I Think I Can...I Think I Can
I'm posting this story not with the intention of bragging as yikes..not my style but to show a humorous event that happened to me a few years ago. It all started long ago, when Mike and I had bought our house. He loved the house while I was attracted to the large backyard - perfect for my pets and to garden which I had always wanted to do. Previous to that I had only attempted to plant in planters and hanging baskets. For a year, I went to the library and read gardening books..often taking the 25 books allowed per customer. I'd write notes, I'd cut things out of gardening mags that I hoped to accomplish. I even joined a few informal gardening clubs and shared plants with little ole ladies with blue hair. :O) Every single thing I bought was always after it flowered or bulbs long overdue to be put into the ground, as they were always 75% off. They wouldn't bloom that season but would the following year. Around this time the newspaper posted they needed people to "count the spots on lady beetles (bugs) to identify if they were local, Asian or European" Ha! sounds so funny but what the Wildlife Federation was doing was seeing if the ladybeetles that were imported were overtaking the local population. I thought it was a great science project for my son whom was 10 at the time. He gave it up after 3 wks but I kept it up...much to the laughter of my neighbors whom would see me frantically counting the spots on lady beetles. The ones with no spots or under 6 were local The European ones had 7 spots and were huge The Asian ones have 21 spots or more. Hmm try counting spots on a tiny creature like this while they are running on a leaf!! I became interested in biodiversity as a result, as I realized the lady bugs ate all the aphids which would attack my roses. Spraying the roses would kill the lady bugs which ate up to 2,000 aphids per day when they were in their larval stage! Better than any bug spray! In fact, I found out that only 2% of the bugs in our garden are considered "bad bugs". I learned they laid their eggs on Yarrow, normally considered a roadside weed but now made to come in different colors besides the natural yellow. Planting them next to my roses and nasturtiums meant I never had aphids eating my plants as the lady beetles ate them. Then, I became interested in what visited the garden...butterflies for example, learning which plants they liked. I also found out they are highly supseptible to any pollutants. Growing plants that attracted them guaranteed my garden was full of beautiful butterflies. Next..hummingbirds..I loved seeing these tiny things flutter about and learned they are endangered in many areas as they eat bugs that are laden with pesticides and thus die as a result. I then learned what plants attracted them. It was only natural that I then became interested in the other birds that visited my garden and as a result planted shrubs and flowers which allowed them to nest or eat in my garden. I entered a gardening competition for my city only because I found out the contestants would be given a package of useful info and free plants to all that entered. Still doing everything on a budget - free plants convinced me! The judges came to my home to view the garden which was still in it's early stages so I added some humorous things in it - like giant paper mache' slugs and life size lions with a torn cloth hanging out of it's mouth and a sign..Last Years Judge. 
Amazingly the day they arrived, the garden was visited by many birds, butterflies and bees (without them no fruit trees would become pollinated) and even a pair of pileated woodpeckers! Smart birds too, as many would nest in the trees which then Shaggy and Blue would lay under. It was as if they knew no raccoons or cats would attempt to go up there with the dogs beneath the trees. I recieved an invitation to a fancy gathering at a college and after all the winners were announced my son was patting me on the back in condelences of not winning. That was never my intention as the fun was learning. Suddenly they announce the grand prize winner for my city...It was me!!! I could have fainted! My garden was listed under environmentally friendly. Next came a visit by judges from all over Canada as now cities were competing with each other from across the country. I get another invitation to attend an event at City Hall. I was visiting the different booths and asked one fellow what the "regular name" of a plant was as I'm unfamiliar with the latin names. Garden snob that he was...he responded with OHHHHH it's so ooooobvious you don't know your plants!" I felt humbled and stupid and slunk away. I hear my name called and asked to step up to the stage. The mayor presents me with a plaque..informing that I have placed Third in Canada for Environmental Gardening!!! Haaaaaaaaa! I didn't even look at the garden snob and smugly smile which I should have. Next I wrote about this story to an editor of a gardening mag in which I said ...it doesn't matter if you know Latin names or not..the most important thing is just loving what you do and sharing with friends. They published it as a story and I recieved mail from all over the country. Hee Hee! I still don't know Latin Names and my garden now resembles a jungle as I've kinda neglected it for a while. I brag about having lovely "Trifolium Rupens" (clover) in my garden! The whole point of this story is after reading that many members would love to garden but don't think they can. Just go for it! It doesn't always have to be estetically pretty as you may be planting to help other creatures. Just like Field of Dreams...you plant it ...they will come. Marianne and the boys |
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WOW!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm impressed!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Maybe my puny little rose will make it after all 
SOOOOOOOOOOOOO WHERE ARE THE PICTURES????. My garden is all handme downs, I've always loved perrineals and every flower or plant has come from someone I know (which makes it more fun), except the rose and a couple shrubs. I am a nurse and run a cardiac rehab program. I've been blessed with the most wonderful patients. This spring when I was talk about starting my garden several started bringing me in perrineals. One in particular showed up with a box in hand everyday. Now that they are starting to grow and flower (and they are!!! ) I look at them ant think, "oh that's so-n-so's shasta daisy or mrs whzits hosta" It's kinda fun!!
