I just don’t know what to do. I mean I want to be so happy, but there are those customers who have decided that my happiness is less important than their lawns.

I guess I can understand their frustrations. Powdery mildew, black spot and brown patch are spreading onto plants and lawns this year. BUT at what cost? We have had cooler temperatures, lots of rains and a very showy spring. The cooler weather has awakened desire to notice the difference in this years spring. Blooms on Azaleas seem to have lasted longer. Camellias wanted to show off their bright flowers with longer bloom times then ever before. BUT do not mind my happiness, my desire to enjoy and pays attention to the wonderful beauties that nature has allowed for me. ME!!!

My customers seem to say: “Let us go into Rohde’s so that we can complain about the few problems happening on my property.”

Bring me your problems I really do not mind but before you do SMELL THE ROSES! Enjoy the wonders around you on a more regular basis. This will allow you to stay on top of things, catch the disease before it really takes off. Control aphids with blast of water or by releasing ladybugs and not have to spray even organic insecticides. Bend over smell the blooms of your plants; find out which ones have a fragrance and which blooms are just beautiful to look at up close. I love the blooms of jasmine for their fragrance but am always awed by the beauty of the passionflower. By the way now that you are smelling the flowers look for symptoms that may turn into trouble later. "Entomosporium leaf spot” is a common disease on Photinia, cleyera and Indian hawthorns. These spots start out small, but can quickly grow into large red pimples that quickly take over the leaf, and then if not treated quickly, the plant and then the next plant. As soon as you see these spots pinch off effected foliage and pick up any fallen leaves from the ground below it. Aerate or cultivate the soil, to allow quicker drying of same. Add sulfur or better yet Sul-Po-Mag to work as a fungicide and to replace needed green back to the leaves to help avoid sunscald. Cut back on the watering, and trim the plant back to help encourage new growth.

MONITOR the new growth for disease and treat accordingly.

By the way the following is not neighborhood folklore. There are several people that I know who smelled a flower only to get stung on the nose, cheek or worse case scenario had a bee buzz up the nose of one woman where she was stung causing an allergic reaction that caused internal swelling of the nasal cavities. I can not think of anything worse then having a buzzing sound in my head as I run around, more then likely, in circles while I punch my self silly trying to kill the buzzing creature. When I realize that the punching would not work I am sure that I would stick my finger up my nose pushing the bee even deeper. Being a wise older man I shake plants before smelling.

Walk the lawn look for brown patches that may be starting to show or may have already grown in to larger circles. From the outside of the circle pick a leaf and inspect it. Look for gray or light brown spots as if someone had splashed paint from a brush. Bring in samples to your local nursery and have them determine the problem.

Which brings up another subject: Take All Patch.

This soil borne disease affects mostly St. Augustine and looks very similar to Brown Patch. However, the treatments are different. Well, kinda. I could expound on the subjects of Brown patch and Take All but, I found a website that has photographs and a brief explanation of both diseases. You can visit it here.

The best treatment that I have found for Take All Patch is aeration, decreased watering, and applications of peat moss to the effected areas.

1-2-3 Trim, 4-5-6 Spray, 7-8-9…

I have recently started to try new things, new ways to keep me out of trouble and busy. As I mentioned in previous newsletters I walk the Katie Trail on a daily basis. Granted some days the walks are longer then others and some days I have more stamina that allows me to walk further therefore enjoying the walk more.

I also started to work out and have seen many people using personal trainers, but after watching the trainers demand more and more effort from their clients I chickened out and decided to do the simple machine weights on my own without prompting.

I have considered using personal coaches to learn how to improve my form. I have problems keeping my back straight as I bend over for some of the positions or keeping my hips aligned for others. However, I have been lucky enough to find advanced amateurs that have been willing to show me proper placement of hips, ankles, knees and shoulders to improve my stretches.

With their help and the instructors patience to deal with this stiff 55 year old body, I have become more limber.

I can now walk down the stairs on the mornings after my cardio tennis clinics. I can almost touch my toes without any effort, keep my balance on some of the one legged stances and feel no soreness in my hamstrings or ankles as I did just 6 weeks ago before I started pilates.

