattage bulbs. Think of these lamps “more as accessories than true light sources,” says Flynn. “Many times, I’ll add a few to a built-in so the wall becomes somewhat of a dramatic feature at night. I think accent lamps offer a great opportunity to play with color and texture.”

Luetkemeyer agrees: Think of low-wattage lamps “almost as sculpture.”

Once you’ve chosen the right lighting, it’s important to select the right bulbs.

Luetkemeyer likes frosted bulbs and soft pink ones, and she favors three-way bulbs for the same reason she loves dimmers: They let you choose soft light when you want it and bright light when you need it.

Progress is being made in making compact fluorescent bulbs that give off warmer, more appealing light, but many now on the market produce a cold, blue-tinged light.

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Garden Tips: Asters star in fall gardens

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My birthday is in September, and I like having sapphires as my birthstone, but as a young girl I was disappointed that asters were my official birth flower. To me, they lacked the beauty of roses, carnations or other birth flowers.

I’m happy to say that today’s garden asters have changed my feelings. These fall flowering perennials bring color to the fading garden and are great companions to chrysanthemums.

The name aster is derived from the Greek word for “star,” which is attributed to the centers of these small daisy-like flowers. In the language of flowers, asters supposedly symbolize love, faith, wisdom and color.

Asters are an easy-to-grow perennial that has few serious insect or disease problems. Like so many perennials, they grow best in full sun with a well-drained, loamy soil.

There are two main types of aster, along with a few minor types. The major types are New England and New York, and they look much the same. Both are winter hardy and native to eastern North America. They are not considered aggressive or invasive.

Depending on the cultivar, New England asters (Aster novae-angliae) tend to be taller, growing from 3 to 6 feet tall. They have thick, hairy stems and leaves. The hairs sometimes irritate the skin of some people. There are cultivars with red, blue-purple, violet, white or pink flowers produced above the leaves in late summer to early fall.

Because of their upright growth and height, stake or provide some type of support, especially considering our windy weather. To avoid staking the taller New England cultivars, pinch them back early in the growing season to encourage branching. Pinched plants will be shorter and bushier.

(Pinching back means using the thumb and forefinger fingernails to pinch off the tips of tender plant shoots. It is done to encourage branching below the shoot ends to make a plant more compact and to encourage more blooms.)

New York asters (Aster novae-belgii) are more popular and a bit shorter. Depending on the cultivar, they grow from 2 to 4 feet tall. Their stems are thinner and without the irritating hairs. Make sure to stake taller cultivars. There are many purple to blue cultivars, but there are also ones in white and pink. They tend to bloom fairly late, often around the end of September. They are sometimes referred to as the “Michaelmas daisy” because the Feast of St. Michael is observed Sept. 29.

While New York asters are generally more popular than the New England ones, there is a notable exception. A real star of the garden is the Purple Dome New England. Purple Dome is a compact, mounded plant that grows 18 inches tall and 36 inches wide. It is a true “purple dome” in the fall, covered with bright purple semi-double flowers.

Once planted, asters don’t need much attention other than staking. If they grow well, they may need dividing every couple of years. If so, divide them in the spring.

Problems to watch for include powdery mildew and aphids.

— Marianne C. Ophardt is a horticulturist for Washington State University Benton County Extension.

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Tips o’ the Irish gleaned from visit to Emerald Isle’s gardens

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When we travel the world to see great gardens we learn to be flexible.

Our latest tour to Ireland was billed as the castles, gardens and pubs tour, but thanks to our local guide we added a performance of “River Dance” in Killarney and falconry lessons at an Ashford castle where launching a large falcon from one’s arm gives a whole new meaning to the term “flipping the bird.”

Here are a few take-home ideas from the most spectacular gardens in Ireland.

Choose a signature color for your garden. Many of the grand estate gardens used paint to add a repeating color on the wooden structures and hardscaping. Benches, artwork and doorways all matched with bright red, cool blue or turquoise green paint. The flower shades and foliage colors might change from month to month but a single, repetitive tint held the explosion of color together. Choose your own signature color and start painting — the front door is a great starting point.

Frame a great view with a wide path and side planting — or use your window frame. We were awed by the grand vistas at huge estates such as Powerscourt House but even without acres of landscape you can imitate the skill that the Victorians used in framing great views. Just a pathway of lawn or paving material can lead the eye toward a lovely tree, bench or garden art.

Another way to frame a view is to design from the inside looking out — let your favorite window be the frame for the garden view you will be looking at year-round.

Add some height with ivy covered arches, wooden columns or a classic “folly.” Greek temples or contrived castle ruins were used in large estate gardens and these destinations were called “a folly” by their creators as they fooled visitors into thinking the garden was much older than it was. In your own garden you can repurpose or recycle a broken pot laying on its side with a ground cover plant spilling forth from the opening or use a rusty bicycle or wine barrel as a planter to give your garden a sense of history.

In a small garden use structures and archway to add height. Not only do you get the instant gratification of a vertical element but a garden structure won’t outgrow it’s space.

Pot up your blooming plants and move them around the garden. Helen Dillon is an internationally known garden writer and we were surprised to find metal garbage cans filled with flowers and foliage plants framing her formal water feature. Dillon is a color expert in the garden, on display in the way her gray and silver containers blended with the gray paving stone around the dark pool of her water feature. She also grows plants in black plastic nursery pots so she can mingle them in her borders, adding color accents where needed. The black pots seem to blend and disappear into the soil.

Add extra color to your people photos — use garden blooms for a backdrop. You don’t have to be a gardener to add the wow factor to your family or vacation photos. Our group had great fun looking for flowers that matched up with what we were wearing. Posing in front of plants that coordinate with a scarf, shirt or jacket brightens the intensity of all the color tones and reminds us all that you don’t have to travel far to realize that the world is really a beautiful place.

Celebrate the autumn season by posing in front of a fall scene at a public park or garden. Wear something orange, gold or brown. You’ll want to print and frame the colorful result and bring it out for display every autumn.

GARDENS AROUND THE WORLD

Want to join us on our next garden adventure tour? We’ve booked a river cruise down the Danube that sails July 1 with stops in Vienna, Germany and Budapest, Hungary, and a custom tour of the gardens of the Sound of Music. Contact sue_rainbow@comcast.net or 253-863-2245.

Marianne Binetti has a degree in horticulture from Washington State University and is the author of several books. Reach her at binettigarden.com.

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