By Cindy Poore
Where did the time go? It is almost fall. I long for fall the way a kid longs for Christmas. (that’s just around the corner too!) Fall is my time. The time for shorter, hopefully cooler days. Time to regroup and plan that last frenzy of activity you just HAVE to get done this year before the weather goes to heck. We are busy planning and planting some awesome new landscapes to get in before fall right now.
Fall is the BEST time for planting. Even in Wrightwood where winters are cold and frosty. Who doesn’t love a frosty morning, sipping something hot while sitting in the chill air outside and gazing on a beautiful scene in your yard?
So you are going to the nursery to buy some plants? Go with knowledge. I haunt the nurseries. It is like Disneyland to me. I want to take one (or more) of everything home. I was just at a big box store yesterday and saw some lovelies I would like to own.
These beautiful Morning Glories would be a great choice! They will look great,
until they don’t when it gets cold and then they will sleep until spring and decorate your yard next year.
Just as amazing are these hibiscus and particularly, the YELLOW hibiscus which seems uncommon. Unfortunately, hibiscus will not tolerate temperatures below 30 degrees and will die come winter unless extreme measures are taken to protect them all winter long.
So why do the nurseries up here sell these guys and temp us with this contraband? Just to make money off us? Well not entirely.
People forget that plants are living things and do not live forever. Both large and small plants and trees. If we keep in mind that everything has a place and time, we can enjoy all the world has to offer.
Plants, are just like everything else in your life, such as places, opportunities and especially people. They come into our lives and decorate them. But not forever. Appreciate this. Embrace this. Enjoy what you have while you have it.
~
“Gratitude Changes EVERYTHING”
August Garden Tasks
August is the peak of the garden season. Wonderful harvests from your fruit trees and veggies are pushing out produce like little mad scientists. Pick them quick or they will morph into something a bit unusual. Or the birds or squirrels will get them. You reap what you sow, so now is the time.
` Problems with worms in your apples or pears? I’m sorry to tell you that this is a MAJOR deal! Coddling moth is no joke. You should rip every one off the tree right now and pick up the ones on the ground and throw them away. Sad but necessary. Then for sure, apply dormant spray in winter. When leaves are gone but before new buds show up. This will help, but may not cure. Other treatments for Coddling Moth are expensive, repetitive and have to be timed expertly. Do this at a minimum. Don’t let fruit or plant debris sit on the ground overwinter.
`Idea for your next evening party? I’m just so into tea lights. Put some pretty tea lights into a quart Mason jar the light with long wooden matches and place on tables and little spots here and there in the garden. Want to hang them? Get some sturdy Florists wire and wrap several times around the mason jar just under the threads and create a “handle” out of the wire. Make the handle long enough so the heat from the flame is not a problem. Hang from branches of trees or hooks on your patio cover. Instant ambiance.
` Divide Iris July is best, but it is not too late to divide your iris now. Go out and multiply!
` Plant seedlings of fall crops such as broccoli, cabbage and Brussels sprouts now. Sow, carrots, green
` Harvest herbs for drying right now. Keep from direct sun and place between two screens to air dry.
`Drought Priorities. Drought is everyone’s problem. You invested a lot of time and money into your landscape. Don’t loose it all because of crappy weather. Managing your yard’s watering system is critical! Our priorities for water for your landscape is to wean your plant off too-often watering. PLEASE work to manage your watering schedule so you will have healthier plants and a smaller water bill. Water your plants deeply and less frequently. If you have slope areas, water shorter multiple times with some time between waterings so water can sink in instead of rolling off. But you should not be watering multiple times and every day unless your landscape is brand spankin new! Call us and we will help you manage your water, not waste it.
Let Us Help You With All Your Landscape Needs
(760) 868-6104
My Favorite Recipes
Get your GRILL ON!
Keep grillin. Summer is not over yet! Try these for a tasty vegetarian snack or side dish at your favorite BBQ party. You can leave out the chopped kale or substitute fresh spinach or other green. I just try to incorporate more healthy greens into our meals when ever I can.
Cheese Stuffed Peppers
1 cup (8 oz) cream cheese room temp.
