Julie Weisenhorn

By Sam Bauer

It’s 8 a.m. inside the WCCO-AM studios and callers are already in the queue, seeking expert help from University of Minnesota Extension and Master Gardeners as “Smart Gardens” begins.

And expertise is available in droves during “Smart Gardens,” WCCO’s new hour-long hit show covering gardens, lawns and more. A sampling from a recent show:

Last year’s heat and drought and this year’s late spring have added extra stress to lawns.

With buds finally starting to bloom on trees in the southern part of Minnesota and ice still stubbornly floating around on lakes in the north, it’s a good time to take stock of a strange year of weather and its effect on our lawns and vegetation.

To rehash the recent weather history that many of us may be trying to repress, we had an exceedingly wet and warm spring in 2012, followed by a summer and fall of extreme heat and certifiable drought. That took a toll on grass and trees—not to mention crops—all around the state.