Coneflowers

Coneflowers

Coneflowers are a very easy, drought tolerant, perennial to raise.  The look a bit like a daisy, however when the flower starts to appear in mid summer into fall, it has a "cone" like center.  The Coneflower is not friends with bugs, but will attract butterflies.  As the "cone" dries, birds are attracted to the seeds of the "cone".

The plant requires little water and grows best in full sunlight.  From the HOT summer we had this past year, with little water, this beauty did flourish.  The petals of the flower remained on the plant for a long time, but you could see the sun had faded the vibrant color it once had.

Coneflowers will grow from 2-4 feet depending on the area it has to grow and expand.

At the end of the season I cut it down to about 2 inches from the ground and cut some of the coneheads to dry, so later I can extract the seeds and grow some more in the greenhouse.  I also cut some of the coneheads and dropped in the flower bed to see if they will grow next spring.

The flower comes in a variety of colors, I have mostly pinks and purples.

I also need to mention the cones tend to be sharp and may be more difficult to work with than other flowers, when it comes to extracting the seeds.

 

 

You can see the "cones" of the flowers. 

A Little Composition

There is no time like the present to start composing, I am not referring to writing a song or a letter, rather a composter of sorts.
My wonderful husband gave me a composter for my birthday present a couple years ago, jokingly he said" I have been instructed from other husbands, that you never buy your wife anything that plugs in, such as irons, vacuums, or wash machines for their special day." 
The first year of use, was a hit and miss experiment, and I will have to say I missed more than not.  Even reading the instruction, I could not figure the thing out.  I thought you dump grass clippings, potato peels and such and BAM you have compost.  HAHA not the case my first year or using the composter.
Let's talk about what kind of composter to get or to build.  There are so many to choose from, if you go on line you will find a plethora of composters.  There are a couple of things I would consider if you are going to buy one.

1. Is it easy to open and close- Since you can use this year round, I want to run out, dump my scraps in and run back to the house fast, when it is cold and snowy.
2. Is the composter easy to turn- as you start to add grass, leaves, scraps and so forth, you will want to turn the composter weekly or so, to mix up the goodies.
3. Will it be easy to empty out the composter to the area you want to put the compost?

If you decide to start composting now- which is great for leaves, do not get discouraged if the process is much slower as the best composting temperatures are between 120-150 degrees.

Once you have waste in the composter, ensure you keep it moist, not soaked, most composters have drain holes, so if you give it too much water, it should drain out.

In the fall and winter, you will not have to put as much water in to keep it moist, as with reduced hours of sunlight and cooler temperatures, the process is slower.

Now starting in the spring and summer, it will go into high gear.  The composter will require more water and more turning.

You may notice a foul smell from the composter- you can bet it is working great- you are making Compost!!

This is the composter I use, it is big and roomy, pretty easy to use.  Composter at Home Depot

The Grass is Always Greener

You know the old saying, " The grass is always Greener"  well I always wondered how my neighbors grass is always greener, and I can not seem to get mine to look like that, so I talked to some "Really Green Grass Growers- RG3) and here are some things I walked away with.

1. In the summer, water in the early morning, before the sun comes up, if you have a fair amount of sprayers, then 10-15 minutes daily.  This can be costly if you have a large yard, if you live in Francis, it is costly!!
2. Use Weed and Feed, now this varies on the amount and frequency of use.  For good weed control (dandelions in particular) and a "carpet" instead of grass, weed and feed after every mowing.
3. In the fall, fertilize with a fall fertilizer, try any fertilizer to see what works for you, but I have found Scott's works really well in our Utah climate.  You can get this pretty much at any where that sells nursery items, Wal-mart in Park City carries it.  Scott's Fall Turf Builder.
1. You may ask, why fertilize in the fall, everything goes dormant.  Yes you are right they do, however fertilizing, helps strengthen the roots of the grass, which in turn gives them more stability in the spring and summer.
4. Put grass cuttings in the composter or in your flower beds.  Now I think this is an issue of preference, some say to take the grass cuttings out as it kills the new grass, others say mulch, Potato- Patatoe, Tomato- Tamato.  I would say not to leave grass clipping laying on the grass it will kill it, so Mulch or Compost.
5. When mowing, you do not have to give the yard a "Kojack" haircut (Does anyone remember that show?), anyway, a good rule of thumb is to remember what is showing on top, is what the root look like in the soil. 
6. The one time you can shave the grass, is your last cutting of the season.  If you cut is short, it is less likely to rot from the snow sitting on it for a tremendous amount of time.

One other thing- fertilizing in the fall gives you a head start on your Blue Ribbon yard for 2013. 

My Daughter Cassidy

Freezing in Francis

Sorry has been a bit since I blogged.  The Fall is in full swing.  We have had some good frosts, and I think it is safe to say the the flowers are ready for a winter nap.  I have been out the past couple of weeks tending my flower beds and had a few thoughts to share:

1. Cut down the flowers to a 1/2 inch or so from the ground and discard the foliage.
2. Before you throw your flowers out, if there are dried flowers of flowers on the ends of your stem, cut the flower heads off and throw them in your bed, you may be surprised as to what will come up next spring.
3.  If you are not sure that you want to "toss" the flower seeds in your flower bed, cut them off, store them in a paper bag for drying.  Now if you live in the "High" Country of Utah, you will want to start seedlings inside around March, April May, depending on the degree of your green thumb.  I start early inside, as it give me the opportunity to ensure I have something to plant outside.  Sometimes even under the best conditions a flat of seeds may not produce.

Around the Woodland Area

If you have not taken the opportunity to drive up to the mountains, do so now, the leaves are falling fast.  Last week we took a drive up to Soapstone (the Mountains behind our house) and it was beautiful, however a mighty wind came up and within 3 hours you could see many trees now bare.