When something works for me, I brag about it. Recently I was bragging to Karen about my classes. She then showed me an article about Landscape Coaching. Customers call up nurseries for advice on problem areas in the lawn, vegetable garden, rose bed, trees or any other garden issues.

Many gardeners want to do the work themselves but sometimes get exasperated with the slow results or even worse when despite their efforts things get worse. This is when Karen wants us to be available for private coaching.

Email us or give us a call. $50.00 will get you a thirty-minute consultation.

Feeding Your Bees

Dr. Alan Eynon

You may have seen Colony Collapse Disorder (or CCD) in the news: bees disappearing, hives dying off, and a dearth of pollination.

Nobody really knows yet what causes CCD; although it probably is not due to a lack of food, strong, well-fed colonies of bees are less likely to collapse than weak, hungry colonies.

Making food plants available is something even those of us living in big cities can do to help the bees.

If your garden includes fruits and vegetables, attracting the bees to them is an easy way to increase their yield.

And, for some of us, it is just not a hazy, lazy summer day without the natural muzak of bees buzzing in the background.

Let us begin with Spring.

Spring is a risky time of year for the bees: they start to build up in January, and by late February in north Texas, a typical hive has thousands of new mouths to feed.

This comes at a time when the winter food stores are running out, and new food supplies have yet to come in.

More hives starve to death in February and March than any other time of year.

Believe it or not, one of the best food plants for bees in the early Spring is the dandelion, because it provides both nectar (sugars) and pollen (carbohydrates) at a critical time when very little else is available.

If you have a hard time letting the dandelions grow and bloom in your yard, consider planting winter honeysuckle.

Winter honeysuckle grows well in our area, blooms profusely from mid-January to the end of February, and is sought eagerly by the bees on sunny, late winter/early spring afternoons.

As Spring develops, keep the food flowing by sowing clover in your yard.

Clover comes in a variety of colors (white, yellow, pink, red, and purple) and is a very good nectar source for honeybees.

Many varieties of clover are native to our area, and will naturalize with little or no effort on your part.

Clover is a biennial, meaning that it spends the first year growing a good root system (but not doing so much above ground), then blooming profusely in the second year - the plant dying after setting seed.

Clover also helps return nitrogen to the soil, restoring vital nutrients without creating polluting runoff.

If you sow it in a patch and avoid mowing it, you can boost the clover's nectar production by letting it grow to full height - usually less than foot tall.

Many native wildflowers provide bee food as Spring gives way to the heat of Summer.

Verbena is somewhat unique as a food source for both bumblebees and butterflies, in addition to honeybees.

Generally, plant blossoms that are suitable for bumblebees and butterflies have their nectar too deep for the honeybees to reach it - but not verbena.

Another good native wildflower for bees and butterflies is the mealy blue sage.

Mealy blue sage is a hardy perennial, and its deep root system allows it to bloom all summer.

Sage bushes make great ornamentals, and they blossom throughout the summer - every time they get a good rain.

Once the honeybees discover your sage bushes, they will return to work it every time it blossoms.

Mexican heather is good food source for honeybees, either as a ground cover or as a shrub.

Our native privet bush is a great nectar source for honeybees, and it is well adapted to our hot, dry summers.

In north Texas, the main nectar flow for honeybees takes place between April and June, depending on the weather.

In a relatively brief span of time - rarely more than three or four weeks - the bees make most of the honey they will need for the coming winter.

A secondary flow occurs in the Fall, as the heat abates and the returning rains stimulate another round of flowering.

The bees continue working through the summer, of course, but they seem to consume the nectar as fast as they gather it.

Also, many bees spend the Summer gathering water rather than pollen or nectar.

The water is not primarily for drinking, but to help cool the hive.

All of the above just scratches the surface.

To learn more about honeybees - or to share your knowledge of good bee plants - visit your local Dallas beekeeping association, the Trinity Valley Beekeepers.

We meet the first Wednesday of each month, at Eastfield College.

Meetings are free, and open to the public.

You can find out more here or by calling 972-206-4822.