TO DISTRACT BORED KIDS

1 Make a bug hotel It can take an hour, a day or a whole weekend, depending on
the architect’s aspirations, and needn’t cost a bean, with recycled and
natural construction materials.

2 Find a quiet spot in part shade, stack up wooden pallets, offcuts of marine
ply or treated softwood, separated by bricks, logs or two-by-four.

3 Then furnish each floor to make a mosaic of old flower pots, garden canes,
slates and roof tiles, hay, dead leaves, pine cones, stones, drinking straws
and wrapping paper tubes.

4 Creepy crawlies will soon move in, for daytime cover in the summer, then
winter shelter. At hibernation time, it could also attract frogs, toads and
newts, grass snakes and slow worms.

WITH WEEKEND HOUSE GUESTS

• If you choose a cooler day, this is a good time to play giant
chess with your shrubs. Larger plants re-establish quickly because their
roots are still actively growing. Lure in some muscly friends with the
promise of clean sheets and a bucket of Pimm’s and you could reorganise the
garden.

• Get each plant’s new home ready first. Dig a hole much larger
than its rootball, line it with well-rotted organic matter and water. Stick
in a stake for support.

• Make a trench around the stem of whatever you’re
transplanting, about 2ft (60cm) away, and slip the spade under the roots,
keeping as much of the soil attached as possible.

• Nick the rootball with a knife to goad the plant into
regrowing. Plant immediately, water and mulch. Reduce the roots’ workload by
cutting back top-growth. Pamper with phosphorus-based plant food; avoid
nitrogen, which encourages lush greenery.

• Feed prunings to the chipper and use as a conditioner for
compost overdosing on summer lawn mowings.

• Now have that Pimm’s, with mint and cucumber from the garden.

FIVE OF THE BEST

MUST-DO JOBS

1 PROPAGATE Gather geranium seedpods before they explode; otherwise
save ripe seed. Pot up self-sown seedlings and rooted strawberry runners.
Take cuttings of shrubs, woody herbs and soft fruit.

2 HARVEST blueberries a few days after ripening for a stronger flavour.
Also ready are second early potatoes, globe artichokes, calabrese, pencil
leeks, onions, French and runner beans and outdoor tomatoes.

3 PRUNE cordon apples, fan-trained fruit and plum trees. Cut gooseberry
and redcurrant sideshoots back by a third.

4 POISON knotweed. Cut canes down to 8in (20cm), tenderise the middle
with a stick, then pour in concentrated Roundup.

5 ATTACK mildew with sulphur-based fungicide.

GARDEN GAMES

• ARCHERY The Zing Air Z-Curve Launcher fires squishy-tipped
arrows, up to 100 yards, so your kids can’t harpoon their friends (RRP
£19.99; amazon.co.uk).

• BASKETBALL With more garden hoops, maybe this wouldn’t be the
first British Olympic basketball team since 1948 (from £22; 01865 392439; gardengames.co.uk).

• VOLLEYBALL Try a few “spikes” and “dinks” with a Deluxe Garden
Volleyball Set from Jaques.co.uk
(£44.99; 01732 500200).

• BADMINTON Its rule book dates from the British Raj but China
rules the court now. Wilson four-player sets cost £39.95 (01276 404800; wilson.com/en-gb).

• TABLE TENNIS Butterfly makes all-weather ping pong tables
(from £369.99; 0800 458 4141;
teessport.com).

TO STRETCH OUT SUMMER

• DEEP HEAT Plant a fiery late border like Monty Don’s at
Longmeadow, with orange dahlias ‘David Howard’, ‘Ellen Huston’, ‘Biddenham
Sunset’ and ‘Kenora Sunset’, Rudbeckia hirta, heleniums
and crocosmias ‘Emily McKenzie’ and ‘James Coey’.

• UNSEASONAL SALAD Devote a raised bed to winter pickings of
rocket, parsley, mizuna, mibuna, endive and lettuces (try ‘Gem Collection’).
Sow indoors now before light levels drop.

• LATE ARRIVALS Sow early carrots for a sweet, fast-maturing
crop.

• DAYLIGHT SAVINGS I Dry fragrant herbs in the airing cupboard
or microwave, in bursts, for three minutes.

• DAYLIGHT SAVINGS II Bake oil-drizzled tomatoes in a hot oven
for 40 minutes, then freeze for winter sauces.

IN MY GARDEN

NAILA GREEN, Seaside gardener and designer

OFF WITH THEIR HEADS

Lavenders do really well by the sea and I love them so I have lots. To keep
them young and prevent them becoming woody, I religiously prune every year,
around the end of August, removing all spent flower stalks and about an inch
(2.5cm) of the current year’s growth. It’s very important not to prune
beyond live green growth as lavenders won’t regenerate from old wood.

SUN, SEA, AND A LICK OF PAINT

Paintwork fades more quickly in the intense sunlight reflected off the sea so
my blue bench gets an annual August lick of paint. I’ll also make a pretty
line of seashells with my stencil and can of spray silver. Then, the final
flourish – reclaimed blue and red lobster buoys.

SNAIL’S PLACE

My husband has nicknamed me “Snail”. Inspired by this, I’m creating a large
snail spiral of clipped box (Buxus sempervirens) around my beautiful pine
tree. I’ll need more than 100 plants and to avoid disease I’m propagating
them from my own blight-free bushes. I dip semi-ripe cuttings from this
year’s growth into rooting powder and pot them up into small pots, which
I’ll keep watered in the greenhouse until ready for planting next spring.

• Naila Green is a garden designer, tutor and former RHS show
gardens judge. Her east Devon coastal garden, Highover, has appeared in
several books and on television (01626 888598; nailagreengardendesign.co.uk)

PLOT TO PLATE

Courgette fritters with dill

Makes 16

Ingredients

1lb 5oz (600g) courgettes, grated

1 small onion, grated

1 small clove garlic, finely chopped

3½oz (100g) feta, crumbled

3 tbsp dill, finely chopped

2 tbsp parsley, finely chopped

2 eggs, well beaten

1¾oz (50g) flour

1oz (30g) rice flour

Freshly ground black pepper

Olive oil

• Place the courgette in a colander, sprinkle lightly with sea
salt, toss and leave for 20 minutes. Rinse briefly, then squeeze out as much
liquid as possible and pat dry. Mix with the onion, garlic, feta, herbs and
eggs. Sift the flour into the mixture and stir.

• Heat a little oil in a non-stick frying pan until sizzling.
Drop in small tablespoons of batter and flatten gently. Cook for two minutes
on each side until golden. Serve piping hot with thick Greek yogurt
(labneh).

– With thanks to Greg Malouf, chef at Petersham Nurseries Café, Richmond,
Surrey (020 8940 5230; petershamnurseries.com)
. This recipe is from ‘Turquoise’ (£18.99, Hardie Grant Books)

HOW TO MAKE AN ENTRANCE

A gate frames a view of the garden and engenders a sense of exploration.

• The gate should fit the boundary. Brick and stone walls suit
heavy, decorated wood or wrought iron.

• Use see-through entrances with care – not overlooking a
seating area.

• Create drama – for instance with scented flowers, trained into
a frame for the doorway. Add detail with door furniture; outsize handles,
locks and hinges give the illusion of salvage.

• A gate placed where it isn’t needed imparts mystery. Japanese
gardens employ low arches, great for children’s gardens – like a shortcut to
Alice’s Wonderland.

Advice from ‘Garden DIY’ by Chris Maton, Mark Edwards, Richard Key,
Toby Buckland (£20, Murdoch Books)

EVENTS

FLOATING ART FESTIVAL

Glass sculptures by 10 British artists take to the lake at Bodenham Arboretum,
Worcs. Aug 1-27 ; 11am-9.30pm Thursday, May-September, 11am-9.30pm rest of
the year). Adults £6.50, children £3.50 (01562 852444; bodenham-arboretum.co.uk).

PARTY ON THE PLOT

National Allotments Week is a chance to big up grow-your-own with events all
around the country. August 6-12 (nsalg.org.uk).

FRUIT FEAST

Talks, tastings and tours at the Plum Day hosted by Brogdale National Fruit
Collections, Kent. August 12, 10-5pm. Adults £10, children £5.50 (01795
536250; brogdalecollections.co.uk).

