Though we are still in summer, the cool days of fall are around the corner, which is the best time of the year to install plants in your landscape as they will not be as stressed due to the cooler temperatures. While planning for an attractive landscape for your enjoyment, consider including plants and other items that will attract wildlife to your yard. Remember that what you include in your design, such as plants, feeders, water features, etc., and where you place these items will affect the kinds of animals and other wildlife, like butterflies that will be attracted to your yard.

First, develop an overall landscape plan for your property. Be sure that your plan includes all the areas of your yard you want to plant. Keep your plan simple and try to avoid a cluttered look. Initially, dont worry about selecting specific plants, but concentrate more on grouping plants. You should decide during the initial planning stages where such items as an ornamental pond or bird feeder will be located. Think about the views that you will have from inside your house.

When deciding what to include in your design, remember the three basic needs of wildlife: food, cover and water. The needs are the same whether in the forest or your back yard.

Food: This is one of the easiest needs that you can provide. The greater the variety of food, the greater the diversity of wildlife you are likely to attract. Food can be provided naturally by the planting of grasses, flowers, shrubs and trees. You can supplement naturally grown food with various products that will attract birds and animals. Food is one of the most significant enticements for attracting wildlife onto your property. Many homeowners who dont have enough land to provide water and cover can enjoy some wildlife by feeding alone.

Water: Most homeowners are not fortunate enough to have a natural water source in their yard. In most cases, it must be provided. Ensuring access to water can be accomplished with something as simple as a birdbath or as elaborate as an ornamental pool or pond. In addition to its wildlife value, a water feature can be a focal point in the yard. Locate it so it can be easily viewed outside and inside the house.

Cover: Protection from the weather and places to rest and raise young are essential components of any wildlife sanctuary. Different animals have different cover requirements:

Rock piles or stonewalls for chipmunks and lizards

Dense shrubs for cottontails

Water for frogs and turtles

Try to locate cover close to the food and water; remember, many cover plants can also be food plants. Arrange plants so they are attractive to look at and two so they fit in with your overall landscape plan.

As your landscape matures and the wildlife habitat develops, it will become increasingly exciting. Your yard can become a stage where different species of wildlife are the stars, and the people are the audience.

Do you use the same password for all your online accounts? Change it nowbut not before you see these easy-to-guess passwords to avoid using, based on analysis by VPN provider Twingate. Click for more.

Timothy Daly is the Agricultural and Natural Resource agent with UGA Extension Henry. He can be contacted at 770-288-8421 or tdaly@uga.edu.

Originally posted here:
TIMOTHY DALY: Making your garden attractive to wildlife - Henry Herald

ANTONIO LANGHAM GLANCED across a crowded hotel ballroom in downtown Atlanta and noticed an older, white-haired gentleman slowly walking in his direction. Langham, a household name in Alabama football lore, was being honored that weekend as the Crimson Tide's "SEC Legend" on the eve of the 2009 SEC championship game. The older gentleman walking toward Langham was Roy Kramer, and Langham sheepishly admits that he didn't immediately recognize the former SEC commissioner.

But make no mistake: The pair will forever be linked.

It was 30 years ago that Langham's 27-yard interception return for a touchdown saved Alabama in the inaugural SEC championship game, a thrilling 28-21 victory over Florida. The unbeaten Crimson Tide went on to win their first national championship in the post-Bear Bryant era when they defeated Miami 34-13 in the Sugar Bowl. Langham's memorable pick-six may have also saved Kramer, who came up with the creative (and controversial) idea of playing a conference championship game after the SEC expanded to 12 teams in 1992, not to mention setting in motion the model that still is at the center of determining the national champ.

"We were at the banquet the night before the game, and I'm just mingling after we're all up on the stage and see him coming toward me with his arms out," Langham said. "I look around and am thinking, 'Who's he walking over to hug?' I know it's bad to say, but I had no clue who Commissioner Kramer was. I mean, I had met him before, but I sort of stepped out of the way because I thought he was looking for somebody else."

But Kramer knew exactly who he was looking for, the guy who wore No. 43 for Alabama on that cold, rainy night in Birmingham's Legion Field in a game that shaped college football more than anybody could have known at the time.

"Antonio, I just want to hug your neck," Kramer told Langham with a hearty laugh. "You are my favorite athlete of all time."

IT WAS A HUGE GAMBLE by Kramer and the SEC to add a championship game in 1992. They were the first major conference to do so after finding a little-known NCAA bylaw that stipulated a conference with 12 teams could split into two divisions and play a championship game. The SEC had just added Arkansas and South Carolina as its 11th and 12th members.

"The bylaw was originally put in for Division III conferences, but it applied to everybody," Kramer said. "Once we hit 12 teams, we knew we could take advantage of it, and I knew it wouldn't be popular with everyone in the sport, even in our conference. But our teams having a chance to potentially play for two championships at the end of the season, the conference championship and the national championship, was something that gave a flair to our conference that was unique at the time."

So unique that then-Florida coach Steve Spurrier asked, "Is that even legal? Commissioner Kramer assured me that it was, and I guess a lot of the growth and changes we see today in college football goes back to that game." Spurrier was one of the few coaches in the SEC at the time who liked the idea.

"Oh, I loved it. There's nothing like a championship game," said Spurrier, who revels in telling the story about a charity golf tournament he played in around that time with then-North Carolina basketball coach Dean Smith and then-Kansas basketball coach Roy Williams.

"Coach Smith asked, 'Are you guys going to get a playoff in football?'" Spurrier said. "I told him I didn't know, that everybody just sort of plays their season, then the bowls come in and pick the teams they want, and then after they play, they get a bunch of sportswriters together and they vote on who's national champion."

