The post Metal Lawn Edging appeared first on Hoot Landscape and Design - Fort Wayne.

Well pruned shrubs and trees are a hallmark of a carefully tended yard or garden. Foundation plantings are lush and full, and blooming shrubs display their blossoms on shapely branches that accentuate each plant’s unique style.

In addition to proper planting, watering, and fertilizing; pruning is an important practice for promoting plant health and enhancing the natural size and shape of landscape plants. Pruning is easy—a basic understanding of plant growth, and a few simple techniques, and you’ll be ready to go.

Tools

Most pruning tools have an arc-shaped blade, which makes short work of slicing through small branches. “Scissor action” pruners involve two sharp blades sliding past each other “Anvil cut” pruners have one blade slicing against a wide, flat surface. While scissor action pruners are more expensive, they usually make the cleanest, closest cuts.

Hedge clippers have long, straight blades. They are used for cutting small, green branches and tips and are best reserved for shearing formal hedges. Pruning saws come in a variety of shapes and sizes, with blades designed for larger branches and small trunks.

Make sure blades are kept sharp and oil them periodically. To prevent the spread of plant diseases, clean and disinfect pruning tools after use.

Proper Timing

Spring-flowering shrubs, such as these, should be pruned immediately after blooming:

• Andromeda
• Azalea
• Chinese Redbud
• Fringe Tree
• Kerria
• Mock Orange
• Philadelphus
• Pieris
• Roses
• Spiraea (early varieties)
• Mountain Laurel
• Viburnum
• Syringa (Lilac)
• Japanese Quince
• Pearlbush
• Star magnolia
• Weigela
• Rhododendron
• Deutzia
• Forsythia
• Lonicera

Shrubs that bloom in summer and fall, and shrubs grown primarily for their foliage, can be pruned in early spring, before growth starts:

• Abelia
• Callicarpa (Beauty Berry)
• Hydrangea
• Spirea (late varieties)
• Summersweet
• Crape Myrtle
• Snowberry
• Barberry
• Lagerstroemia
• Boxwood
• Buddleia (Butterfly Bush)
• Clethra
• Hypericum
• Bluebeard
• Shrub Althea
• Coralberry
• Chaste Tree
• Hibiscus
• Privet
• Ilex (Holly)

The soft, green growing tip of a branch is called the “terminal bud.” This bud produces a hormone that affects the growth of side branches. The biology of basic pruning is simple: if you remove the terminal bud, the lateral buds below your cut will be stimulated to grow into more branches. If you leave the terminal bud, the branch will grow longer instead of thicker.

Choosing the Branches

Start by removing any of the branches illustrated below that don’t belong.

Next, look at your shrub with a critical eye while considering the following questions:

• What is this shrub’s natural size and shape (rounded, arching, tree-like)?
• What is the design purpose of this shrub (hedge, foundation planting, specimen plant)?
• Does the plant growth need to be influenced to achieve that purpose?
• Is the shrub healthy and growing evenly?

A well-pruned shrub looks natural, and in most cases doesn’t look like it has been pruned at all. If a shrub’s natural shape does not suit your taste or needs, consider moving it and planting one that is better suited for that location.

Making the Cuts

There are five basic techniques for pruning shrubs. Most pruning jobs will involve a combination of techniques.

1. Pinching back: Simply use your fingers to pinch off the terminal bud of the branch. This will encourage lateral branches to form and can be a great way to prevent more pruning later on.
2. Heading back: This method removes the terminal bud, resulting in more branches. Cut the branch at an angle, about ¼” above a branch bud and sloping down and away from the bud. The branches about 6” to 8” below your cut will be stimulated the most, so keep that in mind when choosing where to cut. The bud nearest the cut determines the direction the branch grows, with the outward facing bud usually resulting in the best shape. If a heading cut is made in the middle of a branch with no bud, the result will be a flush of growth at the site of the cut.

