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.
Add beauty and a bit of fragrance to the shady spots in your landscape with Prince Charming Solomon’s seal.
This new compact Solomon seal grows 12 inches tall and spreads to twice the size in just a few years. The arching stems are covered with medium green leaves that turn bluish green in strong light.
White lightly fragrant one inch flowers adorn the plants for three weeks in late spring. The flowers are followed by green berries that turn purple in the fall. This combined with the yellow fall color makes this a stand out in the fall garden.
This low maintenance perennial is hardy in zones 4 to 7. It only needs occasional dividing and annual removal of dead stems.
Grow this shade tolerant perennial in gardens where the spring through fall beauty can be enjoyed. The graceful plant looks good in woodland gardens, perennial beds, and partially shaded rock gardens.
A bit more information: This perennial as well as many other landscape plants was introduced by Chicagoland Grows, Inc. Their Plant Introduction program’s goal is to evaluate, select, produce, and market recommended and new plant cultivars. The selected plants have been tested and proven reliable in the Midwest and are sold at various retail locations through an international network of growers and propagators.
For more gardening tips, how-to videos, podcasts and more, visit www.melindamyers.com
Fireblight by Melinda Myers,posted Jan 31 2013 4:42PM
On your next winter walk, check apples, pears, quince and other members of the rose family for signs of fireblight disease.
This bacterial disease does not attack roses, but it does affect many other members of that family. Young trees can be killed quickly in just a few weeks. All parts of the plant including flowers, fruit, stems, trunks, and roots can be infected. Early detection and sanitation can help manage this disease. Look for wilted or curled stem tips and sunken discolored areas, known as cankers, on the stem.
Remove and destroy infected stems by pruning at least 6 to 9 inches below the canker. Disinfect tools between cuts by soaking them in a 1 part bleach 9 part water solution for at least 30 seconds.
Reduce stress with proper care. Avoid high nitrogen fertilizers that encourage lush succulent growth that is more susceptible to this disease.
A bit more information: Watch for other fireblight symptoms throughout the year. Blossom blight appears shortly after bloom. Infested flowers look watersoaked and quickly turn black or brown. Shoot blight usually appears right after petals drop from the flowers. The stem wilts, tip curves over like a shepherd’s crook and the stem turns brown or black as if it was burned.
For more gardening tips, how-to videos, podcasts and more, visit www.melindamyers.com
Give them a chill and stop the tears. Cooling your onions and cutting into the root end last reduces the tear inducing impact of the onions sulfuric compounds. And consider improving the flavor and fun by growing your own onions from seed.
Start by selecting onions suited to your location. Northern gardeners should grow long-day onions that start producing the bulbs during the longer, 14 hour days of midsummer. Sweet and mild onions develop their bulbs during short days and are best suited to southern gardens.
Jump start the growing season by starting your onions indoors about 10 weeks before the plants will be moved outside. Use a well drained sterile potting or seed starting mix.
Keep soil moist and grow seedlings in a sunny window or better yet under artificial lights. If the tops grow too tall and begin to flop, you can trim them with scissors.
Harden off the plants before moving them outdoors.
A bit more information: Onions are a good source of Vitamin C and fiber, as well as antioxidants that help prevent high blood pressure and some forms of cancer. Go lightly when peeling the onion as most of the nutritional and health benefits are contained in the outer scales.
For more gardening tips, how-to videos, podcasts and more, visit www.melindamyers.com
Add color to your late spring garden with Forever Pink Phlox.
This phlox is hardy in zones 4 to 8 and blooms after creeping phlox and before the summer blooming garden phlox, adding needed color to the perennial garden.
Grow this phlox in full sun and moist well-drained soil. Once established, it is drought tolerant.
This long blooming phlox is covered with vibrant purplish-pink flowers for three weeks. A light shearing after the initial bloom fades will encourage sporadic blooming throughout the remainder of the season.
This low maintenance phlox is resistant to powdery mildew and does not need staking. Plants reach 16 inches when in bloom and spread to 18 inches wide.
During initial plant trials the deer and rabbits left Forever Pink Phlox alone, while browsing on the nearby garden phlox.
Use this spring bloomer in perennial borders and containers where its long bloom and neat habit can be enjoyed.
A bit more information: Though the deer tend to pass over Forever Pink Phlox for other plants you should always monitor this and other plants for animal damage. Deer, rabbits and other wildlife will eat just about anything when their populations are high and food is scarce. This perennial as well as many other landscape plants was introduced by Chicagoland Grows Plant Introduction Program.
