There were so many ideas generated from the last post that we have three more compilations to go. There are none more stir crazy than the children. So here are ten ways to involve, educate and entertain children in the landscape.
1 - The bugs are starting to come out with the warm weather. Children often enjoy looking for worms, caterpillars, butterflies, bees, etc. Not only can it be fun to see how many different creatures are living in your yard, but it is good to know who finds your yard comfortable. Many insects keep our plants and soils healthy. Other insects will damage the landscape and should be discouraged.
2 - Children love craft projects. With a few scraps of wood, an old dish, or any multitude of recycled items you can make a simple butterfly feeder. While plants are always the best, a little supplemental food never hurts, especially early in the season when plants are not blooming yet.
3 - Another fun project is to make bee nesting blocks, bug houses, or butterfly nesting boxes. There are a wide variety of patterns out there, just don't fall for the multi-species boxes. Too many bugs in the same box and diseases are more likely to spread. Also, make sure your materials will stay dry on the inside or dry out quickly. Lots of wet cardboard will also cause illness in our garden friends.
4 - Ever just want one or two stepping stones? A bag of concrete, some objects from around the yard and a little mess will get you some fun stepping stones. Simple concrete stones can be mixed in a bucket and formed with a commercial mold, some wood, a plastic bin, or even by hand. You can decorate your stone with leaves, hand prints, pebbles, toys, etc.
5 - It may be an old thing to do, but on rainy days like today, have some fun making mud pies. Don't be afraid of the mess.
6 - Early spring is a great time to plant seeds. Whether you want more lawn or thicker lawn. Maybe you want some flowers or you are ready to plant a vegetable garden. Let the children go out and start planting those seeds for you. The rows might not be as straight, but mother nature doesn't plant in straight lines either.
7 - How about creating a treasure hunt? You can think of a list of items commonly found outside (try not to kill any bugs) and see who can find them all first. Things to look for might be bugs, worms, buds, twigs, flowers, leaves, green grass, deer droppings, etc.
8 - Easter is coming why not decorate your fence in preparation. Use ribbons, streamers, pictures, marbles, or sidewalk chalk to create patterns of images on your fence. Let their imaginations go wild, you can always have them clean it up next week (double win).
9 - Create a fairy or goblin garden. Let them find materials for creating houses and shelters. They can design play or seating items for their unseen friends. There are a lot of ideas online. Fairy gardens can be created under a tree, in a pot, under the deck, any little nook or cranny will work great. The children can then spend all summer looking for inhabitants and changing things around.
10 - Let the children create their own garden. Give them a small patch of ground. Let them plant anything they want, whether its produce, flowers, twigs, rocks, or bugs. Its a great way to teach them about nature and responsibility.

​We're not done yet, so keep checking back for more idea.

Before you start to get stir crazy with all the social distancing and isolation talk, start planning ways to spend time in your yard. Some items may not be as exciting as others, but the fresh air and Vitamin D will do you good.

Productive Things to Do in Spring (in no particular order)
1-Plant cool season crops, once the ground thaws (and possibly the irrigation company turns on the water), the ground is safe for planting crops like peas, radishes, broccoli, spinach, cabbage, beets, turnips, lettuce, and cauliflower. Even if it is just a small space, fresh produce can be tasty and rewarding.
2-If your not ready to plant, or you haven't had a garden before, now is a good time to start preparing ground. This might be adding mulch or compost to your soil, or possibly tilling the soil if it is heavily compacted. You might even consider using some timbers, commercial kits, or recycled materials to create garden boxes to make the gardening easier. There are lots of options for creating quality soil in your garden beds.
3-Its rarely too early to get a handle on the weeds. If the weeds are coming up then it is time to apply pre-emergent herbicides like "Preen" or "SnapShot". The pre-emergent herbicide will help to prevent new seeds from sprouting in the ground. For weeds that are already there mechanical control is good, though some weeds will be treated more effective with chemical controls. 
4-Now is a good time to prune ornamental trees, shade trees, and shrubs. As the leaves start to emerge, look for areas that are dead and remove them to encourage the plant to put growth energy into the remaining live branches.
5-Now is a great time to fertilize lawns and any other plants that could use the extra nourishment. One great way to get lasting nutrients to your shrubs and trees is to apply an organic bark mulch to the soil beneath the plants.
6-Aeration is better done in the fall here, but for clay soils that haven't been aerated, now is better than never. Aeration helps to get oxygen to the lawn roots and allow the soil space to move around and loosen up.
7-Once the water is turned on, take this cool time to check out your existing sprinkling system, or consider installing a new system. A well tuned sprinkling system will save water, money, and help your plants thrive.
8-Now is a great time to consider if there are any plants you would like to change in your yard or areas where you would like to add more plants. Spring is the best time of year to plant new plants.
9-Start planting flower seeds to increase your habit offerings (bring in more Hummingbirds and Butterflies this year) and add more color and interest to you yard. This is also a great way to involve any children you might have.
10-Maybe you would like to change your yard up a little bit. Now is a great time to layout a new shrub, flower, or garden bed. Pull out the hose, spray paint, or anything you can find and layout the new beds. You can move and adjust the lines as much as you want. That will give you a chance to see how the bed will look before you start doing actual work.

