Category: Home & Garden

Plant dozens of annuals in a snap with this drill and auger combo

Tested by Marti Neely

When planting en masse, I need more power than my favorite trowel or shovel can deliver. To zip through this task, I use my Milwaukee 18-volt cordless compact hammer drill and attach a 24-inch-long, 3-inch-wide auger bit from TCBWFY to it. With this stellar combo, I can plant a flat of 18 annuals in about 15 minutes, or 15 flats in 2½ hours. It’s even more efficient when I’m installing bulbs, as I can easily drill holes in the smallest of spaces and between plants. When using this drill and auger, you must drill deeper than you would dig with a trowel, as the loose soil will fall back as you pull the drill bit out. With compacted soil, you can also use a drill and auger to turn over and fluff the surface of the soil, preparing it for planting. The battery on this drill is powerful and long lasting, but I recommend that you have a second one as a backup in case you run out of power or decide to buy more plants. The drill can be purchased on its own or with two batteries and a charger.

This multipurpose cutter saves countless trips to the tool shed

Tested by Carol Collins

The Bessey MultiSnip has sharp, stainless-steel blades that efficiently cut through all kinds of materials that would ruin your good pruners or scissors. This 5½-inch-long workhorse easily snips through rope, twine, burlap, plastic, leather, paper, cardboard, and even thin wire or sheet metal. It also cuts cleanly through plant stems as thick as a matchstick, making it handy for deadheading, spring cutbacks, flower and veggie harvesting, root pruning, and general cleanup. A spring opens the blades automatically, reducing hand fatigue for repetitive cuts. The convenient, thumb-operated lock holds the blades closed for storage, and since the tip is rounded, this tool will slip into your pocket without snagging or poking through. The best part is that it’s affordable enough to buy multiples to have on hand in the house and garden shed.

Source: acmetools.com

Price: $13

Use this ingenious tool to open your garden gate with just one touch

Tested by Janet Endsley

Do you have a gate that is difficult to open, espe­cially when your hands are full? Perhaps you have to reach through a narrow gap, or the latch is placed too low and you’ve had to add an unsightly string to pull. The Gate Lever, invented by a ­female gardener in Washington State, is a perfect addition to most gates. It attaches to a post on the top (pictured), front, or side, depending on your fence. It only takes a few screws to install and connects to your existing latch with a strong chain. With just a light tap, the gate opens. Since installing this lever, I no longer have to reach awkwardly (and painfully, due to shoulder problems) through the opening in my gate to reach the latch, saving me time and muscle strain. There are four designs and two colors (black or silver), and even a design for very narrow 2-inch-wide posts.

Source: thegatelever.com

Price: $22 to $31

Creating a garden with a backbone of colorful, interesting foliage ensures interest even when nothing is in bloom or if inquisitive deer decide to taste-test the flower buds. Varying the texture and height of plants also disguises any indiscriminate munching that would be very obvious in a monoculture. This garden exhibits those principles while also utilizing a selection of deer-resistant plants to keep the space looking good year-round despite pest pressure. Here are some of the key plants that tie this design together.

1. Wine & Roses^® weigela

Name: Weigela florida ‘Alexandra’

Zones: 4–8

Size: 4 to 5 feet tall and wide

Conditions: Full sun to partial shade; well-drained soil

Native range: Korea, Japan, northern China

This shrub is perfect for the back of the border, offering height, screening, colorful foliage, vibrant flowers, and reliable deer resistance.

To learn more about Wine & Roses^® weigela, and discover more deer-resistant plants to replace common deer favorites, check out 32 Plants for Sun and Shade That the Deer Won’t Devour

2. Lady’s mantle

Name: Alchemilla mollis

Zones: 3–8

Size: 1 to 1½ feet tall and 1½ to 2 feet wide

Conditions: Partial shade; moist, well-drained soil

Native range: Eastern Europe

Lady’s mantle has seduced many a gardener with its froth of diminutive chartreuse flowers and softly pleated leaves. It’s a fabulous addition to the cut-flower garden as well as ornamental borders. This perennial is not for the faint of heart, however, as it self-seeds with abandon and may need regular thinning out.

3. ‘Palace Purple’ heuchera

Name: Heuchera ‘Palace Purple’

Zones: 4–9

Size: 1 to 2 feet tall and wide

Conditions: Full sun to partial shade; well-drained soil

Native range: Hybrid

It’s not the latest or greatest, but this heuchera may well be the toughest of them all. ‘Palace Purple’ has large, shiny, bronze-purple leaves and tall creamy-white flower scapes. Although rabbits and deer often favor heuchera, this selection will excite them less than most.

4. ‘Caesar’s Brother’ Siberian iris

Name: Iris sibirica ‘Caesar’s Brother’

Zones: 4–9

Size: 3 to 3½ feet tall and 1½ to 2 feet wide

Conditions: Full sun to partial shade; moist soil

Native range: Northeastern Europe, central Asia

The strap-like foliage of ‘Caesar’s Brother’ Siberian iris provides valuable texture, while the classic blue flowers bloom well in both full sun and partial shade. Unlike bearded iris, Siberian iris prefers moisture-retentive soil and even tolerates wet conditions.

5. Giant allium

Name: Allium giganteum

Zones: 5–8

Size: 3 to 5 feet tall and 1½ to 2 feet wide

Conditions: Full sun to partial shade; medium to dry, well-drained soil

Native range: Central and southwestern Asia

Rising to 5 feet tall with spherical blooms the size of softballs, this ornamental onion makes a statement in early summer. Because of their stature the stems may need staking, so planting them in an area with protection from strong winds is advised.

6. ‘Victoria’ weigela

Name: Weigela ‘Victoria’

Zones: 4–8

Size: 4 to 6 feet tall and wide

Conditions: Full sun to partial shade; well-drained soil

Native range: Hybrid

‘Victoria’ is a compact variety of weigela that features dark foliage and hot-pink tubular flowers hummingbirds enjoy. Like all weigelas, it adapts to a variety of soil types and thrives in full sun.

7. ‘Husker Red’ penstemon

Name: Penstemon digitalis ‘Husker Red’

Zones: 3–8

Size: 2 to 3 feet tall and 1 to 2 feet wide

Conditions: Full sun; medium to dry, well-drained soil

Native range: Eastern North America

Even without flowers, this penstemon would be worthy of inclusion in the garden for its drought tolerance, deer resistance, and richly colored leaves. Yet the tall spires of white, tubular flowers that bloom in spring are a bonus appreciated by hummingbirds and bees.

8. Bearded iris

Name: Iris cv.

Zones: 3–9

Size: 2 to 4 feet tall and 2 feet wide

Conditions: Full sun; well-drained soil

Native range: Central and southern Europe

Thriving in full sun, bearded irises offer bold foliage that contrasts with the elliptical leaf forms of many shrubs and perennials. The flowers come in a wide array of colors, including multihued ones. The yellow blooms in this planting add a stunning pop of color. Plant the rhizomes with the “knuckles” showing; planting too deep can cause rot and reduce flower production.

