Gardening Job for December

Any tools not likely to be used during the winter should be cleaned, and any parts likely to rust should be oiled.

This is a good time to start pruning dead and dangerous limbs from trees. These should be burned in case they harbor insects and disease. Apply tree paint to the wounds made in sawing off limbs.

Most plants and shrubs winter-kill because of alternate freezing and thawing, so it is a good idea to bank them up with snow.

Look over the stored vegetables frequently and remove decaying specimens.

To protect tender perennials from harsh winter weather, build a wooden box with no top or bottom. Place it over the plants after the ground has frozen and fill with leaves.

Cover your compost pile to prevent rains and snows from leaching out nutrients.

If iris foliage is hit with heavy frost, remove and destroy it to eliminate borer eggs.

Check the "bones" of your garden or landscape for visual appeal. Hedges, stone walls, and pathways all contribute to the underlying structure. Make a note of what you will change in the spring.

If you're in an area with snow, go out and gently shake the snow from evergreens after heavy snowfalls; frozen wood is brittle. Remove any broken limbs with a sharp saw.

Make holiday wreaths from grapevines, greens, and dry seedpods.

As houseplants are growing more slowly in December light, cut down on watering by half until active growth resumes. Hold off on fertilizing as well.

Group houseplants near each other to form a support group to cope with the low humidity of most winter homes.

Popular Plants, Ideas for Winter Landscapes

What makes a plant popular for winter landscapes in the snowy regions of the globe? Are conifers the sole contestants? Which landscaping plants are automatically disqualified? Which shrubs are best for attracting wild birds? Answering such questions should help generate landscaping ideas for dealing with that Scrooge of the seasonal landscapes, horticulturally speaking -- the winter landscape. Our goal is to turn a drab winter landscape into a winter scene worth painting!
While evergreen shrubs and conifer trees undeniably add visual interest to winter landscapes, so do many other plants, such as red osier dogwoods. About the only plants that are disqualified right at the outset are those that lack any appreciable height: no matter how pretty a plant may be, it will add no visual interest to the winter landscape if it lies buried all winter, dwarfed by a blanket of snow. Based on this premise, let's explore ideas to enhance the winter landscape. And let's keep in mind all the while the fact that many landscaping enthusiasts are also bird watchers; so that a plant's ability to attract wild birds will be a consideration.
A winning plant for winter landscapes will have one or more of the following characteristics:

• Contains colorful berries that attract birds for bird watching
• Readily catches snow in its branches
• Exhibits a delicate structure
• Is clad in a bark that is colorful or that has an unusual texture
• Bears evergreen foliage
• Has an interesting branching pattern

Let's look at some popular plants exhibiting these characteristics. I'll let conifers take a back seat; their value to winter landscapes goes without saying, so I'm limiting their representation to two entries here. The following is a list of 10 popular plants for adding visual interest in winter:

1. Christmas holly shrubs
2. red twig dogwood or red osier dogwood
3. plume grass
4. bayberry
5. cranberrybush viburnum
6. winterberry holly
7. birch trees
8. yew shrubs
9. Canadian hemlocks
10. Viking black chokeberry

Evergreen holly is popular due to its striking, year-round foliage and bright berries that attract many bird species. Sprigs of cut holly have long been used in winter holiday decorations. Many evergreen hollies are not hardy enough for far Northern climes, but two of the hardier varieties are:

• China holly (Ilex meserveae), a rounded holly, 8' high by 8' wide, that is also drought tolerant, and
• compact inkberry holly (Ilex glabra 'Compacta'), which has a dark green foliage that resembles that of boxwood shrubs. Its berry is black, not the usual red that we associate with hollies. It reaches a height of 3'-6', and spreads out 3'-5'.

Red osier dogwood (Cornus sericea 'Allemans') is another extremely hardy plant (zones 3-8). The May flowering of red osier dogwoods yields white blooms that are followed by white fruit. But red osier dogwood makes this list because of its bark, which ranges in color from red to burgundy. Reaching a height of 6'-10', the spread of red osier dogwoods is 5'-10'. A patch of fiery red osier dogwood against a backdrop of pristine snow makes for an unforgettable winter scene.
No winter landscape should be without a tall perennial grass. These ornamental grasses, with their tall, thin shafts and fluffy coiffures, exhibit a delicate structure that lends a touch of charm to the harsh winter landscape. Plume grass (Erianthus ravennae) can be grown in zones 4-9. It grows 8'-11' (its clump has a spread of 3'-4').
Bayberry (Myrica pensylvanica) is a shrub with a spreading habit (4'-6' X 4'-6'), grown in zones 2-8 (see photo at right). Its glossy, aromatic foliage complements its waxy, gray fruit. In fact, these unusual berries are widely used to scent candles -- if you can get to the berries before the birds do, that is. The shrub is also drought tolerant. The birds may like bayberry, but the deer don't, as it's one of the deer-resistant plants.
Compact American cranberrybush viburnum (Viburnum trilobum 'Compactum') yields masses of red berries that serve as a source of food for birds on the winter landscape. A rounded shrub, it bears white flowers in May and June that are followed by red fruit. As a bonus, the shrub offers foliage ranging from red to purple in fall. American cranberrybush viburnum is hardy to zone 2. It grows 4'-5' high, with a spread of 3'-4'.

See more On Page 2

Landscape vision enjoys all the informative info provided by David Beaulieu

Transplant - - Transplanting Trees and Shrubs

In the North, there's not much work to do outside now. It's a good thing: I don't like working outside when I'm freezing! But on the occasional warm day Mother Nature grants us in November, there are a few tasks worth doing, including planting trees.

Transplanting trees and shrubs appears an easy task -- deceptively so! Many transplants die due to improper transplanting. But if you're about to give a facelift to a landscape design that has been neglected for years, then you will need to move existing plant matter, whether for relocation or for disposal. If you opt for shrub and tree transplanting, you must take steps to improve the likelihood of survival.

Difficulty: Average

Time Required: 2 Hours

Here's How:

1. Location, location, location! Prior to transplanting, determine whether the tree or shrub likes sun or shade, and what its spacing and watering requirements are. For instance, don't locate a plant that craves water next to one that prefers dry conditions: their needs will be incompatible.
2. Dig the new hole before you dig up the tree or shrub. Once you dig up the plant, the longer its roots go without a home, the lower your chances for successful transplanting.
3. Estimate the width and depth of the rootball by doing a bit of exploratory digging around the plant. The width of the new hole should be twice that of the rootball. The depth should be kept a bit shallower, to avoid puddling and consequent rotting.
4. When you reach the bottom of the new hole, resist the temptation to break up the soil beneath. You would think that this would help the tree or shrub, allowing its roots to penetrate deeper. Instead, it could cause the tree or shrub to sink, inviting rot.
5. Dig out the tree or shrub selected for transplanting. But don't start digging right at the base of a mature tree or shrub. Rather, start digging about 3' out from the base, all along the perimeter. Get a feel for where the main mass of roots lies. Also begin to judge what the weight will be of plant + roots + soil clinging to roots. You may need someone to help lift it!
6. The idea is to keep as much of the rootball (roots + soil) intact as possible. But the larger the plant is, the chances of getting anything close to the entire rootball will diminish -- and you wouldn't be able to carry it anyhow! Usually you will have to cut through some roots on a mature plant (either with a sharp shovel or with pruners -- make a good, clean cut).
7. Once you've removed enough soil from around the sides of the plant, you'll eventually be able to slip your shovel under it and begin to loosen the plant's grip on the soil below it. After it's loose, spread a tarp on the ground nearby and gently move the tree or shrub onto the tarp.
8. Using the tarp as a transporting medium, drag the tree or shrub over to the new hole (dug in steps 1-4). Gently slide it into the hole, and get it straight. Shovel the excavated soil back into the hole. Tamp this soil down firmly and water it as you go, to eliminate air pockets. The formation of air pockets could cause the tree or shrub to shift after transplanting.
9. Mound up the soil in a ring around the newly transplanted tree or shrub, forming a berm that will catch water like a basin. This will help you achieve your main objective from here on out -- keeping the new transplant's roots well watered, until it becomes established.
10. Spread a 3" layer of landscape mulch around the new transplant. But keep it a few inches away from the base of the tree or shrub, to promote air circulation and so as not to invite rodents from nibbling on the trunk. Rodents become emboldened by the cover mulch provides.
11. Then water, water, water. The first summer would be a difficult one for the tree or shrub to weather, unless it gets plenty of water. Watering is as essential as anything to success in shrub and tree transplanting.

