23 Apr Let Nature In without Sacrificing a Well-Groomed Course
Naturalized areas can provide a great complement to a well-groomed course. Whether it's a field of wheatgrass or wildflowers, the stark contrast of intensely managed greens set against of field of native plants can leave quite an impression. I'm not suggesting we just let nature do its thing - which can lead to major weed management issues - but, controlled natural environments will help amp up the experience of your field. Here I outline some recommendations to incorporate native plants into your landscape.
Temperatures this week have been a bit... extreme in the Northern US, in case you haven't noticed. There are endless news reports about the impact these temps are having on people, travel, and every other thing, but I can't help but think to Spring and what this dramatic cold snap will do to my clients' courses across the Northeast. While cold weather can do some good, like killing off all the crabgrass, Winter Kill can cause major headaches for turf managers. I thought I'd talk a bit about what it is, how to help prevent it (not this year!), and how to recover from it.