½ cup (4 oz)Shredded Parmesan
¼ cup Kale ( chopped fine)
4 mini bell/sweet peppers
4 Anaheim chilies
Salt and pepper
Olive oil
Take several wooden tooth picks and soak in water while preparing dish. In a small bowl, combine the cream cheese, parmesan, and kale if desired. Salt and pepper to taste.
Wash peppers and with a sharp knife, cut ¾ the way through the stem end near the top. Gently fold back the stem end being careful not to separate from the chili and scrape the seeds and membrane from the peppers. Fill peppers with the cheese mixture and replace top. Secure top if needed with a wooden tooth pick soaked in water. Brush with olive oil and grill on a hot grill for 5 to 7 minutes just until pepper skin blisters and cheesey mixture starts to melt.
Yum. Enjoy with a glass of tea or wine!
By Cindy Poore
Yes, I know. You all have been wondering what has happened to our newsletter. No, you aren’t unsubscribed, as if that could happen. We have been wrapped up in a bittersweet time.
Some of you may not know that Darrell and I have been helping a good friend who has been ill. Betsy was diagnosed with early onset dementia last year. She bestowed on us, the role of financial controller and generally to be in charge of her life.
We took the job to heart and have managed literally everything for her for more than a year now.
Not an easy task to take someone who is so full of life and wonder and such a gift to everyone who knew her and watch her decline in that way. Betsy passed away early in May. She was 64.
And while still in the management and grieving process, we are trying to get our lives back to some kind of normalcy.
Betsy left us with a great many lessons. One of the really important ones is to prepare for the unavoidable (death) and the unthinkable ( the horrible disease of dementia.) She left a will and a trust and clear instructions on what to do with her stuff. (lots and lots of stuff! LOL). It makes our job tremendously easier.
I love writing this newsletter because I love to help people. So I am saying this because I want to help you.
“Get your butt to an attorney and get your trust, will and advance directive
done right away. Call to make the appointment today!”
There may not be as many tomorrows as we might hope. Talk to your loved ones about your wishes so they can make the decisions you want for YOU. If you love them, show them, with this final gift.
More Transition!
Some really great things have happened too. My granddaughter Taylor just graduated high school and she is going to Perdue University in Indiana to work on her life goal: to make environmentally friendly fuel for the world’s vehicles. We are so proud.
With just as much enthusiasm, we welcomed our 7th grandchild, Landon Wolf McDaniel into this world on May 27th. So our lives have been quite full the last few months and we hope you understand if we haven’t seen you recently. We are looking forward to seeing you again. We are just a phone call away if you need us.
Summer Garden Tasks
I didn’t mean to turn this into a Christmas letter in July so let’s get on with the garden stuff!
`Summer is here and the watchword for this season is WATER. Check your drip and sprinklers frequently. Increase the length of time your drip or sprinklers run before adding days. (As long as they are not on a slope). I’d love to see plants and lawns whose root systems are healthy enough to have a day between waterings. You do your plants no favor by watering them every day in the summer. Unless it is over 100° try to avoid watering every day. Deeper less frequent watering will result in healthier plants. Call us with any questions.
` Mow your lawns a little higher 3” or so in the summer to help shade the roots for more resistance to drought and wind.
`Idea for your next evening party? Put a large shallow bird bath on the patio and fill with water to just cover the bottom. Place a dozen or so small tea lights in the water for a simple but dramatic touch to your evening party.
` Weeds in your lawn? August and January are the months to put weed pre-emergent down for those nasty grass weeds. If you have crabgrass now, January is the time to apply weed pre-emergent. Most people mistake Bermuda grass for crab grass. It you have Bermuda grass, that’s a whole different story.
If you had Poa Annua last winter, August is the best time to apply the pre-emergent to prevent that little guy from coming back. Prevention is the key. What is Poa Annua you say? It is an apple green grass called Annual Bluegrass (not the good kind) that produces seed heads profusely making it difficult to get rid of and making your lawn look unkempt. Hard to get rid of a grass in a grass, so pre-emergent is the best way to go. Don’t spend hours pulling them out. It is useless. Call us we can do it for you.
` Remember to deadhead blooms on your roses, annuals and perennials to encourage new blossoms.
`Stop watering garlic and onions and wait a month before harvesting.
