Yards and Landscaping – East Metro Water

So long sweet summer! Prepping lawns and gardens for the winter

By: angiehongmn October 2, 2018October 2, 2018

Buckthorn, Yards and Landscapingbees, buckthorn, fall, featured, gardening, lawn care, lawns, leaves, vegetable gardensLeave a Comment

By now, you’ve probably picked the last of the tomatoes, peppers and eggplants growing in your vegetable gardens. The predicted frost never quite made it to my house last weekend, but I know it’s only a matter of time before the winter temps will settle in for good. As you begin to prepare your lawn…

Living the buckthorn and bittersweet life

By: angiehongmn September 17, 2018

Buckthorn, Yards and Landscapingbuckthorn, featured, invasive species, oriental bittersweet, wildlife habitatLeave a Comment

Sometimes ignorance is bliss. I have a faint (ever-so-faint) recollection of the carefree joy I used to feel while hiking in the woods. “Aren’t these woods pretty?” I would think. “Look at all those pretty wildflowers along the roadside. Isn’t life grand?” My bliss was permanently disrupted, though, when I took my first ecology class…

When the sprinklers are running but the grass is still dry

By: angiehongmn August 30, 2018August 30, 2018

Yards and Landscapingfeatured, irrigation, lawn care, University of Minnesota, water conservation, Woodbury, yardsLeave a Comment

Have you ever wondered why some parts of your lawn remain stubbornly dry even on days when the sprinklers have run? You might be surprised to learn that water pressure is often to blame. According to Lindsay Brown, most cities serve homes with water at a pressure of about 60 psi (pounds per square inch).…

Putting Down Roots in the Prairie

By: angiehongmn August 7, 2018

Wildlife, Yards and Landscapingbirds, featured, leadplant, monarchs, native plants, prairie, soil and water conservationLeave a Comment

The roots of the leadplant chart a course toward the center of the earth. Thirsty and longing for stability, they branch, spread and burrow further and further into the soil. Encountering a rock or a flat pan of clay, they will pause, turn, and then continue their travels laterally. In sandy soils, where rainwater is…

Lessons from a garden

By: angiehongmn June 18, 2018

Keeping water clean, Yards and Landscapingenvironment, featured, gardening, habitat restoration, St. Croix RiverLeave a Comment

Sometimes you think you have a really good idea, like planting vegetable gardens at your office. Full of enthusiasm, you put your family to work and spend an entire day tearing out sod, piecing together scrap lumber, and hauling in dirt. It is hard work but you feel proud. Then it is the next year,…

Training the next generation to be “Keepers of the Trees”

By: angiehongmn June 11, 2018June 11, 2018

Partners and Updates, Water Conservation, Yards and Landscapingfeatured, Master Water Stewards, prairie, south washington watershed district, Tree Trust, trees, WoodburyLeave a Comment

The sun shines on a May morning and 23 tiny children gather round, faces up-turned, smiling and eager to begin the day. Kim Lawler, a team leader with Tree Trust, and Joan Nichols, a Master Water Steward in-training, stand before the children with a young white oak that the students will soon plant in a…

Sprinklers running? Better catch them!

By: angiehongmn May 16, 2018May 16, 2018

Groundwater, Yards and Landscapingfeatured, groundwater, irrigation, lawn care, lawns, water conservationLeave a Comment

75% of homes with automated irrigation systems have at least one broken sprinkler head. Is yours one of them?

Grants and workshops to help landowners create and improve woodland habitat

By: angiehongmn May 10, 2018May 7, 2018

Buckthorn, Yards and Landscapingbuckthorn, Habitat, oriental bittersweet, trees, Washington County, woodlandsLeave a Comment

In addition to its annual tree sale, the Washington Conservation District offers advice and assistance to landowners hoping to create and improve woodland habitat on their properties.

Planting a Monarch Mile, or Two

By: angiehongmn April 9, 2018May 4, 2018

Wildlife, Yards and Landscapingfeatured, gardening, Great River Greening, pollinators, south washington watershed district, volunteering, WoodburyLeave a Comment

In Washington County, local partners have added nearly 20 acres of new pollinator plantings in the past two years, with 25 additional acres coming this year.