Another opinion

This week I got another opinion on the design. It was cheap - he literally just drew over the other design with his ideas. He had some good ideas and it was more or less what I was after. Here are his annotations:

Design 2

These are his comments from top left to bottom right (roughly):

1. In place of the Bottlebrush Buckeye, he suggested Burkwood Viburnum or a Burning Bush because he didn't think there'd be enough light.
2. Same for Japanese Anemone for which he suggested pink Astilbe instead (labeled "1").
3. He wasn't thrilled about the Dogwood tree, and instead suggested a Rosebud Tree.
4. He agree with heavily trimming up the existing viburnum.
5. He was unsure about the Blackeyed Susans (labeled "2") getting enough light. Instead he suggested Gayfeather.
6. Likewise with the Cransebill 'Rozanne' (labeled "3") in place of which he suggested Stella Daylily.
7. He agreed with getting rid of the existing spirea bush (replacing with endless summer hydrangea).
8. He suggested putting the hydrandea bushes around the corner and to not have the one out away from the house (he 'X'ed it out in the design). I agree.
9. In front of the hydrangeas (labeled "4"), he suggested planting white Astilbe (7). He said it would in with the pink Astilbe. I like it.
10. In front of those around the curve (labeled "5"), he suggested planting 8 hostas. I'm not sure I like this idea. And I'm also a little concerned with the area under the tree not having much winter interest.
11. He didn't like the idea of the Liatris 'Kobold' in front of the window (labeled "A", previously "4") and instead suggested planting 3 Blue Holly bushes (which actually was what was there before I ripped them up earlier this year).
12. In front of those (labeled "2/7"), he suggested either Stella D'ora Daylily or Sedum 'Autumn Joy'.
13. In front of those (labeled "6"), he suggested Myrtle Vinca ground-cover. I'm tot sure about this.
14. And finally, an alternative to the the barberry is a single bush of either Globe Blue Spruce or Euonymos along with "summer color" annuals (labled "B"). Euonymos is what is on the other side of the sidewalk so that would tie into those, so I'm leaning in that direction.

And that's it. I wish I could have had a completely fresh design instead of just modifying the existing one, but it was one of the ways that I was able to get it for cheaper - I got what I paid for, I suppose.

I still don't feel 100% confident in everything, but I do think it's closer to what I had in mind, so I think the rest is up to me. What I feel the most confident about is the Hydrangeas, so I think this weekend I'll get to work on removing the existing bush on the corner and plant some Hydrangeas (I still have the potted one that my mom gave me)!

Trying insecticidal soap

This is now my third try at getting rid of the bristly rose slugs and I had hoped that it wouldn't come to this as I generally don't like using insecticide if I don't have to. But, yeah, I had to - they just annoy me that much. I went out and purchased some that said that it will kill rose slugs (sawfly larva) and ended up buying this:

Garden Safe Insecticidal Soap

Yesterday I sprayed it over all of the leaves (tops and bottom). I found some slugs on it and made sure that the product was working - it seemed to. However, today I still found more... go figure. I don't have a plan D, so I'm really hoping that this works. I think it will.

The knockout rose bushes look to be growing some new branches, so soon there'll be some fresh new unchewed leaves. The hybrid tea is done blooming and will hopefully soon do the same as well.

Flour as brislty rose slug remedy = fail

As already reported, I have continued to find more bristly rose slugs on the rose bushes after experimenting with the "flour attack". Unfortunately, I must say that this approach has failed. It's time for a new battle plan yet again; this time I think I will give insecticidal spray a try.

No pictures as I think my last post is enough for a lifetime.

Crabgrass at bay

It appears that the crabgrass preventer that I applied earlier this year has done it's job well! I have not found any crabgrass anywhere in the lawn, except for along the very edge along the road and in a few places along the sidewalk.

Young crabgrass (the light green in the middle) growing on the
 edge of the sidewalk.

Crabgrass along the road in my neighbors yard (not ours). The seeds
had better stay over there!

I'm very pleased as I was expecting that my tearing up the lawn last year likely spread a lot of crabgrass seeds around. If it continues that none grows in the middle of lawn, I'll be extremely happy. Our lawn is small enough that I can hand pick any that pops up as long as it's not in huge numbers.

Rose bush is in bloom!