I want everything to look great RIGHT NOW so it's hard to be patient and wait.  |
| What an inspiration you are. It's so nice to hear you story of the hardwork (but fun) you did, and how it paid off!!
Quote: For a year, I went to the library and read gardening books..often taking the 25 books allowed per customer.
I mean when you go for something ...you go in with both feet! 
At least this gives me hope because I'm still clueless as to how to start.  |
| I love to garden, but I'm not very good at it, lol I do better with fruits & veggies than flowers. The only flowers living in my yard are the ones we plant each year on our daughter's birthday. I'm jealous of our neighbors - she has such a gorgeous yard!
Glad all your hard work paid off. |
| Good for you Marianne! Just goes to show you don't have to be an expert if you love what you do. Pictures would be nice. |
| I love your stories Marianne, lol.... sounds like fun, and you did a great job! |
 Congrats!!! You sure have put a lot of work in your garden.
I'm a serial plant killer, I can't even make the grass last for long no matter how much I try  |
What an inspirational story, Marianne! Thanks for sharing it with us. It does make even those of us who don't feel very talented in that area as if we can do it too.  |
| As a degreed horticulturist, who worked for a university, owned my own landscape business, write garden columns........and do know my botanical names........all I can say is
GREAT JOB! : |
| Yeah Marianne! Between you and Jil my gardening bug has been restarted, I CAN'T WAIT to buy my house- so I can plant all of my favorites, roses (and now some yarrow- my mom had that, but never in with the roses), apple trees, asiatic lilies, fox gloves (for my hummingbird and butterfly friends), herbs, CAN'T WAIT CAN'T WAIT, CAN'T WAIT!!! Between that and anticipating finally getting our OES, I'm just going crazy! I'd loooovvveee to see some pictures!
Would you mind sharing with us (and maybe sheepie boss and our other gardeners would too) some hummingbird and butterfly friendly plants? How about any other environment friendly gardening tips? I'd love to entice some nature into my garden- esp. as I'll likely be in the city somewhere. My only plant/environmentally friendly tip is: If you have friendly neighborhood deer visiting your gardens- intersperse some marigolds, the taste deters them from visiting again! Karen |
| In Minnesota? Wow! Talk about a different climate than my hot and dry. I started a list: purpleconeflower, coreopsis, salvia, beebalm, coral bells and columbine for shade, butterfly bush and butterfly weed........but then remembered a good website:
http://butterflybushes.com/ Here we can grown many varieties of penstemons as well as lavender, Russian Sage, butterfly bush, sedum and with more water, just about all the other perennials on the site --not all, must about all. Remember butterflies need nectar plants and host plants (so the caterpillars can feed). A wet spot on the ground provides water......OK, we have to make wet spots, LOL. Hummers like the tubular flowers, red first choice but will go to others. They will nest in trees and shrubs. They like fine water mists for bathing....like from a sprinkler system. ( Bee prefer blue flowers, so beware around patios if you are allergic to them) Birds will vary in their feed needs: seeds, suet, bugs or meal worms, fruit, etc. Water is a must as well as nest areas............and security from predators. If you feed seed, remember it sprouts when on the ground, plan accordingly. I don't care for the nyger or niger plant, my husband likes it, grrrr. Remember: food, habitat, water and security....and pesticide free or greatly reduced. My little sheepie tries to catch the hummers so I had to move the feeders higher up. And the swallows insist on making their nest near the front door........so I bought a pressure washer to clean the mess instead of discouraging the nesting. I spend as much on bird seed and I do on dog food............  No wonder we never go on vacation........money and animals. |
| Once year, about 1987 or 88, we planted "tithonia torch". As I recall, the plant wasn't much to look at, about 5 or 6 feet tall, with a smallish singular orange blooms. Again, if I recall, we were looking for a backstop to the flower bed, up against the back of the garage from a house on the next street over. We weren't too thrilled with the way they looked...
