Make plans now to join Melinda on her famous Garden Walks at Boerner Botanical Gardens in 2013! Download the schedule here.
Nationally renowned garden expert Melinda Myers helps everyday gardeners find success and ease in the garden through her Melinda’s Garden Moments radio segments. Melinda shares “must have” tips that hold the key to gardening success, learned through her more than 30 years of horticulture experience. Listeners from across the country find her gardener friendly, practical approach to gardening both refreshing and informative! On this page, Melinda shares some more extensive garden tips, which expand on the information provided in her one-minute radio segments.
New tips are added throughout each month, providing timely step-by-step tips on what you need to do next in your garden! Visit Melinda’s website www.melindamyers.com for more gardening tips, how-to videos, podcasts and answers to your questions.
Make the most of this extra day during leap year and do something you enjoy. And for many of us that involves a garden.
Start some micro-greens or grow some sprouts in a jar to spice up your meals and improve your health. Health food stores, garden centers and catalogues have organic seeds and supplies for growing these.
Or visit the garden center or produce department and purchase herb seeds and plants to grow in a windowsill garden.
Grab a cup of your favorite beverage and spend some time perusing the catalogues. Gather ideas and plan some changes or colorful additions for next season’s garden.
And, get outside for a walk. Look at what your neighbors, community and nearby botanical gardens are doing to beautiful their spaces. You’ll be inspired and I’m sure will find ideas for your own landscape. Plus, a half hour walk is good for your health and will lift your spirits.
Don’t sacrifice beauty for function when you can have both. Select long blooming shrubs that can screen bad views, create barriers and serve as the framework or a focal point in your landscape.
Happy Face potentilla is a compact long blooming shrub suited to hot, dry, and sunny locations. Its yellow flowers top a 2 to 3 foot tall plant all season long.
The repeat blooming lilac - Bloomerang, provides spring and mid-summer to fall fragrant flowers. It’s perfect for gardeners looking for a longer season of enjoyment.
Hardy disease resistant shrub roses like Knockout have made these beauties a staple in many landscapes. Use as a hedge, thorny barrier, or specimen in a mixed border.
Encore azaleas were introduced in the southeastern part of the United States for their multiple seasons of bloom. These azaleas flower spring, summer, and fall and tend to be more sun tolerant. Their popularity has helped spread their presence in other growing regions.
A bit more information – Extend the beauty of these and other shrubs by creating mixed borders of trees, shrubs and flowers. Using a combination of plants with different bloom times and multi-season interest can provide big impact in a relatively small space.
For more gardening tips, how-to videos, podcasts and more, visit www.melindamyers.com
Black is the classic color of wardrobes and may soon be a classic in your landscape.
Plant breeders and gardeners have long been looking for black flowers. Most black flowers on the market are really a deep purple or dark red.
The recently introduced black petunia, Black Velvet, has many gardeners and professionals looking for ways to add this and other black beauties to the garden.
The key to success is pairing black plants with the right partner or suitable backdrop that makes the black flowers or leaves pop instead of fade into the background.
Orange and black make a dramatic eye-catching combination, while silver and black are classic. And of course green is almost always a suitable partner or backdrop.
Be careful when using black plants in the shade. Their dark flowers can be lost in lower light. Pair them with a limy green groundcover or plant against a light wall for maximum enjoyment.
A bit more information: A long time favorite, Queen of the Night tulip can provide intrigue in the spring garden. Team Black Prince pansy with Bright Lite Swiss Chard for a colorful container. Or create a black backdrop at ground level with Blackie sweet potato vine, black mondo grass or one of the dark leaved bugleweeds like Bronze Beauty or Black Scallop.
For more gardening tips, how-to videos, podcasts and more, visit www.melindamyers.com
Get the most from every square inch of your landscape by including long blooming perennials.
Look for plants or varieties of your favorite plants that have the reputation for long bloom and low maintenance.
Walkers Low catmint is a heat and drought tolerant catmint that stays put and blooms all season. A mid-summer trim will improve the growth habit on floppy plants.
Betty Corning Clematis has beautiful blue bell shaped flowers that will grace your trellis or arbor for several months in the summer.
