The Chesapeake Stormwater Network is a network of nearly 7,000 stormwater professionals, primarily, but not exclusively, within the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. They do a lot of great things – one of them is helping to clean up urban stormwater with BUBBA. No, BUBBA is not my fun-loving uncle. It is an acronym for Best Urban BMP in…
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could have “greener” lawns, in both senses of the word? The good news is there are several simple practices that will benefit your lawn as well as the environment, especially in areas where rainfall is in short supply. Here are a few ways to minimize water usage when caring for your lawn. 1.…
It is so early in the season in many regions buds have not yet broke, but insects have awoken. Being the first to become active has some advantages for the insects, but for landscape professionals and homeowners they can be quite a nuisance. Being that the season for insect control hasn’t begun in earnest up…
Warmer weather gets us back out into our gardens, but being overenthusiastic can lead to some gardening “don’ts”, often this applies when putting out fresh mulch. It is always useful to review the “Do’s and Don’ts” of mulch usage at the beginning of the season. The 2 major rules of thumb when it comes to applying mulch…
Every year Washington D.C. experiences an influx of tourists looking not only for White House tours, pictures at the Lincoln Memorial and investigating the Smithsonian Museums, but to stroll the Mall and streets absorbing the beauty and bounty of blooming cherry trees. The ornamental cherries filling the capital with beautiful blossoms and perfumes were a…
Spring cleaning for our landscapes can be a tricky undertaking. We want to dive in a trim everything up, dig it out from under mulch and leaves and start planting, but some restraint may need to be shown so that ornamentals don’t sustain damage in the process. There is a rule of thumb that goes…
Oak wilt is a tree disease affecting oak trees caused by the fungus Ceratocystic fagacearum. The disease has been found in 21 states causing the most damage in the midwest. It was first found in Wisconsin in 1944 where localized pockets of mortality were found; nearly half the oaks an area of less than…
Spring is a wonderful time to plan trips to the beautiful blooming gardens accessible to citizens around the world. National Geographic’s book Four Seasons of Travel ranked the top 10 gardens around the world, and while I won’t necessarily visit every famous piece of art while traveling abroad, I never miss a spectacular botanical garden…
Native to the U.S. and New England, red pine, Pinus resinosa, populates many areas and has also been widely planted for its aesthetic appeal and to increase diversity of the white pine, Pinus strobus, dominated landscape, adding to soil conservation, wildlife mast and habitat and protecting other species from wind. Recently, however, red pines have,…
Spring has sprung…or so the calendar says, perhaps it should inform the thermometer. Either way, eventually the thaw will come, mud will abound and we will already be behind schedule with our landscaping and gardening tasks. Here is a quick checklist of things you could aim to accomplish before the season is actually upon us,…
