The Mystique of Wildflower Meadows The words “wildflower meadow” summon a mental picture of colorful blooms waving in the wind, fluttering butterflies, and busy honeybees buzzing from bloom to bloom. This lovely picture invites you to wade through a fragrant sea of waist-high blooms, a magnet for wildlife with color from early spring through frost. …
What Kind of Tree Should I Plant? People often ask me what kind of tree to plant, and then I start asking questions. How much space do you have? What’s the purpose of the tree? Why do you want a tree in that spot? What are the growing conditions? Why would you plant a particular …
Your Boxwood Shrubs Need Protection NOW! Boxwood, a popular evergreen shrub we’ve been planting for many years, is suddenly in the crosshairs. This reliable landscape mainstay is under attack from winter burn, a well-known insect, a non-native insect recently found in Ohio for the first time, and now a deadly disease. Pinpointing the culprit can …
Hydrangeas – Choosing the Right One For a long-lived display of huge showy blooms, few plant families can top the diverse Hydrangea. Every year we see new Hydrangea varieties introduced, making this plant more of a problem-solver and a landscape staple. To choose the right Hydrangea you must first answer two questions: how sunny is …
Connecting Children with Nature Do you worry that your children or grandchildren are slipping out of touch with the natural world? You have intelligent company. In his book Last Child in the Woods – Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder, author Richard Louv directly links childhood obesity, ADD and depression to the lack of nature …
Shade Trees Pay for Themselves There’s a reason that old farmhouses are surrounded by mature shade trees. After a day in the fields, farm families could retire to a cool house. In the days before air conditioning, farm wives could work in relative comfort if there were big trees casting a pool of shade on …
Night Lighting Part 3 Less than 100 years ago, everyone could look up and see a spectacular starry night sky. Now, millions of children across the globe will never experience the Milky Way where they live. The negatives of excessive night lighting include blinding glare (excessive brightness that blinds you and hurts your eyes), skyglow …
Night Lighting Part 2 The nighttime environment is a precious natural resource for all life on Earth, which exists in a rhythm of light and dark provided by the sun, moon and stars, quietly guiding all living things since life began. Now, artificial lights overpower the darkness and our cities glow at night, disrupting the …
Night Lighting Part 1 Have you ever thought about how wonderful it is that you can see the stars in the night sky over Adams County? It’s easy for us to take this miracle for granted, but visitors from cities and suburbs notice it right away. It’s one of the ways we’re compensated for the …
Watering Tools Hot, dry weather is hard on your plants, whether you are a vegetable gardener or have landscaping to maintain. A long period of sunny, breezy weather sucks the moisture right out of plant foliage. During extended drought, established plants will eventually use up the stored moisture in the ground. A mature shade tree …