Tag Archives: nature

Tool Talk

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~The following tools are used & recommended by Ashland Garden Club Members~

Hori Hori Knives Japanese Hori Hori Knife –Used for weeding, digging, cutting roots, dividing perennials, removing plants from pots. Unbelievably versatile!

 

Nejiri Gama Garden Hoe.jpg Nejiri Gama Garden Hoe (Japanese garden hand tool) Narrow end pushes deep into the soil helps with weeding, planting seedlings, aerating the soil, making seed trenches, and breaking up clods & soil.

 

Hand Plow Ho-Mi DiggerHand Plow Ho-Mi Digger (short-handled) A Korean tool that’s an all-around hand-digging tool, useful for planting, weeding, rock-removal and finding irrigation lines.

 

Sheep Shears – Large long blades are useful for clipping & trimming small shrubs .

Long Handle Gardening Fork Dividing perennials, digging out trees, shrubs & perennials, Easier on the back when using long handle as leverage.

Garden Bucket Caddy Slips into a plastic bucket and holds garden tools.

Flexible Buckets – Great for hauling weeds, plants, hand tools around the garden.

Felco 7Felco Pruners – Pruning, quality pruner, replaceable blades & parts, easy to sharpen. Right or Left handed offered.  Felco 7: Is a ergonomic heavy duty pruner with a spinning handle,  great for people with a arthritic thumb.

 

Florian Ratchet Pruner Ratchet-cut mechanism increases hand strength, prunes branches up to ¾ Inches in diameter, has a Lifetime Warranty. Right or Left handed offered.

 Kneelon Knee padsKneelon Knee Pads – Flexible, Waterproof, durable, machine washable.

 

 

circlehoe.jpg CircleHoe– For weeding & cultivating close to plants.

Hoop Hoe, Stirrup Hoe, Action Hoe – All Similar hoes for weeding around plants.

 

Winged Weeders – For weeding, cultivating, edging, aerating and making furrows.

Balling Spade – Ideal for cutting deep and slicing through roots.

potlifterPotlifter – Lifts 250 lb – Saves your back when lifting pots or rocks. Also sold: Pro Potlifter for lifting 350 lbs.

Yard Butler Rotary Cultivator or Garden Weasel Cultivator (collapsible handle available) – Weeds, aerates, detachable center tines work between plants & rows.

Leaf Luster Digital Soil Thermometer – For measuring soil temperature for germination and transplanting

 Leaf Luster Soil Tester – Contains tests for ph, nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium levels.

Rapitest PH Meter – easily checks the pH level of your garden soil and potted plants.

Mico-tip Pruners – aka Floral Pruners- For deadheading & pruning smaller plants & flowers.

Fiskars Softough Mico-Tip.jpgFiskars Softough Mico-Tip Pruners- Awarded the Arthritis Foundation Ease-of-Use Commendation for a design that is easy-to-use for people with arthritis or limited hand strength.

Roto Digger Auger- Uses: Planting bulbs, bedding plants, seedlings, deep water aeration, fertilizing trees & shrubs.

Corona AC 8300 Sharpening Tool – 5-Inch super carbide file for sharpening straight edge tools.

 Fiskars Softouch Weeder (7060) – Ergonomic weeder with forked tip cuts deep to remove weeds by the root.

Corona Clipper Razor Tooth folding sawCorona Clipper Razor Tooth – 10″ Folding Pruning Saw – Sturdy, easy to use, easy to store. Lifetime warranty.

 

Tru Temper Miniature Shovel – For planting bulbs and weeding.

Tru Temper Narrow Garden Fork – D-handle – For digging and mulching.

Yard Butler RKT-1000 Rocket Weeder – Pull weeds from the roots, organic weed control, ergonomic handle, ejector button pops off the weed-keeping your hands clean.

Gardex or Garden Home  Leaf Scoops-  Multi-purpose hand-held leaf scoops.

