The 4-foot arborvitae shrubs in front of my house were planted almost 40 years ago when the house was built.  For the 18 years that they’ve been mine, I’ve dutifully trimmed back the bright flush of spring growth each year to keep them from growing too wide and tall and looking unsightly.

      This year, I realized that not only are they very tired looking shrubs, they are boring.  I wanted to brighten up the landscape in front of the house and make it more interesting.  Many hours of thought and visualization later, after considering and rejecting numerous ideas, I realized that the area definitely needed something evergreen so that it would look nice in winter too.

      At my sister-in-law’s house, I saw and fell in love with ‘Green Velvet’ boxwood.   I didn’t even know what it was at first.  I only knew boxwood as a sharply-edged rigid green hedge that is commonly used to mark the boundaries of formal gardens.  In contrast, ‘Green Velvet’ grows in a lovely mounded shape and has the most beautiful soft looking oval leaves.  And something else I didn’t know about boxwood – it is evergreen! 

      But the mounded shape of ‘Green Velvet’ wouldn’t be right for my front yard.   I needed something that would grow in a more upright form.  Some internet research turned up ‘Green Mountain’ boxwood.  I purchased four of them and they have replaced the old arborvitae shrubs in the front of the house. 

      ‘Green Mountain’ has crisp green leaves, in an elongated oval shape.  Very pretty, and perfect for where I planted it, but I really loved those ‘Green Velvet’ leaves.  So the next week, out went some scraggly mugho pines in the backyard and in went two ‘Green Velvet’ boxwoods.

      I began to wonder what else could replace the typical needled evergreens in landscapes and found that there are many broadleaved evergreen shrubs.  Unfortunately, I also discovered that the majority of evergreen shrubs grow in USDA Hardiness Zone 6 and higher.  But I did find a few for our Zone 4/5 area here. 

      Some of them are mountain laurel, wintercreeper euonymous, Labrador tea, daphne ‘Burkwoodi’, euonymous ‘Emerald ‘n’Gold’, and some hollies and rhododendrons. 

      There are also some plants that we don’t usually think of as shrubs that hold their leaves all winter and provide substance to the winter landscape.  These include lavender, yucca ‘Adam’s Needle’, some artemesias, periwinkle, common sage and rue ‘Jackman’s Blue’. 

      Some of the plants listed above don’t have green-colored foliage, but are still considered evergreen since they hold their leaves.  Lavender, artemesia, sage and rue’s leaves are silvery or dusty green.  The ‘Emerald ‘n’ Gold’ euonymous has green leaves with bright golden margins.  In winter the leaf edges turn a pretty pinkish burgundy color.

      These plants all have different growing requirements, so before you buy, do some research to make sure that the spot you have in mind for them has the right amount of sunlight or shade, and the proper soil moisture and pH.

      One out of every three bites of food we eat is provided through the work of animal and insect pollinators.  The mysterious colony collapse disorder among commercial honeybees, disease and loss of habitat have severely affected pollinators that sustain our food crops and quality of life.

      Other insects besides bees act as important pollinators.  These include butterflies, beetles, moths, wasps, flies and even mosquitoes.  Hummingbirds are also significant pollinators.

      It is important to encourage pollinators in our yards and ensure their health so they are able to continue their important work.  To do this, we need to make our yards and gardens hospitable to pollinators and their larvae.  They need food, shelter and water, just as we do.

      Butterflies generally are attracted to bright flowering plants in full sun, protected from the wind.  Some good shrubs for butterflies are spicebush, eastern ninebark and aromatic sumac.  Perennial flowers include milkweed, daisy fleabane, tickseed, joe-pye-weed, sunflowers, sneezeweed, blazing star, beebalm, phlox, coneflower, heath aster and wake robin.  Wet muddy areas provide butterflies with moisture and minerals they need to stay healthy. 

      Bees, wasps, beetles and flies are not as exciting or as pretty as butterflies.  Nevertheless, it is increasingly important to make them welcome in our yards as the commercial bee population continues its decline.

