Category: Home & Garden

Professionals advise women who are pregnant to stay away from raw tuna, booze, and other things that could cause problems during the pregnancy. Also, it’s best to limit your caffeine intake, which is why a lot of pregnant women drink green tea instead.

But drinking herbal drinks like hibiscus flower tea while pregnant can also be bad for you. Discover more about hibiscus tea and other things you should know if you are pregnant by reading on!

What Is Hibiscus?

Hibiscus is a plant that blooms with lovely red flowers. It is usually grown in warm areas and is useful for many things, like making rope, paper, and flower arrangements. Hibiscus flower leaves that have been dried are used to make hot or cold tea, which tastes great and smells like flowers.

People think that hibiscus tea can help fight bacteria, lower blood pressure, and help people lose weight. People also think that hibiscus tea is good for your liver, and there are chemicals in the tea that stop cancer cells from growing in the body.

Is Hibiscus Tea Safe In Pregnancy?

Tea made from hibiscus flowers is good for your health in many ways. It tastes great and is full of healthy vitamins. However, pregnant women and women who are breastfeeding should not normally eat it.

In 2013, studies on animals showed that hibiscus tea may not be safe for women who are expecting. Animal studies show that eating hibiscus during pregnancy can be dangerous. For example, the child may not reach puberty on time, and the pregnancy may end in a loss.

Some problems, like a high chance of obesity, a higher body mass index, and poor nutrition in the mother, are seen in the children.

Hibiscus is thought to help keep hormones and periods in check. But while pregnant, it could cause early labor, bleeding, cramps, or even the loss of the baby.

Benefits of Hibiscus Tea While Pregnant: Hibiscus tea has a lot of health benefits because it is high in vitamins. The same is true for women who are pregnant. Traditionally, though, women who are pregnant should not eat or drink it during the first three months, and even after that, they should get a prescription from their doctor before doing so.

The common belief about pregnancy is that hibiscus tea is good for you. If you drink hibiscus tea after the first trimester, once you know you’re pregnant, you’ll get the following benefits:

• A number of colleges think that hibiscus has a lot of flavonoids.
• It can keep you safe from damage caused by radical toxic elements that make cells die and cause illnesses.
• It helps boost the immune system and makes the bodies of both the mother and the baby stronger.
• During pregnancy, blood pressure often goes through the roof. Hibiscus tea may help keep it in check.
• It might get rid of germs, clean the lymph and blood, and make the digestive system stronger.

There is no scientific proof of these benefits, though, so it’s always best to talk to your doctor before drinking hibiscus tea while you’re pregnant.

Side Effects Of Drinking Hibiscus Tea When Pregnant

It is not a good idea to drink hibiscus tea while pregnant, especially in the first three months. It is thought to cause miscarriages and teenagers to not hit puberty until later. Here are some other bad things that can happen after drinking hibiscus tea:

• Shaking
• Ringing in the ears
• Headache
• Painful urination
• Nausea
• Constipation
• Gas
• Upset stomach or stomach pain

Does Hibiscus Tea Cause Miscarriage?

In general, you should stay away from hibiscus tea while you are pregnant because it can cause miscarriages and late puberty. So, even if you have to drink tea while you’re pregnant, you should always be aware of the possible side effects.

Hibiscus And Pregnancy: First Trimester

When we are early in pregnancy, we tend to dislike more things. Tea may help with more than just morning sickness and being very sleepy. It may also help with other stomach problems.

Ginger root and hibiscus tea are great for getting rid of morning sickness and gas. Because of your pregnancy, you might not like hot drinks. You could have it as a cold tea instead.

The things that could hurt you (like wine, coffee, etc.) hurt your body a lot in the first trimester. If you enjoy a plant tea and find that it helps with your pregnancy symptoms, your body may be telling you what’s best for you.

Hibiscus And Pregnancy: Second Trimester

Some women think that the second trimester of pregnancy is the best time for them because the first trimester symptoms are usually gone and the body is still small and easy to handle.

The second trimester is happy and, we hope, free of sickness. Think things through. If you’re pregnant and having trouble with your blood pressure or weight gain, you might want to try hibiscus tea, either hot or cold.

It’s possible that some plant teas will make you feel different, and as we said in the first trimester, if it feels good to your body, it probably won’t hurt you. Each woman is much more aware of what she should and shouldn’t eat while she is pregnant.

Hibiscus And Pregnancy: Third Trimester

In the third trimester, some women drink hibiscus tea to get their bodies ready for labor.

You may have heard that red raspberry leaf tea can help pregnant women. As a uterine tonic, this plant tea gets the womb ready for its most important time.

