This is important — All species of yew contain highly poisonous alkaloids known as taxanes, with some variation in the exact formula of the alkaloid between the species.

All parts of the tree except the arils contain the alkaloid.

The arils are edible and sweet, but the seed is dangerously poisonous; unlike birds, the human stomach can break down the seed coat and release the taxanes into the body. This can have fatal results if yew ‘berries’ are eaten without removing the seeds first.

Make certain your kids know this!

Similar in overall appearance to the yew, plum yew’s foliage is a little coarser in texture and more olive green in color. There are low growing selections (‘Prostrata’) and a very beautiful, large, wide, spreading shrub (‘Duke Gardens’).

Unlike yew, plum yews are much more tolerant of a wide range of soil conditions and are equally adapted to dense shade plantings. This makes them ideal in poor soil areas of your backyard landscape where you have trouble growing plants.

These are easy to grow and can cover large areas or, if you prefer, you can keep them trimmed.

Bird houses should be easily accessible so you can see how your birds are doing and, when the time comes, clean out the house.

Part of having bird houses is your willingness to watch out for your tenants. Monitor your bird houses every week and evict unwanted creatures: house sparrows, starlings, rodents, snakes, and insects.

Be careful when you inspect your bird boxes. You may find something other than a bird inside. Don’t be surprised to see squirrels, a mouse, a snake, or insects. Look for fleas, flies, mites, larvae, and lice in the bottom of the box.

If you find insects and parasites, your first reaction may be grab the nearest can of insect spray. If you do, use only insecticides known to be safe around birds: 1% rotenone powder or pyrethrin spray. If wasps are a problem, coat the inside top of the box with bar soap.

Here’s how to check your nest boxes:

» Continue Reading

Plant your azalea in early spring or early fall.

If your soil is loose, well drained, and has lots of organic matter, planting will be easy. If drainage is poor, you’ll need to correct the drainage problem or plant in raised beds. You can work in some well-rotted leaf mold or compost if the soil is short of organic matter.

» Continue Reading

Ferns make good, low maintenance garden plants that have surprisingly few pests and diseases.  I enjoy ferns as they fit very well around my pond, but can be placed in other areas as well, and are pretty easy to maintain.

Many ferns prefer light to moderate shade, somewhat moist conditions and soil rich in organic matter. Ferns are adapted to a wide variety of conditions–some ferns prefer dry rocky sites or wet marshy conditions while others thrive in limestone-rich soils.  There are garden ferns for just about every condition you encounter in a garden.

Acutally, there are over 500 kinds of hardy ferns that can be grown in American gardens.

Different plants have different water needs.  It’s important to keep this in mind when selecting plants and when choosing the area of your yard where you will be planting them.

Some tolerate drought during the summer but need winter rains.

Others need a consistent supply of moisture to grow well.

Careful attention to the need for supplemental water can help you select plants that need a minimum of irrigation to perform well in your garden.

If you have poorly drained, chronically wet soil, you can select lovely garden plants that naturally grow in bogs, fens, and other wet places.

If you do not want to spend much time watering your plants, choose accordingly. The wide variety of plants available will allow you to pretty much do what you want and still give you a colorful backyard.

Do you remove the fish? The plants? Or what?

Actually the first year I had a pond, I brought in the water lilly plants - they died. After that, I always left the plants and the fish. I remove the hose from the pump and simply keep the water running all winter.

This keeps the pond from totally freezing and very seldom do I lose any fish. And the plants all come back in the spring.

Nothing. The ants are only on the buds to collect sugars excreted by tiny nectaries on the surface of the petals. While they don’t need to be present for the buds to open properly, they won’t hurt your peonies either, so don’t be concerned.

My grandson likes to knock the ants off the buds, and that’s fine. But they are not going to do any harm - nor are they going to do any good.

Prune your roses lightly in autumn, removing canes long enough to be whipped by winter winds and those canes with signs of disease.

Pruning to remove remaining dead, diseased, and damaged canes is done in early to mid-March just before growth starts.

Species and climbing roses are pruned by removing entire canes all the way to the ground to encourage an open, vase-shaped habit.

The rest of the roses get pruned to knee height at an outward facing bud. You can do some light pruning to shape the plants during the summer as needed.

Here are a few simple guidelines for selecting healthy conifers that will please you for many years to come:

Check the root system. Most conifers are sold either balled and in burlap, as well as in containers. Since they are shallow-rooted plants, check to be sure that the plants have adequate, healthy roots. The root tips should be creamy white or reddish in color - not black. Check to see if the plant is loose and wobbly - push gently on the plant and watch the base of the stem. If the pot or the burlap looks old and worn, the plant may have been sitting in the sales yard for several seasons, and the root system might not be healthy.

Bigger is not necessarily better. Many conifers acclimate better to a new planting site if they are young and vigorous. If faced with the choice of planting a hedge with 5-6 ft tall plants or 3-4 ft tall plants — the 3-4 ft plants is the better choice. After two or three years, the shorter plants will very often surpass the 5-6 ft tall plants in growth because the larger specimens will take longer to adjust to the site.