Yard Care

Priming Your Utah Garden Rake!

September 7, 2013 by Becky

Necessity is the mother of invention! I believe it! Check out this fun idea of how to utilize your garden rake while you are waiting for the leaves to fall! We suggest a leaf rake without painted tines. Of course, you will want to begin with a clean sterilized rake; you know how to do that. Gather your ingredients. Get your fire-pit going with just the right coals. Now you are ready to assemble, roast, and enjoy your s’mores. Follow the photo – a picture is worth a 1000 words!

Call your local Western Gardens store to check on current stock of these rakes; these are a most popular garden tool, now for several purposes! Happy s’moriing while you wait for the raking to begin!

Fall store hours – 10am-6pm

Utah Garden Centers – Planting Trees in the Right Spot

June 11, 2013 by Becky

Planting trees is a long term investment. Initially, it costs you time and money and then years of watering and tending. Your tree can become priceless to you and so worth your time and effort. However, don’t let your investment go to waste by planting your favorite trees in the wrong spot. You’ll end up ripping out your tree, fixing house and sidewalk problems, or experience a ghastly sight if the power company has to come and trim your branches away from the power lines. Avoid these potential problems by planning ahead. Even if you start a one-gallon sized tree, following these simple guidelines before you dig your hole, will save you time and money and heartache in the future. Planting trees in the right spot is very important!

The most important overriding rule is know the final/adult size and shape of your tree. All little babies grow up, even cute little baby saplings. Good independent garden centers in Utah, like Western Garden Centers, will provide excellent quality material and you’ll have the information you need for these guidelines.

#1 Plan where you plant your tree in relation to your house or buildings. We have a friend who moved into a neighboring house. The previous owners liked a little blue spruce and wanted to frame their home with it. Well, they actually did frame it, about 2 feet away from the home. They didn’t plan ahead for a potentially 40 foot blue spruce to be so close to the home. In a few more years, even the trunk itself could be up again the rain-gutter. Eventually, the new owners will have to take out the tree to save on expensive eave and roof repairs. Misplaced trees can also have their roots damage your home’s foundation, sidewalk, and driveway. Know your tree’s potential, above ground and below!

#2 – Do not plant under power lines if your tree will become too tall or big! If your tree looses a branch and cuts the electricity during a Utah heavy snow storm, then remember that all your neighbors will be ticked off as they rush to save the food in their freezers and hope that their computers didn’t fry on the disruption. Know that eventually, the power company does have the right to keep clear any branches of residence and business’ trees. It’s part of living in a community! They will come and clear away any and all branches within a certain amount of feet from the lines. Plus, anything directly above the lines have to be pruned also. Your trees won’t get the tender loving care of a good arborist, the power company will cut away like a marine hair cut! Know your tree and be responsible!

#3 – Don’t plant too many “baby” trees together just because you like the look of a lot of material. Again, eventually you’ll be ripping out your good money. They will grow and crowd each other, also causing disease and basic illness of some of your trees. Know your tree and don’t overplant!

Last week I went driving within a 4 mile radius of our home and took photos of trees that were not well thought out before they were planted. Carefully examine and don’t become a victim of this common error. Know your Tree!

Flower Pots

May 12, 2012 by Becky

Flower pots are a big commitment for someone like me. Throw them together in April or May, and then my neighbors and I have to look at them until September or October. That’s a long time…and that’s slightly terrifying to a person like me. What if they’re ugly? What if I hate how they turn out? Ugh. My solution used to be to opt out and make my poor, tired husband do it. I kinda did that…for years. I water, dead-head, and make sure they don’t die, but for a long time I just couldn’t handle the pressure of creating something that needed to be beautiful.

Well, I finally got brave a few years back, and now I plant the flowers! This is a big deal. I usually stick to the same basic flowers every year, but I always try something new that I haven’t seen before. Like I said, brave!

So this is one of those things that I show ONLY to illustrate that I am still learning how to garden (and manage my time with 4 busy kids). Since our last baby came in the Fall, all I had the time/energy/mental capacity to do was stick my pots in the garage. They had been sitting under a honey locust tree, so they were full of leaves. Not so beautiful. {The upside down bottles are my plant nannies. I love them! You attach the long plastic cap to an old water bottle, fill it with water, and then stick it in the terra cotta spike (which you sink into the soil in your pot). The terra cotta (which stays moist from the bottle of water) keeps the soil moist, which keeps my plants a lot prettier on hot summer days. Moist soil also absorbs water better than dry soil, so it’s easier to water them.}

This is what the terra cotta looks like

This is my house plant nanny. Just push the terra cotta down into the soil, and you’re in business!

Back to flower pots…this is what I went home with to make my porch more beautiful! I also ended up with some veggies for my garden. I couldn’t resist!

I always like to do a pot with orange and blue flowers. Probably my favorite flower combination. Ever.