Turned out, though, that monarch butterflies loved the things, and they were around our place all summer! It was a great summer. |
| Hi,
Wonderful list Sheepie Boss - You do know your stuff! Special thanks to Jil whom also stirred up my interest in gardening which had been a bit dormant the last three years. Gawd..seriously my garden looks like a jungle as I've neglected it for a while as I got busy with other things. Thanks to Jil, I spent the day outdoors doing much neglected work. There's a saying about one years neglect means seven years weeding...I have 21 years until my garden looks decent again! I'll send someone snail mail pics of my garden in it's heyday that they can post for me. Here's a bit of info that you beginners will find helpful if I put it in terms of Sheepies. You know how are guys are herders? No matter what we do...that's what they are and we see it all the time in the things they do. They are not Retrievers, or Hunting dogs..but Herders...well kinda the same thing with plants. Find out what conditions they like, the zones they grow best in and if they are Perennials (meaning they come back every year) or annuals (they just bloom that one season and you have to buy new ones the next year) Dont fight mother nature! You'll get the best results if you do a little research and find what plants are local to your area. If you get the newest imported plant...as pretty as it may look...it will be hard to look after. The local plants are much more disease resistant, provide food or shelter for insects and birds, and will survive the weather conditions. Read the labels! Is the plant suitable for wet, dry, or moist soil. Where are you going to plant it? Is it meant for the sun or shade? You'll be far more successful if you do this with every purchase. What zone are you in? Every gardening book or garden center should be able to give you this answer. The key to successful gardening is finding out what plants grow best in which zones. Plant labels will give you an idea of what is the ideal condition for that plant... you can't go wrong and don't be afraid to experiment! ( North America is mapped out on these gardening books and have rated various areas with zones) You'll find out which plants in your area will survive the winters and which ones you may have to cover or bring in - if your winter is severe. My list is all time favorite plants that really do attract the bees, birds and butterflies...like Sheepie Boss..it's got to be the Butterfly Bush or another name it's called is Buddelia. In some areas it's stays green all year round in other areas it needs to be cut back to 1 ft- 2ft over the winter. It has long blue,white or pink flowers that resemble lilacs and smells just like baby powder!! Honeysuckle is my other favorite - Gawd the smell is unbelievable!!! The one that has reddish tubular flowers doesn't have the smell as the yellow one does - so plant both!! The hummingbirds and butterflies love the red honeysuckle..while the humans love the yellow honeysuckle. Phlox - These flowers always remind me of English Gardens...They come back year after year in some areas and have clusters of tiny pink, purple, white flowers which the hummingbirds and butterflies love. I was lucky that some native ones grow in my garden year after year..thanks to birds leaving their droppings..lol. I also purchased the other English Version which blooms after the local variety. The local one has the most amazing smell. I have tried for years to grow Milkweed in my garden which is the host food that Monarch butterflies eat and lay their eggs on. No luck! Apparently in the East,Milkweed is seen as a roadside weed...sigh what's that saying about a weed in one area may be seen as an exotic plant elsewhere? See I sometimes break the rules regarding purchasing plants not native to my area in hopes of purhaps attracting the rare Monarch to my garden. They are extremely rare on the West Coast..but I've had lots of beautiful swallowtails visiting which look similar. Dillweed, Parsley, and Carrot tops, and Queen Anne's Lace attracts butterflies. Good luck everyone and happy gardening!!! Hey maybe we can all do a seed exhange after the summer!!! Marianne |
| I just mowed a whole bunch of milkweed...lol..... sorry..... |
| Hi Willowsprite,
Nooooo!! LOLOL Funny I was thinking of you when I wrote about Milkweed as I know your province has it everywhere! It's really rare in my area that I once had to put in a special order at the nursery and paid an arm and a leg for 2 plants...neither which survived..groan. Hey send me seeds after the season...please...please. ( No I don't have a green thumb..but a brown nose) 
Marianne |
| I can collect buckets of seeds for you... you can't get away from them here, and we do try! LOL
I know how to dry them properly as well, I have been re seeding my own gardens for years, and had quite a nice one in Leamington, but unfortunately this is a different zone and many of my things won;t grow up here. I didnt do a garden at all this year. Ah well, next year. |
| Hi Again,
SheepieBoss I had a chance to look at that site and it's perfect for everyone that wants to know more about gardening to attract the birds, butterflies and bees to our gardens. Thanks so much for that! Taskers Mom..You've said exactly what I feel too about gardening. It's the sharing and exhanging with friends and I too have a garden full of plants whom remind me of special people who shared them with me. Don't worry in another year or two you'll be dividing your perenials and sharing them with others too, I'm sure of it! On a funny note, remember the more birds you attract the more suprises you'll get, plants growing unexpectedly in your garden! Bird poop contains seeds that will sometimes germinate in the ground and tada...you'll be wonderfully suprised by something you hadn't planted but there it is growing in your garden. (Again another form of biodiversity and of course lets not forget our Sheepies whom are walking magnets for seed heads of all kinds).
