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Written by

Amanda Bazemore

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Chris Olsen of Today’s Home shows you how to spice up your garden.

Here is his commentary:

You know the one thing when people walk through the garden here is they always say – you know the one thing that is so nice about this garden is not only the lush plants and that type of thing but that they say it is so much fun.

Sometimes we get so serious – not only in the garden but also on the inside when we are decorating. Even if you have an elegant house and a very formal garden – you can still have fun little elements. For example – here we have a very elegant antique table with these cool funky contemporary chairs – and for that fun element we have these metal ants.

Now I bought these at a local craft store for only $3.99. So you don’t have to spend a lot of money to get that look. I just have them crawling on the table just like they would if they were alive and then I add the final touch right here with this one crawling up on the pumpkins and ghords.

Also here is another little thing you can find – I found these in a catalog. They are little metal pinwheels so they can stay outside all year long and when the wind hits them just right they just blow in the slightest breeze.

The reflection of the light kinda glistens against the trees. and then what about these little wire men? I found these for fifteen dollars in Seattle at the Pikes market from a local artist there. All I did was put a little piece of glass in their hands and hang them from the trees.

You can do this inside or outside and they are just fun. Sometimes you don’t see these elements at first when you are walking around the garden – you just come upon them. And that is what makes the garden fun. Don’t forget – add fun and humor to your garden.

Chris Olsen

Your ornamental trees and shrubs have been through a lot this year, thanks to the summer drought. With a little care, you can help them make it through the winter.

Here are some things you can do to help protect them from winter damage:

Remove damaged or dead branches.

Remove any water spouts or suckers that have grown on the trunk or along stems and branches.

Spread 3 to 4 inches of mulch around the tree — without touching the trunk.

Examine the trunk thoroughly for wounds that may have been caused by voles or a grass trimmer.

Check the soil to make sure there is no standing water. Poor drainage can kill a plant.

Most roses survive winter well. One of the best ways to protect roses is to mulch with peat moss or pine bark. The material can be raked away as soon as the weather breaks in the spring.

Keep a check on the amount of rain received during the winter. If we go through a dry period, your evergreen trees and shrubs will need water because they constantly lose moisture through their leaves.

Question Answer

Q: I have a beautiful plum tree that is about 12 years old. I did some serious pruning three years ago. This year, it had a pretty good crop, but most of them dropped off before they became ripe. Also, I saw some sap seeping out of the tree. What can I do to help this tree? — Charles Smith

A: Pruning your plum tree is important to retain a good shape and to remove dead or diseased limbs. Plum trees need an open center so sunlight can get down into the tree.

If you see sap running, you probably have borers. Check with your local garden center to see what insecticide is recommended. Read and follow label directions. Since your plum tree is 12 years old, I would think about replacing it with a new tree.

E-mail your gardening questions to bleigh1@utk.edu. Include your name and the area where you live.

ATLANTA –

The weather is getting cooler but that doesn’t mean you have to neglect your garden! Melodie McDanal from Pike Nurseries joined Good Day Atlanta with some tips to spruce it up!

CLICK THE VIDEO ABOVE TO WATCH THE VIDEO!
Pike Nurseries’ Melodie McDanal, GGIA certified horticulturalist, will tell viewers what to do in their gardens this month.

November Lawn Garden Tips

In the Garden
Plant Color that Lasts Fall, Winter Spring.

Lenten Rose (Helleborus orientalis)
It’s an evergreen perennial that blooms fall, winter or early spring and comes in an array of colors

Pansies violas
Annual color – choose from many different colors

Camellias
The jewels of the winter garden
Try Yuletide, Apple Blossom and Setsugekka for beautiful blooms

Chopping Time
Cut back faded perennials for the winter

Start Decorating
Add fresh garland, trees, lights and wreaths

In the House

Time for Bulb Forcing
Around mid-November, plant paperwhite or amaryllis bulbs

Poinsettias for the Holidays
Poinsettias will arrive in mid-November. Choose from tons of different colors

For the Lawn

Keep It Green
For a green lawn all winter, overseed Bermuda or Zoysia lawns with annual Ryegrass now

Reseed Fescue lawn
If you haven’t reseeded your fescue lawn, now is your last chance