All three rose buds have finally bloomed! And the blooms are absolutely beautiful. The color is absolutely stunning. See for yourself:

Crescendo rose blossom

If only something didn't take bites out of the bud before it bloomed. I don't know what it was, but I did find a bristly rose slug on one once...

Veggie tales: Yet another guest post

The veggies are growing! Sort of. The tomato plant has stretched up beyond the deck railing, and has begun to bud in several places...

(Poor image quality due to A's DIY photography.)

And the sugar peas have grown in swarms, latching on to everything around them, including P's daisy leaves, one of which is now strangled by a pea vine...

The lettuce is a bit behind its neighbor veggies' pace, but it seems the seeds didn't mind my haphazard planting methods too much, because it, too, has grown.

(Ok, except for that front middle pot.)

But the tomatoes and peas aren't going to be happy much longer if I don't make a contraption that will help them grow upward rather than sideways, and P is trying to make me take responsibility for my own project this time, so it looks like I will be heading off to Lowes or a Ma & Pop Garden Shop sometime this week. That's bound to be an adventure...

Thanks for tuning in. Back to you, P! 

Fed up with rose slugs

I've had it. After nearly 2 weeks of squashing bristly rose slugs on the rose bushes every singly day, I can't take it anymore. One time I found 5 of them on a single leaf - they were extremely small and must have just hatched. When were the eggs laid?? I'd like to have a "chat" with the mother sawflies (the bristly rose slugs adult stage of life). They just keep coming and it's driving me nuts. An article on the subject by Fine Gardening Magazine says:

Depending on the species, there can be one to many generations each year -- one for the European rose slug, at least two for the curled rose slug, and six for the bristly rose slug. 

Six?! So does this mean that they lay eggs six times throughout the year? A month? I don't quite understand, but it doesn't sound very exciting to me either way.

So, naturally, it's time for a new battle plan. One of the "solutions" for fending off the rose slugs that I found on a forum suggested sprinkling flour on the leaves of the plant and then rising it off after 24 hours. Information on this approach is basically non-existent and I saw several posts of people saying they would try it and report back, but never did. I only found one person who actually claimed it worked. And apparently, that's enough for me, or maybe I'm just a little crazy, but I decided to do a little experiment to see for myself if it works. So, I did.

On Wednesday, I took the bin of flour outside and threw it all over the all three rose bushes (both the tops of the leaves and I also tried to throw it up from a low position to get underneath them as well).

Rose bush covered with flour

Then the next day I hosed them off (the flour was surprisingly difficult to get off)...

So, did it work? I did a quick hunt today to see if I could find any. I only searched the new rose bush and found...... two of them - largeish ones:

Large bristly rose slugs

I couldn't notice from a distance, but while taking photos of them, I realized that they were actually still munching on the leafs even after I pulled them off! It turned out to actually be rather interesting to observe, so I also took some video:

I'd say I caught them in the act! Just watching the video makes me feel angry...

It is worthy to note that I didn't find any small ones, which is typically what I have been finding lately. These two must have evaded my previous hunts. It's possible that these two were large enough to be able to survive the "flour attack", while the small ones can't? It's hard to say, because I have no idea how throwing flour all over a plant is supposed to get rid of these things, but I also don't really care as long as it works.

So, the final verdict is still out. I'll see if any more show up in the coming days.

A landscape design

Recently, I hired a professional landscape designer to help with redoing some of the landscaping in the front yard. Visual design is not one of my strong points and since this is our home and also an investment we decided to hire some help with it.

First, I'll explain the problem. I have touched on it when I was spreading mulch and, of course, the recent landscape alteration which is really what spurred this endeavor since a large area was wiped clean of all vegetation. Much of the shrubs on the South and South-East corner of our house are old and overgrown - they just don't look very good and for a while I have been thinking about what I could do to about it. Ultimately, I think the best thing solution is to replace them, but with what? And so, here we are.

This is the design (click to enlarge):

Landscape design

And the list of the new plants with links to an image search for visuals of them:

• Crimson Pygmy Barberry
• Boxwood 'Green Velvet'
• Hydrangea 'Endless Summer'
• Bottlebrush Buckeye
• Dogwood
• Japanese Anemone
• Blackeyed Susans
• Cranesbill 'Rozanne'
• Liatris 'Kobold'
• Sedum 'Angelina'

Overall, the design is a lot more plant-y than I was expecting. I thought it would blend better with the existing landscaping, but it seems quite different. In general, I like it, but I'm also hesitant.

