Campus Wildlife in the 60's - John S Mickman

In the Fall of 1968 I was a very green Freshman at the University of Minnesota, a campus comprised of over 50,000 students. For a 17 year old kid from Fridley, MN., the entire experience was intimidating. That first Fall Quarter I commuted to campus with my buddy Don Hanson because I had pledged to help my dad in his part time Christmas Wreath Business later that Fall. 

Commuting is not the best way to become ingrained into university life, and this first Quarter was scary for me; I just didn’t feel like I belonged yet. But I was determined to succeed and gave it my best shot. These were the days of bell bottomed jeans and paisley shirts. I also had this real cool red scarf that I often wore. Although I was somewhat uneasy at the U, at least I looked good!

One fine, sunny Fall day as Don and I were walking across campus back to the church parking lot where we always parked, I noticed a big fat squirrel running straight down a maple tree toward the ground. While talking to Don, I watched this fuzzy grey creature and admired his dexterity. Wouldn’t it be great to be able to climb trees like that…

Well, about 5 feet from the ground, the squirrel stopped running down the trunk of the tree and looked right at me. Actually, looking me right in the eye. After a moment or two of this, I stopped walking and commented to Don, who had also stopped, that the squirrel on that tree over there was looking right at me - from a distance of about 50 feet or so. 

"Are you sure he's looking right at you?", Don asked me. "Well yeah. Right at me; look at him! It's so weird.” I replied, still looking right at the squirrel.

The sidewalk was crowded with lots of other students that had begun detouring around us on the crowded sidewalk as Don looked at me - looking at the squirrel. After half a minute or so of this, in a flash, the squirrel leaped from the tree in one big jump and began bounding toward me as fast has his tiny little legs could propel him. "Well look at that Don. That little guy is running right at me, and look at him - he's still looking right at me! This is really getting weird", I exclaimed as the squirrel rapidly approached.

At about 15 feet away however, I became a little concerned with what was going to happen next, when the fuzzy little guy got to me. Don started backing away, and the nearby students sidled off to the side - not wanting to become involved with any of the campus's wildlife. When the squirrel was 5 feet from me, he made a giant leap and landed on the front of my thigh, actually gripping right through my favorite bell bottomed jeans, on to my skin - all the while looking straight up into my eyes. "Well J____ C_____!" I screamed to no one in particular. I was spectacularly alarmed.

I dropped my books and started shaking my leg as hard as I could in an attempt to dislodge the creature - to no avail; he was stuck to me like glue, his tiny claws digging into my thigh. Finally, with both hands, I shoved him off of my leg, trying to keep my hands away from his tiny little teeth, and ran like a bat out of hell. After all the yelling and swearing I was doing, quite a crowd had stopped to watch the spectacle and they all cleared the way for me - and the squirrel. I've always been a fast runner and with a few looks over my shoulder I could see that the squirrel was losing ground although he surely was trying to catch up. Unreal! I’ve been in many races, but I don’t believe I’ve ever run that fast.

I raced to the corner of University Avenue, taking note that the stop light was green (although it wouldn’t have mattered), and without any hesitation ran across the street. After arriving 3 lanes of busy traffic on the other side of University Avenue I finally stopped running to make sure my escape was complete. It was. There was no sign of the squirrel.

How unreal was that, I thought to myself. I was chased off campus by a squirrel. Just about the time I caught my breath, Don arrived with my books. "That's the damndest thing I've ever seen in my life John. That's even weirder than staying overnight in prison with you (that’s another story)." 

We never walked that way back and forth through campus. Ever.

John

Lawn Irrigation Tips - Mickman Brothers Irrigation

It’s time to start thinking about replacing those old sprinkler heads.  How old is your sprinkler system?  Much has changed with sprinkler head technology and also with the maturity of your landscape.

Just replacing those old sprinkler heads can increase your water savings by 30 percent!  Technology has improved greatly since your sprinkler system was installed years ago.  Sprinkler heads are now designed to apply water more efficiently and effectively than in the past.  Your landscape has also matured and many of your sprinklers may now be blocked by more mature plant material.

Inspect your sprinkler system and look for opportunities to replace older sprinkler heads.  It is also recommended to make sure your rain sensor is working properly.  By making your system more efficient today, you will be saving water now and every day into the future.

Please contact our irrigation service department and let us know if we can assist you in keeping your sprinkler system performing at its best.  763-434-1487 or susan.pruitt@mickman.com

Jeff Latterell

Lawn Irrigation Specialist

www.mickman.com

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Choosing Shrubs - Mickman Brothers Landscape Design

Shrubs can provide many years of color and seasonal interest in your yard, but a wrong choice can become a problem over time. Determining the characteristics of a plant first, will help you narrow down the choices and avoid mistakes that will haunt you.

Bella Anna Hydrangea

 It is important that you select the right plant for the space and effect that you want.

 These are primary elements for choosing plants.

1.  Mature height and width
2.  Texture and Color (all seasons)
3.  The plants shape or form (consider the other plants near it)

 Secondary elements

1.  Lighting- full sun or shade
2.  Moisture requirements (drought or moisture tolerance)
3.  Soil adaptability (drainage, ph levels)

Contributed by the Mickman Brothers Landscape Design Team

Contact us at 763-434-3346 or
landscape.manager@mickman.com

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Photo courtesy of Bailey Nurseries, Inc.

What to plant in Cooler Temps - Mickman Brothers Garden Center

Getting the itch to plant, but there’s still danger of frost? No worries! There are still plenty of things that can thrive when soil and air temperatures are cool! Try these cool-season vegetables, flowers, and herbs now while your warm-season crops are happily soaking up the heat inside.

Vegetables:

Buttercrunch Lettuce

•  Any of the cruciferous crops (think broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, kale, kohlrabi, and Brussels sprouts) thrive in cooler temperatures. In fact, frost actually increases the coloring on ornamental varieties of these crops!
•  Lettuce and spinach varieties are typically sweeter and more tender in the cooler temperatures. And they bolt slower than in warmer temps, meaning your harvest will last longer.
•  Peas are a wonderful crop that can take minor frosts with minimal damage to the plants. They are fast to produce, meaning you may be able to plant multiple times throughout the season!
•  Because the edible part is underground, root vegetables such as carrots, radishes, turnips, beets, etc. can take frosts with minimal damage.

Herbs:

Herb Pot

•  Chives are often the first things we all see come up in the spring after the bulbs emerge. They can be chopped back and eaten soon after the plant fills out.
•  Mint is also a perennial that can take a few frosts. However, beware that mint can quickly take over a garden; this can be prevented by planting the mint in it’s container to prevent the roots from spreading underground.
•  Oregano
•  Parsley
•  Sage

Annuals:

•  Pansies and violas. pictured at right, are typically the first plants you see popping up in garden centers. That’s because they are the most cold tolerant annual flower, able to take a solid freeze. You will notice once the weather gets warmer they will start looking long and sickly. Just chop them back and let your other plants take over; once fall comes, they should look as good as they did in the spring.
•  Snapdragons
•  Alyssums
•  Calendula (pot marigold)
•  Lobelia
•  Dianthus
•  Forget-me-nots
•  Nasturtium

If you are planting from seed, be aware that the seedlings are more damaged by frost than plants with true leaves. If have already started your plants indoors or in a hoop house, they need to be hardened off for about two weeks before they are planted in the ground. To do this, simply increase the time the plants spend outside during the day so they can acclimate to the change in temperatures and sunlight.

Good luck and happy planting!!

Alyssa - Garden Center Annuals Manager

www.mickman.com

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Garden Center humor - Mickman Brothers Garden Center

'PJM' Rhododendron, a hardy Minnesota Shrub - Mickman Brothers Garden Center

‘PJM’ Rhododendron, a Northern Treasure

David C. Zlesak, Extension Educator

Article reposted from the University of Minnesota Extension 'Yard and Garden News' 05/15/2008

Plants of ‘PJM’ rhododendron gracing the entrance of a home. David Zlesak

Flowers and foliage of ‘PJM’ rhododendron are richly colored. David Zlesak

'Olga Mezitt' Rhododendron. John Eustice

Shining in the landscapes of Minnesota and other Northern tiered states for decades, the glowing purple/pink blooms of ‘PJM’ Rhododendron are an easily recognizable and much welcomed addition to the spring landscape. Out of all the rhododendron choices for Minnesota, ‘PJM’ is arguably the most widespread, hardy, and adaptable. Due to minimal or no seed set, it tends to set abundant flower buds and blooms prolifically each year. It performs well in partial shade to full sun and has a wide tolerance to soil conditions, although, like most rhododendrons and azaleas, it prefers cool, acidic, well-draining, soils high in organic matter.

History of ‘PJM’
The name comes from the initials of Peter J. Mezitt, founder of Weston Nurseries in Massachusetts. ‘PJM’ is a cross between two rhododendron species- Rhododendron carolinianum and R. dauricum. In 1939, Peter Mezitt heard of some particularly beautiful specimens of R. dauricum in the mountains of China from some visiting missionaries. He arranged to receive some seedlings and among them was a particularly nice plant that was more faithfully evergreen than the others. Peter’s son Edmund worked at the nursery with his father. Using a camel’s hair brush, Edmund put pollen of the select R. dauricum seedling onto R. carolinianum (this was the first cross Edmund ever made). The seedlings were planted out and a few years later, in May of 1945, Peter and Edmund noticed their spectacular blooms, even as young plants. They knew from the beginning that these plants were very special because of their vigor, compact habit, attractive foliage, and beautiful floral display.

Multiple forms of ‘PJM’ Rhododendron exist
Since seedlings are relatively uniform from this cross, what is sold as ‘PJM’ is sometimes derived from recreating the original cross and raising seed. However, some variability exists among the seedlings for flower and foliage color, growth rate, and plant habit. Selections with unique features have been made and are clonally propagated. Some of the clonal selections include ‘Elite’ (little bit later flowering and more upright than typical ‘PJM’), ‘Victor’ (earlier flowering, more compact, and less vigorous than typical ‘PJM’), and ‘Regal’ (vigorous selection with a spreading habit).
Two other hardy cultivars of note from Weston Nurseries include ‘Olga Mezitt’ (sometimes called just ‘Olga’) and ‘Aglo’. They are similar in growth habit and hardiness to ‘PJM’, but the flower color is more pink. Both are named after Peter Mezitt’s wife, Olga. Both share the same species parents, but differ in the direction of the cross (which species served as the female and which as the male). Just as the cross is reversed to produce each cultivar, so is their cultivar name - ‘Aglo’ is Olga’s name spelled backwards.

*This article was reposted from the University of Minnesota Extension 'Yard and Garden News' 05/15/2008

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