Hibiscus is one of the main ingredients in most herbal tea mixes made for women in their last three months of pregnancy.

Who Should Not Drink Hibiscus Tea?

If you are allergic to hibiscus tea or other herbal teas from the Malvaceae plant family, it might not be the best for you.

If drinking hibiscus tea or any other tea or taking hibiscus vitamins makes you feel bad, stop taking them and see what happens. Always call your healthcare provider if you are worried.

Hibiscus And Pregnancy: The Verdict

There aren’t many studies that look at how safe hibiscus is for real women. But research on animals has shown some things that might be bad about drinking hibiscus tea while you’re pregnant.

Scientists have also come up with some ideas about why hibiscus makes some animals less fertile. Some of these effects, like the ones on estrogen, might also happen in people. We just don’t know at this point.

Because so little is known about how safe hibiscus is during pregnancy and because it’s possible that it could lead to a failing pregnancy or health problems for both mom and baby, we strongly advise that you do not take hibiscus while you are pregnant. This is just a safety measure because there isn’t enough information to prove it’s safe.

The same advice goes if you are trying to get pregnant, because some studies on animals have shown that it might mess up the first few weeks of pregnancy.

You might find this question hard to answer if you have a cat and love monstera plants.

There is bad news: the answer is yes. All monstera species (and most aroids, in fact) are toxic to dogs, cats, and humans.

But how dangerous are monstera plants for cats? Can your cat and your monstera plant live together? You’d love to have both.

This piece will talk about what makes monsteras dangerous for cats and what you can do to keep your cat away from your monstera. That way, you can enjoy both your cat friend and your monstera plant without hurting either of them. Cats and flowers can live together without any problems!

Are Monsteras Dangerous For Cats?

One good thing is that monstera trees usually don’t hurt cats, dogs, or people.

If your cat eats some of your monstera, it might irritate their mouth, throat, and stomach walls, which could make them vomit and drool. But unless they eat a lot of the plant, their life won’t be in danger. This doesn’t happen very often, though, because the soreness will start almost as soon as your cat bites into your monstera, making it less likely to eat it again.

What Makes Monsteras Unsafe For Cats?

When eaten, why are monstera weeds such a problem?

CaCO3 crystals, which can be found in almost every part of the monstera plant, hold the answer.

Calcium Oxalate Crystals

These very small pieces are made up of oxalate and calcium. They are very sharp and pointy, like a bunch of needles. They can irritate the mouth, throat, and digestive system by making tiny cuts in the tissue there, or they can get stuck in those tissues. It’s also good to wear gloves when you cut your monstera because these crystals can be rough on your skin.

Crystals on the monstera plant are good for it because they keep animals from eating it.

Fruit, which is safe to eat when it’s ready, is the only part of the plant that should be eaten. This lets the plant’s seeds spread to more places through animals and their gut systems.

What Part Of Monstera Contains Calcium Oxalate Crystals?

There are calcium oxalate crystals in most parts of your monstera, like the stems, leaves, roots, and even the unripe fruit, because they are found where the sap runs.

To sum up, your cat should stay away from monstera plants because all parts of the plant are poisonous.

Symptoms Of Calcium Oxalate Crystal Poisoning

If your cat has eaten a piece of your monstera plant, the first thing you’ll probably notice is that it will be pawing at its mouth or face.

The mouth, lips, or tongue may also swell up.

In the worst cases, your cat’s throat could also get swollen, which would make it hard for it to breathe. (If this happens, take them to the doctor right away.)

Too much drooling, vomiting, and loss of hunger are also red flags.

Could Monstera Toxins Kill My Cat?

Most of the time, no.

While some parts of a monstera plant can kill cats, it takes a very large amount to kill them.

If your cat has a lot of calcium oxalate crystals in its body, they might hurt its kidneys. But this doesn’t happen very often because the crystals irritate the body right away, which keeps animals from eating more of the plant.

Still, you should take your cat to the vet right away if it eats any part of your monstera plant.

What To Do If Your Cat Has Been Poisoned

If you think your cat ate any part of your monstera plant and you see signs of soreness or poisoning, call your vet right away at 1-888-426-4436 or Animal Poison Control.

You should also wash your cat’s mouth, eyes, paws, and any other part of its body that got monstera sap on it with clean water. Also, make sure your cat drinks lots of water. This will help clean out as many of the crystals as possible from its digestive system.

How To Prevent Cats From Eating Monsteras

How can you make sure that your soft friends don’t eat your monstera plant?

Keeping them away from the plant, distracting them, and using repellents are all things that work best together.

These tips will help you keep your cat and monstera safe and happy.

