Beds and Borders Landscape Design

Preen Again!

Andy — Tue, 15 May 2012 18:55:07 +0000

With the seeds really flying right now coupled with all the moisture in the ground and the appearance of sun with warm days and presto……LOTS of germination. Not only should you have applied a pre-emeregent in your lawn, but all your mulched beds should be getting a good coating of Preen. I even Preen river rock beds. It does work!

Be sure to get the one specifically for gardesn if you shoose to use a pre-emergent in there!

Andy

Mothers Day Chores at a Glance

Andy — Thu, 10 May 2012 01:48:31 +0000

This year has been so unpredictable, but I am willing to say that it is safe to do the couple things that most want to do this weekend. These are:

visit your local garden center
plant annuals
get your Dahlia bulbs in the ground
till your garden and get the veggies/herbs going
transplant now before it gets too warm (I spent an hour doing this tonight)

A good idea for all new plants and annuals is to add a soluble potassium fertilizer to a watering can and give your newly planted gems a chance to get off in the right direction. This bodes well for your transplants. I have saved many plant using Miracle Grow root stimulator! Tis the Season.

Andy Freeland

The time is now…..

Andy — Sun, 06 May 2012 02:16:24 +0000

What better to do on a rainy day than to detail out my growing chore list. If weather permitting you might want to hit some of these up soon before they start piling up.

1) Pruning

2) Applying Preen

3) Round-up problem areas on hot, windless day

4) Transplating

5) Weeding

6) Raking out thatch

7) Planting garden

Planting pots

9) Mulching

10) Annual Beds

11) Grass Seed

12) Edging lines

13) Putting hoops around Peonies before they get too big.

14) Patio sealing

15) Irrigation system maintenence

16) Core Aeration

17) Staging bird baths and lawn decor

18) Pouring some lemonaide of a warm day

19) Calling your favorite landscape company for any of the above

What to do post lilac bloom.

Andy — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 01:54:30 +0000

My lilacs didn’t bloom this year I hear her ask me. Did you cut them back last year? Yes. When? In the Fall. That’s the problem.

Lilacs bloom from flowers set on the branches from the previous year’s growth. In a nutshell this lady cut off all the immature flower buds when she did a fall pruning, therefore rendering the plant void of any chance to be showy.

Prune the lilac within two weeks after the flowers have faded. By doing this you will encourage new vigourous growth while having piece of mind that you didn’t cut off the flowers.

One rule of thumb when pruning woody shrubs is to cut about 1/3rd of the old woody branches from the base of the tree. Do this for 3 consecutive years and you will have a rejuvenated shrub.

Get out and enjoy the freshness/fragrance this time of year……it will be hot soon!!

Andy Freeland

An “Up-North” garden idea…..

Andy — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 17:52:33 +0000

An old high school buddy emailed me the other day and asked what would grow well up in his neck of the woods. I offered him up many suggestions from my local nursery knowing that most would survive in his zone 3 yard. His question got me thinking about the thought of having Northern Minnesota plants and using them to create an “Up-North” garden down here in the metro. It can be done easily because we are utilizing plants by bringing them into a warmer zone and thus do not have to worry about winter kill. BUT…..the key here is that since most of the soil from Itasca to the Arrowhead are acidic we have to consider making the planting beds more hospitible to these acid-loving plants. Soil can be ammended with peat moss, aluminum sulphate, and pine/sprice needles to create this new envioroment in which this garden will thrive. Once the bed is prepped test the pH and make sure it is 6 or below. At this point go nuts with plantings. The list below are some of my favorites that I would have in my backyard ( and probably will as soon as my Hemlocks grow up and allow for plantings underneath).

1) Wild Ginger

2) Bearberry

3) Blueberry

4) Moose Maple

5) Bluebead Lily

6) Beaked Hazelnut

7) Wintergreen

Lupine

9) False Solomon’s Seal

10) Royal Fern

11) Leatherleaf

12) Blue Cohosh

11) Bracken Fern

Andy Freeland

A hard freeze….not good this late in the show!