Let some of your plants go to seed, even tho some books don't recommend this with the idea that if you remove the seed heads the food will go towards growing a stronger plant. You want seeds to collect for yourself for next year, and save some for the birds too. Don't be in such a rush to clean up for the winter season as many birds will look for seed heads, berries and rose hips as their only means of survival for the winter for those that don't fly south. Remember cat collars with bells for those of us whom live with these guys. I hang my birdfeeders on my clothes line and fill it with sunflower seeds. It works great as the cats are unable to get at the birds and the sunflowers that fall usually grow in my garden and provide a beautiful plant and more food as a result for the birds. Yikes...See what you've done Jil!!!! those photos of your beautiful flowers renewed my interest once again in gardening...thanks! |
| You are very welcome Marianne!
It's funny, I don't have much time/money for the garden this summer and you're just gearing up. I need to get out there and start deadheading all those spent blooms. I am no expert either folks. I just putz along, read as much as I can and buy stuff I like. And then wait. I pretty much follow the same guidelines that Marianne pointed out, except I usually find plants that I have to have that don't fit in the spot I'm looking to fill and buy them anyway,
Speaking of Buddelia, I planted two of the multicolor varities last year. They're raspberry, yellow & orange and I'm hoping they take off this year. The white one I planted two years back is HUGE while the purple in the back seems to want to just start over. I need to cut it back, there's lots of new growth from the ground. http://www.waysidegardens.com/webapp/wc ... erCode=R3H Marianne, now you've inspired me with your fabulous story! If I was closer, I'd come help you. Jil ps - I'm not fond of the plants from Wayside, they're usually awfully small and don't always survive the first winter. |
| For gardeners is a drier climate, cruise over to http://www.Highcountrygardens.com
Marianne: Ah, butterfly bushes! I have several, about 6. The only one I don't have is the yellow one. I'm glad you mentioned cutting them back each year. Most people don't and end up with ugly, nonproductive old stems. Since it's a plant that blooms on new wood, that is current year wood, it can be cut back each year withoug affecting bloom. Blue Mist spirea and Russian sage are two other examples.........among many. And my apologies for all the mistypings lately. I'm having trouble seeing so don't pick up my mistypes. All those round letters "a", "o", "u" look alike.....and I don't always see the whole words so may miss a plural here and there. I am educated, just my sight is regressing. |
| You guys are great! thanks for all of the links and info! I'm so excited to be able to start planning my garden- now if I can JUST FIND THE HOUSE!!!
Karen
(At least I can plant bulbs in the autumn!) |
Iriskmj wrote: now if I can JUST FIND THE HOUSE!!! Details, details.... |
| OK......... I'm off to find some Buddelia this weekend. Although my honey GROANS everytime I come home with SOMETHING ELSE to plant........I'll blame it on YOU GUYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! |
| Okay Marrianne now that you shared you must realize we'd love pictures...I am a copy cat gardener. Tell me do the honeysuckle plants atract bees to the point they set up a hive next to it. Hubby LOVES honeysuckle plants but is quite phobic of bees.
Can Guinea Pig poo...in hay be a good mulch/fertilizer? They obviously eat only fruit and veggies, and pellets of hay, grass, dandelions etc...I've been keeping them outside now and muck out their house now and I just think it can be reused...composting it. Is Cat Mint the same thing as Cat NIP because Jake won't leave this particular plant alone? How do I get rid of ants and spiders? Any plants that turn these guys off? |
| I only know the answer to one of those questions- Cat nip and cat mint are the same plant. Cat nip IS a type of mint- and so referring to it as "cat mint" is probably a more correct, if slightly confusing, moniker.
Also be warned- this stuff will hybridize with any other types of mint in your garden- so if you have cat nip and another mint planted, and you allow them to go to seed- next year you will have neither the mint variety you originally planted, nor the cat nip, but a funky nip/mint variety that the cats don't like, and doesn't taste very good! (This happened in my mom's garden when I was a child, much to our dismay!) Karen |
| Hi,
>>>Waves to Taskers Mom's honey and takes blame. We made her..twisted her arm...urg..it's all our fault..umm just let her buy this stuff..just this one time..
