Having your pet dog join you for some outdoor fun is one of life’s pleasures. But when Fido decides to hone his digging and chewing skills on your tender plants, man’s best friend can find himself in the dog house!

Here’s a reader who needs help with a dog-gnawed magnolia.

QUESTION: “Last spring I planted a magnolia Jane and crape myrtle in my garden and they were doing very well until my two dogs got inside the garden and chewed the magnolia down to 5 inches with several small branches attached and chewed the myrtle. I managed to prune the myrtle back to beauty but the magnolia didn’t fare so well. Is there any hope in saving the magnolia? ” — Juan Luciano

ANSWER: Pets can be harsh on new plants in the landscape. You may have to try several different things before you find the one thing that will encourage the dogs to leave the plants alone.

A few things that come to mind are putting wire cages (chicken wire or stronger) around the trees for the first few years until they can fend for themselves. Sprinkling cayenne pepper around the area of the plant can sometimes keep the dogs at bay as their nose/tongue will burn (nothing violent!) for a few hours. As the trees grow, if the dogs continue to chew on the bark, loosely wrap the trunk with hardware cloth. It is a woven wire type cloth that dogs or wildlife such as rabbits and mice can’t gnaw through.

I don’t know if the magnolia will come out from the damage. It will pretty much be a wait and see. Give it some protection and if it begins to leaf out, build a sturdy cage around it so the dogs can’t get near it.

Another option, until the magnolia is a little larger, is to relocate it to a large (tall) garden pot. I had to do this last year after my dogs decided to dig up the two new crape myrtles that I used to replace two oriental maples that had died over the harsh Easter weekend two years ago. They had never done anything so drastic before, but after they dug up the second set of myrtles planted, we decided to put the plants in some tall garden pots and they didn’t bother them anymore.

QUESTION: “I just recently purchased a home. The lawn is something to question, but anyway I was planning to rake and apply fertilizer with weed control. One person recommended that I use lime as well. Could you explain the benefits or why should I use lime in addition to my fertilizer treatment? Also, I have a hearty hibiscus. Do they return yearly? Can I just plant the seeds that they bore before fall/winter?” — Daniel Felicien

ANSWER: The first thing you should do is have your soil tested. Too often, many chemicals are added to soil haphazardly without testing the soil to make certain that is what is needed, even fertilizer. You can obtain soil testing information through your local Conservation District Office (also known as NRCS), Soil Conservation Service or contact your local Department of Agriculture.

Here is a link to the NRCS. http://www.nrcs.usda.gov You can find your nearest office by going to that site and clicking on ‘Find a Service Center.’

Fertilizers are only used to bring soil into a neutral level (pH) while chemicals are used to combat specific problems. They do not make the soil healthier, which is where soil should be. Amendments such as organic applications, aged compost, aged manure mix, etc will build up the soil with nutrients making it healthy and less susceptible to weeds and pests. Weed seeds have a difficult time growing in healthy soil.

If the hibiscus in your landscape is a temperate variety (usually a hard bark shrub) and not a tropical variety, it is only dormant and will leaf out in mid/late spring. Temperate varieties of hibiscus (also known as althea and Rose of Sharon) are generally propagated through cuttings. Any seed produced by the plant may not come back true to the parent plant.

The Plant Man is here to help. Send your questions about trees, shrubs and landscaping to steve@landsteward.org and for resources and additional information, or to subscribe to Steve’s free e-mailed newsletter, visit www.landsteward.org

With spring fast approaching, this is a good time to catch up on some practical and fun how-to advice from garden experts. Here’s my look at five new garden books.

Home Outside: Creating the Landscape You Love

Julie Moir Messervy (Taunton Press)

As the author notes, most of us have the confidence to improve the inside of our homes with a fresh coat of paint, new rugs, furniture and fixtures. But when it comes to the outside of our most prized possession, we don’t know where to start.

In “Home Outside” landscape designer Messervy provides an intuitive, easy-to-follow guide that demystifies the art and practice of landscape design. Divided into sections such as Comfort Zones, Making It Flow, Placing the Pieces and Sensory Pleasures, the book combines no-nonsense text, excellent color photos and diagrams and plans.

Messervy says that she wants to get people back outside onto their land by helping them realize the pleasure that’s involved in being out of doors.

If you gaze at your yard and wish it looked better but don’t know where to start, “Home Outside” could be the book to get you off the dime and fired up with ideas from the modest to the grandiose. Have a pad of those sticky yellow notes handy. You’ll probably want to bookmark a lot of pages in this, one of the year’s best landscape design books for both homeowners and design pro’s.

Deer-Resistant Landscaping

Neil Soderstrom (Rodale Books)

If you’re one of the thousands of homeowners in the depths of despair and depression due to finding your lovingly cared-for plants reduced to stubble by hungry deer, this is a must-have book for you.