Karen Chapman is a landscape designer in Duvall, Washington, and the author of Deer-Resistant Design: Fence-Free Gardens That Thrive Despite the Deer.

Most likely, you won’t use the whole bag of grass seed unless you’re reseeding your whole yard. There will be some left over if you’re only reseeding a few spots. It’s not cheap to buy grass seed, and it usually comes in large amounts, so you’ll have plenty for later use. But does grass seed go bad?

If grass seed goes bad, how can you tell if it’s been turned, and how to store it so that it stays in good shape for as long as possible?

Key Takeaways

• Grass seed has different shelf lives based on the type, quality, storage conditions, and dates when it expires. For the best results, you should use fresh grass seed.
• Keeping grass seeds alive over time requires the right way to store them. People who own their own homes should keep grass seeds in cool, dry places that are out of direct sunlight and moisture.
• Low germination rates can happen when grass seed is old or not viable, which can make it hard to establish a yard and hurt plant health. Before planting, germination tests can help you figure out if the seeds will grow or not.

Does Grass Seed Go Bad?

Of course grass seed goes bad, but not in the same way that a fruit or veggie does when it rots. Grass seed just stops growing as it gets older. The rate of sprouting per unit of seed goes down, so you need to spread out more seed to cover the area.

How Old Is Too Old?

Grass seed can last for two to three years if it is kept in a cool, dry place. However, it might not grow as well as new seed. As seeds get older, fewer of them will be able to sprout. This means you have to use more seeds than usual to cover the area properly.

You can test older seeds by putting a paper towel in a Styrofoam coffee cup and adding an inch of water. Then, sprinkle grass seed on top of the paper toweling and placing the cup in a warm, sunny window. Check on it every few days and water it if it needs it so it doesn’t dry out. To make a small greenhouse, put a plastic bag on top of the cup. After 10 to 14 days, the seed should start to grow in the cup.

Factors That Affect Grass Seed Longevity

If you don’t keep your seed in a scientifically verified seed bank, it will go bad over time. Some of the things that cause grass seed to go bad faster can be avoided, but some of them can’t.

Time is the most important thing that affects your grass seed. Grass seed usually lasts between two and three years before it starts to sprout less quickly. The grass seed’s useful life will be shortened by heat, light, moisture, and wind.

To make your grass seed last longer, don’t store it where it is warm, bright, wet, or open.

Signs Your Grass Seed Is Expired

If you need to re-seed an area with old grass seed but aren’t sure if it will still grow, try these tests:

• Put some grass seeds in a glass or bowl of water and watch how many float. This is called the “float test.” Most likely, your seed is good if more than 80% of them float.
• Do a germination test. This is the most accurate way for the normal gardener, but it takes a lot of time. Get 100 seeds and put them on a paper plate with wet soil on top of it. Place the plate somewhere sunny and wrap it in plastic wrap. Every day or two, use a spray bottle to keep the dirt wet. Count how many green sprouts you have after a week. If you get 80 or more, your grass is still alive. A paper towel and water on a window sill will do the same thing, but it will be less controllable. You have to count the seeds because the ones that didn’t grow will be hidden in the ground and you won’t be able to see them.
• Checking out physically: Pay close attention to the seed. Does it look and feel light? Does it have a uniform color? Does it smell clean and not musty? Seeds that are still alive will look hard and whole, and they will weigh more than seeds that are no longer alive.

How To Correctly Store Grass Seed

The most important thing you can do to store grass seed correctly is to make sure the bag is properly sealed again. Use more than one chip clip or office clip. In the event that you have an extra fridge in the garage or basement, put the seeds in the veggie crisper drawer. (The fridge is a great place to keep seeds for a long time.) If you don’t have a fridge, an empty covered cooler or a resealable storage bag is the next best thing to keep grass seed in. This is especially true if you live in a cooler area.

The Shelf Life Of Grass Seed

To figure out how long grass seed will last, you need to know how viable the seeds are.

Understanding Seed Viability

The power of a seed to sprout and grow into a healthy plant is called its viability. An alive grass seed has all the important parts it needs to grow, like embryos, endosperms, and energy stores that are still whole.

How long grass seeds stay alive depends on things like the type of grass, how it is stored, and its general quality. For example, if the right steps are taken to store perennial ryegrass seeds, they may last longer than Kentucky bluegrass seeds.

Additionally, better grass seeds tend to stay alive longer than their inferior peers.

Why It’s Not A Good Idea To Use Old Seeds

If you try to grow a new lawn using old grass seed, you might not get good results. It’s not a good idea because the seed loses its viability over time, making it less likely to sprout. As a result, you may end up with bald spots and thin patches in your lawn.

Using old grass seed could also mean using lower-quality seeds that have been stored for too long without being inspected for the right environmental conditions.

Buying new grass seed will definitely give you better results because it has higher germination rates, which means it will grow as much as possible and give you the lush greens you want.

FAQ

Is It Ok To Use Really Old Grass Seed?

You can use really old grass seed, but after two or three years, there will be a lot fewer seeds that will still grow. This means that you will still need to use more grass seed to cover a field, even if you store it in a cool, dry place.

How Long Will A Bag Of Unopened Grass Seed Last Before It Goes Bad?

Two to three years after being stored in a cool, dry place, grass seed that has not been opened will have a noticeable drop in the percentage of seeds that will grow.

How Long Will A Bag Of Opened Grass Seed Last Before It Goes Bad?

If you store grass seed in a cool, dry place and make sure the bag is properly sealed, it will last for two to three years before the number of seeds that grow will start to drop.

It’s not just you who has had trouble getting rid of ants in your vegetable yard. People who have to deal with ants may find them annoying, but there are some natural ways to get rid of them. Here are some easy ways to get rid of ants in your yard. Stay tuned for more great blog posts about gardening!

Identifying the ants and their habits in your vegetable garden

You need to figure out what kind of ants are bothering you in your yard before you can get rid of them. Ants come in a lot of different types, and each one has its own habits and likes. There are different kinds of ants, like fire ants, red imported fire ants, carpenter ants, worker ants, garden ants, and yard ants.

If you know what kind of ant you have, you can use ways of control that are specifically made for that kind.

5 Types Of Ants

Depending on the type of ant, it can either hurt or help your yard. Find out what kind of ants are living in your yard before you get rid of an ant colony. This will help you make sure you don’t get rid of a beneficial species. Here is a list of some common types of ants:

• Black ants: Black ants are good for flower beds because they help the soil breathe and spread pollen. These ants eat the plant’s nectar and protect it from other pests that are bad for it, like fly larvae and aphids.
• Carpenter ants: These are a type of ant that lives in forests and are native to many parts of the world. Carpenter ants eat through wood and leave big holes in it. They do this to trees and wooden parts of homes and buildings, hurting them. These ants are bad for vegetable fields because they eat wood that supports some plants.
• Leafcutter ants: These ants are pale brown and have spines on the backs of their bodies. These ants take off the leaves of plants to get the fungi they eat. If you don’t get rid of leafcutter ant colonies right away, they can destroy whole crops if you don’t.
• Stinging fire ants: Fire ants, which are also called red ants, like open, sunny places where they can spread quickly and make big mounds up to seven inches high. When outside forces upset their mounds, these ants become aggressive, swarming the intruders and stinging them many times with poison. They also damage vegetable areas because they eat corn and watermelon seedlings.
• Yellow meadow ants: Just like black ants, yellow meadow ants are safe to have in your yard. These ants live below ground and only come to the surface when their nest is scared. Even though they add nutrients to the soil, they can make flower beds look ugly with their mounds.

