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Show Page 10 The Ogden Valley News Volume XXX Issue VI June 1, 2023 Weber County General Notice of Noxious Weeds Notice of noxious weeds in Weber County is hereby given pursuant to the Utah Noxious Weed Act, Utah Code Annotated Chapter 4-17. The noxious weeds with the greatest impact in our area are yellow starthistle, Scotch thistle, purple loosestrife, phragmites, dyer’s woad, puncturevine, Dalmatian toadflax, myrtle spurge, leafy Whitetop spurge, whiteYellow Starthistle top, burdock, and houndstongue. Additional noxious weeds with Dyer’s Woad potential to impact our area can be found at <tinyurl.com/ webernoxiousweeds> Additional information for controlling weeds can be found at <tinyurl.com/usuweedcontrol> Common Burdock Scotch Thistle Purple Loosestsrife Leafy Spurge Dalma琀椀an Toad昀氀ax Phragmites Myrtle Spurge Puncturevine Houndstongue On Sunday April 30 at Pineview Reservoir, Noah and Anderson Stapp had some fun with the Valley’s transition from winter to spring. Photos courtesy of Jared Stapp of Huntsville. This is What an Eighty-year-old+ Does for Fun Shown above is Chuck Retallick, our local Adventure Guide at Powder Mountain. He has raced Intermountain Masters Races for over 35 years. On February 25 and 26 this year, he raced at Nordic Valley’s slalom races and took first place both days. Just for fun, Chuck decided to jump off the top cornice of Hook Shoot (see above photo), which is considered one of Pow Mows’s most infamous runs. He and his friends say they have really enjoyed the deep powder this year. An interesting fact, Chuck is 83 years young and has been skiing professionally for 68 consecutive years! He was former Professional Ski Instructor of America and a Level 3 certification examiner. Tips for Preserving Water in the Yard andseason.Garden The water your plants will need By Laurie Van Zandt My work as a landscape designer means that I must be conscious of space planning, seasonal interest, outdoor amenities, composition, scale, balance, function, aesthetic, and—of course— plant design. Here in the high mountain desert of Northern Utah, I must also be intrinsically aware of the increasing role of the lack of water for our landscapes, while creatively combining unique and pleasing plant choices with the rather limited availability of what will flourish in our climate. At heart, I am an ardent gardener, and as soon as the weather permits, I can most often be found puttering around in my own garden after work. I have firsthand knowledge of how plants grow, react, struggle, and flourish. I’d like to share some observations from my own garden, and from my hundreds of visits to my clients’ gardens. • We very often over water. Soil on the Valley 昀氀oor tends to drain fairly well, with soil up on the benches leaning toward heavier clay. Therefore, plants on the benches would need to be watered less often than the same ones on the Valley 昀氀oor. Most of the landscapes of newer-constructed homes are designed with low water and/or drought tolerant plantings such as Gambel oak, hawthorn, serviceberry trees and shrubs, Apache plume, rabbitbrush, blue mist spirea, Pawnee buttes sandcherry, chokecherry, lilac, snowberry, native geranium, yarrow, penstemon, coreopsis, and lavender, etc. By the fourth year after install, irrigation may be able to push up to ten or so days between waterings during the summer with these types of gardens, especially up on the benches, and even more days in between in the spring and fall. • Even with plantings that are not typically considered “low water” such as roses, peony, foxglove, crabapple trees, etc., you can likely get by with much less watering than anticipated. Anyone who has visited my garden knows that I have a lot of plants, with all di昀昀erent levels of watering needs, as I like to use my garden as a sort of “test” garden. Living on the Valley 昀氀oor with welldraining soil and a garden that is only about four years old, I watered my planter areas only every 昀椀ve days in the hottest parts of last summer. This summer I will try to push this back to every six days. • A key component of xeriscape planting is to group together plants with like-watering needs. If you do want some speci昀椀c higherwater plants, plant them so that they all can be on the same valve. This way, only those particular plants will get additional water. Alternatively, you could plan on hand watering any plants that need extra water. • Consider switching to drip irrigation for plants for existing landscapes, but new landscapes de昀椀nitely should utilize drip irrigation. This keeps the water on the roots where it’s needed, avoids over-spraying, and keeps the water from drifted o昀昀 by the wind. • Keep your lawns mowed