http://www.wshh.com/sarablog/home.aspxThe Latest Dirt From Sara's Garden. A Wish 99.7 Gardening Channel Blog.en-usCopyright 2010, WSHH-FMTue, 07 Sep 2010 02:52:05 GMTSun, 20 Jun 2010 14:15:04 GMT1http://emmisinteractive.comIf we could just get a weekend without RAIN and social obligations, we could power wash our deck and apply the sealer to it! It’s always best to do this project on a DRY deck with no rain in sight for a day or two. You don’t want to seal in any moisture. While we’re waiting (and waiting) to do that project, the rain’s made the grass green and the flowers grow. Last year’s new Peony did NOTHING. It’s thriving in it’s new location and I can’t wait to see its dark pink blooms. Some other perennials, which I just planted THIS year are additional colors of Phlox on our front slope and Coral Bells with variegated green and white foliage. I think they are sweet, but my hubby likes BIG flowers as opposed to dainty ones. Oh well, we have some of each.   I sprayed the Coral Bells, ...http://www.wshh.com/sarablog/blogentry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10110672slockard99@aol.com (Sara Lockard)http://www.wshh.com/sarablog/blogentry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10110672Sun, 20 Jun 2010 14:15:04 GMTOne of my favorite spring blooming trees has always been the Redbud. What first caught my eye was the unusual look of it in bloom. When it blooms, there are no leaves...just flowers. And the colors lean toward a light purple and pink mix, which really make the blooms stand out. When another tree in our yard had to be removed this year, we bought a redbud for our yard! (We finally had a place to plant one!) The planting just happened to coincide with the 40th anniversary of Earth Day and our late April anniversary. What a perfect and lasting reminder of both. http://www.wshh.com/sarablog/blogentry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10110668slockard99@aol.com (Sara Lockard)http://www.wshh.com/sarablog/blogentry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10110668Sun, 20 Jun 2010 14:01:44 GMTA friend of mine, who knows I love gardening, turned me on to a catalogue called White Flower Farm. I can’t endorse their catalogue because I’ve never ordered from them, but I will say I am thoroughly enjoying it! Oddly enough, while leafing through my March issue of Better Homes and Gardens magazine, there were numerous ads for White Flower Farm. It’s a good idea right now to make some rough sketches of what you’d like to see in your yard this year. Don’t forget, if you’re ordering from a catalogue of any kind, hardiness zones 5 & 6 encompass Western Pennsylvania. Any reputable company should offer that kind of information to make sure you buy the plants that will do best here in our area. On your sketch (or list if you aren’t much of an artist!), think about whether you want to include a water feature this year, ...http://www.wshh.com/sarablog/blogentry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10101261slockard99@aol.com (Sara Lockard)http://www.wshh.com/sarablog/blogentry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10101261Sun, 23 May 2010 22:45:28 GMTIf there was one good thing about all that snow (and I do mean ONE good thing!) it is that it added lots of moisture to the soil. The shrubs that were lucky enough to survive the weight of all that snow are thriving. So last week I started the arduous but rewarding task of re-shaping them. They look so much happier...as am I!  Topiaries are tedious to trim the first time around, but I keep an eye out for stray leaves and tips and when I see them, a quick snip with a scissors or clippers keeps them looking neat. I always wait for blooming shrubs to finish before giving them a good trimming. I have a hot pink Honeysuckle shrub out back that needs a “haircut” but right now I am enjoying the beautiful blossoms. I made the mistake of letting it grow too high and wild initially ...http://www.wshh.com/sarablog/blogentry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10110676slockard99@aol.com (Sara Lockard)http://www.wshh.com/sarablog/blogentry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10110676Sun, 23 May 2010 22:44:43 GMTLooking outside and seeing sunshine is always a mood booster for me. Add to that the sound of birds singing and it seems there may be hope for gardeners yet! If you’re like me, you’re itching to get out there and start digging, planting and pruning. Due to those heavy February snows, there’ll be serious clean-up to do. Once things warm up and dry out, we’ll have to take inventory of all those bent and broken shrubs and trees and figure out what can be salvaged and what will need replaced. After that, it’ll be time for the yearly clean-up of the flower beds. That will include clearing out the the twigs and dry leaves that have accumulated before we can even think about planting anything. But until then, I’m continuing to peruse my garden magazines, garden catalogues and reference books to get fresh ideas and find out what kinds ...http://www.wshh.com/sarablog/blogentry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10101262slockard99@aol.com (Sara