Excellence.....Naturally

Attracting Beneficial Insects to the Home Garden

Assassin Bug eating a japanese beetle (photo courtesy of NC Cooperative Extension)

It's easy to think that every insect you see in the garden is there to eat holes in your vegetables or strip your flowers of their leaves, but many common insects actually keep damage at bay. Planning a garden that invites the beneficial insects to set up camp is a smart way to naturally protect your garden against the damage done by aphids, thrips, and mites. 

Richard Merrill, Professor Emeritus of Cabrillo College in Santa Cruz, CA  is an expert on beneficial insects and has written an article for Renee's Gardens about this topic. It is a practical guide for creating a garden that attracts and feeds beneficials:

Click here to read the article

Spring Time in WNC

 

 

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Our Landscape Renovations

Through the winter, we planned renovations to the site around our office and now the implementation is almost complete. We put in a rain garden that catches run-off from the office building and site. Next up? Plants to fill it all out.

Site Grading

Irrigation lines being replaced

Digging out the rain garden

Mixture of sand and soils to line the rain garden 

Curlex mats for lining

It's working!

New garden areas   

 

Winter Work

Your landscape improves your life in many subtle (and healthy) ways and the short cool days of winter offer an ideal window for many landscape projects.  As plants ease into dormancy, opportunities for feeding and pruning arise.  Most, if not all of your woody landscape plants will benefit from developmental pruning, including your larger tree species.  Our certified arborists can provide structural improvements, viewshed enhancements, cabling and lightning protection, or can simply consult with you on the long-term viability and care of your large trees.  Your plants will also benefit from being fed with a complete, slow-release fertilizer (organic options are available!), helping them grow and thrive in the coming season.  To ensure your plants can receive the nutrients, soil tests are recommended periodically, which will indicate if there are inadequate levels of major and minor elements, and can also pinpoint your soil pH levels, which can affect the uptake of vital nutrients.  Soil samples can also be taken from your turf areas as well, again to determine nutrient and pH levels.  If pH is low in your turf, winter is an excellent time to apply lime, as the natural freeze / thaw cycle can help incorporate the lime into the soil profile.

Winter is also an excellent time for installing new trees and shrubs.  Plants move and establish more readily during dormancy, and are better able to withstand the hot, dry days of summer given a head start, reducing watering needs and increasing the likelihood of success.  Large trees are absolutely beneficial; they provide screening, shade, habitat, and architectural interest and can be enjoyed for their many benefits, or can be a reminder of a special person, event, or milestone. Likewise, additions to your understory can provide food and cover for birds, bees, and butterflies, or provide you with the fragrance or look of your favorite flower.

Hardscape additions are also easily completed in the winter season.  Consider an outdoor patio or path in natural, local stone, or a locust staircase to improve access on sloping land.  Outdoor lighting can provide safe access, or highlight an important architectural element.  Boulder walls can provide terracing for steep land, creating a level area for play or gathering.  Creation of bedspace under canopy trees can provide a new opportunity for a chair and table, bench, or hammock.  Think warm weather, iced tea and new books…

As we approach the coming of spring, other winter “chores” should be put to bed.  Perennials and grasses left standing to provide winter interest need to be cut back prior to the emergence of new growth.  Rogue leaf piles and storm-downed limbs can be cleared and new mulch installed.  Installing mulch ahead of spring growth helps minimize any potential damage to tender leaves and shoots.  Turf areas can be fed and pre-emergent put down to minimize weed pressure.  Dormant oil can be applied to evergreens to smother detrimental spider mites and various hard and soft scales.  Let us cover these projects for you; clean, feed, shape, protect and enhance your landscape now, and enjoy all that it offers in springtime.

Winter Interest

This time of year when the landscape is relatively devoid of color and interest, evergreens, berries and bark, can change your yard into a place that is almost as interesting as the other three seasons. The most commonly used trees and shrubs for structure are conifers because of their evergreen branches and the nice back drop they lend to the rest of the plants in the garden.

Hollies are great because they combine evergreen leaves, berries and provide food for wildlife. Some hollies are not evergreen (Ilex verticillata cultivars) and drop their leaves to show off beautiful red berries which last all winter, unless the birds get to them first.