      Good trees and shrubs to invite these pollinators are maple, service berry, pin cherry, black willow and linden.  Helpful flowers are black cohosh, red columbine, yellow trout lily, gentian, alum root, cardinal flower, Virginia bluebells, foamflower and spiderwort.  Herbs like mint, garlic, chives, oregano, parsley and lavender and annual flowers including zinnias, cosmos and single sunflowers also provide food for pollinators.

      Plant flowers in groups for more efficient pollination.  The pollinators learn where to find pollen in each type of flower and with several of the same species nearby they won’t have to explore each new flower to try to locate it, in the process wasting valuable pollen as it falls off their bodies.

      A little planning and attention to bloom season will provide your yard with beauty and food for insects from early spring to late fall.  Plant a diversity of plants to provide food for different pollinators.  Vary colors, fragrances and heights to attract different pollinator species.

      To further encourage these insects, allow things to become a little messy – leaf litter, weeds and dead branches all provide shelter.  Provide a pool, pond or even small containers of water for drinking.  Sloping sides or stones for them to stand on will prevent them from drowning.

      If you must use pesticides – which are extremely toxic to pollinators – use great caution, use as little as possible, and make sure you are using the proper pesticide for the problem you have.

      There is a website you can visit to find more information on making your yard a haven for pollinators.  Visit www.pollinators.org and enter your ZIP code for specific plant recommendations.

      There are few plants that thrive when planted in late autumn, but red, white and black currants do.  The weather is likely to be wetter and there is still enough warmth in the soil to encourage the plants to grow some roots before winter.

      There is a difference in the way the different types of currants are planted.  Red and white currants are planted with a “leg” or stem showing beneath the branches, while black currants are planted lower than they were growing in the nursery, so that all the stems arise directly from the soil.

      How do you choose one color over another?  Here is what Wikipedia says about the tastes of the three colors:  “The tart flavor of red currant fruit is slightly greater than its black currant relative, but with approximate sweetness.  White currants have the same tart flavor but greater sweetness.”

      Red and white currants have nice compact bushes and also can be trained as cordons against a wall or fence.  Black currants are bigger, up to six feet tall.

      All currants produce best when grown in full sun, but black currants will do just fine in light shade.  Do not plant black currants if there are white pine trees anywhere in the vicinity.  White pine blister rust is a disease that attacks both black currants and white pines, and needs both species in close proximity to complete its life cycle.

      Red currants require lots of potassium so they need extra feeding each spring. 
Browning leaf margins indicate a potassium deficiency.  To remedy that, spray the leaves with liquid seaweed.  Black currants need extra nitrogen.  Apply two handfuls of blood, fish and bone meal in early spring.  If growth is poor, give the plants more fertilizer in early summer.

      Pruning is not difficult, but is different for each type of currant.  There isn’t adequate space here for instructions, so consult a good pruning handbook, or ask at the nursery where you buy your plants.

      I’ve not grown black or white currants, but have had a ‘Red Lake’ red currant for many years.  The berries begin ripening in July and I pick the ripe ones each day for a week or so until I have the four cups I need to make my dad a currant pie for his early July birthday.  Later in July and well into August, picking is easier when all the currants are ripe and they can be pulled from the branches by the handful.  Another way to harvest is to cut sprigs from the bush and remove the individual currants from the sprigs with a fork.

      Fresh currants do not store very long, but they can be spread on a cookie sheet and frozen and then placed in freezer bags.  They can also be canned.

      Currants are very high in vitamin C, and are rich in iron, phosphorus, potassium and fiber.  They make delicious pies and jams and are great eaten fresh from the bush.

      Alan Jackson sings, “If money grew on hackberry trees . . . that’d be all right.”  Ever wonder what a hackberry tree looks like?

