Ownership Responsibilities and Some Garden Tips

I was moved to cover this subject now I was cleaning out one of my files last week and came across a reminder from the California Association of Nurserymen, urging all homeowners to play a part in the "Celebrate With Color" program.

I don`t believe we should have to wait for a 200th state birthday as we did then to bring our landscapes up to date and I will leave this right here with the hope that we will all work constantly to keep our communities beautiful. There are many organizations carrying different banners which are all concerned about community beautification but I am convinced that once we get the average homeowner to understand that it is for his own benefit to have an attractively landscaped home, we won't have to depend on once-in-a-while meetings to get action.

However, I can tell you from my own experience that in most cases the community beautification groups throughout the Southland are basically sincerely interested in helping homeowners in any way they can. However, getting the homeowner to attend the meetings is something different.

I must confess that it's a little difficult to interest anyone in heavy planting at this time of the year, but on the other hand there is much that can be done in the way of planning and I would like to suggest something that might give you some ideas regarding what you can do to improve your own place.

You can find many trees in bloom and in the event some of these trees interest you, find out what they are and plan to have them in your own garden. One of my favorites, the Eucalyptus ficiolia commonly called the scarlet-flowering eucalyptus is in bloom in some areas now and I hope you will plan to see it.

Another tree that will be blooming very soon is the crepe myrtle and this beauty will prove itself in almost any home planting, it is also an ideal street tree for planting on the parking strip. However, if you are a resident of Pasadena, you must get a permit to do so from our Department of Park's Superintendent, Ron Townsend.

In our summer-flowering shrubs I feel that I must place the exotic hibiscus at the top of my list, even though the rose is my number one all-around flowering shrub. Right now, most nurseries have quite a selection of hibiscus but personally, I think the single reds are by far the most striking. However, there is a beautiful single white "While Wings" that is also terrific but I have always felt, that white flowers of any kind look better when blended with other colors.

That of course is only a personal opinion. In the single reds the variety "San Diego Red" is tops. There, are a number of double varieties also but I have never really been sold on them due to the fact they never seem to be quite as healthy as the singles. In most varieties the foliage has a tendency to curl up. Also these varieties seem to be more susceptible to mildew then the singles.

I also would like to remind you that while the high summer temperatures will cause most of us to shun any real heavy garden work, there are many blooming shrubs available in five-gallon at all nurseries now and these can be planted without any fear of loss or even setback.

The rose of course is my number one flowering shrub and you might keep in mind that roses planted now from containers will be one year ahead of bare root-roses you might plant next January or February.

http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/Kinder/commun.html