A face only a mother could love….

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Bold Jumper spider (Phidippus audax)

With the exception of the beloved children’s book Charlotte’s Web, the mere thought or surprise presence of a spider evokes fear in most of us. Where does this fear come from? If we were more informed, that fear might (ok, maybe not for all of us) be replaced with respect.

Spiders are scientifically classified as arachnids (Class Arachnida). They differ from insects (Class Insecta) in several key ways. Primarily, insects have three body sections (head, abdomen and thorax) and six legs.  Spiders have two body sections (cephalothorax and abdomen) and eight legs. The front part is a combination of the head and thorax – hence the name cephalothorax. This part usually bears four pairs of eyes, four pairs of walking legs, a pair of smaller leg-like palps at the front. The spinnerets, which secrete the silk web strands, are located at the rear of the abdomen.

I have always found jumping spiders to be quite comical and easy-going. Sort of a spider version of a teddy bear. The accompanying photo is a close up one of the many species of jumping spiders found in Ohio: the Bold Jumper (Phipippus audax). Bold jumpers are very active and have a cute way of facing AND approaching any movement – even me! While trying to get a close up, this specimen would lift its forelegs and try to touch the camera. It even tried jumping on for a ride. The act of jumping toward you should not be perceived as an act of aggression; they rarely bite unless handled roughly. They spin no web but rather stalk their prey. They do, however, put down a silk dragline wherever they go as a sort of safety line in case of a fall.

Educational opportunity

The Greene County Master Gardeners are offering the program, “All About Herbs” from 8:30 am to 3:30 pm on Saturday, August 11, 2012 at the Xenia Church of the Nazarene (1204 E. Second St., Xenia OH 45385 ). Speakers and topics include: “Edible Gardening: Herbs, Vegetables Fruits and More” by Debra Knapke, Garden Designer, Lecturer, Author, Teacher; “Cooking With Herbs” by Candace Rinke, owner of The Hawthorn Grill in Kettering; ” Herbs and Container Gardening” by Susan Tyree, Meadowview Growers; “Herbs – Learn, Explore, Grow” by Susan Liechty, Delaware County Master Gardener; and “Herb Garden Design” by Cindy Hill, Greene County Master Gardener. Click HERE for the registration brochure.

Visit Belize without leaving Ohio

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Join Rebecca Wood, Hopewood Holistic Health, and Kim Hupman, Horticulturalist-Master Gardener, for an evening of exploring gardens, foodways, and traditional use of common and uncommon plants of Belize. Discover common and not so common Pan-American Plants, their uses, traditions, ways to grow them and incorporate them into your home, landscape, and culinary endeavors.

Plant Lover’s Journey through the Plant Traditions, Gardens and Cultures of Belize

Tuesday, July 24th from 6:30-9:00 pm, in the Fireside Room of the  Xenia Nazarene Church (1204 West Second St., Xenia, OH 45385).

You will taste, feel, see and smell your way through this presentation and learn how you can join in on the adventure with upcoming International Eco-Culinary and Garden Tours. This event is co-sponsored by the Master Gardeners and the OSU/Greene County Extension. For more information contact: Barbra Mills (mills.35@cfaes.osu.edu) or Rebecca Wood (becaherbtravel@gmail.com)

 

Water Garden Tour

The Miami Valley Water Garden Society is having a self-guided Public Pond Tour on Saturday, July 28 and Sunday, July 29. The tour will be from 10:00 am till 5:00 pm on Saturday and 11:00 am till 5:00 pm on Sunday. There will be 11 private water gardens to see. These gardens are located in Franklin, Centerville, Bellbrook, Dayton, Beavercreek, New Carlisle, West Alexandria and Eaton. For ticket information please call (937) 428-9564 or go to http://www.mvwgs.org.

Long time no see

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Two months have flown by since my last post. Volleyball season finished (hubby coaches, I photograph), the backyard honeysuckle fencerow was removed and replanted and then…..there was a hospital visit. Emergency. Come to think of it, I’ve accompanied two people to emergency, lately. The first was when I drove to the hospital like a mad woman with dear hubby in tow. Let’s just say that our huge ‘Skyline’ locust tree didn’t like being limbed up and took out the chainsaw operator AND the ladder upon which said operator was standing with vengeance. End result? Over $8K in medical charges and a broken bone in his face. He is so very lucky it wasn’t worse. The second opportunity to visit another emergency room was when I accompanied my mom in the squad car after she suffered a heart attack at church. She’s home resting and will recover with time and new meds. And if she listens to her doctor. Easier said than done!