Shrubs such as Red Twig Dogwood (Cornus sericea) seem to glow on the cloudy grey days of winter. They have nice berries and foliage the other seasons of the year.

A nicely placed specimen tree can provide shade and flowers in the summer and interesting bark in the winter. The peeling bark of a Paperbark Maple (Acer griseum), Sycamore (Platanus occidentalis), or Crepe Myrtle (Lagerstroemia indica) can be a beautiful thing to look at when you're stuck inside because of the cold.

There are many such plants available to add to your landscape for the time of year when it seems there's nothing interesting going on outside. You just have to know where to look!

 

Last bits of summer

If you look about, you'll find some perennials still providing color in the garden: Dahlias, Anemones, and Sunflowers. Shrubs that bear colorful berries, like Beautyberry, have their show ready for winter.

 


Photos courtesy of the Biltmore Estate

Unusual spring and summer flowering bulbs

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While daffodils and tulips are always a welcome sight in the spring, pictured above are some out of the ordinary bulbs that are great for spring and early summer blooms.

1 - Eremurus sp.(Foxtail Lily)- Tall spikes of starry florets; extremely showy and eye-catching; for a sunny, very well drained border; protection from strong winds helpful; makes excellent cut flowers; very late spring or early summer; plant in full sun, 32" tall; hardy in zones 5-8.

Ornamental onions perform beautifully, blooming very late spring through early summer; they add a different, architectural dimension to the garden; many suitable for Heirloom gardens and sunny, well-drained meadows; also wonderful for cut and dried flowers; Giant (volleyball-softball), 1 per sq. ft.; Large (baseball-tennis ball), 5 per sq. ft.; Small(golf ball - marble), 10 per sq. ft.;

 2 - Allium 'Globemaster' - sparkling silvery pinkish purple softball to volleyball sized flowers that produce secondary florets; extending bloom life. Premiere hybrid. 2 1/2' - 3' tall; blooms very late spring.

3 - Allium christophii - (albopilosum) lots of loosely formed, starry, silvery amethyst flowers compressed to make one large, round spidery head about the size of a softball; spectacular cut flower and amazing coming up through hostas, Bergenia or other ground covers; 12"-24" tall; zones 3-8; blooms very late spring; introduced 1901.

4 - Allium sphaerocephalon - (Drumstick allium) This dark purple/maroon, tightly formed small, quarter sized flower is a super perennial and looks great with Asiatic Lilies or Hemerocallis; early to mid-summer; heirloom from 1594; 18"-30" tall, zones 5-8.

5 - Tulipa clusiana var. chrysantha  - (Species tulip)exterior petals are red and the interior is bright, sunny yellow; larger clone of T. chrysantha; mid spring; 8"-10" tall; mid spring, hardy zones 3-8.

6 - Scilla siberica - (Siberian squill) Starry flowers that droop like bells on spikes with strap-like leaves, one of the most shade tolerant bulbs; strikingly blue form that naturalizes freely when planted in suitable location; early spring blooming; Heirloom bulbs 1796; 5"-7" tall, hardy in zones 4-8.

7 - Fritillaria meleagris - (Guinea Hen flower) Extremely variable mixture of solitary, nodding, bell-shaped, reddish purple to black, faintly checkered green, to pure white flowers; great with Marsh Marigolds in damp meadow; 1572; 12"-15" tall, hardy zones 4-8.

 

 

Photos and descriptions courtesy of Brent and Becky's Bulbs.

Goldenrod - A scapegoat

Solidago speciosa (Showey Goldenrod) and Monarch butterfly - Prairie Moon Nursery

Goldenrod does not cause hay-fever.
Since goldenrod (Solidago sp.) blooms at the same time as ragweed, it is often blamed for the allergies that millions of people suffer from in the fall. Goldenrod has heavy pollen that cannot become airborne, but is dependent on insects to carry it from flower to flower. If you want to get an idea of the number and variety of wasps, bees, beetles and bugs that reside in your area, go to the nearest goldenrod patch and sit for a spell – this member of the Aster family is a magnet for insects. You’ll find many foliage-eating bugs and beetles, leaf-mining  larvae, nectar and pollen feeders, and flower and seed-eaters.  In addition, many predatory spiders (jumping and crab, especially) and insects (ambush bugs, ladybug beetles, flower bugs etc.) have discovered that goldenrod is a goldmine for them, as well. Researchers have found nearly 250 species of insects feeding on one species of goldenrod (Solidago canadensis).  