1. Thinning: Thinning involves removing branches while leaving the terminal bud. Make the cut just outside the branch collar, which is the bulge where the branch meets the stem, but don’t leave a stub. Thinning can produce a more open, shapely plant, without altering its overall size, shape, or growth habit.
2. Renewal or rejuvenation pruning: Renewal pruning involves removing the oldest stems and branches at the base, then thinning or heading back the younger stems to promote regrowth. With rejuvenation pruning, the entire shrub is cut to stubs less than 12”. This drastic measure is usually done if a shrub has become an overgrown, tangled mass that is not blooming well.
3. Shearing: Shearing involves trimming off the tips of branches and is best used only for formal hedges. Shearing alters the shrub’s natural shape and promotes thick growth only on the exterior of the plant, which results in dead foliage and lack of growth on the interior branches.

For most shrubs, pruning is a forgiving task – once you learn how each plant grows, you can correct previous pruning mistakes as you go. With a little practice, pruning becomes intuitive and is a quick way to revitalize your yard or garden.

By: Julie Day

The post Basic Shrub Pruning Techniques appeared first on Hoot Landscape and Design - Fort Wayne.

Do you have a shrub that’s so overgrown that it’s growing into your house, impeding on a walkway, or growing into other plants?  Before removing the shrub, consider rejuvenation pruning.  There are two types of rejuvenation pruning.  The first type, extensive rejuvenation pruning, is the practice of cutting the whole shrub to a height of 4-10 inches.  After the cut, the shrub will immediately start growing new, healthy, vigorous shoots which give the shrub a new, manageable look with increased flowering.  Examples of shrubs that respond well to extensive rejuvenation pruning are: dogwood, spirea, potentilla, honeysuckle, hydrangea, lilac, forsythia, and weigela.

If you don’t like the drastic visual change that extensive rejuvenation pruning results in, there is a second type of rejuvenation pruning called gradual rejuvenation pruning.  Over a period of three years, you gradually remove 1/3 of the oldest stems every year until you have a fully rejuvenated shrub.  This method takes longer to complete, but will leave you with a shrub that stays more attractive throughout the rejuvenation period.  Using both rejuvenation pruning methods will leave you with the same result; a new, vigorous, healthy plant which can be easily maintained in its natural form.  Most of the shrubs that respond well to extensive rejuvenation pruning will also respond well to gradual rejuvenation pruning.  Some different shrubs that respond better to gradual rejuvenation pruning are: purple sand cherry, cotoneaster, burning bush, many viburnum, and with hazel.

There are a few things to keep in mind with rejuvenation pruning:

1.  Not all shrubs respond well.  Avoid rejuvenation pruning to junipers, boxwood, narrow leaved evergreens, and shrubs that have only one primary trunk.  Spring flowering shrubs won’t flower the year the rejuvenation cut is made.
2.  Timing is important.  Although rejuvenation pruning can be done with some shrubs right after flowering, the best time is late winter of right before bud break.
3.  Give special attention to heavily pruned shrubs.  Do to the stress that some shrubs receive during heavy cutbacks, watering and fertilizer can be very important.

Rejuvenation pruning and renewal pruning are two techniques that can reduce the size and volume of many shrubs without unduly harming them. Which is more appropriate in a given situation will depend on the plant species, the shrub’s function in the landscape, and the wishes of the property owner.

Lilacs following rejuvenation pruning and regrowth

Shrubs are important components of residential and public landscapes. They are used to block views, create privacy, establish borders, and provide interesting foliage and flowers. Too often, shrubs are planted and then allowed to grow with little or no management. If pruned at all, they are typically subjected to periodic shearing. Eventually many shrubs grow too big for their site or for the plant structure itself. Now that winter is over, we see them everywhere we look: big, unruly, overgrown shrubs.

Rejuvenation Pruning

Rejuvenation pruning is the more severe of the two techniques, and not all species can tolerate it. Plants that are stressed or in poor health may not survive this severe level of pruning. In rejuvenation pruning, the shrub is pruned by cutting off all old branches at or near ground level. Healthy shrubs will respond by sending up multiple new shoots, and these will need to be thinned to reduce competition and maintain the natural form of the shrub. One benefit of rejuvenation pruning is its immediacy; when the job is done, that ugly overgrown shrub is literally gone. This is, of course, also a drawback since what is left behind is an unsightly stump, at least until new growth ensues.

