The Green View

Profile of a Weed: Lespedeza

"Common lespedeza is a prostrate growing summer annual. Three oblong, smooth leaflets, all joining on a common petiole, have a prominent mid-vein. Stems are wiry, prostrate and freely branching.

The flowers of common lespedeza are pink to purple and are found in the leaf axils. Lespedeza is commonly found on soils with low fertility. Common lespedeza is found in the southern United States, north to New Jersey and west to Texas and Kansas." Use Preen to Prevent.

Information courtesy of weedalert.com.  Photo courtesy of the Virginia Tech Weed Identification Guide.

What to look for: small purplish flowers and small oval fruits.
Structure: prostrate, forming mats up to 18" diameter.
Life cycle: annual.
Leaves: three per node; slender oval.
Flowers: inconspicuous purplish.
Roots: tough taproot.
Look-alikes: some clovers.
Sites: in centipedegrass; thrives in areas where turf is thin.
Growth period: all summer; blooms August through October.
Treatment period: early summer (June) or whenever weed is actively growing.

Plant a Heritage Tree

The poet Lucy Larcom once wrote, "He who plants a tree plants hope."

In keeping with that thought, here's a great idea that not only enhances the beauty of your yard but commemorates special occasions such as birthdays, weddings, or the birth of a child. Plant a "Heritage Tree."

Hoerr Nursery offers a special program called the Heritage Tree. With it you get a specially-priced shade or flowering tree along with a commemorative marker.

I'm sure they are not the only ones offering something like this. I just happened to be on their site and saw it. You might check with your local nursery. I bet they offer a similar thing.

June Lawn Care Calendar

May is done and summer has begun. Well, almost anyway. Regardless, here's some lawn care tips for June from the folks at Hoerr Nursery.

• In early June, fertilizer can be put down, but cool season grasses such as Kentucky blue & fescue, will go dormant in hot weather.
• If you still have dandelions, apply a weed killer early in the month but…
• Do not spray if it's over 80 degrees.
• Mow regularly at 2½ to 3" and sharpen the mower blades every 4th to 6th cutting.
• If it's dry & a green lawn is important to you then- Water, Water, Water!
• Watch for sod webworms & chinch bugs if it turns dry & hot.
• Leaf spot & brown patch can be a problem.

Design Ideas for Swimming Pools

"1. Look in books and magazines about residential swimming pools or pool construction as well as architecture, interior design and travel. Also look for books and magazines on hotels and resorts throughout the world and on the work of individual landscape architects. Scan the photos for pools and pool details such as edges, steps and tile patterns.

2. Sketch, photograph and measure pools that you like. (See 'eHow to Record Landscape Ideas in the Field.")

3. Take a walk or drive through an upscale neighborhood (where the professional designers have been at work) and keep your eyes peeled for pools. Since they are often concealed from the street for privacy, you may only catch glimpses.

4. Watch videos and TV with a pad in hand so you can record inspirations as they flash past. Movies made in your area or in a setting that stirs your imagination are a good place to start, but don't neglect the cheesier movies and TV shows where a lot of the action occurs poolside - the setting can be much better than the screenplay.

5. Make a diagram of the activities that you'd like to enjoy in your pool - lap swimming, lounging, gathering a group of friends, playing water polo - and build a pool around these.

6. Let your imagination go! A swimming pool is for fun, so the more in tune you are with your own images and fantasies about what a pool can be, the more you'll enjoy the final product."

From EHow.

Remember EMIL?

EMIL stands for Easter/Memorial Day/Independence Day/Labor Day. The acronym represents the 4 times each year that you should apply fertilizers to your lawn.

Well, today is "M," and though you'd probably rather be cooking out or enjoying a day at the lake on your boat, if you've yet to take care of that little chore, you might want to make a quick trip to your local fertilizer dealer and get the job done.

Keep in mind with Greenview's 2-step system you only have to apply fertilizer 2 times a year, not four!

Father Mows Best Competition

I mentioned the Memorial Day Makeover contest sponsored by a Michigan radio station in my last post. Well, somebody at that station must really be into lawn care because they are also sponsoring the Lowe's Father Mows Best Competition on June 18th from 3-6pm at Lowe's in Grandville, Michigan.

The winner will receive $500 in power tools of his choice for the lawn.

Memorial Day Makeover Winner One Happy Lady

Tarrah Meyering of Zeeland, Michigan is one happy person today. Christian radio station WJQK once again held their annual Memorial Day Makeover and she was the winner. And, boy, did she win...over $7,000 in prizes for her backyard from local businesses!

Tarrah won a hot tub, a deck, patio furniture, over $500 worth of plants and flowers, installation of the plants, a new grille, and a gift certificate for lawn accessories.

OK, so Tarrah, when is your first lawn party and are we invited?

Tips and Tricks on Shape and Texture

1. Large Foliage Plants If you position bold foliaged plants next to a water feature, where their luxuriance is enhanced by reflection, or at a strategic bend in a path, a rise of land or the mid point of a border, they can be a surprise and delight.

2. Large Foliaged Plants-Some Advantages An advantage of plants with large leaves is that they help establish a sense of maturity in new gardens, quickly and economically filling bare spots. Since fewer plants are needed, they also simplify the design. In shady or woodland gardens, where bulbs and wildflowers disappear shortly after flowering, try planting hostas, ligularia, bergernia and ferns which will fill in the spaces attractively.

3. Use Texture to Provide Interest Try to make use of texture when planning your design. Use a variety of shapes and surfaces to make your space more interesting. Use a mix of leaf sizes to provide contrast—big round ones combined with light and delicate ones.

Swimming Pool Installing

Here are some points from EHow on how to install and pick your swimming pool installer.

"An in-ground swimming pool is a great addition to your backyard for summer fun and exercise. When hiring an installer, consider both the quality of the work and the style of the pool.

1. Determine where you want to install your new pool. Take into consideration the location of any underground utilities or systems that may be in the way - a well, a septic, or sewer, water, gas or electrical lines.

2. Contact several pool installers. Ask friends or relatives for recommendations or check the yellow pages.

3. Decide what type of pool you want. Discuss the offerings of the various contractors to help you decide.

4. Make sure the contractors have experience with the type and style of pool you want. For example, if you want a natural-style pool with a waterfall, don't hire a contractor who handles primarily plain concrete pools.

5. Ask for references and check them. Were customers happy with the quality of work? Did the contractors meet their deadlines and manage the project well?"

Read more here. Link.

Lawn Care Expenses Rising This Year

You may have noticed it's costing more to take care of your lawn this year. Record high fuel prices are only one part of the picture. As much as we hate it, fertilizer prices have also gone up due to the rising costs of natural gas.

As you probably know, nitrogen is one of the three main components in fertilizers. Natural gas is used in a complex chemical process to extract nitrogen from the air and synthesize it into fertilizer. Not only that, potassium prices are sky-rocketing as well! And, none of these costs are expected to decrease.

Even still, fertilization is one of the best and least expensive ways to beautify and add value to your home.