Green Grass

Well a very cold morning to start the day with rain on the way. I hope you were able to cover your plants. The frost on the grass today will help the lawn in one good way. Well for me two good ways. First, the grass will slow down growing a little. This will give us more time for other chores. Secondly, it will knock back any crab grass germination allowing one to put down a second application of Pre M, or step 1 form Scotts or whoever. I like to split this application for timing reasons as well as coverage of the material. Soil temperature plays a big factor and a good frost can knock back germinated crab grass and now giving us a better shot of total kill with our next application. Sort of mother natures way of helping us out. With any rain we have had this year its been backed up by wind, immediately drying things out. One of my lawns today was scorched. Home owners tend to think that the turf only needs water when its hot. Then ask why they have problems in the spring. The problem is water. The lawns need 1 inch of water a week and in the spring I like to water often when the winds blow. You can change that later in the summer to deeper watering, longer running times once week. Always water in the A.M. and keep an eye out for hot spots and water as needed. This method can also realize a savings in water by managing it. Don't just set the times for the year and walk away, things do change.

Plant of the Day

With my absence of work I found it hard to come up with a plant today. One that I have been using a lot more of is the Black Eyed Susan. I can never remember the Latin name. Some people like to call them corn flower too. And there are such varieties. I suggest them in parking lot islands and tough planting areas. A very strong and long lasting bloom. Requires little maintenance besides the routine of cutting them down and splitting every few years. I also like them because they will be in full use at Pimlico for the Preakness horse race.

Politics/News

Good choice by the President for the Supreme Court. I hope the Republicans do not make to big of a stink of it. She is well qualified and they would only look more like divisionist then anything else. I think Americans want the legislature to have more bipartisanship. At least I know I do.
Will someone please stop that !@#%^*( oil leak!!!

Sports

The only sports I will talk abut here is horse racing. I will however make predictions from time to time. The Preakness is this week-end and one of Americas oldest traditions lives on. As a fan of horse racing I generally follow just the three year olds. I follow the preps to the Derby then continue with a few of the summer races and may-be a trip to Saratoga. I like going to the track and watching it on the T.V. there are aways a lot of different flowers and plants. I get some good ideas from it and even met with the former director of Horticulture of Churchill Downs. He was very open and helpful with questions and procedure of seasonal flower bed change over. Back to the Race. I hope Calvin Borel can take this horse to the next stage of this triple crown event. No horse has accomplished this feat since 1978 and this sport needs a shot at it. And I think it could be Borel who could do it. I don't know about Super Saver yet. More to come.

Fineto

So much more to cover in future posts. Mans best friend and Bill Murray. Watch for the poetry column and 3 ways to cure snoring.

Good Luck, Edward Pagliaro

P.S. Where have you gone Willie Randolf?