Deciduous shrubs that can tolerate rejuvenation pruning include Tartarian and redstem dogwood, forsythia, rose of Sharon, hydrangea, privet, honeysuckle, elderberry, spirea, and lilac. Butterfly bush and Chastetree (Vitex) can be pruned annually in this manner once we are past danger of a hard frost.  Callicarpa can be rejuvenated by pruning to 12 inches rather than cutting at ground level. Evergreen shrubs will not tolerate rejuvenation pruning.

Renewal Pruning

Renewal pruning is a gentler approach to dealing with an overgrown shrub, but it is a process that takes several years. In renewal pruning, about one-third of older wood is removed each season over three years, primarily by using thinning cuts back to the crown or main stem. This approach maintains the overall shape of the shrub while reducing its volume and height over time. In response to this pruning, and as light is allowed to penetrate the canopy, many new shoots may be initiated. As in rejuvenation pruning, these new shoots will need to be thinned. Although renewal pruning takes longer to complete, the visual impact on the landscape is much less than rejuvenation pruning.

Many deciduous shrubs respond well to renewal  pruning, including barberry, beautybush, cinquefoil, pyracantha, forsythia, honeysuckle, hydrangea, lilac, mockorange, privet (use a 4-year cycle), flowering quince, spirea, and weigela.  Renewal pruning can also be used on some evergreen shrubs such as boxwood, cherry laurel, and rhododendron.

They say that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, and avoiding the problem of overgrown shrubs is easy to do. First and foremost, make sure to fit the plant to the site. Don’t force a shrub species to fit into a space that is too small for its natural growth pattern or vigor.  Then maintain the proper size of shrubs using appropriate thinning and heading cuts as needed to manage shrub growth, size and health.

The post Rejuvenation Pruning Tips appeared first on Hoot Landscape and Design - Fort Wayne.

Tree removal is done for many reasons.  The most likely being that the tree is dead or a hazard.  Sometimes it is merely because it is unattractive or ugly.

Most trees add color and curb appeal to our properties.  So when and how do we know it is the right decision to remove a tree?

Obviously we notice problems with our trees before or after a storm with high winds.  However, an annual inspection of your trees is the best approach.  This will allow you to identify potential problems before they occur.

What you should look for:

• Dead and Dying Parts – These are the most likely candidates for removal.

• Broken and or Hanging Branches – This can happen for many reasons and may not indicate the tree should be removed.  It may only need to be trimmed.

• Missing or Decaying Wood or Bark – This does indicate a tree in distress.  However, it may require treatment and not removal.

• Leaning – Does your tree lean or is it unbalanced.  Leaning and unbalanced trees are often the first to fall with ground saturation.  This tree may be healthy but still a hazard.

• Root Problems – Your tree requires its roots to stay upright.  If you notice decay, dead or missing roots the tree is a potential hazard.

You should always keep trees and branches cut back away from buildings and electrical wires.

If you notice any of these things or are uncertain about the health of your trees call hoot landscape and design.

Tree removal can be expensive.  However, you may loose much more than your tree if it falls on it’s own.

The post Should I remove my tree? appeared first on Hoot Landscape and Design - Fort Wayne.

Maintaining Your Plants

Watering

A regular watering schedule is key the first year for new plants to establish a healthy root system. Too much or too little water can cause a plant to wilt. The best way to determine if a plant needs water is to check the soil with your hands about 3-4″ around the base of the plant. If the soil is dry then it needs water, if the soil is moist then it does not need to be watered. The ultimate goal is for the root ball to be completely saturated and allowed time to dry out before watering again.