The Head Ball Coach then looked at his two Hall of Fame hoops counterparts and asked his own question: "How would you boys in basketball like it if you did it like that?"

Smith looked at Spurrier and quipped, "We wouldn't, because that's stupid."

In retrospect, Spurrier would wholeheartedly agree.

"Maybe that SEC championship game Commissioner Kramer came up with got the ball rolling," Spurrier said. "At least we've got a little bit of a playoff scheme now to determine the champ."

Most of the coaches in the SEC hated the idea of a conference championship game, and Alabama's Gene Stallings was especially upset. Their fear was that the SEC was putting itself at a decided disadvantage in the national championship race by playing an extra game.

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"We were 11-0 and hadn't won anything," recalled Stallings, now 87 and living on his farm in Paris, Texas. "I remember thinking how hard it was going to make it for the SEC to win another national title, but Roy knew what he was doing.

"I'd say it's worked out just fine because you're not going to find a better environment or a better showcase for college football than the SEC championship game each year."

And that 1992 title game paved the way for the SEC to win 16 of the next 30 national championships, with six schools winning titles.

It was such a novel concept at the time, though, that nobody around the sport knew what to make of it.

"I don't think any of us had really thought about it," former Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany said. "Give credit to Roy, though. He had a vision, and it's a game that carries a lot of marketing weight and a lot of financial weight. I think the SEC is very, very proud of their game. They were the first to have one, and it's part of their culture.

"It's probably as important to them as the Rose Bowl is to us."

The Big Ten began expansion conversations with Penn State in 1989, but the Nittany Lions didn't begin play in the conference until 1993. Delany said there wasn't a concerted effort to go from 11 to 12 just to add a conference playoff. In fact, the Big Ten didn't expand again until 2011, when Nebraska came aboard, and it started its conference championship game that season.

In 1996, the Big 12 was the next major conference after the SEC to add a championship game, following the merger of the Big Eight and four teams from the old Southwest Conference. More dominoes fell with the ACC adding Virginia Tech, Miami and Boston College and playing its first conference championship game in 2005. The first Pac-12 conference championship game was played in 2011 after the league grew to 12 teams with the additions of Utah and Colorado.

"It's interesting that some of the most vocal opponents to some of these moves, even the long resistors, have their own championship game," said current SEC commissioner Greg Sankey, who helped craft a 12-team College Football Playoff expansion proposal that was voted down in February by the short-lived Alliance (ACC, Big Ten and Pac-12). The CFP will remain at four teams through the end of its current contract, which runs through the 2025 season.

"When we first went down the conference championship game road, we felt our game would be a way for our teams to play their way into the national championship game," said Mark Womack, Kramer's right-hand man who remains the SEC's executive associate commissioner.

"Now, everything else that has happened in our sport, conferences getting bigger and bigger and having their own TV networks, I don't think we quite foresaw the unprecedented change in what we're seeing right now in college athletics. We thought our conference championship game might precipitate some change, but nothing like this."

THE ONLY THING on Kramer's mind that Dec. 5 night nearly three decades ago was that he might get run out of town if a three-loss Florida team managed to upset Alabama and ruin the Crimson Tide's national title hopes. The Gators got the ball back in the final minutes of a tie game with a chance to take the lead when Langham stepped in front of a pass by Florida's Shane Matthews and took it to the house.

"There was a lot of angst even before the game, a lot of angst, and I'm not sure what the future of the conference championship game would have been had Alabama lost that first one and been knocked out of the national championship," Kramer said. "Our goal was for that game to serve as a showcase for the SEC, and I think we accomplished that."

The inaugural SEC championship game was televised nationally by ABC with the legendary Keith Jackson on the call and earned a 9.8 rating, not to mention 83,091 fans packing Legion Field. The game moved to Atlanta in 1994 and has been one of college football's crown jewels ever since.

A year ago, the SEC championship game between Georgia and Alabama led all conference title games in viewers (15.3 million) and attendance (78,030). The 1992 game generated $6.1 million in total revenue, including TV money, while the 2021 game generated $26.6 million.

"It's been a great way to celebrate SEC football, fans from all over the conference there and the stadium sold out [for 26 consecutive years]," Womack said. "I would argue that it rivals the national championship game as the best game in college football."

And, yes, Kramer admits establishing the game was a bit of a gamble, but not the only gamble that night. Langham said he rolled the dice on Matthews' short pass route, and instead of giving ground and forcing the underneath throw like Alabama's coverage dictated on the play, he hid behind the Florida receiver and came from the outside to intercept the pass.

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"I was gambling, too, because Shane Matthews was a great quarterback and didn't make mistakes," said Langham, who is on the 2023 College Football Hall of Fame ballot. "Something just told me to sit on the route. I just wanted to make a play because the last thing you want is Steve Spurrier and those guys driving down the field at the end of the game."

Langham guesses he's been to about 90% of the SEC championship games since that first one. He's always amazed at the way it has grown and takes pride in the fact that the SEC was out front in helping the sport evolve and grow.

As Kramer surveys the current college football landscape, he's not sure how much credit or blame he deserves from what some labeled a "gimmick" 30 years ago.

Keep in mind that Kramer was also the chief architect of the BCS system, which was launched in 1998 and determined college football's national champion until the CFP took its place in 2014.

Mike Aresco, the American Athletic Conference commissioner, once described Kramer as "a guy who could always see the future."

That future continues to change, as conferences are now going away from divisions. The NCAA Division I council announced in May that it would relax its restrictions on conference championship games, paving the way for leagues to avoid title-game matchups determined by division winners and eliminating divisions altogether. The Pac-12 immediately announced its title game this season would pit the two teams with the highest winning percentages.