Brighten things up at ground level with Rozanne geranium. Not only does this perennial bloom throughout the season, but the foliage also look good all season long.
Blanket flower (Gaillardia) and pincushion (Scabiosa) flowers’ long blooms are great in the garden or used in flower arrangements. They often bloom themselves to death and fail to return after winter. Remove the flowers at the end of the season if this has been a problem for you.
A bit more information: Extend the bloom in your garden with a variety of perennials with different bloom times. Look for and include those with multiple seasons of interest from flowers, foliage, and seedpods. And fill in the voids with annuals that blend nicely with perennials.
For more gardening tips, how-to videos, podcasts and more, visit www.melindamyers.com
Don’t let a lack of space keep you from growing trees in your landscape. Consider planting columnar trees in containers and narrow spaces.
You may hear the terms narrow, columnar, and fastigiate when people talk about skinny trees. Those with a single trunk and shorter uniform branches are classed as columnar, while those with multiple trunks or branches that grow upright and close together are more correctly called fastigiate.
Whatever you call them their unique growth habit makes them great for screening narrow areas, using in containers on patios and decks, and growing in confined planting spaces.
And keep in mind a fastigiate form of larger trees like oaks can still get pretty wide like the Crimsonspire with a 30 feet spread.
And don’t overlook the evergreens. Narrow varieties of these can provide year round greenery and screening.
And be sure to select the narrow tree best suited to your growing conditions.
A bit more information: Here are a few narrow evergreens that can provide year round beauty for small space. Iseli Fastigiate Blue Spruce (Picea pungens ‘Iseli Fastigiate’) grows about 10-15 feet tall and only 5 feet wide, Upright Eastern white pine (Pinus strobus ‘Fastigata’) at 30-50’ tall and 10-15 wide, and Skyrocket Rocky Mountain juniper that is a narrow 2 to 3 feet wide and 12 to 18 feet tall tree. Some upright deciduous trees include Upright European Beech (Fabus sylvatica ‘Fastigiata’) at 40 feet tall and 10 feet wide, Dakota Pinnacle Asian White Birch (Betula platyphylla ‘Fargo’) grows 30’ tall x 8’ wide, Upright European Aspen (Populus tremula ‘Erecta’) 30’ tall x 8’ wide, Spire Hillier’s Cherry (Prunus x hillieri ‘Spire’) 20’ tall x 8’ wide and Adirondack Crabapple (Malus ‘Adoirondack) 12’ tall x 6’ wide. Visit
Keep your clematis down to size, looking good and flowering with proper pruning.
Prune early blooming clematis like alpine, Montana, and downy clematis after flowering. Pruning at any other time removes the flower buds that form on the plants in summer prior to spring bloom. Remove only the older and weak stems to the ground and reduce the overall size as needed.
Some clematis like Bee’s Jubilee, Nelly Moser, and Henry produce flowers on last year’s growth and a second flush of flowers on the current season’s growth. Remove all weak and dead stems on these in late winter or early spring. Reduce the height of overly long stems by pruning these back to a set of healthy buds.
Late flowering varieties like Jackman, Italian, golden, and sweet autumn clematis flower only on the current season’s growth. Prune these back to one or two feet above the ground in late winter or early spring as needed.
A bit more information: All clematis are divided into the groups described above. You will often read pruning guidelines for clematis listed in one of these groups. Group 1 includes the Clematis that bloom on old growth. Group 2 includes Nelly Moser and others that bloom on old and new growth and Group 3 are those that bloom on the current season’s growth.
For more gardening tips, how-to videos, podcasts and more, visit www.melindamyers.com
So what do you do when those bare root perennials, shrubs, roses, or fruit plants you ordered arrive before you and your garden are ready or the weather is suitable for planting? Don’t despair you can preserve your investment with minimal effort.
First, start by storing dormant plants in a cool dark location. A spare refrigerator, root cellar, or other frost-free location will work. Keep the roots moist and cover with peat moss, sawdust, or newspaper.
Or, if weather permits, heel in dormant bare-root plants in a vacant part of the landscape until you have time for planting. Start by digging a trench with one sloping side. Place the roots in the trench with the plant leaning on the side. Cover the roots with soil.
