If you have a fruit tree, mulberry or ornamental fruit tree, you may be experiencing an infestation of insects called fall webworms. The first sign of them in a tree is a cottony mass of webbing, inside of which are dozens of 1 inch (plus or minus) sized white to tan fuzzy caterpillars. The first…
Month: August 2019
Landscape Journaling
Landscape journaling, the art and science of keeping track of plants and gardens in the landscape, may seem like a fluffy idea, but the task has merit. Are you having your ash trees treated every other year to prevent an infestation of emerald ash borer? A landscape journal can be a record of when and…
Rose of Sharon for Fall Color
Let’s face it – most of our flowering shrubs are showy in spring. Viburnum, dogwood, spirea, forsythia and lilac sport hues of yellow, white, pink and purple in April, May and June. While this is a welcome change from the drab grey of March, once the color is gone in spring, we’re left with a…
Helen’s Flower
Helen’s flower, Helenium autumnale, is a native perennial of the sunflower family, producing show-stopping 2-inch flowers in colors of yellow, gold, orange, red or variations in between. The notched petals, surrounding a yellowish brown globular cone, are a nice touch, giving the flowers the appearance of a ruffled skirt. The specific epithet “autumnale” refers to…
Lawn Renovation
Have the heat and bugs ravaged your lawn? If so, lawn renovation is in order. It’s a multi-step process and now is the time to get started. In fact, it can be thought of as a set of “cookbook instructions”, however, the risk is that one or two steps will be overlooked. If this happens,…
Flowering Plants for the August Garden
When it comes to August’s garden, many gardeners, plant enthusiasts and landscapers are willing to skip the month entirely because of the challenge posed by the seemingly few plants that provide interest during August. I’d like to challenge that notion, mainly because August is a perfectly fine month of frost-free weather and why not make…
Bee Hotel
At some point in time you have probably seen a bee hotel at your favorite garden center. They usually have bundles of bamboo inserted into a structure. Most of them are brightly painted and whimsical in appearance. North America is home to around 4,000 bees. Most of them nest in the ground but around 1,200…
The Dreaded Japanese Beetle (Again)
Despite winter and spring conditions that we hoped could thwart them, the Japanese beetles are at it again. They fall on us as we mow beneath trees, eat our hard-won fruits as they multi-task, and drown in the dog’s water dish. Here are some important considerations: ▪Japanese beetles do lay their eggs in the soil. …
Double Trouble
Visit any of your favorite garden centers and you will see new introductions of old familiar favorites. For instance the purple coneflower is no longer purple. It comes a range of colors from red, yellow, orange, green, and white. You will even find cultivars where the traditional cone has been modified into flower petals often…