Suburban sprawl has created an ideal habitat for wildlife, free from most natural predators and off-limits to hunters. For lovers of wildlife, this can be a joy, but the joy can be short lived when deer see your landscape as an all-they-can-eat buffet.

In this book, Soderstrom tells you what works, what doesn’t and why, based on the latest scientific research, advice of landscape and wildlife-control professionals, all without resorting to poisons or firearms.

Not just deer, by the way, but also twenty other “pesky” mammals from bears, beavers and chipmunks to moles, mice, rabbits and voles.

Perhaps best of all, Soderstom lists, describes and depicts more than 1,000 plants that are resistant to deer and other wildlife.

Understanding Perennials

William Cullina (HMH)

Cullina has created a visually beautiful guide to working with perennials and, most importantly, helping them flourish. Rather than coming up with yet another plant encyclopedia, Cullina offers what he describes as the “psychology” of perennials: their needs, wants and potentials.

Starting with the basics, such as the difference between bulbs, corms and tubers, the book literally takes perennials from the ground up, with sections on roots, leaves, stems, flowers and seeds. There’s also a handy reference section on pests and diseases that attack perennials and how to control them.

Perennials are the basis of virtually every garden and Cullina’s book deserves a place on the shelf of every gardener wishing to bring out the best in their plants.

Rodale’s Ultimate Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening

Edited by Fern Marshall Bradley et al (Rodale Books)

Unlike Cullina’s book, this one really IS an encyclopedia, and at around two inches thick, quite a hefty one! This edition, newly revised and updated for 2009, must be the most up-to-date and complete resource on the subject of organic gardening.

After 50 years it is still the go-to reference for both novices and seasoned organic gardeners. If you’re intrigued by the idea of applying organic methods to fruit and vegetable crops, herbs, trees and shrubs, perennials, annuals and lawns, here’s where you’ll find in-depth information on earth-friendly techniques, using water wisely, managing invasive plants and more.

Kitchen Garden Box: Save and Sow Seeds of Your Favorite Vegetables

Mike McGrath (Quirk)

Organized on cards in a sturdy flip-top box, this fun little package shows gardeners how to collect, store, use and replant seeds of their favorite tried-and-true veggies.

In addition to handy cards with step-by-step instructions, growing tips and recipes, the kit includes ten seed storage envelopes and coupons for two free seed packets. A fun gift for a friend or for yourself, Kitchen Garden Box is scheduled for publication in April 2009.

The Plant Man is here to help. Send your questions about trees, shrubs and landscaping to steve@landsteward.org and for resources and additional information, or to subscribe to Steve’s free e-mailed newsletter, visit www.landsteward.org

Moving to a new home, particularly if it’s your first, is an exciting venture. But deciding what to do about your new landscape can seem overwhelming. That was the problem faced by these new homeowners whose question was answered by my wife Cheryl, below.

QUESTION: “My husband and I are in the process of purchasing a property.
Temperatures are usually warm and the backyard is small with a fair amount of sunlight. We’d like to keep the landscaping cohesive with the style of this Spanish Cottage, but more importantly, we need it to do several things.

“First, we need it to build privacy since two story buildings can see into our yard. We also would like to reduce sound. My husband is a musician and frequently has “jam sessions” in the garage, but we don’t want to disturb neighbors. What types of trees
and plants do you suggest for this?

“Finally, if we’d like to grow some light ivy over the house to give it that “cottage” feel, how would we do this? The front of the home faces south. Thank you so much.” – The Schlarbs

ANSWER: Planting trees and shrubs in fairly close proximity and then pruning them to form a hedge is a time-honored way to create a feeling of privacy and at the same time muffle sound, both incoming and outgoing.

But for you’re thinking of something a little less formal, here’s a link to a very informative article from the L.A. Times in praise of what the author calls “hedges without edges.”
http://articles.latimes.com/2006/feb/23/home/hm-hedges23

You can always use bamboo, but there are other plant varieties out there that may be more of what you would prefer. Layering different types of plants can help create privacy, such as a dense hedge that may only grow 5 to 8 feet tall but give you the sound block you desire with a tall growing bamboo or other plant variety to block the view from the taller buildings.

Concerning growing ivy on your house, this isn’t something that I would recommend. Ivy, like many other vines, will attach itself to the structure eventually causing serious damage. However, if you like the idea of ivy, remember that it will grow on a chicken wire frame, lattice or arbor where it would be less invasive and easier to control. The latter, an arbor, would help to give you privacy in your back yard area.

I have e-mailed you some specific links to pages at Sunset Magazine’s Web site. Sunset Magazine always has some wonderful ideas for landscaping, particularly southwestern landscaping. Sunset Magazine is one of my favorite all-around magazines because they always give such great tips. What I am trying to do with these links is to show you how color and plants can liven up a home and give you the cottage feel that you are looking for.