Lockard)http://www.wshh.com/sarablog/blogentry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10101262Sun, 23 May 2010 22:42:57 GMT The garden is a a great place to spend time with your pets, but there ARE a few things to watch out for in order to keep your pet happy and healthy. In an online article at Pawnation.com, there were several things to watch out for, with regards to your pet’s safety. Some flowers and even some bulbs can be poisonous. Pawnation reports that tulips, hyacinths and daffodil bulbs can damage a dog's mouth and esophagus, causing drooling, vomiting, severe diarrhea or even abnormal heart rhythms, depending on the amount consumed. So if you’re pet’s a digger, keep them away from those areas and places inside where you are storing bulbs to be planted in the Fall. And there are some leaves from certain lilies, like the day, Asiatic and Japanese varieties, that can cause severe kidney failure in cats. Just one or two leaves could kill them. As for ...http://www.wshh.com/sarablog/blogentry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10114594slockard99@aol.com (Sara Lockard)http://www.wshh.com/sarablog/blogentry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10114594Sun, 23 May 2010 22:08:58 GMTLast week as I  was working in my garden, my neighbor came out of her house and said, “I was afraid I had missed them this year!” She was talking about one of my Iris gardens, which faces her back yard. As it turns out, she thought maybe the hard rains had destroyed the flowers but in fact, they had not even bloomed yet. “I look forward to seeing them every year,” she said. I told her I'm glad she enjoys them as much as I do and she should think of them as her garden, too.   It always makes me feel good when people compliment me on  my flowers. I love that they bring joy to others, even on a cloudy day.   As a child there were Irises flowering on both sides of our front steps, which led from the street right up to our yard. My mom and dad called them "Flags", ...http://www.wshh.com/sarablog/blogentry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10112550slockard99@aol.com (Sara Lockard)http://www.wshh.com/sarablog/blogentry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10112550Tue, 11 May 2010 23:30:17 GMTNow that we're officially into Fall, it's time to give our homes the harvest look inside and out. This can be done with things as simple as two or three ears of colorful Indian Corn on the door tied together with raffia, to bales of hay, cornstalks, scarecrows and fresh hardy mums in bushel baskets.  Inside, there are always ways to bring autumn to your decorating scheme with placemats, runners and tablecloths in red, orange, gold, brown, green and even shades of plum. I like adding garlands of faux berries across the top of my china cabinet or even my refrigerator.  You can tie a thin strand of raffia around simple votive glasses (centered on the glass well away from the flame, of course!) and insert pumpkin, spice or cinnamon votives.  Another great idea for entertaining is to scoop out the center of a colorful squash or small pumpkin, enough to ...http://www.wshh.com/sarablog/blogentry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10051980slockard99@aol.com (Sara Lockard)http://www.wshh.com/sarablog/blogentry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10051980Tue, 29 Sep 2009 14:00:55 GMTI have a new flower bed this year that tends to hold too much moisture in spots. When there’s too much rain, it can cause powdery mildew. I've had a problem with it on my Bee Balm plant. So I treated it with an appropriate product. It doesn’t really get rid of existing mildew, but it should help prevent it from spreading. I trimmed of some of the affected areas. Follow the product guidelines for details. I noticed holes on the leaves of my Black Eyed Susans this year. Slugs or snails really did a number on those! I used granules that should take care of the problem. I moistened the ground first and then sprinkled the granules on the soil around the plant, taking care not to get any on the plant itself. As with any pest, weed or disease products, wear gloves when using them OR make sure to ...http://www.wshh.com/sarablog/blogentry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10047490slockard99@aol.com (Sara Lockard)http://www.wshh.com/sarablog/blogentry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10047490Thu, 20 Aug 2009 13:59:57 GMTEveryone loves a lush, green lawn. But grasses can go dormant when there’s no water to be found and they turn brown. The more you water, of course, the greener it will be. And by the way, you should feed your lawn at least in Spring and Fall according to experts. Raise that blade height on your mower. Shorter grass dries out more quickly. So, keeping the grass a little higher will keep the roots cool and hold the moisture in the soil longer. Check out the link below for more details.   http://landscaping.about.com/od/grassgrowingtips/qt/fertilizingLawn.htm http://www.wshh.com/sarablog/blogentry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10047483slockard99@aol.com (Sara Lockard)http://www.wshh.com/sarablog/blogentry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10047483Thu, 20 Aug 2009 13:58:09 GMT