The Battle Begins

     Part of what I provide clients is an all-organic lawn service for those with small children or pets -- or who just hate the idea of filling their yards with chemicals. More about this down the road. For now it is enough to know that the only organic weed killer is pre-emergent. It does not kill established weeds. It only kills weed seeds when they germinate. Therefore timing is important. Spread too early or too late, the stuff is considerably less effective. One indicator that the time is right is the sight of crocus in bloom.


     What struck me a few days ago, after all my rantings about global warming, is that spring might actually come early this year. If bulbs are popping up, other plants are stirring as well, including weeds. It never occurred to me that I would actually have to start work in February. The weed killer is corn gluten, and I had used up every bag I had last fall. Last year's supplier had since gone belly up, and I had not been in touch with most of my clients since December.


     Pretending not to panic, I lurched to the phone on Thursday morning. I found a supplier, who told me I had exactly 3 minutes to make an order if I wanted to make the next shipment. I was able to pick up the shipment the following day and notify my clients the day after that. This morning I found the first crocus bloom in my yard.


     Who says there is no suspense in landscaping?

Tennis Anyone?

Oops! I  spoke too soon. It is supposed to get to 52 degrees today. This is turning into an unbelievable winter. Since December 1 over 35 days have experienced highs over 40 degrees. A number of observations can be made about this:


     The Farmer's Almanac is once again wrong. It had predicted an exceptionally severe winter. But we can be assured that the superstitious will forget this fact by April 1 so that they can believe in next year's predictions.


     What we are feeling also makes the global-warming-deniers sound more and more like holocaust deniers. Since watching the ice caps melt and noticing the decline in the polar bear population does not seem to work, maybe playing tennis in Chicago in January will help. There are none so blind as those who will not see.


     I grew up 230 miles due west of Chicago. I had a paper route when I was about 12 years old. The first January I had it the low temperature on one day reached -50 degrees. Average winter temperatures in Iowa are about 10 degrees colder than they are here. Still, how many days do we get that even hit 0 any more?


     Over the last fifteen years or so I have noticed that more and more plants that once were "borderline" in Chicago now thrive here, especially on the south side. My admittedly anecdotal observations have now been reinforced by the US Department of Agriculture. They have just published a new hardiness zone map. In it much of the US has moved up half a zone. that includes us in Chicago. We have gone from 5b to 6a. This is good news for those of us who want to see more hydrangea and rhododendron species and more flowering plants in general. It is not such good news for plants happy in zone 4 who need a good blast of cold air in winter to stay healthy and propagate.


     Meanwhile my bulbs are popping up once more. I hope they have some energy left by March and April.

Not Too Warm Any More

      Winter was gracious enough to leave Chicago alone for the most part in December. Now it is payback time. Whenever we can break away from slippery streets and snow shovels, though, it is worth a pause to enjoy a whole new perspective on our gardens. This is the winter view from the back door of our old house. Even a tiny urban lot can seem magical if laid out with care.

Too Warm/

     This photo shows some wonderful spring bulbs popping up -- in DECEMBER! In Chicago and throughout much of the country late fall and early winter temperatures have been exceptionally high. Since bulbs get their cues from changes in temperature, they have been fooled into thinking it is spring and sending up shoots 3-4 months early. A number of clients have called asking what they should do. The simple answer is "Nothing." the bulbs are wasting a bit of their energy by sending these shoots up too soon, but they will stop when colder weather arrives and we should still get flowers next spring.

     What might be helpful is a further layer of mulch once the weather gets substantially colder. Whatever you do, do not add mulch now. That will only delay the cooling of the soil and make things worse. the purpose of putting down mulch later is to keep the soil cold longer.It will keep the bulbs asleep longer through some of those false springs we get in February and prevent them wasting more energy before bloom time.

Too Warm?

Autumn Leaves

I am just finishing up fall cleanup for my clients and see scenes like this one all over. What a waste! with a good mulching mower all these leaves can be chewed up and left in the yard to decompose over the winter and fertilize lawn and flower beds next spring. I have to bag up leaves for some clients with gardens too small to absorb all the leaves from neighboring trees, but most people, even those with heavily wooded lots, can put all their leaves to good use, rather than clogging a landfill somewhere.

More on Bulbs

crocus

Many bulbs "naturalize," meaning that once they are planted they will reproduce and spread on their own. Once you have planted a few thousand of them, you will fully appreciate this feature. Those gorgeous tulips you have always admired, however, do not have this virtue. Even when fertilized annually tulips gradually lose their strength and eventually die out altogether.. For this reason, many public gardens treat tulips as annuals and replant them every year.
Most bulbs, however, will return every spring and give you years of pleasure.




     One difficulty with planting in the autumn is that you find yourself putting plant morsels into the ground just a squirrels are beginning to dig similar morsels out. Squirrels are not terribly fond of daffodils or grape hyacinth, but they do enjoy a tasty tulip or crocus bulb. Lazy gardeners like me find ourselves liking what squirrels don't. Those willing to do battle can plant their bulbs more deeply than recommended in the instructions. Your can also use one-inch chicken wire or a tough plastic netting to discourage digging. This can be laid after the bulbs are planted and then covered with a layer of mulch. When the first spring shoots appear, it is easy to lift the netting up through the remaining mulch and let your bloomers grow unimpeded.