Tips:

1. When should you conduct your shrub and tree transplanting? For most trees and shrubs late winter or early spring are the best times for transplanting. Fall would be the second best time. In summer it's not advisable (too hot). In the dead of winter it's almost impossible (in the North) -- unless you've done all your digging ahead of time (before the ground freezes).
2. The time given for this transplanting project is 2 hours. However, that will depend greatly on the circumstances. To dig a mature tree or shrub out of rocky soil (especially in cramped quarters) is back-breaking work. How long it takes you will largely depend on your health and on how much you're willing to push yourself.
3. Above, I have discussed shrub and tree transplanting that involves digging, moving and re-planting a rootball. This is how you would normally perform shrub and tree transplanting using stock on your own property. However, when you buy plants from nurseries to plant in your yard, there will be some differences in the operation. Some nursery plants are balled and burlapped (see picture above). Others are sold bare-root, the transplanting of which I discuss in my article on growing roses.
4. One technique sometimes used to facilitate transplanting trees or shrubs of significant size is root pruning.

What You Need:

• Pointed Shovel
• Tarps
• Measuring Tape
• Pruners
• Garden Hose
• Mulch

David Beaulieu
Landscaping Guide              Landscape Vision loves all the great information David provides!

 

Fast Growing Shurbs by David Beaulieu About.com

Fast growing shrubs are a great choice for homeowners seeking quick privacy hedges. For that matter, homeowners simply hoping to enjoy stand-alone specimen bushes some time in the not-too-distant future will also be glad to find fast growing shrubs -- plants as impatient for growth as are their owners! This article lists several fast growing shrubs, linking to further information that discusses their main features and tips on caring for them.

Cotoneaster: Fast Growing Shrubs With Berries

The branching of rock cotoneaster is stiff and dense, giving the plant, overall, a rather bristly look. Stems shoot off the branches in what's often referred to as a "herringbone pattern," a term also used in hardscaping. The bristly look is significantly softened once the red berries appear, as your attention will be drawn to their fleshy orbs. To learn more about cotoneaster, click the link below:

Cotoneaster Redtwig Dogwood: Fast Growing Shrubs

With Striking Bark. Its leaves are gone. Its berries are gone. Its flowers are long gone. It's winter, and redtwig dogwood is practicing its own version of "addition by subtraction." For, despite having lost so many features, redtwig dogwood may be at its best when nothing blocks the view of its best feature: its signature bark color, shouting out above the layer of snow coating the landscape.

Mock Orange: Fragrant Fast Growing Shrubs

The wonderfully fragrant bush, mock orange is rather unfortunately named for what it is not, rather than for what it is. As the "mock" in its name suggests, mock orange is not a true orange. But the citrusy smell of its blossoms was enough to invite comparison, thus accounting for the origin of the mock orange's common name.

Lilacs: Old-Fashioned Fast Growing Shrubs

Like mock orange, the traditional lilac is an olfactory treasure. New cultivars are now available, but I still prefer the type of lilac that you probably remember from your grandparents' yard.

Forsythia: Fast Growing Shrubs That Herald Spring

There's a special place in my heart for forsythias. When I see their flower buds yellowing up, I feel my anticipation fully justified. What is it I anticipate? Forsythia flowers? Yes, but much, oh, so much more than that! For forsythia flowers herald nothing less than spring, itself.

But we've only just started! On Page 2 we'll look at some additional choices for fast growing shrubs....

Page 2

From informative landscape information visit our friend David Beaulieu with About.com

Landscape Vision just loves David!

We love this site

Landscape Vision,a landscape design software, just loves this site. We think this is a great place to shop for plants. Create your design with our software, then shop for the plants you chosen here at Wayside Garden.

in reference to: Wayside Gardens Catalog of rare Perennials, Bulbs, and Trees (view on Google Sidewiki)

Melinda Myers Gardening Tips

Hello everyone, you really should check out this site. Melinda is a friend of Landscape Visions'. Her site offers great product info and helpful gardening tips.

Check it out and visit often for timely tips.
http://www.melindamyers.com/

in reference to: Gardening Tips from expert gardener Melinda Myers (view on Google Sidewiki)

Wayside Garden Gardening Guide

Hello everyone, we wanted you to check out this link from Wayside Gardens. They offer this great gardening guide.

It's easy to grow Wayside trees, shrubs, and perennials; just take a moment to read the following sections on preparing your soil and caring for your Wayside plants. Just a little extra time and attention at planting time and during the first season will get your plant off to its best possible start in your garden, helping it grow healthy roots, and looking its best for years to come!

For specific planting instructions, refer to the alphabetical listings below. You can also download and print this useful Gardening Guide to use at your convenience.

Use our software then shop for your plant choices at Wayside Gardens.

Special fall pricing on Landscape Vision check it out www.landscapeyourvisions.com

Falling For Pumpkins

Pumpkins -- glorious, round, orange fruits that take center stage every October -- bring joy to everyone. Whether you're 6 or 60, they immediately call to mind carving contests, Thanksgiving dinners and that perennially popular TV special, "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown." And this time of year, there's plenty of opportunity for nostalgia: Grocery stores and farmer's markets are flush with pumpkins.

Known for easy germination, a single pumpkin seed can bear as many as nine fruits. And there's no shortage of varieties. More than 100 exist with wild names like Baby Boo, Spooktacular and Cinderella. Although orange is still the predominant color, varieties also come in pink, red and white. Their sizes are even more diverse, with 4-ounce miniatures like Jack Be Little that are great for table decorations, Small Sugar pumpkins that weigh only a few pounds and are ideal for baking and, of course, the "giants."

Giant-pumpkin-growing contests became internationally known when the first 400-pound specimen was sent to the Paris World's Fair in 1900. Competition has grown considerably, thanks to hybrid seeds and big prize money. Last year, Larry Checkon of Northern Cambria, Pa., won $2,000 for his 1,469-pound Atlantic Giant, the heaviest on record. At its peak, the pumpkin packed on an astounding 50 pounds per day.

Once my children were old enough to celebrate Halloween, I started to grow pumpkins in my vegetable garden. They weren't giants, but from the moment the seedlings burst forth until the first fruits ripened, the kids were mesmerized. They would race outside to check the growth practically every day. With vines that rivaled Jack and the Beanstalk's, pumpkins became our household's favorite crop, stealing the No. 1 spot from tomatoes.

As long as you're not planning to break any world records, growing your own pumpkins is relatively easy and doesn't require acres of land. A 6-by-8-foot area or a sturdy fence that gets at least six hours of sun a day will suffice. Once the threat of frost has passed and the soil temperature is 65 F to 70 F (use a soil thermometer to check), plant four to six seeds in the middle of a 3-foot-wide mound. (Most varieties mature in 90 to 140 days, so plant accordingly if you want to have pumpkins for next Halloween.) Water daily, pick three of the strongest-looking sprouts and pull out the others. Once the sprouts become plants, water at their bases often enough to keep the soil moist but not too wet.