If the plants have started to grow, you need to pot them up and grow them in a sunny window until the weather conditions outdoors are suitable. Plant in a container with drainage holes filled with a well-drained potting mix. Water thoroughly as needed.
A bit more information: Help your newly planted bare-root plants thrive in your garden. Make sure the soil is kept moist, but not soggy while the plants get established. Mulch the soil surrounding new plantings to conserve moisture, suppress weeds, and improve the soil as they decompose.
For more gardening tips, how-to videos, podcasts and more, visit www.melindamyers.com
Get the most from your floral investment. Proper selection and care insure your cut flowers will provide many days of enjoyment.
Spend a bit of time picking the freshest flowers possible. A whiff of the water will let you know if the flowers are fresh and have been properly tended.
Look for upright and perky flowers with lots of firm buds that are just starting to open. Avoid cut flowers with drooping discolored leaves and slimy stems.
Make sure the florist wraps your flowers to protect the blooms from extreme temperatures and jostling during the ride home.
Remove the lower leaves so just leafless stems are sitting in the water. You’ll eliminate bacterial growth that can shorten the vase life of your cut flowers.
Recut the stems and arrange your blossoms in a clean vase filled with fresh water and floral preservative.
And finally, keep your cut flowers in a cool draft free location to further extend your enjoyment.
A bit more information: Don’t let tight budgets stop you from giving and enjoying cut flowers. A single rose in a bud vase or large bloom floating in a shallow vase can bring a bit of beauty and lots of enjoyment to you or the recipient.
For more gardening tips, how-to videos, podcasts and more, visit www.melindamyers.com
Looking for a long-lasting colorful indoor plant? Check out the anthuriums. The red, pink, or white varieties make a perfect Valentine’s Day gift or addition to any indoor garden.
The colorful flowers are really just modified leaves that last for weeks on the plant or when used as cut flowers. Most anthuriums are epiphytes that are native to the canopies of rainforests. They anchor themselves on trees, but gather water and nutrients from the surrounding environment not by parasitizing the tree.
You may purchase plants mounted on stones mimicking their natural habit. Others anthuriums are sold potted and growing in a well-drained organic mix.
Grow your plants in a brightly lit location. Water thoroughly and often enough to prevent the roots from drying. But avoid overwatering that leads to soggy soil and root rot.
And keep this toxic beauty out of the reach of children and pets.
A bit more information: Go light on the fertilizer. Give these beauties a very dilute solution of a liquid fertilizer or use a slow release fertilizer as needed. Err on the side of under fertilizing as you can always add more if your plants need a nutrient boost.
For more gardening tips, how-to videos, podcasts and more, visit www.melindamyers.com
Late winter after the coldest weather has passed through early spring before growth begins is a great time to prune trees. Make proper cuts to insure the health and longevity of your plants.
Use the three-cut method when removing large branches. This prevents trunk damage caused by the weight of the branch ripping it and the bark off the tree.
Make your first cut about one foot away from the trunk. Cut from the bottom of the branch upward about 1/3 of the way through the branch.
Next cut downward from the top of the branch several inches beyond the first cut. As the branch starts to fall, it will break away at the first cut. This prevents damage to the trunk.
The third and final cut is made flush with the branch bark collar. It’s the swollen area at the base of the branch and acts as a natural barrier to decay-causing organisms.
A bit more information: Consider hiring a certified arborist for large tree care. These tree care professionals have the training and equipment to do the job safely and correctly. Visit www.treesaregood.com to find a certified arborist in your area.
For more gardening tips, how-to videos, podcasts and more, visit www.melindamyers.com
Hostas are great for shade and low maintenance gardens. But with hundreds of choices it can be a bit overwhelming. So the American Hosta Growers Association has stepped in to help.
Each year the Hosta Growers select an outstanding hosta suited to gardens in a wide range of growing regions, ones that are widely available and affordable. This year’s winner is Liberty.
This hosta can grow up to 39 inches tall and wide. The thick dark green leaves have a wide yellow edge that changes to cream in summer. The variegation helps brighten the shade and the lavender flowers appear in mid-summer to attract hummingbirds.