Hummingbird nest

Miracles abound. Take, for instance, the vengeful locust tree. She now is protecting a miniature cup woven with fluffy down and held together with spider webs; she holds a hummingbird nest in her branches. I discovered the location this past Sunday by following a female who was gathering fluff from my nesting material cage. If only the nest was closer to the ground – it sits about 10-12′ above my head.

Nesting Material Cage

The American goldfinches are just now getting into the nest-making mode and are also making a dent in the fluffy stuff. Check out one of the dispensers sold at your local Wild Birds Unlimited store. Nesting birds will thank you.

Sales alerts

Seasonal sales going on: Check out your local garden center/nursery for some fantastic sales. As they say at my favorite place to eat (Hot Head Burritos), “Get out and get you some!” Some of the sales/discounts going on that I am aware of are:

Knollwood Garden Center – 25% off store wide and 50% off select items.

Grandma’s Gardens –  vegetable plants, flats of annuals, flowering almonds, fruit trees and 1.75″ caliper ‘Sargentina’ crabapples are 50% off;  2.5″ caliper ‘Bosque’ elm trees and 5-6′ ‘Autumn Brilliance’ serviceberrys  are 30% off; 4″ annuals, tropicals and in-stock azaleas are 25% off; variegated red twig dogwood (reg. $29.99) are now $19.99; $7.99 1-gallon perennials of the week include ‘Walker’s Low’ Catmint and Blue Star Creeper

Siebenthaler’s Garden Center – all annuals, herbs, vegetables and tropicals are 30% off.

Some things to crow about

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Hear ye, hear ye: Plant sales abound!

Hey bidder, bidder, bidder

The Miami Valley Hosta Society Plant Auction will be Tuesday, May 8. Preview starts at 6 pm, bidding starts at 6:30 pm. Polen Farm (5099 Bigger Rd., Kettering OH 45440). Open to the public. The Auction features more than plants. There will be garden art, books, tools and gardening paraphernalia too. Rare & unusual hostas, other hearty plant specimens. Contact  Gary Althaus at gjalt@aol.com or 937-833-3271 for more info.

I was thinking. I know that is a scary thought but check it out. If you are a quilter, perhaps you’ve heard of a Quilt Shop Hop; a day of shopping at various quilt or fabric shops. What if we did something like this with area Garden Centers or Greenhouses? I was thinking of just doing one to three stops in a day; you are going to need room in the car for plants! Leave me your thoughts or shop hop suggestions in the Comments section below.

Sales alerts (Remember to check the “Events” tab for more)

Greene County Master Gardener Plant Sale: Saturday, May 5, 9 am to 1 pm. Greene County Extension Office, 1000 Fairgrounds Rd., Xenia OH 45385)

Meadow View Growers:  Marigolds are on sale, Friday, May 4th thru Sunday, May 6th. Marigold flats will be buy 1 flat get 1 flat half off.

Spring Valley Gardens: Wave petunia sale. Some colors are $2.29 a 3.5″ pot. Zonal geraniums in 4″ pots are $3.99 through May 9. (1395 U.S. 42 S, Xenia OH 45385. 937-372-3943

Siebenthaler’s: 6-pack Wave petunias are 25% off through May 6.

Grandma’s Gardens: 25% off Roses, Tropicals, Flowering Shrubs and Pottery. Flowering hanging baskets are $5 off through May 13.

Knollwood Garden Center: Geraniums are on sale through May 9. 4.5″ pots are $3.99. (Excludes ivy geraniums.)

Stocklager’s Greenhouse & Garden Center: Check the Life + Neighbors section of your Thursday, May 3 issue of the Dayton Daily Newspaper for a 20% off coupon! Valid through May 31.

Anniversary Tree

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Every spring I look forward to seeing my beautiful pink buckeye tree (Aesculus x hybrida) bloom. I remember purchasing it as a commemoration of our 20th wedding anniversary. It was just a little guy back then. It is about 15 feet tall and every branch tip is capped off with these gorgeous floral clumps – perfect celebration for our 35th anniversary!

Buckeye bloom close-up.

Though I haven’t seen the hummingbirds yet, these blossoms seem right up their alley.

The honeysuckle eradication and fence row clean up had great progress yesterday. We rented a commercial rototiller and went to work trying to mix up and level out some of the wonderful soil that’s been in hiding under those invasive shrub-trees. Having long served as my 100′ long ‘compost pile’ (read that: dumping ground), many treasures were found: a stray tennis ball, numerous plastic plant name tags and even a buried Time Warner cable which is now in TWO pieces. Darn thing! Thankfully, no neighbors were affected as it was an old wire laid who knows how many years ago. I refuse to credit the rototiller-ing to my back that went out later yesterday…… Here is what we look like now. Our back yard property line lies somewhere in the freshly turned soil but now it looks like it goes on forever!

