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0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? e-edition | subscribe | newsletter | deals Home News Latest Stories Emergency services, May 2 Medford police join in move to body cams Some Oregon Shakespeare Festival crew members seek to unionize More kindergartners vaccinated in 2015 Book giveaway planned Saturday at Crater High School Crime, Courts and Emergency Services Emergency services, May 2 Gold Hill man torched his foreclosed property No leads on who smashed about 20 windows in Ashland before dawn Thursday Ashland man allegedly dragged woman with vehicle Jacksonville man who summited Everest will help in Nepal relief efforts Politics and Elections BREAKING: Baltimore prosecutor charges officers in Freddie Gray's death Earthquakes hit regularly in Medford (Oklahoma, that is) Medford School Board, Position 6: Curt Ankerberg vs. Janet Lightheart Arthur I. 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Never enough: New Starbucks proposed on Barnett Road in Medford Comcast deal dropped along with Pac-12 1-800Flowers.com reports $10.5 million loss in third quarter Jackson County debt-ridden homeowners have an option Real Estate News Never enough: New Starbucks proposed on Barnett Road in Medford Jackson County debt-ridden homeowners have an option New home in an old house Naumes plans custom-crush winery in former packing house GREEN ACRES: Southern Oregon provides escape from the maddening crowd People In Business Transportation Erickson finds room to work at Medford airport Lithia Motors nets $40.7 million in first quarter Lithia Motors reports second-best quarter ever Business briefs Medford airport's record run continues Agriculture 1-800Flowers.com reports $10.5 million loss in third quarter Naumes plans custom-crush winery in former packing house New bosses take charge at Harry & David Dancin Vineyards covers up Opinion Latest Letters to the Editor, May 2 Other Views: Gun-bill recalls misguided, futile Philip Maddocks: Candidates eager to reconnect with everyday billionaires Matthew T. Mangino: Baltimore boils over again Granlund cartoon: Cities and fire starters Editorials Other Views: Gun-bill recalls misguided, futile Our View: Bill gives ex-convicts a glimmer of hope Our View: Medical marijuana market not at risk Our View: Don't wait on public records reform Our View: Yes to faster speeds, no to lane splitting Letters to the Editor Letters to the Editor, May 2 Letters to the Editor, May 1 Letters to the Editor, April 30 Letters to the Editor, April 29 Letters to the Editor, April 28 Columns Michael Gerson: A pastor's faith in Baltimore George Will: What stands in Lindsey Graham's way Dana Milbank: Billionaire politics Kathleen Parker: Comedy, tragedy and fear of free speech Michael Gerson: Weighing the baggage Hillary brings Guest Opinions Guest Opinion: Uniting to restore our sovereignty to we, the people Guest Opinion: This Earth Day, we celebrate the Northwest Forest Plan The Medford School Board was wrong: 'American Pageant' is a political agenda, not history The Medford School Board was right: 'American Pageant' is a fine book, and the board did its homework Guest Opinion: Removing barriers to walking, biking benefits everyone Lifestyle Latest stories Go with the (low) flow Find the starry ‘kite’ in the eastern sky Life Lessons & Loves: An ode to the sane and wonderful mothers-in-law Dr. Murray Feingold: Turn down that noise Religion Briefs: Friday, May 1 Food Andrea Honaker: Mexican-inspired dips for Cinco de Mayo Set a table from your local farmers market Let's do brunch! 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Onorato: Food items appear in the funnies Home and Garden Betty Montgomery: You can have a variety of ferns in your garden Clean out household chemicals Friday and Saturday Dear Monty: 10 tips to avoid tenant complaints Home Help: Upgrade your entryway with simple DIY projects Costa Living: Basking in flower power Health Dr. Murray Feingold: Turn down that noise Health Watch: Pack your pantry with healthy items HealthStyle: It’s all in the family dinner 'Game changer' for heart patients Health Watch: Tips for protecting your eyes Hiking Biking Faith Religion Briefs: Friday, May 1 Religion Briefs: Friday, April 24 Religion Briefs: Friday, April 17 Religion briefs: Friday, April 10 Religion briefs: Friday, April 3 Milestones and Achievements ENGAGEMENT: Sellers-James Witham's birthday bash draws hundreds for 1950s prices Charlesworth-Murphy Drizzle doesn't dampen Pear Blossom Parade spirit New Arrivals: Sunday, April 12 Columnist for a Day Rogue Healthy Aging Tempo Latest stories 5 picks for live entertainment Live Music in Local Clubs Master Gardener Spring Fair at The Expo Randall Theatre stages 'Little Shop of Horrors' Camelot Theatre presents 'Arsenic and Old Lace' Theater Some Oregon Shakespeare Festival crew members seek to unionize Randall Theatre stages 'Little Shop of Horrors' 'Much Ado' at SOU Thanks for the Memories stages 'Company' one night only Camelot Theatre presents 'Arsenic and Old Lace' Music Thunder's Edge, Steel Cranes tonight at Club 66 The Farr Side: CMAs do it right, in many ways Live Music in Local Clubs Trio Brasileiro plays Old Siskiyou Barn Interview: Offspring plays hits new and old on tour Community Events Ashland's First Friday Art Walk showcases new exhiits by regional artists Master Gardener Spring Fair at The Expo A Taste of Ashland pairs food and wine at galleries Rogue Valley Earth Day 2015 Foreign language film festival set at SOU Movies Movie review: ‘Avengers: Age of Ultron’ has a lot going on Movie review: ‘Avengers: Age of Ultron’ knows how to party Catching up with the Avengers Interview: Sofia Vergara talks ‘Hot Pursuit’ Quick Flicks: ‘Cinderella,’ ‘Insurgent’ and more Dining Taqueria Picaro offers casual Mexican cuisine Restaurant inspections: April 26, 2015 Island Grindz serves up Hawaiian specialties Have you wandered down the Bear Creek Wine Trail yet? Restaurant inspections: April 19, 2015 Tempo Videos Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » Obits Blogs TV Listings Movie Listings Oregon Outdoors Oregon Healthy Living Special Sections Business Services NEWS NOW Since You Asked: Manholes can give you a wake-up jolt ... US, Canada unveil rules to boost oil train safety ... Medford