When it's time to harvest your pumpkins (whether they're plucked from your backyard or a local farm), handle them with care. If treated right, they can last for several months. Pick pumpkins when they're ripe, not a moment before. You'll know they are ready by the color, which will be uniform and deeply saturated. Flesh will be firm and resist denting when pressed with a thumbnail. Use a pruner to cut the fruit off the vine, leaving a 2- to 4-inch stem. To cure pumpkins (which will harden their shells and ensure a longer shelf life), place in a sunny spot (about 80 F to 85 F) for 10 days; if it's too cool outside, a windowsill with direct sunlight will do. Then, store them in a well-ventilated, cool, dry place.

You'll be happy to have extra pumpkins on deck. Scoop out the seeds for roasting, or prepare them to start next year's crop. (Rinse seeds with water, place on a paper towel until they have completely air-dried, then store them in an envelope in a cool spot until next planting season. Note:The germination rate may not be as high as packaged seeds.) You also could try your hand at a velvety soup or a piping hot batch of pumpkin muffins for a cold December morning.

---

FRAN'S FAVORITE PUMPKIN VARIETIES

TYPE: Small Sugar
GOOD FOR: This heirloom pumpkin from the 1800s, also known as New England Pie, develops a non-stringy, sweet flesh that's perfect forpies and canning.
SIZE: 5 to 8 pounds
GROWING TIME: 100 to 105 days to maturity

TYPE: Lumina
GOOD FOR: White skin and bright orange flesh distinguish this variety, which is great for cooking and carving. Its short growing season will appeal to gardeners in colder climates.
SIZE: 10 to 12 pounds
GROWING TIME: 90 to 100 days to maturity

TYPE: Rouge Vif D'Etampes
GOOD FOR: This beautiful French heirloom has ribbed, bright red or burnt orange skin and a taste and texture that works well in soups.
SIZE: 5 to 40 pounds
GROWING TIME: 110 to 150 days to maturity

TYPE: Orange Smoothie
GOOD FOR: Children will like to paint on this all-American winner with a strong stem and smooth skin.
SIZE: 5 to 8 pounds
GROWING TIME: 90 to 100 days to maturity

Ordering Gardening Seeds

When it's not gardening season, it's time to plan for next year and peruse seed catalogs. Here are some tips on ordering garden seeds:

• Obtain catalogs from companies located in your part of the world as well as from distant businesses, and compare their offerings and prices. Some of the small regional seed sources carry heirlooms and special varieties best suited to your area.
• Before you order, contact your local county cooperative extension service office and ask about varieties that are known to do well in your area. Discuss any specific problems you've had with pests or disease.
• Make a list of what you'd like to grow, but check it twice before you order. A pause or two will give you a chance to change your mind. Remember that the garden is actually one-quarter the size you think it is.
• Plan to buy enough seeds to sow them thickly. Inevitably, you'll suffer some losses (bugs, birds, weather), and you can always thin later if you end up with an excess.
• Pay careful attention to the number of days to maturity included in every catalog description. If your growing season has 85 predictable frost-free days, chances are you won't harvest a watermelon that needs 120 days to ripen.
• Avoid discounted seeds sold at chain stores. They probably haven't been stored under ideal conditions, and you may find germination to be spotty.

From our firesnd at the Old Farmers Almanac

US Department of Energy

Everyone should check out this site. The Department of Energy has provided really useful information to help save money on your energy bills and to educate ourselves to new products and alternative energy options.

We like this segment on solar water heaters.
http://www.energysavers.gov/your_home/water_heating/index.cfm/mytopic=12850


Help the environment and your wallet, LEARN more about alternative energy.

"sunshine—is free"


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Garden Jobs for September

Compost should be watered during dry periods so that it remains active.

Now is a good time to evaluate the success of this year's garden. Make notes that will help you improve your garden next spring.

This is the best time to plant dormant evergreen trees and shrubs.

Correct any soil deficiencies you've noticed. Healthy soil is crucial to healthy plants.

Check coniferous trees for tip damage on new growth. If the tips have been mutilated by borers or otherwise damaged, remove them and establish a new leader by forcing a new side shoot into an upright position.

Young trees should be staked to prevent the roots from being pulled by fall and winter winds.

If you haven't brought your houseplants in yet, do it before you have to start heating your home. This gives them a chance to adjust. Wash them thoroughly before bringing them in to rid them of any pests and eggs.

As perennials fade away, mark their locations with small sticks. Some might not be apparent after the winter and might be disrupted by spring cultivating.

Plant spring bulbs as long as the ground is workable. Plant the following bulbs soon: trout lily, narcissus (including daffodil), snowdrop, winter aconite, starflower, and crown imperial. For crown imperial, add a little lime to the soil.

Take cuttings from such outdoor plants as impatiens, coleus, and begonia. An early frost can ruin your chances for cutting at a later date.

Dig up your rosemary, basil, tarragon, oregano, marjoram, English thyme, parsley, and chives to grow them inside as houseplants. Keep them in a cool, sunny spot, and allow the soil to dry out before watering. Snip off the leaves as needed in the kitchen, but do not strip them completely.

Onions are nearly ripe when the tips of the leaves turn yellow. Break them at the necks. This will speed the final ripening process. Loosen the soil to encourage drying, and after a few days turn them up and let them cure on dry ground. Always handle them very carefully -- the slightest bruise will encourage rot to set in.

Clean out any older growth of mint. It can become a nuisance, running rampant. Leave the younger stock.

Cider made from blemished apples, known as drops, will be fine, but avoid using too many apples with bruises or open wounds. If rot has already set in, it will affect the taste and longevity of the cider.

Supplement your apple pies with fruit frozen or canned earlier in the season.

If you have unripe tomatoes still on the vine and frost is fast approaching, pull out the vines by the roots and hang them upside down in a cool, dark place.

Transplant rhubarb, strawberries, and raspberries well before the first light frost so that some root development may take place. Rhubarb and strawberries deplete the soil of nutrients in a short time, so find new locations for them every three or four years.

Sunflower seeds are best dried on the plants. The seeds will be difficult to remove if you harvest the plants before they die naturally. Cover the heads with cheesecloth if you need to protect your crops from the birds.

Check out our friends at The Old Farmers Almanac http://www.almanac.com/

Fire Pit Safety

Fire Pit Safety

Though a defining characteristic of fire pits is that they are designed to contain the components of the fire at all times, it is always most prudent to take safety measures in the event that very hot materials do manage to escape from its confines. Also, whenever using a fire pit, one should make sure to rake the surrounding area to remove dead leaves or other debris that could potentially catch on fire from stray sparks. A safety measure that one can employ is placing a screen over the fire pit which not only contains sparks underneath it, but also reduces the wind's impact and potentially enlarging the fire. Also, good yard keeping, monitoring the area surrounding the fire pit, and removing any low lying branches from above, or debris around it, is prudent. Fire pits have the potential to be dangerous; however the steps needed to be taken to ensure their safety are minimal, though important.

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Gardening Jobs for August from Old Farmers Almanac

Compost should be watered during dry periods so that it remains active.

Prune only to retain the shape. Do not prune spring-flowering shrubs such as azaleas and rhododendrons.

Mid-August through September is a good time to transplant any shrubs that you've purchased with root balls wrapped in burlap. Make sure you get them in the ground two to three days after purchase. Do not fertilize until the second year, when the feeding roots have become established.

Lawns or bare spots reseeded with grass now will have a chance to get established before winter sets in. Water often and mulch with hay.

In colder regions, houseplants that have been outside for the summer should be brought in at the end of this month. A sudden cold spell will be too much of a shock for them to survive. This is also a good time to take cuttings.