      Hackbery (Celtis occidentalis) is one of the most versatile shade trees.  It is related to the elm and in fact grows in the vase form of the elm, but just a little wider.  Hackberries grow fast and tall in the Midwest.  The record-holder tree is 94 feet tall and more than six feet in diameter.  Hackberries on poorer soil grow 40 to 60 feet tall.  They are very tolerant of drought, air pollution and short-term flooding, but these factors make them grow more slowly.

      The most notable feature of the hackberry is the bark – it has grooved and corky warty bumps over a smooth gray background. 

      The leaves look like those of stinging nettle and turn a variable greenish yellow in the fall.  Spring brings inconspicuous greenish flowers.  Small fruits follow the flowers and turn orange-brown and then purplish black in late summer, reaching the size of a garden pea.  The thin, leathery layer of flesh that surrounds the hard seed has a raisin-like taste that birds love.  Butterflies are also attracted to hackberries.

      Hackberries will adjust to almost any site, but ideal conditions are rich, deep soils with a neutral to basic pH, adequate moisture and sun.  Seeds (from the fruits) can be sown in fall.  Hackberries transplant easily but will take a year or two to recover.

      There are few problems with hackberries.  They are subject to leaf galls and mosaic diseases but neither is serious.  Some species are allelopathic, like black walnuts are, meaning their roots give off compounds that inhibit germination or seedling growth of other plants, so some other plants may not flourish in hackberry root zones.

      The most important problem is susceptibility to decay which begins after damage from storms or improper pruning.  Learning proper pruning techniques and making sure to prune off any storm damaged branches should take care of this problem. 

      There are just a few cultivars to choose from.  The ones most resistant to storm damage are ‘Prairie Pride,’ ‘Chicagoland,’ and ‘Windy City.’  All were developed in Illinois.  There is also a dwarf variety called Celtis tenuifola.  It is a good specimen for a small yard or terrace and is one of the most suitable decorative trees for raised planters or large containers.

      Hackberry trees are often mentioned as one of the best food and shelter trees for wildlife.

      Tourism officials in Vermont are concerned that the fall color the last four years has been less than spectacular, resulting in the loss of millions of dollars in tourist spending.  Many scientists are attributing the lack of vibrant leaf color to global warming.  “Leaf peeping” isn’t quite as big a business here in Wisconsin, but this year’s fall color definitely didn’t measure up to past years.

      In mid-September I traveled through the arrowhead of Minnesota.  The fall color was amazing and I looked forward to the same around home a few weeks later.  But this year the spectacle never arrived, at least in the places that I frequent.  There were a few nice red or orange maples, but for the most part, the leaves went from green to dull to the ground, skipping their brilliant performance in between.

      We didn’t get the cool nights necessary for the bright colors to put on their show.  I was also disappointed this year in the fall color of my ‘Gold Flame” spirea that usually rivals the color of trees on any October calendar photo.  Another disappointment came from my pear tree.  Other years it turned a gorgeous red-orange that added enjoyment to my view out the kitchen window as I did the dishes.  This year the leaves went straight from green to brown to down.

      Some shrubs in my yard were able to put on their autumn show despite the lack of cool weather.  The most vivid display was put on by the cutleaf sumac.  The pure reds, oranges and yellows were a bright spot in the back corner of the yard.  Another reliable performer was the burning bush (pictured) which definitely lived up to its name, holding onto its scarlet leaves for at least a month.  The Virginia creeper that grows on the back fence provided a nice tapestry of fall color as well.  Red chokeberry, red twig dogwood, and highbush cranberry also seemed unaffected by the change in climate.  Still pretty but not quite as vivid as in years past, were the hazelnut and serviceberry shrubs.

      The lack of impressive color in the trees has forced me to look for color elsewhere.  The shrubs I’ve mentioned have provided some sparkle, and so have some flowers.  ‘Autumn Joy’ sedum keeps its deep burgundy flowerheads long after other flowers have turned brown.  Annual flowers like calendula and marigolds can stand a light frost and continue to bloom in bright golds, oranges and yellows.  If protected from frost, cheerful red geraniums still look great, as do bright gold nasturtiums.

