2. March is also a great time to move trees and shrubs — when the plants are dormant and haven’t leafed. You want to minimize the amount of stress to the trees. Read more from WSU expert Mary Robson on how to transplant trees and shrubs successfully.

3. Consider getting your soil tested for heavy metals, pH, soil texture and organic matter. It’s a good way to help determine and prevent growing problems in your garden. By knowing what’s in your soil, you not only improve the nutritional balance but help reduce fertilizer use. You should get your soil tested every two or three years. Many local Master Gardeners like to send their soil samples to the University of Massachusetts to get them tested. A simple pH test cost about $5, while a general soil test runs about $9.

4. Plant cool-season crops, such as peas and lettuce.

5. Consider how you’ll improve your lawn through an organic care program that reduces the use of water, pesticides and fertilizers. Ecoyards can help you thatch, aerate, top dress or overseed your lawn. Give us a call at 206-770-7879 for a consultation.

King County has a terrific program that rescues native plants from construction sites to replant later at salmon habitat and wildlife restoration projects around the county. The county salvages the plants from sites slated for development and provides them at a low-cost for revegetation projects throughout the state. Native plants such as the evergreen huckleberry (pictured right) attract native wildlife, require little maintenance and water, helps control erosion and runoff, survive better than ornamental plants and are truly Northwest. At Ecoyards, we use native plants in virtually every project we do. Some of our favorites are evergreen huckleberry, flowering currants, and mountain hemlocks.

The next King County salvage event is on Saturday, March 6, from 9 a.m. to 12 noon March 6 in Black Diamond. Volunteers who help with the effort are allowed to keep some of the plants to plant in their own yards.

PlantAmnesty also has a great “green share” program with an active on-line adopt a plant list. You need to be a PlantAmnesty member to view the list, but anyone may list a plant for adoption.

Update:  the flagstone was snatched up quickly, and is no longer available.

There are many reasons to prune roses, including keeping the size and shape in check, removing diseased canes and producing the best blooms. Pruning also keeps roses healthy by allowing more light and air to flow to the plant and stimulate growth.

1. Start by removing all dead, diseased and damaged branches on the plant. You’ll know it when you see it, but typically they’re black, blown, and discolored. Prune sections about 1/4 inch above an outward-facing bud. Prune down the cane until the pith (the substance inside the plant) is cream colored. Sometimes this may mean removing the entire cane.

2. Prune out weak or spindly canes (typically smaller than a pencil in diameter), suckers and canes that cross or rub others. Each year, you can also remove the oldest cane down to the crown (regardless of its health) to encourage new cane growth.

3. Trim the remaining canes, pruning out no more than half of the original cane height to give it a nice overall shape.

For more detailed information on pruning hybrid tea roses (which most of us have), check out PlantAmnesty’s Web site. The Seattle Roses Society also has this simple guide to pruning roses.

Update on 2/23/10 – the ferns have found a new home and are no longer available.

sword fern

VAST composite paver

We’ve spent some time looking into VAST pavers, and we’re happy with their natural look and durability. We’re excited to start offering Ecoyards clients another environmentally-friendly option to build their patios, driveways and walkways. The pavers are lightweight but sturdy and have a lifetime warranty against cracking. While the cost of VAST pavers are nearly double that of traditional concrete pavers, they’re much easier to install so the overall cost of a project to the consumer is comparable to traditional installations. The pavers are brick-shaped and come in six different colors.

Some fungi such as fairy ring fungi can damage lawns, while many others are beneficial because they break down organic matter and release nutrients for other plants. Mushrooms that develop from decaying tree roots or other organic matter are generally harmless to lawns. Still, many people like to get rid of them because of their unsightly appearance, or they worry that children or pets may eat them. 

To get rid of mushrooms, rake or pick them off the lawn, or dig out the buried tree root or logs. The Washington State University Master Gardeners also suggest drenching the area with detergent and water in the early spring. The group advises: poke holes about 6 inches deep, about a foot apart, through the surface, and drench the area daily for a month. Use 1 to 2 quarts of water per square foot, with 1 to 2 tables of liquid detergent per 3 gallons of water. 

Removing excess thatch and aerating the soil to improve water penetration may also help. 

For more information on how to control fairy rings, which are circular or semi circular rings in the lawn, read this Master Gardener handout.

Azaleas are poisonous if ingested.

Some of the most common and ubiquitous Northwest plants such as azaleas are also toxic, especially to children who put all kinds of objects into their mouths.

Poison control experts recommend knowing the botanical names of plants you have in your house and in your yard, labeling them, and supervising children near them. With some plants, just one bite could be dangerous, or only the seed, leaf or bark are toxic. Meanwhile, some plants require ingesting the entire thing to cause serious concerns.

Some of the prettiest plants in the yard are also the most toxic and can cause serious illness or death if ingested, according to the Washington Poison Center. Call the center immediately at 1-800-222-1222  if this happens. The center rates plants on a toxic scale of 1 to 4. Plants that are most toxic include daphne, foxglove, lily-of-the-valley, as well as castor bean, elderberry, periwinkle and yew berry.

lily of the valley

Some plants such as amaryllis, juniper and skunk cabbage rate a “2″ because they may cause minor illnesses such as vomiting or diarrhea if ingested. For other examples of non-toxic and toxic plants, go to the Washington Poison Center list.

Experts provide these tips:

• Know the names of your houseplants and trees and plants in your yard. It’s very difficult for someone to know plant names from a description over the phone.
• Teach kids not to put leaves, stems, nuts, mushrooms and other garden objects into their mouths.
• Never eat a wild berry or mushroom unless you’re certain of its identity.
• Supervise kids near poisonous plants.

An outdoor living Christmas tree decorated for a Mercer Island Ecoyards client

For the past few years, we’ve been coaxing a little slip of a fir tree to grow in a pot in our backyard. We dug up the seedling when it was only about a foot long. It was essentially a weed, which had volunteered in the landscape amid annuals and perennials. We took the seedling and potted it, and over time it has grown several feet in height. In December, we take it indoors to serve as our living Christmas tree. We keep in watered while in the house (read more tips on how to care for living trees). When Christmas is over, we move the potted tree back out on our deck.

The tree isn’t much really, and could rival Charlie Brown’s; it holds about two strings of LED Christmas lights and only a few ornaments. It’s not the ideal 6-foot Noble fir tree that I sometimes secretly covet, but over the years, we’ve come to enjoy the tradition of having a living Christmas tree. We like watching it grow from year to year. It saves us a trip to the Christmas tree lot and we don’t have anything to set out curbside when the holiday season is over. More and more people are opting for living spruces and firs, and then planting the trees on their property afterward.

This season, Ecoyards is offering some new services for the holidays. We’re installing energy-efficient LED lighting on customers’ homes, shrubs and trees. Along with that, we deliver living potted Christmas trees decorated with bulbs and LED lighting.  These trees are then planted in the landscape at the end of the holiday season. Contact us if you’re interested in these services.