Use hostas in containers or shade gardens with other shade loving plants. Combine Liberty with creamy and yellow flowered plants that echo the creamy variegation. Soften the look and feel of the hosta garden with some fine textured ferns and sedges. Or combine with a lower growing groundcover like golden moneywort.
A bit more information: Use Liberty as your start to a patriotic hosta garden. Include others like Revolution, Patriot, Minuteman, Pilgrim, Loyalist, Dawn’s Early Light, Fireworks, American Dream and American Hero. Twenty five cents for each American Hero hosta sold will be donated to Project Evergreen’s Green Care for Troops.
For more gardening tips, how-to videos, podcasts and more, visit www.melindamyers.com
Stop – don’t top that tree. Instead, make sure it is properly pruned for years of health, beauty, and enjoyment in your landscape.
Many gardeners top trees to drastically reduce their size. They worry that trees are too big for their property, are a hazard, or just too big to support themselves. Topping, indiscriminately removes large branches and as much as 50 to 100% of the leaves, making it the most harmful tree pruning practice. Instead of fixing the problem it actually creates hazardous, ugly trees and increases your tree care costs.
A certified arborist can help you reduce large trees and eliminate hazards when needed. They’ll remove diseased, damaged and dead branches to reduce hazards. Then they can reduce the tree size by removing larger branches to an adjoining shorter branch.
This improves the tree’s health and preserves its natural form and structure.
A bit more information: Hazardous trees and those that have greatly outgrown their location may need to be removed. Be sure to replace it with a tree suited to the available space and growing conditions. For more information on tree care and to find a certified arborist visit Trees are Good
For more gardening tips, how-to videos, podcasts and more, visit www.melindamyers.com
How To Help Tornado Victims
The tornadoes in Moore, Oklahoma, as well the twisters as Kansas and Texas, have killed dozens and left thousands homeless. Officials expect the death toll to rise.
Relief efforts are underway. Right now, the best way to help the victims is a donation to major relief organizations.
Here is a list of organizations that are accepting donations:
American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund: Click HERE to donate online. You can also text REDCROSS to 909999 to immediately donate $10 to the Red Cross Disaster Fund.
Phone: 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767); for Spanish speakers, 1-800-257-7575; for TDD, 1-800-220-4095.
Oklahoma Baptist Disaster Relief: The Oklahoma Baptist Convention says says donations will "go straight to help those in need providing tree removal services, laundry services and meals to victims of disasters." For more information, and to donate, visit Oklahoma Baptist Disaster Relief's website by clicking HERE.
You can send checks to:
BGCO
Attn: Disaster Relief
3800 N. May Ave.
Oklahoma City, OK. 73112.
Salvation Army - The Salvation Army is deploying mobile kitchens that can serve to 2,500 people a day. Click HERE to donate via their website. You can also text the word STORM to 80888 to make a $10 donation from your mobile phone.
You can also donate to the Salvation Army via check: Put the words "Oklahoma Tornado Relief" on the check, and mail to:
The Salvation Army
P.O. Box 12600
Oklahoma City, OK. 73157.
Phone: 1-800-SAL-ARMY (1-800-725-2769).
Feeding America - Feeding America says it utilize its 200 foodbanks to deliver food and supplies. Click HERE for their website.
Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma - Text the word FOOD to 32333 to donate $10 to the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma
How To Help Tornado Victims
The tornadoes in Moore, Oklahoma, as well the twisters as Kansas and Texas, have killed dozens and left thousands homeless. Officials expect the death toll to rise.
Relief efforts are underway. Right now, the best way to help the victims is a donation to major relief organizations.
Here is a list of organizations that are accepting donations:
American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund: Click HERE to donate online. You can also text REDCROSS to 909999 to immediately donate $10 to the Red Cross Disaster Fund.
Phone: 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767); for Spanish speakers, 1-800-257-7575; for TDD, 1-800-220-4095.
Oklahoma Baptist Disaster Relief: The Oklahoma Baptist Convention says says donations will "go straight to help those in need providing tree removal services, laundry services and meals to victims of disasters." For more information, and to donate, visit Oklahoma Baptist Disaster Relief's website by clicking HERE.
You can send checks to:
BGCO
Attn: Disaster Relief
3800 N. May Ave.
Oklahoma City, OK. 73112.
