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AUGUST 2015 HOMES PLUS 3 241690004 From Dutch elm disease, the bronze birch borer, needle cast disease of blue spruce, downy mildew disease on impatiens, to our ever-present issue with emerald ash borer, you would think we would've learned a very important lesson by now. But, for some rea- son, we didn't. These wouldn't be as big of an issue today if we would just diversify our landscapes: from individual landscapes, to urban areas, to forests. Why is this so important? When everyone plants the same plant in any given area, and a particular disease or insect pops up that affects it, all is lost. We must train ourselves to be different from our neighbors. We see their beautiful plants and want them as well, without giving it a thought. Herein lies the problem. We are creating monocultures in our neighborhoods, cities and even our forests. Just looking around my backyard in town I was able to count eight birches (there used to be a lot more), 12 blue spruce trees (most in decline, one dead), 10 ash trees (some pos- sibly symptomatic) and of course no elm trees. I also spent time helping out my neighbors with their impatiens, eventually informing them to pull them out. They were diseased! Why can't we see this? Diversity is the key, and cure, for this. I always tell people to look at their neighbor's yard, and even the whole block or area, and plant something different. There are a lot of great trees, shrubs, and plants out there to choose from, not just the ones you see across the road. Unless you are planting a hedge, or wind block, there should be a diversity of plants in your yard. This way if some problem arises, you don't lose everything. Replacing everything can be very costly. I have a three-plant rule for my landscape. No more than three of anything. This pertains to everything from trees, shrubs, perennials to annuals. Believe it or not, my annual con- tainers are all different, not one matches another. That might be drastic, but it seems to work for me. Another rule I have is don't plant anything that my neighbor or neighborhood has in abundance. You can't stop other people from copying you, but you can at least stay away from planting what they have. You might think this limits your choices, but it doesn't. If my neighbor has a maple tree, I'll plant an oak. If they have a bunch of hydrangeas planted in the shade, I'll plant viburnums. And my perennial beds look like a native prairie. I don't even know if I would notice if something was missing. I think by now you're catching on. So the next time you're adding anything to you landscape, take a look around first and go a different direction. It'll be better for you and your plants. Happy gardening. (Michael Timm is the head horticulturalist with Ebert's Greenhouse Village in Ixonia. He can be reached at mtimm@ebertsgreen- house.com.) Creating diversity in the landscape MICHAEL TIMM U.S. Department of Agriculture The telltale signs of emerald ash borer are becoming recognizable in the area. The threat facing ash trees is just one of the reasons there is a need for diversity in landscaping. Small spaces combine function, creativity

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