Quick Links
 

Happy 4th of July!

Buzzzzzzzzzzzzz
zzzzzzzzzz...
 

 
 
Sound familiar?  It is an all too familiar sound for many this year. The rainfall we've gotten has been ideal for our lawns, gardens and landscaping but it has been ideal for the growth of the mosquito population too. 
 
The rainfall isn't the problem however. Standing water anywhere IS the problem. Check your patios, yards, decks etc. for places where water can gather and you'll find made-to-order breeding grounds for mosquitoes. With optimum conditions, the time required for larval development can be as short as seven days. Besides being an annoyance, the more compelling reason to rid your outdoor living areas of these pests is that they carry and transmit a number of serious diseases that can infect you, your family, pets and surrounding wildlife.
 
Wedel's Garden Center has a number of resources for you to use to repel or eliminate mosquitoes. One very effective repellent is called Natural Guard Lawn, Plant & Pet Insect Spray.  This spray is chemical-free and is formulated for use on lawns, ornamentals, fruit and citrus trees, vegetables and pets. Lawn, Plant & Pet Insect Spray uses cedar oil to stifle the ability of the insect's receptors to detect food, mates and reproduction habitats. 
 
If you have a pond or water feature that incorproates still water, an alternative product for you to use is called Mosquito Dunks. Mosquito Dunks incorproate biological mosquito control for use with animal watering troughs, bird baths, flower pots, rain barrels and roof gutters, unused swimming pools, old automobile tires, water gardens, tree holes etc. One donut shaped Mosquito Dunk will treat a surface area of standing water from 25 to 100 square feet. They are safe for fish habitats also.
 
For those who prefer to use an insecticide fogger, Bonide makes Bug Beater Yard & Garden Insect Fogger. The propane powered fogger can be used on gardens, ornamentals, roses, flowers, vegetables, herbs, fruits and nuts. There is an extensive list of harmful insects that the Insect Fogger will eliminate and to control mosquitoes it is recommended that areas be treated thoroughly with particular attention to low and marshy places, shorelines, stagnant pools or ponds and shrubbery or vegetation where mosquitoes may rest.
 
Another effective control is Ortho Mosquito B Gon Area Repellent.This repellent contains a combination of ingredients that provides rapid knockdown and kill of the listed insects, including mosquitoes. It is a highly effective, water-based formula that can be used on flying insects, outdoor houseplants and ornamental pests.
 
These are only a few of the products Wedel's Garden Center has available to help you rid your area of the bothersome and dangerous little invader. Another option that is sometimes overlooked is installing a bat house in your area. A nursing female bat can eat 5,000 mosquitoes an hour! Stop in and let us show you these and other options we have in stock.
 
 
Pictured above is a bat house with numerous residents. You can be sure the surrounding area is quite free of pesky mosquitoes! 
Join Our Mailing List
Winged Visitors 
Mute Swan
 
 
 Red Breasted Nuthatch
 
The above images were submitted by Yvonne Booth. Yvonne says, "I live in the village of Vicksburg and have just gotten into gardening last year. The birds I have been feeding for a few years. My other hobby is photography..." If Yvonne is as accomplished at landscaping as she is at photography, she will soon have beautiful outdoor living areas! 
A Thought
 from the Garden
banner for newsletter 
"Dirty hands, iced tea, garden fragrances thick in the air and a blanket of color before me,
who could ask for more?"
-   Bev Adams, Mountain Gardening

Pretty Garden?
If you have a garden, a feeding station or bird pictures that you are proud of, send them to us. We'll share your picture with our readers. Send pictures to:
A Family Tradition
This photo of a cold frame was sent to us by Carolyn Everts. Carolyn said in her e-mail, "We built the cold frame as you instructed us in the spring and are now beginning to transplant our new seedlings of more than 10 different types of flowers and vegetables. A big thank you to starting another tradition in our home with our cold frame." Speaking of tradition, Carolyn said that her husband's grandparents used to farm pansies on Westnedge and Romence long before Romence went through to Lovers Lane.
 

Wedel's News

Volume 1, Number 4                                      July 4, 2008
Ask Roger:
Q. banner for newsletterWe recently found
a male Flicker in our front yard in obvious distress. His head was laid over on his back and he was flopping around and beating his wings. My guess is he flew into something and broke his neck although there were no large windows in the immediate area. Our decision was to leave him alone and he was dead the next morning. We first saw him about noon the previous day. It was very emotional to see him suffering. We buried him in our garden.

Our questions are these:
 
Were we right in leaving him alone? 
Assuming there was nothing to be done to help him, is there anything we could have done to hasten his demise and reduce his suffering?

A. What a sad story. There is no right or wrong in this situation. In general I'm a believer in leaving nature alone. In my mind seeing an animal suffering is a reasonable exception to that rule. To get a second opinion I posed this issue to Laura Erickson (the author of 101 Things You Can Do to Help Birds) who is also employed by Cornell Ornithology. Here is her response:

"Flickers very often get head injuries and also break their backs when they strike windows because their flight is so strong that they hit hard. (Under the feathers, their necks are long and somewhat coiled  when they're doing okay--the coil releases and the neck gets floppy when they aren't in control of their bodies, so they often look like they have a broken neck, but virtually always the actual damage is to their brain and back.) I've never had the emotional constitution to euthanize, so I'd have brought him to a local vet for that. But there  was nothing to be done to help the bird except to quicken his demise. It's a heartbreaking waste. It's very hard for any of us to  witness a bird suffering so."