Salvation Army - The Salvation Army is deploying mobile kitchens that can serve to 2,500 people a day. Click HERE to donate via their website. You can also text the word STORM to 80888 to make a $10 donation from your mobile phone.
You can also donate to the Salvation Army via check: Put the words "Oklahoma Tornado Relief" on the check, and mail to:
The Salvation Army
P.O. Box 12600
Oklahoma City, OK. 73157.
Phone: 1-800-SAL-ARMY (1-800-725-2769).
Feeding America - Feeding America says it utilize its 200 foodbanks to deliver food and supplies. Click HERE for their website.
Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma - Text the word FOOD to 32333 to donate $10 to the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma
Low Maintenance – Big Impact Perennials
Don't let a lack of time, energy or space stop you from growing perennials. Instead select and grow low maintenance plants with big impact.
Start with your design. Once you develop your plan, cut the number of different perennials in half and double the number of each. You will have fewer perennials to identify as they emerge in spring, less maintenance to learn and bigger impact.
Edge your beds to keep unwanted grass out of the bed and make managing the surrounding lawn much easier. I dig a small trench around the edge of my gardens and fill with woodchips.
Always select plants suited to your climate, soil and natural rainfall. You'll have healthier and more beautiful plants with much less work.
Look for perennials that require no staking and little or no deadheading. Avoid those that reseed, are aggressive and do not plant perennials that tend to escape the garden and invade our natural spaces.
A bit more information: Use color to help increase the impact without increasing the number of plants. Warm colors of red, orange and yellow grab your attention. Repeat colors, known as color echoing, from one plant to another to provide unity and balance. Use complementary colors, those across from each other on the artist color wheel, like red and green and blue and yellow to create a focal point.
For more gardening tips, how-to videos, podcasts and more, visit www.melindamyers.com
Grow Your Own Pickles & Celebrate National Pickle Week
Celebrate National Pickle Week by growing a few of your own cucumbers for pickling.
All you need are a few seeds, a sunny location and a bit of garden space or a large container. Train these large vining plants up a fence, trellis or decorative obelisk to save space.
Consider planting National Pickling Cucumber Seeds developed by the National Pickle Packers Association and Michigan Agriculture Experiment station. These were bred for their versatility and perfect pickle shape. You'll be harvesting cucumbers in about 52 days after planting.
Or save some space with Bush pickle. This cucumber forms a 3 to 4 foot wide mound and produces an abundance of 4-inch fruit. It's a perfect size for containers. And save even more space and grow straighter fruit by training these smaller plants up a cage or trellis. Cucumbers are ready to pick in about 45 days.
A bit more information: Cucumbers are generally ready to harvest in 45 to 60 days after planting. This makes them a great option for mid and late season plantings. Just calculate the number of frost-free days left in the growing season to see how late you can plant. And further extend the season by using floating row covers like ReeMay, Harvest Guard, and Frost Covers to protect plants from frosty weather.
For more gardening tips, how-to videos, podcasts and more, visit www.melindamyers.com
Celebrate Clean Air Month – Grow Some Air-Purifying Houseplants
Celebrate National Clean Air Month by growing a few houseplants to improve your indoor air quality.
NASA teamed up with PLANET (Professional Landcare Network, formerly ALCA) and found adding 15 to 18, 6 to 8 inch diameter container houseplants will improve the air quality in an 1800 square foot house. Keeping them healthy will increase their beauty and ability to cleanse the air.
Consider adding a bamboo palm (Chamaedorea sefritzii). Use this large houseplant to create a warm welcome for guests, dress up a blank wall or mix in with other houseplants for an impressive indoor garden.
This palm is an understory plant in Central America. It is hardy in zones 10 to 11 and adapted to the lower light conditions indoors. Grow it in a brightly lit location and keep the soil slightly moist.
Cut off fronds as they die, leaving the leafy stem covering intact. Once it is fully dried, remove to expose the attractive stems.
A bit more information: Start new plants by division. Remove suckers and offshoots that form at the base of the plant. Slide the bamboo palm out of its pot. Use a sharp knife or drywall saw to separate the offshoots from the main plant. Repot the parent plant and offshoots in a container slightly larger than the remaining root ball.