Cat Deterrents

Your cat might not be as interested in your monstera plant if you use deterrents on it. It’s possible that they work by making your monstera smell bad to your cat but fine to you, or by teaching your cat that your plant means bad things.

Water

A simple, safe, and effective way to teach cats to stay away from certain things or habits is to spray them with water from a squirt bottle.

If you see your cat going too close to your monstera plant, quickly spray them with water. They will start to avoid the area with the plant and water if you do this over and over again.

This idea can be used in other ways. Because your cat might be scared of the vacuum, you could park it near the monstera plant or stack cans that are easy for your cat to knock over if it gets too close. These steps may make the plant less appealing to your cat over time, even after you take away the barrier.

Repellents

Citrus fruits smell bad to cats, so put some orange, lemon, lime, or grapefruit peels in the soil or put some citrus essential oil on the pot’s edge.

You could also spray the plant with water that has some lemon juice in it. You can also use vinegar and citronella to keep your cat from damaging your plant, but you might not like the way it smells!

Cats will also stay away from red pepper and mustard. To keep your cat away from the plant, mix a few spoonfuls into water and spray it around.

You can also put rosemary plants in pots near your monstera. Cats don’t like the smell, and it can also be used in cooking!

Nature’s Miracle also makes a great spray that will keep your cat away from plants if nothing else works. Just don’t put it directly on the plant.

Cats won’t be able to dig up your monstera if you put something on top of the dirt that they don’t like to walk on.

Among other things, you can cover the dirt with rocks, bark, or pine cones. Not only will they make it harder to dig, but cats don’t like the way these things feel on their paws, so they probably won’t go near the soil at all.

Are Monsteras Toxic To Cats? Final Thoughts

Monsteras are beautiful flowers, but our furry family members don’t always get along with them.

But it can be done!

These ideas will help you keep your cat away from your monstera. Also, don’t give up if one plan doesn’t work! Try one more. Using more than one method can also work, so give your cat lots of love and fun things to play with, keep the litter box clean, and put things on your plant that will scare them away.

There are many other beautiful flowers that cats will not harm if you can’t get the monstera to work or just don’t want to deal with it in a home where cats are welcome.

My name is John Markowski, and I garden in Zone 6B in central New Jersey. My property is inundated with deer, and the soil drains poorly, so I’ve built my garden around ornamental grasses and native perennials. The grasses are shining right now in combination with the slowly declining perennials.

Many gardens peak in the spring with a brilliant display of bright flowers, but this garden looks amazing right now in the fall, with each plant taking on a subtly different hue but all working together to end the year beautifully.

The flowering stems of Miscanthus sinensis (Zones 5–9) have given way to their beautiful silvery ripening seeds. Behind them is a different variety of the same grass, which is just maturing a little later, so there’s a contrast between the different colors of seed spikes.

This miscanthus has bright variegated foliage that contrasts with the darker foliage around it. In the front left is a bit of pink from obedient plant (Physostegia virginiana, Zones 3–9), a wonderful and very long-blooming native perennial.

Sneezeweed (Helenium autumnale, Zones 3–8) has colorful daisy flowers in shades of yellow, orange, or red. But here, after the showy petals have fallen, it takes on a subtler beauty of the central yellow ball maturing slowing into ripened seeds. Note that the common name for this native perennial is a bit misleading; it is just one of the many native plants with show flowers that happens to bloom around the same time as ragweed, and so it gets blamed for the ragweed allergies.

Fall foliage and ripening seeds are doing what they do best.

Deer and poorly drained soil can present challenges, but John shows that you can still make a beautiful garden in those conditions.

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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When you think of Port St. Lucie, Florida, images of pristine beaches, swaying palm trees, and a laid-back coastal lifestyle come to mind. Located in the heart of Florida’s Treasure Coast, less than an hour north of Palm Beach, Port St. Lucie is a paradise for beach lovers. It boasts an impressive 21 miles of pristine, natural beaches, with nearly half being nature preserves, a rare feature compared to the rest of Florida’s coastline. This unique and desirable destination offers residents and visitors the chance to experience the true beauty of nature.

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Suppose you’re fortunate enough to call this coastal haven home or are considering moving to Port St. Lucie. In that case, you’ll want to ensure that your living space is beautiful and well-suited to the unique coastal environment. The harsh coastal conditions, including humidity, salt air, and potential flooding, make it crucial to select flooring materials that can withstand these challenges while adding value to your property. In this article, we will explore the best flooring options for coastal living in Port St. Lucie, Florida, and discuss how these choices can enhance the value of your home.

1. Marble Flooring

Water-resistant and durable, marble tile is a perfect floor installation for sweltering summers and highly trafficked areas. Marble increases your home’s value while reflecting light and keeping a space fresh and cool. Best of all, it’s a breeze to maintain.

Marble flooring is a luxurious and practical choice for coastal homes. Its natural resistance to water and durability make it well-suited to the humid coastal climate of Port St. Lucie. Marble’s reflective properties also help to keep your living spaces more relaxed, which is especially welcome during the hot Florida summers. Moreover, marble adds an air of sophistication to your home. It increases its overall value, which can be particularly advantageous if you sell a house fast in St. Lucie.

2. Laminate/Vinyl

A laminate/vinyl hybrid combines vinyl’s water resistance and shock absorption with laminate’s scratch-and fade-resistance. They can also emulate a hardwood floor perfectly.

Laminate and vinyl flooring options are known for their resilience, making them excellent choices for coastal living. They can mimic the appearance of hardwood floors while offering water resistance and shock absorption. These qualities make them ideal for homes in Port St. Lucie, where high humidity levels and occasional flooding can be concerns. Additionally, their scratch and fade resistance ensures your floors look great despite heavy coastal foot traffic.

3. Wide-Plank Hardwood

Wide-plank lends a rustic feel to any surface. A wax finish brings out the natural texture. It can protect spaces like covered patios that transition from outdoor to indoor.

Wide-plank hardwood flooring is a classic choice that adds a touch of rustic charm to your coastal home. The wide planks provide a natural and inviting look, perfect for creating a cozy atmosphere. With a wax finish, wide-plank hardwood floors enhance your indoor spaces and offer protection in areas that transition from outdoor to indoor, such as covered patios. This type of flooring is an excellent investment that can increase the value of your home, particularly if you are considering home upgrades that add value in Port St. Lucie.

4. Ceramic Tile

Water-resistant, durable ceramic tile. There’s such a wide availability of color and design that it can fit any room.

Ceramic tile is a versatile and practical choice for coastal living. Its water-resistant properties make it well-suited for bathrooms, kitchens, and other areas where moisture is a concern. With a wide variety of colors and designs available, you can find ceramic tiles that seamlessly complement your home’s aesthetic. Its durability ensures that your floors will withstand the test of time in the coastal environment, making it an excellent option for those looking to invest in their homes.

In the coastal paradise of Port St. Lucie, Florida, choosing the right flooring is about enhancing your home’s beauty and ensuring its longevity in the face of challenging coastal conditions. Marble, laminate/vinyl, wide-plank hardwood, and ceramic tile are among the top flooring options that not only withstand the coastal climate but also add significant value to your property. Whether you’re planning to sell a house fast in St. Lucie or want to enjoy the benefits of coastal living, these flooring choices are sure to make your home more comfortable and valuable. So, when considering home upgrades that add value, remember that investing in the right flooring can be a wise decision for any coastal homeowner in Port St. Lucie, Florida.

We’re back in New Zealand today to see more of Jill Hammond’s beautiful garden. She has spent the last 28 years transforming a 7.5-hectare (18.5-acre) piece of land in rural Hawkes Bay, New Zealand. When she and her husband moved in, it was a completely bare piece of land, so she’s created this entire garden from nothing.

The bank garden is on a slope, which allows the plants in the back to show off over those planted lower on the slope. There are melia trees (Melia azedarach, Zones 7–10) along the top, and the lower hedge is star jasmine (Trachelospermum jasminoides, Zones 8–10).

‘Graham Thomas’ rose, birches (Betula utilis var. jacquemontii, Zones 5–8), and Pittosporum sheered into golf balls in the front

I love letting my elephant garlic (Allium ampeloprasum var. ampeloprasum, Zones 3–9) go to seed—and so do the bees!

Crataegus laevigata ‘Paul’s Scarlet’ (Zones 4–8) and Bowles’s mauve wall flowers (Erysimum ‘Bowles’s Mauve’, Zones 6–9), with a hedge of ‘Six Hill’s Giant’ catmint (Nepeta ‘Six Hill’s Giant’, Zone 3 – 8) to the right

View down to the lower level, through ‘Blanc Double de Coubert’ rose hedges

My husband built our daughters a playhouse years ago. It remains a well-loved feature. It is surrounded by Carex testacea (Zones 6–8) and Stachys byzantina (Zones 4–9). To the right you can see a ‘Grosso’ lavender (Lavandula × intermedia ‘Grosso’, Zones 6–10) hedge.

The garden is on many levels, so steps are a common feature.

Here is another mixed bed, with burgundy lorapetalum (Loropetalum chinense, Zones 7–10) on the right. A weeping elm (Ulmus glabra ‘Camperdownii’ Zones 5–7) is still to come into leaf on the top level.

View of the garden from the upper level, looking through to the potager garden

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.