You can still enjoy garden flowers indoors. Sow these annuals inside: sweet alyssum, dwarf marigold, browallia, ageratum, and nasturtium. Grow them in a moderately cool (60 degrees F), sunny window.

Plant fall-flowering bulbs now.

Two or three leaves should be left when cutting gladiolus, so that the bulbs can ripen.

This is the month for transplanting Oriental poppies.

Rock-garden pants should be checked to see if they need thinning. Overcrowded plants will not stay healthy or attractive.

Sow these perennials outdoors for next spring: aquilegia, Phlox paniculata, digitalis, centaurea, and primrose.

Hardy lily bulbs may be planted in the ground and left to overwinter outdoors.

Cut back the flower stalks of perennials that have finished blooming. Cut delphinium flower stalks to the ground, and a new, though smaller, flower stalk will develop. The flower will survive the coming cold days and even light frosts.

Lift, divide, and replant Japanese and Siberian irises soon after bloom. Transplant them to places where they will have "wet feet but dry knees."

If you notice a gap in your perennial bed between spring and fall blooms, visit a local nursery to see what's in bloom there and ask the experts for advice on what to plant.

The vegetable garden is likely to require daily harvesting now. Cucumbers, squash, tomatoes, eggplant, and peppers should be picked as soon as the fruits are ready. This not only captures the best flavor, but it also makes way for new fruits.

Maximum flavor of herbs for drying is achieved by cutting them just before their flowers open.

Make sure that potatoes are not escaping into the sunlight. Hill or mulch them if they are.

Trenches of new asparagus beds should receive their final filling in this month.

Remove dead pea vines, bolted lettuce, and other plants that have gone by and add them to the compost pile. If they show signs of disease, however, burn them.

Separate melons from the ground with a thin board to prevent decay or damage from wireworms.

Cut out raspberry and blackberry canes that have just finished fruiting.

Most perennials outgrow their containers and require repotting every two or three years

Plants for Fall Color

Well I hate to say it but Summer is winding down. Here in the Northeast were Landscape Vision is based, we have hardly had a summer. Rain has been on the menu most days. So with thoughts of Fall, here's a list of plants for spectacular color in your garden. (List came from our friends at the Old Farmers Almanac)

http://www.almanac.com/garden/index.php#design

PERENNIALS
Sedum 'Autumn Joy'
S. 'Matrona'
Canadian burnet (Sanguisorba canadensis)
Blue monkshood (Aconitum carmichaelii)
Hardy chrysanthemum 'Venus'
Hardy chrysanthemum 'Sheffield'
Lycoris (Lycoris squamigera)
Boltonia asteroides 'Snowbank'
Black cohosh, snakeroot, or bugbane (Cimicifuga racemosa)
Bugbane 'Hillside Black Beauty'
Aster x frikartii 'Monch'
A. x frikartii 'Wunder von Stafa'

ORNAMENTAL GRASSES
Pennisetum alopecuroides 'Hameln'
Miscanthus sinensis 'Silberfeder'
M. sinensis 'Purpurascens'
M. sinensis 'Morning Light'
M. sinensis 'Zebrinus'
Bouteloua gracilis 'Blue Grama'
Chasmanthium latifolium 'Wild Oats'

VINES
Sweet autumn clematis (Clematis terniflora)
Clematis 'Ville de Lyons'
Clematis 'Henryii'
C. orientalis
Boston ivy (Parthenocissus tricuspidata)
Virginia creeper (P. quinquefolia)

SHRUBS
Enkianthus (Enkianthus campanulatus)
Arrowwood viburnum (Viburnum dentatum)
V. 'Chicago Lustre'
Linden viburnum (V. dilatatum)
Common witch-hazel (Hamamelis virginiana)
Enkianthus (H. mollis)
Virginia sweetspire (Itea virginica) 'Henry's Garnet'
Fothergilla gardenii 'Blue Mist'
Beauty berry (Callicarpa)
C. bodinieri 'Profusion'
C. japonica
Winterberry holly (Ilex verticillata) 'Winter Red'
Winterberry holly (I. verticillata) 'Red Sprite'
Winterberry holly (I. verticillata)
'Winter Gold'
Winterberry holly (I. verticillata) 'Chrysocarpa'

CAMELLIAS
Tea-oil camellia (Camellia oleifera)
C. oleifera 'Winter's Beauty'
C. oleifera 'Winter's Dream'
C. oleifera 'Winter's Sunset' <

Gardening Jobs for July

Yellow or undersize foliage on your trees indicates a lack of nourishment. Feed them regularly, but don't overdo it.

If you have any houseplants sitting directly in the window, make sure the light is filtered or the plant is moved to a site out of direct sunlight. The windowpane intensifies the heat, and you don't want to scorch your plants.

Fertilize your houseplants frequently to ensure vigorous growth.

Extend the indoor life of your cut flowers by putting them in a solution that is one part water, one part clear soft drink (such as 7-Up, Sprite, etc.), and a few drops chlorine bleach.

Snip off the old flower clusters from rambler roses to encourage them to bloom all summer.

If you have thick, thriving phlox, thin the plants to four or five stalks per clump to provide adequate ventilation and avoid mildew.

You can sow a fall crop of bush beans now. Plant seeds two inches deep to protect them from the hot Sun. You can sow other vegetable seeds for an autumn yield, too, by planting them just a little deeper than you did in the spring. The best time to plant is after a rain shower.

If your celery is doing well, tie the stalks together to keep them from sprawling.

If you missed your peas' peak period, you can still pick, dry, and shell them for use in winter soups.

Don't water your melons at the base of the stems. Doing so can cause rot. Build up a little earth around the stems to keep water away.

Once melon vines have set three or four fruits, remove any new blossoms. The remaining fruits will benefit from this, and you will still have plenty.

Don't tug too hard on your raspberries when picking. A ripe raspberry will leave the vine willingly.

http://www.almanac.com

The Importance of The Clean Water Act

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The Importance of The Clean Water Act

"The 1972 Clean Water Act was written to protect the health of all of America's waters. But as a result of two Supreme Court decisions this monumental law was weakened. These decisions left thousands of waterways and acres of wetlands exposed to pollution and development. As you read this, 59 percent of America's waterways, serving drinking water systems for 110 million Americans, are at risk from court decisions that have weakened federal protections for these waters.

Recently, Sen. Russell Feingold, D-WI, and several co-sponsors introduced the Clean Water Restoration Act in the Senate to strength the protections provided to America's waters and restore the Clean Water Act.

The need for the Clean Water Restoration Act is clear. We're asking you to take action and urge your Senators to support the Clean Water Restoration Act.

The Clean Water Restoration Act can restore critical protections - defending our water resources from pollution, destruction, floods, and droughts.

Recent interpretations of the Clean Water Act have put many of our water bodies in legal limbo. Now, more than 500 enforcement cases have been dropped by the federal Environmental Protection Agency.

Since 2001, more than 10,000 wetlands, streams, rivers and lakes that supply 5,646 public water supply systems have been declared unprotected by the Army Corps of Engineers because of recent court decisions.

Introducing this legislation is not enough. Delay is not an option. Congress must pass the Clean Water Restoration Act this year!"

Written information above has been quoted from The Clean Water Action

For more information on how to make a difference, click on:
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2155/t/201/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=751

Dealing With Droughts: Who Will Be The Ultimate Garden Survivor?

Hey, droughts happen. Don't lament losses. Instead, smart gardeners celebrate small victories.

The lush pastel palettes that splashed across our spring gardens just a few months ago have segued into a mass of straw-colored lawns and limp plants that look like they're ready to be thrown into the garbage heap. After the first few weeks of trying to maintain the greenness within the drought restrictions of our communities, we realize we already have lost the battle. All we can do is resolutely limit ourselves to using drip hoses or some variation to salvage the most valuable of our trees, bushes and perennials.

