Pond Icing Over?
A timely note from garden pond professional Jeff Duggins, owner of H2O Designs, Inc., calls attention to the fact that the drop in temperatures this week may be causing unusual ice problems in garden ponds. Below is some important information to consider, especially if you’re keeping fish. Click the above link, or call (888) 297-6637 for more information.
Duggins writes:
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Deer, rabbits, squirrels, mice … all are animals with which we homeowners and gardeners sometimes co-exist, but often engage in a battle for territorial control. Then, there are moles: not so often seen, but their work just as ruinous. Sweeney’s, a company which offers products to help keep invaders at bay, hears a lot of stories of pests and people, so they established an I Hate Moles, because … essay contest a few years ago to allow some mole woe venting and peer group pouting. This year’s winners were just announced. Read them at the Sweeney Web-site by clicking HERE: I HATE MOLES.  You may not find solutions, but it’s theraputic reading, from ‘Shock & Awe’ to ‘Field of Screams’.
If your only connection with Orioles is a baseball team from Baltimore, here’s a chance to broaden your awareness.  I’ve been reading a brand new garden blog posted by Richard Weber, the very knowledgeable proprietor of Springhouse Gardens, which is a landscape and garden complex located just south of Fayette County on Harrodsburg Rd. Weber and his crew have been winning awards with garden designs and customer-friendly programs, so the blog idea is a natural for him.  Only three entries have been posted so far, but the most recent about finding oriole nests hits a home run with timely, cool and engaging info in the field of garden discoveries. Check it out by clicking HERE.
If you’ve driven up Newtown Pike lately, you’re sure to have noticed the brilliant orange & yellow floral display at the Fasig-Tipton entryway.  
The Henkel Denmark landscape company gets credit for a gorgeous job of redoing the stonework as well.  As Gordon Denmark says, “the wave of color reveals itself as you approach over the hill’s crest.”  Last May,  Lisa Russell and Bart Hufnagel went to Color Point, a 15 acre wholesale greenhouse just outside of Paris, looking for a vibrant color combination and hardy, healthy plants to create a checkerboard pattern. Russell says the large marigolds they found were an outstanding choice; it took six people a day to plant them all.   Â
This month, Henkel Denmark is also employing their awesome landscaping crew to do some Back-to-School spiffin’ up around some elementary school grounds. “We wanted to give something back to the community,” says Denmark. Both men, Denmark and partner Bill Henkel, have children who have passed through local elementary schools, and appreciate the value of the educational community and the positive power of welcoming surroundings for parents and students as the school year begins. So they’re closing down Henkel Denmark offices for a day on August 6, and sending everyone out on a mission to bring flowers, mulch, and even to trim some trees, to about ten city schools, including Clay’s Mill, Julius Marks, Harrison, Booker T., Ashland, Glendover and Yates. The effort was coordinated with the school district, to assure compliance with regulations; an advance team identified specific goals for each location. Henkel Denmark’s vendors and sub-contractors also are on-board and offering help: Landscaper’s Corner is providing mulch; Pemberton Greenhouse, flowers; Community Tree Care, chipping and hauling; and Todd Kelly’s Nursery, some perennials.  Â
 The report card grade? This idea gets an  A+
Whatzit #1 Solution        
Rather than creating a sidewalk or driveway which blocks water from flowing through to the ground below, you can install permeable pavers which allow stormwater to soak in instead of run off. The open structure of this particular paver also lets grass grow up, creating greener spaces around your home. This photo was taken at Ashland, the Henry Clay Estate, which is holding its annual Lawn & Garden Party fundraiser on June 20th.  Click Ashland for details.Â
To find out more about these pavers from a local source, see Meade Concrete Products , and check out their Eco Friendly Permeable Pavers, especially Turfstone.
Bluegrass Hosta Farm's Postcard
Can you imagine a garden with 850 different kinds of hostas? Why imagine, when you can actually visit one!
Bluegrass Hosta Farm’s owner Chris Miller opens shop for only a few months each year. May 1st will start the spring session, where she’ll have about 300 different cultivars for saleat the farm near Georgetown.  She writes: I hope to see many of you this season. I always look forward to the happy faces of gardeners. We are an optimistic bunch. After all, we always await the new spring with high anticipation!!Â
Hostas are easy-care shade perennials, with broad, plentiful leaves that present interesting foliage colors and patterns, and tall-stalked spikes of bell-shaped, purple or white blooms that rise above the leaves in summer months.
Click on this Bluegrass Hosta Farm link for more information.Â
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Windy Corners at the crossroads of Muir and Bryan Station Rds.
Windy Corners?Â
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Forget green thumbs. I’m guessing my genes are green, and know my jean knees are. MORE
If you have Fish in your pond you MUST NOT let the pond freeze completely solid. Keeping at least a small hole in the ice will allow otherwise fatal gasses to escape from the water and keep your fish healthy. There are several ways you can accomplish this
If you have a long stream or a moderate water flow you may experience ice dams in your stream. Most of the time the water will continue to run under the ice. However, if you do experience ice dams there is unfortunately not much you can do other than break the ice, place a Pond Heater in the dammed area or shut your pump down.