Even the SEC is focusing on a single-division model with either eight or nine conference games once Oklahoma and Texas join the league.

No matter what that scheduling format looks like or even how CFP expansion turns out, good luck in ever getting the SEC to give up its conference championship game.

"I don't even want to think about that, because it's a cultural event for our region, and based on viewership, I'd say for the country," said Sankey, noting that the SEC title game a year ago was the highest-rated college football game of the season.

"You think about our student-athletes, and they point to this game now. So we have to be careful as we think about change, and I tried to be with the last discussion on playoff expansion, to understand where there are real points of meaning -- and not just value that seems transactional -- but real meaning. And to me, the SEC championship game has great meaning, and we shouldn't forget that."

Kramer is not a big fan of a 12-team playoff because he thinks it would devalue the regular season, and he also said that 16 teams (which is where the SEC and Big Ten will be with this latest round of expansion) is about as big as a conference needs to be.

Delany, who retired as Big Ten commissioner in 2020, tends to agree.

"What Roy did was break through from 10 to 12 members and redefine what a large conference was," Delany said. "We all grew from there, from 10 to 12 to 14 and now 16. I hope that's enough. I think it's very hard to have a conference that's much larger than 16 because then it becomes a small association."

Kramer will leave it to others to navigate the future of college football. He's now 92 and lives on an East Tennessee golf course overlooking scenic Tellico Lake.

"I guess, to some degree, we started all this," Kramer said. "Some might think it's good, some not so good."

Read more from the original source:
How the 1992 SEC championship game altered the college football landscape forever - ESPN

I was listening to a podcast by Moxie LaBouche called Your Brain on Facts and she mentioned the U.S. School Garden Army. While "Victory Gardens" were well known, (Plant a row to feed the hungry) this program was totally new to me so I did some digging!

The School Garden Army was created in March 1918 by the U.S. Bureau of Education, funded by the War Department and blessed by President Woodrow Wilson. The motto was "A garden for every child, every child in a garden." Each "soldier of the soil" pledged to "Consecrate my head, heart, hand and health through food production and food conservation to help the World War and world peace." (Sound familiar, 4-H kids?)

This program enlisted boys and girls at school and at home into planting gardens to help in the fight in France during World War I. Many of our nations food supplies were used to feed our soldiers, and this program was a real and patriotic way for kids to be involved in feeding their own families and supporting the war efforts.

It was even suggested that they name their garden plot after someone they knew who was fighting abroad. The government estimated that there were 7 million children ages 9 to 16 who could help by growing vegetables, berries, fruits and poultry.

Government publications were sent to teachers. The courses included lessons on nature, preparing soil, sowing seed, caring for the soil and harvesting the crops. Food canning and preservation was also taught. Urban and suburban students learned how to garden and learned to experience the rural kids' way of life.

Teachers were provided with Spring and Fall Manuals of the United States School Garden Army, insignia or service badges for officers and privates, service flags for Garden Army Soldiers, Pied Piper posters and regional leaflets for supervisors and teachers. The teachers provided gardening experience and learning opportunities for lifelong skills.

Some of the lessons in the manuals include: how to plan your garden, calendar of planting and care, plants to grow, adding flowers and fortifying the soil. They also discussed using what we currently call cover crops by planting cowpeas, soybeans and vetch and crop rotation. Hot beds and cold frame building instructions were offered along with methods of extending the seasons to allow more food production. Maturity descriptions of when to pick produce were included along with how to store vegetables on pantry shelves, in the cellar and in an outdoor pit.

Another lesson stressed that it was a patriotic duty to sell excess produce as it provides food for others and an opportunity for household income or money to invest in War Savings Stamps. This important lesson also taught thrift and an introduction to a "business system" that includes marketing strategies.

In reading some of the publications, methods and chemicals have changed from what was taught over 100 years ago. We do not use the same kinds of pesticides for example: arsenate of lead, kerosene wash or emulsion and Paris green. I've also never had the opportunity to use a wheel hoe. Street sweepings are we talking "road apples" here? coal and wood ash aren't things that a lot of homes have on hand these days.

The Garden Army was run similar to a military unit; they had requirements for enlistment, companies, officers and insignias. The soil soldiers needed to keep their equipment clean, keep the garden orderly while being part of a patriotic effort.

If you have questions about your garden or landscape, contact a master gardener at the University of Illinois Extension office in Mattoon at 217-345-7034 or through our online hotline at forms.illinois.edu/sec/1523725. Be sure to visit U of I Extension's horticulture website, exteniosn.illinois.edu/ccdms, and like the Master Gardeners' Facebook page, @ColesCountyMasterGardeners.

From the Nov. 22, 1992, Journal Gazette, this photo of Cosmic Blue Comics in Mattoon; where I spent virtually every Saturday afternoon for about two years. That small back room you see just off to the right of the Coca-Cola sign was where they kept the many, and I mean many, long-boxes of back issues. I still own my bagged copy of "Tales of the Beanworld" issue No. 1 that I found back there. Sadly, this location is now just a "greenspace".

Pictured, Shelbyville's Bob Murray from the June 2, 1982, Journal Gazette, displaying his dominance over the TRON arcade game at the "Carousel Time" arcade at the Cross County Mall, later to be the Aladdin's Castle, soon thereafter to be not a thing anymore. I spent just about every Saturday at that arcade, perhaps with that exact same haircut. No overalls, though. I was more of an "Ocean Pacific" kind of kid.

