Posted: Thu Jun 23, 2011 10:45 pm (GMT 0)

a big weed ( photo / image / picture from Kay’s Garden )







I found this growing in my flower bed earlier this spring. I had amended the soil with some compost from my work. Our shop is on an old dairy farm, and we pulverize the mounds of manure to use in planting etc.

It was a very nice healthy plant, no bugs, nothing wrong at all, with the exception of being illegal…

It was hard for me to destroy such a pretty plant. Oh well, had to be done.

It grows wild all over in Nebraska. We just don’t pick it, or grow it in our gardens, if we are smart that is…

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By Allyn Paul,

Did you know that wives and lawns are one-in-the-same? I do because I’ve got an ex-wife, and ex-lawn; and a wonderful current wife and wonderful current lawn!
Let’s talk about the “ex’s” first

My ex lawn: when I got it, it was in horrible shape. It had never been cared for or fed or watered. It was riddled with weeds and flattened out.
Same with my ex wife! (no more needs to be said LOL)
I worked hard on my ex-lawn. I talked to it, cuddled it, watered it and nourished it until it was plump and prissy and the envy of the neighbors!
Same with my ex wife! (no more needs to be said LOL)
However, there came a time when I began to neglect my ex-lawn and it headed on the down-turn … fast! So I sold my ex-lawn and it has a new owner. My ex-lawn still looks terrible and got what it deserved. It’s old and weathered and in bad shape physically.
Same with my ex-wife … ‘nuff said! (It cost me a lot to get rid of her, lemme tell ya! LOL)

My current lawn: I love it. It is always beautiful and stands at attention when I walk by.
My current wife: I love her. She is always beautiful and gets down on her knees when I am around … she says, “Come out from under that bed and face me like a man you bum!” LOL
She takes no crap from me!

On the serious side, lawns are a lot like wives.
Generally speaking, your lawn will tell you when it needs your attention, but you have to pick up on the signs. If you have not fed and watered it properly, it will crunch and lay flat when you walk on it … it will take on a dull gray color that says, “If you don’t get me what I need quick, I’m gonna go dormant on you.”
Your (my) wife is the same way. She needs love and attention. She needs her feet rubbed at night before bed. She needs to know you care. If you, as the husband, don’t put in the time and effort required to make your marriage work, your wife will clam up and go “dormant” on you. You have to learn to pick up on the subtle hints too.
Just last week, my wife said, “I’m busy working, so the laundry is gonna get done on Tuesday instead of today, ok?”
I missed the sign that day. It was up to me to figure out that I should throw a couple loads in Sunday during the Bears game. I missed the hint and she went “dormant” on me for a couple days. It’s my fault, really…I know better! LOL
I know you’re thinking, “This sounds like some heavy, dripping, drivel, from a bad episode of the Dr. Phil Show,” …but it is true. Just ask a guy who has an ex-wife, ex-lawn and a current wife and current lawn!

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These Pelargoniums have damage from too many sub-freezing nights. New growth can be seen emerging from the center of the plant. Image by Gardenipedia.

STEP 1:  CLEAN-UP YOUR ACT

The first step is to clean up the garden bed.  Remove any weeds that may already have emerged, throw out any rocks you see lying around (unless you want them there), clean-up debris, and use your trusty pruning shears to remove all dead growth from plants.  But hold on!  If you see any green on any of the “dead” growth you’re cutting, you may just be pruning dormant branches so be careful.   It is vital that you clean up all the dead growth as this can harbor diseases and insects that may affect the new, green growth emerging from plants.

The Pelargonium cleaned up. Notice I left the dead leaves in there. They will eventually break down and add much needed organic matter into the soil. Image by Gardenipedia.com

STEP 2: ADDING THE GOOD STUFF.

Whenever I work in a garden bed; whether its cleaning up or adding a plant or something else, I like to take the opportunity to add compost to the area.  You can add compost that you made yourself or go to your local garden center and buy the stuff in bags.  If your flowers all died in winter, till the compost into the soil to a depth of about one to two feet.  This will give a good growing medium to new plants.  If some of your perennials are still ticking, however, you may want to top dress instead, as tilling the compost into the soil is bound to damage the roots of the plants.  Compost helps add nutrients to the soil, but more importantly, it helps to give the soil a good structure (I’ll be going into this in a future post).

The flower bed with a compost top-dressing. Make sure not to cover new growth as this may suffocate the crown of the plant, killing it. Image by Gardenipedia.com

STEP 3: INDULGE IN A LITTLE SHOPPING SPREE.

This is the time to add the new flowers.  If you’re doing this when it is still cold outside, make sure that the plants you choose can withstand the wide temperature fluctuations of late-winter and early-spring.  I won’t be going into planting specifics in this post as each plant has its own requirements, but you can ask your local garden center for help when you buy the plants.  If your flower bed still has last year’s survivors and they are coming along slowly, you can still indulge in a little shopping by giving them some companions in the new year (assuming that there is still space in the garden bed, you don’t want to suffocate the plants).   The new companions will give a little show while last years plants come back to full force.

I added Osteospermum to the garden bed to grow in some of the bigger gaps between some of last year’s Pelargonium. Make sure not to harm the roots of the established plants. Image by Gardenipedia.com

STEP 4: MUCLH AWAY

Add landscape mulch to your beds for a clean look, to help retain moisture in the ground, to add nutrients over time to the ground, and to to control weeds.  Try to stay away from synthetic mulches, such as rubber, as it does not offer much nutritional benefits to plants.  Also, stay away from mulches like Cypress mulch which are made from slow growing trees, pick mulches from tree farms or fast growing tree varieties.  A 1-2″ layer of mulch is generally good.  Be carefull not to suffocate new growth under the mulch.  After your finish muclhing clean up your tools, put yard trash away, and enjoy your refurbished landscape bed.  They should look like winter was never here.

The finished mailbox flower bed. The Pelargoniums, still barely visible in between newer plants, will take over the show in a month or two. Image by Gardenipedia.com

If you have any questions, please feel free to ask in the comments.

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