Sales Opps

April 21-29: Stockslagers Greenhouse and Garden Center. Hanging basket and geranium sale.

April 26-28: Knollwood Garden Center Impatiens Flat Sale. $12.99 (save $6)

April 27-29: Meadow View Growers Petunia sale. Buy 1, get 1 half off.

April 27-29: Grandma’s Gardens Flat Sale. Impatiens and Begonias are $11.99

Saturday, April 28: Cox Arboretum Wildflower and Native Plant Sale, 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. (6733 Springboro Pike). Wildflowers and native plants propagated or rescued from areas slated for development. Info: (937) 434-9005, http://www.metroparks.org/Parks/CoxArboretum.

Saturday-Sunday, May 5 & 6: Wegerzyn Mayfair Plant Sale, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. May 5 and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. May 6. Wegerzyn Gardens MetroPark, 1301 E. Siebenthaler Ave., Dayton. Perennials, annuals, herbs, landscape plants, vegetables, hanging baskets. Benefits the Wegerzyn Gardens Foundation. Info: (937) 277-6545, http://www.metroparks.org/Parks/WegerzynGarden.

Saturday, June 23, MEEC Native Plant Sale, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. The Marianist Environmental Education Center (MEEC) at Mount St. John (Bergamo), 4435 E. Patterson Road, Dayton. All plants are indigenous to the region and cultivated on site by volunteers. Funds support restoration work. Advance orders encouraged. Info and advance order catalog: meec.udayton.edu

Saturday, May 12: Here & There Garden Club Plant Sale. May 12, from 9 am to 1 pm. 5200 Bigger Road, Kettering, OH 45440

Saturday, May 19, Our Homes Garden Club Plant Sale, 9 am to 3 pm at the Vandalia Historical Society (336 E. Alkaline Springs Rd., Vandalia, Ohio 45377

Sunday, Marvin’s Organic Gardens, Noon – 6pm. Mother’s Day Sale and Congo Fundraiser –  Marvin’s will offer a lecture on “Edible Landscapes” discussing the many ways you can create an attractive landscape including delicious edibles. Who says you can’t have your landscape and eat it too? Not Marvin! All purchases made will support Marvin’s sustainable gardening and medical efforts in Central Africa, with 5% of all sales funding their Congo Mission.

Check out this website

A product of The Ohio State University’s Extension and updated weekly during the growing season, the Buckeye Yard and Garden onLine contains some fantastic news and updates for gardeners in the Ohio area. Be sure to check it out here: http://bygl.osu.edu/

Great Southern Ohio Events

May 12, 2012 – A Late Spring Natural History Hike, sponsored by the Ohio Historical Society (OHS), will take place at Fort Hill, home of southern Ohio’s largest piece of mature forest and preserved Hopewell earthworks complex. Join OHS senior curator of natural history Bob Glotzhober on this guided nature hike along Fort Hill’s Gorge Trail. Find out about the plants and wildflower of Fort Hill, the geology of the gorge, and the six natural arches that can be found in the park. FREE. See details here: http://arcofappalachia.org/events/ohs-fh-program.html.

May 20, 2012 – Exploring the Earthworks of Fort Hill, co-sponsored with Hopewell Culture National Historical Park and the Heartland Earthworks Conservancy. This day-hike will explore the Hopewell earthworks of Fort Hill, including a guided tour with National Park Service ranger Bruce Lombardo to see both the well-known earthen enclosure on the hilltop, and the almost unknown Circle Earthwork. A catered picnic lunch will be followed by a talk by leading archaeological researcher Dr. Jarrod Burks. $15/person includes lunch. See more details here: http://arcofappalachia.org/events/exploring-fort-hill.html.

Spring Fever

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Things are hopping all over. I’m just going to jot it all down and let you sort through it.

Sales Alerts

Knollwood Garden Center (Beavercreek) is having their spring edition of Ladies’ Night Out this Tuesday, April 17 from 6-8 pm. Featured: a taste of wine (from Brunings Wine Cellar, courtesy of Knollwood), a few spring garden nibbles, and lots of informal demonstrations.  Did you know Knollwood offers seniors 60 years and older a 10% off  regularly priced items every day! The OAGC (Ohio Association of Garden Clubs) Foundation, a 501(c)3 charity, will have their fantastic Challenge Quilt on-site for viewing. This winner for this fundraising raffle will be drawn at the OAGC convention in June. Tickets are $1 each or 6 for $5. It only takes one ticket to win!

