Gardening Questions and Pictures

[TheWomanWithin 0]

We have something like them here - I was shocked to find out that it's against the law to do anything to them.

I will have to ask my husband again what exactly they told him - when he went to USF that's when he found out about the law. That was years ago so it might have changed now.

But just a thought about finding out if it is in your state also.

[kim2bhealthy 3]

Okay people, I don't know anything about gardening, but I gotta say that you guys are doing some awesome things with your yards and gardens! Very impressive!

About the mole thing... my grandmother (83 years old, on oxygen and avid gardener with a major green thumb) bought some little battery operated things that you stick in the ground to get rid of them. These things emit some kind of sound that moles don't like... I thought that might be an alternative to traps.. She deployed this method after she got ticked off at the moles because they ate all of her Easter Lily bulbs a couple of years ago.. I had sold the Lilys to her when I was in kindergarten (I'm 34 years old now) for a school fund raiser and every year they would bloom and she would call me over to her house and we would admire them... Now she is determined to win the battle against the moles! I'll try to find out if she is winning the battle and let you guys know more about the device!

[Victoriana 10]

Dear friends, I am looking for a particular herb called Habyzi. It is a middle eastern herb, and a friend uses it and can only get it from friends in the Middle East as she doesn't know what the American name for it.I:confused: know where to find Hyssop, but not the Giant Hyssop. Do any of you know about these herbs? I'm not getting anywhere searching the web. I do not know the correct spelling of habyzi Ha-By-zi.

I'm hoping someone from the middle east will find this and fill in the many blanks I have.

Thanks!!

[Victoriana 10]

If you want to permanently git rid of vegetation in an area, you can pour oil on the soil. Nothing will ever grow there again.. So be careful!

[shellyj. 0]

i would just like to say WOW!!! i mean WOW!!! its really neat seeing everyones yards and creations!

i have been working my BEHIND off in the yard and tomorrow when i finish THIS weekends projects i will take some pictures.

we just bought this house over the winter and are finding that nobody has taken care of the yard in QUIET some time! everything is grown up. we are getting married here in a month. it was proffessionaly landscaped by the previous owners but it needed LOTS of tlc. we still have a ways to go but have done a lot. i may need some tips or have questions on what to plant. i hear our soil is very acidic.

[Carlene 12]

My double-throated yellow Iris. I want a Water feature in my backyard...I'm so jealous!

[paula 4]

Carlene, that is BEAUTIFUL! I love yellow flowers.

Kare, Im having the problems with white flies on my hibiscus. Any suggestions?

[3loves 0]

Carlene ~ How gorgeous!! I've never seen an Iris in that color. Looking at your avatar, it seems yellow is your color. :biggrin1:

[j.s. 0]

Oh my, such beutiful gardens you all have! I am ashamed to say that my little planted areas (after seeing all your gardens) is a pathetic sad little attempt to have a flower garden! This year I have a new WOW to my list of plants I can kill.... yes I am in the process of killing marigolds.... who kills a marigold? Between me and the stray cat and a cute little yellow bird who keeps eating the flowers off.... it is a joint project. Maybe I should try to grow a rock garden, bet that would be hard to kill.... even for me.

[HarleyNana 10]

For all you flower lovers, I thought you might find this interesting.... Clever Ways to Get Rid of Garden Pests, (from Bottom Line Secrets)

Once your plants become established outdoors, it won't be long before critters invade your garden. Whether it's beetles feasting on your flowers or deer devouring the Tomato plants, here's how to get rid of pests without resorting to dangerous poisons...

BUGS

Aphids. These tiny, green-gray bugs can suck the life from vegetables, flowers and tree leaves. They usually travel in large swarms so, despite their small size, they can devastate a garden.

Aphids are repelled by the scent of citrus rind. Combine one tablespoon of freshly grated citrus rind with one pint of boiling Water, steep overnight, strain the mixture through a coffee filter, then pour it into a spray bottle. Add three drops of dishwashing liquid, and spray affected plants and those nearby.

If that doesn't do it, buy an insecticidal soap at a garden store. Test it on one or two plants -- insecticidal soaps may do as much damage as aphids. If the sprayed plants show signs of leaf browning, curling or spotting within the next three days, don't use the soap. Otherwise, spray aphid-affected plants every five to seven days as long as the problem persists. Be sure to spray the undersides of leaves as well as the tops.

Japanese beetles. These shiny, half-inch-long copper-colored beetles with green and white markings are a familiar but unwelcome sight to gardeners in the eastern US. Japanese beetles are particularly fond of rosebushes and grape and raspberry plants, but they'll eat virtually any plant.

To fight back, put soapy Water in a wide bowl and hold it under the branches of beetle-affected plants. Gent­ly shake the branches. Most of the beetles will drop into the bowl and drown.

A long-term solution is to apply milky spore disease powder -- available at garden stores -- to your lawn near your garden as directed on the label. In two to five years, the disease will take hold, killing beetle grubs in the soil. The disease is harmless to humans, pets and beneficial insects.