Different Ways To Get Rid Of Ants Naturally

A few different methods can help you get rid of ants in your yard without using chemicals once you know what kind of ant it is. Here are some ideas:

Use Physical Barriers

You can put something between the ants and the top of your plants if they are moving up the stalks. Putting a strip of cloth or paper around the plant’s base is one way to do this. Ants will not be able to get through this.

Another easy way to do this is to put gravel around the edge of your flower bed. Because ants don’t like going on gravel, this will be a wall they won’t want to cross.

Vinegar

Vinegar naturally keeps ants away. In a spray bottle, mix equal parts water and vinegar. Spray this mixture around the edges of your flower bed or on an ant hill. Ants will stay away from your plants because of the smell of vinegar.

A Mixture Of Cornmeal, Borax, And Honey

This mix will keep ants out of your garden and kill them. Mix flour, borax, and honey in equal parts to make it. Then, sprinkle the mix all the way around your plant bed. The ants will get sick from the food and die.

Aphid Control Pesticides

Aphids are common yard pests that can make ants want to eat your plants. Aphids can be killed with insecticidal soap or horticultural oil if you find them in your yard. This will help keep ants out of your yard.

Lemon Juice

Another natural way to keep ants away is to use lemon juice. A spray bottle with equal parts water and lemon juice should be used to cover the outside of your plant bed. Ants will stay away from your plants if they smell like lemon.

Baking Powder And Sugar

The ants will die from this mix. To make it, mix sugar and baking powder together in equal parts. After that, sprinkle the mixture around the plants in your yard. The ants will get sick from the food and die.

Brewed Coffee Grounds

Ants naturally stay away from coffee grounds. Then, sprinkle them around the garden bed’s edge to keep ants away from your plants.

Cream Of Wheat

Ants will also die from this mix. Mix cream of wheat and water together in equal parts to make it. Then, sprinkle the mix all the way around your plant bed. The ants will get sick from the food and die.

Diatomaceous Earth

Diatomaceous Earth, or “DE,” is a coarse rock that has been broken up into very small pieces. It’s made up of very small diatoms that have turned into polymers and lost their water. People usually think of it as safe, but there are different kinds, like food-grade diatomaceous earth, which is usually okay to eat.

But there is a chance of something going wrong. If you use diatomaceous earth in your yard, it will kill most types of bugs, both good and bad. Because of this, you should only use it in places where there are specific ant problems.

Borax And Sugar

This powder is made by mixing boric acid and sugar together. It also works against ants. Mix equal parts of borax and sugar to make it. Then, spread this mixture all the way around your flower bed’s edge. The ants will eat the mixture and die from getting sick from it.

Cayenne Pepper

Cayenne pepper naturally keeps ants away. A spray bottle with equal parts water and cayenne pepper should be used to cover the outside of your plant bed. Ants will stay away from your plants if they smell cayenne pepper.

How to choose an appropriate method of ant control for your garden

There are a few things you should think about when picking an ant control method for your yard. First, think about what kind of plants you have. Different toxins can hurt different plants in different ways. If you have plants that are easily hurt, it’s best to use real barriers or natural traps.

Second, think about how big your yard is. If you have a big yard, it might be hard to use a chemical pesticide on the whole thing. In this case, it might be better to use a physical shield or a natural repellent.

Lastly, think about how bad the ant situation is. If you only have a small problem with ants, a natural repellant might work.

How To Prevent Ants From Damaging Your Vegetable Garden

Don’t let ants ruin your veggie garden. Here are some things you can do.

1) Keep Your Garden Clean

Clean up your vegetable fields by getting rid of trash and dead leaves. Ants will not be as interested in it after this.

2) Remove Aphids

Ants like aphids. Get rid of the aphids in your yard right away.

3) Use Physical Barriers

There are things you can put up, like dirt, to keep ants away from your plants.

4) Use Natural Repellents

There are some natural things that will keep ants away from your plants. Some of these are coffee grounds, cayenne pepper, and lemon peel.

5) Use Pesticides

You might need to use a chemical exterminator if you have a big problem with ants. Make sure the pesticide you pick can be used around food items without harm.

How Do Ants Harm Your Vegetable Garden?

Ants can hurt your veggie garden in a number of ways.

1) Ants Encourage Aphid Growth

Aphids are small bugs with soft bodies that eat plant sap. People often call them “plant lice.” Aphids are bad for your plants because they drain their sap. This doesn’t help the plant grow and can hurt it.

2) Ants Can Cause Property Damage

A lot of different things can be broken by ants. Ant groups can dig tunnels through the ground, which is bad for plant roots. They may also build their nests in cracks in foundations, walls, or floors, which could damage the building.

3) Ants Can Spread Diseases

People can get sick from ants going from one place to another. These animals do this by touching sick plants or animals and then spreading the bacteria that makes them sick to healthy plants or animals.

4) Ants Can Be A Nuisance

Ants can be a bother because they will come into your home to find food. When they build their homes in your yard, they can also be a bother. It can be hard to get rid of ants once they get into your home. If they make a nest in your yard, the ants can hurt your grass or plants.

5) Ants Can Bite

People can get bit by some ants. Most ant bites are not harmful, but some species have poison that can be very bad for your health. Once you get bitten by an ant, you should go to the hospital right away.

4 Advantages Of Having Ants In Your Garden

Garden ants are an important part of the environment because they spread nutrients around the soil and help natural processes happen. There are some other good things about having ants in your yard, too:

• They help things break down: Ants eat dead leaves and other insects, which helps things break down. Ants help spread nutrients throughout your garden by breaking down organic matter in the soil.
• Ants eat insect eggs, which keeps harmful insects from reproducing and hurting plants. This is a natural way to get rid of yard pests. Ants also eat caterpillars, which keeps them from eating leaves on plants.
• They raise the soil’s oxygen level: Ants do this by digging tunnels in the ground and bringing air to plant roots. By moving water and nutrients to plants, these tubes also help water drain away.
• Ants help spread pollen: Ants spread pollen by moving fallen seeds around in the dirt. Ant colonies eat the outside shell of seeds, but they leave the inside of the seed in the ground, where it grows into a new plant.

3 Disadvantages Of Having Ants In Your Garden

Ants are good for the soil, but they can be a pain for farmers because they damage structures and plant leaves. These are some more bad things about having ants in your garden:

• They help aphids grow: Aphids are tiny green bugs that are hard to see because they look like plant leaves. Aphids, on the other hand, hurt yard plants by eating their food. As the aphids eat on the plant’s nutrients, they leave honeydew on the stems, which draws ant colonies to them. Aphids grow faster in gardens where worker ants move them to different plants and protect them from enemies so they can keep eating.
• Ants eat plant leaves: Some ants, like leafcutters, eat plant leaves, which hurts garden plants and lowers food yields. Losing leaves can slow a plant’s growth because photosynthesis, the process by which plants turn light, water, and air into chemical energy, needs leaves.
• They destroy forests: Some kinds of ants, like carpenter ants, destroy forests. Even though these ants don’t hurt yard plants directly, they can eat away at the wood that holds your plants up. Carpenter ants can also move from your yard to your house, where they can make a nest and eat away at the foundation.

Many people don’t like walking on their lawns because of the sharp sand spurs that can quickly turn a nice walk into a painful one. These annoying weeds just seem to grow without any trouble. Their sharp, spiky seed heads let you know they’re there. A usual goal is to get rid of sand spurs, but it can be hard to do so without hurting the grass around them. Let’s look at some good ways to get rid of sand spurs and keep your grass lush and green.

Grass Vs. Sand Spurs

What Are Sand Spurs?

It is also called grass burrs or sandburs. Sand spurs are annual green weeds that are known for their sharp, thorny seed heads. These spikey structures are very good at sticking to skin, clothes, and even pet fur, making it uncomfortable and irritated.

Sand Spurs In The Lawn

Sand spurs are a big problem for homes when they get into lawns and other outdoor areas. They are not only ugly, but they also make these places less fun to be in and maybe even dangerous, especially for kids and pets.

Common Methods To Deal With Sand Spurs

There are a lot of different ways to deal with sand spurs, and each has its own pros and cons.

Chemical Herbicides

Chemical pesticides are often used to get rid of weeds because they work well. But many standard herbicides don’t pick which plants to kill; they hurt both weeds and plants you want to keep.

Manual Removal

Another choice is to pull sand spurs by hand, but this will take a lot of work. Manual removal may not be possible for bigger areas, but it can work for small infestations.

Natural Remedies

Herbicides made from chemicals can be replaced with natural treatments, but they don’t always work. It can also be hard to find a method that gets rid of sand spurs without hurting the grass.

The Challenge: Killing Sand Spurs Without Harming Grass

Getting rid of sand spurs is important to many homes, but it’s also important to keep the grass around them healthy and beautiful.

Why Chemical Herbicides May Not Be Ideal

It is possible for chemical pesticides to kill sand spurs, but they often hurt nearby grass and other plants as well. Concerns may also be raised about the effects of synthetic toxins on human health and the environment.

The Risks Of Manual Removal

Manual removal is good for getting rid of sand spurs precisely, but it might not be possible for bigger problems. The process can also take a lot of time and be hard on the body.

Exploring Natural Solutions

Natural methods look like a good way to get rid of sand spurs while also doing the least amount of damage to grass and other plants.

Vinegar Solution

It is possible to kill weeds with vinegar, especially the acetic acid it has. Sand spurs can die and wither if you put vinegar directly on them. This makes it easier to remove them by hand.

Boiling Water

Sand spurs can also be killed by pouring hot water over them. This method kills the weeds by boiling them and messing up their cell structure, which eventually kills them.

Corn Gluten Meal

If you use corn gluten meal on sand spurs and other weeds before they sprout, they won’t be able to grow. If you don’t want weed seeds to grow, corn gluten meal can help keep sand spurs away.

Solarization

Using solarization, a clear plastic tarp is put over the damaged area to trap heat from the sun and create a greenhouse effect. To get rid of weeds, like sand spurs, this method works well by raising the soil temperature to levels that kill plants.

Implementing Preventive Measures

In addition to getting rid of sand spur infestations that are already there, taking steps to stop future breakouts can also help.

Regular Lawn Maintenance

As long as you water, mow, and fertilize your yard the right way, sand spurs should not establish themselves. It’s harder for sand spurs to take hold when there is thick, healthy grass growing instead of weeds.

Strategic Planting

Sand spurs can be less of a problem if you carefully choose and plant grass types that are less likely to get damaged by them. Sand spurs can also be stopped from growing by putting up barriers with thick plants or landscaping features.

Mulching

Putting down a layer of organic mulch, like straw or wood chips, can help stop weeds, like sand spurs, from growing. Mulch is a natural way to keep weeds out because it suffocates new weeds before they can take root.

Conclusion

Homeowners may find it difficult to deal with sand spurs, especially when they are trying to keep their grass healthy. It is possible to get rid of sand spurs without hurting the plants around them by using a mix of natural treatments and preventative measures. There are many eco-friendly ways to get rid of sand spurs and enjoy a lush, weed-free yard, ranging from vinegar solutions to solarization.

FAQ:

Can Sand Spurs Be Harmful To Pets?

Pets can be hurt or uncomfortable by sand spurs, especially if they get stuck in their fur or paws.

How Quickly Can Natural Remedies Like Vinegar Or Boiling Water Kill Sand Spurs?

Natural treatments can have different effects, but within a few hours to a day, the plant may start to wilt and turn yellow.

Is It Possible To Completely Eradicate Sand Spurs From My Lawn?

It might be hard to get rid of sand spurs fully, but regular maintenance and targeted treatments can make them much less noticeable.

Are There Any Environmental Concerns Associated With Chemical Herbicides?

Chemical herbicides can hurt the earth in some ways, like polluting the water and soil.

What Is The Best Time Of Year To Tackle Sand Spur Infestations?

It is best to get rid of sand spur infestations in the spring and early summer, before they have a chance to fully take hold.

If you want to grow your own food, you need to know when to put vegetables. As part of a healthy diet, growing your own veggies from seeds is a great way to get fresh, organic food. It’s also a lot of fun and good for your health.

There are garden centers and online stores that sell seedlings and plug plants, but planting veggies from seeds is the most cost-effective way to grow food and gives you the chance to try many different kinds. But there are so many beautiful ones to pick from that it can be hard to know where to start.

This helpful vegetable calendar will help your kitchen garden ideas get off to the best start, whether you’re building a kitchen garden or just want to grow some vegetables in pots on your patio or porch.

When To Plant Vegetables

It can be hard to figure out when to plant vegetables because there are so many vegetable garden ideas and some veggies can be planted in every month of the year, from January to December.

If you want to start a kitchen garden, a vegetable calendar is a great place to start. It will help you plan crop rotations on your patch and let you know when to buy seeds so that you don’t miss out on growing your favorite veggies. Also, it can help you decide what plants to plants.

When you plant veggies will depend on your climate and weather, so while a vegetable calendar can help you plan, it’s also important to keep an eye on the temperatures in your area.

During the gardening season, it’s helpful to keep track of important weather information so you can make your own veggie planting schedule. The date of the last frost is a good way to figure out when to start planting tender plants.

Soil temperature is very important for seeds to sprout, and different seeds need different temperatures to germinate. To make sure the soil temperature is right for planting, you might want to buy a soil thermometer.

Always follow the directions on the seed packet, because different types of the same crop can have different planting and sowing times.

