The Green View

Summer Rose Care

To gather some research on summer rose care my co-worker Jill and I took a trip over to the beautiful Hershey Gardens in Hershey, PA.

The Hershey Gardens has been operating since 1936 and have 7,500 roses blooming throughout the summer including 275 varieties within this breath-taking 23-acre garden.  On our researching adventure through the Hershey Gardens, we were given some expert advice on summer rose care from Jamie Schiffer, the grounds manager and manager of the gardening and maintenance staff.  Jamie showed us around the gardens and gave us the secrets to maintaining a beautiful rose garden all summer long.

Fertilizing

After the first fertilization in the spring, apply a granular slow-release rose fertilizer to your rose plants between June and July.  Make sure you water-in the fertilizer a day after application.  Try Woodace Flowering Plant Fertilizer for your roses!

Disease, Fungus, and Insect Protection

To protect roses from disease, fungus, and insects, Jamie said that the grounds and maintenance crew at the gardens spray the rose plants about once a week with fungicide and insecticides.  This spraying helps reduce black spot, diseases, and insect damage.  Many of the insect damage done to roses are from spider mites and Japanese beetles (these beetles also lay eggs in your lawn which grow into grubs).

Watering

Roses do not require heavy and constant watering but do not allow the soil to become dry for an extensive period of time.  Water your roses after two weeks of a dry spell without any rain.  Also water at the roots, wetting the leaves and blooms causes the plant to become more susceptible to fungus, disease, and insects.

Dead-Heading

Dead-heading is the process of cutting back wilted or spent blooms.  Jamie highly encouraged dead-heading the rose plants about once a week.  He also said that this process helps the rose plant to grow stronger and produce more blooms.  His advice for dead-heading the roses is to cut back the rose to the 5th leaf at the stem.

Please feel free to leave a comment on any of your own personal tips and tricks for summer rose care!

How to Do a Soil Test

Plants require certain nutrients to thrive, and unless the pH of the soil is at the correct level, the plant cannot absorb these nutrients. A soil test establishes these levels. The most common chemicals tested for in a soil test include calcium, phosphorus, potassium and nitrogen, as well as pH.  It is important for the homeowner to assess these levels prior to developing a fertilization regime.  The test results will let you know how much lime, nitrogen and other nutrients your lawn or garden requires. 

To take a soil test you need to dig appropriate samples of the soil.  For a lawn area this is under the turf, to a depth of about 6 inches.  Sample several areas of the lawn and mix them together in a clean plastic or glass container, before transferring the sample to a bag or box, as required by the laboratory. Total sample should be around one cup in volume. For accurate tests, avoid areas that may be contaminated such as a driveway or road that is salted, or compost piles.  Allow excessively moist samples to air dry before testing or packing.  Do tests for each area of the garden where you intend to grow different things such as azaleas, herbs, tomatoes and lawn, all of which require slightly different fertilizers and amendments.  The Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension is a part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.  Extension offices are located in most states, and will provide information regarding where to send soil samples for testing and the cost (generally under $25).  For a list of State Cooperative Extension Agencies, refer to this url: State Cooperative Extension Agencies.

Home tests kits are also available to test pH and a limited number of nutrients.  Prepare the sample for these tests in the same way as for laboratory testing, but follow the instructions for specific needs.

Author - Kate Copsey can be reached at KTCopsey@aol.com

Landscape Tips for the Winter Season

Pot Up Bulbs Now for an Indoor Jump on  Spring

Get a jump on the season by potting up some daffodils, hyacinths, tulips and other spring blooming bulbs to brighten the home during dreary winter days.  Click Here for more ideas and tips.

Fall Planting Tips

                                                                                                                                           

Late fall or early winter is a great time to plant trees and shrubs, many of which will be on sale at area nurseries and garden centers.

As long as the ground is not frozen, you can plant container-grown trees and shrubs, nursery stock that is balled-and-burlapped, or transplant woody plants from one spot in your landscape to another.

Planting container or balled-and-burlapped stock:

When planting container or balled-and-burlapped stock, dig the hole at least twice as wide as the root ball.  The hole should not be any deeper than the height of the root ball.  If you err, do so on the high side.  Planting trees or shrubs too deep causes them to rot and eventually fall over.

