Dig In 2016 - Spring Garden Preview

ddiig dig ig in in!

2016

Spring Garden Preview ƐƵƉƉůĞŵĞŶƚ ƚŽ dŚĞ /ŶĚŝĂŶĂ 'ĂnjĞƩĞ

May 19, 2016

local clubs that

JDUGHQLQJ that’s for the ELUGV

gather to

grow!!

A yard full RI EXWWHUñLHV

the truth about

IUXLW WUHHV

pampering to pizza...

growing o g with h a task ask in n mind

HUGE

HANGING BASKETS! ASKETS

Huge Selection of Hanging Baskets Porch Planters Annuals Perennials Herbs Ve egetable, Strawb Strawberry Plants & More!

Hanging Baskets Start At $19.49

JOYCE’S

GR GREENHOUSE EENHOUSE

4 MILES SO OF PUNXSUTA AWNEY ON RT 119

724-286-9722

Mon-Fri 9-8, Sat 9-6

2 — Indiana Gazette Garden Supplement, Thursday, May 19, 2016

Pick a destination and start gardening

Plant a garden for a special purpose and it becomes a themed garden. Themed herb gardens are gardens where you focus on plants that bring you pleasure and are intended for a special use.

A themed herb garden can be many things; the choice is yours. It can be a culinary herb garden, a garden with plants to make herbal teas or a meditation garden.

Themed herb gardens can bring you great enCarole McCray joyment and prois an awardvide you winning with herbs garden and lifestyle writer. for cooking, herbs Questions of comments are to make pleasantwelcome at tasting teas mountain 26@verizon.net or herbal plants for a private garden for sitting and relaxing.

Herbs are the easiest plants to grow as they are nearly pest and disease resistant. And as many of the most popular herbs are Mediterranean, they like full or partial sun and thrive with very little watering.

Here are some ideas for specific types of herb gardens: A COOK’S GARDEN can be in a sunny window box outside a kitchen window.

Chives, sweet basil, rosemary, Italian parsley, marjoram, winter and summer savory, thyme, dill and sage are good choices for the person who loves to cook.

Ideally the cook’s garden should be located near the kitchen so the cook will be more inclined to use the herbs. A container of culinary herbs placed on a

THE POTTING SHED

Photos courtesy of Sue Goetz and Courtney Goetz

FOR PRIVACY add a screen and hedges to your sanctuary garden, left. Herbs, at right, can be placed in a sunny window for use indoors. deck, patio or herbs in a nearby hanging basket are other options for your herb garden.

A TEA GARDEN: Mints are wonderful herbs for flavoring tea. Orange, pineapple, spearmint, peppermint and apple will give you a nice variety for brewing a cup of soothing tea. Lemonade and iced tea are also enhanced with any of the mints.

Pineapple sage is an attractive plant for making tea; its scarlet flowers bloom in the summer.

Another tea plant is Monarda, known as bee balm or bergamot. The colonists used it as a tea substitute and referred to it as Oswego tea as the plant grew rampant in Oswego County, New York. Shades of deep pink, red or purple blooms on Monarda will attract butterflies and hummingbirds to your garden.

Plant mints in full sun. Because mints are very invasive, contain them in pots in your garden. The grouping

of pots will make a pretty tea garden. Some gardeners recommend curbing mints by placing metal strips between the plants to keep the mint from choking out other plants.

A PIZZA GARDEN: With this garden, design the spot in full sun in a circle with six defining areas or like a “slice” of a pizza. Plant each “slice” with one of the following herbs — oregano, sweet basil, garlic chives, Italian parsley, tomato plants and sweet peppers.

You may wish to add other “slices” by enlarging the garden with other favorite pizza herbs or plants.

A PAMPERING GARDEN is the garden where you can create your own recipes to pamper yourself. Freshfrom-the-garden spa treatments are yours, created by you from herbs grown in your pampering garden.

Calendula, lavender, lemon balm, lemon verbena, rosemary, scented geraniums and spearmint are herbs well suited for a pampering

garden. Following are recipes to try from a pampering garden: FACE SCRUB 1 tablespoon dried rose petals (petals free from pesticides or spraying) 1 tablespoon dried lavender buds 1 tablespoon dried calendula buds 1 cup cornmeal Grind dried herbs together until powdered. Add cornmeal and mix well.

Rinse face and pat dry. Mix blend with enough water or yogurt to form a paste. Gently massage paste over face and neck, avoiding eye area.

Rinse off and pat skin dry.

FLORAL SPLASH Nice for spraying linens before retiring at night or as a mist on skin after a day in the hot sun.

A cup loosely packed lemon verbena leaves ¾ cup vodka 10 drops lemon verbena essential oil 1 cup distilled water Place fresh leaves into a sterilized glass jar, and pour

vodka completely to cover the leaves. Bruise the leaves with wooden spoon or pestle. Add essential oil drops and cover lightly. Allow to infuse for up to 2 weeks in a cool, dark place.

Shake the jar every few days. When the mix smells heavy of lemon verbena, strain through a filter or cheesecloth to remove the leaves from the vodka. Add distilled water, and shake thoroughly.

— Both recipes are from The Herb Lover’s Spa Book

by Sue Goetz, 2015, St. Lynn’s Press, Pittsburgh, Pa. A MEDITATION GARDEN: Small or large, there are no limitations on the size of a sanctuary space for your meditation garden. It can be designed so you hear the sound of a soothing fountain, a spot under a pergola and a bench where you can sit and contemplate or a garden filled with your favorite herbs. This sanctuary becomes your private retreat. It can serve many pur-

poses — a place of tranquility, a calming atmosphere, a garden for healing.