      In the absence of dazzling fall colors in the trees we have to look downward to our shrubs and flowers.  And instead of expecting a show of crayon box red, orange and yellow we will have to learn to look closer and train our eyes to appreciate the more subtle hues like burgundy, honey, coffee, wheat, rust, cinnamon and sand.

      Need a ground cover?  A shrubby hedge?  A small tree?  There is a variety of cotoneaster (pronounced co-TO-ne-as-ter) that fits whatever your requirements.

      Cotoneasters are members of the rose family and are native to China.  Some varieties may be evergreen in warmer climates, but they are deciduous in Wisconsin.  Most of them have tiny white to pink flowers in late spring followed by red to black berries that look like baby apples and are properly called pomes, just like apples.  The berries persist all winter and look like a pretty Christmas decoration when snow covers the branches.  Birds will eat the berries in spring when they have few other choices.

      Cotoneaster’s leaves are small, waxy and dark green and grow along the stems.  In fall, the leaves turn a spectacular dark orange or deep red.  The branches have an arching habit, whether the variety is a ground cover, shrub or tree.  The shrubs have a look similar to bridal wreath with flowers all along the stems.  When the flowers turn to berries and the leaves turn their fall colors, the branches are striking additions to fall floral arrangements.

      Cotoneaster grows well in any soil and does very well in the poorest soils.  Full sun is best.  Afternoon shade is okay, but there may not be quite as many flowers and berries.  It needs regular watering while becoming established but after that is very drought tolerant, needing no extra water.

      The ground cover varieties grow from only a few inches to a foot high and the shrub/tree varieties grow up to twelve feet tall.  The taller varieties can be kept in bounds if necessary by pruning in winter or early spring.  If given plenty of space to grow and allowed to develop naturally, little pruning is needed.  The ground covers might occasionally need a dead branch or an awkward upright branch pruned out.

      Cotoneaster lucidus is called hedge cotoneaster and makes a nice full formal hedge that can be pruned to any height from three to ten feet.  It is frequently grown on college campuses throughout the Midwest.   When Cotoneaster multiflorus is in bloom, it looks like a frothy white fountain.  Unfortunately the flowers don’t smell as pretty as they look so the shrub should be planted away from high traffic areas.  This one grows 8-12 feet high and 12-15 feet wide.  It is good for massing or large-area use.  There are some cute little cotoneaster ground cover varieties suitable for rock gardens.  One of them is Cotoneaster horizontalis ‘Tom Thumb.’ 

      You won’t find a cotoneaster sold as a tree form.  You would have to buy one of the taller shrub varieties and keep it pruned to only one stem. 

      There are at least 13 cotoneaster varieties.  The best advice is to find out what is available at the nursery or through mail order and read the accompanying description to see if it will fit your requirements.

      Have some extra space in your yard?  Elderberries are a great, easy shrub that will provide food for your table or for the birds.

      Both the flowers and the berries are useful.  Flowers can be harvested to make an herbal tea believed to be a remedy for colds, fever and flu.  You may have heard of the product Sambucol, a flu remedy.  It is derived from the elderberry and takes its name from the Latin name for elderberry, Sambucus. 

      Elderberries like a sunny location with lots of room to spread.  They thrive in fertile, moist soil.  Young plants should be set 6-10’ apart.  Elderberries are more productive if there are at least two different cultivars located within 60’ of each other for cross pollination.

      It is important to control weeds around elderberries when they are first planted.  The roots are shallow, so hand-pulling or mowing is recommended.  Better yet, mulch around the plants to prevent weeds from growing at all.  Do not allow mulch to touch the stems of elderberries, or any other plant including trees, as that promotes stem rot.  Once the elderberries develop into a hedgerow or clump, they will suppress the weeds on their own.

      Elderberries bear large clusters of white or cream-colored flowers in late spring.  The flowers have a sweet baby powder smell.  The flowers soon turn to green berries that ripen to red and then almost black. 

