www.kentuckynewera.com | LIVING | Saturday-Sunday, March 3-4, 2012 C3 Leaving for a vacation? Hire a sitter for your garden (AP) — Gardeners don’t have to remain housebound during the vacation season just because their edibles and flowers need tending. Find a sitter to handle the work. Keep your must-do list simple, though. Few plant minders are willing to do win- dows or the laundry. “The job depends upon what they have in their yards and how long they’ll be gone,” said Caryn Sommersdorf, who op- erates Green Garden Sitters in Orlando, Fla. “A vegetable garden may need to be checked every day. A flower garden, not so ASSOCIATED PRESS much.” Daffodils are seen in the garden of Auburn, Kan., resident Carl Smith in 2005. Smith enjoys watching Sommersdorf and partner Jennifer people as they catch their first glimpse of the daffodils he has planted around his home. There aren't just Richardson perform the typical seasonal a few of them, there are more than 25,000. gardening chores - weeding and watering, mowing and harvesting. “We’ll also bring in the mail. Turn the lights off and on to make it look like some- Tending your daffodils body’s home. We’ll fertilize and prune and care for our clients’ pets, too,” she said. affodils are one of the easiest and a depth of 10 inches, add a 2 to 3 inch “But we’re not going to clean or paint the Dmost dependable flowers to grow. layer of compost or other organic mat- house.” They are also one of the first ter over the surface, then till that layer ASSOCIATED PRESS bloomers of the year and, if given the into the top 6 inches. Avoid animal ma- Sommersdorf got into the garden-sitting In this 2010 photo taken in Minneapolis, a Treegator proper growing conditions, we can en- nures as amendments since they tend business a few years ago after asking a tree watering bag is shown. joy their bright yellow blooms for sev- to encourage bulb rot. Even if you are friend to take care of her tomatoes while eral weeks. planting on a slope where surface she was away. your container plants so they’re easier to Daffodils are called by many names drainage is high, internal drainage “I asked her to water the plants, but she work with. Timers can be great on hoses …narcissus … buttercup…jonquil. may still be poor. didn’t think about picking them, and the but be sure you have someone around who Daffodil is the common name for all n Tops were cut too soon. The leaves plants were a mess when I came home,” can keep an eye on them for you,” said species of narcissus, the botanical of the daffodils manufacture the food she said. “They had worms everywhere. Robin Haglund, president of Garden Men- classification for all daffodils. Both daf- stored in the bulb and help produce Fruit flies. It took them a while to produce tors Inc. in Seattle, who frequently is asked fodil and narcissus flowers in the following year. Although again.” how to prep plants for trips. can be used inter- GARDEN it may become unattractive, the leaves Reliable plant sitters can provide peace You may want to provide your own sup- changeably. Jonquil should be left undisturbed until they of mind for vacationing gardeners, Som- plies, too, such as fertilizers and pest-con- is a specific species CORNER turn yellow, often six to eight weeks. mersdorf said. They also can save them trol products if you’re into organic of daffodil character- After they have faded, remove the money. gardening, she said. ized by a strong blades by hand rather than cutting the “Florida has a lot of ‘snowbirds’ (winter Garden sitters also can serve as tempo- scent and rounded foliage to avoid the spread of certain residents) who go away for half a year and rary managers of a property, said Jack foliage. Buttercup is viral diseases. come back and all their landscaping is McKinnon, who operates a business called the common name n Bulbs may need dividing. If you’ve dead,” she said. “That’s quite an invest- The Garden Coach in the San Francisco for a noxious yellow- noticed reduced flower size or number ment lost.” Bay Area. blooming pasture of flowers it is time to divide your daf- Gardeners going on vacation should cre- “Some people hire maintenance services weed and should not fodils. Dig the bulbs while the foliage is ate a chores checklist, and arrange for an for their yards,” he said. “Some of these be used to describe dying. Separate the bulbs and replant interview and plant tour with prospective crews come at odd hours and need to be daffodils. them about 6 inches apart and 6 inches sitters well before departing. Show them held accountable for what they do.” Daffodils are suit- KELLY R. deep. If you want to wait and replant where the hoses, pruners and other tools McKinnon suggested a few ways to find able for a shrub bor- in the fall, remove the loose soil from are kept and demonstrate how they work. garden sitters: “Go online. Look for ads in der, perennial beds JACKSON n the bulbs and allow them to dry on and for naturalizing shallow trays in a cool, well-ventilated Offer up the edibles when they ripen, and the paper under ‘Landscape Gardeners.’ I hillsides. They look best when planted area for several weeks. Store them point out your favorite flowering plants to doubt it’s all that difficult to find knowl- in large numbers of one variety. Daf- until next fall in mesh bags. edgeable people looking for garden work ensure they are not weeded out. fodils are planted in the fall at a depth n They were recently divided. Some “Design a watering program. Group in this economy.” of 6 inches. During and after flower- newly divided and transplanted bulbs ing, daffodils need plenty of water to may skip a year of blooming after actively grow and replenish the bulbs’ being moved. energy. They should not be watered in n The squirrels got them? It is a com- the summer while they are dormant. mon misconception that squirrels and Occasionally people complain that other rodents eat daffodil bulbs. The Mysterious orbs confound their daffodils won’t bloom. There are bulbs and leaves contain poisonous a few reasons this can happen: crystals which rodents dislike. How- n Bulbs need fertilizer. Established ever, it is possible they could have dug bulbs should be fertilized each spring. up the bulbs. Lightly broadcast a low nitrogen fertil- Most people believe daffodils bloom NC county for decades izer such as 5-10-10 or 6-24-24 at plant- only yellow. However, narcissus is di- ing, when leaves emerge and at bloom. vided into 12 distinct divisions with RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Two orange orbs, Be careful not to get fertilizer on the more than 70 species and 25,000 culti- just about 10 feet off the ground, floated leaves which may cause foliar burn. vars. There is a lot of variety in color past Steve Woody and his father as they n Too much nitrogen was used. A and shape. Some daffodils are creamy hunted deer more than 50 years ago. The fertilizer high in nitrogen will encour- white, orange, orange-red or various mysterious lights passed them, then age excess leaf production rather than shades of yellow. dropped down the side of a gorge in the blooms. Likewise, a high fertilizer con- Blue Ridge foothills. Their shape may include a flower For at least a century, the Brown Moun- centration can kill newly emerging with a long trumpet-shaped center, tain Lights have confounded residents and roots and promote bulb rot. double bloom, crinkled petals or a n tourists in a rugged patch of Burke County, Your site is too shaded. Daffodils “hoop petticoat” form. Additionally, bobbing and weaving near a modest peak. need at least a half-day of sun to pro- daffodils are classified into three Are they reflections from automobile head- duce blooms. Avoid planting bulbs on blooming stages, early, mid-season or lights? Brush fires? A paranormal phe- the north side of buildings and near late-season. With proper selection, you nomenon, or something natural not yet tall, dense evergreens. You can plant can enjoy many cultivars of daffodils explained by science? daffodils under deciduous trees since and have attractive blooms for several “I didn’t feel anything spooky or look much of their growth is completed be- months in the spring. around for Martians or anything like that,” fore the trees leaf-out. However, you If you want to learn more about daf- Woody said. “It was just a unique situation. may need to add additional water and fodils, join the American Daffodil Soci- It’s just as vivid now as when I was 12 years fertilizer to compete with tree roots. ety. Checkout their website at old.” n Poor drainage. Bulbs planted in www.daffodilusa.org. Whatever the explanation, tourism offi- poorly drained soils become weakened, cials are hoping all those decades of unan- fail to flower and often develop rots. If KELLY R. JACKSONis the Christian County extension agent for hor- swered questions add up to a boost in you have a heavy clay soil, before ticulture. He can be reached at 270-886-6328 or visit Christian Coun- visitors making their way to scenic out- planting a bed of bulbs till the area to ty Horticulture online at www.christiancountyextension.com. looks around Linville Gorge with the goal ASSOCIATED PRESS of spotting something mysterious. In this Feb. 25 photo, astronomy professor Daniel Unexplained mysteries like the Brown Caton poses for a photo with a low-light video camera Mountain Lights have been the subject of cable TV documentaries and have fueled at the campus observatory at Appalachian State Uni- vast online communities of amateur inves- versity in Boone, N.C. tigators. Ed Phillips, Burke County’s tourism director, is hoping to capitalize on tigator who plans to allow attendees to use that. equipment like night vision goggles in Earlier this month, a sellout crowd of 120 hopes of spotting the lights. paid $20 a head to attend a symposium on “The folks who attend will have a true the lights at Morganton City Hall, and there firsthand experience of what it’s like to be was a crowd outside the door hoping to get out there trying to judge what’s happening in at the last minute. with this mountain,” Brown said. “It’s a good problem to have,” Phillips The Brown Mountain Lights have drawn said. “I could have sold 500 tickets.” serious scientific interest since the 1920s, Interest in the lights has waxed and when the U.S. Geological Survey issued a waned since the first known printed refer- report concluding the lights were reflec- ence to the phenomenon appeared in The tions from automobiles, trains and brush Charlotte Observer in 1913. John Harden, a fires. Raleigh-based radio personality, devoted an Daniel Caton, a professor in the physics episode of his 1940s series “Tales of Tar and astronomy department at Appalachian Heelia” to the lights, saying they “not only State University, thinks that’s part of the have attracted the attention of the people explanation for what people have reported of this state, but have aroused the curiosity seeing over the years. But Caton thinks of a nation as well.” There was also a folk there’s more to the lights, at least in some song, recorded by The Kingston Trio and cases. others, that posited the lights came from a Caton said that about seven years ago, he slave wandering the hills with a lantern in was ready to give up studying the lights search of his master. when he began hearing from people who The profile of the lights has dimmed in said they saw them from mere feet away, recent years, although the number of re- not miles across the Linville Gorge. Those ports doesn’t appear to be falling off. Mak- accounts sounded to Caton a lot like first- ing the area a destination for fans of the hand reports of ball lightning, a little-un- unexplained and anomalous helps give derstood but naturally occurring Burke County an edge, Phillips said. phenomenon involving luminous spheres “When you look at everything, you look often said to move or bounce about in the at what people are really interested in, and air. the Brown Mountain Lights was something Caton hopes to eventually set up cameras I really wanted to bring back to people’s at- at viewing sites that will feed to his website, tention,” he said. allowing anyone to watch for the lights at There are plans for another symposium any time. While he’s skeptical, guessing and a contest with a cash prize for the best that 95 percent of reports of the lights are photo or video of the lights. There are even something like airplane lights, Caton still T-shirts and refrigerator magnets for sale thinks there are eyewitness reports worth in the area now. checking. Also in the works is a regular event ten- “The cool thing is, if ball lightning is tatively called the Brown Mountain Para- preferentially made by nature in the normal Expedition, where people will pay Linville Gorge, at least we have a place to to hear a presentation on the lights at a din- look for the conditions that might create ner, then travel by bus to overlook sites it,” he said. “Otherwise, it’s hopeless to try where the lights have been reported. The and study ball lightning because it’s just events will be guided by Joshua P. Warren, randomly made and you don’t know where an Asheville native and paranormal inves- to look for it.”