Daisie - I have the ugliest shed next to my back porch..rusted ugly metal thing. So I covered it with chicken wire and the Honey Suckle completely covered it after 2-3 years. The neatest thing is it's level with my back porch and sitting on the porch in the evenings the smell drifts over it and even into my living room when I have the sliding door open. It's heavenly. I'm highly allergic to bees...having discovered that last year and must carry around an epi- pen but have never noticed an abundance of bees on the honey suckly. Usually just the butterflies and the humming birds. Guinea Pig, Rabbit and Chicken poo is a fortune in gold! Ah woulda thought?? People pay for that stuff at gardening centers and it's great for your garden beds. I add it to the compost and mix it around and (used to) again taking in consideration I sort of let everything go for 3 years spread it all over the garden. Catmint, Catnip or Nepeta...are all the same thing..you'll be attracting not only your cat but all the ones in the neighborhood. I love the stuff and most neighborhood cats won't come into my backyard with the dogs..so my cats are happy campers. I wouldn't plant it in the front yard tho for the above reasons. Spiders are considered the good bugs..you want these guys..as ugly as they are. They eat all sorts of bugs...expecially maggot worms...flies..yuck! Beetles too...all types are a gardeners best friend..those large black ones eat slugs! They just need a bit of undercover (which is why you don't have to have everything superneat) to keep them in your yard. Oh should mention that I just read yesterday in my animal medicine book that dogs love slug bait and it's highly poisonous. So all of us shouldn't be using slugbait in our yards with our boys and girls romping about...Just rely on beatles. Can you believe this? Ants keep aphids like people keep cows. They look after them and protect them and milk them for their honeydew. It's true! Chances are if you have a large colony of ants..then you have a large colony of aphids. Try to plant things that attract ladybugs...and remember in their larval stage they resemble something like tiny alligators..with an orange stripe. I didn't realize this at first and thought these were some ugly nasty bugs. In this stage they will eat thousands of aphids. Lady bug eggs are little yellow things that you may notice on the underside of leaves. Butterfly eggs sort of resemble them but are a little bit bigger and usually white or green. You can see why I got hooked on bugs. Ha ha! It becomes a bit facinating when you start to notice them and realize there is another world that exist in our garden. If you want to led the ants away from your house you may spread some sugar or something sweet. Although doesn't always work as they may send out the workers to get it and bring it back to the colony. I usually have so many bugs around now that I don't worry about them as they all kinda keep each other under control. Good Luck! Yes ...trying to find pics and will send them to someone so they can post it for me. Sigh...no scanner...no cord for digital camera...I'm basically such a procrastinator with stuff like that. Marianne and the boys |
| Good to know on all points covered...sadly I picked the cat mint for it's pretty flowers and fuzzy type leaves...and yes I planted it in the front side, where the dogs won't get it. I swear it was literally seconds of covering it in and Jake pounced on it.
We do have a huge colony of ants taking up residence under the walkway...they aren't to bothersome and we don't have a hill. They are very protected, but I see them in the flowerbed all the time. We have spiders everywhere, and I am sure they are wolf spiders. In different stages, but they get huge and scary. Good to know about honey suckle, I wanted to put a small hedge at the short end of the fence to prevent the dogs from jumping up so much at that spot. I was going to plant rose bushes, then found out they are really hard to grow. Our last house had a 20 yr old bush I am sure and was gorgeous, and huge. I have seen many lady bugs in the yard, and the kids have been taught these are friendly bugs and not to ever harm these ones. They are the only protected bug in the yard... I do have something eating my one tree/shrub...purple leaves, red bark/stems with tiny pink flowers in spring. It has little holes all over the leaves. Can't think of the name right now...it's the only plant being eaten. We also have moles in the area, the cat caught one and left it whole for us to see...so glad they have instincts that tell them not to eat it. I love CSI, esp when Gill Grissom uses bug stages to figure something out. It is fascinating. |
| Doesn't beer work for attracting/drowning slugs? |
| You think my hubby would part with beer to feed slugs...hehehe
I heard that they love it as well as snails. But I have never actually needed to try it. Our last house we spent forever trying to make a veg spot...then moved. |
| LOL @ Daisie.... |
| Hold on there, catnip and catmint are different plants. Nip is the one that drives cats nuts, colonizes (I like that term, better than invasive) while catmint is more refined. Catnip is Nepeta cataria, where catmint is Nepeta faassenii. It can be somewhat attractive to cats. The flowers are delightful with the mint and doesn't reseed as crazily as catnip. Both are members of the mint family: Labiatae or Lamiaceae (depending on your age when you learned the families.)
Slugs/Snails and beer: Colorado State University did a controlled scientific study on this important topic They found the alcohol is somewhat of a deterent, the snails preferred the near-beer stuff, the nonalcohol beers. Actually you can make up a solution of yeast, sugar, water and let it brew a bit and then set it out. Remember, you have to change whatever you use every day.