Plants in your meditation garden should be ones with fragrance and a palette of soft colors. Heliotrope, lavender, borage, eucalyptus, lemon verbena, lemon balm, scented geraniums and mints are pleasing in a meditation garden. Of course, you can add other favorite herbs, annuals and perennial plants that flower in soothing and soft colors.

They will add to the relaxing ambience of your garden sanctuary.

Privacy is important, so think about a living wall with plants or a built structure for your garden to define the area.

For protection from the elements such as the hot rays of the sun, note where the sun affects the garden space and where a cool shady spot is located.

Your themed herb garden will be an exciting adventure into another area of gardening.

Indiana Gazette Garden Supplement, Thursday, May 19, 2016 — 3

Three requirements for the right fruit tree

By MAUREEN GILMER Tribune News Service

Just because your new fruit tree bloomed this spring doesn’t mean it will produce fruit. It all depends on the variety you chose and whether it’s reliable in your immediate microclimate. If you get it right, fruiting is a no-brainer, but if it’s not the right variety, you may never have a crop.

For example, the older apricots at the home I bought flower like crazy every year, the first to do so in my orchard. Inevitably it’s cold and rainy that early and the bees aren’t flying. No bees, no pollination. Despite water, pruning, fertilizer, etc., I never got a single apricot in 20 years. The previous owners definitely planted the wrong trees.

Choosing the right one is vital because you’ll invest years in its growth before you finally see a crop ... or not. If the one you chose isn’t well adapted locally, it will languish, fail to flower, fail to fruit

or fruit won’t ripen.

Here are three handy tips to help you get the right fruit tree for your yard this year. Look for these details on the grower’s tag attached to each tree.

GET SEASON TIMING RIGHT: Fruit tree varieties are labeled early, midseason or late. This relates to the fruit yields but also to flowering times. In areas of late frost, choose late blooming varieties to ensure the weather is more settled and bees are flying when they bloom. If you live in a milder winter climate like Arizona or Florida, where summers are super hot, then early bloomers are better so fruit can ripen while temps are below the century mark.

CHECK CHILLING REQUIREMENTS: Each kind of fruit has a need for winter cold, some such as cherries need a lot more winter cold. This is linked to dormancy because, without enough cold, the trees can’t “rest” in winter and lose vigor.

They will finally fail, often when the bark is sunburn blistered from

too small a canopy to shade itself.

Know how many chilling hours your local climate produces in order to avoid those trees that ask for more than you can give.

GET THE RIGHT SIZE: Fruit trees are grafted in ways to make them smaller and better adapted to your backyard. The original full-sized trees are recommended where deer are a problem so eventually fruit is produced beyond their reach. Semi-dwarf trees are about 30 percent smaller, making the fruit more accessible where space is limited. They are also easier to pick and prune than standard sizes.

Dwarf fruit trees are even smaller yet and make a fine choice for fruit in the heart of the city.

Independent garden centers that have been in your town a long time are the best places to buy fruit trees. These folks know the local climate and only order fruit trees that will grow well and fruit easily there. They can tell you why one variety may be better than another

Tribune News Service

THESE SEMI-DWARF apple trees are easier to prune and pick than full-sized trees. for where you’re planting, your soil, local winds, typical diseases (which are so common with peaches) and other characteristics well suited to their loyal clientele.

You may not find what you want in container fruit trees because they’re often left over from the big fruit tree sales earlier during bare root season. You can buy bare root, too, for a huge selection online.

The catalogs online help you zero

May Mart t)BOHJOH #BTLFUT t1FSFOOJBMT t"OOVBMT t)FSCT t5SFFT t4ISVCT t8BUFS 1MBOUT

t*OEPPS 1MBOUT t7FHFUBCMFT t#JSE #VUUFSnZ )PVTFT t8PPEXPSLJOH

t2VJMUFE *UFNT t(PVSET t"SUXPSL t"OUJRVFT t+FXFMSZ t$BOEMFT t'VEHF

t$BOEJFT t(BSEFO "SU t%JQ .JYFT t.PTBJDT t#BCZ BOE $IJMESFO *UFNT

t4DBSWFT t1IPUPHSBQIZ t$PPLJOH *UFNT t1FU "QQBSFM t4BMWBHFE "SDIJUFDUVSF

t4PBQT t-PUJPOT t-BOETDBQF &EHJOH t5BUUPPT GPS ,JET t#BLFE (PPET t#PPLT

t4MBUF "DDFOUT t(BSEFO 1MBOUFST 'MBHT BOE #FODIFT t*($ ,JET ,PSOFS

t0SQIBOT $PVSU *($ NFNCFST QMBOUT t'BNPVT 4USBXCFSSZ 1JF BOE

.VTISPPN 4BOEXJDIFT t"MM ZPVS GBWPSJUF 'BJS 'PPET

in on the right variety. They send the trees at the proper time for bare root planting in your area. It’s planted before things start growing in spring and some say they do far better in the long run.

Maureen Gilmer is an author, horticulturist and landscape designer. Learn more at www.Mo Plants.com. Contact her at mogilmer@yahoo.com or P.O. Box 891, Morongo Valley, CA 92256.

4 — Indiana Gazette Garden Supplement, Thursday, May 19, 2016

Gardeners can help protect butterfly populations

By DEAN FOSDICK Associated Press

Bees aren’t the only pollinators suffering from a massive North American die-off. Butterflies and moths, those flying flowers of the insect world, are disappearing too.