For the Birds

Put up Suet Feeders
Suet provides birds with high energy – just what they need in the winter months

Share Your Thanksgiving Feast
Place fresh cranberries and unsalted nuts in an open feeder as a special Thanksgiving treat

Put Up the Feeders
Bird feeders bring lots of color and activity to the winter garden.  Most experts recommend black oil sunflower seed for general feeding

Ladies Night Event
Thursday, November 8: from 7-9pm
Select Pike Nurseries Locations
20 percent Off Everything (excludes grills, propane, sod, pine straw, gift cards and services)
Free Massages courtesy of Spa Sydell
Decorating Classes (Forcing paperwhite amaryllis bulbs for Christmas Christmas tree decorating tips)
Food Wine
Buy tickets online at www.pikenursery.com or at any Pike Nurseries location

If you have a question for the experts from Pike Nurseries the Good Day Atlanta crew at goodday@myfoxatlanta.com. Include your name, your city, your question, and a picture if you can. We may use your question on a future segment.

SPRINGVALE — Members of the Southern Maine Garden Club welcomed author Lisa Coburn their meeting at Springvale Public Library on Wednesday, Oct. 17.

Coburn is the author of “The Maine Garden Journal: Insider Secrets from Maine People Who Love to Put Their Hands in the Dirt.”

Coburn was born and raised in the St. John Valley of Maine, where there are many challenges to gardening as a result of rocky soil and cold temperatures. When she moved to Orono, which has a friendlier gardening climate, she felt like she had moved to the tropics. She wanted to know how other gardeners in Orono’s region gardened — their trials and their successes — so she sent out an extensive 13-page survey to local gardeners, many of who were Maine Master Gardeners. She was pleasantly surprised by the number of thoughtful and helpful responses she received, and she quoted liberally from the wise words of these gardeners in her book.

The Southern Maine Garden Club meets throughout the year on the third Wednesday of every month at the Springvale Public Library at 443 Main Street at 6:45 p.m. The club’s next meeting, however, will be held this Wednesday, Nov. 7, due to the Thanksgiving holiday. Brenda Boyle, of Studley’s in Rochester, New Hampshire, will be the guest speaker and will demonstrate making various arrangements for the upcoming holidays.

For more information, call Sheryl Rothstein at 490-7147 or Donna Claveau at 603-332-4860.

By

GEORGE WEIGEL

The Patriot-News

on November 01, 2012 at 9:55 AM, updated November 01, 2012 at 9:56 AM

Brought to you by

Video: George Weigel’s Garden Tip of the Week: How to compost
Making your own compost is one of the best things you can do to become a better gardener. But compost doesnt just happen. You have to pile it up and know a few basic pointers to produce this black gold. Our garden writer George Weigel shows you how in this Garden Tip of the Week. Video by: Christine Baker, The Patriot-News
Watch video

Making your own compost is one of the best things you can do to become a better gardener.

But compost doesn’t just happen. You have to pile it up and know a few basic pointers to produce this black gold. Our garden writer George Weigel shows you how in this Garden Tip of the Week.

For more garden tips, check out the links below.

• How many leaves are too many to mow in?
• What we learned from the 2012 growing season
• Yard cleanup after Sandy
• Check out more gardening tips and tricks »

Look for George Weigel’s Garden Tip of the Week each Thursday. George Weigel is the garden writer for the Patriot-News and also owner of a garden-consulting business for do-it-yourselfers, garden-tour host, frequent garden speaker, Pennsylvania Certified Horticulturist and certified gardening nut.

Related Stories

Video: George Weigel’s Garden Tip of the Week: How to compost

Best time to apply compost

Texas Weather

Well here it is the first of November and we have already had a freeze here in the Hill Country. Last night (10/28/2012) Kathy Kasparek reported a freeze on her back porch. That first freeze is about two to three weeks earlier than the average first freeze date of November 15th in the Hill Country. Naturally the weather rebounded from this early freeze back into the 80’s so all the vegetation is saying “Ah yes we are still in the Texas Hill Country”

Last Chance

This is your last chance to plant Wildflowers. Reread last month’s column about Wild Seed Farms and their selection of wildflowers seeds to plant. www.wildseedfarms.com will take you to their site. Most of our wildflowers love poor soil conditions. Boy they ought to love most of the Texas Hill Country.