For more gardening tips, how-to videos, podcasts and more, visit www.melindamyers.com
Tussock Moths by Melinda Myers,posted Jan 31 2013 4:34PM
Don’t let their beauty fool you. The colorful and hairy tussock moth caterpillars are voracious eaters feeding on a variety of trees and shrubs.
I stumbled upon the butterfly expert’s adage that “the homelier the caterpillar, the more spectacular the adult (and vice versa)”. This is certainly true of the tussock moths. The caterpillars are often colorful and covered with hairs. The adults tend to be plain and brown or white.
Nature usually keeps many of the tussock moths under control. Parasitic wasps, predators, unfavorable weather, or a lack food usually reduces their populations.
When needed, you can lend nature a helping hand with a bit of winter clean up. Remove the hairy egg masses from the bark crevices on tree trunks or other protected locations. Or spray the egg masses with a soybean oil product labeled for this use. Wear gloves as the hairs can be irritating.
A bit more information: You may already be familiar with the non native gypsy moth, a member of this group of moths. It was brought to the United States as a potential alternative to the silk worm. It escaped and has spread throughout much of North America feeding on a wide range of plants.
For more gardening tips, how-to videos, podcasts and more, visit www.melindamyers.com
Sharpen those pruners because late winter through early spring is the time to prune and train grapes.
You may want to consider the Cordon system for training grapes. It’s relatively easy to manage and the plants tend to be more productive and the fruit is easier for you to pick. In this method you establish a main trunk and several permanent side branches known as cordons.
These permanent cordons are periodically renewed throughout the life of the plant. Each year you will need to reposition vertical shoots to a downward position. Known as combing, this prevents shoots from growing over one another, insuring that light reaches all parts of the plant.
Consider the fan system if you are training grapes on walls and fences. You will train several upright canes on a very short trunk. Much of the new growth will tend to droop, providing a nice screen. The downside, you may lose some fruit that’s produced near the ground.
A bit more information: Grapes have been grown and wine has been made for over 6,000 years. Today 71% of the grapes grown throughout the world are used for making wine, 27% eaten fresh and 2% dried, according to The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
For more gardening tips, how-to videos, podcasts and more, visit www.melindamyers.com
Celebrate Valentine’s Day and National Homemade Soup Day by sharing a bowl of soup with the ones you love. And while you sip some soup, start planning the soup ingredients you’ll grow in this year’s garden.
Start with a look at your favorite soup recipes. Then decide what vegetables will grow best in your garden and store well for making winter soups.
Root crops such as carrots, turnips, parsnips and rutabagas are great choices since they store well and add nutrition to winter soups and stews.
Butternut, acorn and other winter squash make wonderful warm winter soups. The texture, color, and flavor make it a great starter or complete meal for fall and winter.
And of course don’t forget the potatoes, onions and garlic. All work well in container gardens and you can interplant the onions and garlic with other vegetables and flowers in your landscape.
A bit more information: Grow carrots, turnips and other root crops in well drained soil, raised beds or deep containers for best results. And grow short varieties of carrots if splitting and distortion have been a problem in the past.
For more gardening tips, how-to videos, podcasts and more, visit www.melindamyers.com
Take a walk through your landscape and evaluate your plants for their year round beauty and habitat for the birds. The second week in February is “National Homes for the Birds” week and a great time to look for ways to provide food, shelter and water for our feathered friends.
Include some evergreens for year round cover and nesting sites. You can include some deciduous trees and shrubs as well. Dogwood, hawthorns, roses, elderberry and holly are a few of the natives that provide seasonal interest for you and nesting sites for the birds
Add seed-bearing perennials to the landscape and let them stand for winter. The seedheads are attractive against the winter sky and the birds they attract add motion and life to the winter landscape. Many perennial wildflowers also provide nesting material. Silky seed heads and other less noticeable downy plant parts are used for lining nests.
A bit more information: Add some birdbaths and feeders to increase the number and diversity of birds visiting your landscape. Get the whole family involved with some homemade birdfeeders – click herefor more information.
For more gardening tips, how-to videos, podcasts and more, visit www.melindamyers.com
Bumps on the leaves and stems of your houseplants may mean scale insects have moved in and are feeding on your houseplants.
Scale insects suck plant juices, causing leaves to yellow, brown and become distorted. These pests secrete a clear sticky substance like other sucking insects, called honeydew. Large populations can eventually weaken and even kill some plants.