“But the situation isn’t hopeless,” says Scott Hoffman Black, executive director of the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation, in Portland, Ore. “Anybody — gardeners or butterfly lovers — can make an oasis in their landscape for these important animals.

It doesn’t matter if you have a tiny lot or a farmyard. A little effort can help a lot.”

Besides their beauty, butterflies and moths play a significant role in the pollination of flowering plants, 80 percent of which rely on animals — mostly insects — to move their pollen from plant to plant, the Xerces Society says.

Butterflies and moths also serve as an important food source for other animals.

Yet in the United States alone, at least five butterfly species have gone extinct since 1950; an additional 25 are listed as endangered nationwide, and four are listed as threatened, according to Xerces in its new guide, “Gardening for Butterflies” (Timber Press, 2016).

Federal protection is being sought for the monarch butterfly population, which has plunged 90

percent in North America in less than 20 years. “During the same period, it is estimated that these oncecommon, iconic orange and black butterflies may have lost more than 165 million acres of habitat — an area about the size of Texas — including nearly a third of their summer breeding grounds,” the Center for Biological Diversity says.

Just as significant has been the near-elimination in farm fields of milkweed, the exclusive food of monarch caterpillars.

Donald Lewis, a professor and extension entomologist with Iowa State University, cites a 2012 study that documented an 81 percent decline in milkweeds in agricultural fields from 1999 to 2010.

“The cure for butterfly and pollinator preservation, conservation and improvement is to create biodiversity, which, of course, is at odds with most farming, urban sprawl and commercial development,” Lewis said. “But it is our goal.”

Nurture, enrich and diversify your home habitat, entomologists say.

Planting pollinator gardens that emphasize nectar plants that bloom yearround for bees, wasps and other wildlife is a good first step.

Butterfly gardens take that a stage further by adding host plants suitable for hungry caterpillars.

“Since butterfly larvae are picky eaters, it takes a variety of food plants,”

Associated Press

Lewis said.

Butterfly gardens should be located where they’ll get at least six hours of sun per day.

They should contain at least four annual, biennial or perennial nectar plant species, and at least 10 milkweed plants of two or more types.

Ironically, beware the invasive butterfly bush, which has been listed as a noxious weed in several states.

And think twice about the mass release of butterflies.

“Xerces is taking a stand that we should not be moving or releasing butterflies for such things as weddings, out of a concern for possible diseases,” Black said.

“We have a sense that the same issues that are happening with bees are happening with butterflies.”

BUTTERFLY GARDENS can be created in large or small spaces.

Indiana Gazette Garden Supplement, Thursday, May 19, 2016 — 5

Don’t ignore forsythia just because it’s green

By LEE REICH

ground and taken root. Yank their roots out and cut them free of older branches to prevent the bush from becoming an impenetrable, spreading tangle.

Associated Press

Forsythia flowers most abundantly on stems that are just a few years old. One goal in pruning is to remove decrepit older stems that might cough forth a few blossoms but really are no longer capable of putting on a good show. Removing some of those old stems also lets more sunlight shine in

Those rooted tips testify as to how easy it is to multiply forsythia. You could expand your planting by tucking those rooted tips into the ground wherever you want new shrubs. You could also deliberately bring a stem tip to the ground and anchor it with the weight of a brick or a stone; by autumn or spring, it should be rooted Associated Press

FORSYTHIA FLOWERS most on stems that are just a few years old. on younger stems growing up from the base of the plant. Stems need to bask in sunlight if they’re going to make good flower buds.

Like many other shrubs, forsythia sends up many new stems, called suckers, from the base of the plant.

(That’s what makes them shrubby.) It sends up so many, in fact, that they crowd and shade each other.

Another goal of pruning, then, is to thin out enough of these young suckers so that those that remain can develop to their full potential.

t

t t t

t t

SHANNOCK HARDWARE 634 Main St., Rural Valley, PA -Just 25 Minutes from Indiana

724-783-7241

For most of us, the tools for pruning a forsythia bush are not hedge shears, but a pair of hand shears and a lopper and, if pruning has been neglected for years, a small pruning saw.

Hedge shears shape forsythia bushes into globes and cubes, which is fine if that’s the look you like in forsythia. Hand shears, a lopper and a saw create an arching fountain, which brings out forsythia’s natural growth habit.

Crawl or reach into the base of your shrub to do your pruning. First, cut some of the oldest stems right to the ground or to vigorous, young branches originating near ground level.

Then grab your hand shears and cut some of the youngest stems — those suckers — also to the ground. Preferentially remove the most spindly young suckers, as well as those straying too far from the base of the plant. Suckers might also be growing where the tips of older branches have arched to the

YARD WORK MADE EASY! ÂŽ

Hustler Mowers starting at just

2,799

$

-OR-

$

64

PER MONTH

Tony’s Small Engine Repair HOURS: M-F: 8AM-5PM SAT: 9AM-12PM

HERE TO SERVE 245 Franklin Street, Clymer, PA 15728

724-254-4541

WE DELIVER 38 YEA ARS EXPERIENCE E

8&& %&-*7&3 8 %&% &-*7&&3 3 t .6-$) .6-$) .