high. This will allow the grass to shade its own roots, which will allow for a greener lawn with less watering. Consider utilizing a native grass seed blend, such as cabin mix, rather than the traditional Kentucky blue grass. Once this grass is established, it can be mowed like a regular lawn if desired, with watering, likely, needed only once a week. Even if you have Kentucky blue grass, consider leaving un-utilized areas completely un-mown (English style “rough.”) You could likely get by with watering every 昀椀ve days or so with this setup. • Adjust your irrigation timer through the during May, July, and September is all radically di昀昀erent. Adjust your timers from year to year. Plants will need more water to get established, then water can be cut back in subsequent years. • I can appreciate a good gravel mulch, especially if it is gravel that was pulled from the site during construction of a home. Keep in mind, though, that rocks and gravel will retain and then emit heat, which only makes our gardens—as well as our homes—hotter. They provide no nutrients to the soil. If gravel mulch is part of your design aesthetic, consider utilizing it in key, smaller areas rather than large swaths, and place on the shadier side of the home. Bark mulch will help hold in moisture, break down to add organic matter into the soil, and will allow worms to do their thing (the drawback being that it will need to be top dressed every few years). I am a big fan of putting down bark mulch, then underplanting shrubs and perennials with low-water groundcover such as creeping thyme or Veronica. In a few years, the groundcover will grow over the mulch, eliminating the need to top dress, and will help suppress weeds as well. • Plant a tree. A well-placed tree can shade your lawn, shade your garden, shade your patio, shade your home, and instantly cool things down; thus, utilizing less water in the long run. So many homes up here have stunning views, and most people do not want to obstruct those views. I readily understand this. But, if a tree will provide bene昀椀cial shade, consider partially obstructing your view from, maybe, one window. I 昀椀nd there is something soothing in moving from a partial view to a full one. There is also something magical about looking into the green leaves of a beautiful tree. • Plant more than one tree. As one of my favorite arborists used to say, “You know what a tree loves? Another tree.” Trees create relationships and help keep each other healthy. • If you are newly constructing a home, take extreme care in the design of your home and landscape to disturb as little of the site as possible. Consider building “with” the site rather than 昀椀ghting it. Any disturbed area will need to be re-vegetated, and that takes water and time to re-establish. • Whether constructing a new home or upgrading an existing home, property owners with septic systems can avail themselves of fairly new technology that allows the recapture of gray water. Drip irrigation can easily be tied into Pack Bed Media Systems. • Take care of your garden. My goal as a landscape designer is to lure clients out into their gardens. The more often you are out in the garden, the more often you will notice things—the 昀椀rst yellow buds on a da昀昀odil, the unfurling of a new leaf in spring, the subtly di昀昀erent shades of green throughout the summer, the early autumn blush of color on a maple tree. You will also notice the health of your plants. Are they thriving, yellowing, drooping, or browning? If so, adjust your water! Note: Laurie Van Zandt has lived in Huntsville for 22 years and is owner of The Ardent Gardener Landscape Design. For more information, call Laurie at 801.388.8103 of visit the following: houzz.com/pro/theardentgardener/the-ardentgardener-landscape-design; theardentgardener. net; Instagram: @ardentgardener; instagram.com/ ardentgardener/; facebook.com/pages/The-ArdentGardener-Landscape-Design/250125247882; or linkedin.com/in/laurievanzandt. THE DIGGER If you’ve got a problem, We don’t care what it is. If you need a hand, We can assure you this, we can help, We’ve got eight strong arms, we can help! It would sure do us good to do you good Let us help!!! It’s a fact that people get in trouble, ain’t nothing new But people like you, should never have the blues Let us help, We’ve got three strong machines, let us help!! When you go to sleep at night, you’ll always be glad you call us, that’s our my dream! Fixing or digging it right and telling you everything will be right! Don’t forget us, client,, all you gotta do is call! 1. 2. 3. 4. Drains Water-lines Ditches Septic lines 5. 6. 7. 8. Post-holes Fixing fences French drains Leveling pads 9. Sprinklers and systems 10. And almost anything!! CALL DAN AT 801-332-0052 |