How to determine the watering schedule

During the spring and fall, when the temperatures are cooler and there is supplemental rain, check the soil every 3 -5 days, usually requiring watering twice a week. During the summer, when it is hot and dry, check the soil every 2-3 days, usually requiring watering 3 times a week. Keep in mind that plants in the sun dry out faster then plants in the shade. However, plants under overhangs, bay windows, deck and large tree canopies can dry out, because they are blocked from supplemental rain.

Methods of watering

Hose – Watering with a hose by hand allows for more accuracy. Attach a wand or sprayer to the end of the hose and adjust to the shower setting. Focus getting the water on the base of the plant, circulating the hose around the base. Allow time for the water to soak while you move on to the next plant, and then go back and water again, so, that you are saturating the roots of the plant thoroughly. About 1 minute for perennials, 2-3 minutes for small to medium shrubs, and 3 -5 minutes for large shrubs and trees.

Soaker Hose – Watering with a soaker hose is ideal for small areas of plants. The soaker hose can be attached directly to the hose bib or to a timer that will turn the water according to the set schedule. The soaker hose should be wrapped around the base of each plant so that all sides of the root ball are watered. Soaker hoses release water slowly, allow 30 – 45 minutes for the soaker hose to thoroughly saturate the soil around the plant.

Gator Bags – Gator bags can be used to water trees. Place the gator bag around the base of the tree and fill up with water. The water will slowly be absorbed into the roots over a few days. Allow a few days for the soil to dry out and repeat.

Trimming

Rule of thumb: best time to trim shrubs is immediately after they have finished blooming. Evergreen shrubs that do not bloom can be trimmed when necessary throughout the year. Use a hand pruner to keep a natural look or a hedge trimmer for a more formal look. Perennials will benefit from deadheading (removing spent blooms). Cut back perennials to the ground after the first frost. The plant will completely shrivel up and wilt after the first frost, so it does not hurt it to cut back the dead foliage. The roots will still be under the ground, and produce a new plant the following year.

Mulching

Choosing to mulch in either the spring or fall will help protect the roots of the plants and help prevent weeds. Before you apply the mulch, make sure to clean all debris/weeds from the beds. Avoid piling the mulch to close to the stem/trunk of the plant so that it can breathe.

The mulch can help keep the weeds to a minimum, but it’s probably a good idea to do a quick weeding of the beds every month.  If you don’t have time to pull the weeds then a Round-Up weed spray that you can purchase at a nursery or home depot will do the trick.  Apply the spray directly to the weed, careful not to get it on your other plants. The weeds should die in about 2 weeks.

Fertilizing

A slow release granular fertilizer, such as Osmocote or Hollytone is recommended rather than a water based fertilizer, which allows for error. It’s best to fertilize when the ground is wet, whether after it has rained or after you have watered your plants thoroughly. *Please use gloves when handling any type of fertilizer* Lightly sprinkle the fertilizer around the base of each plant (please, read and follow directions on the fertilizer package).

The best time to fertilize is in the spring when the plants are growing, and the fall to supplement the plants through the winter. The summer is too hot and dry, fertilizing could burn the roots of the plants. In the winter the plants go dormant, they are not growing, so there is no need to fertilize.

The post Caring for Your New Plants appeared first on Hoot Landscape and Design - Fort Wayne.

The tree won’t expire right away, because just as trees grow slowly, they also (usually) die slowly. And the damage will be invisible, hidden below the soil that’s been heaped up around the trunk. So maybe you won’t know that your pretty bed is the reason for your handsome tree’s decline. But still, the fact remains.

You can see examples of this fatal mistake in front yards across the country. Why do so many people do it? Probably because of that old familiar story: one person does a new thing, and maybe this person has some sort of status or visibility, and then other people copy the thing, or “professionals” recommend it, and gradually more and more people come to think it is a good idea. Remember Mohawk haircuts? Pet rocks? Sack dresses? Well, those trends were just silly and didn’t hurt anyone. But this one is really destructive. It has to stop.

Possible reasons for this mistake

Now please understand, I do realize that a common justification for these raised beds is to keep careless mowers and trimmers from harming the tree bark. Well… this “solution” is probably even worse than the problem it is supposed to prevent, because in raised beds the damage surrounds the trunk entirely, whereas mower damage is concentrated in one or two survivable wounds (survivable unless they happen again and again, in which case the solution really should be to remove the operator of the equipment.)

