B"yond Mow & Blow

Anna’s, Rufous, Black chinned, and Broad-tail are some of our most common hummingbirds in So Cal

The new grape arbor is looking pretty good!

Don’t miss the Mary Lou Heard Garden Tour May 5th and 6th. Lots of beautiful gardens to give you inspiration http://www.heardsgardentour.com/

A new transformation, used small groupings to be economical and create flow. By end of summer they will fill out just enough. No need to waste money having garden look finished at first planting then in a few months you have to start trimming or removing plants.

Happy Spring! what to do? Get out those gardening gloves and get weeding. Take advantage of the soft soil and weed, weed weed for the next few days. Catch them while their young and you can get the roots and seed! watch this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Ojl28uJeUo

Entire back yard was overgrown as in photo 1. Photo 2 shows as piles of "trimmings" started to buuild up. We filled over 20 trash bags and 10 cans of green waste!

Love leonotis as it blooms almost year round if trimmed correctly. Find some fun info and pruning tips here: https://www.gardenanalyst.com//shru/wild-dagga-care-guide/

Keep alert, some pets chew plants, some don't, but usually new puppies and kittens chew everything!!

Tip of the week: Most seeds and starter plants tell you how far apart to plant your new plants. While guessing may work ok, its easy to take one of your long handled tools and make it do double duty! Lay it on the ground next to a tape measure. Using a permanent marker, write inch (and foot if its really long) marks on the handle. When you need to space plants a certain distance apart (from just an inch to several feet) you'll already have a measuring device in your hand. Do a small spade and a shovel and you will have it on the right tool for the right size plant.

Here is a tip that was passed on to me today. It is a great little video about adding Epsom salts to your garden! It works wonders! https://www.youtube.com/watch

Tip of the Week(s) Potting: #1 - Use coffee filters to line your pots before adding the dirt to keep it from coming out the bottom #2 - in large pots lots of sites tell you to put rocks in the bottom before dirt so there is room for the water to drain to prevent root rot if you overwater. Even better - put packing peanuts in the bottom then either permeable planting material or coffee filters over them before adding the dirt. prevents root rot and oxygen is good fort the roots. AND so much lighter than using rocks!

Tip of the week: #1 Plant in 3's - To give your garden a more professionally designed look (with little effort) repeat the same plants (and hardscape) in different places throughout the yard. Don't just buy one plant of each type (except for purposes of tip #2). This tends to make a garden look messy and lack continuity. Plants look best planted in clusters - usually in 3's. Use the same formula for pots, planters and other materials for paths and outdoor furniture. And for c...olors - Be sure your colors blend or accent each other. Tip of the week: #2 (since I was on vacation) Most plants will survive in their pots for several weeks without needing to be planted if you take care of them. Buy just one of any new plants you want to add and put it in the spot where you think you want to plant it. See if it is getting the proper sunlight and how it responds. Also if you think it looks good there. You can move it around more easily before it is planted to find just the perfect spot. Then buy two more and plant them all! See more

Don't forget - two Very Important Garden (VIG) events this weekend: Fountain Valley Rain Barrel Sale Saturday 5/6/17- http://www.rainbarrelsintl.com/events.asp AND The Mary Lou Heard Garden Tour Saturday and Sunday - http://www.heardsgardentour.com/ -sadly I am out of town this year.

Tip of the week - Use your tools to save time! You can use your shop vac to pull all of the dead buds off of plants like pink jasmine and bougainvillea before you trim to keep the mess more manageable. You will have a lot less to sweep up AND you will have gotten rid of cobwebs and any hidden spiders that could sting if you forget your gloves. See the before and after photos: