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NL Gardening
May 25, 2012

A busy Decoration Day weekend before a pause to reflect

I love the French gardens that are being sold at garden centers to decorate graves for Memorial Day. Before we pause for that holiday on Monday, there is a busy weekend of garden-related events:

  • The Wichita Hosta Society will have the shade-garden version of Herb Day -- a new event called Hostapalooza -- from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday.
  • Don Buma, Botanica's first director, will be in town for the gardens' 25th anniversary. There will be a brunch for him from 9:30 to 11 a.m. Saturday, and it will be a meet-and-greet to which the public is invited. Admission will be charged only if you're going out into the gardens.
  • Botanica also will open its butterfly house for the season on Saturday, and the Bugs and Balloons husband-and-wife team from New York will perform Saturday at 10 a.m., 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. on the Terrace. She makes woven insect costumes, and he makes balloon art. Other events during the day: sidewalk chalk, caterpillar crafts, butterfly education and butterfly tattoos.
  • Bartlett Arboretum in Belle Plaine will be open on Sunday afternoon for a concert by Tim O'Brien, formerly of Hot Rize. Gates open at 3. The show starts at 4. Pack a picnic or buy barbecue from the Lyon's Den or Tuscan cuisine from Luciano's. No dogs allowed. Tickets $10. 
To-do list 

Our days of wondering about lingering cool weather appear to be over. No late frost on the horizon for May after all! Plant okra, basil, vinca, melons, pumpkins, beans, cucumbers, eggplant, peppers, sweet potatoes, sweet corn, squash, tomatoes.

It's gotten so warm that we've gotten the go-ahead from K-State to mulch the tomatoes. 

Coming events

In addition to the events listed above, there are some yet to take in this week:

  • Kelley Hunt concert – Kelley Hunt will perform Thursday at Botanica. Doors open at 6:30 p.m., and the concert is at 7:30. Members $13, non-members $15. Cash bar available and food provided for an additional charge. Buy tickets online at www.botanica.org or at the door.
  • Luminary stroll and concert – The brother-and-sister bluegrass duo The Roys will perform at 7 p.m. Friday at Dyck Arboretum of the Plains in Hesston, and tickets will double as admission to the arboretum’s annual Summer Luminary Stroll, which will follow the concert from 9 to 10:30 p.m. Reserve tickets aby calling 620-327-8127. Cost: $20 adults, $12 children.
  • Derby and Newton farmers markets open Saturday.

Your questions
I was in the neighborhood bordered by Kellogg and Douglas, Grove and Hillside last week at a yard sale and smelled a flowery perfume fragrance. Wandered a bit and found several large trees along the curbs with slightly shiny darkish-green leaves (sort of poplar-like) and hanging below the leaves were small clusters of very tiny golden-colored buds. Do you recognize the description? It was a wonderful fragrance and made being outside even more delightful.
Extension agent Bob Neier thinks you are describing the Japanese tree lilac. Its flowers are white but look yellowish as they fade, he says.

Click to send an email to share your answer and any garden-related tips, ideas or questions.

 

Send us your garden photos

We'd love to see photos of your garden this spring and summer. Do you have a favorite combination of flowers in a pot, a cute fence for your vegetablegarden, a new way to trellis the cucumbers? Upload your at www.kansas.com/upload along with a brief description of what is pictured. Your photo will be featured on Kansas.com.

 

Annie Calovich writes about home and garden, including her Bit of Earth column in Saturday's Eagle. She has been at The Eagle since 1985, working as a copy editor, a nation/world editor and a reporter. She's a KU graduate who started out at the Coffeyville Journal. She's the author, with Laura Peters, of "Best Garden Plants for Kansas."

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