Pictured, from the Nov. 28, 1988, Journal Gazette, Icenogle's grocery store. Being from Cooks Mills, we didn't often shop at Icenogle's...but when we did, even as a kid, I knew it was the way a grocery store is supposed to be in a perfect world, and that's not just because they had wood floors, comic books on the magazine rack, or plenty, and I mean plenty, of trading cards in wax packs.

I had long since moved away from Cooks Mills by the time this Showcase item about Adam's Groceries ran in the June 13, 1998, Journal Gazette, but there was a time when I very well could have been one of those kids in that photo; for if it was summer, and you had a bike, and you lived in Cooks Mills, that's where you ended up. At last report, they still had Tab in the Pepsi-branded cooler in the back. I'm seriously considering asking my money guy if I could afford to reopen this place.

Pictured, from the July 16, 1987, Journal Gazette, this ad for Mister Music, formerly located in the Cross County Mall. I wasn't buying records at that age, but I would eventually, and that's where it all went down. If you don't think it sounds "cool" to hang out at a record store with your buddies on a Friday night, a piping-hot driver's license fresh in your wallet, you'd be right. But it's the best a geek like me could do. Wherever you are today, owners of Mister Music, please know that a Minutemen album I found in your cheap bin changed my life.

Portrait of the author as a young man, about to throw a guitar through a target at that year's Sound Source Music Guitar Throwing Contest, from the April 18, 1994, Journal Gazette. Check out my grunge-era hoodie, and yes...look carefully, those are Air Jordans you see on my feet. Addendum: despite what the cutline says, I did not win a guitar.

Pictured, clipped from the online archives at JG-TC.com, a photo from the April 18, 1994, Journal Gazette of Sound Source Music Guitar Throwing Contest winner, and current JG-TC staff writer, Clint Walker.

Here today, gone tomorrow, Vette's Teen Club, from the June 20, 1991, Journal Gazette. I wasn't "cool" enough to hang out at Vette's back in it's "heyday," and by "cool enough" I mean, "not proficient enough in parking lot fights." If only I could get a crack at it now.

FutureGen: The end of the beginning, and eventually, the beginning of the end, from the Dec. 19, 2007, JG-TC. I wish I had been paying more attention at the time. I probably should have been reading the newspaper.

Illinois Extension leads public outreach for University of Illinois by translating research into action plans that allow Illinois families, businesses, and community leaders to solve problems, make informed decisions, and adapt to changes and opportunities.

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YARD AND GARDEN: A garden for every child, a child in every garden - Journal Gazette / Times-Courier

Home ownership has a middle name. Its called continuous work. For the past couple of years, Ive had work done on my house that has caused both my front and back yards to not get the care they needed.

When the steps to my bungalow almost collapsed last year, I had to have new steps poured and new side walls built. I was left with a bunch of old bricks that I preferred not to throw away. So I ended up lining the front of my house with those bricks. I also had some brick pavers. I ended up paving the little bit of yard between my front walkway and my neighbors gangway.

I will not miss having to mow that little piece of grass. I left about a foot of dirt so that I can still have a flower bed on that side. I planted about a hundred tulip bulbs, and this spring, it was absolutely enjoyable to watch all the different tulip colors slowly emerge from the ground. As the tulips died back, I had zinnia flower seeds, which I sowed, and now they have grown into a beautiful floral border for the sidewalk.

I laid in a bunch of grass seed and my front yard is green, although there is still a significant amount of weeds in it. I will be spending time using weed-and-feed to kill the unwanted green growth. But its looking very nice out front and the hard work I put into it is paying off.

I also decided that since the front yard was coming along so nicely, I should tackle the backyard. Years ago, I built a retaining wall. Its the perfect seating area should I have a large gathering, but its also difficult to get the lawn mower to cut the grass in front of it. So I decided to take on a new project. I decided that rocks in front of the wall would be my updated look.

At the same time, a friend who lives way south in Park Forest decided she no longer wanted the rocks that were in front of her house. She hired a man and he dug up 29 black bags of rocks. Id say each bag held over a hundred pounds of rock.

The man took 20 of the bags away, but left nine. And after repeatedly calling the man to get the final nine bags, my friend was frustrated because she just wanted them gone.

Since I needed rocks for my now redesigned backyard, I told her I would take the rocks. I took my own black bags and divided the rocks into second and third bags because they were so heavy. On my last trip home with the rocks, there was a young gentleman who stopped his car and asked if I needed help getting them out of the car and onto the back sidewalk. And I admitted I did. And he lifted those rocks like they were nothing. So to the young gentleman driving that Jeep, thank you so very much!

I ended up spending over two weeks cleaning those rocks because they were covered with dirt, dried grass clippings and other miscellaneous garbage. I dug up the dirt from in front of the wall, added a double layer of landscape fabric and slowly but surely added buckets of clean rocks to that area.

If you dont like doing yard work, rocks are a great way to decorate.

But be forewarned, it takes a lot of rocks to fill an area nicely.

View original post here:
Rocks: a great alternative to grass - Austin Weekly News

I made a little road trip this week. Really more of a long errand, but it felt like a visit to a foreign country. I drove to Roosevelt to pick up a $1,650 irrigation headgate from a supplier out there. Thats for the hardware; installation is on top of that. The State is trying to get a better grip on what is actually being used for irrigation, and as a result, Im installing 3 of these this summer. But whats ten grand among friends?

This one is being split with a neighbor. There was considerable debate on the appropriate size. The neighbor, who has an excavation business and has installed a lot of these, was certain that an 18 was plenty big. Ive had a lifetime of mucking them out when a beaver decides to clog them up, which is a real thing in my business. I thought the extra $300 to get a somewhat clog-proof 24 was money well spent. We are replacing a contraption made of railroad ties and 212 planks, so there was no real guide on size.

