Your National Gardening Association weekly news for May 27, 2017

National Wildlife Federation interviews Dave Whitinger

"The National Wildlife Federation has teamed up with the National Gardening Association (NGA) to spread the word about our Garden for Wildlife program and help people create beautiful yards and gardens that support the birds, butterflies and other wildlife. We interviewed the NGA’s Executive Director Dave Whitinger for his expert tips on creating a wildlife habitat garden and what resources NGA offers to help."

Planting and Pruning Plums

"When selecting a site for plums, choose a site with loamy, well-drained soil in full sun. Avoid low-lying areas where frost settles. If possible, remove wild plums to prevent them from spreading disease to your new trees. When planting plums, keep the graft union an inch above the soil line. Space trees 20 to 25 feet for standard varieties, 15 to 20 for dwarfs."

Growing Oregano

"There are several species of oregano used in cooking, but the one we recommend for kitchen use is Origanum heracleoticum. If you haven't been impressed with the flavor of oregano you've purchased at the store, consider that commercially available dried oregano may contain any number of species of oregano, and even unrelated plants! Growing your own is the best way to find out which best suits your palate and compliments other ingredients."

Weeds- Curly Dock

"Curly dock (Rumex crispus) is a hardy perennial weed found in most American gardens that is anchored by a branched taproot. New green leaves that emerge in spring often are tinged with red."

Maintaining Container Gardens

"These simple maintenance tasks keep your patio planters and window boxes looking their best throughout the growing season and help cold-climate gardeners prepare for winter."

Cold-Hardy Clumping Bamboos

"Bamboos have become popular landscape plants for creating garden rooms, blocking unsightly views, or lending your garden an Asian feel. "

Butterfly Garden

"Not long after we moved from our small, shady city lot to a sprawling sunny piece of land in the country, we were rewarded by a visit from a flock of monarch butterflies that stopped to feed at a plot of wild asters. From then on, as we developed our new gardens, we made careful note of which flowers would draw butterflies. Fritillaries came to the coreopsis, tiger swallowtails loved our Rubrum lilies, and both species seemed to enjoy the purple coneflowers. But although there are many annuals and perennials that butterflies find very attractive, in our experience it was the flowering shrubs that proved to be irresistible to them. "

Parasitic Wasps

"Several tiny wasps are parasites of garden pests. Most common are the Ichneumon wasps, Braconid wasps (pictured above), and Chalcid wasps. "

Photo of Daylily (Hemerocallis 'Navajo Narrative')
By lovemyhouse:

Photo of Tall Bearded Iris (Iris 'Beverly Sills')
By evermorelawnless:

Photo of Tall Bearded Iris (Iris 'Cielo Alto')
By cliftoncat:

Photo of Large Speedwell (Veronica teucrium 'Crater Lake Blue')
By Fleur569:

Photo of Rose (Rosa 'Lady Emma Hamilton')
By Calif_Sue:

Photo of Daylily (Hemerocallis 'Red Volunteer')
By Seedfork:

Photo of Tulip (Tulipa 'Rajka')
By IrisLilli:

Photo of Rose (Rosa 'Dolly Parton')
By Altheabyanothername:

Photo of Ornamental Onion (Allium 'Mount Everest')
By Patty:

Photo of Echium 'Blue Steeple'
By Fleur569: