Your home outside the city limits.
It seems like many landowners are jumping on the turf type tall fescue bandwagon, switching from perennial ryegrass and Kentucky bluegrass. It’s understandable - the number of problems that these species have caused many homeowners to look for other options.
If having control of your landscape is a thing you want (or have—is that possible?), this article probably isn’t for you. But if, like many of us, you’ve given up on control and simply enjoy whatever blossoms come your way, here’s a few plants that offer serendipity through the seasons. There are many woodland “ephemerals”... Continue Reading →
The popularity of home vegetable gardening has certainly been strong this year, continuing a trend that started 10-15 years ago. But this year's shelter-at-home practices encouraged an even larger group of new gardeners to try their hand at home food production. Similarly, there is a growing interest in home fruit production. Aside from strawberries, there... Continue Reading →
It’s difficult to imagine, as we sweat our way through early August, but in just 8 weeks we’ll be talking about early frosts. Fall is a great time to get many landscape tasks accomplished, so here’s a quick rundown of some common landscape projects listed in order of attack. Lawn Seeding August 15th to September 15th is... Continue Reading →
In mid-summer, it’s easy to forget about the needs of patio planters and houseplants moved outside for the summer. There are 5 areas to focus on to keep them thriving.
Midsummer is the season of solitary wasps. These wasps are called solitary because they do not build large colonies like paper wasps or yellow jackets. They are predators and prey on spiders, crickets, cicadas and other insects. Solitary wasps paralyze their prey and drag it to a burrow. They lay an egg on the paralyzed... Continue Reading →
Most weeds love bare ground, and new plantings offer this in bounty. Here are some tips to help you prevent undesirable plants from getting a foothold in years one and two. Start a routine. The growing season gets busy, and it can be tempting to leave weeds for “next week.” However, if “next week” turns... Continue Reading →
Note - Oscillating sprinklers, as in the image above, are one of the least efficient ways to water a landscape, due to the amount of water lost to evaporation. It feels like August's "dog days of summer" are already here, as we and our landscapes suffer through a continuation of July's hot and dry conditions.... Continue Reading →
Japanese beetle season is here! The first beetles of the season are beginning to feed and soon defoliated plants – in some cases entire trees - will appear. 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... Continue Reading →
About this time every summer weeds begin to drive us crazy; they love the heat of mid-summer! Here are some tips to help maintain your sanity and create the best long-term strategy to minimize weeds in your landscape. Even though weeds are most problematic now – this is one of the worst times of year... Continue Reading →
In the summer, on an acreage or in town, it’s important to make every drop count.
In June we have a lot of great plants blooming. The spring blooming shrubs have finished blooming and we are moving on to the summer blooming shrubs. One great choice for summer bloom is a Weigela. Description Weigela, Weigela florida, is a medium-sized shrub that grows up to 6-8 feet tall and wide. It is... Continue Reading →
