Greenscape Gardens Green Blog

THE OLD SIGN PHILOSOPHER, THOUGHT OF THE DAY!

CHEAT ON YOUR DIET......GAIN ON YOUR END

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LEWIS & CLARK EXPEDITION 200 YEARS AGO TODAY 01/03/1805

The story of Captain Clark's stopping a woman's murder by her husband has spread amoung the Indians because a Hidatsa woman has come for protection. Her husband arrives later to retrieve her.

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NEW "SOD" RESTRICTION ENACTED

USDA enacts tougher SOD rules. As of Jan. 10, USDA restricts
the interstate movement of nursery stock from California, Oregon and Washington. The order is designed to help stop the spread of
Phytophthora ramorum, the sudden oak death pathogen. Nurseries in these states shipping host and associated plants across state lines must be tested by state officials. Nurseries shipping non-host or associated plants must undergo a visual inspection to ensure those plants are not exhibiting P. ramorum symptoms before interstate shipment. The USDA does not believe there
is P. ramorum all over these 3 states, but there have been some unexplained occurrences, said Craig Regelbrugge, ANLA sr. dir. of govt. relations.

So the USDA wants to get their arms around the nursery pathway.
Greenscape Gardens receives nursery stock from several West Coast nurseries over the years and all stock is inspected and is SOD FREE.

For additional information concerning SOD

http://www.aphis.usda.gov/lpa/news/2004/12/plantfungus_ppq.html

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LAWN FACTS

Healthy, dense lawns absorb rainfall six times more effectively than a wheat field and four times better than a hayfield. Sodded lawns can absorb 10 to 12 times more water than seeded lawns, even after two years of growth, thus preventing runoff and erosion.

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Design a winter garden

Stop for a moment and watch the many animals preparing for winter. Keep them safe during the harsh winter. Or watch the many wild animals that are preparing for winter. You might see a thrush growing fat on spicebush berries or a tiger swallowtail caterpillar forming a chrysalis on a branch. Gray squirrels may be scampering back and forth, storing acorns or walnuts in the trunk of a hollow tree. In winter, animals and insects walk a tightrope of survival.

You can increase their chances of survival by creating a winter wildlife garden. It will be a place that will welcome and sustain a large selection of living plants during the coldest time of the year.
In the spring you will be rewarded by seeing beautiful butterflies or luna moths emerge from a cocoon that has been hidden beneath a pile of leaves, or a toad re-entering the world from a snug home under a pile of rocks to devour worms in your compost heap.

Every animal prefers a certain type of habitat whether it’s deep in a patch of raspberry brambles or high in a tree canopy. If you provide a variety of landscape homes – different species and heights – you will attract a wide variety of animal life to your yard.
As the trees begin to shed their leave and your shrubs take off their leafy gowns to display their winter silhouettes, take a long hard look at your yard from the point of view of an animal seeking food and shelter. You should have a mix of deciduous plants and evergreens that will provide cones, seeds, berries and safe hiding spots. There should also be areas where vegetation is dense from the ground all the way up to the tree canopies.

In order to provide animals with sufficient food and shelter, you need to have a layered landscape. If your neighbor’s yard has a number of canopy trees, you need to fill in with herbaceous plants and shrubs. If your yard has trees surrounded by open lawn, you need to eliminate some of the lawn to provide the other layers.
Plant serviceberries, shrubs and smaller trees beneath existing trees and create a small grove. If there is a small wood or group of trees nearby, extend your plantings to create a safe route for small animals. These travel aisles are important in winter when birds of prey glide on wind currents watching the open ground below.
If you find winter a bleak and unattractive time of year for your garden, the form and color of a variety of plants that attract wildlife will delight you. Plant a mix of regional native plants that are suited to your yard and your garden will attract a wide variety of animal species.

Many shrubs and native trees have succulent berries. Sassafras has berries so delicious that migrating birds will strip them clean before winter arrives. For your winter garden, choose trees that produce berries that are less favored such as hackberries, cranberries, sumac, winterberries, chokeberries and snowberries. The fruit of these plants become less tart during the harsh winter months and become more supple. They are high in carbohydrates and can save the lives of a variety of species when there is nothing else to eat.

Ornamental grasses will look fantastic in your winter garden while they shelter a variety of animals. The seeds of switchgrass, Indian grass and bluestem provide seeds that are eagerly consumed by sparrows and blackbirds. Butterflies feed on bluestem and switchgrass and will winter in leaf nests on these plants.

Junipers, firs, cedars, spruce and pines give color as well as structure to a winter garden. They provide nesting and roosting sites for birds and shelter small animals under low-hanging branches. The berries and cones of evergreens feed animals and small birds eat their seeds.

Provide early nectar plants such as crabapple, hawthorn and willow for flies and bees that appear in late winter and early spring.
If you have a large yard, set aside a corner in which to plant thicket forming dogwood, sprawling rose, willow or red-osier. Another alternative is to create a living fence of thorny bushes, shrubs and vines. These provide food; nesting sites, shelter and safe travel routes all in one area. Include currants, roses, hawthorn, elderberries, huckleberries and blackberries as well as native honeysuckle and junipers, spruce, cedar or pines.

The size of your yard as well as the size of your bank account will determine whatever plants you choose to grow. Use a very light hand during your fall clean up. This attracts more species of wildlife and means less work for you. Do not cut thistles, milkweed, coneflowers or other spent perennials. These plants are useful to insects and birds. Remove only enough seeds for replanting in the spring; leave the rest for the birds. The downy fluff of milkweed will not be eaten, but makes great nesting material. Larvae winter on stalks and leaves of mulleins and lupines while waiting for the fresh growth of spring.

Never cut spent goldenrod stems. The bumps on the stems, known as galls, attract a menagerie of insects. Birds perch on the stems in winter and tear open the galls to feast on the insects.

If you have a vegetable garden, allow fennel, parsley, broccoli and carrots to provide seeds for chickadees and finches. Leave cornstalks to shelter foraging field mice and birds.

Leave a section of grass unmowed to serve as a protective corridor for mice, insects, snakes and frogs. Birds will search for insects in long grass such as the hibernating larvae of satyr butterflies.
Leaf litter under trees shelter insects and spiders as well as enrich the soil as they break down. The insects attract sparrows and juncos. Mulch flowerbeds with pine boughs and leaves after the first frost when plants are dormant.

If you have a pond, remove all leaves from the water. Their decomposition upsets the oxygen balance in the water. Also clean up and dispose of any diseased leaves in your yard. Then sit back, relax and as winter sets in, enjoy your winter wildlife garden. Invite friends and neighbors over to share in your delightful garden. You will all have a wonderful time enjoying the wonder of nature.

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Greenscape Gardens Joke of the Day!

A man is giving a speech at his lodge meeting.

He gets a bit carried away and talks for two hours.

Finally, he realizes what he is doing and says, "I'm sorry I talked so
long. I left my watch at home."

A voice from the back of the room says, "There's a calendar behind
you."