I also sympathize with the impulse to create tidiness in our landscapes. A nice edge to trim against: this can be very appealing. I get it. But there has to be some other way to achieve the desired tidiness effect without accidentally killing the very tree that is being celebrated.

And finally, I appreciate that sometimes, when you’re looking for a place to add some flowers in the yard, using the tree as a centerpiece in a bed that’s elevated for better visibility might seem like a good idea. But it is not. As with everything in landscape design, the right solution must include considerations beyond just how something will look.

What to do instead

If you have a tree standing alone in your yard, here are some alternatives to the deadly raised bed:

• Mulch the ground around the trunk, but only on the level where the tree emerges from the ground.
• Make this area of mulch as big as possible, ideally at least out the edge of the branch canopy.
• For mulch, use the leaves from the tree itself (composted, chopped, or ideally just left where there they fall).
• Be sure to leave the trunk “flare” exposed, un-covered by either soil, mulch or any material that will hold moisture against the bark.
• If you still want a solid boundary to trim against, you can install around the perimeter of the mulch some sort of low edging.

Even better would be to have a group or grove of trees growing together in one large swath of rich soil that remains nearly always untouched and un-gardened. In this soil will gradually thrive microbes, fungi and other invisible creatures that help keep trees vital and healthy. (If a lot of unwanted plants show up here too, then you might need to intervene, but try to use a light touch and work with nature’s processes rather than engaging in constant battle.)

Do you still want to have a raised bed full of pretty flowers? I recommend that you build it somewhere other than around a beautiful, mature tree. Or else, if you must put the bed in just that spot and no other, you might as well cut down the tree at the start and save yourself the trouble later.

—-Written by Sue Reed

The post Deadly Beds appeared first on Hoot Landscape and Design - Fort Wayne.

Hoot Landscape has over thirty-five years of experience in residential landscape design and installation to preserve your landscape’s integrity for years to come and maintain your beautiful investment.

Hoot Landscape provides Design & Landscape installation, Natural Stone work, stamped patios and walkways in Auburn, Fort Wayne, New Haven, Huntertown, Leo, Columbia City and Laotto.

Call (260) 637-3527 to set up and appointment today!

The post Hoot Landscape appeared first on Hoot Landscape and Design - Fort Wayne.

Cardinals often sit low in trees or on the ground. Look for them in pairs.How do such tiny creatures survive these challenging conditions? While the winter landscape may look bleak and barren to us, many plants offer a banquet of seeds, berries, and nuts to the avian population. Trees and shrubs also offer shelter from predators and winter weather.  We, too, can help our feathered friends by making sure our cultivated landscapes include lots of the plants that provide food through the winter months, along with plenty of places for birds to find cover. And we can set out feeders to provide birds with an ample buffet of high-energy food.

Winter is a great time to observe and study birds as they visit feeders or plants in the landscape and to learn about birds’ life cycle, biology, and ecology. It’s also a good time to take stock of the schoolyard landscape and come up with a plan to increase its bird-friendliness when spring planting time comes around.
 

Who Are the Winter Birds?
Discovering what birds you and your students are likely to see in the winter, both visiting feeders and out in the landscape, is a good starting point.  The species encountered will depend on where you are in the country and the kind of habitats your schoolyard and nearby areas offer.  Many birds migrate to milder winter areas where food and shelter resources are more plentiful. If your school is located in a southern state, you may see avian visitors such as cedar waxwings during the winter that have migrated from areas farther north and to which they’ll return in spring to breed and raise their young. Other birds like hummingbirds and chimney swifts fly as far as Central and South America for the winter and won’t reappear in our landscapes until spring. Some birds, including house sparrows, chickadees, cardinals, and blue jays, stay put and remain in the same area throughout the year, even in the coldest northern regions.