THROUGH THE KEYHOLE

Pick the experts’ brains at the annual open day of the gold-medal-winning
National Dahlia Collection, Varfell Farm, near Penzance, Cornwall. August
26, 10am-4pm. Entry free (07879 337714; national-dahlia-collection.co.uk).

BUNNY GUINNESS’S TOP TOPS

• The mowing this year has taken up more time than usual,
with the triffid-like growth encouraged by so much rain. I am reducing all
small, awkward areas and replacing with simple blocks of planting. Small,
shady wilder areas where newish trees are starting to slow down grass growth
are ideal spots to replace with plants such as luzula, native ferns and
geraniums. In other areas I am just cutting and collecting the grass at a
height as high as the mower will allow, at three-week intervals or longer,
with mown paths cut through for access.

• Slug slime Don’t wash — rub fingers together and it falls off
in little balls like glue

Gardening in the hot, muggy days of August can seem like a marathon. We gardeners can only dream of sitting in our lounge chairs, sipping lemonade and enjoying the fruits (and vegetables) of our summer labor. 

Enjoy that cold drink in the afternoon after a day of assessing your garden this month — which plants did well and which plants did not.

My garden beds are currently decked out in a riot of yellow blooms (rudbeckia), orange blooms (Echinacea) and blue flowers (salvia ‘black and blue’). These plants did well despite the heat, humidity and lack of rainfall. I will keep these standouts and increase the number of hardy salvia. I have fallen in love with hardy salvia this summer, and I intend to add an orange-red variety (salvia ‘darcyi’) next season.

I have enjoyed these colorful plants all summer long, and so have the butterflies, goldfinches and hummingbirds — I have never seen so many in my gardens.

Some of my plants did not do so well this summer (particularly, my yellow KnockOut Roses) and, as a result, I have “holes” in my garden beds. I will view those failures as an opportunity to consider some different plants to bring color into my gardens for the late summer and fall. 

Hardy hibiscus, cardinal flower (lobelia cardinalis) and dwarf crepe myrtle would all be good choices to deliver a pop of color in August and September. You can find varieties with blooms of white, yellow, pink and red. Turtlehead (chelone) is also in bloom now, and comes in hues of white and lavender.

While assessing my garden beds this week, I have also deadheaded (removed the dead or spent flowers to encourage more flowering) and removed diseased plant material. I have added another layer of leaf mold as mulch and pruned my lace-cap hydrangeas. These garden tasks need to be done now to prolong the health and bloom time of your garden.

I also must confess that this hot and dry summer weather has completely destroyed my small lawn, despite all efforts to save it. Growing lawn turf in the Mid-Atlantic is a very labor-intensive exercise, with seemingly little return for the investment of time spent seeding, aerating, fertilizing, mowing and watering. This fall I will be redesigning the grassy area as an English garden with pea gravel paths and a small “walkway” of lawn.

As we head into the end of summer and beginning of fall, let’s hope for cooler weather and more rain to help our gardens bloom … and maybe help reduce our utility bills as well!

 

Eleni Silverman is a Master Gardener, Vice President of the Belle Haven Garden Club, Chair of the Landscape Committee at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology and author of the garden blog “Belle Haven Garden Maven.” She is the owner of The Well Tended Garden, providing garden grooming, coaching and design. She admits to a fascination with all things gardening, believes even compost is engaging, and will eagerly discuss the relative merits of leaf mold versus hardwood mulch.

Community members are invited to attend the next “A Walk in the Garden.”

The program is a series of gardening classes led by Anoka County master gardener volunteers. It discusses gardening tips using University of Minnesota-based information.

The next class takes place Wednesday and will discuss “Garden Scene Investigators: Exploring the Creepy Crawlies in the Garden.”

Classes are free but require registration by calling 763-755-1280. They take place from 7-8 p.m. at the Bunker Hills Activities Center in Andover.

The next class is Aug. 22 and will talk about how to attract hummingbirds and butterflies to gardens.

Tips to help you in the garden and around the house during the late summer days:

— If your tomato blossoms drop but no fruit forms, temperatures are likely too warm. Try a “heat set” tomato for next year’s crop. If you see dark spots and brown scars developing, make sure you’re watering regularly and consistently.