Ants are not good in the garden. They actually promote aphid and other infestations of the ....oh darn, what family is ant in.......oh, a mind is a terrible thing to lose......... Well anyway, the ants will guard the aphids on the plants keeping away aphid predators. Why? For the honeydew they secrete. Food for the colony. In fact, ants will carry aphids into the colony and feed to just to eat the honeydew.......yes, just like cows and milk. There are two general catagories of ants: sugar and meat. ( If it bites you, it's a meat ant). You can make your own bait from peanutbutter, a dab of honey and mix in boric acid : Roach Pruf. Put this in small feeding cups to where other animals can't find it, but close to the colony. Whatever any you have will take the bait back to the colonly eventually killing it out. Let me read some more posts and I'll get back here........ |
| oh sorry, I see the ants/aphid/cow thing had already been discussed.
The number of predators in your garden is impressive, not just ladybugs, spiders, lacewings or praying mantids. Many other including many we can't see. One of the main reasons not to use pesticides in the garden or to use them CAREFULLY is you also kill the "good bugs." Now good bugs don't reproduce as quickly as the bad bugs, so if you knock them back, you will most likely have a bigger pest problem than before you sprayed. The bad bugs don't have anyone nibbling on their population. The so called nontoxic sprays can be deadly to the good guys as well as the bad. Not always, but they are not universally safe. I don't use insectides anymore. I do use weedkiller. I have to. Water is often a good first defense against aphids and spidermites. Blast them off daily, they don't crawl back on. Slugs and snails..... get a banty chicken. Oh wouldn't the sheepies love that!
Do you have pumpkin spiders?? What a treat they are. I think they are in the Orb group, but their color is bright orange. By the end of summer, they look like a pumpkin. When I worked for the university's Extension Service we had an insect petting zoo for the State Fair. We had all manner of arthropods on hand for the public to hold and discuss. We had the Madagascar hissing cockroach (the ones you see in the movies like Men in Black), tartanulas, scorpions, millipeds, centipeds, many different spiders, butterflies, moths, beetles etc etc. It was a hoot watching the faces as they encountered our display. Imagine coming up to a person playing with cockraches. The kids got excited and the parents hid in the corners. I only got bit once, by a tarantula who was tired of being on display and let me know to put him back in his cage for a rest. No harm done. |
| As far as I know here in AB we don't have any problems with poisonus spiders. Being afraid of them I don't examine them too closely, except for the huge one that took up residence in the door jam of the front door. I swear it looked like a min tarantula...body the size of a grape, with hair. I think the neighbour called it a wolf spider. Still gives me shivers thinking about it. It was WAY to big...anyways.
I thinks the ants are mostly black, in another area of the yard, under the stone patio was discovered another colony, I think those ones were red. I will definitely try that mix, we have a hole in the sidewalk I can safely put it in there without having the animals get to it. When I am watering the plants I always spray the house off of spider webs. They love to build their webs all over the underside of the deck. |
| whoops! Thanks Sheepieboss- in my area- I've only ever seen cat nip- so I figured "cat mint" was just another common name for the same plant, and as it is in the mint family- there you go (Another victim of the common name!) It's good to have a horticulturist keeping us honest!
Also uncle pete posted the following Ant bait idea in another ttopic: "If you have an ant problem, just mix 50/50 baking soda and icing sugar. Lay it out inside and outside (if outside, cover it up so it doesn't get wet).The reasoning is that the sugar attracts them and the baking soda gives them gas. Now the funny part is since ants with all that gas can't pass it, they just explode!!!" Pet friendly, and it kills the ants with out harming anything else! How clever is that? Karen |
| That was the best story!
I have been able to attract butterflies to my garden...mostly by accident! My favorite is a black and white one that I am convinced is my Bart who went to the rainbow bridge 2 years ago! I wonder if anyone has come across a Peony named "Shaggy White"? As I have been in search of it for a memorial garden for Bart. I had heard of it a while back, but am convinced that it maybe is not for our zone? I'm in Ontario. If anyone has come across this, please let me know! Thanks and congrats on all your gardening awards! Colleen and Gucci |
| Hi,
Thanks for the correction Sheepie Boss regarding catnip and catmint- I always thought they were the same thing - It's wonderful to have a horticulturalist amongst us!! I can relate to the eyesite thing too..egads- I hit the edit button and corrected my post of all my typos but computer crashed so I realized it didn't go through. I'm so embarressed with all my constant typing mistakes.
