SUMMER IN THE CITY
JUNE 2023 / VOLUME #195
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Courtesy of Damon's Droneography |
JUNE HORTICULTURAL
AND GARDEN TIPS
A variety of topics (Turfgrass, Trees & Shrubs, Fruits & Nuts, Flowers, and General Landscape tips) are highlighted this month. So, learn about what you should be doing in the month of JUNE by clicking on GARDEN TIPS.
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From time to time, your Tulsa Master Gardeners partner with our marketing consulting firm to create videos highlighting what we do and why we love doing it. Check out the latest video at TMG Community Outreach.
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Come one, come all . . . THIS WEEKEND! Back by popular demand your Tulsa Master Gardeners are once again holding their annual Garden Tour this month. It will be held this coming weekend on Saturday, June 10th from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on Sunday, June 11th from noon to 5 p.m. Advance tickets are $10 each and can now be purchased online by going to tulsamastergardeners.org or $15 on the day of the tour.
NOTE: Your Tulsa Master Gardeners are a 501(c)(3) organization and do not receive any local, state, or federal funding. The Garden Tour is only one of two fundraisers that occur each year to fund the multitude of diverse community outreach programs. Please help sponsor us!
This year's five homes that will be on display hover just outside of the midtown area, from 21st street to I-44 and from Utica to Harvard, as follows:
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Having wearied of “yardwork” and after taking some landscape and horticulture classes, this color-loving homeowner has spent the last 25 years turning her garden into a colorful spring, summer, fall and winter perennial and flowering shrub garden. The early addition of crape myrtles, Japanese maples, dogwoods, and Hinoki false cypress established a foundation of height and structure. Adding flower beds and their periodic expansion have made space for hydrangea, roses, abelia, spirea and a homeowner favorite - the Rose of Sharon. The unfortunate loss of several giant trees over the years has allowed for more sun-loving perennials much loved by not only the homeowner but the visiting butterflies, bees and hummingbirds. Focusing on color, height and structure these beds include over 100 different varieties of native and non-native plants. Spring welcomes hellebores, daffodils, iris, columbine and salvia. Herbaceous and tree peonies, penstemon and baptisia are joined in summer by astilbe, daylilies, tall phlox and canna. Fall brings aster, swamp sunflower, hummingbird bush and shell bush take the color into winter. This garden kaleidoscope is a true labor of love for this color inspired homeowner. And while the cozy backyard offers a more private sanctuary, this generous gardener is able to share her color infused landscape with her neighbors and the many frequent walkers in this midtown neighborhood. |
Leaving behind three acres of shade plantings and lush azaleas in South Tulsa, these busy homeowners are in midtown tending to their “downsized” sunny landscape. Approaching the house, you will see Nellie Stevens Hollies along the drive and boxwood hedges on either side of the entry, accented by summer annuals in garden beds and decorative pots, all of which are connected to a drip irrigation. Secret cutouts around the home allow shady respites for hostas, ferns, and heuchera, whimsical garden sculptures and a birdbath or two. Many varieties of shrubs, surround the home, some are new additions thanks to recent weather challenges. Entering the backyard, you’ll walk along a recently added French drain, cleverly camouflaged by a rock pathway. As avid birdwatchers, these homeowners have included many plants and shrubs in the landscape that will attract birds, offering berries and shelter. The backyard features evergreens, viburnum, a Black Lace Elderberry and a Brown Turkey fig tree. Several varieties of pines complement the centerpiece loblolly and a saucer magnolia. Considered the most popular room in the house, the beautiful patio and outdoor living area provide the perfect outpost for enjoying the colorful landscape and the central bird feeding station. |
The family came to Tulsa in 2014. They chose to make their home in midtown and found the perfect home with large windows, providing lots of natural light indoors and views out to all corners of the garden. A maple and tall holly tree grace the front entrance, with azaleas, heucheras, yews and ferns in the shade. An eye stopping splash of summer sunpatiens fills the front beds. Entering the back garden, one notes the unusual shape of the garden. The neighbors have large shade trees thus making this garden mostly shade. The shed and work bench store tools and provide a work area. The patio is perfectly designed to view the garden and entertain family and friends. It is shaded by an old wisteria whose blossoms are pear shaped and a haven for the bees. Note the two Atlantic White Red Star Cedars that grace the patio path. Their foliage could be mistaken for a juniper but they are treasured for their seasonal change of color. The patio beds are filled with azaleas, hydrangeas, Carex Sedge and an interesting Hinoki Cypress. Along the east fence are two pollinator gardens. Two Adirondack chairs offer another view of the garden. Along the east fence are two pollinator gardens. They are filled with Spirea “Candy Corn” , Veronica “Snow Candles”, Liatris “Gayfeather and zinnias. Note the two trunked up buddleia. Two Adirondack chairs on the west side offer another view of the garden. |