Slugs and snails. These pests eat holes through broad-leaf plants. To limit damage, place a few empty tuna or cat food cans in the soil up to their brims. Then pour beer into them. Slugs and snails are attracted to beer and drown in the cans. Use long-handled tweezers to remove the dead pests, or dump the contents -- beer and all -- on your compost pile. Then add more beer to the cans. Install beer traps in spring before slugs and snails have a chance to reproduce.

Also put a few boards on the ground in your garden. Slugs and snails love the moist shade underneath. Every day or two, pick up the boards and scrape the collected critters into a pail of soapy water. Remove the boards in autumn so that slugs and snails can't seek shelter there during cold weather.

Helpful: You will substantially reduce your garden's slug and snail popula­­tion if you water your garden in the morn­­­ing rather than the afternoon. That way, the soil will be dry by night, when these creatures are active, robbing them of the moisture they need to survive.

ANIMALS

Deer. Deer are naturally mistrustful of certain scents. You can hang cheesecloth bags of human hair (hair is available at salons and barber shops) around your garden. Dirty socks or bags of soap also may do the trick.

Organic deer-repellent sprays, such as Deer Away Deer Repellent and Hinder Deer, have odors that are offensive to deer but not to humans. You can expect to spend $25 and up per gallon at a garden store. Odor-based solutions such as these will not stop all deer, but they can cut plant loss in your garden by 30% to 50%.

The only way to stop most deer is with an electric fence. Expect to spend several hundred dollars at a home or garden store for a fence kit large enough to protect a 50-by-50-foot garden. To keep deer from jumping over your fence, smear Peanut Butter on aluminum foil tabs and attach them to the fence (always turn off the power before touching the fence). Deer that lick the Peanut Butter will receive a small shock and learn that your garden is best avoided. An electric fence is not an option for households with young children. You also can switch to the following plants that deer don't like -- or create a living fence of these plants around your yard...

Flowers: Begonias, daffodils, foxglove, globe thistle, iris, lavender, marigolds, meadow saffron, peony, scented geraniums, snapdragons, stars of Persia, sweet alyssum, strawflowers, yarrow, zinnias.

Trees and bushes: American holly, boxwoods, Caucasian daphne, Sawara false cypress, Japanese pieris, northern red oak, pine, red osier dogwood, rugosa rose, spruce.

Rabbits. Rabbits can ravage gardens, consuming everything from vegetables to seedlings. If rabbits are the culprits, you'll find hard, pea-sized dark brown droppings in neat piles.

You can try scaring rabbits away with fake snakes. Cut an old garden hose into serpentlike lengths, and place the pieces throughout your garden.

If that doesn't work, another way to protect your garden is to construct a two- to three-foot-high chicken wire fence around it. The fence must extend at least six inches beneath the ground so rabbits can't burrow under it.

Voles. These tiny rodents can consume close to their body weight in tubers and bulbs each day as they tunnel through your garden.

When you plant bulbs, arrange a handful of sharp crushed gravel around them in the holes to keep voles away. Remove wood chips and mulch from the vicinity of young trees and shrubs in autumn so that voles have less cover during cold weather, when they eat mainly tree roots.

Gardeners with serious vole problems can plant their crops in wooden frames with quarter-inch or smaller wire mesh stapled to the bottom (frames are available at garden stores). The mesh allows roots to grow out but prevents voles from tunneling in. Or grow daffodils, one of the few garden bulbs that voles (and squirrels) won't eat.

[3loves 0]

Great info....thanks Pat!! I will keep this on my hard drive for future reference. :biggrin1:

[paula 4]

Pat, thats some good stuff.

I have a question...

who came up with the beer and slug idea???

Since Mike has his own brewery out back, this should be in interesting one to try.

Drunk slugs. go figure.

and a vole.

Is that the same as a mole??

Those little things are so cute.

[Carlene 12]

We feed the wildlife....squirrels, birds, rabbits. This year the bunnies blessed us with babies. Here is a picture of one. Unfortunately, the neighbor's dog killed one (out of four).

They eat our Tomato plants, so we put wire cages around them (the plants, not the rabbits...LOL). Our next door neighbor has an herb garden and they love those. He jokes that when he makes rabbit stew, the meat will already be well seasoned.

[FunnyDuddies 6]

Carlene that is too funny.

All of you have inspired me. I have a potted gardenia that I just love. And a new backyard that is just plain old grass. I hate it. We have no fence between us and the neighbors on both sides, and it is pretty much a long thin yard. I am thinking of doing some natural borders to break up the yards, and leaving the lower half open for the kids, and access to the neighbors' (we visit often). I want to lay some concrete pavers, or pour some concrete in the back to extend the porch a bit. I am a big fan of fragrant flowers. I want to plant lots of gardenias, and jasmine. There is a ground cover version of jasmine that is all over the place here. I am thinking of getting some cuttings and plant it in our front by the front door. It smells amazingly sweet when it is all in bloom.

[3loves 0]

I just had to share a pic of one of my hydrangea plants. The pink bloom is about finished as you can tell....I should have taken the pic sooner. I think the acid in the soil determines the color, but I wonder why/how the same plant produces 2 different colors. Any hydrangea experts out there? :eek: