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Just Teasin'...
I think Mother Nature was sending us a message yesterday. I
think she was trying to tell us to be patient. We all know that
spring will eventually arrive
the question is "How much longer?" Of course if any of you are
like me, patience is not one of your
greatest virtues. At least we were given a teaser of what we can
only hope is around the corner.
Sam Parker
and I were delighted to take our walk yesterday. I loved feeling
the sun shining on my face. I actually over-dressed
and had to de-layer once we got home. I have fallen into a
pattern of layering to stay warm both inside and outside. But
yesterday was a nice surprise. Just a jacket. No gloves, hat or
scarf. A sense of freedom I've not felt for sometime. Funny how
when you take away the heaviest winter coat you own, snow pants,
boots, scarves and turtle necks how much easier it becomes to
move. Of course it is cold again today. It's a good thing I
didn't pack away all of my winter gear. The extended forecast is
simply more of the same, cold.
If you are
looking to escape the frigid temperatures outside
think about attending the Metropolitan
Lawn & Garden Show this weekend at the American Royal Center. It
starts Friday and runs through Sunday. My good friends John
Bruntzel and Jan Olson of the Gard'n Wise Guys radio show will
be entertaining gardeners with their gardening banter.
Click here for a schedule of speakers. A good use of time
since you can't be in the garden.
~
Shelly
Seed
Starting With Structure...
Starting more
than three or four different varieties of seed indoors can get
confusing if you're not organized. To keep from missing the
start date for any of your seeds you might try our simple
procedure: Organize your seed packets in piles based on the
number of weeks before "last frost" to start them indoors. This
should be indicated on the seed packet and can be found in our
feature When To Start Seeds Indoors. Pick the date which you
feel safe calling "last frost". We use the first full weekend in
May. In our example we are now 11 weeks from the weekend we will
transplant our seedlings. That means that by this weekend we
will have already started any seeds that indicate starting dates
nine weeks and higher. For the remainder of your seeds secure
them together in their respective groups with a rubber band. For
each group attach a sticky note with the date of the weekend
they need to be started. Place the packets front-to-back, in
order by starting date, in a small box. Each weekend remove the
packets at the front of the box for starting. Next weekend's
seeds are now at the front and awaiting your return in seven
days.
Proper Rose Pruning...
Lots of gardeners are wondering if they missed their chance to
prune their roses. Fear not. Modern roses should be pruned
just before the buds break dormancy after the last frost. Still
plenty of time to think about it.
Rose pruning
is the key to successful summer blooms. Prune roses back 25
percent if you want lots of medium-sized blooms. Prune back 50
percent if you want fewer, larger flowers.
Trim Now, Butterflies
Later...
Butterfly bushes reward
us all with great
gatherings of butterflies every summer. To make sure
yours are in
top shape for summer you need to trim
them back to about 12 inches this time of
year. This helps promote a well shaped bush with larger
flowers.
Reading Roses...
Whether you're giving roses to your sweetheart or just planting
some new ones in the garden this year it's always helpful to
know what message you might be sending.
- Red - Love, Respect
- Deep Pink - Gratitude, Appreciation
- Light Pink - Admiration, Sympathy
- White - Reverence, Humility
- Yellow - Joy, Gladness
- Orange - Enthusiasm, Desire
- Red & Yellow Blend - Gaiety, Joviality Pale
- Blended Tones - Sociability, Friendship
Of course
you should feel free to break the rules to accommodate a
favorite color. If your valentine prefers yellow over red we
suggest you stick with yellow.
Source
Tipping The Scales...
We've had lots of e-mails asking about
effective control of scale on houseplants. Because scale
in indoor environments enjoys overlapping generations successful
treatment will require two to three insecticide applications at
l0-day intervals. When feasible,
large numbers of these scales can be physically dislodged by
gently wiping the leaves with a dilute mixture of water and
dishwashing detergent. You should combine manual and chemical
control for best results.
Source
What's That Bug?
Here's a new find
for us that we couldn't resist sharing.
What's that Bug? is a comprehensive site dedicated to garden
bugs of all shapes and sizes. It's not as organized as we
would prefer but the pictures and descriptions are pretty good.
See
for yourself...
Winter Tree
Clean-Up...
Late winter is a great time to prune many
deciduous trees. Look over your plants now and remove dead,
dying, unsightly parts of the tree, sprouts growing at or near
the base of the tree trunk, crossed branches, and V-shaped
crotches.
Finally...
"There seems to be
so much more winter than we need this year." ~
Kathleen Norris |