6-$) 4 40*40*- 0 - $ $0.1045 $0.10 0.1045 4"/% % (3" "7 7&7 &&-- ,&:450 0/&& $"3 310 10354 45&&&&- # #6-%*/(4 -% ( .&55" "- 3 300'*/( 00' /( 4 4*%*/( % ( 4"--&4 &4

RUNNER RUN U NNER NNER BR – LANDSCAPING & SUPPLY –

1 Mi. N. of the YMCA on Ben Franklin Rd. N. .POEBZ 'SJEBZ t 4BUVSEBZ

724-463-7980

WE DELIVER 38 YEARS EXPERIENCE

THE RIGHT TOOLS

GET INTIMATE WITH YOUR FORSYTHIA

WE DELIVER 38 YEARS EXPERIENCE

WHY PRUNE AT ALL?

FOR MORE FORSYTHIA

WE DELIVER 38 YEARS EXPERIENCE

The warm glow of forsythias cools down as their flowers fade and green leaves start to unfold. For the next 11 months, this plant that displays such cheerful color on the drab heels of winter will be forgotten.

If you want the most from your forsythias next spring, however, don’t turn your back on them right after their blossoms fade. Pruning soon after the last blossoms of spring hit the ground gets the shrubs ready for next year’s show.

And don’t wait too long, because forsythia is among those shrubs that make flower buds the year before they actually open into flowers. Delay pruning too long and those buds will not have time to mature enough, before the weather cools in autumn, to open into flowers next spring.

and ready for transplanting.

Forsythia also roots easily from cuttings — easily enough that you could just stick a few cuttings in the ground where you want a new shrub and then bank on at least one of them rooting. The best time to stick such cuttings was before growth began for the season, though.

Be careful, however: Too much forsythia could be too much of a good thing. Remember that once the blossoms fade, forsythia is nothing more than a mass of greenery. So save room for other plants also.

Find Landscapers, Outdoor Renovations & More at indianacountychamber.com 3KLOD 6W ,QGLDQD ‡

6 — Indiana Gazette Garden Supplement, Thursday, May 19, 2016

Share your love of gardening with others

By CASEY KELLY

ckelly@indianagazette.net

If you are interested in gardening and would like to get involved, Indiana County has a wide variety of gardening clubs and organizations to offer: • The Herb Study Group of Indiana County was founded about 30 years ago by a group of community members who enjoyed learning about herbs. Christine Rothschild, an officer of the group, said the organization’s purpose is “for the enjoyment of learning about herbs, their propagation, cultivation, harvesting, uses and storage.”

With about 35 current members, the group normally meets at 7 p.m. on the fourth Tuesday of every month at the Red Cross Building, located at 610 Kolter Drive in Indiana.

However, the next meeting will be held at 6 p.m. Tuesday at the Dillweed Bed and Breakfast, in Dilltown, to prepare for the venue’s annual Pick-A-Dilly Herb Faire on June 11, where club membership sign-up will be available. Regular meeting time and location will resume for the June 28 meeting.

For more information, visit the Herb Study Group’s Facebook page or contact Rothschild at (785) 615-1524 or rothschildchristine@ gmail.com.

• The Indiana Community Garden project “seeks to create a healthy and enjoyable community movement through planting, harvesting, cultivating, educating, cooking and sharing knowledge and ideas,” according to Marie Olson, the ICG coordinator.

The project, supported by Penn State Extension and the Master Gardeners of Indiana County, meets at 5:30 p.m. on the first Wednesday of every month at the Mack Park Garden in Indiana.

“Gathering time” also takes place at 5 p.m. every Wednesday throughout the

summer in the garden. The next regular meeting will be June 1.

For more information and special events, contact Olson at icg15701@gmail. com or visit the club’s website at www.indianacommu nitygardens.org.

• Founded in 1930, the Indiana Garden Club is both a service and social organization that aims to develop the love of horticulture, promote an active interest in gardening, encourage civic planting and beautification and stimulate concern for our environment and the conservation of native plants and birds, according to the club’s newly appointed president, Paula Miller.

The IGC plants and maintains the following civic sites throughout the community: — “The Point,” located on S. 7th Street — “Jimmy Stewart Island” on N. 7th Street — Between S. 7th and S. 8th Street, in front of the Sheetz store’s footprint — Two East Pike Gardens — Two raised beds at the East Pike Complex Eagles Nest location — One raised bed at the Indiana Community garden The club’s largest event, May Mart, funds the IGC’s working budget and allows it to support various gardening and horticulture groups throughout the community.

This year, May Mart will be from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday at the S&T Bank Arena in White Township.

The IGC meets at 7 p.m. on the third Monday of the month at the Artist’s Hand Gallery, 732 Philadelphia St., Indiana.

For more information, visit www.indianagarden club.org or call (724) 5414318.

• The Master Gardeners of Indiana County is an organization of volunteers trained by the Penn State Cooperative Extension, according to Indiana County representative, Bob Pollock. Master Gardeners who have com-

pleted training help the community’s home gardening public by answering questions, speaking to groups, maintaining demonstration gardens and teaching plant sciences and horticulture. According to their website, the Master Gardeners maintain the following gardens in Indiana County: Blue Spruce Park The Allegheny Arboretum at Indiana University of Pennsylvania The Gardens at Yellow Creek State Park Seniors Activity Area Garden (behind S&T Bank Arena) Gardens at the Indiana Regional Medical Center Herb Society Gardens of Historic Saltsburg If you’re interested in applying or learning more about the Indiana County Master Gardeners, visit extension.psu.edu/plants/ma ster-gardener/counties/indiana or call (724) 465-3880.