 

Horticulture Report: Verbascum

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Southern Charm

Plant Name: Verbascum (mullein hybrid)
Cultivar: Southern Charm
Plant type: Perennial
Height: 2 ft
Bloom Time:Late Spring to Mid-Summer (then again in the fall)
Flower Color: Pastel Rose to Ivory
Exposure:Full Sun
Soil Requirements: Normal to Sandy
Water Needs: Drought tolerant once established
Attributes: Large 1.5” showy flowers, deer resistant, two bloom times , Silvery Foliage
Note: Does not self-sow
Uses: Cutting garden, Perennial Garden
USDA Zone: 5-9

Horticulture Report: Oakleaf Hygrangea

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Plant Name: Hydrangea quercifolia Hydrangea_quercifolia_ Oakleaf
Common Name : Oakleaf Hydrangea
Cultivar: Ice Crystal
Plant type: Deciduous Shrub
Height:   3-6 Ft tall – 3-6 Ft wide
Bloom Time: Summer to Fall
Flower Color: Creamy White aging to Pink (clusters of conical shaped flower heads)
Exposure: Sun to Part Shade
Soil Requirements: Acid soil, Excellent Drainage
Water Needs: Low to Moderate ( prefers drier soil after established)
Attributes: Showy Flowers, Interesting Leaves that turn red in Autumn, USA Native, Compact Mounding Shrub, Papery Bark, Multi-Stemmed, Fragrant Flowers.
Note: Will not tolerate “wet feet”. Plant will get root rot very fast if left in soggy soil!
Uses: Woodland Plant, Borders, Group Plantings
USDA Zone: 5-9 ( hardy to -20 F)

By Carlotta Lucas

Garden of the Month: July 2015

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Driving past 128 Wimer Street I often admired the beautifully landscaped front garden and the lovely home rising up from the street, but my eyes were always drawn to what lay just beyond the home. A tall deer fenfrontce marked the back garden and what appeared to be two “sheep” standing among the roses. I just knew there had to be something special behind that gate.

I met with Cindy Barnard, the owner, and was able to get a closer look at her garden and meet the not-so-real sheep that guard it. What I do know, is that there are no words to adequately describe the beauty of the landscaping or any pictures that can capture what you’ll find there. What I can tell you is that the yard holds two majestic trees – a Coastal Redwood (planted approximately 1906), a Douglas Fir and a stately oak – that have been there for many years. The Conrad and Lavina Mingus home, built in the late 1880’s, and at the time nestled in the middle of a small fruit and nut orchard, was originally designed to accommodate the harvesting.Pic 2

Cindy bought the home in 2006 and in 2007 began planning an extensive remodel.  Joanne Krippaehne (Madrone Architecture, Ashland)  was the architect chosen to redesign the home and Kerry Kencairn, the landscape architect, who, with the involvement of Cindy’s son, Seth Barnard of Solid Ground Landscaping, turned this property into the inviting garden it is today. After several planning workshops and sessions, the concept simplified into:  “bring the outdoors in and the indoors out.”  But, even as the project grew more complex than originally anticipated, it is now easy to believe that Cindy wouldn’t want to live anywhere else.Pic 3

The garden, originally on the Spring 2009 AAUW garden tour, contains a variety of trees and plants – old fashioned quince, a new Asian persimmon and two fig trees, hydrangeas, peonies, berry bushes, roses, hostas and so many others, too numerous to mention. After recently spending winter days at Hidcote  garden and Yew Garden in England, Cindy found joy in the winter color included in those beds and, after lawn removal, added a beautyberry bush (genus Callicarpa) to her back garden.   A thriving hand-watered vegetable garden and three compost piles take up a sunny location in the back of the property.

pic 4

Submitted by: Kaaren Anderson

Pic 5

Ashland Creek Pond

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Garden Tour: AGC members visited the Ashland Creek Ponds Monday June 1st, where teacher Mia Driscoll of Helman School lead a tour of the area. Helman School has been a recipient of Club donations for the Ashland Ponds Project for several years. Ashland Pond is hidden away on north side of Ashland in Quiet Village. This pond was re-discovered in 2008, but it was severely overgrown with invasive species.  An ongoing community effort began to restore the pond to a natural riparian habitat. Ashland students, Lomakatsi Restoration, Bear Creek Watershed, the City of Ashland, along with many volunteers and community organizations worked to clear 12 acres of invasive plants and replant native trees and vegetation. All this effort  created a wonderful place to stroll, bird watch and be in nature.  The Ashland Creek Pond is a secret garden in the city. The area is used as an outdoor learning experience for Ashland students and last year AGC made a donation for binoculars so students could observe nature closely. The Ashland Creek Pond is open to the public.

map Ashland PondsWP_20150318_005   WP_20150318_010       WP_20150318_008