police join in move to body cams ... Since You Asked: Manholes can give you a wake-up jolt ... US, Canada unveil rules to boost oil train safety ... Medford police join in move to body cams ... Garden Cameos: Time to give your garden a new look Comment By Linda Cobb The Spartanburg Herald-Journal MailTribune.com By Linda Cobb The Spartanburg Herald-Journal Posted Mar. 10, 2015 at 9:12 AM By Linda Cobb The Spartanburg Herald-Journal Posted Mar. 10, 2015 at 9:12 AM » Social News When you garden on the same plot of land for years, it is easy to get yourself into a nice comfortable rut. A rut when you hunker down, so to speak, and never do anything different or even think about anything new. The old expression, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” applies here. Sometimes you cannot even see the flower bed is old and tired. The plantings may be thin and weak or just plain worn out. Just because you have done it this way for years doesn’t mean you can never change it. Now is the perfect time to think about ripping out a whole bed or even half of it. Be brave and get out the paper, pencils, mail-order catalogs, ideas and garden magazines, and start to think change. This is something I recently have done. After 20 years, the long perennial bed needed a makeover. The biggest mistake of my horticultural career was planting mint in this bed, and 20 years later, it is still there. But all of the plants had gotten old and tired and there was not any theme or cohesiveness to the bed anymore. The first step to the process is to decide how large this bed will be. My bed was easy because it is a self-contained bed of only one size. We removed every plant and potted the ones I wanted to keep to return to the new bed and tossed the old and no longer viable ones. Then we added a layer of compost and mushroom compost to the bed. The soil was already rich and loose, but after the compost and mushroom compost was added we tilled it up. If you are creating a bed from scratch, you will need to remove the grass by renting a grass-removal machine or you can dig it up. Hardware stores usually rent these machines. If your bed has hard red clay, you will need to resort to drastic measures. This is the most important step you can take to renovating or creating a new flower bed. The standard soil amendment steps are hard red clay, sand (any kind of sand) and peat moss. Now I know you cannot measure this, but you can guess at it easily. After you scatter theses ingredients on your soil, till it to about 8 to 10 inches. This will leave you with perfect garden soil suitable for growing ornamental shrubs, vegetables, perennials and annuals. The next steps require thinking and planning. This is where I get out about 20 pieces of bamboo, in all sizes. I use the bamboo to plan out my bed by laying them down in the bed to designate planting pockets. This gives me a real visual idea of what it will look like. While doing this I keep in mind how big the plants get, not to hide a plant under another bigger plant and how many plants fit in the pocket. While I am planning out my bed, using these visual techniques, I will take that time to decide what plants go in the bed. Assuming this is a full-sun bed, I like to start out the positioning of my key plants such as phlox, Joe Pye weed, roses, cone flower and rudbeckia, paying attention to what plants bloom in what season. After positioning my canes throughout my bed to indicate the location of each group of plants, then I will add to it some larger shrubs or trees such as forest pansy or any large hydrangeas including limelight, a full-sun hydrangea. Maybe I might want to add a tall pole with a clematis on it. These plants are my base plants. Next, I will want to plan to add some annuals to run through the bed randomly. For this you can select what is available at the local nursery when the season arrives or you can plan, buy seed, and grow your own, like larkspur and Queen Anne’s lace. I usually dot them through the bed like a stream in a curved line. This way you have total control of your flower bed, enabling you to always be prepared. For early March interest, you should plant a few Lenten roses or hellebores. Add to the current bed some daffodil bulbs scattered in groups throughout the planting bed. This way when it is spring there will be something to look forward to before any of the garden wakes up. Also it would be wise to plant some tulip bulbs here and there. This is always planted in the fall, so make a note on your calendar to order bulbs in July or August and plant them out in October. There is always the giant allium, globemaster, which blooms in April and May. Add to that some of the ornamental tall lilies that will bloom in the summer months of June and July. All of this needs to be planned ahead on a calendar, plotted, ordered and dug in. By now if you have marked off the groups of phlox, Joe Pye weed and the other plants within the bamboo canes, and have used small inverted pots to indicate where each plant will go within the bamboo areas, your bed will look really crazy, with canes all over and many pots all over the ground. But don’t despair. This process will really help you make some decisions. Give it a try. I think you will have a much better picture of how many plants to buy, what kinds and where they will go. This is the very best visual exercise you can do. Linda Cobb is a master gardener who lectures, teaches and does garden design in South Carolina. Email her at [email protected]. Visit her website, at mygardenersguide.com. By Linda Cobb The Spartanburg Herald-Journal MailTribune.com By Linda Cobb The Spartanburg Herald-Journal Posted Mar. 10, 2015 at 9:12 AM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. calendar Connect with MailTribune.com Facebook Twitter RSS Back to top Reader Services Reader Services Home Subscriptions Subscriber controls Contact us Submissions Photos Events Letters to the editor Corrections Announcements Obituaries Story ideas Since you asked Alerts Email Alerts RSS Feeds Text Alerts Advertise Media Kit Home Products and services Ad rates Advertising contacts Mail Tribune Daily Tidings The Nickel Shop Our Valley Blogs Stay Informed Email newsletter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. 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