15 Apr 2013

New Plants worth Talking about….and then Planting….

Landscape gardening is a visual art form.....and so is the magician's magic. Beethoven's masterpieces are aural art forms. We want to exert feelings to the eye as Beethoven causes for the ear.....after all ...beauty is better than the ugly, but remember, if everything is equally beautiful, it is logically equally ugly. The abcs of creating a beautiful Landscape garden is the major question in three parts: What is to be planted Where, and Why should...

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15 Apr 2013

Snow and Cold getting rather Old….

This snow and cold business here in 2013 "Spring" Twin Cities is getting kind of OLD. Mother Nature seems to be taxing us for the magnificent, best of all Springs, which occurred just one year ago when Spring arrived on March 15 and ruled until the beginning of Summer in late June. Eranthis, Snowdrops, and Siberian squill all began bloom last week in our grounds. They are still in bloom but completely unnoticed under ten...

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11 Apr 2013

How to Save Conifers with 8 Inches of Snow in the Twin Cities and More Expected…

We have had late, late Spring 'winter' storms in the past. One, one of the worst, occured as late as early May with a dumping here of 13 inches. My conifers weren't into teenagers or adults yet. They were still so cuddly and easily managed. Not all conifers are equal in their abilities to stay in one piece during excessively heavy snowfalls. Let me start with the toughest....or better yet, those which easily handle heavy...

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02 Apr 2013

Learning More than you probably Want to Know about Nitrogen in the Garden

In all of my years of gardening various political religious sects have deified things organic. Sixty years ago and beyond, much of the worship emanated from Emmaus, Pennsylvania. Now city folks and others who blaspheme America's oil industry have picked up the chant. There is no doubt in my mind the best of all fertilizer additions one can apply to outdoor growing things in general, is good old 1-1-1 well rotted cow manure. But, ow...

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