Show Page 12 Gunnison Valley News Salina Sun Spring Supplement April 25 2001 Add some color to your yard this spring with some simple tips from USU Extension by Jerry Goodspeed L'SU Extension Horticulturist Color is starting to creep back Bulbs and a into our landscapes few shrubs are beginning to blossom and soon the spring perennials will be blooming Before long we will be rushing to the nurseries and garden centers to pick outannualsof every hue and color to fill empty spaces invading our landscapes Here are some tips: Make a plan for what to plant in those vacant spaces Designing the flower bed before ever looking at a flower or entering a garden center ensures that the flowers will fit the design instead of the other way around First thing to do is measure the flower beds Then- using graph paper draw the beds to scale Typically make one square on the paper equal one square foot Make drawings as accurate as possible to the actual shape of the beds and then make several copies Next use colored pencils or crayons to start the design Draw in borders and group plantings indicating desired colors and mixes Play around and have fun with the design Do not think about what type of flowers just use the colors and pretend any color is available If you don't like the design you can always grab another copy and start again Time-savin- g These might include planting with oranges purples with yellows or reds with greens blues Some of my favorite designs include complementary plantings Purple nierembergia is wonderful planted with the deep yellow Dahlberg daisies larmonious colors are next to each other on the color wheel Examples would be combina tions of red with purple or orange blue with purple or green yellow with green or orange or orange with yellow or red These plantings are not as vivid but have a more softening effect This is why red geraniums look at home surrounded by violet and pink lobelia or alyssum Monochromatic plantings can also be quite attractive These color schemes use different flowers in a single color throughout a flower bed For example an all pink garden might use pink geraniums petunias verbena and vinca The different hues and forms add interest and appeal After determining the colors needed to fill the design calculate the amount of flowers by counting the number of squares on the graph paper in any color Most annualsareplanted onaboutone-foo- t centers I prefer them closer together so they fill and look full the whole summer The last step is going to the nursery to buy the flowers in the desired colors taking them home and incorporating them into the beds Try different annuals from year to year Try to stay away from the predictable petunias and marigolds as often as possible There are many other beautiful annuals with fewer problems and that are in less demand during the spring planting rush Karl Humphrey and Jeromy Hyatt are always available at Gunnison Implement with top quality John Deere parts They also stock a large selection of garden tools fertilizer seeds and sprinkler system parts for your yard project tricks to keep your garden (Continued from Page 11) place and if there is a barrier that it doesn't may seem unorthodox demand so much attention What to use for barrier materials? Old carpet works great! A word of treatments that help reduce soilage in carpets are bad for plants so be careful If you have carpet that ) ou can be confident would be safe it could be very useful in the garden cut it into strips and use it to walk on Left in large sections with planting holes cut out of the carpet not only blocks the weeds it retains moisture and keeps mud off your shoes too Throw it away at the end of its usefulness Newspapers and cardboard can be used similarly There are commercial products for this very use also Plastic mulch usually works black and around well and lasts about a year there are landscape fabrics thaj will last for more than one year But like everything else there are different grades The heavier they are the they will last Sim longer You do not have to be an artist to design a beautiful flower bed Any color will look better than brown Certain colors will give different effects Warm colors such as red yellow and orange bring a sunny feeling to a cool shady area Cooler colors such as blue green and violet bring a soothing coolness to a hot patio or walkway colors provide Complementary dramatic plantings Complementary colors are opposite each o tlier on the color wheel at the end of the season and use them another ply roll them up year Applying a mulch product over the fabric or plastic mulch will keep them from sun rotting This works better in an area that you aren't going to need to move the material Landscape fabrics lets air and water through the fabric and the mulch product helps to retain the moisture The mulch product can be gravel grass clippings bark chops sawdust or even soil just remember that the heavier it is the more likely weeds will germinate in it and the harder it is to rework if necessary One quick weird about insects: They're probably going too be prolific this year because if the mild winter Grasshoppers are relatively easy to kill before they have wings After that it's really hard for any sprays to kill them all Avoid spraying everything-trto spray just the bugs Don't spray when bees are present It's easy to know when bees are present they are always after the flowers weed-fre- e so wait until after the flowers on that particular tree or bush have gone Ants wasps and flies attracted to a plant in your yard are dead giveaways that you have an unwanted pest in that plant Turn over some branches You have to look "behinds their ears" sometimes Identify the insect use the properly labeled spray and ember-read the labels Using beneficials insects as a control for damaging insects is becoming more popular I can say from experience that the beneficials can be very effective What are beneficial insects? Little guys like ladybugs and lacewings up to insect giants like praying mantises make up this group of bugs The best part about using beneficials is getting away from the toxic sprays which still work best when the infestation is too numerous guess "How to Get Out of Work" should really have been called "How to Make Your Work Effective" Good Luck and good gardening! EM WnoSffiffi a Cattle Company Venice Utah I 896-526- 0 Specializing in CUSTOM COMMODITY MIXES along with STEAM-FLAKECORN & BARLEY i A Growing Rations & Finishing Rations to all Bulk delivery available of Central & Southern Utah 1 |