Horticulture Guy

I am heading up the the Northwest Flower and Garden Show  Saturday February 23rd to the DIY (Do-it-yourself) Stage to demonstrate making a simple batbox.  I always enjoy seeing if I can build something in less than an 3/4 of an hour in front of hundreds of people.  I especially like to challenge all my battery operated equipment to function properly and test my memory to see if I can remember to bring all the supplies and tools I need! For those of you who come to the show here are some links for you about bats and building bat boxes:

Bats Northwest

Bat Conservation International

Rocket Box Plans

-- HG

Q. Interested in advice on planting mophead hydrangea in my zone 6
location. The area I am planting receives sun from 12N on. Soil is
clay & will slopes away from plants. I am asking before I buy as I
need approximately 15 bushes to fill in space & don’t want to make
the investment if it is a losing battle. Please advise, if possible. Tonya Amber - Vanderbilt, Pa
A. The mopheads fall under Hydrangea macrophylla and from what I can tell your location is just a little too cold for regular blooming as the plants may freeze to the ground in many years in the west of Pennsylvania. This would kill off the flower buds. You would have beautiful plants but not any blooms. If you are interested in having a hydrangea you may want to try the Peegee Hydrangea (H. paniculata ‘Grandiflora’) which would handle your winters a little better. Be sure to add some organic matter (like compost) to the soil before planting to help enrich and aerate your clay soil.

-- HG