Much of the country is in the midst of a major drought, and gardeners in the East, where I live, have dealt with these conditions for five of the last six summers. Most of us have been forced to come to grips with this water-challenged situation by now. For some gardeners, this fluke or pattern of nature takes on an air of grave importance.

But among the gardeners I know, a different sensibility prevails. It's an attitude of expectancy, mixed with curiosity and even optimism. You see, for gardeners who have worked their own piece of land year after year and experienced the awesome power of nature several times before, this summer's parched landscape is no surprise. These people have a sense of equanimity from having come head to head with the beauty and stillness of nature. They no longer perceive themselves as having lost the fight if parts of their gardens succumb to the lack of water. They don't complain about what is dying or how terrible things look. To the contrary, these folks engage in gleeful conversations about the specimens that have heartily survived the drought or the latest efficient watering device they have rigged up. They are too occupied taking note of the edgy beauty of one of their thriving succulents nestled up against the dried-up seedpod of a perennial that normally would be in full bloom to spend any time on the "what ifs" of this summer of 2002.

This family of gardeners shares a single piece of knowledge: that they are not in charge. In a world that values mastery and efficiency, they have learned an invaluable lesson. They know they can work hard, do everything technically correct and even possess the flair of an artist in their gardens -- but when it comes to the big strokes, the outcome of the garden is not in their hands, but in the hands of nature or God.

These gardeners have made their peace with the Darwinian theory of survival and understand that we humans are just a cog in the wheel. Any façade of self-importance has been exiled from their souls. They don't talk about the existential philosophy of it all. They are too busy living and gardening. When the full bloom of spring envelops their senses, they breathe in each intoxicating moment. In the dog days of summer they talk about what is happening now, this moment, in their garden. They possess a sense of lightheartedness, persistence and curiosity. These are folks who work the land because they have to; it gives them pleasure, peace of mind and meaning in their lives. It is precisely because they know that the ultimate outcome of each season's garden is beyond their control that they have the ability to immerse themselves in the act of gardening, relishing it for what it is: a place to learn important lessons about life.

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5 plants that scoff at drought

These drought-resistant perennials can be planted in midsummer. Water consistently for up to two weeks until the plant adjusts to its new home. Note: Zone numbers refer to the USDA's map of gardening climates. International Falls, Minn., for instance, is in cold Zone 3; Honolulu is in tropical Zone 11. (See map at www.usna.usda.gov/Hardzone.)

Achillea specimens(yarrow) have gray or green fern-like leaves with daisy-like flowerheads, grouped together, that bloom through the summer and fall. Comesi n white, red, yellow, orange and pink. Depending on the species (thereare more than 85), they can be grown anywhere from Zone 3 to Zone 9. Check the species to make sure it thrives in your zone. Prefers full sun in an open space but will survive in a variety of conditions.

Coreopsis specimens(tickseed) are from the Asteraceae family. They have daisy-like yellowor pink flower heads that grow on long stalks and attract bees. Long blooming period; great for cut flowers. A rapid spreader. Check species and your zone to make sure it thrives in your climate. Some do well from Zone 3 to Zone 9. Grow in full sun or partial shade. Deadhead for continuous bloom.

Hemerocallis (day lily) is one of the great workhorses of the garden. Flowers come in a variety of forms, and colors include white, orange, yellow, burgundy and pink. After blooming, cut the stems of the dead flower heads back to the base of the plant for repeat blooms. Rapid spreaders, they look most impressive planted in large quantities. They do well in sun but will be just fine in partial shade. Hardy from Zone 3 to Zone 10.

Lavandula(lavender) is a group of aromatic shrubs and perennials whose fragrant flowers appeal to bees because of their high level of nectar. Does well in moderately fertile soil in full sun. Grows abundantly in Mediterranean climates. Great for hillside plantings, border plantings and as part of a perennial border. Leaves and flower heads can be used as dried flowers, sachets and potpourri. Depending on the species, can be grown from Zone 5 to Zone 9.

Sedum species(stonecrop) include more than 400 annuals and perennials that usually are succulent. Grow in fertile, well-drained soil, neutral to a bit alkaline, in full sun. Even when the flower is not in bloom, in spring and early summer, the leaves and shape (fairly low-growing mound) of the sedum add an unusual color and texture to the mixed border or rock garden. Will continue to bloom throughout the fall. Beautiful in the autumn garden when combined with salvias, asters and fall-blooming perennial grasses. Depending on the species, it can thrive from Zone 5to Zone 9.

To read more from Fran Sorin visit here informative web site.

www.fransorin.com

Garden Jobs for June from Old Farmers Almanac

Any bedding plants you find for sale can safely be planted outdoors in beds, boxes, or containers.

The pros recommend treating tulips as annuals with the exception of species tulips. Painful as it may be, yank those tulips up, compost them, and plan to plant the bed anew in the fall.

If you long for a hanging basket filled with blossoms, compare prices on different-size plants. It may be more economical to buy several small plants and combine them yourself rather than pay for one large plant. Starting this month, keep hanging plants such as fuchsias well watered and out of direct sun, or their leaves will burn.

Plants that bloom now include balloon flower; Canterbury bells; clematis; coreopsis; delphiniums; English, painted, and Shasta daisies; foxgloves; Oriental poppies; and sweet William.

If you're growing June-bearing strawberries, pinch off all the flowers that bloom the first spring after planting. If not allowed to bear fruit, they will spend their food reserves on developing healthy roots.

Encourage young fruit trees to develop strong limbs and a wider crotch angle by weighing down the branches with clothespins.

Thin fruit trees by leaving 1 fruit approximately every 6 to 12 inches along the branches or 1 fruit per cluster. The higher the leaf-to-fruit ratio, the sweeter the fruit. A standard apple tree should have about 40 leaves for each fruit. Dwarf apples, which usually produce a ration of 1 fruit to about 25 leaves, will yield better-quality fruit when thinned.

Stop cutting asparagus when the yield decreases and the spears diminish in size. Top-dress the bed with compost or well-rotted manure.

Stake tomatoes or build cages around them.

Plant beets and carrots for a late-fall crop.

As the days grow warmer, yank up lettuce that begins to bolt and toss it on your compost pile. Plant another crop of beans in its place.

Thin crowded plantings of lettuce, carrots, beets, and herbs. Give them a good watering when the job is finished to help the roots of remaining plants recover from any damage your pulling may have inflicted.

Religiously patrol your basil plantings and remove all the clusters of flower buds that form at the stem ends the minute you see them forming. This will encourage nice bushy plants and a continuing supply of leaves.

Place beer-filled plastic tubs or saucers in the garden, set level with the soil, to lure slugs to a drunken death. (Studies show they prefer imported beer.) Or place a few old boards in the garden and turn them over every morning to find slugs as they sleep. Dispose of them by dropping them into soapy water or crushing them with a brick.

Mulch around trees to create a safe zone where your mower won't go. Nicking a tree trunk can seriously damage even a well-established tree.

Mow your lawn according to the needs of the grass, not the calendar -- for example, every Saturday. Grasses thicken and provide better cover when regularly clipped at the proper height. Adjust your lawn mower blades to cut the grass at 2 or 3 inches rather than at 1 1/2 inches.

Prune rhododendrons after they flower. On young and old plants, snap off spent flower stalks by bending them over until they break away from their stems. Be careful not to damage growth buds at the base of each flower stalk.

Don't trim iris leaves into scallops or fan shapes after the flowers fade. Leaves carry on photosynthesis and develop nourishment for next year's growth. Cut off brown tips and remove the flowering stalk down to the rhizome. If you're dividing irises, cut the leaves back by about half just before you move them.