— If your flowers are looking uninspired by now, try adding one of our six favorite plants — from purple Alternanthera to red and green Coleus — for late-summer color.

— Grass is a natural air conditioner in summer months, at 50 to 75 degrees, even when sidewalks and streets are as hot as 100 degrees. It’s a good idea to let your grass go dormant during dry summer periods instead of watering regularly. Your yard will green up again in the fall; for now, use water resources for new plantings, old trees and vegetable gardens or for newly divided perennials.

— If you have heavy pots or planters on a wooden deck, slip decorative “feet” underneath to keep them off the wood. This way, excess water will dry off instead of seeping in and rotting the wood.

— Every few months, walk along your fence and shake it for signs of instability. Repair, reinforce or replace damaged portions. Check the finish or if unpainted, clean with a wood soap product. Remove any plants creeping up the wood so they don’t pull fence posts apart over time.

— Check your home for gaps and cracks where cool air can escape, such as attic doors, baseboards and old weather stripping. Fill, repair and replace as needed and save up to 20 percent on heating and cooling bills.

— If you have a wood-burning stove it’s not too early to order wood now. The extra time will make your wood perfectly seasoned for the cold months ahead. Just be sure to keep it somewhere dry with plenty of ventilation.
 

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While gardeners reap the benefits of long, warm days tending to the outdoor garden, landscapes, and lawns, it’s often easy to forget about those indoor plants that give residents loyal and continual pleasure 12 months of the year. While the vegetation inside appear to be maintenance free, the “indoor landscape” has requirements that need to be met to keep them happy and healthy. The good news is, following some of the basic tips below and applying some preventative care, many common problems can be avoided or corrected.

Fertilizer

Believe it or not, summer is the time that that indoor plants need fertilizer the most. The long days with extended sunlight create key opportunities for plants to thrive. Don’t deny plants the food they need to make the most out of their optimum growing season. One application of fertilizer per month is generally enough. Not certain what kind of fertilizer to use? Consult the local full-service garden shop. Keep in mind to back off in the late fall as plants start to go dormant and remain less active into early spring.

Light

All plants vary in their light requirements. Typically plants come in three general categories of light requirements: low, indirect medium and high. To determine the perfect placement of each plant, take a minute and view the room as a whole. How much natural light does the entire room receive as opposed to the amount of direct light that may pour through the window? When the light evaluation is complete, find the ideal location that will satisfy the plant’s light preferences. If the plant is under or overexposed, the leaves may yellow and die. If this occurs, try another location.

Temperature

Most plants are happy and content with temperatures between 60ºF and 75ºF. Always avoid placing plants in the line of fire of extreme drafts, especially air conditioning or appliances with heat registers.

Watering
Under watering and over watering will almost produce the same result. Leaves will turn yellow and fall off the plant. Keep in mind that the longer days during the summer will make plants thirstier than at other times of the year, so it is a good idea to increase watering frequency during these warm months. Check water daily.

Vacation

It’s the middle of prime vacation season, and there are a few things that can be done to keep plants happy while their caregivers are enjoying a little R R. Before going away, move the plants to a lower light area and add a moisture control product (available in most garden shops). The lower level of light will make your plant less thirsty. Another option is to place the plants in a bath tub with pot saucers. Before leaving, give the plants a good soaking until the saucer-pot overflows. This should buy almost a week’s worth of vacation without the need to water.

Most gardeners anxiously await throughout the winter for the warm temperatures of spring and summer and that prime growing season, but don’t forget about those indoor plants that have remained devoted and strong providing lush foliage all year long.

Information for this article was contributed by Wilson Farm, 10 Pleasant St., Lexington. 781.862.3900, www.wilsonfarm.com, on Facebook.com/ShopWilsonFarm or Twitter@WilsonFarm.

We all know how important venting cooking steam out of the kitchen is for moisture and mold prevention, but when it comes to actually installing a vent hood, where does one actually start? It’s not like most people’s friends have strong opinions on vent hoods. 

I found vent hood recommendations from New York City remodeling contractors on the Brownstoner forum. Highly recommended were Broan, NuTone and Zephyr vent hoods. Though they are not specifically HVAC experts, I am inclined to trust their words that these brands of vent hoods are quiet, effective and well-built.