We resolved it in the manner that most engineering decisions are made.Rock-paper-scissors, with the winner choosing the size. It was healthy to get out of our local bubble and venture into the real world. When I travel, its generally to other places as disconnected from reality as we are.

First off, I was stunned by the prosperity evident on the farms and ranches. They are lower, and still irrigating. The hay seemed to be growing fast enough to see it happen from the truck. They are framing for purposes other than maintaining Greenbelt property tax status. Nothing like the right climate, water, and soil to make for good farm country. After a bit, it also occurred to me that having an oil well on the property probably alters the economics of farming significantly. In fact, looking from fence-line to fence-line, it was pretty obvious which ranchers owned the mineral rights and which were trying to make a living raising hay. Soil is everything in farming, especially the soil several thousand feet down.

Roosevelt is a nice little town with a nostalgic downtown with regular stores selling things that regular people actually need, with a lot of really ugly industrial stuff spread out in either direction from town. Theres no way to make the industrial facilities pretty, but I have to give them credit for trying. There are big pots of petunias packed all along the main drag, whether in front of historic storefronts or places that were repairing drilling rigs. It made a big difference, and proves that it doesnt cost a whole lot to care. I didnt make it to Vernal on this trip, but they have done the flower thing for decades. It really adds appeal to the place, especially in front of the iconic pink dinosaur at the entrance to town. Kamas is trying a bit of that this year, with only the Sinclair dinosaur. I think it is a volunteer effort and pretty as the planters are, there arent enough to make a Roosevelt-sized splash.

You cant make a road trip without eating at the local hot-spot and reading the local paper. The big news in Roosevelt this week seemed familiarthey want more pickleball courts. Other than that, the front pages of the local paper and ours might have been from different planets. There were only a couple of real estate ads.My guess is that nobody in Roosevelt gathers around the crystal-filled propane fire pit in their back yard to discuss the price of their house over brie and chardonnay. Nobody seems to be moving in or out. Or eating brie. If there is growth, its happening at a pace that didnt seem to be chaffing.

Nobody cares if you ride an e-bike on the trails around Altamont or Duchesne. There dont appear to be epic battles over short term rentals or violations of the taste provisions of the CC&Rs. The Arts & Culture District appears to be a completely acceptable County Fair. People were involved in making a living, and didnt seem to be paying much attention to what their neighbors were up to. There was a sense of functioning stability, with nobody rocking the boat. You could go away for a whole month and come home to things looking exactly as you left them.

Every time I make that drive, Im surprised by how quickly the landscape changes from the mountains around here to the rock cliffs and mesas that begin to show just east of Wolf Creek Pass. Its an entirely different geology by Duchesne.Much of it pretty in its own way, but definitely the high desert.

I made a bit of an excursion of the trip, taking a detour through Boneta and Altamont before looping back to Tabiona for the trip home. Interesting country, though there were no antique tractors for sale. There was an old combine in Talmage that was worth a stop.

The rest is here:
Tom Clyde: Adventures in the real world - The Park Record

We all know curb appeal matters, for both flippers and landlords. You're more likely to receive a higher offer from a buyer or hook a renter when the exterior of the property is well maintained. And in that vein, there are trends in the landscaping realm that can help. With heightened consciousness about sustainability and the increased desire to spend time outdoors during the pandemic, hardscaping has become a popular approach to landscaping. Learn what hardscaping is and if you should use it in your next project.

Hardscaping is a component of landscaping that uses permanent, nonliving features in the yard to improve function, create better outdoor accessibility, expand the living space, and reduce the environmental impact over a traditional landscape all while having the picture-perfect Better Homes and Gardens (NYSE: RLGY) look. It might involve a patio or deck, graveled or paved walkways, terraced xeriscape, outdoor living rooms or kitchens, firepit areas, or water features. Hardscaping features are usually blended with sustainable garden beds or softscaping for a landscape design that is both usable and low maintenance.

The cost varies widely for hardscaping because it depends on the size of the yard as well as what already exists and what you are adding. For a professional design, which is almost always necessary for hardscaping, a patio, gazebo, pathways, and the associated vegetation or xeriscaping will on average cost around $30,000. But this estimate should be taken with a grain of salt. A patio install can cost as little as $2,000, while a large deck could cost over $10,000. A gravel walkway costs $3-$6 per square foot, whereas flagstone is $10-$30 per square foot.

Essentially, hardscaping costs should be relative to the anticipated value of the house. Spending $30,000 on a small 2/1 frame house worth $140,000 probably doesn't make much sense, but spending that much or even a bit more on a home worth $300,000 house makes more sense. If, for example, the home is worth $320,000 and the hardscaping features boost the value by 12%, you could actually profit an extra $8,400 from a $30,000 hardscaping install, not to mention it will likely sell faster due to the increased curb appeal.

As an investor, your goal is to appeal to the masses whether you focus on residential or commercial, rehab, or rental. Creating an appealing outdoor area for residents of an existing or planned apartment complex can help compete in the marketplace while reducing ongoing maintenance costs for landscaping. Another on-trend component of hardscaping is the reduction in watering, mowing, and pesticide or herbicide use. So if you really want to keep things low budget, opt for a significant amount of area-appropriate low-maintenance softscaping with a few pathways to meander through the garden.

According to The National Association of Landscape Professionals (NALP), hardscaping that includes outdoor entertaining areas and increased environmental awareness are two of the top four landscaping trends of 2021. Hardscaping is in demand. It can increase curb appeal, create more usable space, allow for easier maintenance than a traditional yard. Plus, it offers the opportunity to increase returns, making it a great design element to try on your next investment project.