Willowsprite- I wanted to thank you again and yes please save some seeds for me! I can offer my first born as trade! Oh one last bit of advice for everyone is keep a gardening journal. Paste or stick in all your plant labels and make a rough diagram of your yard and where you plant things. Trust me you'll be so grateful the following spring when nothing has come up yet and you think...now where the heck did I plant that? Or you might rip something out thinking it's a weed and not recognize it at first. You'll also get people asking what's the name of that plant and you'll probably forget. Having kept all the labels you can often refer back and refresh your memory. Gucci's mom - You've got some wonderful nurseries suppliers in your area, Stokes is really good and will often do a search for you if they don't have it in stock. I'll keep my eye out for you, should I come across it on the West Coast. What a wonderful idea to have a memorial garden for Bart! Here's some addresses for you: I think all of the cataloques are free! Stokes Seeds box 10,39 James street, St.Catherines, ON L2R 6R6 The Seed Source RR2, Oxford Mills, ON, KOG 1S0 McFayden Seeds 30 9th Street, Suite 100 Brandon, MB R7A 6E1 Marianne and the boys |
| Okay plant people! Someone help me with the following plant from problems:
The leaves on my rose bush are turning yellow. It is still growing, like a weed if you will and producing flowers but part of it looks like jaundice with freckles. It's 4 years old, planted in decent soil, mostly sunny area and the topsoil is covered with rocks. (Like a rock garden...) I don't know what brand, breed, scientific name it is. (It has exceedingly dark red flowers and is big. I am so not a plant person.)
Two of my yellow bushes out front either have the plague or some other weird bug thing going on. They are leafy on one side and all dead branches on the other. There are small, white, powdery spots on the leaves. I have not allowed them to play with the other plants and I think they are getting depressed. The previous owners also thought it would be a great idea to plant lilacs. ('m thinking this is why they moved.) How in the world can I get them to stop making little lilac shoots everywhere? I used to have a landscaper who trimmed my trees and did consultations on the yard. Otherwise stated: told me what to plant, where to plant it and how not to kill it. But, ever since he went missing (Really like there was a search) my garden is afraid for it's life. On a side note, the day lillies and Hostas that I planted are doing well. I guess I can't kill everything. Signed, The Black Thumb member! P.S. It's genetic, my mom can kill plastic plants!! |
| Hi Max,
I can't readily identify things as Sheepie Boss can but I'll give it a try. Leaves that become stippled or flecked with yellow and curl up, and buds that dry up are usually caused by mites. They are about the size of a grain of salt, are spiderlike and can be reddish, green, yellow or brown. These pest become a major problem especially in hot dry weather. They overwinter. Here's some solutions which may work: Keep plants watered and mulched. You may want to spray a strong stream of water on the underside of leaves where they live. (Make sure it's early in the morning and a hot day as I'll explain in the next paragraph why.) Introduce predators like ladybugs and lacewings to your garden to eat the mites. It's why you want to have a bug friendly garden as the good bugs far outnumber the bad. Make sure you pick up all the leaves at the end of the season as they overwinter and you'll get twice as much problem the following year. Black spots that appear on leaves or moldy white powder usually means a fungus disease and are often found in humid and rainy conditions. ( I experience this from time to time living on the Pacific Northwest). Spores can be transmitted by splashing water. Water early in the day and with this disease it's recommended you don't splash water on the leaves unlike the problem you are experiencing above. Make sure you pick up all the leaves that are infected and don't add them to your compost as it will spread the following spring. Prune the infected canes heavily below the area where you see mold. Make sure you disinfect your gardening tools, gloves and anything else you use as you can spread the spores as well. I feel for you as I have a 40 year rosebush that is two stories high that is infected and I am trying to keep this thing healthy. Good Luck! |
| Black spot is the bane of my existence. Unless you want to spray, there's not much you can do about it. Keeping the bush & ground clean as Marianne said helps, but once you've got it, you've got it and the bush will probably be leafless by mid-late July.
I won't be posting any rose pictures in mid-late July.
Excellent advise Marianne! |
| Great answers Marianne!
Spider mites and hot weather.........  Water blasting is the safest way. There are miticides, please note not all insecticides are rated for mites.....they aren't insects....but I don't like chemicals unless absolutely needed and then I shovel prune........those away the sick plant.