Growing roses can be daunting, especially in Arizona, where the desert climate can be formidable for any plant. Although the summer heat can be challenging, growing beautiful roses is still possible. Learn how to grow roses in hot summer climates with these tips. 

Disclaimer: This post may contain affiliate links. See my disclosure policy for more information.

Where to plant roses in Arizona and other hot summer climates:

Choose a location in your yard where your roses can receive sunlight from morning to mid-afternoon with at least 6 hours of sun and afternoon shade. Avoid planting close to brick walls or heavily graveled areas where heat will radiate during the summer. 

When planting, allow at least 3-5 feet (0.9-1.5 meters) between roses. Air circulation is crucial for roses. Check your specific type of rose for additional spacing requirements.  

Rose planting tips for hot summer climates: 

Select varieties listed as “heat-tolerant” when deciding which roses to plant. 

Firefighters rose on Fortuniana rootstock is a proven performer in hot summer climates.

James Galway from David Austin is another rose that grows well in the low desert. 

Leslie’s picks for the low desert of Arizona:

Iceberg, Mr. Lincoln, Joseph’s Coat, Double Delight, Double Knockout, Sol Desire, Lady Banks, Miracle on the Hudson, Paradise, and Lavender Crush. 

When to plant roses in Arizona:

Plant bare-root roses from mid-December – January. Plant container-grown roses in the late fall, winter, and early spring. Avoid planting during the hot summer months. 

How to plant bare-root roses: 

• Soak the entire root in water before planting for at least 24 hours. Add a couple of drops of B-1 or Super Thrive to the bucket of water before soaking to stimulate growth. 
• Cut soaked rose canes at an angle with a sharp pair of bypass pruners to about 10″ (25 cm) long with the nodes facing outwards.
• Dig a hole 2’ (61 cm) deep and 2’ (61 cm) wide. 
• Combine the removed soil from the hole with a raised bed mix (combination of coconut coir/compost/perlite). 
• Fill the bottom of the hole with 6″ (15 cm) of the mix, spread the roots apart gently, and plant deep enough to cover the roots. 
• Fill the remaining space with the leftover soil mixture. 
• Pat soil firmly and top with a 4” (10 cm) layer of wood chip mulch and water well. 

How to plant container-grown roses: 

• Dig a hole 2’ (61 cm) deep and 2’ (61 cm) wide. 
• Add a 6″ (15 cm) layer of aged manure to the bottom of the hole.
• Combine the removed soil from the hole with a raised bed mix (combination of coconut coir/compost/perlite). 
• Plant the rose in the center of the hole 2-3″ (5-8 cm) higher than the soil level to compensate for settling soil.
• Backfill the hole with the soil mixture.
• Top with a 4” (10 cm) layer of wood chip mulch and water well. 

Planting roses in a container:

Choose a container three times larger than the nursery pot, at least 15 gallons (56 liters) or larger.  Fill the bottom of the pot with a high-quality potting mix (like the raised bed mix from Arizona Worm Farm) with some organic fertilizer high in phosphate—plant at the same level as the nursery pot. Fertilize container-grown roses once a month.

Choose a location that receives afternoon shade for growing roses in containers in Arizona. They will heat up more quickly. Avoid using dark or black containers for growing roses, as they will absorb more heat. 

How and when to water roses in hot climates:

Roses are thirsty plants and require regular water, especially during the warmer months in hot summer climates.

Water newly planted roses every day for the first week.  

In the spring and fall, water roses 2- 3 times a week slowly & deeply. Make sure to penetrate the entire root zone. Water in the morning if possible. 

During the heat of summer, water roses as often as every other day.

In the winter, water roses about once a week or when the soil is dry. 

Container-grown roses will generally require a bit more water. You can use a moisture meter to determine the water needed. The meter should always read “moist”. Be sure your containers have holes at the bottom for proper drainage. 

How and when to fertilize roses in Arizona: 

Begin feeding roses the 2nd week of February. Roses are heavy feeders and will require fertilizer every 6-8 weeks during the spring and fall. Use organic, high-phosphorus food (4-8-4) to increase blooming. Water well before and after fertilizing. 

Avoid using fertilizer from June to August. Instead, at the end of May, add a 2″ layer of compost and worm castings at the base of each rose bush to equal about a 2′ diameter surrounding the bush. Then, top off with a thick layer of mulch.

How and when to prune roses in Arizona and other hot summer climates:

Pruning promotes the highest quantity and quality of blooms for the following season. An unpruned rose bush will still produce flowers, though they will be fewer and much smaller. 