Read more here:
What is Hardscaping and Should Real Estate Investors Do It? - MSN Money

UC Master Gardener Francie Murphy in her succulent garden.

February 9, 2021 - ByJeannette E. Warnert- UC Master Gardener Francie Murphy was pruning the succulents in her San Diego front yard when an unfortunate accident catalyzed her commitment to communicating the dangers of toxic plants. She trimmed a stem on her drought-tolerant pencil milk bush and milky sap spurted into one eye, causing stinging pain.

I tried to wipe it out, and in doing so got in both eyes. I was blinded. The pain was unbelievable, she said.

A nearby friend rushed her to the emergency room where the doctor diagnosed chemical burns to her corneas and washed her eyes with two liters of saline water each. Murphy removed the plant from her garden, but saw it growing throughout her community.

I knew we had to do something, she said.

Drought-tolerant plants like cacti, yucca, agaves and aloes have adaptations to protect themselves from wildlife in search of the moisture within their leaves and stems. They have spikes or spines to ward off people and animals. Other plants don't have outward signs of danger. Fire sticks, also known as sticks on fire and pencil cactus and by its scientific nameEuphorbia tirucalli, is a very popular succulent in frost-free areas. Its vertical growth habit and showy soft green to reddish-gold stems make it a striking landscape specimen. A native of southern Africa, the smooth, coral-like stems look deceptively harmless. The sap is toxic.

Fire sticks should be planted far from walkways, in the back of the landscape, where you can see them, but not touch them, said UC Cooperative Extension natural resources advisor Chris McDonald. When trimming the plant, wear long pants, long sleeves and eye protection. If the plant is tall, consider protecting your face.

After Murphy shared her story about these plants with other Master Gardeners, UCCE San Diego gathered a team and worked with colleagues to secure funding from the County of San Diego to develop a website and handouts to inform the community about readily available yet toxic drought-tolerant plants being planted into California landscapes.

The handout can be downloaded from thePlant Safely website(https://ucanr.edu/sites/PlantSafely/). The materials were quickly distributed to nurseries, garden events and Master Gardener help booths, such as at farmers markets, home shows and fairs, and other educational events. A key feature of the website is a database of nearly 100 plants (which can be foundhere) with photos and descriptions that explain how they are unsafe and how they can be used safely in the landscape. (https://ucanr.edu/sites/PlantSafely/Common_Names/)

Some common yet toxic landscape plants included in the database are:

These potentially harmful plants are grown widely in many parts of California, McDonald said. It's important to promote drought-tolerant landscapes, and we must also do it in a way that preserves public health.

View the UC Master Gardener video about safely planting fire sticks (Euphorbiatirucoli):Source: UC ANR

Original post:
UC ANR Reports Drought-Tolerant Plants Can Save Water, But Beware Of Those That Are Toxic - Sierra Sun Times

A meadow is a field which has grass and flowers growing in it.

Collins dictionary

A meadow can be a low-maintenance, low-water area full of grasses and flowers to attract and provide for friendly wildlife like pollinators, birds and toads. Its vegetation cover and roots allow more rainwater to be absorbed into the soil rather than become runoff. That gets more water into our soils and aquifers.

Meadows also have a wild and natural beauty for us to enjoy, that encourage us to slow down and relax, and to observe some nature up close. Plus, they can provide a supply of fresh-cut flowers throughout the season.

The most natural are the open places that collect and absorb snowmelt and rainwater, holding it and releasing it slowly to waterways. These places are rich with wildlife activity and essential to wildlife.

But a new definition of meadow has arisen in Europe and in the U.S. that responds to the decline weve been seeing in pollinators and other insects, birds and native plants. Theyre called urban meadows, and are often established in landscapes, parks or former lawns. Public meadows serve as teaching and observation spots about biodiversity.

Mike Lizotte, of American Meadows seed company, calls small meadows you can work into your garden or landscape mini meadows. These can be a few acres large or as small as a raised garden box, or as tiny as a collection of pots. And they can consist of only flowers.

For anyone who likes the idea of a low-water, low-maintenance, colorful, life-affirming, pollinator feeding, mesmerizing spot in their yard that also delivers fresh-cut flowers, a meadow is a project to try.

My last article, Grow You Own Meadow Garden at Home offered some native perennial grasses and sedges to use that are low-water and low-maintenance. Worked into or around the grassy area, or without the grassy area, are the flowers.

The flowers are the fun part. What youll get is a rambunctious collection of easy to grow flowers that will reseed and need no replanting. Include both annuals and perennials, both native and non-native.

Including natives is always best for many insects and the birds that feed on them. Dont forget my constant reminder to use Calscape.org for all you need to know on what plants are native to your exact address, and nurseries that sell them.

Using Calscape.org, make a list of flowers that grow in your spot with the sun you have. Please note that full sun is defined by six or more hours of direct sun. No less! Otherwise its part shade to shade.

For larger meadows that are near the wilder lands I recommend more of the native wildflowers, theyll take less water, are more deer resistant, and if they venture out into the wild its OK.

Next you can choose a wildflower seed mix. Select a mix thats designed for the Pacific Northwest, our area. If there are some natives youd like to be sure to include you may be able to get them separately. There are many seed mixes now that are for meadows and many include both annuals and perennials.

Wildflower mixes often include non-native flowers and thats OK. Theyre included because of their low maintenance needs, quick and easy establishment, as well as for their value to pollinators, and often for deer resistance. See your local nursery for a selection.

Annual flowers for a small space in a garden bed can include cosmos, Flanders poppies (Papaver rhoeas), zinnias, cornflowers, sweet allysum, even sunflowers.