A peaceful approach to euthanasia would be to put the injured bird in a plastic bag and hold it over the exhaust of a car or as Laura suggested take the bird to a vet. More importantly, what can we learn from this sad situation. How do we reduce window strikes by birds?

Birds hit windows when they see a reflection of trees or open sky in the window. The other cause is "flying toward light". A bird's natural instinct when flying through a tree is to find a light hole and fly toward it. So when a bird sees a window opposite a window they think they can fly through. Regardless of the cause, the outcome is the same -- death in at least half of the window stikes. It's estimated that somewhere between 100,000,000 and a billion (Yes BILLION) birds are killed by striking windows each year just in the United States.

There is much we can do to reduce the number of birds killed each year. I know it sounds counter intuitive but window feeders are a very effective approach. Something on the window, especially another bird, alerts a flying bird to the danger. Another approach is the use of window decals. The newest design, and by far most effective, reflect UV light - the spectrum of light seen by birds. These decals are a huge improvement over the black hawk outlines used for years. We'll discuss other approaches in future issues.

 

A Quiet Beauty
banner for newsletter 
This peaceful scene is a featured area of  Barbara Roty's landscape. Barbara and her family are long time friends of the Wedel's Community.
  

Parade of Color

Add color and interest to your outdoor living area with perennials and ponds.

Free Finger Food!
Featuring Grilled Pizza
 from our Garden Party Cafe'
Friday 5:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
Saturday 10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
 
Free Seminars!
Friday, July 11 
  • 6:30 p.m. Color Tour in Your Outdoor Living Area Come see the 4-season landscaping you can do with or without water features with Andy Wedel.

Saturday, July 12

  • 9:15 a.m. Meander with Marilyn Tour the perennial and wildflower gardens at Wedel's while learning about using color in gardens, care and pruning with landscape expert Marilyn Breu. 
  • 10:15 a.m. My Favorite "Hit" Perennials and Ornamentals Grasses with Kay Wedel.
  • 11:15 a.m. Water Features: Pond or No Pond, What Shall it Be? How to install pondless systems and ponds with Jeff Leonard of Pinnacle Landscaping and Andy Wedel.
 
  • 1:00 p.m. Attracting Hummingbirds with Water and Plants in Your Landscape with Roger Taylor, Birdwatch Radio Host.

Talk with the Experts!

Thinking about using natural stone to enhance perennial and water gardens?
Demonstrations and Q & A's with John Carretta and Mike Sullivan of Napoleon Stone.
Friday 5:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
Saturday 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 noon 
 
 We can help you plan and put in the water garden or perennial garden of your dreams!
Sign up for seminars with our cashier or call 345-1195. 
 
Want to Show Off Your Gardens?  
Bring in your favorite picture of your perennial garden or water garden (or both). We'll display them here at the Garden Center for other enthusiasts to OOOH and AHHH over. Also, e-mail your pictures to:  www.wedelsgarden.com to enter pictures for the possible chance of having your garden pictured in a future ad or in our e-newsletter!
 
wkzo
Saturday Mornings
 
Birdwatch
8:00
with host Roger Taylor answering all of your birding questions
Call in at 382-4280 or 800-742-6590.
 
Over the Garden Fence
9:07
with host Andy Wedel answering all of your landscape and gardening questions
Call in at 382-4280 or 800-742-6590.
 
Just for Grins... 
 
Gardening Rule:
 
When weeding, the best way to make sure you are removing a weed and not a valuable plant is to pull on it. If it comes out of the ground easily, it is a valuable plant.
 

  Note from the Editor

Remember whirring tires at icy intersections, cold sleet falling from bruised skies, chilled winds swirling around and through winter coats? It was during the time of year, when we had days like that, that we dreamed of days like this. Memorial Day was the unofficial start of summer but the 4th of July is, officially, our first holiday of the summer season. Whirring cicadas in backyard trees, gentle rain watering landscapes, warm breezes swirling around and through lush foliage...you can probably guess which I prefer. 
 
July 4th is a good time to take a look around our property to see where some more annuals could fill in the bare spots; a perennial, shrub, rose bush or even a new tree might find a perfect setting for years to come; a water feature, fountain, pond or patio might become the focal point of our outdoor living area. While we at Wedel's are always willing, able and happy to help you make some of your landscaping decisions, you'll see above that we are going to have a Parade of Color on Friday, July 11 and Saturday, July 12 that will feature free seminars aimed specifically at helping you add that special something. (Did you notice? Free food too!) 
 
Also in this month's issue of Wedel's News are photographs sent to us by Barbara Roty, Yvonne Booth and Carolyn Everts; a serene garden, exciting visitors and a new family tradition. These are some of the things our friends in the Wedel's Community enjoy; things I'm sure you enjoy. Wedel's News is for you, members of the Wedel's Community, but it is made even better when it is by you. Barbara, Yvonne and Carolyn made this issue better. Now it is your turn. Share with us some of the things you enjoy by contacting me at the address below. 
 
Have a safe and happy 4th of July celebration with family and friends!
  
'Til next time, 
Jim
 
 
That beautiful season the Summer!
Filled was the air with a dreamy and magical light;
and the landscape
Lay as if new created in all the freshness of childhood.
-   Henry Wadsworth Longfellow