• The Evergreen Garden Club aims “to promote interest in the art of flower arranging; to aid in the protection of native trees, birds and plants; and to encourage civic planting and the improvement of our environment through conservation,” according to Carol Miller, a representative for the club.

The Evergreen Garden Club maintains the gardens at the Silas Clark House, the Heritage Garden on IUP’s campus and the Pink Ribbon Garden at the Dorcas Clark Women’s Imaging Center at IRMC. This year, the organization is planning to work on a landscaping project for a Habitat for Humanity house, which will provide housing for a young woman and her children and also display a banner at the Silas Clark House to honor Indiana Borough’s Bicentennial.

The club meets at 1 p.m. on the third Monday of the month at Trinity United Methodist Church. Most

MASTER GARDENERS worked in the pollinator garden at Blue Spruce Park in August.

Submitted photo

feature a guest speaker followed by a business meeting. A quarterly newsletter is

also provided to all members.

For more information,

contact Marcy Cunkelman at (724) 459-7229 or plant4 nature@gmail.com.

Brighten up your home, brighten up your life.

Choose from our large selection of shade, ornamental, and specialty trees & shrubs, and much more. Stop out today!

t .VMDI t .VMDI tt 4DSFFOFE 5PQTPJM 4DSFFOFE 5PQTPJM t .VTISPPN $PNQPTU t .VTISPPN $PNQPTU $"-- '03 $"-- '03 %&-*7&3: %&-*7&3: 3200 A Airport irport Rd Rd,, IIndiana ndian 724.463.7634 ttwolickvalleynursery.com wolickv valleynursery.com

Indiana Gazette Garden Supplement, Thursday, May 19, 2016 — 7

IT’S WHA WHAT HA AT YOU ADD D THA THAT AT MAKES THE DIFFERENCE

Tribune News Service

PESTO PERPETUO is a nonblooming variety of basil.

Fill your garden with these herbs

By JOAN MORRIS The Mercury News

Unlike flowers that simply get to grow in the garden and look pretty, we ask far more from our herbs, says Rose Loveall of Morningsun Herb Farm in Vacaville, Calif.

We want them to be pretty but also be edible, attract pollinators, use little water and be low maintenance, Loveall says. Fortunately, hundreds of herb varieties can do all those things.

Loveall offers tips on filling your garden with hard working herbs and gives us suggestions on some all-star varieties that are sure to please.

GROWING TIPS • Almost all herbs prefer growing in light, sandy, well-draining soil, and most of us have clay. Before planting, add 3 to 6 inches of compost in the top 12 inches of the soil.

• Plant on a mound to ensure drainage.

• While most herbs are hardy, requiring little water or fertilizer, basil is the significant exception. Basil loves water and should be fertilized every two weeks. Like other herbs, however, it doesn’t grow well in standing water, so make sure the soil drains well.

• Very few herbs grow in shade, so create your herb garden in a sunny spot.

• Herbs can frustrate some gardeners because of the need to pinch off flowers to ensure the foliage continues to grow, but Loveall says if you can eat the leaves on a plant, you also can eat the flowers. One of the benefits of using flowers instead of the leaves is that the flowers generally have a milder flavor.

For both the professional and homeowner, genuine Husqvarna parts and accessories keep you safe and comfortable, and ensure your chainsaw runs at peak performance in any environment.

For more information visit you local Husqvarna dealer or husqvarna.com

GROW THESE BASIL Loveall’s favorite varieties include Ocimum “Pesto Perpetuo,” a nonblooming basil that is the epitome of low maintenance.

Ocimum “Wild Magic” basil grows to about 16 inches tall and produces beautiful violet flowers that will attract a lot of honeybees and other pollinators.

Ocimum citriodorum is popularly known as lemon basil. It has a wonderful lemon flavor and gives your pesto a twist.

Ocimum “Cardinal” has a fabulous flavor matched only by its flowers.

ROSEMARY Everyone knows about rosemary, but Rosmarinus officinalis “Spice Island” will surprise you. Its broader leaves contains so much oil that the leaves are sticky.

SALVIA (SAGE) Salvia officinalis “Variegated Berggarten” Continued on Page 9

Innovations of Home, LLC Route 119 Hwy North, Marion Center enterr, PA 724-397-4900

8 — Indiana Gazette Garden Supplement, Thursday, May 19, 2016

Couple creates yard that’s for the birds

By LYNN UNDERWOOD

Star Tribune (Minneapolis)

DELLWOOD, Minn. — Birds of many species feel right at home nesting in the wetlands and woodlands of a Dellwood yard. Gardeners Reid Smith and LaWayne Leno have made sure that feathered guests from wood ducks to chickadees, as well as butterflies and other wildlife, are always welcome at their 1-acre property.

It took Smith and Leno years of hard work to transform their suburban lot into a wildlife sanctuary, with restored wetlands surrounding two ponds.

On a sunny August day, the two men strolled among tall miscanthus grass, big bluestem and yellow cup plants. Smith pointed to the predator-proof wood duck houses suspended on poles protruding from the earth.

“In the spring, wood ducks fly in and lay eggs,” he said. “When the babies follow the mother to a bigger lake, the wetlands give them hiding places.”

The comfy nesting spots are among 25 birdhouses scattered throughout the property, and “all of the houses are filled with families,” said Smith. “Once the birds find a desirable habitat, they will keep coming back.”

With a landscape mix of 100 different native plants, the many bird houses and a water supply, the Smith-Leno property was designated a Certified Wildlife Habitat and Advanced Bird Habitat by the National Wildlife Federation in 2014.

