When planning gardens, people may think about pollinators and select plants to benefit them. Another trend is using rain gardens to catch and hold rainwater. Water and pollinator conservation are two goals achieved with rain gardens.

Rain gardens reduce irrigation needs and can decrease the amount of rainwater running off of a property and carrying pollutants to surface water. Rainwater is a valuable resource. Consider collecting some of it with a rain garden that is filled with plants to benefit pollinators.

As snow and ice are cleared from the driveway and sidewalk, there may be more than frozen water in the shovel.

You hear these terms – “the dead of winter” and “dead to the world”, but what do they really mean?  In most cases, they’re exaggerations or synonyms for other situations; in this case, really cold weather with no end in sight and really, really tired.

In the plant world, the question of “is this plant dead?” comes up quite frequently, especially in winter, and especially with broadleaf evergreens such as arborvitae, yews, holly, boxwood and Oregon hollygrape.

Fall is a great time of the year. Trees develop beautiful fall colors, and then those leaves fall to the ground. Tree leaves are fun to play in as a kid and most everyone loves the crunch sound under your feet as we walk over fallen leaves. However, leaves should not be left on the lawn. This can be damaging to turfgrass and to surface water. It is best to use leaves or remove them.

Why Rake

There is still time to plant shade trees this fall, but know that fertilization and the addition of root stimulant products have been shown to have little or no effect on how quickly a tree establishes.

However, the unnecessary use of these products could lead to an increase in nutrients in surface water that can impair water ecosystems. Fertilizer and root stimulant products are not recommended unless a soil test indicates they are needed.