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May
2, 2001
It's
About Time...
Ready, set, grow! Run don't walk to the nearest nursery. This is what we
have all been waiting for. Planting time has arrived.
Now, if I could just find more time to spend in the
garden. Our schedule has been so hectic here of late that I
truly feel as if I have not had time to do what is
necessary in the garden. The weekends seem to come and go
without any real progress made. Kevin and I have
taken on a new project and are designing a new garden bed in the
front of the house. It is going to look great if we ever
find the time to finish it. So for now I will try to
manage my time more wisely (as if that is possible) and
concentrate on planting!
Our friends at Bannister
Garden Center are busily preparing for their big Peony
Festival on May 14th. They have over 40 varieties and will
be giving away a free bag of bone meal with a peony purchase. (One
per customer please.) Look for their ad in The Kansas City
Gardener and we will have more information in next week's
newsletter. To read more about their peony selection visit
them online at www.peonies.net.
A big "Thanks" to Kelly and Mark Daniels for hosting a
garden party for Savvygardeners at The
Kelly Gallery last Saturday. The weather was great and
it was so much fun getting to meet and talk with our readers.
Kevin and I both feel like we meet a new friend every time we
meet a new subscriber. For those of you who were not able
to make it do not worry. Kelly informed us that she would
like to hold a couple more garden parties, one in June and the
other in the fall. So keep reading Savvygardener.com for
the latest updates!
~
Shelly
It's
Time For May Flowers...
So what
happened to April showers? We had some good rains early in
the month but the last couple of weeks have been pretty
disappointing. Savvygardeners will make sure their gardens
are getting an inch of water each week.
If staying on
top of watering isn't your idea of a good time you can always
choose your flowers accordingly. A drought tolerant flower
garden should include the following:
Annuals
|
Burning
Bush, Kochia |
Gazania,
Gazania |
Creeping
Zinnia, Sanvitalia |
Mexican
Sunflower, Tithonia |
Dusty
Miller, Senecio |
Rose
Moss, Portulaca |
Four
O'Clock, Mirabilis |
Salvia,
Salvia farinacea |
Perennials
|
Black-eyed
Susan, Rudbeckia |
Iris,
Iris |
Blanket
Flower, Gaillardia |
Sage,
Salvia |
Butterfly
Flower, Asclepias |
Sedum |
Gayfeather,
Liatris |
Tickseed,
Coreopsis |
For a more
complete list of drought-tolerant flowers that grow well in
the Kansas City area click here.
Sow,
Sow, You Say...
Savvygardeners all across the metro will be out this weekend
buying bedding plants, vegetable seedlings, and all manner of
transplants for the garden. Keep in mind that some plants
actually prefer to have their seeds sown directly in the garden.
Among
vegetables these include: beans, beets, carrots, celery, peas,
squash, and turnips.
Among
flowers: alyssum, aster, bachelor's button, cosmos, marigold,
morning glory, sunflower, sweet pea, and zinnia.
Buy the
seeds, read the directions, watch them grow!
Hungry
Hummers...
The Ruby-throated hummingbirds are finding their way back to
our area after a winter in Mexico and Central America. This
year we've added a hummingbird feeder to our small garden of
butterfly and hummingbird friendly plants.
Hummingbirds
love sugar and they need lots of it. They actually must
feed about every ten minutes to maintain enough energy to keep
those wings flapping so fast. We fill our feeder with
homemade nectar. Here's the recipe:
- Mix two
cups of hot tap water with a 1/2 cup of sugar.
- Boil for
90 seconds.
- After it
cools add red food coloring. (The food coloring is
necessary only until the hummingbirds find the feeder the
first time).
Your hungry
hummers will be so happy!
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Big With Etera Garden Collections!
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Out Blooms for Butterflies & Hummingbird
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|
Ugh, Slugs...
There's
nothing quite as refreshing as the feeling of walking barefoot on
a dew-covered lawn first thing in the morning. Nothing will ruin
that feeling faster than stepping on a big ol' slimy slug.
Aesthetically these guys have no redeeming properties at all.
They can wreak havoc on your garden as well. Young slugs
will damage your plants by rasping away the surface of plant
leaves for food. These guys can eat 30 to 40 times their
weight every day! The adults chew holes in leaves and leave
slime trails on your precious plants. If you don't already have a favorite and
effective way to control slugs try these tricks:
- Slugs like
the dark and damp. Place a board over damp ground for a
hiding place during the day. Check each morning and destroy
any slugs that have gathered on the bottom of the board.
- Slugs are
attracted to and drown in shallow dishes containing beer. Set
the top edges of the dish at ground level and cover loosely
with a board so slugs can easily get into the mixture.
- If you don't
like the idea of killing slugs you can try physical barriers,
Slugs will not cross rough surfaces. Sprinkle
ashes or special slug barriers around the perimeter of the
garden. Stay on top of this method however.
If rain, wind, or anything else sweeps the barrier away you
can count on the slugs exploiting the breach in your defenses.
Tip Top
Tools...
Here's a great way to keep your gardening hand tools clean
and free from rust. Fill a 5-gallon bucket with play
sand. Moisten the sand with mineral oil or even motor
oil. Plunging your tools into the sand/oil mix several
times before storing them will remove the dirt and leave a
protective coating of oil on the metal surface.
Our
Rosarian Al Karsten Is Having a Moving Sale!
Sale items include unique containers, driftwood, line
material, garden supplies and equipment and other
treasures.
Friday and Saturday, May 4 & 5 from 8AM to 5PM
7724 Fontana, (one block east of Roe), Prairie Village, KS
|
What's
Hot On The Hotline...
The Hotline is fielding many lawn questions as might be
expected at this time of the year when the grass and the weeds
are beginning to grow apace. Read all about it in this
week's What's
Hot on the Hotline...
More
Growin', More Mowin'...
Most of us
have fallen into the habit of mowing the lawn every week.
This time of year however the grass is growing so fast that you
probably need to mow it a bit more often. Remember that you
don't want to cut off more than 1/3 of the height of the grass in
any single mowing. In our yard that means mowing twice per
week. It won't last long and the extra investment in time
will yield a healthier more durable lawn when the summer heat
sets in.
Finally... "May
and June. Soft syllables, gentle names for the two best
months in the garden year: cool, misty mornings gently burned
away with a warming spring sun, followed by breezy afternoons and
chilly nights. The discussion of philosophy is over; it's
time for work to begin." ~
Peter Loewer - Gardener, Writer, and Botanical Illustrator |
|