      The berries are higher in phosphorus and potassium than any other fruit we can grow in Wisconsin and are also high in Vitamin C.  Caution however – the berries have a mild cyanide toxicity until they are cooked or processed, and the stems and leaves are also poisonous.  The fruit is completely safe, though, when made into jams, jellies, pies or wine. 

      Berries are harvested in August through September depending on the cultivar.  Remove the entire cluster and strip the berries from the cluster later.  Some people use a kitchen fork to pull the berries from the stems.  If you have a problem with birds getting the berries before you harvest them, cut the clusters a day or two before they are fully ripe and set them in a warm place to continue to ripen.  Use them as soon as they ripen. 

      Because of the shallow roots, winter damage can sometimes be a problem for elderberries.  Here again a mulch comes in handy.  Don’t worry if some canes are lost to the cold – the fruit forms on new growth so even if damage is severe, the crop is seldom affected. 

      The only pruning necessary is to cut out dead canes in spring and to cut out old canes when the bushes become crowded.  An abundance of suckers can be kept in line by clipping or mowing.  Transplant suckers if you want new plants in another location.           Elderberries are remarkably free from disease and insect pests making them wonderful landscape plants.

      My neighbor erected three ugly plastic storage buildings along our shared lot line, just in my line of vision from the lawn chair on my deck.  Even though the buildings aren’t straight off the deck, my eye was constantly drawn to the eyesores.  What to do? 

      Discarding the illegal and impractical alternatives, I was left with three landscaping options.  The first was to plant something tall around the deck so I couldn’t see over to the buildings.  I rejected this idea because I didn’t want to cut off the view to my own yard and pond and didn’t want the deck to feel enclosed.  Besides, as soon as I stepped off the deck, the problem would still be there.

      The second option, the one I ultimately chose, was to plant something along the lot line to screen the buildings.  I simply transplanted a medium-sized red-twig dogwood from elsewhere in the yard.  In two years, my view of the sheds was completely blocked, at least for the part of the year that the shrub has leaves.  If it was important to block the view in winter as well, I could have planted a large evergreen shrub or tree.  In fact, there is already an intentionally overgrown evergreen shrub blocking the view of the same neighbor’s garage which is adjacent to the storage sheds.

      My third option would have been to plant a specimen plant somewhere between my deck and the lot line.  A specimen plant is a plant placed conspicuously alone, usually in a prominent place, to show off its ornamental qualities.  It provides a focal point, drawing the eye and distracting it from looking further.

      Landscape plants serve many purposes other than just looking pretty.  Blocking a view is one function; providing privacy is another.  All three of the above eyesore blocking options could also provide privacy for my deck.

      Fences, of course can also provide privacy, but hedges or tall plants provide visual privacy when noise control is not necessary, although leaves and needles do absorb some noise.  Unlike fences, plants allow air to circulate.

      Some shrubs that make good privacy screens include bayberry, privet, chokecherry, oakleaf hydrangea, roses, lilacs, serviceberry, many viburnums, winterberry, cotoneaster, bridal wreath and dogwood.  For year-round privacy, some evergreens you could use are arborvitae, yews, junipers, boxwood and hollies.  If you have a little patience and privacy is needed a little higher above ground level, plant small trees like redbud, flowering crab, tree hydrangea and tree lilac.  For shorter-term privacy, there are many tall annuals and perennials.  Many of the native prairie plants grow to eight or ten feet or more.  Even container plants can be moved around to provide temporary privacy.

      Always take into account the view from inside the house as well as the outside before making changes to your landscape.  And be sure that the plants you choose are suited to the conditions in which you are placing them.

      You planted that maple when your son was born.   He climbed it when he was twelve and now you sit on a blanket beneath it with your grandchild.  The willow was the first tree you and your spouse planted when you built your home.  The stately oak was the reason you bought your property.  We have so much emotion invested in our trees.

      It’s hard to cut down a tree whether it’s been there seventy-five years or just seven.  For some reason we feel guilty when we remove a tree.