After falling for the beautiful gingko tree that greeted this homeowner 17 years ago, it has become a true labor of love creating this fun and inviting landscape. Along with the gingko, the American Holly that borders the drive, some giant pines and a screen of cedars in the backyard, this was pretty much a blank slate. Sadly, the giant pines were recently lost due to utility expansion. Armed with a vision and a very good friend, a plan was hatched. They focused on a combination of hardscape, achieved through the inviting curved front walkway and various stacked stone beds and mass plantings of colorful shrubs and blooming trees. The first of many hydrangea varieties line the path as you make your way to the backyard. Primarily shaded, the homeowner has introduced color and interest with hardy hibiscus, hellebores and heuchera. Ferns, acuba and blooming annuals join hardy camellia and shamrock. From the birdhouses, to the yard art, to the unique potting ideas, there is so much to appreciate as you wander the space. The Chinese Pistache tree offers much needed summer shade for a hardworking gardener and beckons visitors to relax on the arbored deck. As you make your way back to the front, you will notice the pine stump souvenir. Another stacked stone bed anchors the southwest corner of the house. This sunny location blooms with azalea, yarrow, creeping phlox, peonies and a smoke tree. |
As you wander through this charming midtown garden it is hard to equate the beauty and serenity with the many changes and challenges these homeowners have faced. From an historic ice storm, drainage problems, flooding and drought to the pesky rabbit, these resilient gardeners have created lemonade from lemons. And they’ve done it without an irrigation system. After the loss of 160-year-old oak during the ice storm, the homeowners had to adapt to their new sunny space. The zoysia lawn began to suffer. A replacement Burr Oak was planted, joining the American Liberty Elm, Chinese Pistache, Redbud and Dogwood trees. Adding pops of color in the beds are Russian sage, crepe myrtle, salvia and phlox. The meandering walk along the original driveway is a creative solution to a runoff and flooding problem caused by an extensive cement project next door, inspiring this homeowner to create a pebble drain around the home. Easy research led to an interesting assortment of plants that are tolerant of wet feet. Red maples, Japanese grasses, columbine, yew and iris offer a nice variety of texture and color. The Red Maple theme continues in the primarily shaded backyard. Beds with hosta, heuchera, ferns and astilbe, join a mix of native perennials that provide seeds and nectar for the much loved birds that visit throughout the year. Along with a fig tree, a prolific herb garden along the drive is handy for this home cook. And not to be missed is the mass of tiger lilies as you leave the driveway |
FROM GREEN COUNTRY MASTER COMPOSTERS |
The Compost Connection has turned to the FBI for support for June, July, and August articles for the last couple of summers. The 2023 summer will be no different. However, not to be misleading, as it relates to Composting, FBI stands for FUNGI, BACTERIA, and INVERTEBRATES. June will highlight F for FUNGI; July will highlight B for BACTERIA; and August will highlight I for INVERTEBRATES. These articles will include additional information and resources.
All past eNewsletter Compost Connection articles can be accessed at tulsamastergardeners.org. Click on the Articles & eNewsletter link for past summer articles and information on FUNGI, BACTERIA, and INVERTEBRATES as they function in your compost production. Specifically target the June issues for 2021, and 2022.
FUNGI includes molds and yeasts and are responsible for the initial breakdown of more complex plants and materials. This is an essential component in the compost process because it starts decomposition to the end desired result. Click on compost.css.cornell.edu for more info.
A white, powdery, web-like structure in your compost bin is usually a healthy sign of fungi beginning its decomposition job. But don’t panic, just read the informative article in Compost Magazine explaining mycorrhizae fungi. It has been our experience the more we understand the science and magic of composting, the more we want to know. Click on https://www.compostmagazine.com/mycorrhizae-fungi/ to learn more. And one final resource is our very own OSU Fact Sheet on Mycorrhizae Fungi. Click on FUNGI to learn even more.
The focus next month will be on BACTERIA and its importance in producing compost.
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Our newest column for the monthly MG e-Newsletter is focused on weather-related topics, courtesy of Frank Mitchell who spent 30 years as a television meteorologist including KTUL in Tulsa. He is now a member of the 2022 Tulsa Master Gardeners Class. |
THE LITTLE BOY VS THE LITTLE GIRL
(El Nino and La Nina)
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Ever heard of an El Nino Watch? That’s what the United States and other parts of the world are under for the rest of the year. Should you seek shelter? Close your windows? Cover your plants? No, but you can expect a hot and wet summer and fall.
For the last few years, the Pacific Ocean along the equator has been under the influence of La Nina (the little girl), characterized by cooler than normal water. This resulted in mild and dry weather across the southern United States including Oklahoma. Now El Nino (the boy child) is taking over as there are signs that the same water along the Equator is heating up. That warm water will fuel warm, moist winds across the south which can result in record heat and major floods in some places and drought and wildfires elsewhere.
Wildlife can be negatively affected as more Antarctic ice melts and ocean nutrients disappear. Although El Nino is a natural occurrence, it is known to accelerate the rate of human-caused climate change.
So where does the name El Nino come from? Fishermen off the west coast of South America were the first to notice appearances of unusually warm water that occurred at year's end. The phenomenon became known as El Niño because of its tendency to occur around Christmas time. El Niño is Spanish for "the boy child" and is named after the baby Jesus.
