"It is only shallow people who do not judge by appearances" (Oscar Wilde)
..........Tim Thoelecke (
American Academy of Landscape Design
) has hit upon a basic landscape design truth - "In speaking with a colleague last week, we were discussing some new paving product being peddled by a reputable company. It has a nice-enough look and no doubt would look fine installed. Consider this though. Railroad ties and timbers were once "the thing." Remember the early concrete unit pavers? Exposed aggregate concrete with cedar decorative strips? How about segmental retaining walls? Show me one of those jobs and I can tell you when it was built. On the other hand, how about a natural stone patio? Or a walk built from traditional clay bricks? Those are timeless materials."..........Plant garlic cloves now..........Want the newest info on the best plants for this area? Click over to
Illinois' Best Plants (The Chicago Botanic Garden)
. A great resource..........Yeah, yeah, roses are pretty and all that. But, customers (except for you gentle reader) constantly complain about the maintenance and problems. Well, if you must, click over to the Royal Horticultural Society's rose advise page
(www.rhs.org.uk)
. This way, even when the roses look heck, you can say that this is the way the Royal Horticultural Society says they are suppose to look..........Got July off? Learn something at Harvard's Arnold Arboretum. The program (Using Elements of Historic Landscape Design: Renaissance, French & English) runs from July 9th thru August 20……….They have not yet scheduled the dates for Using Elements of Redneck Design (stay tuned)..........University of Illinois Extension Office encourages us to water the garden before 10 a.m. Half of the water applied will be lost if you water in the middle of the day..........Hungry? Sign up for the Chicago Botanic Garden's "Garden Chef Series" (May 26 - October 7). More info @
www.chicagobotanic.org
..........Green Roofs For Healthy Cities has released their annual Awards of Excellence
(www.greenroofs.org)
. While the winners this year are stunning projects, does any landscape specialty get more meritless attention than roofscaping? It seems that, in the past, roof gardens were praised like first grade soccer players (i.e. everyone gets a trophy)..........Love ornamental grasses that flow with nature? Check out
www.rickdarke.com
. He has been called a "Visionary Plantsman". This is almost as prestigious as my landscape title: Redneck Savant..........May 15th - May 20th is the time to get your pepper and tomato plants in the ground (or just wait for your neighbors to bring free ones over in a few weeks like I do)..........Funkiest use of box hedging in a garden celebrating the landscape of the Villa Ruspoli of Vignanello? The Latz family garden in Ampertshausen Kranzberg (Germany). O.K. - not a huge sample size, but it is still a great design)..........The emerald ash borer, recently seen near Chicago, has offed more than 20,000,000 ash trees. The USDA is hoping a soil fungus can fight the beetle. Stay tuned..........Plant tallvegetables like corn and tomatoes together at the north end of your garden to avoid shading smaller vegetables..........“Ed Brown Daylily” – American Hemerocallis Society 2006 Stout medal award winner (it looks a lot better than it sounds)……… Check out the New York Times - 1000 Gardening Questions & Answers book. It is a great resource with one limitation - every time a plant dies they blame George W………LSU & Penn State ranked as best undergrad Landscape Architecture programs in the U.S.………Paradigm Hosta - America Hosta Growers Assoc 2007 “Hosta of the Year”. It goes well with your kitchen if you happen to live in the Brady Bunch home………”If you could say it with words, there’d be no reason to paint.” – Edward Hooper………Nebraska Nursery Association Shrub of the Year (2007)? Regent Serviceberry (Amelanchier alnifolia ‘Regent’)…….Nebraska Nursery Association has already named their 2008 & 2009 plants of the year. While it kills the suspense, it was really the only way to contain the out of control wagering that ruined many a family………Garden pest of the moment? Viburnum Leaf Beetle………Best fireworks after the 4th? Fireworks Goldenrod (Solidago rugosa ‘Fireworks’) - Perennial of the Year 2007………Ohio Buckeye (Aesculus glabra) – 2007 Tree of the Year (After graduating from The Ohio State University, Tom Hanks’ character in Bosom Buddies asked, “What the hell is a Buckeye?”)………Korean Feather Reed Grass (Calamagrostis brachytricha) Ornamental Grass of the Year 2007 (Nebraska Nursery Association)………Weed control at Wrigley Field? They pull them by hand………Oldest species of tree in Iowa? Eastern Red Cedar (at least 450 years old)………The USGA announces that some putting greens are now being mowed at 1/10th of an inch………Got a moss jones? Visit
MossAcres.com
for moss starter kits………Planning a Cottage Garden? Try incorporating small spreading perennials into a stone wall bordering the garden………Tasty plant that is hardy to -40 degrees? Try Nanking Cherry (prunus tomentosa)………Noted garden designer Patrick Chasse' recommends planting the edges of your property with native plants so the landscape blends seemlessly with nature………
GardenRant.com
is an opinionated, blunt look at landscaping and gardening. Check it out………Martha Stewart's deer repellent inlcudes cayenne pepper and white glue..........Beach Plum (Prunus maritima) is tasty and hardy to zone 3, but needs at least two plants for best results (no man or Beach Plum is an island)..........Although it is a boldly colored plant (yellow gold foliage with bright pink flowers) that needs the right surroundings (i.e. full to part shade), Dicentra spectabilis 'Goldheart' (Common Bleeding Heart) can bring punch to the darker sections of your garden. Use with caution..........Carl "Mr Flower Power" Linnaeus 300th B Day is coming up. For everybody who is not a complete plant geek, Linnaeus is the force behind the Latin naming scheme for plants. Visit
www.linnaeus2007.se/ (he was from Sweden)
or read "Linnaeus: The Complete Naturalist" (unfortunately, the only racy parts involve bees and pollen)..........Boulders placed in serpentine patterns in your garden can create surprise planting pockets, dramatic shadows and winter interest..........Perennial Plant Association plant of the year: Nepeta ‘Walker’s Low’ (it will bloom for a long time if you get the pruning right)..........Need a splash of early spring color that is short enough not to dominate the on deck flowers? Grape Hyacinth..........Pruning? Shrubs that bloom in the spring need all summer to produce flower buds for next year (i.e. get off your butt and get those lilacs pruned)..........Need a prepossessing Iris with the Vanderbilt colors for your alumni garden? Try 'Bumblebee Deelite'..........U of Illinois Extension Office tells us to prune back overgrown yews and junipers by 30% this spring and again the next two springs to get the plant to a manageable size. Yews have dormant buds along older stems that will grow new stems and foliage (i.e. yews will recover well from heavy pruning unlike junipers). Cut junipers back to green growth only..........Sophia Siskel is named CEO on the
Chicago Botanical Garden
. I am completely against this move by the CBG. My issue? She is younger than me by a couple years (otherwise I'm sure its fine)..........I'm just never gonna like "doubledecker" coneflowers (Echinacea purpurea 'Doppelganger'). It is just a little too "Three Mile Island / Marge Simpson's three eyed fish" for me..........Lilacs, forsythia and spireas should be pruned two weeks after blooming (Univ of Il Extension Office)...........‘Holy Molé’ Pepper named 2007 AAS Vegetable Award Winner. It is rumored that ‘Holy Molé' can be used in molé sauce..........Wanna get your kids or grandkids interested in gardening (i.e. do you want them out of your hair for an hour)? Click over to
My First Garden
to get started..........I love the garden design theories of Tracy Disabato-Aust (The Well-Designed Mix Garden), but I don't usually enjoy her actual gardens. Is it me or her?..........After May 15th plant tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, cucumbers and squash..........
