Your home outside the city limits.
Let’s face it – most of our flowering shrubs are showy in spring. In order to avoid the lack of color, interest and appeal, incorporation of summer/fall flowering shrubs such as rose of Sharon will infuse color as well as an interesting arching architectural structure to the landscape.
The summer months are great, but they can be hot. Being outdoors in the summer months is preferred, but when it gets too hot, it can be difficult to sit outside. Shade trees can really relieve the heat of outdoors. Temperatures underneath the shade of trees can be 10-15 degrees cooler or more, according to... Continue Reading →
Late summer can be a ho-hum time of year for landscape perennials. Colorful flowers of the early spring and summer bloomers are long-gone and mid-summer bloomers are looking ragged after the tough months of July and August. Fall bloomers like asters and chrysanthemums haven’t started blooming yet. One plant that pops out at this time... Continue Reading →
Do you have beautiful herbs in your garden and want to preserve them for use this winter? August and September are the time to get started drying your herbs. Harvest herb stems for drying from stems that are in the bud stage, but have not yet flowered. This is the stage at which leaves contain the highest amount... Continue Reading →
If you live on an acreage, or a large lot in town, or even a medium sized lot in town, you need a shed. Sure, you could store all of your stuff – mower, tools, seed, mulch, lawn art, pots, wood, etc. – in your garage or basement, but depending on where you put it,... Continue Reading →
Most gardeners are purposeful in their planting. The priorities vary from one person to another, but we want things like hardiness, beauty, drought-tolerance, focal points, food for pollinators, multi-season interest. From late July on into fall, blazing star or Liatris offer all that and more… including usage as dramatic, long-lasting cuts. In the landscape, people... Continue Reading →
Japanese beetle season is here! Defoliated plants – in some cases entire trees - look horrible and no matter what you do they seem to keep coming. So, what’s the best strategy for managing them? Below are some tips to help minimize damage in your landscape. But first - realize that when Japanese beetles first come... Continue Reading →
Written by Christina Hoyt, Nebraska Statewide Arboretum With Nebraska’s weather extremes, many of us have spots in our landscapes that need to tolerate periods of wet feet as well as periods of drought… quite a challenge! The type of wet conditions also varies. A wet, poorly drained site is different than a moist site with... Continue Reading →
Many urban landscapes have a forlorn narrow planting strip between the curb and sidewalk, often known as a “hell strip”. No matter what is planted here - turf, trees, shrubs or perennials - they all face many challenges affecting their health and beauty, including those below. These factors must be considered when selecting plant material and, in... Continue Reading →
Iris are one of the most popular and beautiful of garden flowers. With the wide range in plant type, size, and adaptation, there is an iris for almost any location. The standard iris, Japanese iris, Siberian, Spuria and yellow flag types are all suitable for Nebraska. By using an assortment of these types in a... Continue Reading →
Mulch is an aspect of the landscape that doesn’t provoke much thought. Wood chips or rock? Landscaping fabric or not? The reality is that the right kind of mulch, applied to the proper depth, has a BIG impact on plant health, especially during the heat of summer. Root function stops when soil temperatures reach... Continue Reading →
So, whether it’s hot or not, these are turf care tips for summer:
