As I drove down the road this week I spotted the most beautiful red berries. They caught the morning sun and lit up the bare Fall landscape.
The shrub was winterberry holly (Ilex verticillata). It has bright red berries in the Fall and early Winter that are about 3/8″ in diameter.
Winterberry holly is a deciduous shrub. You usually see it growing along the edge of a swamp or stream in the wild. If you are going to plant winterberry holly in your landscape plant it in the dry soil next to the stream or swamp, not in the stream or swamp.
Winterberry holly grows six to ten feet tall depending on the light. There is a lot of variation in fruit set between.
Gorgeous!This group of winterberry holly is on the edge of a wetland.
I often plant winterberry holly in woodland plantings because it is a native shrub and very easy to grow.
If you’re looking for a reliable and easy to grow shrub that provides winter interest give winterberry holly (Ilex verticillata) a try.
The kitty on the left is Spice. Spice is the mother of Sugar on right. All Spice wanted was a warm lap. The day we went to the shelter to choose our kitties Spice was shy. When I rubbed her chin she leaned into it and I knew she was the kitty for me.
Sugar grew up on the streets of Waterbury with Spice. Sugar and Spice were abandoned. Sugar was 5 to 6 months old when we brought her home. Sugar wasn’t socialized as a kitten. With Sugar’s temperament I don’t think it wouldn’t have made much of a difference. Sugar sees people as a source of food and warmth.
Sugar is growing affectionate as she matures. When I’m working in my office she meows at me even though there’s food in her bowl. If I give her a few pets the purring starts.
Sugar has bonded with Madison, our high-strung, though calming as she matures, collie. I often see them laying one or two feet apart with sugar copying Madison. Madison never moves into Sugar’s space for fear of ‘The claw.’ Sugar freely move into Madison’s space.
Both of our children have suffered from ‘The claw’ because they didn’t listen to Sugar. If you ask what noise a cat makes my children will make a hissing noise. Sugar is the reason neither of my children want a cat for a pet. I plan on getting a fluffy and affectionate kitten for my children, and myself, when the time is right.
I have taught my children to rub their fingers together and let Sugar come to them, not to walk up to Sugar and start petting her. Sugar is ok with about 5-8 strokes on her terms before you get a gentle reminder that she is in control, not you.
Some people might think a cat-like that is a bad thing to have in the house. I disagree.
Sugar shows incredible restraint. When she strikes she does the least necessary to get the point across. No more, no less.
If either of my children did not listen to Sugar I would have to find her a new home because she could injure one of them. Sugar has taught my children to respect animals.
We lost Madison our Collie about a year and a half ago. We now have a Great Pyrenees puppy named Theo. Sugar has dealt with the situation very well.
In the early 90’s The Arsenio Hall Show was on TV. It was a carbon copy of every late show since Johnny Carson except Arsenio sat on an arm chair, not behind a desk, while interviewing his guests. Part of Arsenio’s audience, called the “Dog Pound” was given a funny title every night such as “People who are experiencing déjà vou for the first time.”
I was in my early 20’s and I watched the show because I like Arsenio’s style. Arsenio is a warm and friendly man. He respected his guests and if they didn’t want to talk about a subject he wouldn’t push it.
One of the best pieces of advice I ever received came from the Arsenio Hall show.
One night Arsenio was interviewing a guest and they talked about what his guest did for a living. Arsenio’s guest explained how he loved his job and got up every day eager to go to work because it was his passion. You could hear the conviction in the man’s voice and see it in his posture.
That moment must have affected me because I still remember it twenty years later.
Here are some great landscaping ideas for your front yard featuring a berm planted to give curb appeal to a lovely colonial. A fieldstone wall compliments the colorful plantings.
In this video I show you how to renovate a lawn using a tool called a Rotodairon.
If your lawn is not growing well look at the big picture to see what is causing the trouble.
Some, of the many, causes of a poor lawn are:
Sandy soil
Too much shade
Soil has a low ph
Soil has a high ph
Low organic matter content
Buried debris under the soil
Too damp of an area
Too dry of an area
Mowing too short
Too many tree roots (Please don’t cut them all, there’s a better solution.)
The key is to look around and figure out why your lawn isn’t growing well and don’t make assumptions. This is a situation where like Joe Friday says you have to look at, “Just the facts.”
If you have any questions about lawn renovation please post them below.
I installed this front yard landscaping over 9 years ago and been involved in the maintenance ever since.
I hope you can learn a few tips when it comes time to design your own landscape. If you are looking for a Trumbull CT landscaper or landscape designer please call today.
Over the winter I showed you how to prune a tree hydrangea (Hydrangea paniculata). In this video I show you the new growth emerging on the same shrub. I hope this video gives you the confidence to try pruning your tree hydrangea.
