Working with you to keep Cooper’s Pond beautiful…
Art Bowman, chair; Bill Baum, Alison Crawford, David Darby, Joel Larson, Tom Ring
Among ACC duties are reviewing plans and specifications for proposed improvements or changes to a homeowner’s property, and whether proposed changes are consistent with the entire neighborhood. For the best localized information we rely mostly on Walter Reeves, Georgia’s most popular and most knowledgeable gardening expert. He publishes a weekly Atlanta Journal-Constitution column, hosts a WSB radio show Saturday mornings and has a useful website. He’s also on Facebook as “Georgia Gardener”. If you have questions, he writes:
The best idea is to submit them at www.walterreeves.com. Attach photos for best results. Or you can submit to www.hometalk.com, where I answer questions daily.
Find Walter’s tips to determine what lawn grass you have here:
http://www.walterreeves.com/lawn-care/turfgrasses-identifying/
Most important are Walter’s care calendars for each lawn grass:
http://www.walterreeves.com/lawn-care/lawn-care-calendars-and-factsheets/
Timely Topics
Cutting back azaleas and how to prepare bermuda grass lawns, from two recent Q&As in Walter Reeves’ AJC columns.
Q: When is a good time to cut back azaleas? When is a good time to transplant them? — Debbie Walker, e-mail
A: The very best time to trim azaleas is after flowering in spring. However, the best time to transplant is in fall, after the next year’s bloom buds have formed. I think it’s best to focus on the long term health of the shrub rather than worrying about losing next spring’s flowers. The best course is to trim your azaleas now, then transplant them, but know that there will be fewer flowers next spring.
source: http://www.ajchomefinder.com/gardening/now-is-best-time-735313.html
Q: I have bermuda grass in my front yard. Last year I allowed it to get a little too tall between mowings. Now that the grass is dormant, how do I get shorter, thicker grass in the spring? — Chad Miller, Cobb County
A: The best time to get started at a new mowing height is when the bermuda grass is just beginning to show green, usually sometime in March. Cut off the brown foliage with a mowing height of one inch. Mow again when the grass is two inches tall, maintaining a height of one and one-half inches throughout the summer. Grass thickness also depends on fertilization. Use any product labeled for lawns, usually every six weeks.
Source: http://www.ajchomefinder.com/gardening/tuscan-kale-is-ornamental-1358573.html
Resources from the DIY (Do It Yourself) website…
Flower Power
A gardening pro shares how to plant flowers and shrubs for a gorgeous blooming border.
6 Steps to a Weed-Free Lawn
Learn how to turn weedy, patchy grass into a lush lawn the entire neighborhood will envy.
Which Landscaping Updates Add Value?
Visit FrontDoor.com to learn how landscaping can increase your home’s value.
Weeds Eating Cooper’s Pond
Jungle Rice:
Annual Blueeyed Grass:
Controlling annual bluegrass:
Basics for fighting weeds:
Why Trees Matter
Trees are not merely pleasant sources of shade but a potentially major answer to some of our most pressing environmental problems. We take them for granted, but they are a near miracle. In a bit of natural alchemy called photosynthesis, for example, trees turn one of the seemingly most insubstantial things of all — sunlight — into food for insects, wildlife and people, and use it to create shade, beauty and wood for fuel, furniture and homes.
Trees are nature’s water filters, capable of cleaning up the most toxic wastes, including explosives, solvents and organic wastes, largely through a dense community of microbes around the tree’s roots that clean water in exchange for nutrients, a process known as phytoremediation. Tree leaves also filter air pollution. More trees in urban neighborhoods correlate with a lower incidence of asthma, says a 2008 Columbia University study.
— Jim Robbins in The New York Times
Read the entire article here: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/12/opinion/why-trees-matter.html
If you need more help…
Call on the experts if any portion of lawn care overwhelms you. Family Tree Garden Center, Moon’s Sod, John Deere Landscaping and others may be perfect in helping you reestablish your lawn. Lots of companies provide fertilizing and weed control services. Get personal advice by asking your neighbor, the one with the near perfect yard who always seems to get “Yard of the Month.”
We wish you the best of luck with your lawn and garden. May the Green Thumb be with you. Every day your neighbors drive by your home they’ll think, “Thanks for helping Cooper’s Pond remain green and beautiful.”
bowman