November Duties

Now is a good time to begin to clean up our tools and putting them away for the Winter. When you “put away” for the Winter anything that operates on gasoline or diesel be sure and drain or better yet run till dry all pieces of equipment in order to store. The fuel left in the equipment till next Spring will cause you lots of repair dollars next year.

Don’t prune your trees till after the first several freezes. Those pesky beetles will become dormant at that time. Late December and January are the best months for pruning. If it is fruit trees then that will be in late Winter and I will give you a heads up at that time.

This is a great time to begin to plant your trees. Always keep in mind where you are planting and the eventual size of the tree and what other plants and trees are around it before you plant. Beware of electrical and telephone lines; look up before you dig.

Thanksgiving day as we sit down to dinner with friends and family, let’s remember to ask ourselves to name all the things that we are thankful for this past year. Our list should be very long.

“Oh, that man would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness and for His wonderful works to the children of men! Let them sacrifice the sacrifices of Thanksgiving, and declare His works with rejoicing.” Psalm 107:21-22

In The Months to Come

I will be reporting on what I learned at the Texas Nut and Fruit Orchard Conference in Bryan that was sponsored and put on by the Texas AM Agrilife Extension folks. It was a full one and a half days. Every 30 minutes we had a different instructor. It was sorta like taking a drink of water out of a fire hose. Fortunately they gave each of the attendees a thumb drive with all the power point presentations. I learned a lot and from the expert Orchard Owners themselves who were in attendance. I found out about the conference from my friend and orchard owner operator and neighbor in the Oatmeal community Kim McBride.

Cedar Fever Solution

The male Ashe Junipers (Cedar Trees) are loading up with their pollen that causes so many folks allergy problems. In a couple of weeks it will be the time to gather the blue berries from the female Ashe Junipers and prepare the Cedar Tea. Betty Branch is famous for sharing that all relieving recipe for Cedar Tea with me so I can share it with you the readers.

Take half a cup of berries and place them in a saucepan that has one and half cups of water in it. Bring it to a boil and remove from stovetop and cover till the tea is at room temperature. When cooled, transfer the entire solution and the berries to a glass jar. Put a top on the jar then place in the refrigerator. When the season of pollen begins take one teaspoon of the tea each morning. I place my teaspoon of “cedar berry tea” in a glass of apple juice but you can use the juice of your choice. Continue this each day till season has concluded.

WARNING: Be sure and check with your doctor before preceding with this solution as some folks, though a few, are really allergic and should not use this solution. For those of us who can it is truly a Blessing.

Key thoughts; the male of the species causes the problem and the female of the species saves the day! Thank You Ladies!

Random Thought

“I will garden for pleasure and self-sufficiency: I will cook from scratch with ingredients that I have raised in my pastures, garden, and woods.” Ariana Hawkins, Kentucky

Till Next Month!

Keep your souls and your soles in your garden!

Remember the True Master Gardener: Jesus said, “I am the vine; my Father is the Gardener.” John 15:1

Have questions or comments? Contact Bill Luedecke at The Luedecke Group Realtors, P.O. Box 1632, Bertram, TX. 78605 (no Post Office in Oatmeal) or email bill@texasland.net. For additional gardening web sites, go to his web site; www.TexasLand.Net and click on links.

Wikimedia Commons

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Milan’s cultural charms may not be immediate, but once discovered they’re greater than those found in Rome, Florence or Venice. Giovanna Bertazzoni shares her insider guide to the city’s hidden attractions.

Milan is a city of secrets and surprises. Every time I go back for business or to see my friends and family, I am taken aback by its elegance, beauty and style. Milan is the city in Italy I feel closest to, because of its openness, its cosmopolitan outlook and its intense energy.

Milan requires more effort and dedication than other Italian cities but, once discovered, the rewards are much greater than those offered on ‘easier’ trails through Rome, Florence or Venice. Milan is an intelligent, challenging and supremely elegant Italian city; a foreigner can learn more about the best of Italy here than anywhere else in the country.

