Calico Woman contains colorful articles and tips on various subjects

Calico Woman

Green w/Roots

Leave Astilbes uncut for interest in the winter garden

Fall Garden Tip

This is the time of year to plan next year’s garden. Surprised? Taking a walk around your garden with a notebook this time of year will be the most valuable time you spend planning. Take notes about what plants you want to move or divide. Be specific, (third hosta from the left) because the garden bed will look very different come spring. Make notes about colors or textures that need to be added, or directions for better pruning and staking. If you liked your container plantings write down exactly what and how many plants you used. Enjoy reflecting on the beauty you enjoyed and anticipate the pleasure ahead.

Preparing the Garden and Landscape for Winter

The summer is over, clearly autumn has arrived, and winter can’t be far behind. It is time to prepare the garden and surrounding landscape for the harsh months ahead. Here are 3 simple tips to help you get started.

Clean Up: Before the first killing frost do one last weeding in the garden. This will prevent seed heads from dispersing and give you a head start in the spring. Remove any diseased plants or foliage to prevent the disease from spreading or even laying dormant in the ground until next spring. Do not compost diseased materials. Cut back foliage that is done blossoming and unattractive at 2 to 3 inches off the ground. Plants such as lavender, Russian sage and astilbe bring interest to the winter garden if left untrimmed. Phlox, peonies, and monarda (bee balm) should always be cut back because they are highly susceptible to disease. Plants that still look good, annuals, hostas, sedum and others can be cut back after the first killing frost. Unfortunately, raking is a must for a healthy, attractive lawn and garden.

Cover Up: You might be surprised to discover that most perennials do not need to be covered up or protected. However if you are trying to grow plants or shrubs that are not hardy for your agricultural zone, or it’s a first year perennial, or it is expensive or special you might want to take extra precautions. The preferred method for protecting garden perennials is to mulch, but mulching does not mean covering up your plants. The mulch material should be placed around the base of the plant, not covering the center or crown and should not be done until after several hard frosts. The idea is to prevent the ground from unthawing and refreezing causing the plant to heave or start spring growth prematurely. Materials for mulch can include shredded leaves (run your mower over the leaves several times), processed manure, or shredded bark. It is advantageous to use something that will break down over the winter and add nutrients or ammend the soil.

Tender shrubs and roses often require some protection from the harsh winter winds, temperatures and animal damage. Plastic or wire hardware cloth can be used around the shrubs to protect the bark from rodent damage. To protect from winds and temperatures shredded leaves can be put in as well. Hybrid tea roses should be protected before the temperatures drop below 25 degrees F. I unabashedly recommend The Garden Dome a product developed by my brother which is a plastic frame that fits over shrubs or plants and has a cloth cover that slides over the frame and is secured to the ground. (see sidebar or read more at www.thegardendome.com) Continue to water evergreens and newly planted shrubs as long as possible.

Collect: Walk around your garden and yard and collect the decorative elements that would take a beating; statuettes, wind chimes, gazing balls, etc. Don’t forget about that ceramic bird bath that is susceptible to freezing and cracking. Take clippings of any annuals that you want to bring indoors. Consider cleaning out your containers and storing before the weather is miserably cold. Be sure to drain and bring in hoses and if you do not have freeze proof faucets those should be drained and shut off as well.

A garden prepared for winter is a protected investment. A little time and energy spent now will bring a more pleasant result in the spring.

Do you know what this is?

It is a fungus I found at my parents' near Cheboygan, MI Email me with your ideas.

Garden Website of the Month

The Van Bourgondien Family have a wonderful website. Just looking at the pictures gives you strength to make it through the winter for another spring. Now is the time to plant those beautiful tulips, hyacinths, crocus and daffodils. They have a great selection of bulbs and tubers. They have a special running until Sept. 22 for $50 off $100 order! Check it out at www.dutchbulbs.com

Is there some garden topic you would like to hear about? Do you have a comment to share? I would love to hear from you.
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The garden dome in my yard last winter.

Steve Slunick; Inventor and developer of The Garden Dome

About a year ago I got a call from my brother Steve. He was in the process of developing a new product that would protect plants and shrubs from harsh winter conditions. He asked me if I would be willing to test a prototype. I had the perfect specimen; we had planted two clethora bushes on the corner of our driveway and sidewalk, right where all the snow piles up from the snowblower. The first year we ended up replacing one of the bushes because of structural damage to the plant. The Garden Dome would be the perfect solution…and it was. I decided to share with Calico Woman readers an interview I did with Steve.

Calico Woman: Steve, give us a little background on yourself.

Steve: I am 41 years old and live with my wife and three boys in Clarkston, Michigan. I graduated from Ferris State University and have been a product engineer for an automotive supplier for over twenty years.

Calico Woman: What is your interest in gardening?

Steve: I am a landscapist always searching for the ultimate curb appeal. I work hard and invest in my lawn and landscape in an attempt to improve the value of my home. These days it’s all I can do to try and keep up our home’s value.

Calico Woman: What motivated you to invent The Garden Dome?

Steve: A few years ago I fell in love with a Red Hydrangea in my local nursery. I knew very little about it or how I would end up spending years trying to get it to bloom like that again. It turns out this plant was brought up from the South and does not thrive in the Michigan climate. I did my homework and found that this shrub, like Rhododendrons and Azaleas, get their buds in the fall. The buds need to survive the winter in order to bloom the next year. So every year, I would determine how I was going to wrap, squash or find a way to protect my shrub for the winter. I knew what I needed, but no one made any protection like this…so I did.

Calico Woman: What has been the most difficult part of developing a new product?

Steve: I am a product engineer and I do this quite often for my job, so developing the product came fairly easy to me. What has been the most difficult is MARKETING. Getting the world to know and understand this product seems like a never ending monstrous task.

Calico Woman: Explain what you think are the best uses for The Garden Dome.

Steve: I think the best use for The Garden Dome is protecting roses. I have tried those Styrofoam covers that never fit over my rosebush and when I finally get it to cover the bush it always breaks when you stake them down. The Garden Dome is much bigger so it fits easier over the plant, not to mention you don’t have to trim the plant back far to make it fit. Simply assemble the frame over the rosebush then bury the bush with leaves and grass clippings up to the top of the frame. Put the cover over the frame and stake it down. The cover will prevent the snow from compacting the leaves. This also works for hydrangeas as well. In the spring, The Garden Dome folds flat for easy summer storage and use again next year.

Calico Woman: Are you considering other products at this time?

Steve: I am thinking of making a camouflage cover for those areas that get hit with ice storms rather than snowstorms. This would help protect against ice damage as well as hungry deer and rabbits. I am also considering a Frost Armor for young annuals in the spring. It seems like just after I get my annuals planted, I have to find a quick way to cover them from frost.

Calico Woman: The Garden Dome is great product. I’ve already ordered my second one. I wish you the best success. For more information on The Garden Dome visit www.thegardendome.com

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