For other readers who are interested in this subject, your best bet is simply to go to http://www.sunset.com/garden/ and then click on the menu items such as “Landscaping and Design,” “Earth Friendly,” etc.

Some colorful plants that you may want to include in your landscape are: roses, lantana, hibiscus, fuchsia, camellia, and bougainvillea. Many of these plants also offer climbing varieties that could be considered for the arbor instead of the ivy.

This is a lot of info to take in, but I hope it gives you some ideas of your own to build on.
Good luck on your project!

A few days later, this follow-up note was in our in-box:

I can’t thank you enough for such a helpful email! My family and I will certainly be thinking of your kindness as we work on landscaping for our yard. Being that this could be our first home, we are very excited , but felt overwhelmed at the thought of sorting this out on our own. When we finally get around to it, I’ll be sure to send you photos. Many thanks! Warm regards, Adriana Schlarb & Family.

The Plant Man is here to help. Send your questions about trees, shrubs and landscaping to steve@landsteward.org and for resources and additional information, or to subscribe to Steve’s free e-mailed newsletter, visit www.landsteward.org

Roses. Ask almost anyone what roses symbolize and they’ll tell you, “Love.” In February, our thoughts turn to love, thanks to St. Valentine, Cupid’s little arrows and, of course, roses.

If you’re thinking of treating your Special Sweetie to roses on February 14, I say, “Good for you!” But I have an idea that will put a unique tweak on your gift that will show your love lasts longer than just Valentine’s Day. Doesn’t that sound good?

But first, before you rush out and plunk down your hard-earned cash for a bunch of blooms, take a minute to think about the language of flowers; what the color of the rose says about you and your feelings.

Yes, strange as it might seem, flowers really do have a language, a code if you will, that legend says originated in 15th century Persia, coming to Europe over the next three hundred years. By the 19th century, people in Europe and America were using this floral code to send wordless messages to each other. Because each flower, color, and even number of flowers and how they were arranged in the bouquet had special meanings, lovers could converse secretly without ever exchanging a word.

Roses are the flowers most associated with the emotions, particularly love. But are you sure those roses you’re about to grab at the supermarket express exactly the feelings you wish to convey? For a start, there are many shades of red rose, each expressing slightly different emotions. Consider this:

1. Mid red roses: romantic love and respect
2. Amaranth red: long standing desire
3. Cardinal red: sublime desire
4. Carmine red: deceitful desire
5. Fiery red: flames of passion

It doesn’t stop with red, of course. Other colors have special meanings that you might want to consider, depending on the message you wish to convey:

1. Lavender/purple: grace, gentility, refinement
2. Peach: sociability, friendship
3. Pink: appreciation, gratitude
4. Red and white together: unity
5. Red and yellow together: happiness, gaiety, fun
6. Yellow: joy, celebration

So lavender roses might be perfect for grandma or your inlaws, perhaps. Peach roses could be could be a nice choice for your best friend, and pink roses to say thank you to a co-worker. Yellow roses are often seen at wedding showers and receptions, but be careful! In Islamic tradition, yellow roses symbolize treachery or deceit, in Mexico they are associated with death and to the French they imply infidelity!

Well, here’s my “unique tweak” to make this Valentine’s Day the most memorable ever. Give your Honey a rose bush rather than a bouquet. Why? A bouquet will fade and wither in a few days, but a live, growing rose bush, planted where she or he will see it everyday, year after year, speaks of a love that is perennial!

I strongly recommend Knockout Roses because they are relatively easy to care for and produce an amazing amount of gorgeous, fragrant blooms, often twice as many as other varieties. Look for:

Rose Knockout Red

This is an excellent choice for a low-maintenance, disease resistant rose. Fluorescent, fire-engine red in cooler temperatures turning deep, dense pink in the heat of summer.

Rose Knockout Double Red

Ooh, the passion! This one has deep iridescent burgundy red. You’ll find 5 or 6 blooms per stem giving a luscious, luxurious display.

Rose Knockout Double Pink

The Double Pink is a little more dense and compact than some other Knockouts, reaching about 3 to 4 feet high with those eye-popping, blushing-pink double blooms.

Rose Knockout Rainbow

This is one of my favorites, blooming from spring to fall with blooms that open orange from coral-pink buds, and then quickly turn soft coral-pink shading to gold at the base, surrounding a yellow center.

Look for knockout roses in one gallon containers as they’ll be further along in their growth cycle and more likely to thrive once planted.

Knockout roses will bring a perennial display of passionate color and heady fragrance to your loved one’s garden. What better way to say “I love you” on Valentine’s Day and every day for years to come?

Feel free to send me an e-mail if you want more information on Knockout roses or need some buying information.

The Plant Man is here to help. Send your questions about trees, shrubs and landscaping to steve@landsteward.org and for resources and additional information, or to subscribe to Steve’s free e-mailed newsletter, visit www.landsteward.org