Winter rose pruning:

Heavy pruning should be done during dormancy from mid-December through January. Focus on opening the bush’s center to allow sun and air flow circulation. Always cut at a 45-degree angle facing downwards. Seal the canes after cutting to prevent borers and other pests and diseases from entering. 

• Remove all dead wood, crossing branches, touching canes, and non-producing canes.
• Prune out about one-third to no more than half of the previous season’s growth length. 
• Remove all suckers below the graft. 

You can also size-control some roses during this period by cutting them back down to 18-24” (45-60cm). 

Regularly deadhead and remove dried spent leaves throughout the growing season. Remove the dried flowers by cutting down to the next leaf with 5 leaflets.

Late summer or fall rose pruning:

At the end of summer, once nighttime temperatures are 70°F (21°C) or below, prune roses to encourage a fall flush of blooms. Prune out dead and diseased wood and any crossing canes. Prune all over lightly by about ⅓.

To fall prune climbing roses, remove the long outward-growing canes. Shorten and selectively remove the lateral (sideways) branches. 

Apply additional mulch after the winter and late summer prunings. Mulch helps retain moisture and continuously breaks down as organic matter while improving the soil condition. 

Adding shade during the scorching summer months can be beneficial and prevent stress and sunburn. 

During the summer, do not prune or deadhead roses. Pruning tells the plant it’s time to grow. During the summer, roses should enter a dormant state and not push out new growth or blooms. Pruning also exposes the freshly cut stem, and that tender area is easily scorched.

Expect that roses will not look their best during the hottest months of the year.

The abundant sunshine and low humidity are beneficial when growing roses in hot summer climates. Don’t be afraid to add roses to your landscape.

Most importantly, remember to stop and smell your roses and share them with your friends and family to receive the whole experience of rose gardening. Enjoy! 

Thank you to Leslie Blanchard for contributing to this post. 

Leslie has been gardening for as long as she can remember. She has an associate degree in Urban Horticulture, is a Certified Master Gardener, and has completed the Desert Landscape Certification School at the Desert Botanical Gardens.

She’s worked at San Diego Zoo’s Botanical Garden and 5-star hotels all over the West Coast, caring for their tropical plants and flowers. She is the recipient of a Plantscape Industry Alliance Award. Leslie is the Head Grower, Garden, and Greenhouse Manager at Arizona Worm Farm. She offers garden consultations and finds great joy in helping people become successful gardeners. 

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Take a tour of the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens and discover a meeting ground of natural beauty, expert design, and horticultural excellence. Nestled in the picturesque landscape of coastal Maine, this garden offers a symphony of colors, fragrances, and serene vistas that will surely captivate any nature enthusiast. In this video, director of horticulture (and frequent Fine Gardening contributing writer) Andy Brand takes us on a journey through three of his favorite gardens and gives insights as to what makes them unique. This tour barely scratches the surface of what CMBG has to offer, however, with its more than 300 acres and 16 unique gardens connected by well-maintained paths and trails. You can spend days at the garden and still find something new.

Garden of the Five Senses

CMBG’s Lerner Garden of the Five Senses is a sensory masterpiece, inviting visitors to explore the natural world in a unique and immersive way. This garden is thoughtfully designed to engage all five senses—sight, smell, touch, taste, and sound—so that differently abled visitors can enjoy a vast array of sensory stimulation no matter how they experience the world.

Sight: This garden is a visual delight, with a kaleidoscope of colors and plantings that vary throughout the seasons. From vibrant blooms to the soothing greens of foliage, every corner of this garden offers something visually stunning.

Smell: Fragrance is a central element in this garden. Aromatic herbs, scented flowers, and foliage with distinctive scents make this garden a paradise for olfactory exploration.

Touch: Visitors can interact with various plant textures, from the velvety leaves of lambs’ ears to the rough bark of trees. Here they can explore the tactile aspects of gardening and learn how to incorporate different textures.

Taste: The inclusion of edible plants adds another layer of sensory delight. The garden features herbs and vegetables, allowing visitors to sample nature’s bounty.

Sound: This garden incorporates the soothing sounds of nature, from rustling leaves to the gentle trickle of water.

As visitors meander through this enchanting space, they will discover a tapestry of textures, scents, and colors carefully selected to evoke different sensory experiences.

Children’s Garden

The Bibby and Harold Alfond Children’s Garden is a whimsical and enchanting realm designed to captivate the young and the young at heart. This charming space is thoughtfully crafted to engage children’s senses and curiosity. As soon as visitors enter, they are greeted by vibrant colors, playful structures, and a sense of wonder bound to make kids eager to explore. It’s an inviting setting where the world of plants and horticulture is made accessible and fun.

