Weed Control

Last week I watched a gardener battling overgrown honeysuckle vines grown onto a privet hedge, through chain link fence, and even though cut back to their trunks were inextricably meshed with the fence. This occurred from years of neglect.

Weed control is key to having a handsome landscape. Gardens are lost in weeks, especially this time of year, without care. Keep weeds at bay.

Amur Honeysuckle

Lawn Weeds

Herbicides are very effective at controlling weeds, however they are toxic. Don’t use them around children, pets or edible plants. On sloping properties they will wash into rivers and streams, affecting the food chain. We have chosen to simply keep our lawn mowed and not treat with any toxic herbicides. When weeds are mowed as part of a lawn, they become part of the green carpet that is your turf.

The best weed control for turf is to maintain thick healthy grass through proper mowing, fertilizing and watering. Foot traffic, pets, rocks, low organic content in the soil, or shade can cause weed problems. Correct these situations by aerating or tilling the soil, amending with a layer of compost.

Many lawn weeds can be pulled by hand. Dandelions, when young and tender, are at their best for making wine and salads. If you use them, you might not have enough in your lawn, so get permission to harvest your neighbor’s lawn too.

Chicory roots can be pulverized for a coffee substitute and purslane is edible. The red, fleshy stems, thick succulent leaves and small yellow flowers of this plant can be eaten in salads or cooked.

NOTE: Before eating any weed, be sure to get a positive identification from a garden center, plant clinic, or Cooperative Extension Service. A thorough text on this subject is “Eat the Weeds” by Ben Charles Harris (Keats Publishing, 1995). Also check out Eat The Weeds and other things, too by Green Deane, www.eattheweeds.com/welcome-to-eattheweeds-com. Be certain any weed you eat has not been treated with herbicides or insecticides.

Kudzu or Porcelainberry

Weeds in Garden Beds

Best approach to weeds in planting beds – pull them when they’re young. That’s our preference. Every time you pass your beds, pluck some. Trees can begin as weeds and go unnoticed until they’re firmly rooted and difficult to pull.

If actively growing weeds are invasive, the most effective herbicide is glyphosate. This non-selective herbicide will kill any plant it contacts. Reportedly, it biodegrades quickly, and can safely be sprayed over roots of mature shade trees to control poison ivy, porcelainberry, or mile-a-minute weed. Read and follow labeled instructions, and apply glyphosate very carefully, even if it means putting it on weeds with a cotton swab or paintbrush. A gust of wind while you’re spraying could blow the spray onto ornamentals. I will only use glyphosate in extreme situations.

Nutsedge, Oxalis & Ground Ivy In Planting Bed

Vinegar has been approved by the EPA as a safe, non-toxic, non-selective weed killer. It burns and kills foliage it contacts. It’s very effective when weeds are saturated.

After you’ve gotten your weeds under control, apply Preen Organic (corn gluten) for a safe pre-emergent herbicide that will discourage weeds from germinating.

Information and advice on herbicides is available from:

• Environmental Protection Agency, www.epa.gov

• Cooperative Extension System, www.csrees.usda.gov

Mulch is a practical method of controlling weeds without using chemicals. Materials that can be laid in beds as protective coverings will reduce evaporation, prevent erosion and control weeds. Use compost, straw, salt hay, pine bark nuggets, shredded hardwood bark, shredded pine bark, wood chips, newspapers or landscape fabric. I prefer organic, partially composted materials.

Put a 1” veneer of your favorite ornamental mulch on top to provide a clean unified appearance in your garden.

©2012 Joel M. Lerner

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Ticks, Lyme Disease And You

Reporting for WTOP radio, Amy Hunter (www.wtop.com) sited a study on Lyme disease in the United States, the most extensive field study ever undertaken here. Results were released February 2, 2012, published in the “American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.”

Residents of the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states run the highest risk of contracting it. Primarily carried by a minute deer tick (Ixodes scapularis), hardly noticeable on your skin, it measures a sixteenth to eighth inch long, and transmits a bacterial infection (Borrelia burgdorferi). Deer are the most common host of adults. Another are mice.

This study found the South virtually Lyme disease free, according to Dr. Maria A. Diuk-Wasser, lead author of the study. “We can’t completely rule out the existence of Lyme disease in the South,” she says, “but it appears highly unlikely.” Cases reported there were only in individuals who traveled to areas with high infection rates. Study the Lyme Disease Human Risk Map (http://commonhealth.wbur.org/2012/02/ultimate-lyme-disease-map) to ascertain your vulnerability and amount of protection you require against this disease.

I’ve had these arthropods crawling on me, digging in for a blood meal. Fortunately I’ve not had any on me long enough to cause Lyme disease. Studies indicate that infected ticks must feed for at least 24 hours before they pose a risk. The best defense is thoroughly checking your body after walking or playing in areas where ticks dwell.

Where there are deer, there are ticks and they are plentiful throughout Rock Creek Park and other natural urban areas, like along the C&O Canal. Be vigilant and check yourself throughout the day when working, hiking or playing outdoors.

Tick environments include but are not limited to leaf litter, woodpiles, birdbaths and feeders, forests, tall grasses and high weeds, moist areas and cat and dog fur.

Everyone should familiarize themselves with initial symptoms – onset of a red bull’s-eye rash, fever, headache, flu-like symptoms and fatigue. If untreated, Lyme disease can become a serious illness, causing joint stiffness and neurological problems. Symptoms can take from three to 32 days to appear. Sometimes early signs never appear or go unnoticed. Early diagnosis and treatment with antibiotics are the best cure.

It was first identified in 1975 in Lyme, Connecticut. With approximately 20,000 new cases diagnosed yearly, the CDC (www.cdc.gov) reports that Lyme disease is the most common vector-borne disease in the U.S., occurring mostly in Northeastern, Mid-Atlantic, and North-Central states.

Nymphs are infectious when they acquire the bacteria from the larval stage. The nymph stage is when most infections occur in humans because the tick can barely be detected. The male is black and the female dark reddish, like a speck of dirt that doesn't brush off.

The number of tick and insect repellents available has increased, including botanicals such as BugBand (www.bugband.net). An informative brochure is available through the State of NY, Department of Health, on Tick and Insect Repellents, (www.health.ny.gov/publications/2737.pdf). DEET, permethrin and botanicals are discussed. I prefer botanicals, although sometimes DEET may be necessary in areas of high concentrations of ticks, but never at more than a 25% solution. Another repellent sometimes used in place of DEET is picaridin.

© 2012 Joel M. Lerner
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Landscape Design

Garden designs should start by putting pencil to paper. It’s easier to correct mistakes with an eraser.

Spring is the perfect time for site analysis. Garden centers are overflowing with garden materials plus it’s a wonderful season to be outdoors.

Even with horticultural savvy, landscape design is sometimes an abstract concept – it’s difficult to visualize the impact of a garden space than a single element like a flower, tree or trellised vine. So, divide your garden into smaller parts so you can better understand it.

Twenty-eight years ago, I developed a system called Lernscaping™ to assist homeowners with the basics of landscape design. It helps determine what you want so your landscape reflects your personality.

Lernscaping™ translates your intent into the “language of landscape” so you can communicate what you want to a landscape professional before you begin your project. Here are some key points to assist you in creating landscape ideas to fit your personality and budget.

An informal fountain adds interest

• What elements excite you in the garden – sculpture, colors, rocks, smells, paths or types of paving?

• What ambiance do you prefer more than others – formal fountains, rock water cascades, symmetrically balanced paving or curved, sweeping beds with a patio in the woods?

• Get to know your outdoor space. You’ll save time, money and aggravation when you begin installation of your garden.

• Record your garden's vital statistics.

- Measurements of design areas

- Compass points and hours of sun

- Pleasant views

- Unpleasant views

- Drainage patterns/problems

- Location of underground utilities (You must call 811 before you dig)

- Features worth keeping

• Consider all aspects of your garden – favorite colors, seasons, plants, building materials and activities.

• Do you entertain, have children?

• Number of hours you spend in the garden?

• Do you want screening, seating, lighting or water?

• How does the sun traverse your garden, casting shadows, creating hot spots?

• Where is the most pleasing place to face for maximum comfort?

Look to the horizon noting panoramas from every angle. Enhance or frame aesthetically pleasing vistas, screen unpleasant ones and create your own.

Heat pumps and highways are worth screening. But remember that planting in or fencing off unsightly structures might call attention to them – distract the viewer to hide an eyesore. Place an ornamental bench and direct the view away from the object. Plan color and interest on the opposite side of the garden. If you use shrubs or a planted trellis to screen the object, repeat the theme and use elsewhere in the yard.

Face an ornamental bench toward the garden

Develop designs that retain and enhance existing features like native wildflowers, streams, rock outcroppings and native plants.

Sculptural elements, seating, fountains, and water gardens are a welcome addition to most landscape designs. At least one piece in a private corner of the yard, tucked into the background of shrubs or surrounded by perennials will add interest.

Your budget will determine the size and quantity of plants you install. Cost doesn’t hold you back from creating an ideal design on paper.

© 2012 Joel M. Lerner
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Lawn Substitutes

Homeowners who want to decrease their turf are on the rise. Requests are for groundcovers that are more interesting, don’t require mowing, provide color and can handle light foot traffic. I call these lawn substitutes.

Some landscape designs look great with groves of trees, ferns, shade tolerant plants, rock gardens, wildflower meadows, patios, decks or large island beds as alternatives to turf. The challenge is how to integrate areas when lawn creates a good connector or common thread. The cool, deep green color is visually attractive as a backdrop for red, pink, magenta, lavender and other colors.

Wildflower meadows create colorful groundcovers. 

Here are some dependable lawn substitutes that will ultimately grow together and create large lush areas.

• Low growing drifts or sweeps of native grasses, like native broom-sedge (Andropogon virginicus) or blue gramma (Bouteloua gracilis) make an impressive display with showy seed-heads, colorful foliage and seeds in summer and fall, holding their form into winter. They never need mowing and are drought tolerant and will cover large sunny areas, self-sowing to naturalize.

• Creeping thyme (Thymus serphyllum) will fill smaller gaps with flowers and fragrance. Provide good drainage and full sun and plant between path stones where you might brush or step on the foliage exuding fragrance.

• Bugleweed (Ajuga) is available in red, pink, purple, green, variegated, curled and smooth-leafed forms. Drifts look beautiful in spring bloom. They are happy in shade and spread widely. Leave enough room for them to wander.

• Other low growing plants for full sun and smaller areas that won't show much damage if exposed to some foot traffic and will emanate fragrance when bruised are Corsican mint (Mentha requienii) and a hybrid of Roman chamomile called treneague (Chamaemelum nobile 'Treneague'). They will cover open spaces in rock or herb gardens and “travel” between the joints of paving.

• Try some mazus in partial sun. With regular moisture, it will spread to cover areas previously occupied by lawn. It works well between flagstones on informal paths. It hugs the ground flowering purple, blue or white in late spring. You can walk over healthy stands of it and divide into mats for other sections of your property.

• Dwarf mondo grass (Ophiopogon japonicus ‘Nana’) is an evergreen grassy member of the lily family that grows 3-4” high and never needs mowing. The plants tiller together like turf and are tolerant of drought, foot traffic and shade.

• Two groundcover mat forming plants that make an impression, but won’t take much foot traffic, are pearlwort or Irish moss (Sagina subulata) a diminutive, fine textured, ground hugger (flowers white, related to carnations and good for rock gardens) that will cover large areas in well drained sites, and sedum (S. spurium ‘Dragon’s Blood’) with copper red foliage, reaching 2-4” in height and spreads quickly. It can languish in summer humidity but will stay full the rest of the year.

• Moss makes a handsome low maintenance cover for the woodland, but won’t handle much foot traffic. It has several millimeter rhizoids that anchor the plant, but will cover an area only if it’s happy. In addition to spores, it spreads by growing new stems and colonizing patches of soil, rock, brick or other organic material that provides moisture. If it's doing better than the lawn, acidify (according to labeled instructions) with aluminum sulfate to encourage growth.

• Cover the ground with wildflowers. Sow wildflower seed in June in weed-free, lightly loosened soil. Leaving an area to nature will also result in plants covering the ground, either voluntarily or by counting on wildlife and weather.

