Garden Siren Call

  Red begonia in this planter were bought in 2019, over-wintered in home. Three coleus plants, at left, were over-wintered indoors; they were live centerpieces in vases. Those plants at the end of the season It was an experiment launched last fall: If I over-wintered a few different annual flowers, which one would come back in 2020, just as beautiful as they were when purchased? Turns out, coleus and begonia plants are the winners in the quest to keep fresh flowers all year 'round, in some way, shape or form. The photos prove the flower-power. I used the coleus as live centerpieces, all winter long. The bright red begonia was the only plant to survive in a planter with a bottom reservoir (that I plan to recycle after this season). In the spring, I planted the coleus in individual pots and kept them in a brightly lit place until it was safe to plant outdoors. For the begonia, I kept it in the planter and added some more annuals to fill it out. This occurred after May 10...

This weed pops up daily in one of the Baker gardens. A gardening expert published in the Quad-City Times Home & Garden section has the right idea when it comes to weeds: "Remove weeds from garden beds and borders as soon as they appear," writes Melinda Myers, author of more than 20 books on gardening and a columnist for "Birds & Blooms" magazine. "These (weeds) steal water and nutrients from desirable garden plants," she continues. "Plus, they can harbor insects and diseases harmful to your plants. Remove them before they flower and seed and you will have hundreds of less weeds to pull next season." I have pulled hundreds of weeds, or "plants out of place." As I did this one day, I thought I'd ask some other avid gardeners how they tolerate weeds. Zero? A few? Many? Those participating in this blog: Marion Meginnis, third ward alderman for City of Davenport; Sarah Hayden, reporter for Moline Dispatch and Quad-City...