The vegetable garden section is a great opportunity to teach kids about the wonders of growing their own food. Not only is it educational, but it also reinforces the idea of sustainability and the importance of knowing where our food comes from.

A captivating “story barn” adds a literary touch to the Children’s Garden. It’s a place where storytelling sessions take place, making the experience not only visually stimulating but also intellectually enriching. References to children’s books by Maine authors are dispersed throughout the garden. Families can go on a literary “treasure hunt” to find them all.

A central feature of the garden is a large pond where children can discover amphibious creatures among the aquatic plants. They can also pretend to pull in a Maine lobster cage off a dock and play with fishing poles. Another popular feature is the “whale rocks,” where water spouts periodically and kids of all ages can go to play and cool off.

Haney Hillside Garden

The Haney Hillside Garden is a hidden gem that combines the beauty of horticulture with the rugged charm of coastal landscapes. It offers a unique example of the art of blending plants and natural terrain.

Situated on a steep hillside overlooking the stunning Maine coast, this garden is a testament to the creative potential of sustainable gardening in challenging environments. It showcases a harmonious coexistence between native vegetation and carefully selected plants, all while embracing the natural contours of the landscape.

One of the garden’s key features is its meandering pathways that lead visitors on a captivating journey through a variety of terrains. From sun-drenched slopes to shaded nooks, the Haney Hillside Garden provides a diverse range of microclimates. The garden’s use of stone walls and hardscape elements adds a touch of elegance to the rugged beauty of the coast. In this garden you can see prime examples of incorporating stonework into landscapes, and how hardscape elements can complement the natural environment.

The choice of plants in this garden is both strategic and inspiring. Native species are thoughtfully integrated, demonstrating how they can thrive and enhance the coastal landscape.

See more:

More garden tours from Fine Gardening

Articles by Andy Brand, Director of Horticulture at Coastal Maine Botanic Gardens

To do:

1. Weed, add ashes and manure, then mulch the Grocery Row Garden beds before the winter weeds take over
2. Finish the woodwork on the bottom sides of the new greenhouse and add handles and cold-blocking overlaps to the doors
3. Get a new weed torch and burn all the seed heads off the grass and weeds at the edges of the garden
4. Finish the giant new three-bay compost pile block work
5. Talk to local coffee shop about getting coffee grounds
6. Figure out irrigation sprinklers for greenhouse
7. Gather manure from pastures for composting
8. Hang up new thermometer
9. Work on Survival Chickens and Alabama Survival Gardening book projects
10. Figure out proper licensing for Alabama nurseries wishing to sell in Florida
11. Update reading list

We’ve been running around too much lately and there are still a lot of projects that need finishing.

The Grocery Row Gardens really don’t have anything for fall planted in them, since the weather has been horribly dry. We got once decent rain and then nothing else in two weeks, with nothing in the future. It’s been a terrible summer and fall for gardening, so we can’t over plant the pastures or put in much in the gardens. We do need to get the weeding done, which isn’t too bad due to lack of rain, because I see little green shoots coming up and the garden beds are going to look like this again as all the henbit shows up:

The greenhouse should be finished today, once we do the woodwork, then we need to start moving our plants and propagating the tropical non-hardy stuff from the gardens (cassava, chaya, etc.) to keep it alive through the winter.

My previous weed torch was accidentally run over by our farm truck and destroyed, so we need to get another one.

The three-bay compost pile system we are building is just waiting on my son and his friend to finish the block work. It’s going to be huge, and beautiful. I can’t believe how expensive concrete has gotten, however!

We’ve done nothing on book projects lately and that needs to change. I have two projects from two different authors that need to be finished this winter.

As for our nursery, we need to figure out how to legally sell plants inside of Florida. Selling at a nearby flea market is okay, but if we could get closer to Pensacola I think it would be well-worth it.

Lots of things need to be done, and done well. The weather is cooler now, and sufficient unto the day is the trouble thereof.

We need to film more YouTube videos, too. It’s been 10 days since the last one…

St. Isidore, pray for us.

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Dish soap is one of those cheap, household ingredients that many gardeners claim have superpowers. But is that true? Can you use soapy water for plants? Does it actually kill aphids? Let’s get to the bottom of what dish soap is doing to your plants when you use it in your garden.

I love reading the comments on the blog and places like Facebook, where all of us gardeners are helping each other out. Whether trying to identify why their plant is dying, when to plant their seeds, or identifying a plant in their garden, everyone is quick to collaborate with virtual gardening friends.

In many of these comments, I have people sharing their gardening hacks, DIYs, and tricks they use to do everything from making their plants grow quicker to reusing household items.

One I see mentioned all the time is using dish soap on plants as a form of insecticide. It comes up so much that I thought it was about time I talked about it!

