CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- A trip to Webster County last week to the Camp Caesar 4-H facility for a wonderful week of church camp turned out to be another great garden experience.

I've been going to this spot for years, and over the past few summers the Camp Caesar staff has created several beautiful gardens that have truly enhanced the campground.

Many are in the shade, and they include lots of native ferns such as the Christmas, Cinnamon, Royal and Interrupted varieties. I saw some butterfly weed, some goldenrod and, of course, lots of mountain laurel. If you're ever near Cowen, stop at the camp and see what they have done.

While I was gone, in poured the mail!

Garden to visit

Judy and Holly White of Winfield wrote:

"Your article on visiting gardens was very timely. We spent a very enjoyable few hours at Franklin Park Conservatory, just off Interstate 70 near downtown Columbus, Ohio. In addition to the Conservatory, with their rainforest gardens, a Zen garden and a 'Butterflies and Blooms' garden with many beautiful butterflies, there is a large park with some stately trees on paved, easy-access paths, and some outdoor gardens as well."

I visited the conservatory in 1992 during an Ameriflora exhibit, and I was impressed with the magnitude of the place. They have an extensive collection by glass artist Dale Chihuly and a permanent installation by renowned light artist James Turrell.

According to www.fpconservatory.org, the conservatory contains 400 species of plants from a variety of global climate zones and features the historic John F. Wolfe Palm House, where more than 45 species of palms are represented among more than 120 individual specimens.

Lichen damage?

Next, Jackie Lilly has a question that's new to me. Is there anyone who has an answer?

"I have a teak garden bench that I have allowed to weather to its natural gray. Some shrubs had grown over part of it, and it has a northern exposure, so it is in shade most of the day. I paid some attention to it this weekend, and discovered that it had lots of lichens growing on it.

"I scraped them all off, but didn't notice any damage to the wood. (Actually, in some cases it looked like the wood may have been protected by them -- the wood was less gray and weathered.)

"My question is: Are the lichens damaging the wood? Do I need to be more vigilant in scraping them off as they appear? Or are they harmless, and it's merely a matter of personal preference as to the appearance?"

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- A trip to Webster County last week to the Camp Caesar 4-H facility for a wonderful week of church camp turned out to be another great garden experience.

I've been going to this spot for years, and over the past few summers the Camp Caesar staff has created several beautiful gardens that have truly enhanced the campground.

Many are in the shade, and they include lots of native ferns such as the Christmas, Cinnamon, Royal and Interrupted varieties. I saw some butterfly weed, some goldenrod and, of course, lots of mountain laurel. If you're ever near Cowen, stop at the camp and see what they have done.

While I was gone, in poured the mail!

Garden to visit

Judy and Holly White of Winfield wrote:

"Your article on visiting gardens was very timely. We spent a very enjoyable few hours at Franklin Park Conservatory, just off Interstate 70 near downtown Columbus, Ohio. In addition to the Conservatory, with their rainforest gardens, a Zen garden and a 'Butterflies and Blooms' garden with many beautiful butterflies, there is a large park with some stately trees on paved, easy-access paths, and some outdoor gardens as well."

I visited the conservatory in 1992 during an Ameriflora exhibit, and I was impressed with the magnitude of the place. They have an extensive collection by glass artist Dale Chihuly and a permanent installation by renowned light artist James Turrell.

According to www.fpconservatory.org, the conservatory contains 400 species of plants from a variety of global climate zones and features the historic John F. Wolfe Palm House, where more than 45 species of palms are represented among more than 120 individual specimens.

Lichen damage?

Next, Jackie Lilly has a question that's new to me. Is there anyone who has an answer?

"I have a teak garden bench that I have allowed to weather to its natural gray. Some shrubs had grown over part of it, and it has a northern exposure, so it is in shade most of the day. I paid some attention to it this weekend, and discovered that it had lots of lichens growing on it.

"I scraped them all off, but didn't notice any damage to the wood. (Actually, in some cases it looked like the wood may have been protected by them -- the wood was less gray and weathered.)

"My question is: Are the lichens damaging the wood? Do I need to be more vigilant in scraping them off as they appear? Or are they harmless, and it's merely a matter of personal preference as to the appearance?"

Perfect container

Last week, I talked about container planting. Charles McElwee writes:

"In my view, the ultimate in containers for planting of flowers is Pamela Crawford's Border Columns, which may be purchased from Kinsman. I also recommend her book 'Instant Container Gardens,' which also may be purchased at the Web site."

Thanks for the tip!

Corn on the lawn

A recent edition of Horticulture magazine suggests that broadleaf weeds in a lawn can be controlled by spring and fall applications of corn gluten meal, which acts as both a pre-emergent herbicide and a source of nitrogen for healthy green grass. Sold under a variety of trade names, this corn product is completely safe for people, pets and wildlife, according to the magazine.

To me, putting some sort of corn product on the lawn seems like an open invitation to the deer saying, "The buffet's open, c'mon in!" I'm not sure about this one. Has anyone tried it?

Bloodmeal successful

My friend and fellow gardener Caryn is happy to report that a regular monthly sprinkling of bloodmeal has staved off hungry deer! "My double daylilies, which came originally from my great grandmother's garden in Pennsylvania, are blooming and blooming.

"I know that from time to time you do critter-control stories, so I wanted to let you know that this is something that works, as long as you start your sprinkling in the early spring and keep it up." Good news.

Hydrangea problems

I only have one hydrangea, and I've not had problems with it so far, so I'm not an expert on this plant. Beverly O'Dell has a question -- anyone know what she should do?

"My well-established hydrangea is/was growing like gangbusters, then suddenly I noticed the leaves and some stems were curling. And I don't see any signs of new flower buds. What's causing the leaf curling? What can I do to save this hydrangea? It was a piece off of my mom's hydrangea and she has passed away and I would like to keep it alive."

Reach Sara Busse at sara.bu...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-1249.