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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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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

 

 

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