You will need to be persistent to control these pests. Their hard shells are impervious to most pesticides.
Start by gently scraping the hard shelled insects off the plants with an old toothbrush or your thumbnail. Check the upper and lower leaf surfaces and along the stems. This is a tedious job that you may want to do while watching your favorite TV show or movie.
Then spray the plant with insecticidal soap to kill the immature insects that have not yet formed their hard pesticide-resistant shells. Repeat weekly.
A bit more information: Mealy bugs are a type of soft bodied scale. Their white fuzzy covering protects it from pesticides. Use insecticidal soap to control the immature stage of mealy bugs and scale. For more details, click here.
For more gardening tips, how-to videos, podcasts and more, visit www.melindamyers.com
Don’t let a little shade stop you from going native. A look at nearby shady natural areas and many of the new garden catalogues will provide lots of ideas.
Understory trees like Amelanchier also known as Serviceberry or Juneberry, Pagoda dogwood, redbuds, ironwood (Ostrya) and musclewood (Carpinus) provide seasonal interest.
Shrubs like viburnum, hydrangea and Diervilla add color with flowers and fruit. Cool Splash is a cultivar of the native Diervilla that brightens up the shade with its white variegated leaves.
And dress up the ground level with a nice mix of perennials. Start with early spring wildflowers like trillium and mayapple and follow them with columbine, wild geranium and woodland phlox.
Add a bit of texture with the native grass-like sedges and of course ferns.
A bit more information: Don’t add additional soil underneath and plant with care when working under and around established trees. Do mulch new plantings and water as needed.
For more gardening tips, how-to videos, podcasts and more, visit www.melindamyers.com
If you’ve grown Walker’s Low catmint – you know it’s not so low. In fact, this heat and drought tolerant perennial grows 2 to 3 feet tall and wide. If this is a problem, I have an alternative for you.
Walker’s Low is a great plant for the low maintenance garden. The mounds of lavender blue flowers attract birds, butterflies and bees to the garden. The attractive gray green foliage is a nice backdrop to the flowers that appear from spring through fall. And if the plant gets floppy, a haircut midseason is all it needs.
A new introduction, Junior Walker, is about 1/3 the size of its parent, growing 18 inches tall and 30 inches wide. It has the same good looks, drought tolerance and low maintenance qualities. And, most importantly, it’s non-reseeding like the larger Walker Low.
A bit more information: Combine Junior Walker with roses, in containers or along walkways to better enjoy the fragrance. Its small scale, hardiness, and long bloom time make it suitable for containers as well as in-ground gardens.
For more gardening tips, how-to videos, podcasts and more, visit www.melindamyers.com
All you need is a container with drainage holes, well-drained potting mix and red lettuce seeds. Fill the container with the potting mix. Sprinkle the lettuce seed over the soil surface, Lightly cover with potting mix and gently water. Loosely cover with plastic to keep the soil moist and reduce the need to water.
Place in a warm bright location, keep the soil slightly moist, and wait for the seeds to sprout. Then move your plant to a warm sunny location as soon as the seedlings push through the soil. You will have the start of a healthy windowsill garden to give your Valentine.
Make your gift a bit more special by selecting a decorative tin or use paints and permanent markers to decorate plastic or terra cotta pots.
And if your Valentine loves to garden – give them all the makings and let them grow their own gift.
A bit more information: There are many red leaf lettuce varieties to choose from. Select one you like for your Valentine and save the leftover seeds for the garden. Red Sails with deep burgundy over green ruffled leaves is usually available in garden centers and of course catalogues. New Red Fire has more intense red ruffled leaves and is heat tolerant and slow to bolt (go to seed), making it a good choice for summer plantings as well.
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
This bacterial disease does not attack roses, but it does affect many other members of that family. Young trees can be killed quickly in just a few weeks. All parts of the plant including flowers, fruit, stems, trunks, and roots can be infected. Early detection and sanitation can help manage this disease. Look for wilted or curled stem tips and sunken discolored areas, known as cankers, on the stem. 
Start with a look at your favorite soup recipes. Then decide what vegetables will grow best in your garden and store well for making winter soups.
Include some evergreens for year round cover and nesting sites. You can include some deciduous trees and shrubs as well. Dogwood, hawthorns, roses, elderberry and holly are a few of the natives that provide seasonal interest for you and nesting sites for the birds
