Category: Home & Garden

We are big fans of the elegant designs of London-based Ula Maria Studio that combine sensitive and pitch-perfect planting schemes with precise and stylish landscaping. One of her recently hatched projects took her back home to Lithuania, where she has devised a courtyard garden for a school friend’s newly converted event space, Vynvytis Studio.

The former paper factory’s structure created a protected courtyard space and the brief, says Ula, was to create something quite naturalistic, slightly wild and with a nostalgic feel: “It’s also a play of contrasts between the contemporary but also something quite old and characterful and bridging the gap between those two worlds. Something that looks quite effortless, but also has a lot of character.”

Photography by Dovalde Butenaite, unless otherwise noted.

The industrial building has been softened with verdant borders that are full of movement, thanks to big-leafed plants and statement multi-stem trees. The soothing scheme features lots of lush foliage plants: “We’ve used some of the more traditional and—some may say—more old-fashioned garden plants such as big leaf hostas and then mixed them up with ornamental grasses such as Deschampsia cespitosa ‘Goldschleier’ to play on that contrast between old and new.”

Foliage plants create interesting vignettes in all directions; big leaved Petasites hybridus, hostas, and textural ferns are contrasted with delicate Astrantia maxima and Digitalis grandiflora. Elsewhere glossy, evergreen sarcococca, with its delicious winter-scent, is clipped along with a Taxus baccata hedge.

Lower down, the sublime palmate leaves and zingy flowers of Alchemilla mollis—a key plant in the garden—blurring the edges of the hardscaping. During the building, work paths were made with poured concrete but these were later softened by Ula with self-binding gravel, which would allow some self-seeding to happen, further softening the strong lines of the garden.

“The architecture is really imposing so we were trying to make the space seem as soft and green as possible,” says Ula of the former factory’s strong vertical lines. Virginia creeper (the studio was named after the vigorous climber) is rapidly clambering up the walls, providing a verdant backdrop in summer and a fiery autumn display.

Similarly a Betula nigra multi-stem tree—with its beautiful peeling bark—plays to the building’s origin as a paper factory. The tree also creates dappled shade over the planting below. Elsewhere multi-stem Amelanchier canadensis are underplanted with Hydrangea paniculata ‘Limelight’ and Alchemilla mollis. The tree’s stunning white blossom in spring, is followed by green foliage in summer and finally a gorgeous autumn color with rich copper, yellows, and pinks in autumn.

The biggest challenges in the space was sourcing plants, many of which were not as widely available or as common as they are in England, but also creating the plant combinations that could thrive in shade. But with clients who are also good friends, they’ve found an easy compromise. “They just said, ‘Just do what you do, we trust your vision,’ ” says Ula.

See more of Ula Maria’s work @ulamariastudio.

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We are big fans of the elegant designs of London-based Ula Maria Studio that combine sensitive and pitch-perfect planting schemes with precise and stylish landscaping. One of her recently hatched projects took her back home to Lithuania, where she has devised a courtyard garden for a school friend’s newly converted event space, Vynvytis Studio.

The former paper factory’s structure created a protected courtyard space and the brief, says Ula, was to create something quite naturalistic, slightly wild and with a nostalgic feel: “It’s also a play of contrasts between the contemporary but also something quite old and characterful and bridging the gap between those two worlds. Something that looks quite effortless, but also has a lot of character.”

Photography by Dovalde Butenaite, unless otherwise noted.

The industrial building has been softened with verdant borders that are full of movement, thanks to big-leafed plants and statement multi-stem trees. The soothing scheme features lots of lush foliage plants: “We’ve used some of the more traditional and—some may say—more old-fashioned garden plants such as big leaf hostas and then mixed them up with ornamental grasses such as Deschampsia cespitosa ‘Goldschleier’ to play on that contrast between old and new.”