Let Us Help You With All Your Landscape Needs
(760) 868-6104
My Favorite Recipes
What makes a summer? Why ice cream of course. What better to top off a hot summer night with? I make a simple vanilla ice cream and top with fruit (or chocolate when I’m being bad) but you can add lots of things to yours. I have a wonderful variation below that will just transport you to your favorite vacation spot in Hawaii.
Cindy’s Not Really Plain
NO COOK Vanilla Ice Cream
2 cups heavy cream*
2 cups half and half*
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup sugar
1/8th tsp salt
Mix well until sugar is dissolved and put into ice cream freezer and freeze according to directions. I love my Cuisinart ice cream maker! So easy and no salt to deal with.
*You could use 4 cups of low fat, no fat or full fat milk or a combination to cut the calories. The difference is in the mouth feel. And then of course it’s not ice cream, it’s ice milk. Make it the original way and then experiment. I haven’t yet made it with almond milk and Stevia for the sweetner but thinking of giving it a try.
Variations:
Island Dream!Top your vanilla ice cream with pineapple topping, chopped macadamia nuts and shredded coconut. Don’t forget the cherry!
Nuttylicious!
Add ¾ cup of peanut butter warmed until just of pouring consistency and 8 oz of milk chocolate chips to cream before freezing. Top with chopped nuts to serve. YUM!
By Cindy Poore
Love, love, love April. The flowers in our landscapes are bustin’ out all over with blooms and reminding us that everyday is another chance at a more colorful life.
Hope you are making the most of yours.
My tulips under my bedroom window are a riot of reds and yellows. They don’t usually show their colors until mid- to late April but have been blooming since middle of March. This past winter of warmer than expected weather has given all the plants (and weeds) a jump start.
The warmer weather and nice days inspire people to get out in their yards and enjoy the landscape. Or if the landscape isn’t what you want, now is the perfect time to plan what changes you want to make.
We get really busy this time of year with oodles of calls for landscape designs, installations and sometimes just consulting for people who want to do the work themselves and aren’t sure how to get started.
Even if you aren’t sure where and what to do, you can get started on improving your yard and scratching that landscaping itch with some plants in pots. Pots are great for people who want to try their hand at gardening or growing vegetables, but are afraid to make a mistake. Plant
something in a few pots and set them out on the patio and enjoy them for a while. You can plant them in the ground later.
I like to get really big pots of various shapes and size and put some nice drainage in the bottom. Use some shipping peanuts topped with landscape fabric and then really great soil. Make sure you use the regular peanuts and not the biodegradable kind or they will melt under the soil and your plants will sink.
When planting pots for color, I like to put in a foundation shrub, preferably evergreen. Plant it off center and put some single color annual or perennial plants and at least one “spiller” near the edge to fill the bare spots. A spiller is a ground cover or plant that will drape over the side of the pot.
Think in contrasting colors. Use a tall heavenly bamboo with the sharp orange of a Gallardia and a nice gray foliage of Snow-in-Summer for the spiller. This would look stunning in a deep blue pot. Practically a whole landscape in a pot…
Keep your color scheme to only three main colors. Any more and the whole effect is diffused and distracting. Keep in mind, that freezes are still possible, so protect your new plants for at least another month from freezing, by covering at night or keeping in an area close to the house and with overhead protection.
Call us today
For help with your landscape
at (760) 868-6104
Spring is nature’s way of saying “Let’s Party!”
Robin Williams
April Tasks
¤April is when, near the end of the month, you will be safe to trim back your perennials and frost damaged plants. Some of your perennials look a little sad from winter weather (or what little we have had) and I’m sure you have been itching to get going on this.
¤Those of you that have fruit trees, now is the time to thin out some of the fruit while it is still marble sized. Take out about 1/3 to ½ of the fruit and you will get larger fruit in return.
¤Check your small plants for rabbit damage. Rabbits will eat anything except chain link. Put wire cages or fences around susceptible plants or planters to protect them, at least while they are small.
¤ Spray your weeds in your lawns while they are still young. Dandelions are crazy early this year! We can do it for you. Call us! 760 868-6104
¤ Time to prune back your butterfly bush (buddeladia) but leave the lilacs alone until after blooming unless you have ignored them in the past, then a renewal pruning is ok you will just get less blooms.
