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Elisabeth C. Miller Library

Archives: Garden Tips

Gardening tips and suggestions.

Garden Tip #78

By Thanksgiving most leaves have fallen off deciduous trees. Some people feel a strong desire or obligation to prune when they see these naked trees. If you’re one of these people remember that most trees and shrubs don’t require regular pruning, other than to remove dead, dying or diseased branches. However, if some correction or thinning is necessary arm yourself with one of the excellent pruning books:

  • Cass Turnbull’s Guide to Pruning: What, When, Where & How to Prune for a More Beautiful Garden (Sasquatch, $17.95) – Turnbull demystifies pruning with humor and helpful diagrams.
  • The Pruning of Trees, Shrubs and Conifers by George Brown (Timber, $29.95) – This classic reference work has been revised and enlarged by Tony Kirkham to reflect recent advancements in pruning; it includes a plant by plant guide to special considerations.
  • An Illustrated Guide to Pruning by Edward Gilman (Delmar, $26.25) – A text book for professionals or serious gardeners, this book includes information on training young trees and has many illustrations.

Garden Tip #194

In autumn, when deciduous shrubs lose their leaves, luscious berries extend the season of color into winter. One of the most unassuming shrubs, Callicarpa, is ignored most of the year, but in the fall most everyone who comes upon the berries of this shrub takes notice. Little shining lavender balls adorn the branches of this plant, and most who see it agree the common name of Beautyberry is appropriately applied. Read more about it in the November/December 2002 issue of Garden Design Magazine.

Garden Tip #133

Turn your garden into a little oasis for wildlife by growing plants that provide food for flying and buzzing creatures. The National Wildlife Foundation has articles on attracting bats, birds, bees, and other wild critters, as well as how to deal with the not-so-welcome.

After you’ve done your homework and planted wildlife feeding plants you might be ready to declare your yard a Wildlife Sanctuary. For an information package on becoming a backyard wildlife habitat manager send $10.00 to:
Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife,
Backyard Wildlife Sanctuary Program,
16018 Mill Creek Blvd,
Mill Creek, WA 98012. More information online.

Garden Tip #199

Staking plants has got to be one of the most tedious garden tasks in the warm summer months. While there are plants you can choose that don’t ever require it, some plants simply cannot be appreciated without it. Here are two good articles on the subject:

Garden Tip #70

Warm winter days above 50 degrees make gardeners eager to get back out working in the garden. The warm temperatures also trigger many over-wintering insects and caterpillars to hatch and begin their development. Practitioners of Integrated Pest Management use “degree days,” or days above 50° to forecast when a garden pest might start doing damage and when management should begin. Some pests require more accumulated heat then others to complete their lifecycles. The variegate cutworm, for example, may start feeding as early as February during mild Northwest winters. Dedicated fruit and vegetable growers will want to download degree day calculators and spread sheets from Washington State University’s Entomology department.

Colorado State Cooperative Extension published an interesting article on the strategies pests use to survive cold winter days.

Garden Tip #128

The myth: stop watering in fall to encourage plants to go dormant. The reality: plants that go dormant in the winter do not need encouragement, so if it’s not raining irrigate those drought stressed plants! Professor Linda Chalker-Scott exposes this and other gardening myths on her website.

Garden Tip #105

Dahlia resources:

  • The Gardener’s Guide to Growing Dahlias by Gareth Rowlands (Timber, 1999) tells all about growing dahlias with lots of color photos.
  • The American Dahlia Society
  • The Puget Sound Dahlia Association holds monthly meetings, maintains a display garden at Volunteer Park in Seattle, and participates in the American Dahlia Society’s annual shows. Members receive a newsletter. To join mail $15.00 to Dale Hylton, Treasurer, Puget Sound Dahlia Association, 10820 Oakwood Avenue South, Seattle, WA 98178.

Garden Tip #395

Wondering when is it necessary to clean or sterilize your pruning tools, and how to do it? Washington State University Extension horticulturist Linda Chalker-Scott offers excellent “how-to” advice. Make sure there is no excess dirt or debris on your pruners before you clean them. There are quite a few impractical or inadvisable methods (formalin? chlorine bleach? no!); her preference is to use ordinary household cleaners.

Another factsheet discusses when to sterilize your tools. Chalker-Scott says that first you must know which pathogen is causing the disease. Then,

  • “if it’s a virus or viroid, disinfect your tools.
  • if it’s a vascular fungus or bacteria, and/or forms oozing cankers, disinfect your tools. Avoid cutting active, oozing cankers; wait until they dry.
  • if you are pruning irreplaceable plants, disinfect your tools.
  • choose a disinfectant treatment that has been shown to be effective through published research; I would probably not use alcohol but one of the common household cleaners at full strength.”

Garden Tip #118

The Audubon Society has long advocated for the protection and appreciation of birds. Their website has lots of good, informative articles that advise on how to encourage wildlife in the winter garden and the impact backyard feeders make on birds. Research has disproved the fear that feeding birds creates dependency. So don’t feel guilty if your feeder goes empty; birds remember how to find food on their own.