Some species that you’re likely to see visiting bird feeders  or foraging in theChickadees do not migrate. They are very good at finding food sources in every season. They often hang upside down while searching for food. landscape in winter in many areas of the country include blue jays, cardinals, house sparrows, cedar waxwings, downy woodpeckers, chickadees,  goldfinches,  evening grosbeaks, and robins.  Have students research which birds are likely to be winter residents in your area. Are these birds year-round residents or are they migrants from another part of the country? A local nature center or Audubon Society center can be a good source of information. A helpful online resource is Project FeederWatch from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. A bird identification field guide or online resource can also help students identify bird species and provide maps showing where each species is found in summer and winter.

Have students keep track of the different species and their numbers visiting feeders and or dining on plants in the landscape. Do some kinds of birds prefer to eat certain kinds of foods at feeders or growing naturally? Do the kinds and numbers of birds visiting feeders or observed in the landscape change over time?  Do changes in the weather correlate with changes in bird numbers or behavior? Each student can create a bird journal with drawings, observations, and information about the birds he or she sees.

Consider participating as a class in the Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC).  A project of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and National Audubon Society, the GBBC is an annual four-day event that engages bird watchers of all ages in counting birds to create a real-time snapshot of bird populations. Participants are asked to count birds for as little as 15 minutes (or as long as they wish) on one or more days of the event and report their sightings online. The next GBBC will be held on Friday, February 13, through Monday, February 16, 2015. For more information, visit www.birdcount.org.

Amazing Adaptations
Birds have some clever adaptations that help them to survive the winterHang bird feeders within three feet of windows or 30 feet away to reduce the chances of a collision. months in cold climates. Do your students keep themselves snug in down jackets? The idea for these garments comes originally from birds, whose feathers and down are highly efficient insulators. Have students observe birds on an especially cold day. They may notice that the birds look “puffed up” and a little bigger than normal. The birds appear bigger because they have fluffed up their feathers to increase the size of the heat-trapping air spaces between them, which provides more insulation to preserve more of body heat. A bird can reduce its heat loss even more by tucking other body parts into this feathery blanket, by standing on one leg and tucking the other up under its feathers or tucking its head and bill under its wing feathers.

You’ve never seen a bird wearing warm winter boots, so why don’t its featherless feet and legs freeze? This is due to one of the bird’s most interesting adaptations, called counter-current blood circulation.  Warm arterial blood headed from the heart to a bird’s foot passes via an intertwined network close to the cold blood that is getting returned from the feet to the heart in the veins. The cold returning venous blood picks up heat from the arterial blood, with the result that the arterial blood reaching the foot is relatively cold, reducing the heat loss from the exposed foot. Since birds’ legs and feet are mostly tendons they don’t need a great deal of warmth, so this circulatory adaptation allows birds to conserve heat by keeping their feet just warm enough to avoid frostbite.

What Birds Need
Even with the help of these winter survival adaptations, birds must find a steady supply of high energy food to give them with the fuel they need to maintain their body temperature (which is often higher than ours!)  They also need places that offer shelter from wind, rain, and snow and protection from predators. This is where we humans can help them out. We can fill our cultivated landscapes with plants that provide a bird banquet of seeds, fruits, and nuts through the winter months. We can also put foods like seeds and suet out in bird feeders to supplement what the landscape provides.  We can include plants such as evergreens or densely branched deciduous shrubs to provide cover as well.

Create a Bird-Friendly Landscape Plan
Have students do an inventory of existing plants on school grounds. What plants do they find that provide winter food for birds? Are there areas on Shrubs like winterberry enhance any school or home landscape with color during the winter months while also providing food for local birds.school grounds where more bird-friendly planting can be added? What plants provide food or cover and are adapted to the conditions of found in your school yard?  Can the seasonal school vegetable or flower garden help feed birds in winter?  Are there spots to install bird feeders to supplement natural food sources?  Encourage your students to come up with a plan to make school grounds more welcoming to birds, not just in winter but all year round and then brainstorm how to implement it. Here are some things to keep in mind as your students learn more about birds and set about creating a bird-friendly schoolyard.