Pictured from left to right are a long-horned beetle (locust borer, Megacyllene robiniae  - pollen eater), a fly (nectar feeder) and bee (nectar and pollen feeder).- Mary Holland

This is ragweed:

These are its flowers:

Common ragweed (Ambrosia artemisiifolia)

The flowers are so small on ragweed, few insects visit them, so it depends on its billions of airborne pollen granules to reproduce. This pollen is what causes the common allergic reaction.

Since ragweed is an annual, it can be best controlled by cutting it down before it has a chance to flower and seed. If a small area needs to be cleared of it, the plants can be pulled up, root and all, by hand. Larger areas need more aggressive control, with weed eaters and mowers.
 

Solidago canadensis 'Fireworks' - Mt. Cuba

While goldenrod is lovely to look at in naturalized areas, a cultivar called, 'Fireworks' is a very nice addition to gardens. It has a clump forming habit with sprays of yellow flowers from late summer into early fall. It looks beautiful with blue salvias, anemones, and native sunflowers and grasses. Retrain yourself to see the beneficial attributes of goldenrod. It has a lot to offer.

Here is a nice article about us in the Asheville Citizen-Times. We have some exciting plans in the works!

http://www.citizen-times.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2011309040029

Fall Tasks for the Landscape

Add Fall Color

Adding mums, asters, sedums, native sunflowers and ornamental greens and kales to strategic spots in the garden now, replacing bedraggled annuals, will make your yard feel fresh and colorful until frost. Add them to container plantings, along paths and steps, and near doors. Some of these plants if chosen correctly will survive the winter and be filled out and ready for next fall, though some types are treated as annuals.

Divide Perennials

This is a great time of year to divide and replant perennials increasing the colorful impact they bring to the garden. For iris, pry up the clump with a garden fork, cut the foliage to 6 inches, and pull apart the rhizomes. Replant with the rhizomes just barely below the soil surface. For daylilies, dig the clumps and either cut the clump apart with a knife or soak the roots in water so that the individual growths can be separated easily. Trim the foliage back to 4 inches and replant immediately so the roots do not dry out. Some perennials are better left until spring to divide. Here's a handy list of which to do when:  Download Perennial dividing list

Repair the Lawn

Late summer and early fall is the ideal time for repairing areas of the lawn that have become thin or weedy. One option is to lay turf grass sod. First, remove rocks, weeds, and roots, then till lightly to loosen the soil. Work in some fertilizer and rake the area smooth. Lay the sod and water well. For seeding an area, prepare the soil as for laying sod, then, either by hand or with a mechanical seeder, broadcast the seed. Be sure to choose a seed blend that is best for your site. Lightly mulch with straw and keep evenly moist until seeds germinate. Another way to improve the lawn is to fertilize now. Traditional fertilizers, as well as natural and compost based ones are available. Best of all, reduce your lawn area by planning to...

Get a Jumpstart on a New Garden Area

Remember how crazy it can get in the garden in spring? Get a jumpstart by preparing now for any new beds you have planned. Lay out the new area, till in several inches of compost, and apply 4 to 6 inches of an organic mulch. If desired, add some extra protection against weed growth by layering cardboard or newspaper beneath the mulch. Now, when you see all those wonderful plants in the nursery next spring, you'll be ready to plant!

Buy Bulbs

Seeing crocus, iris, snowdrops, and other flowers emerge through snow or frozen ground is among the best of garden pleasures, while the brilliant colors of daffodils and tulips, to say nothing of the sweet scent of hyacinths, only heightens the joys of spring. Now is the time to make that happen. You might still be able to mail-order spring-blooming bulbs, and they are certainly available locally. Get them now, then start planting the earliest blooming ones toward the end of September. Be sure to include some of the more unusual ones, like fritillaries, species tulips, camassia, and the various alliums.

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask us!

Snow Creek Landscaping

Excellence.....Naturally

 

 

Some information from The National Gardening Association

Photos: shutterstock, murielle's garden