For more gardening tips, how-to videos, podcasts and more, visit www.melindamyers.com
We get your letters...
What an amazing weekend!
First of all, a very big THANK YOU to everyone who came out to Grafton and Mukwonago and waited in line amid cold, windy and rainy conditions for those Wisconsin Dells Season Opener Cards.
For me, it is a chance to meet / hang out with YOU the listener and give you goodies!
Second, got this letter from our 99.1 The Mix Contact Us forum, from the Dawson family of Port Washington and was truly surprised that my "simple gesture" warranted the following...
Question: Your Name:
Answer: Michelle
Question: Your City:
Answer: Port Washington
Comments:
Yesterday I took my parents to Grafton to wait for season opener cards. It was quite a cold morning. We arrived at 10 because in the past there have been huge lines. My mother is recovering from a recent open-heart surgery. She is a very petite older woman.
Van McNeil was interacting with people people in line and I asked him if it would be possible for my mom to going to the bank to warm up. He unexpectedly took my mom's hand and escorted her into the building. He was so kind to her and gave her a hug. He made sure she was warm and dry and took very good care of her.
My mom and dad are thrilled to be going to the Dells. Unknown to Van my dad just got out of The hospital last Friday after 4 1/2 weeks of being in. It's been a very rough couple of months for my parents and their health. My mother was just beaming about how nice Van was.
I wanted to thank you for the season opener cards which will allow my parents and my family to enjoy a vacation in Wisconsin this summer, and send a special thank you to Van for being so wonderful to my parents.
You're welcome and THANK YOU Michelle!
Just doing what I do because that's how my mama raised me!
Enjoy the Dells!
-Van
#everylistenermatters
Perennial Garden Renovations
Give your tired perennial garden a boost without a total renovation. Topdressing your garden with compost every year or two provides most if not all the nutrients your perennials need.
Pull back the mulch if needed. Then spread an inch of compost over the soil surface. You can buy a quality compost or make your own.
Leave the compost on the surface or lightly mix it into the soil. The earthworms, ground beetles, and other organisms will take it from there – moving the compost into the soil and around the plant roots where it is needed.
Or, do a bit of vertical mulching. Use an auger bit on your cordless drill. Simply drill holes into the soil between plants. Then fill the holes with compost. This gets the compost closer to the plant roots and soil organisms that will help mix it into and improve the soil.
Soil preparation and repair will help transform your garden.
A bit more information: Apply a plant strengthener such as JAZ spray to increase plant vigor and their natural ability to tolerate environmental stresses, insect attacks, and disease problems. These natural products aren't fertilizers or pesticides. They can be applied to established plants at the beginning of the season to boost their ability to deal with stress or as soon as problems arise.
For more gardening tips, how-to videos, podcasts and more, visit www.melindamyers.com
Growing Banana Plants Indoors or Out
Add a bit of the tropics indoors or out with a banana plant.
The large leaves are great for screening views and creating a bit of privacy on a balcony, patio or in the yard. Add a wicker planter or chair and you have your own tropical get-away.
The fiber banana (Musa basjoo) is hardy in zones 5 to 11. It grows in full sun. It will die back to the ground and benefit from winter mulch in northern areas of its hardiness zone.
Less hardy and smaller, the blood banana (Musa acuminata 'Zebrina'), has large leaves with red markings on 6 to 8 foot plants. It's only hardy in zones 10 to 11, but can be overwintered as a houseplant or allowed to go dormant in other areas.
Combine these tropical beauties with palms, ginger and bird-of-paradise. Or add some hardy tropical look-alikes such as Japanese forest grass, large leaf hostas and trumpet vines.
A bit more information: Push the limits of your growing region with special wintering techniques developed by Dr. David Francko, author of Palms Won't Grow Here and Other Myths: Warm-Climate Plants for Cooler Areas. And for those in warmer regions check out Creating the Tropical Look.
For more gardening tips, how-to videos, podcasts and more, visit www.melindamyers.com
Preserving the Asparagus Harvest
Preserve the flavor and nutrition of asparagus to enjoy year round.