If you're growing plants outdoors in containers, don't use a soilless potting mix. Be sure it contains at least half soil. Or make your own blend for window boxes and patio containers by mixing one part compost, one part garden soil, and one part builder's sand.

When shopping at a nursery, don't buy a tree or shrub with a damaged root ball. Inspect it carefully to make sure it is uniform, not crushed, and a good size. For every inch of the trunk, the ball should be seven to eight inches in diameter.

Unless you're working your way through knee-high grass, don't remove those grass clippings from the lawn. Leave them where they fall to filter down to the soil, decompose, and recycle nutrients into the roots.

Check out the Almanac, there's so much to learn! http://www.almanac.com/

Fertilizer by the Numbers Paul Tukey People Places and Plants

As I've traveled around the nation to talk about our nonprofit foundation SafeLawns.org, I've encountered a tremendous amount of confusion about organic products. "What's really organic, and what isn't?" people ask. A recent Internet poll of 1,162 home gardeners, commissioned by the Organic Trade Association, indicated that 97 percent of gardeners are confused by fertilizers and soil amendments labeled as organic.

Among the other perplexing decisions concerning fertilizer involves the digits on the front of the bag. Americans, who inherently like big numbers, are drawn to the bags of synthetic fertilizer that offer 32-18-24 in their percentages of (N) nitrogen, (P) phosphorus and (K) potassium. You'll probably notice that organic bags of fertilizer have far smaller numbers on the front; a ratio of 5-1-3 would be common.

The obvious question is: How can organic fertilizers possibly compete in performance and value when the amount of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium is so low in comparison?

WHAT'S ORGANIC? — The answers are somewhat complex and we'll tackle the definition of "organic" first. Chemists will argue that anything containing a carbon molecule is therefore organic, but in gardening that designation doesn't fly. A true organic fertilizer should be derived exclusively from either animal or plant byproducts, or mined minerals such as gypsum, limestone or greensand. Organic products should not contain ingredients such as urea or ammonium nitrate, which are manufactured in a laboratory by burning copious amounts of fossil fuel.

The confusion in the use of organic products often involves the deliberate deception perpetrated by some extremely clever marketers. That means that you, as a consumer, parent, pet owner and homeowner, need to be a really good student of the language. Watch closely, for example, for the phrase "organic based." By placing this phrase on a bag, the marketers are duping people into thinking the product is perfectly safe. Many organic based products do contain some organic materials, but most often also contain synthetic materials which often harm the environment.

The other favored word by marketing companies is "natural." Absolutely no legal strangleholds are placed on the word "natural," and therefore it can literally mean anything. The best advice is to be sure to read the ingredient labels. If you see a whole bunch of chemical compounds listed on the bag, box or bottle, then chances are it's not truly organic.

In the future, as SafeLawns.org grows in stature and resources, we plan to offer a SafeLawns.org Seal of Approval. Until then, look for a seal from OMRI (Organic Materials Review Institute) on the organic fertilizer; that national organization offers a voluntary standardization program for organic fertilizers. Locally, the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association (MOFGA) offers an approval process of its own.

FERTILIZER BY THE NUMBERS — Another clear indicator that a fertilizer is not organic would be the numbers on the front of the bag. If you see values of greater than 9-5-6 for nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, the product is not likely to be organic. Straight blood meal, often collected from cows during slaughter, contains about 14 percent nitrogen, but not much phosphorus and potassium. Pure bone meal, also most often derived from cows, contains as much as 20 percent phosphorus, but no nitrogen and potassium.

To get high values of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium simultaneously in an organic fertilizer would be impossible, but that doesn't mean organic products don't offer good value. Organic products release their nutrients slowly and become part of the soil in time; synthetic fertilizers, on the other hand, tend to leach away and need to be reapplied time and time again.

The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that only 35 percent of the synthetic fertilizer that homeowners apply actually feeds plants; the other 65 percent washes into the surface water and groundwater, or volatizes into the air we breathe. So if your 40-pound bag of synthetic fertilizer contains 30 percent nitrogen — 12 pounds of N — that means that approximately eight pounds of nitrogen winds up in the water and air. Water becomes green and eutrified; air quality diminishes.

Think of it this way next time you shop for fertilizer . . . when you buy and apply organic products, you're investing in an annuity that will pay you and your garden back for years. If you buy and apply synthetic fertilizer, it's just like term life insurance. The older you get, the more you need to apply and the more expensive it becomes!

Check Out the numerous resources for education, such as www.melna.org or www.rodaleinstitute.org . For video tips specific to organic lawn care, you can now visit www.SafeLawns.org.

Be sure to let us know what you think after viewing the video. Send me an email at
Paul Tukey at paul@ppplants.com.

Gardening Support

Just found this really neat site that offers you gardening advise from fellow gardeners and professional. Worth a look.


http://www.plantconcierge.com/

Old Farmers Almanac

When to plant What?

Check out the link below, choice your region and get your planting guide.



http://www.almanac.com/garden/plantingtable/index.php

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Red In The Garden by Fran Sorin

Red In The Garden

When used with great abandon, as in the red garden at Hidcote or what was once the red border at the now defunct Hadspen Garden (but that can still be seen in Nori and Sandra Pope’s book Color By Design), red rules!

The sight of a crisp, blood red jolts our senses and makes us feel more alive. The color red says ‘Notice me. I’m a diva and a force with which to be reckoned.’

After all, why does someone choose to buy a red car or a red cocktail dress? They're giving off the signal loud and clear that ‘I’m one sexy siren. Touch me and you’ll sizzle!’

In order to pull off a red garden successfully, you need to be fearless! When a red garden works, there is nothing quite as magical and powerful.

Read more from Fran

http://fransorin.com/gardening/slideshow.asp?article=163&articleName=Red%20In%20The%20Garden&slide=1&product=114

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How the First Earth Day Came About

How the First Earth Day Came About
By Senator Gaylord Nelson, Founder of Earth Day

What was the purpose of Earth Day? How did it start? These are the questions I am most frequently asked.

Actually, the idea for Earth Day evolved over a period of seven years starting in 1962. For several years, it had been troubling me that the state of our environment was simply a non-issue in the politics of the country. Finally, in November 1962, an idea occurred to me that was, I thought, a virtual cinch to put the environment into the political "limelight" once and for all. The idea was to persuade President Kennedy to give visibility to this issue by going on a national conservation tour. I flew to Washington to discuss the proposal with Attorney General Robert Kennedy, who liked the idea. So did the President. The President began his five-day, eleven-state conservation tour in September 1963. For many reasons the tour did not succeed in putting the issue onto the national political agenda. However, it was the germ of the idea that ultimately flowered into Earth Day.

I continued to speak on environmental issues to a variety of audiences in some twenty-five states. All across the country, evidence of environmental degradation was appearing everywhere, and everyone noticed except the political establishment. The environmental issue simply was not to be found on the nation's political agenda. The people were concerned, but the politicians were not.

After President Kennedy's tour, I still hoped for some idea that would thrust the environment into the political mainstream. Six years would pass before the idea that became Earth Day occurred to me while on a conservation speaking tour out West in the summer of 1969. At the time, anti-Vietnam War demonstrations, called "teach-ins," had spread to college campuses all across the nation. Suddenly, the idea occurred to me - why not organize a huge grassroots protest over what was happening to our environment?

I was satisfied that if we could tap into the environmental concerns of the general public and infuse the student anti-war energy into the environmental cause, we could generate a demonstration that would force this issue onto the political agenda. It was a big gamble, but worth a try.