Pick The Right Location

Putting your yard in the right place is very important. Poor setting can lead to poor vegetables! Here are some ways to pick a good site:

• A sunny spot: Most plants need 6 to 8 hours of direct sunshine every day. Some vegetables, mostly green ones, can grow in some shade.
• Drains well and doesn’t stay wet: If your soil doesn’t drain well and water pools in it, put your vegetables in a raised bed or row to help the water drain away. Roots that are wet can rot, so make sure the dirt is dry. You should break up the rocks in your dirt and till it so that the roots can grow. If you don’t, the plants will be weaker.
• Stable and not windy: Stay away from places with strong winds that could blow over your young plants or stop insects from doing their job. You also don’t want to put in a spot that gets a lot of foot traffic or floods easily. Put the plants somewhere that would make Goldilocks happy—somewhere that is “just right.”
• Soil full of nutrients: The dirt you use feeds your plants. Thin, nutrient-poor dirt will make your plants look and feel bad. Add a lot of organic matter to the soil to help the plants grow.

Choosing A Plot Size: Start Small!

Remember that it’s better to be happy with a small garden than a big one!

Beginners often make the mistake of planting way too much too soon—way more than anyone could ever eat or want. Being careful with how you plan your garden is important unless you want zucchinis to move into your attic. Grow only what you and your family will eat at first.

Size Of Garden

• If you want to put in the ground, a 10′ x 10′ garden (100 square feet) is a good size. Choose three to five of your favorite veggies and buy three to five plants of each one.
• You can start with a 4′ x 4′ or 4′ x 8′ raised bed if you want to plant in one. Read our Raised Garden Bed Guide to learn why raised beds are a good idea, how to build one, and what kind of soil to put in one.
• If you want to go big, a 12′ x 24′ garden in the ground is probably the best size for you to start with. A family of four could have a garden with three hills of yellow squash, one mound of zucchini, ten different kinds of peppers, six tomato plants, twelve okra plants, two cucumbers on a cage, two eggplants, six basil plants, one rosemary plant, and a few low-growing herbs like oregano, thyme, and marjoram.
• No matter how big your garden is, make sure there are paths about every four feet that you can use to get to your plants to weed and gather. Make sure you can get to the middle of the row or bed without stepping on the dirt.

Five Tips For Choosing Vegetables:

• Pick the foods that you and your family enjoy. You shouldn’t plant Brussels sprouts if no one likes them. Do more work to grow a lot of green beans, though, if your kids really like them.
• Be honest with yourself about how many veggies your family will eat. Be careful not to plant too many things. Taking care of too many plants will make you too busy. (You could always give extra vegetables to family, friends, or the soup house in your area.)
• Think about how many vegetables are available at your local food store. You could grow tomatillos instead of cabbage or carrots, which are easy to find where you live. Also, some vegetables, like yard lettuce and tomatoes, taste so much better when grown at home that it’s almost a shame not to think about them. plants grown at home are also much cheaper than plants bought at the store.
• You will need to take care of your plants all through the growing season. Are you taking a summer break? Remember that the middle of summer is when tomatoes and zucchini grow the best. Someone needs to take care of the crops while you’re gone during the summer. You could also just grow cool-season vegetables like cabbage, kale, peas, and root vegetables in the late spring and early fall, when it is cooler.
• Make sure you use good seeds. It’s cheaper to buy seed packets than to buy individual plants, but your money and time are lost if the seeds don’t grow. You will get more crops when you gather if you spend a few extra cents on seeds in the spring.

What Month Do You Plant Vegetables?

It’s possible to plant some veggies from January to December of every year. If you want to know when to plant your veggies, a vegetable planting calendar can help. But the actual month you plant your vegetables will depend on your climate, growing zone, and the date of the last frost in your area.

Most of the time, March and April are the best months to plant hardy annual vegetables like broccoli, cabbage, chard, carrots, peas, and turnips outside, when the soil starts to warm up. From February on, you can start some of these indoors in a greenhouse or on a sunny window sill to give them a head start. When the weather gets warmer, you can put them outside.

From February on, you can plant vegetables that do well in a greenhouse, like tomatoes, peppers, aubergines, tomatoes, cucumbers, and chili peppers, that you can also grow outside.

From March on, half-hardy, frost-tender veggies like zucchini, pumpkin, sweet corn, and eggplant can be started indoors and moved outside when the risk of frost has passed. After this point, usually in late May or early June, frost-sensitive half-hardy annual veggies can be planted where they will stay or sown right outside.

From March to July, you can plant many veggies that grow quickly over and over again. These include radishes, beets, and spring onions.

Many hardy veggies, like cabbage, pak choi, spring cabbage, spinach, and chard, can be planted in July and August to be picked in the winter.

As the weather gets cooler in October, the growing season slows down. However, this is the best time to plant garlic. It’s still possible to plant winter greens and fava beans for an early spring crop.

Frequently Asked Questions

Should I Pick My Vegetables Before A Frost?

You should pick some kinds of veggies before it gets really cold. Some examples are tomatoes, which will keep getting riper even after being taken off the vine, and summer squash, which will wilt if it gets frost. Some lettuces, carrots, and peas can handle a small drop in temperature and may still be fine.

What Is A Hardiness Zone?

The USDA came up with the idea of a “hardiness zone,” which is a specific area of land where certain plants, like veggies, fruits, and flowers, will do well. More than that, it can tell you when the best time is to plant certain kinds and help you plan your garden for the seasons.

Do slugs and snails eat your plants and turn their leaves into Swiss cheese overnight? Animals that look like snails are very dangerous because they eat a lot and move very slowly, but they can do a lot of damage very quickly. People know them for chewing ugly holes in hosta leaves, but they will happily eat the tender leaves of any plant and fruits and veggies that are about to ripen.

What Damage Can Snails Cause?

Even though they are small, snails can do a lot of damage. Snails scrape the tips of plant leaves with their rough, rasp-like tongues. This leaves the plant with big holes and chips all over its surface, which can hurt or kill your plants.

But that’s not all they do.

When You See Snails, Get Rid Of Them Right Away For These Reasons:

• Snails hurt the output of crops. The snails will eat your plants and crops if you have a flower or vegetable garden on your land. They are especially bad for leafy greens.
• They can damage bodies of water. Slugs and snails feed on fish and can kill them in ponds and other water features that are just for looks. Also, these mollusks that like water have a lot of babies very quickly. They can damage your electronics and clog filters and pipes in your pond or pool.
• They make people sick. Schistosomiasis is one of the diseases and parasitic worms that snails carry that can be harmful to people and pets. They might be bad for your health if they are on your land.
• They don’t look good. No one wants to pick a fresh lettuce leaf from the yard and find a snail on it. Snails look bad and smell bad, and they will make your garden or yard less fun to be in.

Even though they like to damage things, slugs are an important part of the environment because they eat dead plants and provide food for toads, turtles, snakes, and birds. Many of these ways to get rid of slugs won’t hurt the plants, so you can use them to keep them away from certain plants instead of getting rid of them completely.

1. Identify Their Presence

If you have had slugs in the past, you should keep an eye out for them often to keep your plants from getting seriously hurt. They are most busy at night or on cloudy days when it is cool and damp, so you might need a flashlight to find them. Check the soil under plants and the low-growing leaves, especially in places that get shade. They may hide under rocks and flat stones as well.

