Larry Zilliox, Extension Educator
Douglas County Extension Service
(320) 762-3890
July 9, 2008
In the Garden with Extension Educator Larry Zilliox
Gardening Joys
The weather has changed for the better and gardens are full of blooms. They are lasting longer than normal due to the cooler temperatures of the past month. My lilacs are still in bloom, normally finishing around the first week of June, along with the iris, dianthus and peonies. I don't recall when the flower beds have had this much color going into the summer.
As I write this my last column, I am reflecting on my great career and the thousands of people I have had the opportunity to interact with over the years. Some of those contacts were brief with a simple question of what was affecting their favorite plant and others needed more time to get around to the "real" question they wanted to ask.
I have thoroughly enjoyed being a diagnostician, collecting clues, determining what was happening, and assessing the potential problem. Some days I would have to look through several reference books before finding the answer and occasionally I would call upon my Extension colleagues on campus to point me in the right direction.
The tough ones many times required looking for subtle signs such as the distance between nods on a branch to prove that the problem existed for several years or suggest that the problem was not spray damage because other plants in the vicinity were not affected.
Then there were the big events, the Forest Tent Caterpillars invasion in the early 90's that drove some people to hysterical, especially if they were hoping to have an outdoor graduation or confirmation party in there backyard. By the way it looks like we are on the upward swing as the numbers reported this spring were more than usual. Trees have always been the main concern for many people and I recall the Dutch Elm Disease in the 80's, the drought of early nineties that resulted in many oaks dying from Two Lined Chestnut borer or Armillaria Root disease, to the persistent Bronze Birch borer affecting trees just when they were a highlight in the yard. Now we face problems with the Emerald Ash Borer which will be more devastating the Dutch elm disease when it arrives.
I want to take this opportunity to thank the many people who have commented on the usefulness of this column. I tried to write about current events that might have affected your plants or given you a heads up on potential problems before they occurred in our area. As I move on to new opportunities, Carrie a Master Gardener will take over writing this column and answering your questions. She will fill in till they fill my position at the University.
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Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference.