Triple-Time Gardening

...because all the best garden advice is local

April 26, 2012

Greetings!

lounge chair in an inviting garden

Today I'm taking off work to try to get closer to caught up in the garden. With this weirdly warm spring and everything moving so fast, it's like three months of spring got compressed into one. So I'm having to work triple-time to prune, weed, mulch, plant, and everything else.

The casualty in all this is the lounge chair and side table I picked up at Target more than a month ago. I had visions of myself sitting in it, basking in the sun, sipping wine--and I've used it exactly three brief times. Mainly, it's collecting dust, leaves, and the occasional dribble of bird poop.

A friend visiting my garden a few years ago looked all around and said, "Oh! This must be the most relaxing place in the word for you!"

Not this time of year, it's not!

Yours in busy, busy gardening,

Veronica Lorson Fowler

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Tender Annuals

Even though we've been having exceptionally warm weather, don't set out tender annuals, such as tomatoes, impatiens, basil, marigolds, and others just yet. It's too cold for them. I do have some hibiscus in pots just outside the screened porch

door, but I stand at the ready to lug them inside if nighttime temperatures are p Hibiscus redicted to get down into the low 30s.

Traditionally, warm-season annuals such as these are planted outside after all danger of frost has passed--May 10 in southern Iowa and May 15 in northern Iowa. This year, I may flirt with danger and put them out a few days early, but certainly not yet!

Click here for a planting calendar for Iowa.

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Hosta 'Rocket's Red Glare'

This hybrid from Bev and Dave Stegeman of Indiana deserves a double take! Broad, deep green leaves are slightly domed and incredibly glossy. That alone will grab your attention, but a closer

Hosta 'Rocket's Red Glare'

look will reveal the more subtle features that make

'Rocket's Red Glare' a special hosta...undulating leaf edges and deep red petioles that bleed color about one third of the way up into the leaf. Purchase this newly available hosta from In The Country Garden and Gifts.

We're in Independence, Iowa. Click here for directions.

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Mulch Snobbery

I confess. I'm a mulch snob. I like very fine, dark mulch that looks absolutely elegant on beds and borders. I usually wait until late May to reapply mulch, after the spring bulbs have faded so I can use the mulch to disguise their browning foliage a bit. But with everything happening so early, last week I called Dan's Custom Landscaping near Ames and was delighted to find they have double-processed wood chip mulch, which is wonderfully fine.

I got the stuff that's passed through a 3-inch screen--the double-processed mulch that is passed through the 6-inch screen isn't all that remarkable. pile of mulch in the driveway Dan's is one of the few places that carries such high-quality mulch. However, Mulch Mart near Waukee also carries double-processed mulch.

It is far cheaper for me to order mulch in bulk and have it dumped on my driveway. I order it jointly with my neighbor and we split the $25 delivery fee.

Click here for all the reasons to mulch (weed and disease control, etc.) and tips on mulching.

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My Nifty Electric Mower

I knew I needed to get rid of my old gas mower, but I really realized it was time for an update when the last person in Ames to service small gas engines--a wonderful older man with a giant shop in his garage--died. So I ordered an electric mower--a Neuton.

It's good only for small lawns like mine since its battery lasts just 30 to 45 minutes. And it's ideal on slopes (even young Will can handle it) because it's not heavy and its wheels don't

Will mows a slope with an electric powered neuron

tear up the grass as it struggles to accelerate up the hill. Plus no loud sounds or polluting fumes.

My neighbor, Heidi, a landscape architecture professor, loves her Neuton, so I ordered one. It's great! Ironically, the same day I received it, a Des Moines co-worker informed me that he had a Craftsman electric mower he won in a raffle. Never used. $600 value and he's selling it on Craig's list for $300. Click here to find out more!

Issue: 64

Garden To-Do List

Set any seedlings you have started outdoors or garden plants you have purchased for several hours at a time to gather strength. If temperatures are not predicted to dip below 40 or 45, you can even leave them outside overnight.

Keep weeding! This warm weather is giving weeds a head start.

Then follow up the weeding with mulch. Put down 1 to 3 inches.

Divide perennials that bloom in the late spring, summer, or fall now, as needed or desired. (Spring-blooming perennials should be divided after they're done blooming through summer into fall.)

Prune most large trees, small trees, shrubs, evergreens, and roses now as desired. Wait to prune spring-flowering shrubs until after they're done blooming so you don't reduce the show

If your lilacs, roses, and other plants get powdery mildew, now--before it shows up--is the only time to control it. Spray with a fungicide three or more times before temperatures regularly hit the 80s. Or use our organic spray recipe.

Plant nearly any type of tree or shrub now.

Plant cool-weather loving seeds, such as radishes, carrots, lettuces, spinach, peas, turnips, beets, and various greens now. It will soon be too hot!

Plant seedlings of cool-season vegetables, such as broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, and cabbages now.

Plant bareroot roses now. It's also now warm enough to plant roses growing in containers.

Plant herbs now that like cool weather, including parsley, chives, and cilantro. Also plant any perennial herbs.

Make this your year for a great lawn!!

Click here for details on what to do when.

Wait to plant warm-season annuals, such as marigolds, tomatoes, and impatiens, until after the last average frost date in mid-May.