With the glorious Vermont Summer weather we have been having, everyone seems to be out and about enjoying both their residential landscapes and our natural surroundings. At our weekly safety meeting one of the crew members mentioned that everyone needed to be careful of Wild Parsnip while they are installing and maintaining our landscapes. If you are unaware of this plant then please check out our previous blog on the topic! Along with that nasty plant there is an equally awful plant that seems to be much less known and I wanted to draw some attention to it for your safety.

What is Giant Hogweed?

Heracleum mantegazzianum or Giant Hogweed, is a perennial  plant that can often be found along roadsides, riverbanks and along wood lines. It can reach heights of 15-20 feet tall.  This plant looks like a ginormous Queen Anne’s Lace with a flower that can measure 2-2.5’ in diameter. The large stock is often mottled with purple. The stalk and the extremely large leaves are also covered in bristles. For more images of this plant check out the Invasive Plant Atlas of New England or The Vermont Gardener Blog.  Giant Hogweed was brought to the United States in 1917 as an ornamental garden plant for it’s curious height,  it was planted to provide interest in perennial gardens. It eventually became invasive and is now on the federal noxious weed list.

Why should you pay attention to Giant Hogweed?

Much like it’s evil cousin Wild Parsnip, the sap of the Giant Hogweed will react with sunlight and cause serious burns to your skin, with blisters and swelling. If the sap of this plant comes into contact with your skin wash immediately. And if you don’t catch it in time and burning occurs seek medical assistance immediately. The images of these burns were literally making me so queezy I just couldn’t include one here….so please be careful if you come into contact with this plant!

For information on removing Giant Hogweed from your landscape visit the Natural Resources Conservation Services.

Today is Vermont Arbor Day! It’s a splendid holiday that helps spread the need for conservation each year. All of us here at di Stefano Landscaping strive to create beautiful landscapes not only here in Vermont, but in parts of New Hampshire and into the Adirondacks of NY as well. We each do our part here, whether that means me creating the perfect residential or commercial landscape design, Chris and Andrew working in the office to coordinate all the moving parts for each upcoming landscape installation, to the many members of our wonderful crew installing and maintaining these landscapes with ample trees, gardens and hardscapes like patios, walkways and stone walls. In honor of today’s holiday, here is a brief history of how this day came to be as well as a few links to both the National Arbor Day Foundation and the Vermont Urban & Community Forestry page that has great Arbor Day events being held throughout Vermont.

Julius Sterling Morton was an avid tree lover and conservationist and is attributed to establishing the 1st American Arbor Day.  J. Sterling Mortan was among the pioneers to the Nebraska Territories from Detroit in the 1850s. He and his wife Caroline Joy French settled on 160 acres, all of which were treeless. They spent years planting thousands of trees throughout their property. Mortan was a journalist and eventually became a politician. He took every chance he could get to give agricultural advice and urged people to plant trees and gardens. In 1893, President Grover Cleavland appointed him as the US Secretary of Agriculture.

The 1st American Arbor Day was celebrated on April 22, 1885 in Nebraska. It is believed that nearly 1 million trees were planted on that day by thousands of volunteers which included all the local school children and a majority of the towns people. Today Arbor Day is nationally celebrated on the last Friday of April.  However many states have adopted their own day. This was done for optimal planting weather, with many southern states choosing dates in January or February and northern states like us, choosing dates in May.

As I was walking my dog Tucker last night through some freshly fallen snow, these thoughts popped into my head.  Why do some older Vermonters call the snow “Poor man’s fertilizer”? And is the snow beneficial to the landscapes we install here at di Stefano Landscaping, as well as farmer’s crops? Didn’t read about this in an Old Farmer’s Almanac once?  I know it’s probably a strange thing to think about on an evening stroll, but when it’s pitch black at 5:30pm and about 18 degrees, I figure it’s okay to let the mind wander to positive things instead of what might be lurking around the corner! With these questions still on my mind this morning when I got our office,  I did a little research on the matter. I found that indeed there are not only natural fertilization benefits, but also several other benefits to having snow in your ornamental landscape.

1. Along with the fact that snow is made up of frozen water, it also contains nitrogen. When it snows it deposits it into the soil. This is true of lighting and rain showers as well. In fact they contain higher amounts of nitrogen than snow. However the long melting process of a thick layer of snow allows for the slower release of nitrogen and the soil is able to better absorb it than in a quick summer rainstorm. Traditional fertilizers provide a much stronger dose of nutrients to your ornamental landscape, but every little bit helps right!
2. Snow acts as an insulator against the freezing temperatures of our Vermont winters. A nice layer of snow helps to prevent the frost from penetrating even deeper into the soil.  This increased layer of ground frost can damage the roots of trees, shrubs and perennials.   A layer of snow also aids in protecting covered plants from the harsh winter wind and sun that can dry out plant material and cause winter kill of branches.
   
3. A thick layer of snow helps to preserve soil moisture for the plants throughout the long Vermont winter.
   
4. Snow can highlight different aspects of your garden.  A good landscape design takes our long winter into consideration. Evergreens are incorporated throughout the design not only for structure, but also to provide the landscape with a little green that we miss during the winter. Ornamental features such as exfoliating bark, interesting branching patterns, bark color or texture tend to catch a viewer’s eye more this time of year. Plants like Red Twig Dogwood show off red branches brilliantly against the snow and ornamental grasses left standing provide texture and movement to the landscape in the winter breeze.