At a conference in Seattle in September 1969, I announced that in the spring of 1970 there would be a nationwide grassroots demonstration on behalf of the environment and invited everyone to participate. The wire services carried the story from coast to coast. The response was electric. It took off like gangbusters. Telegrams, letters, and telephone inquiries poured in from all across the country. The American people finally had a forum to express its concern about what was happening to the land, rivers, lakes, and air - and they did so with spectacular exuberance. For the next four months, two members of my Senate staff, Linda Billings and John Heritage, managed Earth Day affairs out of my Senate office.

Five months before Earth Day, on Sunday, November 30, 1969, The New York Times carried a lengthy article by Gladwin Hill reporting on the astonishing proliferation of environmental events:

"Rising concern about the environmental crisis is sweeping the nation's campuses with an intensity that may be on its way to eclipsing student discontent over the war in Vietnam...a national day of observance of environmental problems...is being planned for next spring...when a nationwide environmental 'teach-in'...coordinated from the office of Senator Gaylord Nelson is planned...."

It was obvious that we were headed for a spectacular success on Earth Day. It was also obvious that grassroots activities had ballooned beyond the capacity of my U.S. Senate office staff to keep up with the telephone calls, paper work, inquiries, etc. In mid-January, three months before Earth Day, John Gardner, Founder of Common Cause, provided temporary space for a Washington, D.C. headquarters. I staffed the office with college students and selected Denis Hayes as coordinator of activities.

Earth Day worked because of the spontaneous response at the grassroots level. We had neither the time nor resources to organize 20 million demonstrators and the thousands of schools and local communities that participated. That was the remarkable thing about Earth Day. It organized itself.

http://earthday.envirolink.org/history.html

Perennials for your flower garden By Yvonne Cunnington

PERENNIAL PLANTS FOR SUNNY GARDENS

Bearded iris - Modern cultivars with better color, more blooms

Cranesbill (perennial geranium) - charming and indispensable garden plants

Cushion spurge - Long-blooming flowers for spring with Euphorbia polychroma

Daylilies - Hardy, easy-to-grow favorites

Dianthus 'Firewitch' - A perfect low-growing spring flower

Echinacea - New-look coneflowers

False blue indigo - A gorgeous, easy-care native

Geranium Rozanne - 2008 Perennial Plant of the Year

Lavender - Makes an elegant edging plant

Lilies (Lilium) - Beautiful blooms that mix well with other flowers

Nepeta 'Walker's Low' - Handsome catmint

Peonies - Colorful, fragrant and fabulous

Roses - Discover the allure of rose gardening

Russian sage - Here's one for hot, dry gardens

Shasta daisy - Classic flower, easy-care plant

Siberian iris - Easy-to-grow early-season flowers

PERENNIAL PLANTS FOR SHADE
Ferns - terrific foliage and deer-proof too

Helleborus × hybridus (lenten rose) - Long-blooming flowers for early spring

Hosta - The shade garden star

Japanese Painted Fern - Attractive and low-maintenance


For more amazingly helpful gardening tips check out our friend Yvonne Cunnington's site
http://www.flower-gardening-made-easy.com/sign-up.html

Garden Jobs for April from the Old Famers Almanac

Start coleus cuttings now to plant outdoors in the garden by early June. These colorful plants are enjoying a revival as fine accents to annual and perennial borders.
Rake or remove mulches from all flower beds.
Plant rosebushes. They often do best if planted before growth starts and buds swell. And if you want to increase their fragrance, surround them with parsley.
Scatter annual poppy seeds in your flower garden and let them grow where they will. They don't like to be transplanted.
Broadcast lime, wood ashes, or a mixture of the two over alkaline-loving perennials such as delphiniums and dianthus. Bring color outdoors to patios, porches, and even the garden with pansy plants, which don't mind cold nights. To encourage constant flowering, routinely remove spent blossoms and keep them from getting bone-dry.
Sow sweet peas as soon as the soil can be worked. Nick the seeds with a nail file and plant them five inches deep, but cover them with only about three inches of soil. Hoe more soil up around them as they grow.
Plant lilies-of-the-valley, violets, and garden lilies. Divide summer- and fall-blooming perennials, including delphiniums, irises, chrysanthemums, daisies, and phlox.
Although we think of this as a rainy month, it can fool us. Keep transplanted flowers well watered during dry spells.
When danger of frost has passed, uncover strawberry beds and keep them well watered.
Plant blackberries, raspberries, strawberries, and fruit trees.
Start seeds indoors for heat-loving crops such as eggplant, tomatoes, and squash.
To determine whether your garden soil is ready for seeds, grab a good handful of it. If you can form it into a ball, the soil is too wet. If it crumbles through your fingers and reminds you of chocolate cake, it's ready for planting.
If the soil is ready, give it a good stirring and let it sit for several days. Then top-dress it with compost or well-rotted manure and plant beets, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, radishes, parsnips, lettuce, spinach, Swiss chard, and turnips.
If you got your peas in last month, be sure to give them a good fence for support, made of chicken wire, twine, or stubby branches that are at least three feet tall. Otherwise, plant them this month as soon as you can.
Scatter spinach or lettuce seeds around emerging bulb foliage to make wise use of your garden space, and have a leafy green crop at the ready to cover the bare spots left by deadheaded spring flowers.
Prune forsythias as soon as the flowers fade. Cut the oldest stems to within a foot of the ground, but be sure to let the plant keep its arching form; don't turn it into a gumdrop or cannonball.
Feed your trees. As soon as the frost goes out of the ground, give them a well-balanced slow-release fertilizer. Scatter about six good handfuls per each 10x10-foot area. Store leftover fertilizer in a small plastic trash can or a covered plastic container, and label it.
Rake your lawn to remove all leaves, dead grass, and small twigs. Sow seed for a new lawn, or fill in bare patches by first covering the area with compost or other organic matter. Roll the lawn if the ground isn't soggy.
If you receive mail-order nursery plants before your soil is dry enough for planting, make a trench and heel them into the ground in a protected area.
Don't fertilize strawberries in the spring. This is when the leaves are developing, and you'll get lush growth and meager, soft berries. Wait until blossoms appear and use a light hand.
Don't set tomato plants out in the garden too soon. They hate cold soil and cold nights (under 55 degrees F).
Don't forget to vent your cold frame. April days may feel chilly, but the temperature under the glass can get over 100 degrees F on a sunny day. Salad greens are unhappy over 65 degrees F, and most other plants will perish over 85 degrees F.

