Show Date: 3 Jul 09

Happy Independence Day!! When I see the waving grains I also think of native grasses, which I love! Keep these in mind for your landscape: ‘Blue Heaven’:

Blue heaven.

Prairie Dropseed:

Prairie dropseed.

… and Indian Grass:

Indian grass.

Check out this website for Tufted Hair Grass. I would recommend buying native grasses locally. Go to my Favorite Links page and check out Prairie Restoration and Prairie Moon Nursery.

These are not the only places to get native plants but it will get you started.

Show Date: 2 Jul 09

Oh, my.

When I asked some folks about why a gardener would deliberately place glass shards in his garden I was unprepared for the onslaught of emails! The quest was to find out if there was an old wives tale to this dilemma. The answer was a resounding NO.

It would seem that almost everyone with a home more than 60 years old or living on a piece of land that had an old farmstead is forever digging up junk! That’s the case with my own acreage but it’s equally a problem in older city neighborhoods. The biggest recommendation from folks – make sure your tetanus shot is up-to-date. Many are recycling the old junk into garden jewels by displaying old equipment that turned up.

Show Date: 1 Jul 09

If you’re perennials are looking less than perky, don’t automatically reach for the hose.

Perennials, like lawns, need about an inch of water a week. Some may wilt during the heat of the day, this is their way of conserving moisture. Now’s a good time to dig and divide your Spring blooming perennials if they need it. This way they’re roots will establish well and they’ll flower again next spring. Add a couple of inches of mulch to help conserve moisture.

Show Date: 30 Jun 09

It’s not the heat, it’s the humidity! ARG!

Everything grows so well, including pesky weeds. Hand picking can work with annual weeds but those perennials are tougher. Lightly cultivating these guys usually just means you’ve broken off a tap root and now will have even more weeds. You need a total vegetation killer like Round Up. But wait!

Paint the chemical on the offending weeds leaves with one of those 1-inch sponge paint brushes on a windless day. Be sure to follow all safety precautions and read the label carefully. You can also cut the top and bottom out of a gallon milk jug, place it over the weed and spray inside. You might want to wear a mask with this method.

Show Date: 29 Jun 09

I feel like a rabbit with all the lettuce I’ve eaten lately!

‘Gourmet Blend,’ from Burpee, is my favorite mix of loose leaf lettuce. I’ve been adding the tomatoes I dried last year until this years tomatoes are ripe. They offer a burst of flavor and a chewy texture. Herbs are easy to grow and are another great addition to salads. Tarragon, Parsley, ‘Spicy Globe’ Basil and chives to name a few. Oh, just not all together! Nasturtiums, pansies and daylily buds are also tasty and look great in your salad.

Burpee 'Gourmet blend'

Show Date: 26 Jun 09

Tired of terra cotta? How about a Tub o’ Tunias?

We’re talking unique containers: Old bathtubs, suitcases, sneakers and hockey skates! Anything that will hold soil and you can put drain holes in can be used as a container. Use a nail spike or a drill to create drain holes. You can recycle those ugly plastic pots you get from the nursery by scuffing them up with sand paper and spray painting them. You need to scuff them up so the paint has something to hold onto.

Garage sales offer killer places to scope out unique containers for cheap prices. Go for natural containers and use hollowed logs.

A log planter.

Show Date: 25 Jun 09

Ruby-throated hummingbird

Want to attract hummingbirds?

Mix 4 parts water to 1 part table sugar. Boil it to get the chlorine out and to kill any mold, cover it and let it cool. Don’t use honey, jello or sugar substitutes or food coloring. Change the sugar solution every 4 days when temps are above 80 degrees.

Provide a mix of plants. Here’s a list to get you started:

• lobelia
• lupines
• heucheras
• heliotrope
• hibiscus
• salvia

Show Date: 24 Jun 09

Ever bit into a “hot” radish? Then went looking for a napkin to spit it into? Me too. Hot temps or over maturity produce that hot or bitter flavor. You can have another go at planting radishes in late August as they mature in 25 to 45 days. Check the packet. This little gem, “Easter egg,” is mature in 30 days:

'Easter egg' radish.

“Fuego” is disease-resistant.

Show Date: 23 Jun 09

So weeding’s not your bag, then plant these perennials pack a weed blocking punch: “Emerald Blue” moss phlox, “Thriller” lady’s mantle, “Walker’s Low” catmint, “Herman’s Pride” false lamium and “Golden Fleece” dwarf goldenrod. All of these are spreaders (read invasive) and they have dense leaf cover.

Emerald blue moss phlox.

Show Date: 22 Jun 09

I spent much of my weekend weeding which really means I let my mind wander. Listening to the birds, the chimes my husband made and dreaming. I find it relaxing while feeling like I’ve accomplished something. I leave some weeds behind in hopes that bad bugs will munch on them and they’ll give shelter to good bugs! Oh and I scoped a couple of sales and found two newer cultivars of Ninebark called “Center Glow” developed by the University of Minnesota:

Ninebark Center glow.

Can’t wait to see what they look like next year!