And then I did a pink pot for Princess Sassy Pants because she helped me pick out flowers and pink is her favorite color!

I tried a yellow and white combo this year.

Osteospermum is probably my all-time favorite flower to put in my pots!!

So here are my before and afters! This doesn’t look like a big deal, but I’m excessively proud of myself. Just like every year. And if you knock on my door, I will probably make you tell me how lovely my pots are. It’s amazing how much they really do add to a space. I’m not cutesie and with-it enough to put out fun decor for every holiday, so my porch looks kind of bleak and barren in the winter. I love Spring!

Get the Kids Involved!

May 3, 2012 by Becky

We asked for ideas to involve kids in the garden, and had such a great list of thing to do that we had to share! I’ll definitely be using some of these to get my kids excited about gardening. Thanks to everyone who contributed!!

Becky–I pay my kids a penny per rock to get all the little rocks that creep into our garden from our neighbors yard. Sometimes I pay them a penny per dandelion head too!
Laurie–When my kids were little I paid them a penny per snail—solved our garden snail problem in a hurry!
Jami–We have a million pine cones in our yard, so I give each kid a grocery bag and tell them to see how many they get. The winner gets a treat…the winner always gets 3 treats so they can share with their brother and sister!!
Solducky–Going on bug hunts! A good chance to teach the difference between good bugs and pests in the garden too. And then I can squish the squash beetles or other pests.
Renee G–I used to have my boys make veggie pictures and then we stapled them to wooden popsicle sticks to label the rows in our garden.
Ruthann H–My four year old helps me by pointing out all the “nasty” weeds (goat head thorns) he also points out all the poop in the yard. Such a helper!!
Sarah B–I got a set of child-sized garden tools for my 4 year old and gave her her own little patch to work in. She chooses what to plant and gets to learn the ins & outs by working her “garden!”
Jenette–I let the kids pick what kind of garden they want to plant. My daughter did a pizza garden and my son did a ratatoulli garden. They each have their own grow box and take care of their garden from seed to harvest and preparation. They have so much fun doing it! They are very possesive of their gardens and make sure the weeds stay out and the plants get the water they need. Great way to teach responsibility and a self-sufficiency skill!
Kammi B–We give our kids plants and seeds as gifts, like at Easter time or for birthdays. They sometimes will get a little hand shovel or gloves to go with them. Each year they get a spot to plant their own garden items. Sometimes their spot requires a little bit of weeding so we make that a family activity. I have to remind them to water their plants every once in a while, but it’s so rewarding for them to see that they grew something all by themselves. Even more rewarding when they can eat what they grew! Also, in the summertime we have fun making an “only from our garden” dinner. We eat only what we pick from the garden. Gets us to go out and pick our veggies and fruit, and plan a meal together. My kids are much more interested in what we plant, and how we take care of our garden now.
Jane C--I remember as a kid getting paid at an aunt’s house a penny a weed. But my favorite thing was picking raspberries! It is always fun to know you are helping to grow something you can eat later!
Melissa–We have weeds that grow from bulbs in our garden. In order to get my little brother to dig out the bulbs as well as the plants, we have hidden arrowheads and other fun things in the dirt by the plants.
Paula–We got our kids interested in gardening by letting them pick seeds and plant them on the condition that they had to help water and weed. And they were excited to see their results. My daughter started by helping with planting a watermelon, she was 4 at the time.
Deanne–Our favorite Primary teacher Lani gave her little 3 year old class a lesson on water and what a gift it is from Heavenly Father. She gave the kids each their own watering can, I can’t tell you how many times our little grand-daughter is bringing it to me to help me water outside. When my girls were little each had their own row in the veggie garden, some wanted to plant veggies, but one liked flowers the best so she planted those. We would go on snail hunts and stick them in a big ziplock and leave in the sun to cook. The kids got a kick out of that. They foam up, sick I know, but kids like that kind of stuff. Two out of the three are great gardners in their own homes now.
Katie–I have my boys see if they can get up to 100 weeds…we have a very weedy patch of gravel. The 7 year old easily made it and then decided he wanted to go to 1000! He got up to 475 in one day. My friend asked what they get for doing this. I said, “Um, the satisfaction of pulling 100 or 1000 weeds.” No prizes necessary, but I might copy the penny per rock idea for rocks that make their way out of a pathway into the lawn.
Tobi S--I worked in the front yard weeding, but this time I had my three little granddaughters help me. They picked up about 100 pinecones and made a bundle of money. After that, they got right into the dirt with me. I gave them a spade or fork and boy did they have a ball kicking up the dirt. At one point, Bella started to collect Rolly Pollys. A little later I asked her where the Rolly Pollys were and she opens her little sweaty hand and had about 20 poor little guys in her palm. I had her put them back into the dirt. I worked in the yard for over 2 hours and they never left me, sweet little darlings.
Eric F–While we were out working in the yard the other day our sweet 2 year old decided to make a beautiful bouquet of pretty yellow dandelion flowers. She is not quite old enough to really understand what is a weed and a planted flower so we are happy to let her wander around the yard gathering her “beautiful” dandelions while we do the dirty work.
Melissa W–Heres an idea: Give the kids a bucket or bag, whatever is easy to hold, and whoever can collect the most unwanted garden/yard items in 10 minutes gets a prize
Jeremy–Make a game of “HORSE” out of it, like the basket ball game. 1st kid does something, say like pick 10 weeds in 30 seconds. Kids after have to do that. If they don’t complete the task in the set amount of time, they earn a letter, and so on…..
Tisha–We split our family up and see who can fill their buckets full of weeks first. My girls LOVED that. I think they loved that we got rained on too. They keep asking to do it again and we shall, the weeds in my parking strip are fierce.
Megan–I have always thought that involving kids in the whole growing process is neat. Start by giving them a choice of plant/flower/veggie, etc. they want to plant, then that can be “their” plant to take care of, weed, water (with guidance), and see how it grows and develops. It gives the child purpose and responsibility.