Inside Villa Necchi Campiglio. Image: Giorgio Majno

A place that epitomizes my passion for Milan and its sophisticated glamour is Villa Necchi Campiglio, a tour de force of 1930s design and architecture. The villa is situated at the very heart of the historical centre, surrounded by a wonderful secluded garden with centenary trees. In recent years the family donated it to the FAI (Fondo Ambientale Italiano), the equivalent of the National Trust. This gift was the catalyst for another very significant donation to the house, from the late Claudia Gianferrari, one of the grandes dames of the Milanese art market. She bequeathed her exquisite collection of paintings and sculpture, gathered by her father throughout his important career as an art dealer. One of the best ensembles of the Italian Novecento, with seminal and moving pictures by Sironi and Carrà, and rare sculpture by Arturo Martini, it can now be discovered in the most precious and purely designed contemporary setting. The FAI’s restoration of the house has also coincided with the opening of a wonderful small café in the garden, made famous by the dramatic final scene of the recent film Io Sono l’Amore (I Am Love), which was all set in the villa and its garden. During mild weather breakfast, a light lunch or an afternoon tea in this café are an absolute treat.

Another private house, which has been converted into a museum and has the atmosphere of a 19th-century treasure trove, is the Museo Poldi Pezzoli, the equivalent of the Parisian Jacquemart-André or Isabella Stewart Gardner’s Bostonian mansion. A selection of the most astonishing masterpieces of the Italian Renaissance are housed here; the collection’s Portrait of a Lady, by Piero del Pollaiolo may be the most exquisite profile in the history of Western art. The Poldi Pezzoli is housed in a secluded courtyard, opening up onto Corso Manzoni, just a few metres from the Teatro della Scala. Strolling from Corso Montenapoleone towards Piazza della Scala on Corso Manzoni, among the most elegant shopping streets in Milan, is still one of the most pleasurable moments I can have in Milan. I make time for it on even the busiest trip. I have recently been asked to join the Board of Trustees of this unique museum. I’m grateful for the honour not only because it allows me to give back to my city, but also because it truly is one of my favourite spots.

From the Poldi Pezzoli, one of the best walks is through Brera, the neighbourhood of antiquarians and art galleries, to Corso Garibaldi, where the anonymous latteria (milk shop) still sells the best cappuccino in town, and Mr. Spelta still makes his elegant handmade shoes for young Milanese fashionistas. At the end of Corso Garibaldi one can find another hard-worn gem: what looks from the outside like a flower shop is actually a sublime little coffee shop, perfect for drinks or dinner. It is called Fioraio Bianchi, and it serves one of the best carpaccios I’ve had in a long time.

One of Milan’s most beautiful courtyards is secreted within the Università Statale. Image: Alamy

Milan is also a city of secret gardens and courtyards. One of the most splendid moments in the city’s history was the Quattrocento, when two of the most beautiful cloisters were built: the most monumental one now houses the Università Statale. One can simply walk in and promenade alongside these superb terracotta courtyards, mixing with the students, and taking in the latest fashion and design trends. For a more melancholic experience, I recommend the cloisters of the Stelline, also open to the public and close to the noble church of Santa Maria delle Grazie, famous for Leonardo’s Ultima Cena.

Milan is all this and it is also a city of long nights which start with never-ending aperitivi outside stylish bars. There is nothing more Milanese than the aperitivo, the pre-dinner drink or cocktail that starts around 7.30pm and can end anywhere between 10pm or 4am. One of the undisputed kingdoms of aperitivo is the bohemian neighbourhood of the Navigli. This is the name the Milanese give to the canals once connecting Milan to Genoa, and now existing only between Milan and Pavia. The southern part of the city is built around two of the surviving canals. It is the Milanese equivalent of the bars around the Canal Saint Martin in Paris. All the best cafes, restaurants, pizzerias, jazz bars are aligned on the canals’ borders.

But the best of all, and the most rewarding way to end one’s vagaries of Milan is the Trattoria Al Pont de Ferr, possibly the only Michelin-starred ‘trattoria’ in the world, and one of the best-kept secrets of a city that, for all its cosmopolitan allure, displays its greatest charms only to the cognoscenti.

Christie’s international head of Impressionist and Modern Art, Italian-born Giovanna Bertazzoni travels the world from her London base to work with the auction house’s clients and to appraise the works of private collectors and major cultural institutions.

Portrait of a Lady by Piero del Pollaiuolo, on show at Museo Poldi Pezzoli. Image: David Keith Jones/Alamy