“I didn’t work toward it,” said Smith. “But when I pulled up the list, I far exceeded the requirements.”

The other half of their acreage is another story — multilevel terraced gardens that encircle the 1990s home, which is nestled on a hillside.

Flagstone steps lead up sundrenched flower beds — each exploding in vibrant color.

“I do what other people say you shouldn’t do,” said Smith with a Southern drawl. “I overcrowd and plant densely. I’m after flower power.”

The transformation is all the more impressive given what Smith and Leno started out with. When they bought their prairie-style home in 1998, it came with a sub-

urban lawn and a wetland full of weeds and trash.

The two piano teachers had been living in city condos, most recently in downtown St. Paul, Minn., while they pursued their music studies and careers. (They currently give lessons out of their home, Dr. Reid Smith Piano Studios, as well as at Twin Cities academies.)

But both had gardening in their blood.

“I grew up on a dirt road in North Carolina and really missed the gardenias and azaleas,” said Smith, who tended a hybrid tea garden as an 8-year-old. “I could only have a few plants on the condo balcony.”

Leno was raised on a farm in North Dakota and helped with the family vegetable beds.

When they decided to settle into a house, Leno had his eye on a Victorian in Crocus Hill, while Smith gravitated toward modern architecture with plenty of acreage.

One evening, Smith visited their current home and property, which abuts a Dellwood golf course, and found himself enchanted by the fireflies and frogs singing in the ponds.

“When I bought the land, it felt like I was coming home,” he said.

GARDEN SYMPHONY The first year, Smith and Leno enlisted Prairie Restorations to start the rigorous process of turning the buckthorn- and thistle-infested wetlands into a bird sanctuary.

The Minnesota ecological restoration company mass-planted native grasses such as big bluestem and sedges, bordered by the existing towering cottonwoods.

Smith tackled the perimeter, packing it with 150 varieties of wildflowers, butterfly weed, blue wild indigo and other natives he found at Prairie Moon Nursery and Landscape Alternatives.

One day, Smith was standing in the restored wetlands, gazing up at the house, when he envisioned his garden blueprint. The previous owner had laid a long boulder wall to divide the yard from the wetlands.

“I had the idea to continue the boulder wall and carve out terrace gardens into the hillside,” he said.

The men ordered truckloads of rocks — so many that a neighbor

Tribune News Service

ZINNIAS ADD bright pops of color to a garden. asked if they were building a castle.

Then their landscaper shaped the rock terraces according to Smith’s design.

Each summer, they dug out sod and planted sections of the multitiered beds, turning them into a harmonious mix of texture, color and form.

“The entire garden is like a symphony,” said Smith, a Julliard graduate who compared the different tiers to a movement in a musical composition.

From the wetlands, flagstone steps climb up to native woodland and perennial beds bursting with bee balm and intense yellow Maximilian sunflowers. Smith also intermixed heirloom cowpeas — a tasty Southern specialty.

Next to the house is a sunny patio filled with more than 50 tropical pots, creating a tranquil setting and “Zone 10 ambience,” said Smith. A potted favorite is the hybrid tea ‘Fragrant Cloud,’ “still considered the most fragrant rose ever,” he said.

The flagstone path guides you to another perennial paradise of cleomes, showy LA lilies (a hybrid cross between Asiatic and Easter lilies) and scores of shrub roses Continued on Page 10

HIBISCUS OFTEN attracts birds.

Indiana Gazette Garden Supplement, Thursday, May 19, 2016 — 9

Fill your garden with these herbs Continued from Page 7 is a classic culinary sage with large gray leaves. It’s a good choice even if you don’t cook with it.

For landscape salvias, try these: Salvia elegans “Golden Delicious” has bright yellow leaves.

Salvia melissodora is grape-scented.

Salvia leucantha “Danielle’s Dream” has pink and white blooms and is especially drought-tolerant.

Salvia chamedryoides “Electric Blue” is a unique and popular sage.

“Ember Wishes” is a new sage that blooms through the fall.

THYME Thymus vulgaris “English Wedgewood” has a delicious flavor. It has wide greenish yellow leaves and pink flowers.

Thymus “Oregano” is a semi-trailing plant that combines the flavors of thyme and oregano.

Thymus longicaulis is also known as turbo thyme. It grows really fast, has large fresh scented leaves and big lavender colored flowers.

LAVENDER Lavandula angustifolia “Hidcote” is a classic lavender for cooking with fresh and for drying. The flowers are deep violet and the

semi-dwarf variety has one of the darkest violet blooms you can find.

Lavandula x intermedia “Phenomenal” is a very sturdy lavender that tolerates fluctuating weather. It survives the heat and the cold, the wet and the dry.

Lavandula “Silver Frost” has silvery white foliage and incredibly deep violet blue blooms.

SAVORY Satureja repens makes a great, fast-growing ground cover.

Thymbra spicata is a spiked savory, also called Za’atar. It is an unusual plant and drought-tolerant.

Satureja thymbra is a pink, spicy evergreen.

VERBENA Aloysia triphylla, also known as lemon verbena, is a favorite of Loveall. It has great flavor that can be used in cooking and for a refreshing tea.

OREGANO Organum vulgare, or Italian oregano, is a classic.

Organum vulgare “Dwarf Greek” has round, fuzzy leaves and a sweet flavor. It is evergreen and can be used as a ground cover.

Organum “Barbara Tingey” frequently is used in crafts.

Organum “Bristol Cross”

high amounts of citronella and can be used as an insect repellent, but it has a soft rose odor.

