Happy

Independence

Day

   

"I'd give all wealth

that years have piled,

The slow result of

Life's decay,

To be once more a little child

For one bright summer day."

 

~ Lewis Carroll, "Solitude"

Swarms of butterflies can transform a backyard patch into a magic garden. But there's no mystical tip for making them flutter around your house. You see, butterflies are attracted to flowers that have a heavy perfume because they contain more carbohydrates that are needed to fuel their high-intensity mating and flower-pollinating.

 

A few butterfly favorites:

 

    * Milkweed 

    * Lantana 

    * Valerian

    * Zinnia 

    * Buddleia

    * Red zinnias

    * Orange marigolds

    * Lavender.

 

Be sure to plant these flowers in a sunny spot that's protected from high wind. And don't use a light touch -- butterflies love abundant patches of nectar.

 

Another tip: Plan the flowers so that you have at least a few nectar-bearing blooms throughout the summer months, that will keep the butterflies from having to seek out new feeding grounds.  

2. An average ear of corn has 800 kernels, arranged in 16 rows.

4. The plant life in the oceans make up about 85 percent of all the greenery on the Earth.

 

George Wedel

As gardeners transition from one season to the next, let's slow down and put into our memory bank the beautiful spring God blessed us with this year. Tulip and daffodil blossoms lasted for weeks. Flowering trees have never been more beautiful from the early Amelanchier to the lilac trees still in bloom - it's been quite a show. Remember the early forsythia? They showed their golden flowers for nearly a month.

 

To help our landscapes and gardens continue to provide color and cheer all summer plant some of these beauties:  Repeat blooming hydrangeas are always a favorite. There are several new varieties at Wedel's this year including Vanilla Strawberry, Invincibelle Spirit and Pink Annabelle. Blossoms of the Vanilla Strawberry open white, change to pink and then to strawberry. Since it is a repeat bloomer you will have blossoms of all three colors at the same time. Invincibelle Spirit hydrangea is the very first pink flowered, mop-head form of Hydrangea arborescens. The blooms are extremely attractive both in the landscape and as a cut flower. The Pink Annabelle; finally a pink hydrangea that's not fussy and is great for sun or shade. It's a very hardy excellent performer. Wedel's grows and sells 16 summer blooming hydrangeas.

 

Other colorful summer blooming shrubs are buddleia (Butterfly Bush), Althea Rose of Sharon, itea, potentilla, weigela, and eight colors of spirea.

 

Have some spaces in your perennial garden that need some color? Why not drop in a few large, full of bloom, one gallon size annuals? Petunias, wax begonias, impatiens, galardias and marigolds are a few of the "blooming beauties" now available at Wedel's that will liven up any garden.

 

Ornamental trees with great summer value include my favorite, Tiger Eyes Goldleaf Sumac. This baby takes the prize as an all-season stand out. Tiger Eyes has bright yellow compound leaves, a dwarf habit and makes any green area of the landscape really come alive. Other outstanding trees that will liven up the summer landscape include Weeping or Tri-color Beech, white bark White Spire Clump Birch, Weeping Siberian Pea, Weeping Filbert, Weeping Camperdown Elm, Weeping Katsura, Purple Leaf Smoke Tree, Royal Red Leaf Maple, and Weeping Mulberry. These trees will be all-year assets to any landscape.

 

Why settle for a landscape full of "straight as soldiers" trees? Liven up your landscape with a few weeping deciduous or evergreen trees. Think "outside the box". Let your imagination run. Plan and then plant now for a more colorful and interesting landscape and garden to enjoy this summer and for many years to come.  Each day, month, and season our gardens provide so much beauty and enjoyment. Has yours reached its full potential? For help adding more colorful plants to your landscape and garden, visit Wedel's Nursery, Florist, and Garden Center where ideas abound and a vast array of plants are anxious to move to your home.

 

Current maintenance needs in most landscapes include:  With the onset of summer weather, be alert for lawn disease problems. We have seen samples at the garden center this week of Rust, Melting Out, Leaf Spot, Patch, and Fusarium Blight. If any of these are showing up in your lawn, be sure to apply Scotts dry Lawn Disease Control or Banner Systemic Fungicide spray to stop lawn diseases in their tracks before they do even more damage. If in doubt about what might be causing brown spots in your lawn, bring in a six-inch by six-inch by six-inch size turf sample to Wedel's Diagnostic Center for identification and a prescription for cure.

 

Remember, keep lawn mower cutting height at three to three and one-half inches. Scalping lawns with a low cut now will encourage poor turf density, stress, and conditions for more crabgrass and broadleaf weed problems. Mowing turf at the highest setting will encourage deeper grass roots, which conserves moisture and discourages weeds. Irrigate lawns with one-half inch of water every third day. Irrigate between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.

 

Bacterial Speck, Bacterial Leaf Spot, Early Blight, and Anthracnose are showing up on tomato plants.  Tomato leaves, stems, and fruit can all be affected. Keep plants sprayed with Daconil 2787 to control these tomato diseases.

 

Colorado potato beetles are very numerous this season. Check your potato plants daily. When Colorado potato beetles are present, spray plants with Spinosad to control them.

 

Have a safe and happy 4th!

George 

Pickerel Rush

The Pickerel Rush is a member of the Pontederiaceae family which includes the water hyacinth and is a native of North America. It bears shiny olive-green leaves that can grow to 8" x 3" making a narrow arrowhead shape. Flower spike clusters begin blooming in early summer and continue until fall. This water plant can grow to a height of 4 feet.

Plant in 2 to 3 clusters in a large container and locate so the roots are covered with 2 to 12 inches of water or plant directly in the aquatic soil in your pond. This plant is tolerant of varied conditions in that it will do as well in cool soil, when conditions are dry, as in a foot of water when conditions are more ideal.

The Pickerel Rush does well in partial shade to full sun however planting in full sun will result in the best display of blooms. Plan to fertilize 2 to 3 times per season. Valued not only for its beautiful ornamental qualities, this plant filters out great quantities of algae through its root system.

Wedel's carries both the cardata blue and pinkpon (pink) Pickerel Rush.