Lazy gardener, winter edition...

A Little Spring Tease

Photo Courtesy S.C.C.

I love gardens, and I love them even more when they are low maintenance! Last month I gave a tip on how mulching your leaves is much easier and beneficial for your lawn as opposed to raking. Well how about planting bulbs the lazy way?

Everyone is making a mad dash to remove those tender perennials before the heavy freeze. Whether it be elephant ears, garden mums, or a banana tree, here is a great way to save some time if you plant bulbs as well.

One mistake many gardeners make when planting bulbs is they plant them in lines. This usually results in a kind of "blah" spring showing, and leaves holes in the design wherever a "dud" just so happens to not grow. Planting bulbs in bunches is a much more dramatic effect and, if you get a dud or two, none will be the wiser!

A Garden Mum that accomplished its mission.

So why not save yourself some work. As you pull out your perennials or annuals, why not use the existing hole and stuff them with some spring bulbs. This removes a few steps of heavy lifting and less digging! So after you pull the plant, seen here as a mum, just fill the hole with bulbs, cover, and wah-lah! Now your a lazy gardener too!

Existing hole after removing plant, packed with Daffodil bulbs.

If you haven't yet, you better hurry and pull those tender perennials, as it may already be too late! Spring will be here before you know it so why not surprise yourself with some bulbs that will bring a smile to your face, get outside and do some gardening!

Now, its a waiting game. A gardener must have patience.

secrets of the outdoors...

Well the flu season is here, and I have noticed a large reduction of people playing Frisbee by the lake, or reading under a shade tree. This is a sure sign we are in late fall and early winter, when people start to move indoors and the days are shortening. I have a secret that I am certain outdoor enthusiasts will send me hate mail for spilling, but winter is the best time to get outside!

Every spring I visit Shaw's Nature Reserve, and I am always awed by the beauty of Missouri's natural areas greening up from the warming temperatures and soaking rains. Its really a beautiful sight, and sometimes you can get a beautiful panoramic view between the hundreds of visitors that had the same idea as you. Now I visit this area during the winter, and I am often the only visitor there, and because the trees are free from leaves, your view is unobstructed for miles so you can see the once hidden creatures of the forests, and this time of year you can experience thousands of migrating birds flowing like waves through the prairies.

Although, use caution, as fall and winter are also months of hunting season, so be sure the area you are visiting is not a permitted hunting area, the Missouri department of Conservation and the Missouri State Parks database are great tools to find areas safe from hunting. Keep in mind, if you are a photographer, you can hunt anywhere, and shoot as much as you want!

Winter is also a great time to visit tourist locations that are often overcrowded. I always wince when I drive by the Saint Louis Zoo on the hottest day in July and see the parking lot filled to the brim. The best time to visit the zoo is during the winter, I always visit during the winter and have never experienced a line, and have always gotten a close up view of everything without the hustle and bustle of competing crowds. Zoo specimens also tend to relax during the hot days of summer, so during the winter you actually get to see the animals moving about and enjoying the cool air!

The Missouri Botanical Garden is a attraction I visit multiple times throughout the year, and it is often neglected through the winter months. There is so much to learn about horticulture throughout the winter, and the Missouri Botanical Garden's grounds under a fresh blanket of snow is a sight to behold.

Free yourself from the bounds and walls of the indoors this winter and enjoy the fresh winter air, it really makes you appreciate hot chocolate that much more!

tree campus usa?

Photo Courtesy S.C.C.

Just sat down to write my weekly blog after a hard days work picking up and delivering over 150 trees. These trees came from the Missouri Project ReLeaf organization that is also tied in with Missouri Communitree and the Missouri Forest Keepers. The program is umbrellaed by the Missouri Department of Conservation. These trees are grown and sold at a reduced price for special reforestation projects and non-for-profit organizations. To learn more about the program, and/or volunteer for the organization, click here. I have not done any volunteer work for them in a long time, so spend some time with me next spring helping them with their planting!

Well if you have not heard yet, I would like to announce that St. Charles Community College is pursuing becoming a Certified Tree Campus USA through the Arbor Day Foundation. A Tree Advisory Committee has been established and working diligently to prepare us so that we meet the requirements of the certification and help raise awareness of the college urban forest and its importance as a resource for the community. I would personally like to thank Jennifer O'Malley, Assistant Professor of Biology, Students; Samantha Britton and Samantha Pace, Tracy Powers, Science Lab Coordinator, Mark Grueber, Urban Forester, and Perry Eckhardt, community citizen and Urban Forester. Without their dedication and ambition to be stewards of our urban forest and our learning environment for our students, this would never be possible. Thank you!

The committee has arranged a celebration event to kick off the program. The event is Friday, November 19, at 3:00 PM, rain, snow, or shine. We will be planting our first tree with the committee, have a Missouri Department of Conservation Urban Forester give a talk on tree care, and plant some trees, twenty in total, in various areas around the campus. Please feel free to join us in front of the Learning Resource Building! There will be Hot Cocoa and Coffee provided courtesy of the Plaza Bistro and Student Activities! We also expect some special guests as well! Come plant a tree with us!

Money Tree...

S.C.C. Letting the sun in on the snow.

Photo courtesy S.C.C.

I can almost hear my grandmother say it to me today, as if I were a child, "Money doesn't grow on trees." My Grandmother knew a lot of things, but she got this one, partially, wrong. Trees can make us money, and save us money too! As the cold dark winter approaches, there are some tree planting ideas that can save on our energy usage.

We all know the sun rises in the east, and sets in the west. This path is mostly in the southern hemisphere, especially in the winter. Allowing your house to be naturally heated on the south face, will save on heating costs and energy usage. Also, allowing this natural light into your house will reduce the need for artificial lighting, also a cost and energy savings! So how can you accomplish this with a tree?

If you plant a deciduous tree on the south side of your home, it will shade your house in the summer, helping keep it cool and reduce your air conditioning needs, but in the fall when it loses its leaves, will open up and allow the sunlight to pass through onto your home! Its kind of like natures automatic window shade!

I you plant evergreens or trees that keep their foliage through the winter on your North-west and North sides of your home, it will act as a wind break through the winter, insulting your home reducing heating costs and energy use! These trees also help with privacy issues so you can let your curtains open more often and let the natural sunlight in, reducing your artificial light needs! Its a winning situation all the way around!

Keep in mind the future of your tree as well. It will not stay small for long, be sure to choose the right location and the right tree where there are no conflicts with structures, walkways, power lines, or any potential dangerous scenario! Many trees have found themselves facing the chainsaw due to neglecting the fact that trees do grow!

The time is now, to get outside, and plant a beautiful tree that will give you years of awards and enjoyment, while saving some money to boot!