| Nuisance wildlife problems? Check out the Wildlife Conflicts Information Hotline or call 800-893-4116, 8-5 pm weekdays. |
Garden Calendars
| Purdue University Garden Calendars The Garden Helper monthly calendar weekly Turf Tips from Purdue Extension |
Garden Tour 2008
Click here to see photos of the gardeners (scroll down to Garden Tour 2008).  |
| Volunteer at Holliday Park |
Gardening Societies
Master Gardener Program
|
Resources
| Purdue University Consumer Horticulture ; Purdue Extension-Marion County Master Gardeners answerline: 275-9292 or marionmg@purdue.edu Ask Dr. Dirt (Dick Crum) your gardening questions: drdirt@theindychannel.com. Subscribe to a weekly e-mail from Dr. Dirt (other topics also available). Flowers: Dick Crum, Indpls Star columnist ; Indiana prairie wildflowers ; Better Homes and Gardens Herbs and Vegetables: The Garden Helper; Better Homes and Gardens Trees and Shrubs: The Garden Helper ; Better Homes and Gardens Lawn care: weekly Turf Tips, eartheasy.com |
Attracting wildlife
|
Area hothouses and gardens
| IMA Gardens and Grounds Oldfields (Lilly house) gardens and greenhouse on the grounds of the Indianapolis Museum of Art White River Gardens and Hilbert Conservatory (butterflies too!) Garfield Park Conservatory Holliday Park Holcomb Gardens on the grounds of Butler University To see beautiful trees (and statuary), visit Crown Hill Cemetery on West 38th, entrance at 34th & Boulevard Place. Also, Crown Hill has the highest land point in Indianapolis (grave of poet James Whitcomb Riley). From this point, over the trees, is a beautiful view of downtown Indianapolis!  |
Cat Deterrents
| If stray and feral cats are using your garden or bushes as a litterbox, try the solutions below before considering calling Animal Control. Also, North Willow has a couple of "cat caretakers"* who are managing cat colonies and who may be able to help. *As of the spring of 2006, NWF caretakers are Susan Tabler, 8930 Shagbark, 875-5838 and Lynn McMahan, 9079 Dewberry, 872-5800
More suggestions for keeping cats out of your garden Note that our covenant would prohibit any of the cat fences described on some of these sites. Univ. of Vermont Extension Royal Society for the Protection of Birds The Garden Helper parents.berkeley.edu alleycat allies.org neighborhoodcats.org the Frugal Life And for cat lovers - Planting the Cats - a Theme Garden (scroll past ads) |
Weather
|
You can also call 635-5959 for the time and temperature/forecast. |
Groundskeeping
| For details on neighborhood groundskeeping overseen by the North Willow Board, go to the Board Roles/Grounds section of the NWF Govt. page. |
Fun Facts
|
Crossroads Greenhouse
 Landfill powers sweet smell of spring Indpls. Star, April 17, 2006 Trash dumped into the massive Southside Landfill may be thrown out, but it’s not wasted – thanks to a 6-acre greenhouse next door that is powered by the landfill’s methane. Gas generated by the mountain of decomposing trash on the Southwestside is helping grow about a million plants in the Crossroads Greenhouse – including many of the Easter lilies that graced tables this season. "It's the full circle of recycling," said Crossroads general manager Matt Maxwell. Some landfills simply burn off the methane produced by decomposing garbage. Here, the gas is collected and then pumped to a boiler at the greenhouse, located at 2559 Kentucky Ave. The boiler circulates hot water through the greenhouse, allowing plants to thrive even in the depth of winter. Energy from the gas also generates power to operate the grow lights. "Our greenhouse is set up to grow a crop like Easter lilies," Maxwell said. "We have the space, 6 acres under glass, automation and moveable tables.” The business operates as a wholesaler only and is not open to the public. Heartland Growers, which has a greenhouse in Hamilton County, rented about half the space at Crossroads to grow Easter lilies this year. Heartland distributed about 65,000 of the plants to large retail stores in Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky and Illinois. "A lot of landfills just burn it off," Heartland owner Jim Gapinski said of the methane. "This is an innovative solution to get rid of methane." Heartland Growers saw a 40 percent spike in heating costs over the winter. The family-run business is continuing to grow pansies, geraniums, hanging plants and mixed flats of flowers in Westfield this spring. But business is booming and Gapinski said rather than expand in Westfield, he plans to continue renting space on the Southwestside, which also will help save energy costs. |