Pelargonium “Variegated Nutmeg” is easy to grow and does great in containers. It also is one of a few herb that do well in the shade. It can even be grown indoors as a house plant. It has sweet little white flowers and can be reproduced through cuttings.

OTHER HERBS Asclepius fascicularis is not technically considered an herb, but Loveall classifies it as one.

This important plant serves as a food source for the Monarch caterpillars and butterflies.

Phlomis lanata is an evergreen herb that has small leaves and is drought tolerant.

Teucrium ackermanii is a low-growing ground cover that can stand a lot of wear and tear.

Achillea “Pomegranate” is a tough, evergreen ground cover that has gray foliage and bright violet blooms.

Perilla “Magilla” is a great culinary herb that has tricolor foliage.

LAVENDER IS traditionally used to promote calm and relaxation. grows upright to about a foot tall and produces beautiful soft pink flowers that are perfect for drying.

SPEARMINT Mentha spicata “Mojito” is often used to make teas and in entrees.

Mentha “Thai” has a clean flavor and is perfect in Asian dishes.

AGASTACHE Agastache “Purple Haze,” “Golden Glow,” “Lavender

Haze” and “Red Fortune” are all easy to grow and produce beautiful flowers that are very tasty. Hummingbirds love these plants, too. They are native to the Southwest and Mexico, so they appreciate scant water.

PELARGONIUM (GERANIUM) If you like the benefits of citronella but not the strong smell, try Pelargonium “Skeleton Rose.” It contains

POLYWOOD FURNITURE

6256

Pric r cees that will not be beatt.

Beforre yo ou buyy, call a Apollo Suppplly y!

36 Years Experience

Lawn Care & Landscaping Law i

35 HAGENS RO ROAD AD HOMER CITY SALES • SERVICE • PARTS | 814-74 814-749-7197 49-7197

(From (F From Strongstown, Strrongstown, g S. on Rte 403))

A APOLLO POLL LL O S SUPPLY UPPLY APO SUPP

DESIGN | MAINTAIN | INSTALL

724.388.5056 davemilsoplandscaping@gmail.com

10 — Indiana Gazette Garden Supplement, Thursday, May 19, 2016

Couple creates yard that’s for the birds

Continued from Page 8 spilling over a boulder wall.

Dozens of hardy hibiscus grow up to 6 feet tall and deliver massive flowers in August. “Some say Zone 5, but I’ve had success with them,� said Smith.

A final set of stairs leads to a hidden top tier, which Smith called “the crescendo of the garden.�

There, the men often have lunch at a bistro table surrounded by wild prairie roses (the North Dakota state flower), masses of purple Russian sage and coneflowers.

The table is perched at the top of the hill for the best vista of the gardenscape unfolding below. “You look to the west, and the long colorful annual borders are such a surprise,� said Smith.

The gardeners each play a role in the day-to-day and long-term success of their landscape. Leno pitches in with spring and fall cleanup and does all the weeding. “It’s like a Zen activity — I zone out and do it,� he said.

Smith is the passionate grower, designing the beds, picking the

plants, digging the multitudes of holes and adding organic fertilizer.

For big impact, he buys 30 instead of three of one plant variety. “I like the exuberance of it — plants can overlap, and it’s never too much,� he said.

He admits his careful composition can easily turn into “controlled chaos,� with plants appearing in unexpected places. “But I let the volunteers do their own thing,� he said.

Smith and Leno have finally fulfilled their mission of not only growing gorgeous flowers — but also creating an eco-friendly habitat for birds and wildlife. And the icing on the cake is how much fun they have feeding baby bluebirds, orioles and cardinals. They use live mealworms, which are shipped to their home each week. “In the morning, we eat breakfast on the patio and put out mealworms for the birds,� said Leno. “It’s hard to be down in the dumps when you see all the color, birds and activity,� added Smith. “It’s great to be alive.�

Tribune News Service

A SWALLOWTAIL butterfly and a bee competed for space on a cupflower.

)6(& 7"3*&5: 0' 1&3&//*"-4 4UBSUJOH BU $

724.465.5684 .VTTFS(BSEFO$FOUFS DPN t 3PVUF )XZ / *OEJBOa

Summer gardening tips

We C arry Mu lch ,

The Mercury News

Contra Costa Master Gardener Janet Miller, manager at the Our Garden demonstration garden in Walnut Creek, Calif., offers some tips:

& Everything You N eed tone S For ive t a Yo or c ur De

ojects. g Pr pin sca nd La

By JOAN MORRIS

Indiana Gazette Garden Supplement, Thursday, May 19, 2016 — 11

LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION One of the most important things to consider when planting a garden is location. Most summer vegetables need six to eight hours of sun a day, so pick the sunniest place in your yard.

Having the garden close to your home will be a benefit, too. You’re more likely to venture into the garden frequently, which will help you spot issues before they become problems.

SOIL PREP Preparing the soil is important, too.

You can’t grow healthy crops if you don’t have healthy soil. Before starting, consider doing a soil test to see what nutrients may be lacking.

Before planting, loosen the soil with a broad fork, rake the bed and cover the entire bed with 4 inches of compost and add a good organic vegetable fertilizer. Work that into the top 6 inches of your soil, then you’re ready to plant. The thinking on digging beds is changing with research showing that it’s best not to disturb the soil too much. Microbial life that lives 24 inches below the surface doesn’t do as well when it’s moved upward, and microbial life is necessary for a healthy garden. Loosening the soil is a much better option.