© 2012 Joel M. Lerner

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Fragrance In The Garden

When Shakespeare wrote the immortal words, "that which we call a rose, by any other name would smell as sweet," I'll bet he was inspired by the aroma of the gardens and woods that surrounded his hometown, Stratford-upon-Avon. But, of course, roses were only a metaphor for plants that stimulate your olfactory senses.

When I design gardens and landscapes, fragrance as well as visual stimuli are major considerations. While most of us respond to the lovely aroma of flowers like lilacs, hyacinths and roses, there are many other creative ways to bring fragrance into your garden. The flowers and foliage of many plants can perfume your environment.

Other plants that visitors will search out on your property because of their fragrance are sweetbox (Sarcococca hookeriana) and holly trees. Many hollies have a scent that surprises people, particularly when flowers aren’t noticeable. Sweetbox is a low growing woody plant that has small insignificant looking blooms in late March to early April that emit a sweet fragrance in spite of their dainty size. In fact, they’re cleverly hidden behind foliage so you can barely see them. The enjoyment is in the perfume that exudes from its small, mostly hidden flowers.

Fragrance can provide a special effect in the form of flowers or foliage. Walking in Rock Creek Park, I enjoy bruising the leaves of spicebush (Lindera benzoin) whenever I see one. It has a refreshing, spicy, fruity odor, is native to the mid-Atlantic region and also the habitat for the spicebush swallowtail butterfly.

Later in the spring and summer I enjoy blossoms on Virginia sweetspire (Itea virginica). It is also native to the eastern United States and was introduced in 1744. A low growing, long flowering plant, it has wonderfully fragrant flowers in late spring/early summer and grows to about four to six feet in height, in sun or partial shade, in wet or dry soil. Its display of maroon fall foliage can hold for weeks.

Itea In Flower

  ‘Lemon Drop,’ a Mezitt hybrid, introduced by Weston Nursery, is a deciduous azalea and another native bred plant that has an outstanding sweet citrus smell that is a knock out for its fragrance and ability to attract butterflies to its nectar rich flowers in late spring to early summer.

Edge a flowerbed that has been sited where it will receive lots of sun with lavender (Lavandula angustifolia). Foliage brushed or bruised between your fingers will produce a “lavender” scent even in winter. Do the same with rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis ‘Arp’) that is hardy in the Washington, DC area, in protected sunny locations, and you might even get a shrub that flowers in late winter and other seasons as well.

Rosemary 'Arp' Flower Clusters

Another plant I enjoy almost exclusively for its short-lived unbelievably fragrant flowers is Koreanspice viburnum. Beautiful blossoms last only about two weeks in April (this year beginning in March), and then interest is gone except for providing fuzzy foliage. It's a compact five-foot tall, disease resistant shrub. Yet, these two weeks of pinkish/white flowers are the closest you can get to a perfect fragrance.

Search for sweet smelling flowers as they open this spring. You will notice that many have their own unique scents. But, be careful and make sure you look for stinging insects before you sniff.

© 2012 Joel M. Lerner

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Late Winter/Early Spring Color

Your garden should catch the eye and maintain visual interest year round. When planning your outdoor spaces be sure they offer a coordination of color each season.

Traditional landscape plans offer a few trees, expanses of lawn requiring frequent tending, trimmed evergreen foundation shrubs and isolated areas that provide color of spring flowering shrubs, bulbs or other perennials. Most of the show is over before you can be outside to enjoy it, and then you must care for this boring space that looks the same year after year, so make it interesting.

Achieve interest 365 days a year by introducing a coordination of blooming plants – trees, shrubs, perennials and annuals. Color is one of the best attention getters. It is the first element you discern when viewing a garden or landscape.

There are wonderful winter and early spring blooming plants that thrive in this region:

• Hellebores begin to open in February and maintain their flowering interest until April. They are extremely deer resistant evergreen perennials that will grow in heavy shade.

• Winter flowering jasmine (Jasminum nudiflorum) displays brilliant yellow flowers sporadically throughout winter.

• Native vernal witchhazel (Hamamelis vernalis) and spiked winterhazels (Corylopsis spicata), both in the witchhazel family, are fragrant and begin their display in January/February.