Slugs and snails come in different sizes and colors, but their eyestalks, which can grow longer and look a bit like alien antennae, make them easy to spot. As these two bugs move, they leave behind a silvery slime trail that shows there are more of them.

2. Pick Them Off By Hand

This choice is not for people who are easily grossed out, but if you do it regularly, it can work very well. If you see a slug or snail, you should pick it off by hand (gloves will make the job less gross) and throw it into a bucket of clean water to get rid of it. Because slugs like to hide during the day, picking them by hand works best at night or early in the morning.

Visit the University of California Integrated Pest Management Program (UC IPM) to learn more about how to catch slugs and snails.

3. Set A Trap

Set up simple slug and snail traps all over your yard to catch a lot of these pests at once and make them easier to get rid of. This will save you time from having to remove slugs from each plant individually. Slugs can hide in upside-down grapefruit or melon rinds, or you can make a cool place for them to stay by putting flat boards on the ground and slightly raising them so they can crawl under them.

Putting beer in a shallow container, like a pie tin, is another good home fix. Slugs and snails will crawl into the trap and die because they like the smell of yeast. It works just as well with a mix of sugar, water, and yeast. Not so great things about beer traps are that they only work within a few feet and need to be refilled every day to really work.

4. Create An Unfavorable Habitat

Slugs and snails like to hang out in the yard in places that are wet, shady, and have a lot of mulch on the ground. They will also hide under logs, trees, and piles of leaves during the day when it is too hot.

Clean up your yard by getting rid of dead leaves and other plant matter. This is especially important in the fall, when slugs and snails are most likely to lay their eggs. If you use mulch, don’t put it down more than 3 inches thick, and keep it away from the plants’ bases so that slugs can’t dig through it to get to the roots that are covered.

Tip: To improve air flow in your garden, divide and thin your plants. This will make it easier for the soil to dry out on top. Slugs and snails will not use the spaces between plants as paths through the yard if you keep those areas dry.

5. Put Up A Barrier

To keep snails and slugs away from raised beds used for a vegetable or herb garden, you can use copper tape along the sides or on top of the frames. When their slime mixes with the copper, it makes them feel bad, like getting a small electric shock. If you don’t have raised beds, you can also put plants on the ground and wrap copper rings around them. Just make sure that none of the leaves hit the ground around the copper.

Dry diatomaceous earth spread around the garden’s edges can also work as a barrier since slugs don’t like the way it feels, which is sharp and gritty. But you have to put it down again after it rains or when you water because it gets washed into the ground. For gardening, make sure to use diatomaceous earth that is safe for food or a product made to get rid of pests.

Tip: Some farmers say that coffee grounds or crushed eggshells work well to keep slugs and snails away, but UC IPM says there is no clear evidence that they do. You should use the tried-and-true ways above instead.

6. Switch To Drip Irrigation

For another good way to keep slugs and snails off your plants, water them from above with a soaker hose or a drip irrigation system. This way, water won’t pool on the leaves. It’s also important when you drink. If you want to avoid slugs in the evening, always water your plants in the morning. If you want to keep your yard dry, you can also grow plants that can handle not getting much water.

7. Grow Plants They Don’t Like

Little garden pests like slugs and snails will eat almost anything, but their favorite foods are basil, beans, cabbage, hostas, leafy veggies, dahlias, marigolds, and strawberries. If you grow plants that slugs and snails won’t eat, you can get rid of them from parts of your garden where they are a big problem. In general, they will stay away from plants whose leaves smell strong (like lavender, rosemary, and sage), most woody plants, decorative grasses, and plants whose leaves are leathery, fuzzy, or prickly.

Tip: Plant plants that slugs and snails like, like marigolds, around the edges of your yard to catch them. They will keep slugs away from plants that are weak, making it easy to find and get rid of them.

8. Apply An Organic Slug Bait

Using an organic slug and snail bait in the spring is one of the best ways to start keeping slugs away. These baits are safe for pets, wildlife, and fruits and veggies that are ready to be picked. Most of these products have iron phosphate in them, which is a plant food that naturally happens in soil. They will still work after it rains or when you water, so you don’t have to keep applying them.

Chemical slug pellets or traps that contain metaldehyde should not be used. This poison can be harmful to both people and animals if they eat it. Since snails and slugs are most busy at these times, late afternoon or evening is the best time to put out slug bait.

What Do Snails Eat?

Snails eat organic matter, which includes many kinds of live plants as well as dead plants, crops, and plant leaves. They will also eat plants and flowers, but these are their favorite foods:

• Beans with basil
• Bowel of cabbage
• Hista Dahlia Delphinium
• Bibb lettuce
• Flowering plants
• Different vegetables

The brown garden snail is the most common snail that gets into California homes and gardens. It eats herbs, plants, and turfgrass.

It’s Joseph from northern Indiana again here today.

I love daffodils (Narcissus spp. and cvs., Zones 3–8). I mean, I think pretty much everyone does. Right now they are peaking in my garden, and there are so many fantastic varieties out there that I thought I would share a rundown of some of my very favorite selections and why I like them so much.

I’ve realized that I tend to like daffodils that are a soft shade of yellow, rather than the traditional bright yellow. It is just more pleasing to my eye, and I think it goes more easily with other colors in the garden. ‘Cassata’ does that color perfectly. It is a split-corona form, so instead of having the traditional central trumpet, it is split and pulls back like another layer of petals. It opens a soft yellow and then fades to cream, which I just love. The only downside is that this variety hasn’t been the most vigorous in my garden; the bulbs aren’t really multiplying. But it is still beautiful.

‘White Petticoat’ is just a few inches tall and looks so different from the usual forms, with its huge trumpet and tiny, almost unnoticeable petals around it. But for a tiny plant, it packs quite a punch. This cluster of blooms is from just one bulb, and it keeps blooming a long time, as after the first flowers begin to fade, more come up to replace them. I’ve planted this little beauty along the front of many of my flower beds, and it is a delightful spring edging.

‘Trena’ is in the Cyclamineus group of hybrids, with flowers that nod down a little and petals that pull back behind the bloom. This planting in the bed between my sidewalk and the street has been fantastic—very early, heavy flowering, and vigorous. This is just their second spring, and they’ve already started multiplying.

‘Moonlight Sensation’ is simply the heaviest-flowering daffodil I’ve ever grown. Each bulb puts up multiple bloom stems, each one with a cluster of delicate cream blooms. The display is amazing! I love this variety’s color, but if you prefer a stronger yellow, the sister variety ‘Sunlight Sensation’ is nearly identical but in a bright, intense yellow.

To end the daffodil season, I love this very old, late-blooming variety ‘Geranium’, which has big clusters of fragrant white blooms with a strong orange center. This variety was introduced nearly 100 years ago, and it is easy to see why it is still popular today. It has so much vigor, so many flowers, and such a great color.

‘Fellows Favorite’ is my choice for a classic, yellow, large-cupped daffodil. There are countless varieties that look pretty similar to this, but it is my favorite because of the sheer vigor, profusion of blooms, and details in each flower that reward a closer look. At the base of each petal, the yellow fades to a soft cream, which seems like a small thing but to me is just the perfect final touch to a perfect bloom.

