It's March, the month spring officially arrives according to the calendar. Mother Nature might have different plans, but plants are bursting forth with renewed growth and the cool weather plants are blooming, bringing joy to everyone. Honey bees have built up their numbers and are busy taking advantage of the bountiful supply of food.
I was doing some research about wasps last year because we had a problem with them building a nest under our breezeway. I found that if you make a fake wasp nest, it will keep them away because wasps are territorial and they will think the territory is occupied. All I knew is that it should be round and gray, so I balled up a grocery bag and covered it with weather resistant duct tape. I broke the hook off a coat hanger so I could hang it. It worked like a charm all summer: no wasps, no pesticides!
When staking plants, put the stakes in place early in the season. There is less chance of damaging the plant, and as the plant grows it will hide the stakes.
Dill and fennel are both hosts for the Black Swallowtail Butterfly. If you plant both dill and fennel in the garden, they will cross pollinate and your dill seed will not produce a good culinary (cooking) dill.
Great gardens of fun and beauty are to be found in one far corner of our country. Let's visit Woofie in the state of Washington and take a look at them. You are going to love what you see!
Keep a large basket or plastic container in a convenient spot on the porch or deck or in the garden shed for holding small hand tools, yard shoes/boots, pruners, scissors/shears, permanent marker, notepad, pen, gardening gloves, hat, sunscreen, etc.
If you want to get an early start on a plant that is difficult to transplant, start it in a coffee can. Cut the bottom off the coffee can and replace it with the plastic lid, with a few holes punched in it for drainage. When it's time to set it out, you can either take the bottom off and slide the whole thing out, or just remove the bottom and plant the entire can. A pair of post hole diggers makes just the right size hole.
We all know that gardening is good for the body and soul. But there is something the great majority of us don’t know. And what we don’t know can hurt us.
I use an ice cream pail with the handle on it to tote my camera, phone, little plastic baggies, small note book and pen, and a few peanuts for the Steller's jays whenever I am working in the garden. When I move, it moves with me. I put a white cloth over it to protect it from dust or light sprinkles.
Keep an eye on your plants for pests. It’s easier to eliminate them before they get out of control.
If your amaryllis needs a stake, use an interesting branch from a pussy willow, crooked willow, contorted filbert, or whatever you have on hand. Just stick it down into the pot as far as it will go, and secure it to the bloom stalk with a bit of twine or even a twist-tie.
Leaves so often take a back seat to the more showy and colorful flowering blooms and fruits. While we wait for spring to arrive, let's take a look at leaves as the star attraction.
An empty milk jug with its top (but not its handle) cut off makes a great scoop for sunflower seeds, vermiculite, etc.
Using wooden stakes or dowels is a great way to support the limbs of your tomato plants to keep them off the ground.
Tools tools tools- what's in your tool box?
Even after many years of starting seeds indoors, I make the same mistake year after year. I inevitably run out of room. Partly because I sow way too many plants (can’t help it), but truly, I have not planned my spacing appropriately
The color blue brings the wow factor to your garden. Using Krylon spray paint, add a little color to ordinary metal or plastic trellises, stakes and containers.
Research your plants before you install your new plants. Tags lie. A lot. Use our database or Google the plant to verify the information! Nothing worse than buying an expensive plant just for it to croak because it won't live in your zone even though the tag said that it's a hardy perennial!
Heuchera (Coral Bells) tend to be pushed up in the spring due to the frost coming out of the ground. Check in the spring as you may need to dig up the plant and reposition it in the ground.
If you’re looking for non-stop color in your gardens and containers that will last your entire growing season, consider planting coleus – the plant that can quickly show big results.
Instead of purchasing those pricey compost containers, I use plastic coffee cans. The lids fit tight so you don't attract fruit flies and you don't have to buy deodorizers either.
For those weeds that have tiny stems and are hard to grasp with regular gardening gloves, I use nitrile disposable exam gloves. Although I'm not allergic to latex I prefer the nitrile gloves.
February is here! Hopefully the old groundhog didn't see his shadow and spring will be here sooner than later. Longer days and warmer temperatures will have the honey bees buzzing everywhere looking for food to feed their hungry babies.
Use cat litter trays to transport your seedlings! They can be purchased at your local $1 store, and are very sturdy. You can carry twelve 16-ounce Red Solo cups in a tray with one hand, confident that it won't tip over, or crack! And, you can fit three trays side by side under a 48" fluorescent light kit!
Pipe cleaners make wonderful soft flexible ties for attaching plants to stakes and cut easily to size with just regular scissors. They come in a variety of colors so you could match them to the plant if you wanted. I purchased mine at a dollar store so it is very cost effective.