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CREATING MONARCH
BUTTERFLY WAYSTATIONS
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The captivating black and orange markings of the monarch (Danaus plexippus) butterfly pale in comparison to the story of their annual epic migration. Traveling thousands of miles to Mexico, they overwinter there and await favorable conditions for their return to their spring and summer breeding areas in the U.S. and Canada.
Population monitoring continues to show overall decline in overwintering areas as habitat loss and dwindling natural resources on their migratory path threatens this iconic species. But you can do your part. There are six easy things we all can do to help create an ideal butterfly habitat to help these beauties. For that informative and useful information as well as additional info on the Monarch Waystation itself, click on MONARCH BUTTERFLY WAYSTATIONS.
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TIPS FOR DEALING WITH
DEER, RABBITS, SQUIRRELS,
AND OTHER ANIMALS
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Deer, rabbits, squirrels and other unwanted animals in your garden can wreak havoc on some of the most loved and adorned landscapes. Despite our efforts, we sometimes fall short. However, in the long run, we do have options.
For some tips that will help deal with these adorable and sometimes pesky animals, click on DEALING WITH ANIMALS.
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INTEGRATED PEST MANAGEMENT (IPM) |
If you are a long-time reader of this newsletter you will know that we have spoken on this subject several times over the years. However, it is important to refresh ourselves from time to time on IPM practices, particularly this time of year.
In short, Integrated Pest Management, also known by the acronym IPM, is an environmentally conscious strategy to prevent, avoid, or reduce pest problems in our lawns, vegetable and flower gardens, trees, and shrubs. Knowledge IS the key to IPM.
Knowing your plants and their common pest problems will help you choose the best methods for your garden. Click on IPM for an excellent summary on the four theories and practical applications of IPM. It REALLY works!
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MADE FOR THE SHADE:
THE BEST SHADE-LOVING PLANTS
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When we're outside and it gets really hot, we sometimes run for the shade. Well, just like us, some plants also prefer the shade over the sun. Creating shade gardens can be a challenge but are well worth the effort in planning and planting to have a long-lived, healthy landscape.
Click on SHADE to learn what the first step to success is along with a brief listing of some common shade-loving plants that do well in our area. And as usual, additional resources on the subject are available at the end.
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MOST COMMON VEGETABLE BUGS |
Oklahoma is a great place to grow vegetables but, like any other place, we have pests that can take the fun out of gardening. Most likely we have all had some experience with summer bugs.
Click on VEGETABLE BUGS to learn about 11 of the most common pesky pests we may encounter in our gardens this summer and 5 proven methods to manage their population (total elimination may not be an option...just sayin').
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COMMON SUMMER LAWN
DISEASES & TREATMENT
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Maintaining a lush and healthy lawn in Oklahoma during the summer months can be a challenging task as various diseases can affect the turfgrass. Understanding these common summer lawn diseases and knowing how to treat them is crucial to ensuring your lawn remains vibrant and green throughout the season.
Click on SUMMER LAWN DISEASES to find out about four of the most common diseases along with some proven treatment measures.
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DID YOU KNOW?
Since 1983, the Tulsa Master Gardeners have been serving the public by offering research-based horticultural information to residents of Tulsa and the surrounding area. The Tulsa Master Gardener Foundation is a 501 (c) (3) organization. As such, it receives no city, state or federal funding for its Tulsa community outreach programs. In fact, the Tulsa's Master Gardener programs are self-funded by its own fundraisers, from member donations, and from public donations.
The main Tulsa Master Gardener fundraiser is its Annual Spring Plant Sale that is held each April. Other fundraisers include the Garden Tour and Garage Sale in June. And, one of the most important income sources that sometimes gets overlooked are the personal and corporate donations. These are so important in helping us to meet our financial obligations and we want you to know they are very much appreciated.
MG Endowment Fund
The Tulsa Master Gardeners have been around for over three decades and we plan to be around for many more decades. Furthermore, we are considered one of the top five Master Gardener county programs in the entire nation. We are because of the size of our Foundation membership, the number, diversity and activity level of our various community outreach programs, and our overall financial strength!
So, we are pleased to announce, in partnership with the Tulsa Community Foundation, the Master Gardener Foundation has established an Endowment Fund to ensure our long-term financial strength. Our plans are to build this fund for many years before making any withdrawals from it. Please consider us as you make your annual gift giving as well as longer-term estate planning decisions. Remember, all donations are fully tax deductible!
If you wish to make a tax-deductible donation to help fund the long-term success of the Tulsa Master Gardener program, click on
If you wish to make a tax-deductible donation to help fund the Tulsa Master Gardener program's annual expenses, click on
We thank ALL of you for having been such faithful contributors both in the past and in advance for your future consideration and participation! So proud to be a part of the Tulsa area - such a giving community!
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========================================================Oklahoma State University, in compliance with Title VI and VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Executive Order 11246 as amended, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, and other federal laws and regulations, does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, gender, age, religion, disability, or status as a veteran in any of its policies, practices or procedures. This includes but is not limited to admissions, employment, financial aid, and educational services.
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You can get answers to all of your gardening questions:
TULSA MASTER GARDENERS
4116 East 15th Street Tulsa, OK 74112
918-746-3701
mg@tulsamastergardeners.org
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