¤ Sow vegetable seeds like Swiss chard, carrots, peas and leeks in the ground and sow seeds for warm weather vegetables like tomatoes, cucumbers, watermelon, squash indoors for later transplanting.
Let Us Help You With All Your Landscape Needs
(760)868-6104
Ssssssssst! Watch out for snakes.
The local paper is reporting that the first snakebite of the season has already happened. Another marker of our early warm weather and short winter. REMEMBER: Constriction injuries are often the most serious part of a snake bite. Loosen or remove the clothing in the affected area of the snake bite, remove ALL jewelry. You will puff up and the damage that the tight clothing or jewelry causes, could result in loosing a finger or even a limb!
Don’t stick your hand into a bush or debris pile without looking first so you can stay out of trouble altogether.
My Favorite Recipes
April means Easter is not far off and lots of BBQs and parties coming up. If you want a really easy cookie to serve, try these. From my friend Annabel. I’ve eaten these baked by her hand and they are heavenly.
Really Easy Pecan Puffs
From Annabel O’Leary
½ cup real butter, room temperature
2 Tbsp. Sugar
1 cup flour
1 cup ground pecans
½ tsp vanilla
Dash of salt
Powdered sugar
Combine all ingredients and roll in 1 inch balls. Bake in 300 degree oven for 45 minutes. Roll in powdered sugar while hot and again when cold.
Chick Salad
By Cindy Poore
I love to find new ways to put healthy, but tasty in my diet. Try this salad for your next BBQ with grilled fish, chicken, beef or Portabellas.
Salad:
1 15 oz can Chick peas drained
1 15 oz can black beans rinsed and drained
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
1 yellow or orange sweet pepper, chopped
2 or 3 chopped Kale leaves
Dressing:
¼ cup olive oil
¼ cup balsamic vinegar
1 tbs sugar or Stevia to taste
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp ground pepper
Put all salad ingredients in a large bowl.
Mix all dressing ingredients in a small bowl and pour over salad. Mix well and serve alone or over a bed of shredded lettuce.
By Cindy Poore
My youngest granddaughter (so far) is 5. This is the perfect time to teach her where our food comes from. I have plans to plant some actual food you can eat! I want her to know what real food is and where it comes from. I want her to experience the wonderful flavors of food fresh from the garden.
I’m so excited about this. Last year we planted sunflowers from seed. It was fun and we got to see them jump up high and bloom before winter even though we planted them late. I will keep you posted.
Got Weeds?
Even though we have had almost no rain, we still got weeds. Understanding that for the weed preventer to work, it has to be watered in once; most people want to wait until a predicted rain to have us spray. Which I understand completely because the effort to drag the hoses around to water that stuff in is a major pain and in cold weather too.
The water needed to water it in should not be a big issue for you. It takes between $0.75 and $1.50 (depending on rates and tier) per 1,000 square feet in
water costs to water in your pre-emergent equal to half an inch of rain. For a job of say…10,000 square feet that amounts to $7.50 to $15.00 in water costs.
What the main problem is, I can’t know when it is going to rain. And how much. And rain usually comes in right after or with wind. That limits us in when we can spray safely.
So give us a call to have your weeds sprayed right away. Just getting rid of your existing weeds before they get too numerous, or too big, or set seeds will be a prevention tactic all on it’s own. And if you need someone to help you water in your pre-emergent, we will be able to help you with that for an additional charge.
Now offering watering services for your pre-emergent application.
Call us today at (760) 868-6104
March Tasks
¤Now is the time to tidy up your garden by removing dead leaves from your perennials and cutting back your grasses.
¤Just FYI. The Crepe Myrtles and Russian sage will still look dead for another month or so. Don’t go off thinking they are dead. Patience.
¤If you got tulip bulbs, fertilize after blooming with a balanced fertilizer like 10-10-10 or 12-10-18. This is when the new bulbs are forming and the best time to fertilize.
¤Feed all your plants and lawns now, and you will be rewarded with lots of great new green growth and blooms.
Why does my rose bush
look wet?