This flavorful vegetable is low in calories and high in Vitamins A and C as well as fiber. Unfortunately, it is most readily available and at the best price in the spring.
Insure the best flavor with proper harvesting. Select young tender spears 8 to 10 inches tall. Wash, remove the ends, and then cut to fit the freezer bag or container.
Blanch the asparagus before freezing to lock in flavor, color and texture. Dip the asparagus into boiling water. You'll need a large pan with a lid. Blanch small spears for 2 minutes, medium spears for 3 minutes and large spears for 4 minutes.
Remove and immediately set the blanched spears in ice water for 5 minutes to cool. Drain and freeze.
And, if you don't have an asparagus patch, you may want to consider planting one this year.
A bit more information: May is National Asparagus Month. For tips on planting and harvesting asparagus listen to my audio tip. And check out the National Center for Home Food Preservation website for helpful tips and guidelines for preserving your harvest.
For more gardening tips, how-to videos, podcasts and more, visit www.melindamyers.com
Mexican Mint Marigold (Tagetes lucida)
Add a little color and flavor to your garden and salads with Mexican tarragon.
This subtle beauty is really a type of marigold, but the leaves and flowers have a tarragon fragrance and flavor.
Wait until after the danger of frost has passed to plant this zone 8 to 10 hardy plant. Grow it in full sun to part shade and well-drained soils. It is somewhat drought tolerant. Northern gardeners can treat it like an annual and those in the northern range of its hardiness zone may see it die back to the ground in a hard freeze. But don't worry its root hardy.
The yellow flowers appear in late summer and persist through fall. The 14 to 20 inch tall plants make a nice addition to herb gardens and flowerbeds.
Harvest the new growth to use fresh. Preserve the flavor by freezing the leaves or storing in vinegar. They tend to lose their flavor when dried.
A bit more information: You can find this plant listed under several common names including Mexican tarragon, Texas tarragon, pericon, and sweet mace. No matter the common name you can use the leaves and blossoms in soups, sauces and chicken dishes as well as salads. Some gardeners even seep it for tea. Visit Bonnie Plants for more information and gardeners ideas for growing and using this plant in the garden.
For more gardening tips, how-to videos, podcasts and more, visit www.melindamyers.com
Year of the Watermelon
Year of the Watermelon
The National Garden Bureau has declared 2013 the Year of the Watermelon. Be part of the celebration and consider planting watermelon in this year's garden.
Don't let the sweet flavor deceive you – these are nutritious as well as delicious. High in Vitamin C, low in fat and calories - it is a great way to boost your energy. Plus, all parts are edible.
You can pickle the rind, eat the fleshy portion fresh or roast or grind the seeds for flavoring. In china they stir fry watermelon while the Russians often pickle it before eating. You may want to try some new ways of enjoying this tasty summer treat.
Grow watermelon in full sun and well-drained soils. Save space by growing these plants on a trellis or decorative obelisk. Just secure the heavy fruit to the support with a cloth or macramé sling. Or plant a few seeds in a container and let the vines wander over your balcony or trellis.
A bit more information: Try planting one of the large picnic-type watermelons that can weigh 15 to 50 pounds. These are sure to get everyone in the family excited about growing and eating this, the largest edible fruit in the United States. Or perhaps you want to try one of the icebox melons that is much smaller at 5 to 15 pounds and easier to squeeze into the fridge. And don't forget about those with unique colored rinds and flesh and of course those that lack seeds.
For more gardening tips, how-to videos, podcasts and more, visit www.melindamyers.com
Clematis Stem Wilt
Clematis Stem Wilt
Your clematis looks beautiful until suddenly the stems and leaves start turning black. Though it looks bad your clematis will survive.
The fungus that causes this disease enters your plant through wounds and cracks in the stem near ground level. Fortunately new growth arising below this point will be disease free.
Reduce future problems by pruning out and destroying infested stems. Disinfect tools between cuts to reduce the risk of spreading this disease.
As new growth emerges from the soil carefully secure it to the support to reduce the risk of cracking and damage. Eliminating the entryways for the fungus will reduce the risk of disease.
In the future consider planting the crown of the clematis below the soil surface. This allows the plant to produce new shoots below the point of infection.
Try growing small flowered clematis that tend to resist this disease. Alpina, macropetala and the viticella types are a few to consider.
A bit more information: For a disease to occur you must have the causal organism (fungus, bacteria, virus) present, disease-promoting weather and susceptible plants. Remove one of these factors and you eliminate the disease. Keep this in mind when managing clematis stem wilt and other plant diseases in your garden.
For more gardening tips, how-to videos, podcasts and more, visit www.melindamyers.com
I'm a fan, are you?
Who doesn't LOVE a good Roller Coaster? Am I right?! I've been so very lucky to been have rasied in the Midwest, a stones throw away from Six Flags Great America, where I practicaly spent my summers as kid with my best bud Edgar!
Mom and dad would drop us off at open and pick us up at close. 10a-10p. Don't think I could handle that now. Heck, I could barley make it on one run of Batman The Ride Backwards!
Yes, that's right, for a limited time this season, (BTW... I tried to find out when from officials, they wouldn't budge, so get there soon!) Batman The Ride will be running BACKWARDS!!
MOBILE USERS: Click here to WATCH Van rides Batman: The Ride Backwards!
www.SixFlags.com
My Lucky Brewers Socks
I've been wearing these sock to the last few games I have attended at Miller Park and the crew always wins when I have them on. Do you think my socks lucky?
Matt Nathanson AND Plain White T's coming to Festa!
YES! That headline is correct...Matt Nathanson AND the Plain White T's will be performing at Festa Italiana, Saturday night, July 20th and I have the honor of being your ON STAGE HOST!!
I'm super stoked and looking forward to hanging with Platinum-selling singer-song writer Matt Nathanson, and Grammy-nominated Chicago-bred Plain White T's again!
Check out the videos from both groups last visit to The Mix Studios:
WATCH Matt Nathanson Interview and Performance.
WATCH Plain White T's Interview and Performance.
Watch for and Prevent Borers on Trees and Shrubs
Extreme heat and cold, droughts and floods can leave our plants stressed and more susceptible to damaging borers.
These insects are the immature stage of moths and beetles that feed under the bark and inside the stems of plants. Their feeding weakens and in some cases kills the plant.
Many borers are opportunists, attacking already stressed trees. We can't control the weather but we can help reduce stress on our plants. Start by growing plants suited to the climate and growing conditions in your landscape.
Mulch the area under and around the base of trees and shrubs. Organic mulches like wood chips keep the roots cool and moist and reduce competition from grass and weeds.
Be sure to water new plantings thoroughly and as needed the first few years. And do the same for established trees and shrubs during extended drought. This will keep them healthy and help ward off borers.
A bit more information: Incorporate trees and shrubs into perennial planting beds. You will create an attractive garden and better environment for the plants. Plus, planting beds as well as mulching will reduce the need for hand trimming and will keep weed whips and mowers away from the trunks of the trees. And don't pile soil or mulch over the stems of shrubs and the trunks of trees. These practices create entryways for pests and encourage disease problems.
For more gardening tips, how-to videos, podcasts and more, visit www.melindamyers.com
Lawn Revival
If sparse, bare spots or lots of weeds describe your lawn, it is time for a little lawn revival.
Start by evaluating the current state of your lawn. If more than 60% is bare or filled with weeds, it is time to start over. Look at this as an opportunity to properly prepare the soil, select a more drought tolerant lawn or convert it into a no mow or low maintenance lawn or planting bed.
Overseed thin sparse lawns. Core aerate first or use a slit seeder to insure good seed-to-soil contact. For small bare spots use a lawn patch kit or make your own. Mix a handful of quality grass seed into a bucket of topsoil. Remove any dead grass and roughen the soil surface. Then sprinkle the commercial or homemade lawn patch over the prepared bare spot.
Keep the soil moist until the grass seed begins to grow.
A bit more information: Larger areas will benefit from the addition of organic matter into the top 6 inches of soil before sowing the grass seed or laying sod. Keep the soil moist until the sod has rooted into the soil below and the grass seed begins to grow. Consider overseeding the lawn to help create a more uniform appearance in the lawn. For more information, click here.
For more gardening tips, how-to videos, podcasts and more, visit www.melindamyers.com
