Evergreen Trees

There are many evergreen trees that provide wonderful traits, especially during the winter months. During the winter a screen of evergreens can protect against blowing wind and snow, much like a living snow fence. They obviously can provide a visual screen throughout the year as well. Some even will use evergreens as an outside living Christmas tree in lieu of a cut, indoor tree. Here is a list of evergreens that I like for the Louisville, KY area. They are not perfect plants (they can be susceptible to disease and do have different forms). If you are interested in using these plants, it is recommended that you buy them from a reputable nursery and use expert help from a horticulturalist or landscape architect.

Abies concolor
White Fir

Cryptomeria japonica
Japanese Cryptomeria

Ilex opaca 'Merry Christmas'
American Holly

Juniperus virginiana
Eastern Red Cedar

Magnolia grandiflora
Southern Magnolia

Magnolia grandiflora 'TMGH'
Alta Southern Magnolia

Picea abies
Norway Spruce

Picea glauca 'Densata'
Black Hill Spruce

Picea pungens
Green Colorado Spruce

Pinus bungeana
Lacebark Pine

Pinus cembra
Swiss Stone Pine

Pinus nigra
Austrian Pine

Pinus strobus
White Pine

Pinus strobus
White Pine

Pinus strobus 'Contorta'
Contorted Needle White Pine

Taxus cuspidata 'Capitata'
Capitata Japanese Yew

Tsuga canadensis
Canadian Hemlock

Being Green in the City

There is a interesting interview with David Owen who has written, "Green Metropolis: Why living smaller, living closer, and driving less are the keys to sustainability" argues that city life - density - is the key to living greener. His argument says that if you put the people closer together, you can lower the carbon footprint.

It's a compelling argument. Most of our personal carbon footprint deals with our living spaces and driving places. If we lived near where we worked and lived in more compact spaces, we would have density. I do find fault in the argument that density will solve everything though. The interview does not address the main issue with cities which is the gathering of goods and the disposal of waste, not to mention our energy consumption. So although the people aren't traveling as much, if there sushi is being flown in from Japan for their eat-out supper, I have a feeling my backyard garden salad just smashed the sushi's carbon footprint to bits...

Some of the smallest footprints I know are friends of mine in Wisconsin who produce their own power/heat, food, and work near home. It's a far cry from NYC, but there is more than one way to make our footprints smaller... And as for city life, we can all consume less, reuse more, and drive less.

Salt (Deicing)

Many of us are digging out of snow. So a question that is raised is what salt (or deicer) is better to use? Well it depends on your situation. For instance, if you are concerned about plants or animals (if you have a dog) certain deicers are better than others. Also, at certain temps, salt stops being effective. One of the best deicers for pets and plants is something called Calcium Magnesium Acetate (CMA). It works in 25 degrees or warmer but is slow at melting. It is however not hazardous to concrete/metal, pets, or plants. Most of us are going into the deep freeze for the next few days, so the "good" options are limited. Sodium Chloride is not preferred due to its need for +18 degrees, it melts ice slowly, and it can be harmful to plants/pets. Magnesium Chloride works in temps down to -13, melts quickly, doesn't harm metal/concrete, but it can be hard on plants/pets. Brine (salt water) mixtures can work in limited cases if the temperature allows. Sand, ashes, or kitty litter can add traction and attract heat (on sunny days) to melt snow/ice. Regardless, clear away as much snow and ice as you can before applying so the deicers can do their job, or at least expose the ground to the most sunlight possible. For more information: http://www.pwcgov.org/docLibrary/PDF/001794.pdf or http://www.stormh2o.com/october-2009/road-deicing-salt.aspx

Year-long plant combinations

There is a landscape on Frankfort Avenue that I admire. It has something going on in all seasons. It has easily maintainable plants and needs minimal input. So why would I post a good list of plants for free as a Landscape Architect? Well, just because you have a list doesn't mean one would know how to use it well. Creative organization and simplicity in design is hard to achieve. Also, this is just a generic list of plants for the Louisville area, it's not the most creative list, just a good list.

Bleeding Hearts
Moss Phlox
Columbine
Hosta
Bearded Iris
Siberian Iris
Blue Flag Iris
Peonies
Serviceberry
Nandina
Variegated Dogwood
Hardy Geranium
Asiatic Lilies
Moonbeam Coreopsis
Lamb’s Ears
Mondo Grass/Liriope
Astilbe
Spirea
Coreopsis
Daylilies
Garden Phlox
Liatris
Tradescantia
Shrub Rose
Yarrow
Rudbeckia ‘Goldsturm’
Oakleaf Hydrangea
Asters
Sedum ‘Autumn Joy’
Red Dogwood
Mums
Gray Owl Juniper
Yew
Holly

Packing it up

It has been a while since I've written something. I guess I've spared you from reading aimless blog entries...

The project for this fall is creating a small garden space at Highland Baptist Church. Early this past spring I used Black Eye Susans as a cover crop over my potatoes. Now we are going to work on the garden space and it is time to harvest my wind torn, shade potatoes. (Not exactly a bumper crop but an interesting experiment.) Of course there is hardly anything that prevents Black Eye Susan plants from growing, so after one growing season there were 8" roots on healthy plants. (One was STILL flowering today and I couldn't take it out. It's way too cool to have something blooming at this time of year.)

The way I'm transplanting them is bare root, so I cut them out of the ground, shake the soil off, chop off any excess roots, then place them in the 5 gallon bucket. This allows for a lot of plants to fit into a small space for transport. The compact plants also minimizes the shock while they wait to be put in. Finally, I cover the top with plastic wrap to keep in the moisture until they are planted on Saturday. Here is a picture of the new garden at HBC:

If you have the time, stop by on Saturday morning and we can put these hardy plants in the ground!

Mapping Carbon Emissions

Scientists at Purdue University have mapped the carbon emissions across the United States in a project called Vulcan. The map is a layer in Google Earth that allows one to zoom in and see the US emissions at a state or county level. It is one more way to see where the emissions come from and what we are all doing. One can see the mapping in more detail at http://www.purdue.edu/eas/carbon/vulcan/GEarth/.

Bat House

So I've been wanting a Bat House. Primarily to keep the mosquito population in check. They can apparently eat somewhere between 500 and a Thousand mosquitoes an hour. That's sounds pretty good considering the next plague to hit Louisville (after the recent flood) will probably be swarms of mosquitoes! So on our recent trip across Kentucky we found a fellow selling birdhouses and bat houses.

We picked it up but I soon realized it was not a standard bat house (and had a stupid "bat" design on it), so I had to make some modifications. There are some pretty good instructions and plans on the internet for constructing bat houses but the construction seems to be in more of an art than science (such as, do all bats like the same standard design?). So here are photos showing the work I did to the bat house. First, a slot is typically put in the front of the house for ventilation (the bats enter the house through the open bottom).

Second, a thin piece of wood was inserted in the box to divide the space up. I guess the smaller spaces make it easier to climb in and heat. Third, roofing material was added to help waterproof the top of the house. The builder had used two pieces of lumber and the crack would have leaked water. That just wouldn't do.

So now that it had a solid roof, I thought, why not make it a GREEN roof? So using material around the yard, an old plant tray, a light soil mix (spent coal "clinkers"), and Sedum (Sedum kamchaticum). But the real change was adding a better bat image on the outside. My wife says that's so the bats know it is for them... Let's hope.