We have lots more ideas, so keep checking about. Some of the ideas are even focused on entertaining children.

With all this talk of germs and illness, I thought a little medicine was in order. There are several native plants in Utah that have medicinal properties. We may not use them anymore, due to commercial products, but it is always nice to know what various plants can be used for.

Ephedra viridis - Green Mormon Tea
Not only does it have unique green stems with tiny leaves, our native Ephedra (with only low levels of Psuedoephedrine) helps with the common cold, clears congestion and other respiratory ailments, and urinary tract infections.

Artemisia tridentata - Bigtooth Sagebrush
It is true, that "weed" that grows everywhere in Utah has medicinal uses. Sagebrush has been used to treat headaches, diarrhea, sore throat, vomiting and even bullet wounds (don't try that one at home). The made a tea of the leaves and used it for hair tonics and bee stings. The tea also worked for night sweats.

Rosa sp. - Rosehips
We are so trained to deadhead the roses that we fail to benefit from rosehips. They are quite edible, and are supposed to be tasty. They are high in Vitamin C and bioflavonoids. Rosehips are also good for cleansing and colds and the flu. 

Achillea millefolium - Common Yarrow
This little flower is another one that is good for helping with the common cold, flu, and fevers. It can also help with painful menstruation. It has even been known to help reduce bleeding. 

Asclepias tuberosa - Butterfly Weed
This is one of the ecologically "IN" plants. As the food source for Monarch Butterflies it is critical to the survival of Monarchs. Asclepias was named for the Greek God Asklepios - herbalist and physician. Butterfly Weeds are known to treat lung ailments. A few more of these planted around and we would all be breathing easier.

I went to a tree pruning workshop over the weekend. With all the questions that were brought up, the series that stuck the most to me, was how do you know you are hiring the best landscape contractor or maintenance company and how do you know they are doing things correctly. So often we trust that if they are still in business, they must be doing things good enough. It was interesting to learn that there are only 5 certified arborists within 100 miles of Richfield, only one of which is within 30 miles. That means, unless you are lucky enough to find that one company, you really have no guarantee that the guy pruning your tree is trained and current on the healthiest and best practices for pruning your trees. That may not be a big deal for your shade trees, but it could be huge for your fruit trees.

So, how do you, as a resident, know who to hire or how they should be doing things. Here in Utah a great resource is the USU Extension (extension.usu.edu). They will have literature and links for all sorts of landscape, garden and home issues and questions. Much of the literature is for the entire state of Utah, but some things (like how frequently you need to water lawn) are set up by county.

Another good resource is the International Society of Arboriculture (isa-arbor.com). On their website you can search for an arborist including the name of the arborist and their company. You can also find detail sheets for how to plant trees and shrubs, or even installing a sprinkler system.

Another place to look for information on nursery plants is americanhort.org. They can help you see what you should be looking for in nursery plants and what information you should be able to find on the plant labels.

A good thing to look for when hiring a company is their business licensing. The state licenses businesses in general, individuals in specific fields (like Landscape Architects), and then specific businesses. You can research a professional license at dopl.utah.gov or a general business license at secure.utah.gov/bes.

It is warming up and I am done with the cold and snow. I am ready to see some plants leafing out and flowers popping up everywhere. But is my yard ready? It is hard to remember all the work that needs to be done now to make the rest of the year easier. So here is a list of late winter/early spring chores to get your yard ready for a better summer.

1-PRUNE! - If you have fruit trees they should be pruned by mid-March and should not be pruned after buds start to appear. Ornamental and Shade trees can be pruned later. Proper tree pruning will help trees grow big and strong and will reduce the amount of branches that litter your yard whenever the wind blows. This is a good time to prune rose bushes, remove dead branches from other shrubs, and prune bushes for desired shape and size during the summer. This is also the time to cut back ornamental grasses and perennials so that the new sprouts can easily burst forth in the coming months.

2-PRE-EMERGENT HERBICIDE - The weeds are already starting to sprout, applying a pre-emergent herbicide now will help deter the flush of weeds that inevitably come with April's showers. Pre-emergent herbicide will need to be reapplied every two to three months, or any time you disturb the soil. The pre-emergent forms a barrier over the ground that prevents seeds from germinating. So be careful about applying it in areas that you have or will be seeding. Some pre-emergents also need to be kept away from food crops and new plants, so read the lable carefully.

3-CHEMICAL WEED CONTROL - Anytime a weed is vulnerable is a good time to spray it. Spraying in the spring when weeds are just getting established will help deter the weeds throughout the remaining growing season. Fall and Spring are the most effective times to spray super-hardy weeds like Bindweed (aka Morning Glory).

4-PLAN - If there is something you want to change in your yard, make plans to do it sooner than later. Spring is the best time to plant new trees, shrubs, and flowers. Deciding what you want to do now will help you get the plants you want and have them establish faster than waiting until summer. Remember that new plants require extra water, so don't start planting until you can safely run your sprinklers. Our weather is unreliable so don't count on rains to get those new plants established.