I use dish soap in my garden, but there’s a catch. It’s probably not the same kind of dish soap that you might feel inclined to use.

Let’s talk about the effects of soapy water on plants. Here’s what you’ll learn in this article:

Make Sure You’re Using the Right Soap for Plants

I want to take a second to clarify what I mean by dish soap. Most big brands like Dawn, Palmolive, and Sunlight are commonly referred to as dish soap.

But they’re really a detergent. And the difference between soap and detergent is a pretty big one.

Soaps are made out of natural oils and fats, while detergents are made from synthetic chemicals called surfactants. Both are effective at cleaning grime and grease, but one is more natural than the other.

Popular dish detergents contain lots of surfactants, like sodium lauryl sulphate, which are laboratory-made foaming agents. They’re not great for the environment, as they take a very long time to biodegrade. They’re also difficult to filter through water, so they linger for a long time.

If you’re spraying dish detergent in your garden, it can linger in your soil long after the rain has washed it off your plants.

Castile Soap for Plants

So, what soap is safe for plants? I make my own biodegradable dish soap out of castile soap. This is a soap made from vegetable oils, traditionally from olive oil but now more commonly coconut or palm oil. It’s a potassium-based soap and completely natural as opposed to detergents. It’s a true soap, folks!

You’ve probably seen Dr. Bronner’s castile soap as it’s the one more easily available. You can use this in your garden, but it must be diluted. More on that below!

You also want to avoid using castile soap with fragrance or essential oils. You want pure, unscented castile soap only for your plants.

Will Dish Soap Kill Plants?

If we use dish soap to clean our dishes and then eat off of them, they must be safe for our plants. Right?

Dish detergents are known to remove plant’s natural waxes and oils that are used to protect the leaves. They’re a little too good at their job, potentially weakening the plants.

The effects of soapy water on plants aren’t a sure science, but high concentrations of soap can certainly burn foliage. Anyone using DIY methods using dish soap as an ingredient should exert caution.

Dish soap sprays for the garden should be highly diluted, consisting of only 2% dish soap. This means you’ll want only two teaspoons of dish soap per pint of water.

Some plants are highly sensitive to any amount of soap, like sweet peas or cherries. You should always test a small area before applying the soap spray all over the plant.

Using Dish Soap as Insecticide

The most popular reason to use soapy water for plants is an insecticide. While we’re not entirely sure how this works, the best guess is that it washes off some of the insect’s protective coating on their body, causing them to dry out.

Soapy water for aphids is one of the most common uses, but it also works on other soft-bodied insects like whiteflies, thrips, and mites. However, it doesn’t work on larger pests like caterpillars and beetles. But this also means it is safe for most pollinators and large insects!

I use dish soap (castile soap) in my pest deterrent spray. It makes the concoction stick to the insect or the animal, helping to keep them away from your plants.

True dish soap (castile soap) works best when you directly spray the insect. It won’t be as effective if you’re spraying the plant, and we want to avoid getting soap on the plant as much as possible not to damage it. Turn over the leaves and coat the insects only as best as you can.

Using Dish Soap for Fruit Flies

Soap water works for more than just pests on plants but also for fruit flies.

A while ago, I did a little experiment at my house with the fruit fly trap. I first made it when I had a ton of fruit flies in the kitchen. I filled my trap (you can see how I did it in this fruit fly trap tutorial) with water and apple cider vinegar, but I didn’t put any soap in the mixture.

The fruit flies were able to fly right into the trap, but they weren’t dying. Instead, they were flying around within the trap until some of them eventually died.

But when I added a couple of drops of dish soap, the fruit flies fell down into the liquid as soon as they touched this.

Dish soap breaks the surface tension on the water, causing the insects to sink and drown. It makes the world of a difference when making a simple fruit fly trap at home.

Since this concoction isn’t going on your plants, feel free to use any dish soap or dish detergent.

Using Dish Soap and Vinegar in the Garden

Another common DIY concoction is combining dish soap and vinegar, as well as salt, as a natural weed killer.

I already talked about this in-depth in my post about using vinegar in the garden, but I’ll mention it again here. This is not a good alternative to simply picking weeds.

Vinegar can be harmful to plants, soil, wildlife, and microorganisms. Yes, it can kill weeds, but it can also harm other things in your garden as well.

Dish soap and vinegar sprays also have a tendency only to kill the leaves, not the root. So, the plant will likely return after spraying it.

FAQs

So that’s how I use dish soap and soapy water for plants! Or, more accurately, very small, measured, and diluted concentrations of castile soap. Let me know if you have any more questions in the comments below.

Other Common Household Ingredients to Consider