Take a stroll and take notes for 2011

Right now, for example, there is a big, big lesson to learn about lawn care in Southcentral Alaska. Take a look at your lawn. It is, without question, green. How do I know? Because we had 31 days of rain. It rained enough to float Noah's Ark, and more than enough to green up any lawn around.

Thanks to nature, your lawn finally got the water it needs to green up naturally. You didn't need to use 8-32-16, Miracle-Gro, Weed and Feed or even soybean meal. As long as you left the clippings on the lawn, and perhaps mulched up last fall's leaves and left them, water is all it took. Most of you are not using chemicals anymore, but you are not sure about the lawn. High nitrogen is a hard thing to give up on.

Ah, but your lawns are all green -- or should I say, all your lawns are green. All it took was water and leaving the clippings. It was garden writers like me, along with millions of dollars in advertising, who created and perpetrated the lawn fertilizer myth. Obviously, we were wrong. All it takes is water. Let your observation this year save you money, time and effort in future years. Water.

Next, it's time to observe which plants in your perennial beds are becoming overbearing, pushy and weedy. We all have them, poppies, veronica, forget-me-nots, campanulas, shasta daisies. Usually we got them because a friend was giving them away or because they were so darn cheap at the nursery. Both are telltale signs that a plant may be a weedy one.

Anyhow, a whole host of other perennials and self-seeding annuals can look great the first year or two, but then spread and take over the patch. The most effective remedy is to pull off the seed pods now, before the seeds mature and drop. You can save yourself a lot of work in future seasons.

It is also a good idea to wander around and see if some of the things you know are weeds in your perennial beds have escaped to other areas of your property. No sense in letting a bad seed get established in a new area, so do take a look around.

While looking around for escapees, dig up the good ones as well. On our property, I find cotoneaster plants, ligularia and raspberries that are out of place but perfect for transporting to a proper location. What a nice windfall instead of having to buy them. All it takes is a bit of observation.

This is also the only time you can take a hard look at your trees. The first thing to look for are dead limbs. This can't be done when there aren't leaves on the trees. It is also the time of year to spot fungi "mushrooms" on the trunks and limbs of trees, usually a sign of decaying wood. The idea is to protect life and property, so you should be prepared to saw away the dead limbs or trees you find. If you can find replacement trees, this is a great time to replace old ones.

Finally, take some time to observe things that are not doing well. If you have stunted annuals or vegetables, for example, dig a few of them up and check the roots. Did they grow? Are they in a tight ball, which means you didn't open the roots up when you planted? Or are they brown and rotting, which would indicate bad drainage? Is the plant growing in the sun or shade? Being crowded out by others? Look yellow or blotchy? Observing these things will help you get answers so you will not make the same mistakes next year.

You learn from what you see happening in your gardens and yard. We spend so much time working in the yard that we often forget to just walk around and look at things. Taking a digital camera and getting a few pictures so you can continue to "observe" in the winter, wouldn't be a bad idea, either.

Jeff Lowenfels is a member of the Garden Writers Hall of Fame. You can reach him at teamingwithmicrobes.com or by calling 274-5297 during "The Garden Party" radio show from 10 a.m. to noon Saturdays on KBYR AM-700.