Do you have a range vent that you love? Tell us! And get all our home garden tips delivered straight to your Twitter feed by following @yournetworx.

  View original post.

We all know how important venting cooking steam out of the kitchen is for moisture and mold prevention, but when it comes to actually installing a vent hood, where does one actually start? It’s not like most people’s friends have strong opinions on vent hoods. 

I found vent hood recommendations from New York City remodeling contractors on the Brownstoner forum. Highly recommended were Broan, NuTone and Zephyr vent hoods. Though they are not specifically HVAC experts, I am inclined to trust their words that these brands of vent hoods are quiet, effective and well-built.

Do you have a range vent that you love? Tell us! And get all our home garden tips delivered straight to your Twitter feed by following @yournetworx.

  View original post.

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Published: July 31, 2012 12:00 PM

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Photo credit: AP | A double arbor is framed by Laburnums. (May 21, 2012)

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Blog: Garden Detective

Few plants adorn arbors or trellises as beautifully as flowering vines. They also can enhance the landscape with fragrance, provide shade and screen unsightly views.

But be careful which varieties you choose. Some vines can be thugs.

Vines are vigorous growers, which can be both good and bad for impatient gardeners. Fast-growing varieties provide thick barriers that screen well-tended…

Content Preview This content is exclusive for Newsday digital access and 7-day home delivery subscribers and Optimum Online^® customers.

In the heart of the Wilshire Park historic district, Horacio Fuentes has built a garden with the feel of his native El Salvador. It begins by the sidewalk, where a pito coral tree grows, planted 15 years ago. It hasn’t yet produced the dramatic red flowers that, when eaten, are said to prompt a deep sleep with intense, erotic dreams. Maybe it’s too cold here, Fuentes said.

He’s had more success with his papayas. The plants are scattered around the frontyard, low enough to harvest, each with a cluster of ripening fruit pushing out from the main trunk. Fuentes repeatedly tried to grow them when he started his garden, but the plants never produced usable fruit. Then his father told him a secret about growing papayas.

Before transplanting months-old seedlings, he scores the side of the plant on two sides with a knife, right above where the soil line will be.

“You do it just once,” he said. “This stops it from growing too high and gives you fruit quickly, although it will be small.”

Another tip: Lightly scoring the flesh of green papaya lengthwise, from tip to tip in three lines, will induce ripening.

The plant’s soft trunk, full of water and without bark, should be about 2 inches in diameter. The papaya plant (Carica papaya) looks like a tree but is actually an oversized herb. It originated in Central America but is well adapted to Southern California as long as it’s protected from frost. Younger trees bear more fruit, and aficionados like Fuentes start new plants from saved seeds every year.

You can start plants using seeds from a store-bought papaya. Most likely it will be a Mexican or a Hawaiian variety, and germination can take a month or more. 

For a plant that may be flowering already and ready to go in the ground, check out Papaya Tree Nursery. Owner Alex Silber likes a close relative of the common papaya. Babaco (Carica pentagona) is seedless, juicy and more acidic — closer to a pineapple. Silber said it’s one of his favorite fruits.

The plant looks like a traditional papaya, but the fruit hangs down at eye level and lasts for months, making it strikingly ornamental as well as tasty. Like some Mexican papaya plants, babaco can work in a container that’s about 24 inches high by 30 inches wide. All the varieties that Silber sells are self-fruiting, so you don’t need multiples for pollination.

Papaya plants are heavy feeders. Give them a nitrogen-rich fertilizer such as composted chicken manure, and mulch heavily. They will grow fast and yield fruit in as little as a year.

“Good drainage is key,” Silber said, adding that the nursery provides a detailed recipe for adjusting soil, if necessary. “Add powdered gypsum. They tend to be deficient in calcium and can get flower-end rot, like tomatoes.

The Global Garden, a look at our multicultural city through the lens of its landscapes, appears here on Tuesdays. For an easy way to follow future installments, join our Facebook page for Gardening in the West. Email: home@latimes.com.

ALSO:

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The Global Garden: Salsa-ready tomatillos

The Global Garden: Wild, edible lambsquarters

The Global Garden: Papalo, the “summer cilantro”