Backfill the hole with the soil that came from the site.  Amending the soil with peat moss, fertilizers, compost or other matter is not recommended.  Use your foot to tamp down the soil around the new plant.  Water well.

Continue to supplement rainfall, as needed, to ensure the new plant gets about an inch of water every week until the ground freezes.

Transplanting shrubs and trees:

When transplanting a shrub or tree in your landscape, it's best for the plant to be dormant.  Usually once a plant has dropped it's leaves, it is dormant.

Prepare the new planting site before digging the plant.  Again, the hole should be about twice the width of the root ball and about the same depth as the plant was growing in it's old site.

Use a sharp spade or shovel when digging the plant, trying to lift as much of the root ball as possible.  Move to the new site as soon as possible so the roots won't dry out.  If you are delayed in the planting process, cover the root ball with moistened newspapers or cloth.  Again, no need to amend the soil.  Finish the planting as described above.

Plant Bulbs now to brighten the landscape   

When planting or transplanting trees and shrubs this fall, add a few spring flowering bulbs to the landscape.  Find a spot and plant daffodils, tulips, crocus, hyacinths and other spring flowering bulbs.  You'll be glad you did when they brighten the landscape next spring.

Tips and Trick on Driveways

Planning tips for front yard: When planning a front yard, look at the front yard for what it really is: (1) the public view of the house, (2) the family view of the neighborhood, (3) a route of access to and from the house, (4) a useful area and (5) part of our physical and social environment. Plantings should make the home attractive and compatible with the neighborhood as well as satisfy the family´s needs.

Make walks and drives as direct as possible Try to make all walks and drives as direct as possible. If some physical characteristic of the land dictates a bend or curve, make curves seem natural and logical.

Drives - Advantages of sealant on paving stones Applying sealant will enhance the lustre of the paving stone as well as protect it against fading and against staining from oil, leaves and rubber. It will seal out water and therefore prevent chipping that can occur after water seepage and it prevents about 90 percent of wind-blown seeds from germinating in the sand between the bricks.

Link

Exercise in Your Pool

"Spring is a season of change and the perfect time to mix things up with a new water workout. Changing your workout can alleviate boredom and help you achieve better fitness results.

"Muscles have memory-- meaning they can get accustomed to the same workout," says Peggy Brower, a certified Aquatics Instructor. "By changing your water workout, you are shocking your muscles."

Brower says, "I have seen very fast results with water workouts because water automatically works the opposing muscle group unlike a land-based exercise program where you have to work the opposing muscle group separately. Water is constantly giving a massage to the body. It really is a liquid weight room. You will burn fat and many calories in a water exercise class."  However, those results will peak as your muscles develop memory of your workout."

Read more at About.com

Tips and Trick on Color

Benefits of an all white garden White and ivory colors in a garden do much to pull together and knit color compositions into either exciting or serene effects. All white gardens provide a crisp clean color that shows up well at night and can also be used to line up dark paths. If you are at a job all day and only come home at night, you may appreciate an all white garden!

Creating depth and perspective Colors in a garden have an enormous impact on perspective, just as in art. Pale colors tend to recede. The use of blue especially, makes a garden feel serene. If you plant a drift of blue flowers at the back of a bed, you can make the bed appear deeper than it actually is. White and pale pink can brighten up shady areas, bringing the corners of beds forward.

Dark-foliaged plants in a garden For a great effect in a garden, place dark-foliaged plants with others that share a common pigment. Here harmony, rather than contrast is the theme. Since dark foliage is as varied as any other, first determine what pigment you’re dealing with---for example, if it tends to be blue, cerise or brown/green, choose companion plants that share this pigmentation. Deep pink roses or rhododedron blooms can share the warm tones of the crimson foliage o a Japanese maple or the dark purple foliage of a smoke tree can highlight the fragrant mauve flowers of a dwarf lilac and, later, the velvety purple flowers of Clematis viticella.

Methods to create unity among a variety of colors in your landscape is to choose plants with similar shapes or textures…or select the same plant in a variety of colors.

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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.

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.