This little charmer is called ‘Chiquitita’. This is from the jonquilla group of daffodil hybrids, which have clusters of small, very fragrant flowers. They are one of the best groups for southern gardens, but a lot of the selections don’t thrive in my northern Indiana garden. This variety has been the exception. It may be the most vigorous daffodil I grow. This clump started as just five bulbs but multiplied to this in just its second spring.

Have a garden you’d like to share?

Have photos to share? We’d love to see your garden, a particular collection of plants you love, or a wonderful garden you had the chance to visit!

To submit, send 5-10 photos to [email protected] along with some information about the plants in the pictures and where you took the photos. We’d love to hear where you are located, how long you’ve been gardening, successes you are proud of, failures you learned from, hopes for the future, favorite plants, or funny stories from your garden.

Have a mobile phone? Tag your photos on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter with #FineGardening!

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Last summer I was gifted three gorgeous daylilies (Hemerocallis cvs., Zones 3-10). Selections of a brand-new cultivar, they each featured multitudes of gorgeous yellow, red, and maroon multicolored flowers. I proudly planted them next to my mailbox, only to wake up the next morning to the sad sight of chewed off stumps with strappy foliage littering the ground. The beautiful flowers were nowhere in sight. Does this sound familiar?

White-tailed deer live throughout North America from Northern Canada through Mexico. They are an adaptable species that thrives in part because they can survive in many different climates and eat so many different types of plants. Unfortunately, this is not good news for gardeners, as many of our favorites, from perennials like my prized daylilies, to shrubs and trees like hydrangeas (Hydrangea spp. and cvs., Zones, 3-9) and arborvitae (Arborvitae spp. and cvs., Zones 3-9), are also the favorites of our furry, four-legged friends. In her article, 32 Plants for Sun and Shade That the Deer Won’t Devour, deer expert Karen Chapman gives gardeners choices of alternatives to some common plants preferred by deer. But what else can you do to fight the good fight to protect your garden?

Below is a collection of articles and videos that will tell you everything you need to know to deter deer from your garden. Learn about effective products and strategies that keep the deer away as well as ones that don’t work that well that you should avoid. Take a trip through the design process behind gardens built from the ground up to be pest-resistant without compromising beauty and diversity. Add to Karen’s list of deer alternatives with many more plants that deer stay away from. Get regional information from the Northeast to the Southwest on plants and strategies to keep your garden deer-free. And lastly, learn how to keep even your veggie garden safe from hungry herbivores.

Deer are not the only hungry critters that annoy gardeners. Many of the strategies and plants outlined in these articles will also work to deter other animals such as rabbits, gophers, and woodchucks. With this information at your fingertips, you have the best chance to save your landscape from the ravages of these pests. Good luck!

– Diana Koehm is the assistant editor.

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  Observe the yearly patterns of deer and target your controls accordingly

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  Southwest Regional Reports

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  How-To

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A few months ago we were at a nursery.

This is a dangerous thing for a plant hoarder.

While there, I saw an overgrown pot labeled “African iris,” and picked it up. When I got home, I divided the clump and repotted multiple irises in other pots to give them some breathing room.

Yesterday when Rachel and I were in the greenhouse, she said, “Oh – David – look at this! It’s so beautiful!”

It was one of those irises, and it was truly lovely.

It’s very pure white, like the robes of an angel – and the gold and violet make it look quite royal. The species is Dietes vegeta, and according to IFAS, it grows especially well in standing water:

This clumping, robust perennial has stiff leaves radiating up and out in a fan-shaped pattern. The flower spikes are topped with 3inch white flowers marked with yellow and blue. Although short-lived (about 2 days), the flowers are produced sporadically throughout the year, especially in spring and early summer. Plants grow to 4 or 5 feet tall in standing water, making it ideal for water gardens and wet soil. They reach about 2 to 3 feet in soil. African iris is also attractive when used as an accent planted in a shorter groundcover.

Long ago, I accidentally planted an iris in my pond, when I was supposedly gathering cattails.

My parents had yellow irises in the front planter of our house when I was a kid, and they’re still there decades later.

I’ve planted a few species of irises in our food forest thus far and will add some more. We got a blue walking iris recently, as well as a “Red Velvet Iris” that bloomed in the nursery:

Though you can’t eat them, irises are easy to grow and add joy to the garden.

Sometimes, that’s good enough.

It’s Joseph in Northern Indiana here today. As spring arrives, so many of our gardens are full of daffodils and tulips and other examples of spring-blooming species from around the world that I thought I’d take a moment to celebrate the spring bloomers that are native to my part of the world. The woodlands of the eastern half of North America are full of native spring-blooming wildflowers that just don’t get as much appreciation in gardens as some of the European species we’re all so familiar with.

This little wildflower is called purple cress (Cardamine douglassii, Zones 4–8). Native to a wide swath of eastern North America, it blooms in spring with these wonderful clouds of pink flowers. Like so many early spring bloomers, it then goes dormant and disappears for the summer.

Where purple cress is happy, it makes a great carpet of flowers. I’ve never seen it growing in gardens, though I’m not sure why. I want to try it this year if I can find a source.

Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis, Zones 3–8) is such a beautiful native spring bloomer—though the flowers last SUCH a short time that it isn’t always the best garden plant. But I love seeing it in the wild when I manage to catch it in flower.

Sometimes trout lily (Erythronium americanum, Zones 2–8) is mostly just leaves, but some forms flower heavily, and when they do, they’re as beautiful as any daffodil or tulip.

Of course, I have to include great white trillium (Trillium grandiflorum, Zones 2–8), which is such a beautiful native wildflower. It is easy to grow in a normal shade garden, just as long as you can protect it from deer.

Rue anemone (Thalictrum thalictroides, Zones 4–8) looks so delicate with almost ferny foliage and clouds of white flowers. But it is a tough little plant, thriving in even difficult shady sites with great spring flowers before going dormant in the summer.

Dutchman’s britches (Dicentra cucullaria, Zones 3–7) grows from tiny bulbs that give it its other common name of “squirrel corn.” I love the whimsical little flowers and ferny foliage.

Spring beauty (Claytonia virginica, Zones 3–9) lives up to its name, with its clouds of small pink flowers. In the wild and in gardens it will spread to form big carpets where it is happy.

Have a garden you’d like to share?

Have photos to share? We’d love to see your garden, a particular collection of plants you love, or a wonderful garden you had the chance to visit!

To submit, send 5-10 photos to [email protected] along with some information about the plants in the pictures and where you took the photos. We’d love to hear where you are located, how long you’ve been gardening, successes you are proud of, failures you learned from, hopes for the future, favorite plants, or funny stories from your garden.

Have a mobile phone? Tag your photos on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter with #FineGardening!

Do you receive the GPOD by email yet? Sign up here.

Edible Acres shares an easy method for propagating osage orange:

When I first moved to Alabama in August of 2020, I visited some properties up towards the center of the state on a consulting trip with a non-profit that was trying to buy land and start a ministry for veterans. There, we came across some fruiting Osage orange trees and I put some fruits in a bag in the back of one of the guy’s trucks. When we got back, I forgot to grab them – and then completely forgot about them for months, and when I remembered, I assumed he had thrown them out.