Spring has sprung. Well, we really did not have much of a winter. What? It rained like twice? The plants have been gearing up for a long growing season this year and the roses are no exception. They are putting out new leaves like crazy. Pretty soon you will see flower buds and beautiful blooms. And sometimes, their leaves will look wet.
The lush new growth of spring plants and the warm weather will bring out the aphids. The aphids secrete honeydew a sticky (and I’m told sweet) which makes the leaves look wet. The honeydew also attracts ants. Ants love aphids and often take care of them just to harvest their honeydew. Sorta like us and cows, ha ha.
If you see ants on or near your plants, look for aphids. Aphids come in all colors and their size can vary a lot depending on their growth stage.
Aphids are usually more annoying than dangerous to your plants. A good strong spray from a garden hose a few days in a row should take care of most of the little guys.
If that doesn’t work, give us a call. Now it the best time for us to apply a season long control for your plants that will kill and repel insects that feed on your plants.
We can kill and prevent bug damage to your plants, trees and shrubs for months with one application.
Call us at (760) 868-6104
The magic of deadheading flowers
Most people have heard of deadheading flowers, but don’t really know why it is so important. Consider that the flower plant is trying to reproduce by flowering. When you cut off the blooms, the plant will respond with more flowers!
My Favorite Recipes
Dinner for One (or two)
I have a lot of friends who are singles or couples who don’t want to fix complex meals but still want to eat good food. Since I share that same situation, I look for things to cook that are yummy, but don’t take a lot of time and ingredients. One of my favorite go-to meals is a game hen. Since they are about 1 ½ lbs each, one hen is enough for two. If there is just you, then you have some wonderful bird left for a salad the next day. Try this recipe and its variations for a great meal.
1 1 ½ to 2 lb game hen, rinsed and pat dry
Salt and pepper to taste.
That’s pretty much it. Wrap the hen in a large piece of aluminum foil and bake for 45 minutes in a 375 degree oven. Unwrap foil from the hen ( push to sides) and roast for 15 more minutes to brown.
Then try one of these great variations for the last 15 minutes after unwrapping foil from top of hen.
Baste hen with BBQ sauce.
Baste hen with your favorite flavor of jam.
Mix 2 tbls. Apricot jam mixed with 1 Tbls. Dijon mustard and ½ tsp cracked pepper and baste hen during last 15 minutes of roasting.
But wait! There’s more.
2 small red potatoes, quartered
2 large mushrooms, quartered
4 stalks fresh asparagus, cut in half
1 small zucchini, sliced in coins
¼ red bell pepper sliced
2 Tbls. Italian salad dressing
Place all veggies in a bowl and toss to coat. Place veggies in a large piece of aluminum foil and wrap. Bake veggies in a 375 degree oven for about 20 minutes. Serve with the game hen.
“The key to everything is patience. You get the chicken by hatching the egg, not smashing it.” Arnold H. Glasow
Task of the Month
By Cindy Poore
Ok, it’s finally chilly outside and who wants to go out there and work in the garden? But there are always tasks to do even when it is chilly and hopefully wet. Oh yeah, don’t forget the wind. There is always the wind. And the task of the month is Prevention. It’s worth a pound of cure. One of the biggest prevention jobs we love to do is to help you keep your trees, lawns and plants in top shape.
If you have problems with some highly valued trees and shrubs, now is the time to apply the pre-spring insect prevention. This is not a foliar spray after the insects have landed. This is a “from the root area application” that gets absorbed into the tree’s vascular system and protects your trees and shrubs from the inside out from unwanted invaders.
Although you can apply anytime the plant is growing, from now until mid spring is the best time to apply as the plants vascular system is starting to move after a sluggish winter season and most plants are getting ready to send out new growth. An application now is perfect for your high value trees and shrubs that typically are under attack during the growing season year after year. Even roses.
This will work for most insects that suck or chew on leaves or branches because the insecticide will move throughout the plant. It takes time for the insecticide to move through the plant though, so that is why we apply late winter so that the new green growth of spring is protected.
This is where the love comes in…. you gotta love your garden all months of the year. Yeah, it needs attention when you don’t necessarily want to go out there. It’s sort of like a baby you have to get up in the night to feed. Your body tells you no, no but your garden tells you yes, yes. You will reap the benefits come this spring. And if you really just can’t face it yourself, well then….
