Dear $$firstname$$,

Ahh…the joys of summer! Gardens are bursting with life, and longer nights mean more time outdoors. The Garden Club is here to give you a few budget gardening tips and “Yard Smart” ideas to make the most it. Plus, the Plant Doctor answers some tough gardening questions, and you’ll chuckle at two readers' summer backyard blunders.

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READ ON TO DISCOVER...

• Plant of the Month
• Yard Smarts
• Plant Doctor Q & A
• Budget Backyard Makeover Tips
• Backyard Blunders
• Enter to win a $13,000 Massey Ferguson Tractor
• Submit Your Story
• Help us pick our next soft cover book!

Plant of the Month

‘Tropicanna Black’ Canna

Botanical name: Canna indica, ‘Tropicanna Black.’

Featuring: It’s more shade-tolerant than other cannas. The hot-colored flowers (which open red, later mellowing to tangerine orange) make a stunning contrast with the striking purple-black leaves.

Mature size: 4’ to 6’ high.

Hardiness: Zones 7 to 11; grow elsewhere as an annual or overwinter rhizomes indoors.

Growing tips: Because this canna is so big and dramatic, it makes an outstanding focal-point plant, in the ground or in a large container (try choosing a pot that echoes the flower color).

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Yard Smarts

Keep Feeders Filled!
Here’s a great way to keep your tube bird feeders filled. I fill recycled juice bottles with seed and invert them onto my bird feeders. They’re held in place with duct tape.

As the birds eat from the feeder, seed drains from the bottle to keep it filled. It’s a great timesaver and good for the environment and birds, too. —June Marie Weaver, Harrisonburg, Virginia

Suit of Armor
No matter how hard I tried, I was constantly cutting off our young rose plants at ground level with our weed trimmer. So, I took large food cans with both ends removed and slipped them over my small plants. Now I can trim around them without damaging the plants. —Charles Childers, Rathdrum, Idaho

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Plant Doctor Q & A

Q: My beautiful mountain ash tree died 5 years ago. I’ve tried replacing it, but the three I’ve planted have died. What am I doing wrong? —Natalie Beacom, New Berlin, Wisconsin

Melinda: In general, it’s a good idea to avoid replacing dead plants with the same or a related species. If a pest killed the first one, there’s a good chance it’s still around to attack the next victim.

Try planting the mountain ash in another location far from the first tree. Make sure to water during dry periods, avoid excess nitrogen fertilizer, prune only during the dormant season and in dry weather, and mulch the soil. This will help keep the tree healthy and avoid the risk of fireblight, a common disease of mountain ash.

Q: My father is having a difficult time growing grass in his yard due to the heavy shade of two large oak trees. Any suggestions? —Myrtle Marie Rogers, Zachary, Louisiana

Melinda: St. Augustine grass is a shade-tolerant warm-season grass. Unfortunately, it’s only moderately drought tolerant. If there is dappled shade under the tree, your father may want to try centipede grass, a good choice for southern gardens. This aggressive grass is more drought-tolerant than St. Augustine and somewhat shade tolerant.

Whatever you do, avoid excess watering and cultivating under the trees. Such practices may help the grass grow, but it could kill his prize oaks. Mulch may be a better solution, and it’s also the healthiest option for the trees.

Read Melinda’s  “Top 10” list of the most popular questions and answers related to gardening.

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Budget Backyard Makeover Tips

Set against architectural elements like arbors, fences and walls, the right plants will make narrow side yards shine.

Dead space comes to life. This 7- by 30-foot side yard wasn’t much to look at until Charlotte Graham transformed it into a showcase. “It was just dead space,” says Charlotte of Pittsboro, Indiana. “But it got a lot of sun, and I thought the arborvitae along the lot line would provide a nice backdrop for a cottage garden.” Husband Rex built the elegant arbor, which Charlotte designed to echo the gables on their house.

Retirement Benefits. Gloria Biggs of Arlington, Texas says her husband took up landscaping as a retirement hobby. Now this cozy corner, with its vine-covered arbor and tidy plantings, is one of her favorite spots. Purple-flowered lilyturf thrives in the shade beneath the meticulously pruned crape-myrtle trees. “The patio is a haven to enjoy any time of day, whether we’re having our morning coffee or watching the birds,” Gloria says.

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Backyard Blunders

Where’s the Dog?

My husband, Freddie, finally finished the beautiful deck he worked so hard on. Right after nailing on the last piece of skirting, he called me out to see it.

It looked beautiful!

As the afternoon went on, both of us realized our fox terrier, “Liz,” had disappeared. It’s unusual for her to wander off, especially for such a long time.

Both of us began calling her name, hoping she’d come running across the yard. That’s when we heard a faint whine…from below the deck!

There she was, trapped like a jailbird. Liz must have fallen asleep below the shade of the deck before Freddie put the final piece of skirting in place! —Elaine Friedrichsen, Denison, Iowa

Very Well-Done

Bless my wife, but there’s a reason I like to handle the cooking. In 14 years, she’s burnt up four stoves to the point of ruin!

So when she decided to take her cooking skills outside, I wholeheartedly supported her, but worried a little, too.

She fired up our gas grill, put the hot dogs on and carefully watched them so they wouldn’t burn. Once they were done to perfection, she turned the heat off and went to the kitchen to finish the rest of our meal. Unfortunately, she didn’t take into account that the grill retains heat.

Ten minutes later, she returned to find ashes. Dinner that night was strictly vegetarian! –Rusty Houser, Wilcox, Nebraska

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Enter to Win this $13,000 Massey Ferguson Tractor

Want a chance to win this ultimate garden tractor? Then go ahead…take some photos of your yard and enter our Backyard Makeover Contest. The Grand Prize winner of this year’s contest receives a Massey Ferguson Sub-Compact tractor, valued at nearly $13,000.00! Click here for details

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Help us pick our next soft cover book!

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