During the Water Gardening and Pond Seminar you will take a walking tour of our Nursery with Eric and discover terrestrial plants that can grow and thrive in water--you will be amazed how many there are! Eric will select plants and build a water garden in a whiskey barrel and then give it away to one of the seminar participants.You will hear about water treatment and fish foods and receive FREE samples. You will hear about the 5 elements of a natural ecosystem. You will hear about water garden and/or pond maintenance.

Questions are welcome throughout the seminar. COME join us!

Plant a fruit tree together. We suggest giving Dad a cool one in his easy chair and letting him see you sweat for a change, while you install a wonderful fruit tree. We recommend fertilizing monthly and spraying as needed with organic pesticides. Dad will be able to enjoy your tree and its fruit year after year.

Be sure to interview your father and/or grandfather. Ask questions about his birth, childhood, and what he did when he was a teenager. Find out favorite subjects in school, how he met your mother or grandmother. Inquire about his favorite job. End the interview by expressing your love for him.

Get together with a few other families and play the Father/Child Game. Divide into four father/child teams. Ask the fathers to leave the room while the children sit in chairs. Ask the same four or five questions to each child about their fathers. Bring in the fathers and ask them the same questions. Will the father and child have the same answers? Switch places and see how well the fathers know the children. Award a red rose to the winning father/child team.

Question Ideas: Favorite color, movie, candy bar, color of toothbrush, memorable moment with you, best friend, hobby, talent, food, animal, cartoon, pizza topping, ice cream topping, restaurant. Most embarrassing moment. Favorite holiday.

Have a Father's Day BBQ or picnic in your garden. Make a crown for dad and let him know he's "King" for the day. This can be a family activity--or extend an invitation to a few other families also. Make sure all the dads are given "The Royal Treatment."

You don't have to live in Kansas to enjoy sunflowers in the garden! Sunflowers are easy and fun to grow. From tall varieties that reach for the sky to dwarf types that are knee-high, there's a variety to suit every gardener's needs. Since they grow very quickly, children enjoy watching them grow--and the large seeds are easy for small fingers to handle. Plus, if you buy a good eating variety, you can harvest the seeds and teach the kids to roast them for a healthy snack!

• Plant in full sun, where they will not shade other plants, or plant shade-lovers around them.
• Plant the seeds 1 inch deep and about 6 inches apart.
• When the seedlings come up, thin them to about 18 inches apart.
• Water well after planting and keep fairly moist, but not soggy, until the seeds sprout.

Sunflower seedlings will come up in one or two weeks. They will start out slowly, then speed up their growth rate. Children can be responsible for watering them, weeding around them and adding mulch around the plants.

Harvesting of sunflower heads is quick and easy--but you may need a ladder or stepstool if you are growing tall varieties. Watch the birds; when they start going after the seed heads, cover the heads with cheesecloth to protect the seeds. The seed heads will be ready to harvest when their backs are brown and dry and no traces of green remain.

Cut off the heads with a foot or two of stalk. Hang them upside down in a dry and airy place. When the seeds are dried, rub them off with your hand and store them in an airtight container. Don't wash them, as this could cause them to mold.

To roast sunflower seeds, place a single layer of raw dehulled kernels in a shallow pan. Roast in a 300 degree F oven for 30 to 40 minutes or until they are brown and crisp. Stir occasionally. Remove from the oven. One teaspoon of melted margarine may be added if preferred for each cup of seeds; stir to evenly coat. Place the seeds on absorbent paper. Salt to taste. Store in a tightly covered container.

For salted in-the-shell seeds, cover unhulled seeds with salted water in the amount of 2 quarts of water to 1/4-1/2 cup salt. Bring to a boil and simmer for 2 hours. Drain and dry on absorbent paper. Seeds may also be soaked overnight instead of boiled. Then proceed as for the roasted kernels above.

Summer is almost here...

The days are getting longer and life will be moving outdoors.

Now is the time to plant scented shrubs and vines or even a complete scented garden in your "outdoor room." The supply of scented plants is excellent this time of year, and if you plant now there is a good chance of plentiful fragrant blooms all summer. Almost all scented plants can also be grown in containers, so they make a great addition to patios and balconies.

Most of them require good drainage and acidic soil.

Come on in and sniff the beautiful scents of summer. We'll help you choose one or more to give your garden and your home fragrances that will delight you all season long.

Summer Solstice, June 21, marks the longest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere. The word "solstice" is from Latin meaning "sun stands still" (sol=sun, sistit=stands). Since all days are the same length (24 hours), what this actually means is that on this day we have the longest time between sunrise and sunset and the shortest time between the sunset and sunrise.

The ancient monument Stonehenge in England was built to mark an annual calendar. One of the stones in particular, the heelstone, was aligned to demonstrate this day, the longest day, as the beginning of their new year.

What does this all really mean? It means summer solstice is the first day of SUMMER! The beginning of dog days, warm weather, sunshine, and most important, lots of flower-growing time for all of us. Hooray!

Rose lovers are a breed onto themselves, because one cannot simply stick a rose plant into the ground, walk away, and expect perfect blooms year after year. They take work, but if you are a true rosarian, the results are worth the effort.

The rose’s susceptibility to black spot, which is a fungal disease caused by Diplocarpon rosae, is worse than mildew or rust because black spot frequently kills plants. It’s particularly deadly for non-resistant hybrid teas. Miniature roses are also highly susceptible.

Recognizing black spot early on is essential to its elimination. Look for small black spots with feathery edges, on the upper leaf surfaces; lower branches will be affected first. As the disease progresses, the spots will enlarge, become ringed with yellow, and-- if the black spot is not stopped--the leaves will eventually turn entirely yellow and drop. Defoliation can cause the plant to die.

But have heart: a combination of prevention and fast action once the black spot is noted can save your plants.

• Do your research for your area, and plant resistant rose varieties.
• Placement is of upmost importance; plant far enough apart to allow for lots of circulation. Black spot fungus requires water to reproduce and grow.
• Plant your roses in full sun.
• Water in the morning to give your roses plenty of time to dry out.
• When you prune, immediately remove all diseased leaves and canes to the trash to prevent its spread to other plants.
• After pruning, use a dormant season horticultural oil spray.

A combination of 4 teaspoons of baking soda per gallon of water with a 1% solution of narrow-range horticultural oil is one way to manage black spot, along with powdery mildew. Avoid getting it on open blossoms. Neem oil may also prove effective. Don't rule out preventive sprays of fungicides such as triforine or chlorothalonil.

Checking for black spot gives you the best excuse to closely examine, and while doing so, stop and smell your roses.