I really like the hydrangeas around the corner of the house. I also think that the Blackeyed Susans would be really nice as well as the other plants in that area: Cranesbill, Japanese Anemone, and Bottlebrush Buckeye.

What I'm most unsure about is the line of Boxwoods under the tree. I have a hard time envisioning it, but it just seems too linear and similar to the bushes we have now. I think I'll have to see if I can get an alternative idea for that area - perhaps just having fewer of them and more separated?

Of course nothing is set in stone yet and I'm sure they can give me some other options for some of the plants. I'm very anxious to get started on this project, but I also don't want to rush it.

Uncertainty about Certainty

Well, it has been a little over 3 weeks after the second application of Certainty herbicide, and I wish I could say that the lawn is now free of tall fescue, but it's not! It's really difficult for me to tell what exactly happened this time around. One thing is for sure: there are many more dead patches of grass now than before the second application:

Things don't look much different from my last update, except that the grass seems to be beginning to grow again (not as evident in the photos, but is in real life). What really irks me are the remaining patches of the ugly lighter-color, faster-growing grass. Perhaps this isn't tall fescue and I have misidentified it? I very open to that possibility, but it sure looks like it. Maybe I was too aggressive in thinking it would take only two applications?

In any case, the question now is what to do next? A third application? Pull the rest by hand? Or another option is to use RoundUp. I can't find it now, but when I was researching options a while back, I found a forum post with a rather intriguing solution: take advantage of the fact that tall fescue grows faster and use a sponge to apply RoundUp to it. I like the idea, but wonder how feasible it really is in practice.

One thing I must say, the area that I pulled by hand is looking excellent these days. Perhaps part of the reason is because I haven't applied the growth-stunting herbicide to it, but also there isn't any tall fescue that I can see in it and the Kentucky bluegrass has filled in the patches where I pulled it up - it makes me feel good about the tedious effort I put into that.

At this point, I'm leaning toward giving the grass a rest from the herbicide and perhaps giving the RoundUp on a sponge approach a try. I'm going to give it a week or so and see how things start looking as the herbicide wears off a bit more. Overall I'm very satisfied with how things have turned out, and the lawn is in a much better state now for going forward with my grand plan. There really isn't that much tall fescue left - it is sparse and the larger areas that were causing the obvious color contrasting with the new grass is now dead and that problem appears to be fixed. Perhaps the remaining tall fescue is a variety that the herbicide isn't as effective against, or maybe it's not tall fescue at all! Either way, one way or another I'm going to kill it.

Adventures In Birding: A new blog

I'm pleased to announce that I have created a new "sister blog" for what appears to be my new hobby of birding. It is called Adventures In Birding and will feature my nature/bird-related posts, thus keeping this blog more focused on gardening-related things.

Enjoy!

I spoke way too soon

I spoke way too soon on two accounts:

1) The mole. Wouldn't you know it, I noticed a new mole tunnel in the backyard just yesterday, albeit a short one, but one nonetheless. So much for the cat theory - I was rooting for that one!

But of far more concern to me...

2) The bristly rose slugs are back with a vengeance and on all THREE rose bushes, including and especially the newly planted one:

Damage from young bristly rose slugs on our new rose bush.

Needless to say, THIS MEANS WAR! (again). I overturned just about every single leaf on the new bush and killed over 40 of them by hand (yes, I counted). Most of them were very small. On the other bushes I found less, but still plenty (10 or less on each).  I'm more tempted now to use a insecticidal soap (or maybe try the flour approach), although, in turning over every leaf, I saw just how many other little critters have made the bush their home and I'd prefer not to kill everything on the plant. For now, my battle plan is to have several waves of slug hunts for the next couple of days to see if I can get them all by hand.

Mole update

Long ago I posted about a mole I was battling with in the backyard. I never ended up taking any action other than stomping down their tunnels which lasted for several days and then on and off for a few weeks after that. It never because a huge problem, thankfully. We have several stray cats that meander around our neighborhood and sometimes I wonder if one of them may have taken care of business - just a guess as I have no idea. I did notice this publication on moles on the Purdue Turfgrass Program publications page that I hadn't seen before. It's an interesting read. In it I learned that moles aren't rodents, and that the most effective way to control them is by using a trap such as a harpoon trap. It also states that most other methods aren't very effective, particularly the electronic "ultrasonic" devices, which it says are completely ineffective. It does say that dogs and cats may also keep them at bay.

Eastern Phoebe babies

The Eastern Phoebe babies have grown very quickly and I imagine will soon be leaving the nest. I always freak out the parents when I photograph them...

Baby Eastern Phoebes

It's no wonder they grow so fast (although, at the same time still full of wonder). The parents catch bugs for them all day long. Here's another shot of the mom or dad (not sure how to distinguish them):

And this turned out to be an interesting shot as it started flying just as I took the photo:

Eastern Phoebe in flight

Rose Buds

It looks like there are now three buds on the rose bush:

I think the bush is beautiful even without flowers!

Barred Owl on video

The barred owl was out again tonight, so this time I got my camera and tripod out and managed to capture it on video:

A few days ago it was hooting quite a bit; I was hoping it would tonight, but it didn't. I have about 5 minutes more of footage that I'll put up here later.

The rest of the video (a bit more difficult to see as the sun was going down):

Daisies transplanted

It's been a while since I've posted progress on the daisy grow kit. I was a bit later than the directions called for, but I finally transplanted the daisies from the daisy grow kit to a larger pot. The plant was wanting to grow bigger, but just couldn't in the pot it was in. Once I got it out of the pot, I could see that the roots were very thick at the bottom. So now they have a new home in a pot on our back deck:

Daisies in new pot.

I hope that they are happier with the extra space, and also with more sun light being outside (still not exactly full sun, though). I'll be happy if just one of them blooms - I'm not quite sure how long it's supposed to take for that, but we'll see.

Backyard grass: eh

Well, I'm just not too impressed with how the backyard grass project has turned out. And that's ok, it was more or less an experiment. But, also I haven't completely given up hope. I have read that fine fescue can be very slow to establish and I have also seen that first hand with the Kentucky bluegrass in the front yard project as it took all of last fall and this spring to become established.

My last update on the backyard grass was April 26th, so looking back you can sort of compare. I think there has definitely been improvement since then. Here are a few photos from today:

And some closeups:

Fine fescue (patches)

Fine fescue thickening up

Kentucky bluegrass? More of this grass.

It looking a lot better where the new seed took, but the problem is that there are many patches where the new seed didn't take at all resulting in completely bare patches. I wonder if one of the reasons that this may have occurred is because we got a lot of heavy rain before the seeds germinated as this may have moved the seeds from the more bare areas. I don't know, but it looks fairly green back there, and that's good enough for me (for now). We'll see if it continues to improve.

The lawn looks terrible

The front lawn isn't looking so good, and to me that's a good thing. We're about 2 weeks into the second Certainty herbicide application, and about 6 weeks after the first application. Here's a few photos from today (mowed yesterday):

Looking thin.

A closeup. This is a common sight: a bit of living tall fescue
 surrounded by bare patches of dead and/or dying tall fescue (and
Kentucky bluegrass, of course).

The photos make it look worse than it looks in reality, but there are definitely some rather large patches of bare grass now - which I think shows the extent of the problem. Soon the grass should begin recovering as it did roughly 3 weeks after the first application, but hopefully only the Kentucky bluegrass this time!

Death to bristly rose slugs

Sometimes a gardener must go to war in order to protect his plants. I know that bristly rose slugs don't deserve to die, however, neither do our rose bushes, so one or the other must go: bristly rose slug or rose bush? Hm. The next day after my post I went on a hunt for as many slugs as I could find on the plant and surprisingly I only found about 5 on one and not one on the other. I'm thinking that I may have had some help from the birds as I noticed a few small feathers in one of them - more power to them! I hope they enjoyed a tasty treat, because I didn't get much enjoyment out of squishing them, except that they won't be doing any more damage to the helpless rose bushes any more. I think this little pest problem is solved for now, so I guess I don't need to try the flour approach - oh well, maybe next time. I'll certainly be keeping a close eye on them, though.