So Much Sky by Karen Weir-Jimerson

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...because all the best garden advice is local

May 24, 2012
Whew! 

Greetings!Veronica working in her garden in the dirt.

   

I made the mistake last year of taking up bike riding. As a fellow cyclist (and gardener) pointed out, if you also garden, it's a terrible hobby. All the same days you want to be out on your bike? Those are the same days you want to be out the yard.

   This year I told my biking friends: No cycling until after the first average frost date. So now my annuals are in, my containers are planted, the little pond is up and running and filled with goldfish, mulch is spread. And sure enough, I got my first bike ride of the season in last weekend.

   So here's to a slightly slower season in the garden. The weeds still move faster than I do, but now at least I can spend an pleasant afternoon or two doing other things!

 

Yours in more relaxed gardening,

Veronica Lorson Fowler  

 
My New Favorite Gloves 

 

The older I get, the more I need gloves. My thinning skin tears, rips, and chaps more easily. I have a whole wardrobe of gloves--leather for dealing with stone and heavy lumber, thin nitrile gloves for delicate tasks such as weeding and planting tiny Atlas Nitrile Gloves, Veronica's new favorites.seedlings, and a whole collection of those "mudd" gloves that rotate in and out of the laundry.

   But now I've discovered Atlas nitrile gloves. A kind visitor on a garden tour to my garden brought them to me as a thank you gift. They're tough enough for say, working with gravel, but also have excellent "touch" for more delicate tasks. They work well in cold weather and hot, just the right combo of breathable fabric and waterproof rubbery material.  
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Gifts Succulents and Agaves 

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We've gone a bit wild over succulents and agaves!  Over the last few years, these fascinating plants have escaped the confines of the southern U. S. and 

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Pesky Varmits 

 

A hungry rabbit in the lawn... look out clover!

The rabbits, for whatever reason, seem especially bad in my garden this year. I wish that all those folk remedies, like human hair or bloodmeal in the garden worked, but the only thing that works is physical barrier, such as chicken wire. For small individual plantings, such as peppers, etc. you can put a coffee can or other similar container with both ends cut off. It makes it a little more difficult for them to get to, so hopefully they'll nibble on easier greenery instead, like the clover and other weeds in the lawn!

  For more tips on controlling rabbits, click here.

  Unsure what the heck is eating your plants? Click here. 

  The moles are also going crazy in my yard. For tips on controlling moles, click here. 

  IIf deer are your deal, click here for a listing of deer-resistant trees and shrubs for Iowa. And for a listing of annuals and perennials that deer like less, click here.  

Vases, Vases and More Vases

 

many vases on a closet shelfI admit it. I have a little bit of a vase fetish. I love to collect them. I get them at discount stores, at garage sales, at antique shops, saved from delivery flowers, and even a really gorgeous, insanely expensive art vase as a birthday gift last year. (The art dealer said I shouldn't put flowers in it because it detracts from the, well, arty-ness of the vase. What? Everything is better with flowers!)

   This is a photo of the two shelves of vases I have crammed into my pantry. I have another couple shelves of larger and less-often used vases in my basement.

   The cool thing is that whatever flowers I cut from my garden, I always have just the right vase to put them into. As a result, this time of year, I have flowers everywhere--my nightstand, my bathroom, my kitchen table, the coffee table, the guest bedroom this weekend. Truly, everything is better with flowers!
 
Talking Hoses on Facebook

 

There's a good chat going on right now on The Iowa Gardener Facebook page about how to stop garden hoses from dribbling at the spigot and how to find a hose that doesn't kink. Check it out. I'm getting great reader tips! Click on the Facebook image here, or log onto Facebook and search for "Iowa Gardener."

Issue: 66  

Garden To-Do List

 

Plant now seeds of squash, cucumbers, corn, beans, and other seeds that need warmer soil (usually 2 weeks past the last average frost date).  

 

Go ahead and buy plants on clearance, but buy only those plants that look healthy. Avoid runty, dried out, or otherwise tired-looking plants. They're unlikely to rally.  

 

Weed, weed, weed! Get them now while they're small and prevent big problems later. Click here for tips on how to wipe out max weeds in minimum time.   

 

Deadhead flowers on annuals, perennials, and some shrubs. It keeps your garden more attractive and in many cases, it will encourage more flowers longer.   

   

Continue to plant container-grown or balled-and-burlapped trees, shrubs, and roses now. However, avoid planting bare-root roses and other bare-root plants. This late in the year, they'll struggle to get established and may well die.   

 

Time to practice tough love. If a tree or shrub is still struggling with winter damage or overall sickness, with significant amounts of dead wood, it's almost certainly time to dig it up or cut it down. 

     

 Remove the browning foliage of tulips and daffodils once it pulls away easily. Until then, the plant is using it to rejuvenate for next year.

 

 Pinch mum buds and until the 4th of July. This helps them produce larger, bigger flowers on stronger stems.  

 

 Harvest early and often for the most tender, sweetest produce and to keep plants producing well. Pick zucchini, for example, with the yellow flower still attached. 

  

 Check out the bulb catalogs and on-line sources. Ordering now assures the type and quantity you want this fall, when supplies run low.

    

Editor's Choice Garden Events

Through October 28
Lego Sculptures
at Reiman Gardens

Special Memorial Day hours. I'm going this weekend with visiting family from out-of-state. Check out the 27 jaw-dropping garden-themed Lego sculptures commissioned by a specialized Lego artist. Admission ranges from free to 3 and under and ISU students to $8 for adults. 

Click here to see more upcoming Iowa garden events.

Click here to let us know about your garden event!

 


Garden Quote  

 

"The world's favorite season is the spring. All things seem possible in May."  

 

-- Edwin Way Teale American naturalist and writer, 1899-1980

 

coneflower

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