Sort out spirea, make room and air for perennials and lawn, no
weak roses, all over a quarter continent
Download to read all
of issue #180 (a big beautiful PDF document containing
all of this week's news)
Or jump down to story summaries with
links to individual articles
This week, six back issues were
posted ahead
of schedule upon request by new Sponsors.
Perhaps most timely among those,
What's
Coming Up #86, the Master Guide to Pruning Shrubs!
Summary and links to this
What's Coming Up #180 news
We're all over the map lately to help gardens grow.
That's how it is in spring, when so much is new every day and
going on all at once. Stepping out into a garden to see what's up
can easily become more of a jig than a waltz! This past week we
tripped that light fantastic across a quarter-continent. That music
continues this week as we plant what we brought home from Mother's
Day garden center shopping.
Come dance with us to energize and beautify your garden.
Download issue #180
(a big beautiful PDF document)
Where to see us. Details in About Us: Where
we're appearing
5/19 Detroit, 6/12 Hale, MI; 6/14 Belleville, MI; 6/16 Chicago
Botanic Garden
What's coming up this week
Top stories of plants and procedures.
Plant shopping as name game: Choosing spirea
So many spirea shrubs, for a big hedge, small spot, foliage
color, bird cover! Choose the best for your need. Read it in issue #180
Bonus: Tips for finding a mail order source
What's going on in Janet & Steven's gardens
Quick
to-do list
Rose garden design notes, air to obelisk
Roses are problematic when they're in the spotlight. They lack
the distinct form and texture that could stand alone even when they
are not in bloom, and certainly lack when cut back between blooms.
Gain some steady-eddy distinction for important spots in a rose bed
by accessorizing with the likes of obelisks and trellises.
Read it in issue
#180
Simplify shopping with a design and plant list
Whenever there's a planting to be done, deciding, finding and
buying plants is a major task. It can be a challenge for one person
acting alone, more than twice as tough to consider two gardeners'
ideas and actions, and mind-boggling for a larger group... unless
you have a design for your shopping list.
Read it in issue
#180
'Scuse me: Perennials need elbow room
Whenever you weed, divide, or plant,
leave room for plants to grow.
Read it in issue
#180
Breathing room for phlox
Tall phlox plants (P. paniculata and its hybrids) are
predisposed to powdery mildew. Same goes for bee balm (Monarda
didyma) some asters, and other perennials. Stress such
a plant (drought, shade, poor nutrition) and it succumbs to its
nemesis. Perhaps the most important preventive is sweet, moving
air. Keep space between stems and plants.
Read it in issue
#180
We bare it all in annual beds
Don't mulch annual flowers and vegetables. They don't fare well
in mulch.
Read it in issue
#180
Quashing trouble, with eyes open for what we don't want to
see
Many of the problems that can ruin a bed at high summer are
showing themselves in spring. Look, and look into irregularities.
Once you know what to look for you can act before the worst
symptoms or losses. Read it in issue #180
Green thumbs up and down
Lawnlessness applauded, weak roses trashed
Celebrating alternative lawns -- not for everyone but certainly
attention-getters and often beautiful. Read it in issue #180
Shaking our heads over those who hang on for yet another year to
weakling roses. Discard what fails to thrive! We help you out by
showing you how to read the roots and shoots for the language of
success. Read it in issue
#180
Tip cuttings
What's of special interest on the Forum
Wellhead, fake rock, real beauty
Read it in the Forum.
Add dimension with flat-grown plants
Espalier, vines trained to a tree form, and shrubs pruned as
small trees are all suggestions for a small courtyard. Read it in the Forum.
Clematis stands divided
Read it in the Forum.
The low-down of lawn care from top-notch experts moderating the
Forum
Thoughts for those choosing a lawn care service. Read it in the Forum.
First hand reports of core aeration timing and results. Read it
in the Forum.
The 45 mph garden
It's catching driver's eyes and raising questions this week.
Olive all over the roadside
Autumn olive: deliberately introduced, long regretted but still
eye-catching at 45mph. Read it in issue #180
Aiming for answers: Hit or Miss
"What happened next" from previous articles. Celebrating the
hits, updating the misses.
Another angle on reducing an arborvitae
We know it's tough to picture cutting back an arborvitae. We
recently came at if from a different angle in terms of
illustration. In issue
#180 we step you through it.
Deep thought: Move bulbs now, set them deeper
When a spring bulb is planted shallow, it's more likely to
produce offset bulbs and fairly quickly become a crowded,
non-blooming clump. Planted deep, it multiplies more slowly,
keeping its strength in one bulb.Read about it and see the
consequences in issue
#180
Big mistake, big lesson
Where big blunders become great treasures
Don't duck the work when it comes to quack grass. If you smother
it, it'll be a year long smother! Read about it in issue #180
Your feedback
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Up news? It's still on the site but may have moved when we
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spring. Do a Search for a key word or go to Ensemble
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Winter and click from the index of any issue.
All feedback always appreciated
Drop us an email or give us a call to tell us what worked and
what didn't in this newsletter or in our gardening advice. You
won't hurt our feelings. We aim to grow and that means we celebrate
the highs but also remember to learn from the lows.
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