Bedford in Bloom, May 29, 2010, www.bedfordinbloom.org

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...because all the best garden advice is local
May 20, 2010
Summer On My Mind
 
Greetings!

Yesterday while digging in my compost heap, I was hot. Yes, not just warm, but actually quite hot.
   Remember that feeling? Warm skin? Forehead goes all damp? Vague sense of thirst?
   It was lovely. And it gives me faith that perhaps summer is truly on its way.
Veronica on the porch   Not that I need much more proof. There's a fragrant vase of Korean dwarf lilacs on my kitchen table. On my desk there's a bud vase of the most elusively silvery white German bearded iris. And I can look out into my backyard and see the pagoda dogwood in full bloom.
   Ah. I can't wait until it's warm enough to sit on my screened back porch after sundown without a sweater, sipping on a beer and talking into the night with a good friend or two.
   Now that's what I call summertime living!
 
Happy Sweaty Gardening!

Veronica Lorson Fowler
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What To Plant
Bachelor buttonIf you're trying to figure out what you should buy and plant in your yard, check out our helpful (we hope) short articles:
bullet  20 Must-Have Perennials for Iowa
bullet  Hydrangeas for Iowa
bullet  Eight Bulletproof Roses for Iowa
bullet  Five Must-Have Tomatoes
bullet  The Tastiest Green Beans
bullet  Deer-Resistant Trees and Shrubs for Iowa
bullet  Flowers Less Attractive to Deer
bullet  Beautiful Evergreens for Iowa
   And for general tips on how to choose plants at the nursery or on-line, check out Plant Buying Tips for Iowa.
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Confessions Of a Roundup User

Truly, when I can, I avoid using any chemicals. I want to be green and I don't want to spend the money.
   But this year I am heartily sick and tired of battling non-stop creeping charlie between the stones of a flagstone path, the wild campanula that's invaded my flower beds, and the patch of garden blanketed with tiny water hemlocks. The tiny hemlock seedlings sprout up as fast as I can yank them (and they can cause a rash to boot).
Using RoundUp on a driveway of pavers   Time to bring in the big guns. Garden centers are starting to sell extremely convenient, large jugs of Roundup (called generically a non-selective herbicide or glyphosate) for just $20 to $25. It's the one thing that will get many of your nastiest weeds. For me, it's the solution of last resort when pulling, hoeing, and mulching just won't do it.
   Some gardeners, understandably, are afraid of it because it kills or damages all plants it touches. But it actually breaks down in three days, making it one of the least environmentally dubious herbicides you can use in your garden.
    Click here to read about "When Good People Use Roundup" for tips on usage from a "green" website. My personal tip: Use it on a sunny day (it works better) and be prepared to spray two or three times to truly kill the weeds.
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Bedford in Bloom, May 29, 2010, www.bedfordinbloom.org
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Rosemary for Iowa
In northern California and Italy, I've loved brushing my hand across big rosemary shrubs growing wild to release their distinctive aroma. (To Rosemary in potme, it smells like the best roasting chicken.) Here in chilly Iowa, I grow my rosemary in a pot that I sink into the ground in summer and dig up in fall to overwinter right in the same pot indoors.
    I'm thrilled my rosemary overwintered this year. It's a tricky thing. Click here for tips on how grow it well in Iowa and have success overwintering it this fall.
   Best tip: Rosemary (and most other overwintering plants) do best in a sunny spot in a cool room. In my case, that's my college daughter's vacant bedroom with the heat vent closed so that it hovers at 55-60� F.

Tracking The Emerald Ash Borer

The emerald ash borer is now--kinda sorta--in Iowa. It's been located in an island in the Mississippi River that is part of Allamakee County. Adult Emerald Ash BorerClick here for the Des Moines Register story.
   It was discovered in Michigan in 2002. Since then has killed tens of millions of ash trees there, with tens of millions more killed in lllinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Minnesota, Missouri, New York, Ohio, Ontario, Pennsylvania, Quebec, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.


Garden Quote:

This quote goes out to my garden editor friend Doug Hall. Recently laid off (but now newly employed), Doug said when he stressed about his situation, he went out into the garden and weeded like a fiend. I, like all of us, have my own set of worries--so in this economy, I might be doing a lot of weeding this sumer!

"Cares melt when you kneel in your garden."
--Unknown
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Issue: 32
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Ted's Garden Center, Cummings
This one-of-a-kind spot has topiary, unusual Pot from Ted's Garden Supply in cumming Iowatrellises, interesting garden art, container "recipes," and more.
  Sign up for a stepping stone workshop this Saturday or a herb wreath workshop Sunday, May 23.

Call on Anne Larson
The Garden Coach!

Up to your elbows in potting soil and plants?  Iowa Gardening Coach Anne Larson makes house calls! Fill in that bloom time gap, add pizazz to your color scheme, or update your foundation planting. 515-865-7483.

Rainbow Iris Farms
More than 1,500 types of iris available from this pretty little nursery in
Bedford, Iowa. Tall types, rebloomers, dwarfs, and more. Mail order or buy
locally. Be sure to visit them at Bedford in Bloom Saturday, May 29 or visit during the farm's 'Clockwork' Iris from Rainbow Iris FarmsBloomfest now through June 4 when the irises are at their peak.
Garden To-Do List

For a printable version of this list for May, click here.

 It's offical. All of Iowa is past the last average frost date. Hurrah! So go nuts, folks. Plant your seedlings of peppers, basil, marigolds, impatiens, and petunia, and other tender annual seedlings now.

 Wait to plant the seeds of corn, squash, cucumbers, and beans. They like warm soil. Plant these the last week of May in southern Iowa, the first week of June in northern.

 Plant gladiolus corms, canna rhizomes, and tuberous begonia tubers.

 Finish up planting of lettuces and spinach from seed.

 You can continue to divide perennials that bloom in the summer or fall now, as needed or desired. Hold off on dividing those that bloom in late spring until either after they bloom or this fall.

 Finish up pruning trees, shrubs, evergreens now as desired.

 Continue to plant trees, shrubs, and roses now. However, avoid planting bare-root roses and other bare-root plants after the middle of May.

 Continue to plant perennial edibles that like cool weather, such as rhubarb, strawberries, raspberries, and asparagus.

 If you choose to use a preemergent weed killer, such as Preen, in your beds and borders, now is the time to apply it. Organic versions are also available. Look for products that also fertilize.

 Don't remove the browning foliage of tulips and daffodils until it pulls away easily. The plants need it to rejuvenate for next year.

Now is a great time to build a raised bed. Click here to find out how.
Garden Events 

Friday, May 21
Native Plant Sale
Gray's Lake, Des Moines
2-6 pm. More than 60 species of Iowa native perennials. Experts on site to offer advice. Sponsored by Iowa Native Lands, Des Moines Parks and Recreation, and Polk County Soil and Water Conservation District.

Saturday, May 22
Bulb to Blossom Sale
Central Gardens of North Iowa, Clear Lake
8 am-noon. Perennials, handcrafted objects, children's activities. Free admission.

Saturday, June 5
How Conifers Bloom
The Brenton Arboretum
10 am-2 pm. Learn how conifers flower and disperse seeds. $10 for members; $25 for non-members. Includes lunch. Pre-registration required.
 
Click here for further listings of more garden events throughout the summer.