      There are many valid reasons for cutting down a tree and you need not feel remorse. 

      When a tree is half dead or diseased there is no point in having the eyesore in your landscape.  There is also the danger of dead branches falling on your house, vehicle or friend.  Cut it down.

      If your tree is growing into power lines and the utility company has to come by every few years to trim it, the tree is probably growing in some grotesque unnatural shape by now.  Hire someone to cut it down and replace it with a smaller tree or shrub.

      Was that Alberta spruce a cute little thing in your flower bed thirty years ago when the house was built?  Today it blocks the view from your dining room and is out of proportion with the rest of your landscape.  Cut it down and replace it with a young Alberta spruce or choose a small shrub for the spot.

      Did the person who landscaped your yard not realize that you shouldn’t plant a row of seven evergreens just ten feet apart?   It seemed okay ten years ago, but now the branches are so intermeshed that you can’t tell where one tree ends and the next begins.  Besides that, the inside branches are starting to die from lack of light.  Cut down every other tree in the row. 

      Your maple tree is only ten feet from your foundation and you see big roots heaving out of the ground.  Soon they’ll be pushing against your basement walls and then you’ll have real trouble.  Chop that tree and plant a new maple further from the house.

      You just found out that the tree you planted, perhaps a Norway maple, Russian olive, Siberian elm, white poplar or black locust, is on the list of Wisconsin invasive species.  Rather than encouraging an invasive plant, cut it down and replace it with a native tree.       Do you detest cleaning up all the twigs and seeds and flowers your tree produces?  Cut it down and plant a cleaner tree.

      Maybe you just hate that tree in your backyard for no good reason.  Rather than suffering negative feelings every time you look out the window, cut the tree down and plant something you like.

Homeowners often have questions about what they see in and on their trees and wonder if they should be worried.   

      Rotten areas on the bark are cause for concern.   A rule of thumb is that if 50% or more of a branch or trunk is rotted, its strength is dangerously compromised.  The branch or tree should be removed. 

      If there is only a small area of rot, use a sharp clean knife to remove the loose bark and scrape the rotted area back to clean wood.  Dipping the knife in a 10% bleach solution several times during the process will ensure that bacteria and disease is not spread into the wound.  Large cleaned areas can be painted with a 50/50 mix of white latex paint and mouthwash after the rotten wood is scraped away.  Eventually the tree will grow around the wound and it will close.

      Rotted areas have several causes.  One is insects burrowing in the wood.  Another is improper pruning which may have stripped away bark under a branch that was cut.  A common cause of rot just a few inches above the ground is from string trimmers hitting the trunk.

      Moss growing on a tree’s bark indicates that there are wet conditions which are ideal for rot.  While moss doesn’t always mean that your tree is rotted, it is a signal to look further. 

      Bracket fungus is a hard woody fungus that looks like a plate stuck into a tree.  It comes in many sizes, shapes and colors.  The part you see is the fruiting body of the fungus.  There is much more fungus under the bark.  Since bracket fungus likes to grow on rotting, weak wood, its presence almost always indicates a problem.

      You may find seedlings or small plants growing in the juncture of branches and the trunk.  The seedlings indicate that the branch union is wet all the time, an ideal condition for rot.  In addition, as the plants grow, their roots often creep under the bark, providing openings for disease to enter.

      Lichens grow on tree bark and are conglomerates of algae and fungi that won’t harm your tree.  In fact you should welcome their presence – they usually grow in areas with clean air and little pollution.    

      An insect called scale may be found on tree bark.  Actually they don’t look like insects at all, but like little hard bumps.  They have hard waxy shells, either reddish gray or brown, that protect the insect while it feeds off your tree.

      If you discover the scale before there are too many, scrape them off with your fingernail or with a cotton swab dipped in rubbing alcohol.  If the pests are numerous, spray the tree with a mixture of rubbing alcohol and insecticidal soap every three days for two weeks.

      Make it a habit to inspect your trees monthly so small problems don’t become big ones.