One other possible thought is virus. Infection occur back at budding time when the rose was "put together." Either the understock or the bud had the virus. The leaves are more mosiac mottled, no brown crispys like the spider mites. Plants can live quite well with this virus.......however, never go on and prune on another rose without first cleaning your pruning equipment.....a little rubbing alcohol is fine. The white powdery stuff might be powdery mildew......which doesn't need water splashing on it. Just dew is enough water to get it started and then it can be dry as bones, but the fungus continues. You can't cure a fungus, but you can control its spread. So obviously any fungicide would need to be applied before the problem gets started. But who thinks of THAT? Certain plants are very prone to powerdery mildew, others not. I mean certain cultivars....cultivated varieties. In roses, some roses attract mildew while others shun it. Solution, plant the shunners. Floofdog: my condolences on black spot. As Marianne said, sanitation helps a lot, also a limesulfur spray before leaf out in the spring to burn spores, and probably fungicides thru the year. I'd almost give up roses if blackspot were a worse problem than it is here. As for lilacs making little lilacs.......they sure do! To prune a lilac, first sharpen everything.......that's tough wood! Then cut out about 20-30% of the oldest stems, right down to the ground. Then cut out 70% of the suckers. Next year, cut out another 20-30% of the oldest stems and about half of the remaining suckers. From now on, cut out 20-30% oldest stems and all but about 5 or so suckers. When you are finished, come do mine as I haven't touched them in about 8 years another case of do as I say, not as I do. ON that note, I did cut a lilac back to one stem! Next year I got a few suckers, I saved a few. Next year a few more, etc. Finally the suckers can support bloom so the old one legged duck is gone and I've not a nice size lilac. |
| Hey guys- aren't there also types of scale insects that are white and fuzzy? Umm.. I seem to remember something about them when reading one of my houseplant books. Scale was always my biggest issue with inside plants- but I always had the little black guys, never the white fuzzy ones...
Anyhow- Maxmm- if none of the pests we've described seem to fit the bill- put one of the infected leaves in a SEALED ziplock baggie (to prevent spreading the pest if it is a bug), and take it to your local garden center for identification- the associates are usually happy to help you identify the problem- and naturally to try to sell you a solution!
Karen |
| Thanks guys! I will try the aforementioned treatments and report back. If all else fails, I will tear everything out and grass right up to the house. (Just kidding but it would be a lot easier!) |
| Loved all the information. When I had all my dogs I never had time for flowers, etc. But, now, I'm looking for something to put in an empty kennel, whoops, I mean yard. lol
Well, I didn't have to look long. Seems I have something in the kennel area that is doing the one thing my 5 dogs didn't do. That's digging!!! I have a mole or moles. Could someone please tell me how to get rid of these little creatures??? If I can't have my sheepies, I sure don't want a pet/s that stays underground!!! |
| Here's a site with good fact sheets on garden topics-
Hi mouthypf- There is a fact sheet on moles, they seem to favor traps. ( There are other options check with your local garden center) www.uri.edu/ce/factsheets/indices/list.html |
Iriskmj: Yes, some fuzzy white things are scale insects. Many different species, even families of scale, some indoors mostly, others outside. Another fuzzy critter is wooly apple aphid.....my bane. This aphid is easy to control on top, but the real damage is done on the roots unreachable by insecticides. So I have 5 crabapples and several apples that grow about an inch a year......unplanned dwarfs 
Scale, but it the fuzzy kind or the hard shell kind can be picked off. Mildew doesn't come off by picking. Scale have this coating to protect the insect against attack including chemical. Treatment is most often with a systemic insecticide which gets into the plant's juices. Of course you wouldn't treat an edible plant with a systemic. Oh mouthypf: I'm sorry to hear about the moles. Yes, they must be controlled before you plant or else they'll eat all the roots. One silly control I heard about was throwing unchewed Juicy Fruit gum into their tunnels. They love the gum but it gives them terminal constipation. I have no idea if it really works nor have I read scientific study either (I don't think.......something in the back of my brain says I have.....) Once animal free, the ground will have to be dug completely as the little feet in the kennel have compacted the soil, pushing soil particles together excluding pore space and oxygen. Add compost to the soil to get the friendly bacteria, fungi etc back in and any needed nutrients. If in a dry climate, flood the soil several times to push any residual salts down and then plant as desired. Yes, grass is often the easiest as we have a whole industry devoted just to grass culture and the resulting tools to help us maintain it (golf course industry). Alas, here in a dry climate where water availability is questionable, grass is considered wasteful. |
SheepieBoss wrote: One silly control I heard about was throwing unchewed Juicy Fruit gum into their tunnels. They love the gum but it gives them terminal constipation. I have no idea if it really works.. Thanks for the info everyone. As a child, we went camping, had a radiator leak on the way home, Granny had Juicy Fruit in her purse, we all chewed, dad put it on the hole, and wa lah, no leak. Of course, we had to stop a few times so he could put on a fresh batch. But, thanks to the gum, we made it home.
I'll give the gum a try. As a scientific experiment.
Can't hurt nothing, but maybe the moles. |
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