Landscape Project for Elk Lake Shores

Recent Landscaping Activities
July 2010: The garden plots are off to a great start after all the consistent rains. They have been mulched to keep weeding to a minimum and to provide organic nutrients to the soil. In this article I will introduce you to one of the stranger plants that I used, Verbena bonariensis or Brazilian verbena (the tall purple plant in the background of the photo below). You can not find it in garden stores so I had to start it from seed. This was one of the first to start blooming in the first bed from the gate. It is easy to identify by its tall stick like appearance with lavender cluster flowers on top. The bees, butterflies and even hummingbirds love it and it will bloom until frost. Because it is all stems and hardly any leaves it can handle intense sun, drying winds and drought with no problem. This gives it a unique, airy look that few plants can achieve. In the southwest it can become a nuscience problem as it will readily reseed but that is unlikely in KY. It can be a perennial as far north as zone 6 so it may show up again next year on its own. It makes a good cut flower and is also easily dried.  Because of the mulch it probably will not reseed itself but I can collect seed in the fall for next year if it is a plant that you like.
         In case you are wondering about the corrugated white plastic columns around the newly planted small bushes and trees, these are plant protectors. These are often used on newly transplanted tree seedlings primarily to keep deer from eating them to the ground. For that purpose they are often 6-foot tall. I am less concerned about deer and more concerned about lawn mowers and weed whips so I choose the short size. The experts will tell you that weed whips kill more small trees and bushes each year than any other cause.  And I can testify that our weed whip operator does not seem to understand this. Quite a few of the protectors have marks left by the weed whip string getting close enough to kill. In addition these protectors also provide a more ideal environment for newly transplanted plants by cutting the intensity of direct sun and protecting from drying winds. I am very happy with the way they have worked. Out of the 30 I have used I not lost a plant yet. And they are reusable for at least several more years.

June 2010:The garden plots are off to a great start after all the consistent rains. They have been mulched to keep weeding to a minimum and to provide organic nutrients to the soil. In this article I will introduce you to one of the stranger plants that I used, Verbena bonariensis or Brazilian verbena. You can not find it in garden stores so I had to start it from seed. This was one of the first to start blooming in the first bed from the gate. It is easy to identify by its tall stick like appearance with lavender cluster flowers on top. The bees, butterflies and even hummingbirds love it and it will bloom until frost. Because it is all stems and hardly any leaves it can handle intense sun, drying winds and drought with no problem. This gives it a unique, airy look that few plants can achieve. In the southwest it can become a nuscience problem as it will readily reseed but that is unlikely in KY. It can be a perennial as far north as zone 6 so it may show up again next year on its own. It makes a good cut flower and is also easily dried.  Because of the mulch it probably will not reseed itself but I can collect seed in the fall for next year if it is a plant that you like.

Volunteer Landscape and Beautification Committee, led by Ted Blaney, is coordinating implementation of the plan over the next several years, as funds become available.  The plan covers the areas near the front gate, some association-owned spots along Beach Road, and in the lodge area.  (After work is finished on the area near the dam and boat ramp, that area will be added.)