Colorful barks of various trees also set off the winter garden. A few of them are:

• Striped maples (Acer pennsylvanicum) have green and white stripes running vertically along the trunks.

• Paperbark maples offer beautiful orange/russet red exfoliating bark.

• Coral bark Japanese maples have exquisite red leafless branches until the weather begins to warm.

• Red twigs of redosier dogwoods are standouts in the landscape.

Look at every characteristic of a plant, including bark, season of flower, leaf color, berries, branching habit and foliage texture. If several interesting characteristics occur on a single plant, it can add a long-season of interest and color to your garden.


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© 2012 Joel M. Lerner

Hellebore In Bloom

Vernal Witchhazel In Flower

Firewood

I love winter. It allows me to sit in front of a fireplace and smell the sweet aroma of burning fruitwood. Wood that doesn't burn well may smoke, smell offensive or smolder and destroy an otherwise pleasurable experience.

Most bad fires are caused by wood that's not seasoned (aged) properly. Without proper aging, even the best hardwoods will not burn.

For wood to be seasoned, it must be cut into logs, split and stacked for six months to a year in an area that has good air circulation. If you still intend to buy firewood this season, find a reliable dealer by trying a small amount of wood before purchasing a large quantity.

Firewood can be well seasoned and still not burn because it’s wet. Wood that is moist from snow or rain will typically dry overnight and easily light the next day. Bring enough indoors for several fires to a heated part of the house a day or two before you plan to use it. Don't keep it inside longer than a week to ten days or the life cycles of insects that might live inside the dead wood will begin, and the creatures may emerge. These insects aren't a danger to structures or people, but are a nuisance.

The standard measure of firewood is a cord -- a stack of logs four feet high by four feet wide by eight feet long (128 cubic'). Cost varies widely. Stack away from your house in a place where there is good air circulation. The optimum location, once seasoned, is in a shed. If located outside, keep elevated off ground. Don't cover with tarps that hold moisture. Expose wood to the elements and promote air circulation to help it resist rot, stay dry and be ready to use.

Varieties of wood available in the mid-Atlantic region are mostly oak mixed with maple, hickory, ash, locust, walnut and cherry.

Conifers or softwoods, such as pines, firs, spruces and hemlocks, if available, burn quickly, pop and throw more sparks than hardwoods.

Some wood is not as desirable. Tulip poplar or catalpa smolder and are so light that they break apart when split. Mulberry is difficult to season and burn, and somewhat malodorous when it does.

Specialty woods can be found and are worth searching for. Apple, cherry, peach and plum add fragrance to the air and make excellent firewood. Harder to find, you might have to call an orchard to locate cut trees and remove the wood yourself.

To ensure you don’t import diseases or insects, purchase only locally harvested firewood. Moving wood from one part of the country to another can create pest infestations from other areas. See the following web site http://emeraldashborer.info/firewood.cfm

Don't burn lumber found at construction sites or leftover from home renovations. Plywood has glue in it and creates unhealthy smoke that coats the inside of chimneys with goo. Painted lumber also can have dangerous chemicals and shouldn’t be burned. Pressure treated lumber is infused with various chemicals. As a rule, do not burn anything in your hearth but unpainted, untreated, and unglued wood.

Artificial logs are available for no maintenance fires made with environmentally friendly materials. Try Java-Log Firelogs^®, Ultraflame™ Firelogs and other products from www.pinemountainbrands.com, Enviro-Log, http://enviro-log.net and Duraflame, www.duraflame.com. Other products are available online.

GUIDELINES:

• Burn a few sheets of newspaper in hearth before starting a fire to ensure damper in chimney is open.

• Close damper when fireplace isn’t in use.

• Have an annual inspection, inside and out.

• Always use a screen.

• Always dismantle fires before leaving the house or going to bed. Cover coals with ashes, stand smoldering logs against the back wall of the fireplace, and leave damper fully open. There are always hot coals in the ashes after a fire.

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© 2012 Joel M. Lerner

© 2012 Sandra Leavitt Lerner - Emerald Ash Borer traps are seen in many trees along roadways. This insect can be transported in firewood.