http://www.almanac.com

A Foolproof Flower Garden

A Foolproof Flower Garden By Fran Sorin

Don't settle for potted pansies. With a little effort and patience, you can create your own backyard paradise.Maybe you've just moved from an apartment to your first house. Between family, work, carpooling and everything else -- has it been 12 trips to the Home Depot? -- your first garden awaits your imprint. Planting flowers is a great way to exercise your creativity, but it can seem daunting to the beginner. Don't despair: The investment of time and energy will repay you in spades. After more than 20 years of designing gardens, here's my insider's guide to getting started.
1. Know your property's relationship to the sun. If you have a true southern exposure, you'll get direct sun most of the afternoon. A northern exposure will give you mainly shade; eastern exposure, morning sun and afternoon shade; western exposure, pretty much late-afternoon sun, with shade the rest of the day.
2. Make sure the type of garden you want can be done with the amount of sun you get. For example, although most herb and cutting gardens need direct sunlight (six hours of sun a day), woodland gardens thrive in shade. If you have a shady lot and you want a cutting garden just like the one you saw in a magazine, forget it. Instead, try to re-interpret it by using shade perennials, bulbs and shrubs.
3. Choose a site for your flower bed that can be viewed from inside your house. If possible, take advantage of garden views from outdoor terraces or patios, too.
4. Let your garden reflect your personal style, just as your indoor space does. If you tend toward the traditional indoors, think in terms of a traditional garden with a formal, symmetrical outline, perhaps with pedestals of evergreens to add to the mood. If you lean toward a more rustic style, your outdoor space should reflect that informal feel: Let an abundance of flowers brim over the edges of the garden, and use some flea market finds as containers.
5. When you're ready to experiment with the placement of the flower bed, lay out a hose to outline its shape and size. (Or use spray landscape paint from a paint store.) Leave the hose in one position for a few days before deciding whether that configuration works. Geometric shapes generally indicate a formal design; irregular or island beds are more informal.
6. When the soil has warmed up and is not too soggy, you can dig the bed. First, remove the grass -- roots and all -- with a spade, or use an herbicide (like Round-Up) or an organic grass killer. Then rototill the area or turn it over with a fork. At least 12 inches of good organic matter should be laid on top of the existing soil. Once you've raked the organic matter evenly across the bed, edge the perimeter with a sharp spade to give it a professional, crisp finish.
7. The most effective gardens are simple ones that follow the adage "Less is more." Select plants of various shapes and textures that bloom at different times of the gardening season and that resist disease and drought. Limit your palette to two or three colors. I like to work with combinations of three plants to create a vignette.
8. Plant a lot of each specimen. The repetition of specimens and colors soothes the eye and paves the way for a more glorious design. I plant a minimum of seven of each specimen in a small garden bed, and up to 20-something of each in an expansive area.
9. Plant in a flowing or wavelike pattern. Play around with the plants while they are still in their pots, positioning them around your garden bed to see how they look before you actually plant them. Some of my greatest moments of inspiration occur when I make last-minute changes.
10. Spread mulch as soon as possible after planting (no more than 2 inches thick). Do it carefully, to avoid damaging the plants.
11. Until the plants are settled in (about two weeks), I water every third day early in the morning, 30 to 45 minutes at a time, with a soaker hose or a rotating sprinkler.
12. Over the remainder of the spring (in cool regions, into the early summer), fill in bare areas with exuberant summer bulbs or tubers such as dahlias, cannas, elephant ears, oxalis and colocasias, and annual plants or seeds that can be scratched right into your garden soil.
13. To give the plants extra "oomph," spray them with an organic fertilizer, such as fish fertilizer, once every four weeks, preferably first thing in the morning when it's cool -- never when the temperature is above 80 degrees.
14. Be patient. Plants won't fully mature for a good two to three years. Enjoy the process and keep notes on the plant combinations that give you great pleasure. I think you will be surprised how often you use them as you continue to create new gardens.
Three of my favorite plant trios-- Perovskia atriplicifolia (Russian sage), Echinacea purpurea 'Magnus' (coneflower), Liatris spicata-- Salvia greggii 'Maraschino,' Alchemilla mollis (lady's mantle), Dahlia 'Bishop of Llandaff'-- Phlox divaricata 'Chattahoochee,' Tiarella cordifolia (foamflower), Dryopteris marginalis (leatherwood fern)

http://fransorin.com/index.asp Fran Sorin, she's a great source for gardening info.

Spring Pruning Guide

Apple
Early spring
Prune moderately. Keep tree open with main branches well spaced. Avoid sharp V-shaped crotches.
Cherry
Early spring
Prune the most vigorous shoots moderately.
Clematis
Spring
Cut weak growth. Save as much old wood as possible.
Flowering dogwood
After flowering
Remove dead wood only.
Forsythia
After flowering
Remove old branches at ground. Trim new growth.
Lilac
After flowering
Remove diseased, scaly growth, flower heads, and suckers.
Peach
Early spring
Remove half of last year's growth. Keep tree headed low.
Plum
Early spring
Cut dead, diseased branches; trim rank growth moderately.
Rhododendron
After flowering
Prune judiciously. Snip branches from weak, leggy plants to induce growth from roots.
Rose (except climbers)
Spring, after frosts
Cut dead and weak growth; cut branches or canes to four or five eyes.
Rose (climbers)
After flowering
Cut half of old growth; retain new shoots for next year.
Rose of Sharon
When buds
Cut all winter-killed wood to swell begin growth back to live wood.
Trumpet vine
Early spring
Prune side branches severely to main stem.
Virginia creeper
Spring
Clip young plants freely. Thin old plants and remove dead growth.
Wisteria
Spring, summer
Cut new growth to spurs at axils of leaves.

From The Old Farmers's Almanac http://www.almanac.com/garden/trees/springprune.php

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Golden Hakone Grass By Yvonne Cinnington

Golden Hakone Grass (Hakonechloa macra 'Aureola')2009 Perennial Plant of the Year

One of my favorite plants, Golden Hakone Grass (Hakonechloa macra 'Aureola') is the 2009 Perennial Plant of the Year.
In my garden I team this ornamental grass with gold-tinged 'Golden Tiara' hosta and purple-leaved oxalis, a non-hardy summer bulb plant.
This grouping at my side entry garden (shown below) looks lovely all season long.

This species of grass is native to Japan's main Island, Honshu, and gets its name from the region near Mt. Hakone. Chloa is the Greek word for grass.
How to growGolden Hakone Grass
Hardiness: USDA zones 5-9.
Size and growth habit: This grass grows 12 to 18 inches tall and 18 to 24 inches wide, and its leaves fall attractively in one direction.
The bright yellow foliage is 1/2" wide with thin green stripes, and in the fall becomes tinged pink and red.
Golden hakone grass spreads by rhizomes and stolons, but grows so slowly that it does not becomes a rampant spreader. Slow growth means that you don't need to divide it for many years.
However, if you wish to divide to obtain more plants, as with other ornamental grasses, the best time to do this is in early spring just as new growth starts.
Light and soil conditions: This ornamental grass grows well in partial shade, especially in hot climates, but it can take more sun in cooler areas. Plant in moist, humus-rich, well-drained soil.
The Perennial Plant Association recommends not planting it in poorly drained soil, heavy clay or excessively dry and sandy soils. However, I've had several readers tell me they have it in moist clay areas, where it grows well.
In its native habitat, the growing conditions are wet, rocky cliffs, so this plant appears to be quite adaptable.
How the 2009 Perennial Plant of the Year was chosen
Each year the Perennial Plant Association selects a plant of the year.
The chosen perennial must be:
-Suitable for a wide range of climates
-Easy to grow (low maintenance care)
-Easy for growers to propagate (comes true from seed or vegetative propagation
-Attractive throughout the gardening season.
Golden Hakone Grass is the second ornamental grass to be chosen as a Perennial Plant of the Year. Calamagrostis x acutiflora 'Karl Foerster', feather reed grass, was chosen in 2001.
Maintenance: Golden Hakone grass is a shade tolerant grass and has few insect or disease problems. Even deer tend to leave it alone.
The only maintenance required is to cut the previous season's dead leaves back in fall, late winter or early spring.
This grass has shallow roots, and therefore is best divided in spring, like most grasses. If divided in fall, the divisions are prone to cold weather damage and frost heaving.
Garden uses: This perennial grass makes a great companion for hostas, especially hostas with gold variegation, or bluish leaves.
Other good matches with perennials include foam flower (Tiarella cultivars) and Heucheras, especially those with purple leaves, and purple leaved bugbane cultivars (Actaea, also known as Cimicifuga), such as 'Hillside Black Beauty' and 'Brunette'.
Golden Hakone Grass also looks great with astilbe, epimedium, wild ginger, bleeding heart and lady's mantle.
I've also grown it as a container plant and love the way it cascades over one side like a waterfall. My favorite way to use it in my garden beds is as an edger where its foliage can cascade onto a path.

http://www.flower-gardening-made-easy.com/index.html