• Birds appreciate a food source at any time of the year, so try to include plants that fruit in both summer and fall. But with winter food in mind, be sure to select some with fruits that persist through the winter. These will not only feed birds during the winter but will help to nourish migrant birds returning in early spring when other food sources are still scarce. Some widely adapted plants with berries that persist into the winter include crabapple, snowberry (Symphoricarpos), American bittersweet, sumac, viburnum species such as nannyberry (V. lentago), arrowwood (V.dentatum) and blackhaw (V. prunifolium), chokeberry (Aronia), beautyberry (Callicarpa), bayberry,  Virginia creeper (Parthenocissus  quinquefolia), and deciduous and evergreen hollies (Ilex species).  Acorn and nut-producing trees like oaks, hickories, and beech will also feed birds like jays and woodpeckers.

• Select primarily native plants adapted to the conditions at your site. While the fruits of some non-natives are enjoyed by birds, native plants have evolved along with the birds and are more likely to provide the best, most digestible nutrition for them.

• Leave seed heads from plants like goldenrod and coneflower (pictured here) for birds.Leave seedheads standing in the garden over the winter. The dried seedheads of flowering perennials like black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia) and purple coneflower (Echinacea) are Mother Nature’s birdfeeders. Colorful black and yellow goldfinches and other seed-eaters will happily dine on the seeds of these and other flowers, including sunflowers, cosmos, zinnias, asters, goldenrod, and ornamental grasses.

• Set up a birdfeeder where students can easily observe the birds that come to eat. Place it about 10 feet from plants such as evergreens or dense shrubs that can provide birds with easily accessible cover from predators. But don’t place the feeder closer than 10 feet to avoid giving neighborhood cats a hiding place from which they can wait to ambush visiting birds.  Set up the feeder either within 3 feet of windows or more than 30 feet away from them.  Close placement keeps birds taking off from feeders from gathering enough speed to be harmed if they do crash into a window, while placing feeders at least 30 feet away reduces the likelihood that they’ll have a collision.

• Have students research the best kinds of feeders and food for the bird species that are likely to visit your feeders. Do some kinds of birds prefer certain kinds of food? Black oil sunflower seeds provide lots of energy and are enjoyed by many species of birds; goldfinches relish small black nyger (also called thistle) seeds; and woodpeckers will make a beeline to suet feeders. Some birds, such as song sparrows and towhees, rarely perch on elevated feeders, preferring to eat seeds on the ground or a flat low platform feeder. Find more bird feeder basics.

• Build birdfeeders as a classroom project. These can be as simple as feeders made from recycled milk cartons to ones made from wood or other durable materials. Kits are readily available or check online for plans.

• Grow sunflowers in your school garden. Leave the plants standing as natural birdfeeders or harvest and store the seeds to put out in your own feeders during the winter.

• To provide cover, choose a diversity of plants, both evergreen and deciduous, and of varying heights from small trees down to small shrubs and groundcovers. Even better, let an out-of-the-way area grow into a dense thicket.

The post The Winter Bird appeared first on Hoot Landscape and Design - Fort Wayne.

Healthy soil is key to a healthy and happy landscape, whether you’re growing vegetables or ornamentals. Here are 5 easy steps to improve the health of your soil.

1. Get a soil test to find out if your soil has any major deficiencies.

2. At least once a year, turn two or three inches of compost into your planting areas, or top dress with a mixture of compost and mulch. Top turf areas with one inch of compost.

3. Keep all planting area covered with at least two inches of mulch. Wood chips, dry leaves, pine needles, or coarse compost are all good options.

4. In vegetable gardens, rotate crops when possible or alternate with cover crops (buckwheat and field peas, for example)

5. Use herbicides as as last resort if at all, and if you have pest problems, follow the guidelines of Integrated Pest Management.

The post The Right Dirt appeared first on Hoot Landscape and Design - Fort Wayne.

The post Stamped Concrete Projects appeared first on Hoot Landscape and Design - Fort Wayne.