One rule to heed is to always go for the single flowers, not a fuller double version. This is because the double flowers hide or block access for the pollinators to the pollen and nectar source. So stick with singles!

A few good perennials for our area include Echinacea, California poppies (yes, theyre perennial!), lupines, Gaillardia, Shasta daisies, Santa Barbara Daisies, California Fuschia (Zuaschneria californica), and Goldenrod (Solidago), Black-eyed Susans (Rudbeckia hirta), columbine, and asters.

To add even more habitat to your meadow and shade or privacy for you in the meadow, consider a few native shrubs to surround the meadow. A few that would be good are coffeeberry (Frangula californica), toyon, carpenteria (Carpenteria californica), Red Flowering Currant (Ribes sanguineum and many others), manzanitas (Howard McMinn and low growing Pt. Reyes), and native bunchgrasses like California Fescue.

Shrubs offer more food in the form of flowers, berries, and seeds as well as shelter and nesting sites for birds and other small animals.

How much work depends on the condition of the site. But after its established youll have very little work to do. Ill discuss how to start a meadow in my next article.

But youll end up with a beautiful spot, large or small, for some wildlife viewing: birds, bees of all sorts, butterflies, moths, skippers, and hummingbirds. Youll be helping them to thrive.

And youll get flowers for bouquets in your home.

And youll get lots of opportunity for wonder for the children in your life!

Doreen Fogle is a landscape designer and writer in Nevada County. More of her articles can be found on her website mydelightfulgardens.com and she can be reached at mydelightfulgardens@gmail.com.

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Doreen Fogle: Grow some flowers to create a meadow for wildlife - The Union of Grass Valley

By using, Robotic Lawn Mower Market research report, organizations can gain vital information about the competitors, economic shifts, demographics, current market trends and spending traits of the customers. This global marketing report puts forth real world research solutions for every industry sector, along with meticulous data collection from non-public sources to better equip businesses with the information they need most. The report comprises of the scope, size, disposition and growth of the industry including the key sensitivities and success factors. The winning Robotic Lawn Mower Market report also covers five year industry forecasts, growth rates and an analysis of the industry key players and their market shares.

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Robotic Lawn Mower Market Drivers, Restraint and Key Development:

Increasing urbanization and consumers preference toward smart homes and system is driving the market.

Higher cost of the device as compared to the traditional mower is the major factor restraining the growth,

In January 2019, IRobot Corp announced the launch of their new lawnmower. The terra which can operates on its own and can head back to the base station to recharge even in mid- mow. The user can operate it with the smartphone and schedule automatic mowing and can be programmed to cover the specific part of the yard. The best thing is that they dont require boundary wires and can mow in straight and back- and forth line.

Robotic Lawn Mower Market Key Competitors:

Few of the major competitors currently working in the robotic lawn mower market are Husqvarna Group, Bosch Limited, Stiga S.P.A., Zucchetti Centro Sistemi S.p.a., YAMABIKO Corporation, Deere & Company, Honda Motor Co., Ltd., The Toro Company, AL-KO KOBER SE, Milagrow Business & Knowledge Solutions (Pvt.) Limited, WORX, MTD, The Kobi Company, LG Electronics.

Robotic Lawn Mower Market Analysis:

Global Robotic Lawn Mower Market is expected to rise from its initial estimated value of USD 533 million in 2018 to an estimated value of USD 1444.26 million by 2026, registering a CAGR of 13.27% in the forecast period of 2019-2026. Increasing safety concerns over traditional lawn mower is the major factor for the growth of this market.

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Segmentation

Industry landscape

Vendor matrix

Technological and innovation landscape

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Robotic Lawn Mower Market Outlook By Product, Application, End-User and Forecast The Courier - The Courier

Urban Meyer was only minutes into his second stint as a retired-coach-turned-broadcaster when he became the star of Fox Sports' Big Noon Kickoff.

Despite sharing the stage with two Heisman-winners and afinalist for the award, the former Ohio State head coach quickly established himself as the focal point of the network's pregame show during its first broadcast of the 2019 season, thanks in large part to the way he clearly explained the origins and mechanics of a tactic that had outgrown novelty status.

While the takeaway for most within the sport was not the content itself, but rather the effortless delivery from a relative novice, the irony of the situation is hard to miss nearly 18 months later. Though Meyer has already found another sideline to roam in Jacksonville, he was in fact issuing a warning to his former team - whether he knew it or not.

On paper, Ohio State featured the nation's top defense in 2019, clamping down on opponents by building around elite cornerbacks and the nation's best pass-rusher. With so much talent on display, there was little reason to complicate the scheme despite the fact that ithad long been abandoned by most coaches at his level due to its predictability and well-known weak points.

But for most of that first season, it didn't matter. Through the first ten games of that season, Chase Young and co. tallied 42 sacks as the Silver Bullets simply overwhelmed the completionwhile facing just two ranked teams (Cincinnati and Wisconsin) during that stretch.Throughout thespan, no OSU opponent gained more than 285 total yards of offense, nor did any average more than 5 yards-per-play in a single game, leading many to believe the Buckeyes were impenetrable.

Asninth-ranked Penn State came to town, however, small cracks began to emerge.

Not only were the Buckeyes facing an opponent more comparable to themselves but opposing coaches had begun to catch on to their reliance on a single-high structure. Penn State, who had fully embraced run-pass options (RPOs) upon the hiring of offensive coordinator Joe Moorhead a few years prior, saw a number of ways to attack a linebacker unit that seemed hellbent on stopping the run at all costs.

