Posts Categorized: Blog

Garden Now to Refresh your Outdoor Space for Entertaining

This summer gardens and outdoor green spaces often look limp and lifeless due to lots of hot, sunny days and limited precipitation. No need to despair, just a few simple tips can help to rejuvenate any outdoor space well into fall – and be water-wise as well. Garden Mulch Mulch adds a nice, finished look to beds, paths and containers alike. It also helps to keep weeds out by blocking access to sunlight, reduce competition for water and nutrients from weeds, retain moisture in the soil where the roots can access it and moderate soil temperatures. In essence, mulching around plants, trees and shrubs is fundamental to keeping water where it is needed. Mulch your landscape beds at a depth of 2 to 3 inches…

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June’s To-Do List for Busy Gardeners

A column by Jane Ford Fort Wayne News-Sentinel This is great gardening weather, but the cool nights and cooler-than-normal days are causing some of our warm-weather annual flowers and vegetables to grow very slowly. I’m sure that will change soon, and we’ll see tomatoes and peppers forming on the vines. I’ve listed things to do in June around the house and garden: Spring-flowering shrubs can be pruned after the blooms are gone. Apply fungicide to prevent and control black spot on roses, and clean up all signs of the disease and throw that in the trash. Disinfect pruners. Water well new trees and shrubs every seven to 10 days when there is little or no rain. Use stem tip cuttings to propagate deciduous shrubs, such…

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