Today we were at the offices of the Annie E. Casey Foundation to participate in the Local Planning Committee for the 14th Annual New Partners for Smart Growth conference in Baltimore on January 29-31, 2015. We appreciate the opportunity to participate with federal, state, and local agencies, NGOs, foundations, and academic institutions to help plan…
Stock Selection A major key to the success of your landscape plants is choosing healthy, vigorous nursery stock. Nurseries grow their stock in a variety of ways based on available space, type of plants, time of year etc.. The most common methods for propagation are bare root, container grown or field planted. All of these methods…
Today as part of our work with the US Forest Service Northern Research Station, we met with experts from the US Forest Service Forest Inventory and Analysis program (USFS FIA). The USFS FIA program is the nation’s continuous forest census. It has historically taken the national census of trees on lands classified as forest land.…
Current Conditions In the past couple of weeks the weather has fluctuated from mild, seasonal temperatures with about an inch of rain, to the more recent cold, wet snap. Seasonable day time highs, during the sunny period, and consistently cool night time lows along with the accumulated rainfall overall have been adequate for plant growth.…
Affliction Appearance The emerald ash borer beetle (Agrilus planipennis or EAB) is an exotic pest first discovered first in Detroit in 2002. It is thought that the borers arrived in the United States in solid wood packing on shipping containers from Asia. Since its initial discovery populations have been found in 20 additional states and in…
Drought Resistant Decoration The use of more adaptable, hardy and pest, disease and drought resistant species in our landscapes is fast becoming a popular idea due the benefits they provide environmentally, aesthetically and economically. Drought resistant plants can provide longer lasting blooms while conserving water and saving on water bills; landscape watering makes up a large…
Shrubbery Selection How do you decide what to plant in beds? There are a lot of factors to account for when choosing vegetation for beds near and around your house and characteristics may differ depending on the bed; is it in full or partial sun or shade? which direction does it face? is it on…
Yesterday the Waterfront Partnership and EcoCheck issued the Healthy Harbor Report Card for 2013. While there are some signs of improvement, Baltimore’s streams, the Inner Harbor, and the Tidal Patapsco River all received failing grades. The overall grade for Baltimore’s waterways is an F. Of all sites sampled, two-thirds failed to meet the swimming standard…
Managed Microcosm Maintaining your lawn and landscape and protecting them from pests and disease provides more benefits than just aesthetic value. Landscape conservation, pest control, disease prevention and lawn maintenance are beneficial to your household financially and aesthetically, but they also provide ecological benefits to your local community and region as well as for wildlife…
Planting Paradigm Typically the best time of year to plant new landscape stock is in the fall, with proper planting and site selection, nourishment, watering and care; overwintering dormancy can be beneficial for root and shoot growth in the next growing season. Nursery stock may experience transplant shock due to root loss from being dug up at…