Though the Nittany Lions would ultimately lose 28-17, the continued emphasis on reading unblocked second-level defenders was something future opponents clearly noticed.

The very next week, first-year Michigan OC Josh Gattis faced his stiffest test yet as his team welcomed the Buckeyes to the Big House.For much of the first half, it appeared that Gattis and the Wolverines were up to the task, as although they trailed 28-17, they amassed 285 yards in the first half - more than any OSU opponent had gained in an entire game that season, save for Penn State the week prior.

To do so, Gattis unleashed a bevy of RPOs that attacked the OSU linebackers. If they stepped up to play the run, the QB simply kept the ball and looked to pass. From there, he often had multiple places to go with the ball as the scarlet and gray defenders scrambled to recover.

Luckily, Justin Fields and the Buckeye offense eventually pulled awayand forced the Wolverinesto throw deep on nearly every second-half snap, a tactic that played right into OSU's strengths. Little attention was paid to the effort as the Buckeyes cruised to a 56-27 victory.

As the Nittany Lions and Wolverines before them, the Clemson coaching staff clearly took notice of the threat RPOs posed to a defense with such a straightforward approach. The Tigers had long embraced the philosophy, especially during Trevor Lawrence's freshman season the year before.

Unlike thepackaged concepts fromPenn State and Michiganthat attacked downfield, however, the Tigers largely combined inside runs with bubble screens and other pass concepts that stretched the field horizontally and found little success early. Once the Tigers began combining runs with vertical concepts, the dam broke.

With the Buckeyes in Cover-1 (man-free coverage), the Tigers sent both slot receivers on five-yard stick routes (inside hitches) while the offensive line blocked a QB draw play. Lawrence quickly checked the safety to ensure he dropped back into coverage -leaving just six OSU defenders to take on six Clemson blockers - andtook off for a 67-yard run that still pains Buckeye fans to watch.

Much was made of Lawrence's 107 rushing yards in that game, most of which came on this one snap. But the focus was not on how OSU should handle RPOs, but rather, whether they could slow mobile quarterbacks.

After the longest offseason in history, Nebraska opened the season in Ohio Stadium and had some early success with RPOs. However,none looked to attack the Buckeyes vertically, and eventually, the home team settled in for an easy 52-17 victory.

As the Buckeyes traveled to Happy Valley in week two, though, their (least) favorite concept was back.

OSU's focus on stopping the run once again exposed openings in the RPO game, as the PSU offense began hitting backside "glance" routes when the Buzz defender (often the outside linebacker) stepped up quickly to fill his run gap.

Eventually, the Buckeyes were able to adjust their pass coverage when the entire threat of a Penn State running game had evaporated late in the game and the offense was forced into dropback passing situations (sound familiar?) But before they eventually gave up on this plan of attack, the Nittany Lions had scored 25 points and tallied 281 passing yards, more than anyone outside of Michigan had put up on Ryan Day's defense.

It would be another month and a half before another opponent would attempt to recreate this plan of attack, this time coming in the Big Ten title game. Northwestern retooled its offense before the season and incorporated far more spread concepts, and it didn't take long to see the Wildcats hit the Buckeyes with a Glance RPO.

Despite all the success found with the glance route, Clemson never seemed interested in throwing it in their CFP rematch on January 1st. Rather, the Tigers went back to their comfort zone of attaching screens to run plays; a strategy that had some success but failed to attack the Buckeyes where they were weakest.

Unlike Clemson, Alabama had no intention of letting such an obvious shortcoming go un-probed. The Tide had already made glance routes a foundational aspect of their baseoffense and with a handful of veteran "analysts" scouting future opponents, there was no question of how they might attack Ohio State.

While images of DeVonta Smith running untouched up the seam will forever haunt Tuf Borland, the Buckeye corners will have nightmares of their own. With little time to prepare (Day later noted that his team had just one padded practice in advance of this game due to COVID protocols), Ohio State had few counters at its disposal.

With the Buckeye front-seven so focused on stopping Najee Harris and the inside run game, cornerbacks Shaun Wade and Sevyn Banks were left on an island against the nation's best receiver. Meanwhile, Alabama OC Steve Sarkisian toyed with the duo, mixing glance routes in with screens to ensure Smith would get a clean release off the line.

But even when Wade and Banks had clean shots at Smith in man-coverage, the Heisman-winner broke his glance route outside where no one could help.

On one side, it's easy to saythat the Buckeyes simply ran into a more talented team with a style of play perfectly suited to expose Ohio State's weakest points. Every defensive system, coverage, and philosophy has gaps that can be exposed and took two full seasons, and a team featuring three Heisman finaliststo finally break the one Day hadinstalled upon taking the head coaching job.

But on the other hand, it washard not to see this coming. Alabama's use of RPOs that attacked both horizontally and vertically isn't novel. Rather, the Tide's offense marks the normalization of a concept that had largely been a complementary feature outside of small schools.

Just as Vince Young made the zone-read the foundation of Texas' national championship offense in 2005, Alabama (as well asLSU the year before) havebrought the vertical RPO into the mainstream.

That's not to say that these concepts are impossible to defend, as each and every week across the college football landscape, defensive coordinators successfully rotate safeties, exchange run gaps, and mask coverages to disrupt both the quarterback and the receiver. But those simply weren't tactics we often saw from the Buckeye defense in 2020 (or the year before).

While it may not have been obvious one year ago, the game plan for OSU's opponents in 2021 is crystal clear. Now that they know it's coming, it's onKerry Coombs and the Buckeye defense to implementways to stop it.

Read more here:
Film Study: Ohio State's Destruction at the Hands of Alabama RPOs Was Years in the Making | Eleven Warriors - Eleven Warriors