Now for a limited time, Knollwood has 1.5 cubic foot bags of Osmocote Potting Soil with a great rebate! For use in any container or pot, it is a light, rich mix including sphagnum peat and perlite as well as Osmocote fertilizer! Sold for $9.99 a bag, with the $5.00 Mail-In rebate it’s only $4.99. Use your rebate form for up to 4 bags, or $20; just ask for the form at the checkout counter when purchasing. While supplies last.

Grandma’s Gardens & Landscape(South of Centerville)is having their Perennial Spring Party now through April 22, offering all quart, gallon and larger perennials at 25% off. Buy 10 or more quart and larger perennials and automatically become a Perennial Club Member on the spot. That will give you 20% off all future regular priced perennials. No fees, no expiration. Flower tree and shade trees are also on sale at 25% off through April 22. See store for details.

Educational Events

The Greene County Master Gardeners will present Thais Reiff and Jerry Mahan, Wednesday, April 18, 7-8 pm for a program  “Saving Ohio’s Ash Trees – Emerald Ash Borer Treatment Options”. This presentation for homeowners will be on the Emerald Ash Borer at the Greene County Extension Office, 100 Fairground Road, Xenia. Check out the flyer HERE.

The Ohio Invasive Plant Council (OIPC) is presenting a free workshop (lunch is included), “Aliens Among Us – An Introduction to Invasive Plants in Ohio” at the Dawes Arboretum (7770 Jacksontown Rd., Newark OH 43056) on April 26th, from 9:30am-4pm. Check out the flyer HERE. Dawes Arboretum is about 2 hours from the Dayton area and WELL worth the drive.

The Midwest Native Plant Symposium‘s registration is now open. The event will be held July 27-29 right in our backyard at Bergamo Center in Beavercreek. Top notch speakers and vendors are the highlights. Check out the flyer HERE.

Vengeance is Mine!

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This post will be short and sweet. Remember the aforementioned invasive Amur honeysuckle  (Lonciera maackii) fence row? Well, it is no more. After chopping on it with bare hands, lopper, and a sawsall for 7 weeks, a chain saw came in and felled the rest of the giants. Mind you, some of these shrubs/trees were so large I could climb them like a schoolgirl – and I did; all the while using a saw/sawsall 6 feet off the ground. The neighbors thought, rightly so, that I was crazy. We’re waiting on the debris to be removed and the stumps to be ground out. The largest stump is nearly 5 feet in circumference.

This is more or less what the fencerow looked like though my bushes were MUCH older and larger.

One of the 20 year old stumps. We have a handful of these.

Six foot tall piles of brush - about 20' of it.

And a cord of wood.....

As I said, vengeance is mine! Some of that honeysuckle lumber now edges my garden.

Snow in March

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pansy potSpring sure came to Ohio in a rush. Most of the things in my yard are about 2-3 weeks ahead of time. The twist is that the snow that hit my garden last week didn’t need freezing temperatures. The ‘snow’ that fell consisted of the flower petals from my weeping cherry.

Take a moment and check out the Nest Cam Links below on the right. Two of the Decorah, Iowa Bald Eagle chicks have arrived and everyone is anxiously waiting for the third egg to hatch, possibly today. You have the best seat in the house – and, yes, that is a squirrel carcass on the edge of the nest. I added a new nest cam today: it’s a Great Blue Heron nest in New York. On to the rest of the news….

The Dayton Aviation Heritage National Park is offering a great program this Sunday, April 1 from 1-2:30 pm at the  Huffman Prairie Flying Field Interpretive Center (located on Wright Brothers Hill, 2380 Memorial Road opposite the Wright Memorial, off Kauffman Road and State Route 444, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, 45433). “Bark, Buds and Tree Buddies Spring I.D. Program ” is a free family-friendly program where one can learn how to identify trees in the spring using the many clues found: bark, shape, habit, twig structure and more. Call 937-425-0008 for more information.

Bluestone Perrenials is offering 15% off to friends and members of The Ohio Association of Garden Clubs through May 1. Just key in the code E2OAGC528 on your order.

Aullwood Audubon Center’s Native Plant Sale will be April 14 from 10 am to 4 pm. Check out over 100 species of native trees, shrubs, flowers and grasses. Check out their 2012 plant sale brochure. Call 937-890-7380 with questions.

The Columbus Museum of Art‘s annual Art in Bloom will take place April 19-22. There will be a Floral Design Workshop with Garden Club of Ohio’s 2nd VP Lynn Fronk on Friday, April 20 at 2 pm. Cost is $50. Check out the whole schedule HERE.

Schnormeier Gardens has announced the date for their annual Open House Tour. The dates are June 6-10 from 10 am to 4 pm. Located in central Ohio outside Gambier, this private 50 acre garden’s focal point is a spectacular Frank Lloyd Wright-inspired home. Other structures on the property include a Japanese teahouse, garden house, Chinese pavilion and arched bridge. The gardens have a distinct Asian flavor and feature rare conifers and unique sculptures. This will be your ONLY chance to visit this AMAZING garden this year. Check out the website HERE.

Fencerow folly

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When we built our house in 1992, we had a fencerow that separated our backyard from the 5-acre home lot behind us. Nothing unusual grew in the fencerow: thorny wild floribunda roses were plentiful. Somewhere in the last 20 years the roses bushes went the by-and-by and the invasive Amur bush honeysuckle (Lonicera maackii) took its place with a hyperdrive growth habit. Having enough of losing my backyard to these gigantic shade-killing, tree wannabes, I am fighting back with a handsaw, a saws-all and a soon to arrive chainsaw. The largest beast is nearly 5 feet in circumference at the base!

Last year the power line maintenance crew came through and took a scoop out of the middle of the row. That only aggravated the honeysuckle enough to send up gazillions of 4-6′ sprouts in retaliation. I asked the work crew to take it all (por favor) but was turned down. This removal process is turning out to be quite the stress reliever. Nothing like a power tool to bring a smile to one’s face.

A field of Callery Pear trees gone wild around the 25 mile marked on I-75. (Photo by Joe Boggs, Asst. Professor OSU and OSU Extension of Hamilton County, OH)

I should be grateful that my horticultural foe is the Amur honeysuckle and not the Callery pear (Pyrus calleryana). You can’t miss them right now – they are everywhere man did not plant them. You say, “I thought the flowering pear was sterile.” The National Park Service notes, “While some plant genotypes are self-incompatible, meaning they require cross pollination from another genotype in order to set seed, others can pollinate themselves. Different genotypes growing near each other (e.g., within about 300 ft.) can cross-pollinate and produce fruit with viable seed.” Apparently, that’s how we got to where we are.

Once established Callery pear forms dense thickets that push out other plants including native species that can’t tolerate the deep shade or compete with pear for water, soil and space. To make matters worse, they have thorns and even crowd out the Amur honeysuckle!

What to do? First: do NOT plant Callery pear or any Callery pear cultivars including the well known Bradford pear. Second: cut down or pull out any volunteers that sprout on your property. Some alternative trees to consider for landscape use include: common serviceberry (Amelanchier arborea), Allegheny serviceberry (Amelanchier laevis), shadbush or juneberry (Amelanchier arborea, Amelanchier laevis), alternate-leaved dogwood (Cornus alternifolia), blackhaw (Viburnum prunifolium), or cockspur hawthorn (Crataegus crus-galli).

Read more about the Callery pear at this Ohio Division of Natural Resources Division of Forestry’s PDF: Weed of the month on Callery Pear.

Sign Humor

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Out and about yesterday and stopped by Meadow View Growers in New Carlisle. Someone there has a great sense of humor! Check out their road-side sign.

Actually I wanted to see for myself one of the more unusual sales that I’ve run across. Here is a shot of their Perennial Plug Sale flyer – it’s a very popular sale.

Spring flowers available

Knollwood Garden Center has some great spring ephemerals and native plants in supply right now. Noteworthy plants include Trillium (Trillium spp.), Virginia Blue Bells (Mertensia virginica), Jack-in-the-pulpit (Arisaema triphyllum), Marsh Marigold (Caltha palustris), Rattlesnake Master (Eryngium yuccifolium) and Cup Plant (Silphium perfoliatum). Their Pansy-Palooza sale (20% off all pansies) runs March 22-28.

Dayton Home and Garden Show

Don’t forget about the Dayton Home and Garden Show this weekend, March 23-25 at the Dayton Convention Center. Read more about ticket discounts and the seminar schedule from my earlier post HERE.

Nest Cams

Check out the various bird Nest Cams (links found on the right). I just added a Red-tailed Hawk cam that is hosted by  Cornell University. The Decorah, Iowa bald eagles’s first egg is set to hatch possibly this Sunday. Little Phoebe, the Allens Hummingbird in California, is on the nest again having already raised two clutches since last November.