The next spring, he got in touch and said, “Oh, you left some fruits or something in my truck… they’re sprouting in the bags,” and then gave me my missing Osage orange fruits, now a blackened mess with growing shoots.

I potted them up, and now they’re more than 4′ tall. One got planted in the yard already.

Yesterday I also got some more bare-root osage trees in the mail which I plan to use as a hedge along the front of our property. They’re almost indestructible, as well as being impenetrable to wildlife (and humans) in tight plantings.

As Eliza Greenman writes in her fascinating article about the creation of Osage orange hedges:

For hundreds of years post colonization (and even today), the goal of many wealthy landowners was/is to have a landscape that mimics the English garden and countryside. One aspect of the English countryside that many people wanted to implement in the 18th and 19th centuries in order to keep livestock in (or out) of their property was that of the thorn-hedge, which was overwhelmingly constructed of English hawthorn in its home country. The problem with using this in the US was that the English hawthorn, an apple cousin, doesn’t like the heat, humidity or fireblight pressure of the Southeastern/Mid-Atlantic climate. When the American hawthorn was tried in its place, people soon found out that when planted densely in a hedge, it would get absolutely hammered by the apple borer. Other thorny plants were tried in its place, such as honeylocust (Jefferson planted juniper with honeylocust and trimmed them to 3 feet tall)- which did not keep pigs out or in, while others trialed trifoliate orange-which never grew tall enough, and the imported buckthorn- which did great in the Northeast (now loathed for how well it did) but underperformed in the South.

It wasn’t until Lewis (of Lewis and Clark) sent osage orange seedlings from the Osage tribe in Missouri to Jefferson (who then gave them to the Landreth Seed Company in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) for this tree to slowly start taking root in the East. 30 years later, a young Andrew Jackson Downing, noticing this tree on the grounds of the Landreth Seed Company, soon became it’s greatest champion.

When you start to dig deep into a landscape’s history, you may find relics of horticultural history hiding in plain sight. I now believe that the old osage orange trees growing in lines throughout pastures, woodlands, and alongside old roads are a remnant of Andrew Jackson Downing’s passion for employing this tree as a hedge and getting loads of influential early adopters on board in order to make this tree more accessible/affordable throughout the nursery trade. It has it all. Robust, thorns, vigor, glossy orange-tree like foliage, few insect problems, long-lived, can take a rough and severe pruning, and grows in lots of different soil types. Who wouldn’t get on board?!

We’ve always loved this tree. There was a nice specimen at the downtown library in (the horrible town of) Smyrna, TN, with a great shape to the trunk. I think it’s since been taken out, as I couldn’t find it last time we visited.

The older trunks can grow in fantastic twisting shapes, and the fruit is simply a bizarre addition to an already gnarly tree.

And if I had $2200 to blow, I would buy this Osage orange wood parlor guitar. I’ve always loved parlor guitars and haven’t owned one in years. To have it made of Osage is even better.

I’m not sure I’ll plant our trees as tight as Eliza recommends in her article, as we’re short on stock, but it is certainly tempting to start a ton more and create permanent hedgerows around our yard and pastures. Perhaps I can use some root cuttings from the bareroot trees we already have, before we put them in the ground. Now there’s a thought…

We’ll have some Osage orange trees for sale in the nursery soon. Though it’s not particularly useful as an edible, it’s one of the best hedge trees ever invented, with the added benefits of being a super rot-resistant wood, a lovely specimen tree, a good for making bows, great for wood-working, and a source of ammo for children to throw at each other.

You’ll find more on Osage Orange at Temperate Climate Permaculture (including the botanical image I nicked for the top of this article).

Also, if you’re interested in plant propagation and want to stop spending so much at plant nurseries, this book will help you immensely.

We’re visiting with Susan Warde in St. Paul, Minnesota, today. We’ve visited her garden before (The Summer That Was at the 45th Parallel and Rose Family Members in Susan’s Garden), but today she’s celebrating the gardening relationship she shares with her neighbor.

My next-door neighbor, Robin Carlson, and I have been gardening for decades. When we’re both out working at the same time, I’m reminded of a pair of toddlers, playing companionably side by side, each doing her own thing. We each have numerous plants that have come from the other’s garden. Often one of us will stroll next door with a question: Could you come over and see something? Where should this plant go? Do you know what’s wrong with these leaves? I’m thinking of swapping out these two plants—what do you think? Occasionally we go plant shopping together, coming home with the back seat full of greenery, a garden on wheels. I love photographing in her garden, and she has given me permission to share some of my favorite photos, which I took last summer. I’m looking forward to what this season will bring!

In April, bleeding heart (Dicentra spectabilis ‘Gold Heart’, Zones 3–8) brightens up a shady spot. The maroon-leaved plant is the native fringed loosestrife (Lysimachia ciliata ‘Firecracker’, Zones 3–8), which produces yellow blossoms later in the season.

Robin has several of these white-flowered bleeding hearts. They get enormous, and the foliage lasts long into the summer in this shady area of her garden, under a large ash tree. In the background you can see the terraced gardens that deal with the slope up to our shared driveway.

On the shady side of Robin’s garden, Roger’s flower (Rodgersia, Zones 5–9) shows off its striking foliage and, in May, an impressive scape of tiny blossoms. The leaves in the upper left belong to a still-small eastern redbud (Cercis canadensis, Zones 4–10), which flowers well in spite of the shade.

Also in May, this stunning tree peony (Paeonia hybrid, Zones 3–8) bursts into bloom. Robin got it for a song at a sale, and it gets bigger and more beautiful each year.

In June, herbaceous peonies are among the sun-loving plants in the terraced garden.

Taking center stage is this yellow Itoh peony ‘Bartzella’ (an intersectional hybrid). Evening primrose (Oenothera sp.), that spot of yellow in the lower left, is just coming into bloom. It was given to me by an elderly friend and still brightens up both Robin’s garden and mine decades later. Hakone grass (Hakonechloa macra ‘Aureola’, Zones 5–9) softens the edge of one of the terraces. Early daisies and a red herbaceous peony can be seen in the background.

By July, daylilies (Hemerocallis ‘Happy Returns’, Zones 3–9) are in flower along the terrace wall, interspersed with some astilbes.

Also flowering in July are these striking ‘Conca d’or’ orienpet lilies (Lilium ‘Conca d’Or’, Zones 4–8).

Japanese painted fern (Athyrium niponicum var. pictum, Zones 4–9) shelters this sweet little garden whimsy.

This photo was taken in August. I love the contrasting textures in this shady area of Robin’s garden. The many hosta varieties are interspersed with lacy meadow rue (Thalictrum dioicum, Zones 3–7), Japanese painted fern, and the spotted leaves of pulmonaria (Pulmonaria longifolia, Zones 3–8). All the pulmonaria in my garden came originally from Robin, as well as several of these hostas. The sharing of plants is only one of the many rewards of having a gardening neighbor.

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