Six Steps to Mowing the Perfect Lawn

July 26, 2010 by Becky

It might look good immediately after mowing, but it could be killing your lawn.

Before the invention of the mower, bluegrass (the prevalent turf in the Salt Lake Valley) grew long blades full of chlorophyll which captured the energy of the sun and provided energy to the grass. Mowing the lawn too short reduces the amount of chlorophyll exposed to the sun, increases the amount of water needed for the lawn because of evaporation from un-shaded soil, and generally stresses the plant. Cutting the lawn too short isn’t healthy for the plants and will look worse in the long run.

Here are six steps to help you keep your lawn looking great all season long:

Never cut more than 1/3 of the turfgrass blades off at any given mowing. This reduces plant stress.
Set the mower as high as you can bring yourself to do. Mow no less often than usual. This will develop into the uniform look you want, just at a higher level.
The longer the turfgrass blades are above the ground, the longer the roots can develop below the surface. This allows better water absorption and reduces potential water stress.
Less stressed turfgrass can better resist damage from fungus and insects.
Mowing your turfgrass shorter first thing in the spring to remove overwintered dead tissue is OK. Raise the blade height over several cuttings to get to the preferred height. Mowing the last time of the year at a lower level is a good step to remove tissues that would otherwise die anyway, reducing the potential for fungus damage.
Apply water correctly.

Keeping your lawn a little longer will help keep it healthy, lush, and free of disease. If you have questions, please feel free to stop by and visit any of our expert gardeners at Western Gardens—and don’t forget to follow us on Facebook.

Planting a New Lawn in Five Easy Steps

June 23, 2010 by Becky

A healthy lawn is the centerpiece of your landscaping and does a lot more than increase the value and beauty of your home. Your lawn helps clean the air and encourages cooler temperatures around the house.

Although there are many who enjoy the benefits of instant grass (sod), planting will also yield a lush and healthy lawn. Here are a few tips to help you get started, but we are always available to offer help and advice if you’d like to personally talk to one of our experienced gardeners:

Area: The seed package will identify how many square feet a pound will cover. To determine square feet, multiply the length by the width. For triangular areas, multiply the base times the height and divide by two. For circular areas use the radius and times by 3.14. If the area you want to plant is irregular, break it down into rectangles, triangles, and circles and add them all together to get square feet. One pound will typically cover 300 square feet.
Preparation: Make sure you have 6-8″ of well-drained, fertile soil for healthy root growth. You may need to add topsoil. If so, till 2″ into the existing soil, rake away rocks and other debris, then cover with the remaining soil. You will need to apply an All-Purpose fertilizer by raking it into the soil. Once you’ve shaped where the grass will grow, roll the area with a half-full roller until the seed bed is firm and smooth. Your final preparation for seed is to gently rake the surface to create small furrows for the seed to lodge into.
Sowing: Using a spreader, spread half of the seed evenly over the entire seed-bed, walking in one direction. Spread the second half, walking at a right angle to your first sowing. (Don’t attempt to do this in the wind.)
Covering: Your grass seed will germinate best if lightly covered with a top dressing of peat moss—1/8″ to 1/4″, but no more. Roll the seed and peat moss with an empty roller to ensure that the seed is in contact with moist soil to germinate evenly.
Water: It’s important to keep the top layer of soil moist until the new grass is well established. If it’s cool and not windy you might get away with once a day, but as the temperatures rise, or if there is a light wind, you might need four to five light waterings a day. Spray a light misting for the first two weeks, coarser nozzles can be used after that. Don’t allow the seed-bed to dry out during the first few weeks.

Follow these five steps and it won’t be long before you’re beautiful new lawn is growing strong and healthy. If you have any questions, or need help picking the right seed or fertilizer, stop by Western Gardens and one of our gardeners will answer all your questions.

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