Susan Durisek's blog

BOok LOok: William Cullina’s Understanding Perennials

Susan Smith-Durisek — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 02:42:33 +0000

Wondering what to do to get your perennial plants ready for the winter? For a timely review of William Cullina’s new book Understanding Perennials, click on the following link: Master Gardener Book Looks

Of Pests and People

Susan Smith-Durisek — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 12:59:54 +0000

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’.

Bulb:Bulb:Bulb . . Easy-Going Gardening!

Susan Smith-Durisek — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 14:07:02 +0000

Bulb Time!

Want to learn some quick and easy gardening tips that will bring you early spring blooms, even if you’ve never gardened before?

CLICK HERE FOR BULB-o-RIFIC ideas.

Hookers Meeting in Louisville, Kentucky Cross Ohio River to Visit Stripes Exhibit

Susan Smith-Durisek — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 15:06:11 +0000

Flower by Setsuko Fukuda, Kokubunji City, Tokyo Japan

Rug hookers, that is. Here’s a Post Script to this Saturday’s Herald-Leader Inside/Out feature story about Rug Hooking. (Click HERE to read the original feature article.) The P.S.: If you’re interested in rug hooking , there is also an international exhibit up at the Carnegie Center in New Albany, Indiana. which is just across the river from Louisville. If you go to the Association of Traditional Hooking Artists’ (ATHA) show in Louisville this coming weekend, it’s just a short jump away. The exhibit up at the Carnegie Center in New Albany is called Stripes, which is a world-class, travelling Japanese-American collaboration of 56 rugs on display now through the month of October. What can you create using stripes? A variety of ideas can be seen in this show. If you time it right, while your there you can also visit the Cat House Rugs shop in nearby Floyd’s Knobs, Indiana, too. Click on the following links to find more information:

Stripes Exhibit Carnegie Center for Art and History 201 E. Spring St., New Albany ; (812) 944-7336. Open now through October 24,10 a.m.-5:30 p.m, Tuesday through Saturday,. Free.

Cat House Rugs 4106 Andrew Dr., Floyds Knobs, Indiana; (812) 923-0200

ATHA Biennial Convention at the Seelbach Hotel in Louisville.

Orioles a Home Run for Springhouse Gardens Blog

Susan Smith-Durisek — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 13:19:19 +0000

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.

Rain Gardening in the South

Susan Smith-Durisek — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 15:56:49 +0000

Many folks are establishing home rain gardens, both as a water feature in the landscape plan and as a way to handle storm water runoff by conserving and spreading out the effect of natural rainfall.

Want to learn more about rain gardens? To read Fayette County Master Gardener Sherry Thomas’ review of Rain Gardening in the South, written by horticulturalists Helen Kraus and Anne Spafford from North Carolina State University, click HERE.

Butterfly Metamorphosis & Migration

Susan Smith-Durisek — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 02:28:07 +0000

Hard to believe, but the same insect can take on many different forms during tis life cycle. Take butterflies, for instance. First, they’re just tiny eggs, which hatch into caterpillars, followed by a dormant period in a cocoon or chrysalis, finally emerging as a classic fluttering butterfly.

Don’t expect them to stick around here much longer, though. Monarch butterflies, which we are observing as they pass through Kentucky, migrate thousands of miles south this time of year to overwinter in Mexico. You can track their progress at the Journey North Web-site by clicking HERE.

Ash Tree ID: Take a Look …

Susan Smith-Durisek — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 18:17:01 +0000

The Emerald Ash Borer has been in the news recently because it was just spotted in Kentucky earlier this year. This exotic insect pest, thought to have originally arrived in North America in wood aboard ships coming from Asia into Great Lakes ports, was discovered in Michigan about 2002, and has been spreading into other states since then; one of the major means of dissemination is thought to be cut firewood. Homeowners have been advised to keep an eye on their ash trees for signs of an infestation, and not to plant new ash trees in light of this insect threat. But do you know how to identify an ash tree? Community members have been putting green ribbons on them, so if you see a tree marked that way, take a closer look. UK College of Agriculture Entomology professor Dr. Michael Potter also suggested that it might be helpful to put up some illustrations:

Ash trees have compound leaves, which means that individual leaflets are grouped onto stalks. They forma leaf unit made up of smaller leaves, which is then attached to the branch. On a mature ash tree, the bark has ridges that seem to interlace in a diamond-shaped pattern, but on younger trees, the bark is smooth.

To go to a CSI style investigation of the Emerald Ash Borer, CLICK HERE.

Want to learn more about the Emerald Ash Borer in Kentucky? CLICK HERE.

G-20 Summit at Phipps Conservatory in Pittsburgh

Susan Smith-Durisek — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 12:46:12 +0000

The Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Garden in Pittsburgh has been chosen as the site of a welcome dinner hosted by President and First Lady Obama for the G-20 Summit leaders and spouses on September 24. When Considering productive and positive ‘green’ directions for the world economy, what more appropriate, beautiful and symbolic choice of location could there be than in this large, historic Victorian glasshouse built in 1893, in an institution which has become a leader today in green building practices? The earth-sheltered Welcome Center entry, which debuted in 2005, followed the next year by a 12,000 square foot Tropical Forest Conservatory which is said to be the most energy efficient in the world, are worth a visit for long look. Anyone who has visited such greenhouses, and experienced their uplifting, refreshing and growing environment knows that the image of their lucsh space sticks well as a model for what our own garden homes can be. What an inspiration for world leaders. Subsequent summit meetings will be held at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center, which was the first convention center in the world to be awarded a LEED Gold Certification by the U.S. Green Building Council.

For more information about the Phipps Conservatory, and how you can visit, click HERE. Thinking about a Fall Getaway? Pittsburgh is about a 6 ½ hour drive from Lexington. The Frabel glass exhibit is up until January.

(photo credit: VisitPittsburgh)

Schoolyard Landscapes Build Community

Susan Smith-Durisek — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 20:37:54 +0000

The Henkel Denmark landscape company sent its employees and even some contactors to work on a volunteer mission today. Crews replanted, weeded, trimmed, and hauled greenery in an effort to beautify elementary school grounds before classes begin August 12th. Click HERE for more of the story. Click HERE for a Photo Gallery taken of the crew at Glendover Elementary. You can click on the photos for a better view. It was a welcome sight to have people I’ve known for 30 years doing hard but heartwarming physical labor to improve the lanscape at Glendover. Thanks, Henkel Denmark.