Andy — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 18:29:00 +0000

I’ll spare you the boring stuff about how bad tonight is going to be…… All you need to know is that you will want to take some precautions to save any favorite tender plants that have emerged or have been planted. A couple things to try:

1) Wrapping srubs with a towel, blanket or sheet.

2) Turning on your irrigation system frequently.

3) Pushing up mulch around your perennials.

4) Move to Florida.

This is going to happen. Be prepared to see lots of damage. Sorry.

Andy Freeland

Preen it up!

Andy — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 16:38:59 +0000

I think this weather stinks. Allergies, biting bugs, and most important – Weed Seeds! I am just kidding about the weather, but the byproducts of the warm weather really do cause me much strife. Putting aside sneezing and itching we are left with a boutiful distrubution of weed seeds happening right now. About 2 months ahead of last year. If you have a new landscape or have recently tilled up fresh soil this would be a great time to put down Preen. A prememergent wonder that reduces the number of weeds in your garden by stopping the newly fallen seeds from germinating. This does not kill weeds, but stops them before they start. Being much safer than Round-up; my bet is to get going on this and spend your Saturday relaxing and not weeding!

Andy Freeland – Owner/Designer of Beds & Borders Landscape Design.

Will the birds go hungry?

Andy — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 17:59:42 +0000

I do quite a lot of design for natural landscaping including many plans that are aimed at bringing in birds to urban lots or feeding exiting populations through a more diverse plant selection. I never knew how much my Univeristy of Minnesota Natural Resources degree was going to compliment my studies in Landscape Design until recently. Now I’d say that half of my designs have some aspect of involving wildlife cohabitation with us humans. It is in this education combination that many ecological questions arise. One hit me today.

Sitting in my office I noticed how many of the trees had put on a new flush of green. I do love the fact that we are early from a warmth standpoint, but by the same token it made me think that when the migrating birds start to come through in a month there will be a lack of easily captured bugs for our feathered friends. The warbler species in particular rely on picking off caterpillars, flies, and larvae that feed on new buds. In a month when they come through there will be none of this. In fact a month from now the trees will be more than likely in full leaf-out. Full leaf-out makes it harder to find food. With food lacking they have to search more, therefore wasting energy. I’d guess that the weaker individuals will not even make it up North into their breeding grounds if this scenario plays out.

Another way this could devastating to populations is if they come up early. I don’t think will happen because they follow the sun angle (daylight) not the temps, but if they do get fooled they might get hit with a late season cold streak which might kill the bugs as well as a on a personal level as they might get too cold and not have enought energy or food to survive a cold night.

Then again….its nature and I am not going to worry.

Andy

Winterburn – Can we avoid it?

Andy — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 16:09:13 +0000

A dry fall combined with the lack of snow has made many of us landscapers and gardeners scratch our heads as to the potential of seeing huge losses in plants – especially the evergreens. I have encouraged many to water even during the winter. Why? Because evergreens use water all winter unlike leaf-bearing trees which go dormant. When March comes and groundwater is scare the Pines start to dry out. Combine this with already dry soil from the fall, strong late North winds, high sun angle and it is a recipe for lots of brown conifers. What is our saving Grace on this besides lots of prayer? The forecast! With 70′s slated for next week the ground will surely thaw allowing water to get to these plants – precious water that typically runs off until April. The only key to this is Rain. If we do not see any precipitation in the form of rain once the ground softens then the drought continues and more than the evergreens will suffer. Please RAIN!

Andy Freeland

Celebrating 10 Years!

Andy — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 15:54:53 +0000

Mike and I have done it. 10 years is quite a feat in the Green Industry. We want to thank all of our past clients for their trust. We also want to welcome new clients and invite them to find out why we have been successful over the years. Chris Blomberg, our foreman, and the guys that listen to him on a daily basis deserve much credit as well. They really put together the puzzle from the design I give them and the materials Mike delivers. Have a fantastic 2012! Andy Freeland