Summer vegetables grow so rapidly and produce so much fruit that by the end of the season, the soil is severely depleted of nutrients. Before replanting for the winter, add compost and fertilizer back into the soil.

Never leave beds empty. Even if you decided against growing a summer vegetable garden, or pass on a winter garden, grow a cover crop in the empty beds.

Cover crops consist of grains and legumes. Grains improve tilth, breaking up the earth to make for a better growing medium. Legumes fix nitrogen in the soil.

Cover crops to consider include fava beans, rye, vetch, red clover, sunflowers, amaranth and flint corn.

We often only think of growing cover crops during the winter, but if you want to replenish a bed this summer, considering planting sunflowers. They have deep roots that penetrate the soil and break up the clay, all the plant material is a wonderful source for carbon in the compost pile, and the flowers

“YOUR HARDSCAPE & WATER T FEAATTURE TUR SPECIALISTS” Tribune News Service

LOCATION AND soil preparation are key to getting the most from your garden. will attract pollinators.

You can chop your cover crop and work it into the soil, or cut it down and feed it into your compost pile. Leave the roots, or at least most of them, in the ground. They provide organic material to feed the soil.

Grains can be left in the bed until they are about ready to drop seed.

Legumes should be removed when they are at about 50 percent flower. If the beans are allowed to develop, they start pulling some of the nitrogen back out of the soil.

PLANTING TIPS Choose the right plant at the right time. Vegetables are divided into two categories — warm season and cool season. With few exceptions, you can’t grow warm crops in cool weather, and vice versa. If you’ve had onions that never developed bulbs or broccoli that only grew tall flower spikes, chances are you planted them at the wrong time.

Just because you find the plant in a nursery, Miller says, doesn’t mean it’s the right time to plant it. Learn about plants before buying them.

The most popular warm weather crops include tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, beans, cucumbers and squash, carrots and radishes.

Should you grow in the ground or in raised beds? It really depends on what you want to do. The advantage to raised beds is that you’ll be bringing in soil that already will be full of nutrients. The drawback is raised beds are more expensive if you factor in the cost of materials to build them and to purchase the soil.

There’s no reason you can’t do both.

Grow big summer vegetables, such as

tomatoes, squash and beans, in the ground and root vegetables and smaller plants in raised beds.

Whether they are in the ground or raised, a bed should be 4-5 feet wide, allowing you to easily reach into the bed without having to step inside it and compact the soil. Plants will need beds that are at least 3 feet wide to give plant roots plenty of room.

For decades, home gardens have been modeled on commercial endeavors, which means most of us grew up planting in rows. But, Miller says, the row method was used to accommodate horse-drawn plows and, later, tractors and harvesters — things that are not needed in a home garden.

Forget the rows and plant in a grid.

You can fit more plants into a bed using the grid system.

Think about your garden plot as a chess board where you plant only in the red or black squares. Determine how much space that particular plant needs, then build your grid accordingly.

The benefits to grid planting is that as the plants grow, they shade the soil beneath, preventing wind and water erosion and suppressing weeds in the beds. The plants also grow in a carbon dioxide bubble, creating a rich growing environment.

The Old Farmer’s Almanac calculates that you only need 200 square feet of space to grow enough produce to feed a family of four in a year. Close, grid planting makes that possible, taking advantage of the space you have.

The important thing to remember, however, is that growing many plants in a small space takes a lot of nutrients out of the soil that then need to be replaced.

DIY SEMINARS ON HARDSCAPING Check out our website foor more inffoormation

www w..krevelsupplyy..com

12 — Indiana Gazette Garden Supplement, Thursday, May 19, 2016

FULL EXCAVATION SERVICES t 'PVOEBUJPOT

t %SJWFXBZT

t %FNPMJUJPO

t (SPVOE $MFBSJOH

t 6UJMJUJFT

RETAINING WALLS & S O I T A P

L LLC LC

ͻ ĞĐŽƌĂƟǀĞ WĂǀĞƌƐ Θ ůŽĐŬ ͻ EĂƚƵƌĂů Θ ŽůŽƌĞĚ DƵůĐŚĞƐ ͻ ĞĐŽƌĂƟǀĞ ^ƚŽŶĞ Θ 'ƌĂǀĞů ͻ dŽƉ ^Žŝů ͻ ŽŵƉŽƐƚ ͻ >ŝŵĞƐƚŽŶĞ ;DƵůŝƚƉůĞ ^ŝnjĞƐͿ ͻ ŐƌŝĐƵůƚƵƌĂů >ŝŵĞ ͻ ZŝǀĞƌ ZŽĐŬ ;DƵůƟƉůĞ ^ŝnjĞƐͿ ͻ ^ĂǁĚƵƐƚ ͻ DƵůĐŚ ,ĂLJ ͻ ŽƵůĚĞƌ ZŽĐŬ ͻ ĂƌŶ ^ƚŽŶĞ ͻ Ăůů &ŝĞůĚ Dŝdž ͻ Θ DŽƌĞ͊

Landscaping, Supplies Excavating Exc cavating & Trucking Truckin ϱϬϭ /ŶĚŝĂŶ ^ƉƌŝŶŐƐ ZĚ͘ /ŶĚŝĂŶĂ͕ W ͮ 724-463-0344 ͮ ƌŝƐŶŐĞƌͲŽŶůŝŶĞ͘ĐŽŵ

PA005198

NEED LANDSCAPING SUPPLIES? WE’VE GOT IT ALL!