Call us! We LOVE to help! (760) 868-6104
Get Ready! The weeds are coming.
If you have not already, give us a call to help you with your weeds. Pre-emergent applications WITH weed killer will be the norm for the next few months since the little guys are starting to show up now. And they won’t be little forever.
You can prevent more from showing up with the pre-emergent application with your weed spraying. Do all your property, or just your problem areas. Pre-emergent spraying is safe for all your plants and will not harm them, however, we do not apply on or under edible plants.
“Start where you are, Do what you can, Use what you have”
Unknown
Garden tasks February 2014
- There is still time for pruning roses for lush and beautiful spring blooms.
- We are still applying dormant oil treatments after pruning for spring pest control this month IF your tree has not bloomed or leafed out , so call us and we can do it for you. If you wait until March, they likely will be all leafed out and too late to spray dormant oil.
- Plot out your veggie garden. It could just be a few pots on the patio, or a corner of your yard. Raised beds make it more accessible and controllable. You get to choose the soil! (instead of the soil you were dealt). It doesn’t take much space to grow something fun and healthy. Order your seeds. A seed catalogue is just porn for gardeners.! Start your seeds indoors before the end of February and by April you will be ready to put them outdoors (with protection).
- Buy bare-root plants now for the best bargains.
- Cut stems of early blooming trees and shrubs now and bring them inside and place them in water. The warmth of the indoor environment will bring them to bloom for you to enjoy inside!
Garden Coaching?
What is Garden Coaching? Well, it is that little push you need to have the outdoor landscape you want at prices you can afford. We work with clients who have a need for professional guidance in transforming or maintaining their landscape. Some need to know WHAT to do. Some need to know HOW to do it. And some need all that AND to be held accountable for getting it done!
Planning ahead is key. We will coach on a one-time, occasional, quarterly or monthly basis. Whatever fits your need and budget. We can help you get your game plan going.
We can walk your garden and do an inventory of what you have and how to take care of it. We can also tell you what you might add and where to put it. We can show you how and when to prune and fertilize your plants and how to make the most of what you’ve got.
When you are ready, we can coach you, or we can do it all for you. Whatever you need. Give us a call to get your game plan going!
We can do all these services for you if you need help! Call us at (760) 868-6104
My Favorite Recipes
I have wonderful clients! You all have told me you enjoy my recipes and I love sharing. This one is from a fantastic lady and friend, Deanna Carlson. Try it. It’s so easy and likely you have all the ingredients on hand. My hubby LOVES spicy so I added some salsa to ours and he RAVED over this recipe. Unfortunately, it’s not Diet or low cal. Oh well, you can’t have everything.
King Ranch Chicken Casserole
4 skinless boneless chicken breast halves
cooked and shredded Crushed Tortilla Chips
1 can Rotel tomatoes and green chilies
2/3 cup evaporated milk
1 can Cream of Mushroom Soup
1 can Cream of Chicken Soup
8 oz. Shredded cheddar Jack cheese 1
8 oz can/jar spicy salsa (Cindy’s Optional)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Put crushed tortilla chips in greased 9 X 13 casserole dish generously covering the bottom. Top with shredded chicken.
In a separate bowl, combine soups, evaporated milk and Rotel tomatoes and salsa if desired.
Pour over chicken and top with shredded cheese. Cover with foil that has been sprayed with Pam. Bake 45 minutes, uncover the foil and bake 15 minutes more. Serve warm with a salad and cornbread. YUM!
“You will find as you look back on your life that the moments that you have truly lived are the moments when you have done things in the spirit of love” Henry Drummond
- Staying Home May 31, 2020Staying home has new meaning since the tragic and crazy world of COVID-19. While most are keeping a low profile at home, Perfection Landscape knows that we are essential for helping our clients care for their home environments. We continue to do maintenance for our regular and new clients keeping with social distancing guidelines for […]
- Weeds are Back! March 10, 2018Is your yard Exploding with weeds ? You may think a few weeds here or there aren’t much to worry about, but did you know most weeds are capable of producing over a thousand seeds each? Rain and the warmer weather that will follow will make conditions just right for hose little land mines […]