Foliage plants create interesting vignettes in all directions; big leaved Petasites hybridus, hostas, and textural ferns are contrasted with delicate Astrantia maxima and Digitalis grandiflora. Elsewhere glossy, evergreen sarcococca, with its delicious winter-scent, is clipped along with a Taxus baccata hedge.

Lower down, the sublime palmate leaves and zingy flowers of Alchemilla mollis—a key plant in the garden—blurring the edges of the hardscaping. During the building, work paths were made with poured concrete but these were later softened by Ula with self-binding gravel, which would allow some self-seeding to happen, further softening the strong lines of the garden.

“The architecture is really imposing so we were trying to make the space seem as soft and green as possible,” says Ula of the former factory’s strong vertical lines. Virginia creeper (the studio was named after the vigorous climber) is rapidly clambering up the walls, providing a verdant backdrop in summer and a fiery autumn display.

Similarly a Betula nigra multi-stem tree—with its beautiful peeling bark—plays to the building’s origin as a paper factory. The tree also creates dappled shade over the planting below. Elsewhere multi-stem Amelanchier canadensis are underplanted with Hydrangea paniculata ‘Limelight’ and Alchemilla mollis. The tree’s stunning white blossom in spring, is followed by green foliage in summer and finally a gorgeous autumn color with rich copper, yellows, and pinks in autumn.

The biggest challenges in the space was sourcing plants, many of which were not as widely available or as common as they are in England, but also creating the plant combinations that could thrive in shade. But with clients who are also good friends, they’ve found an easy compromise. “They just said, ‘Just do what you do, we trust your vision,’ ” says Ula.

See more of Ula Maria’s work @ulamariastudio.

More garden visits here:

You need to login or register to view and manage your bookmarks.

My name is Charlona, and I garden in Houston. I love all kinds of flowers and try to garden for as many pollinators and their caterpillars as possible. I was looking at some of my photos and started noticing all the amazing different shapes of the flowers. So I thought I would share with GPOD some different types of flowers from my garden.

With these brilliantly patterned flowers, it’s easy to see how this variety gets its name: Abutilon ‘Tiger Eye’ (Zones 9–11 or as an annual).

Angel’s trumpet (Brugmansia, Zones 8–11) has distinctive, deliciously fragrant, hanging blossoms.

Blue butterfly bush (Clerodendrum ugandense, Zones 8–10) has a fantastic color, and it’s easy to see the shape of a butterfly in that flower. It is a long-blooming shrub.

Senna alata (Zones 9–11) goes by the common names of “candelabra bush” or “candle plant.”

Cat’s whiskers (Orthospiphon aristatus, ZoneS 9–11) has gorgeous white flowers, and is also widely grown as a source of medicinal tea in Asia.

Crossandra infundibuliformis (Zones 10–11 or as an annual) is a long-blooming tropical that produces these bright yellow flowers most of the growing season.

Datura is a relative of the Brugmansia, but the fragrant trumpet-shaped flowers face up rather than hanging down.

Gomphrena ‘Fireworks’ (Zones 9–11 or as an annual) produces many of these little clusters of brilliantly colored blooms, which are wonderful in the garden and equally great in fresh or dried flower arrangements.

Pride of Barbados (Caesalpinia pulcherrima, Zones 8–11) has some of the most brilliantly colored flowers out there and thrives in hot climates, growing either as a small shrub or dying back to the ground and then coming back from the roots in the colder end of its range.

Spiderwort (Tradescantia, Zones 5–10) is a native perennial. Each individual blue flower is short lived but produced in great abundance.

Texas star hibiscus (Hibiscus coccineus, Zones 6–9) is native to wet areas in the southeastern United States and produces these brilliant red flowers in summer.

 

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The shrubby plants feature needle-like leaves of silvery-green and upright flower spikes in shades of mauve, pink, purple, and white that flower at different times over summer, depending on the type.

Common garden varieties include the familiar and beautiful English, French, and Spanish species and the popular lavandin hybrids.

Highly attractive to important pollinators like bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds, the strong essential oils also repel deer and rodents.

A fragrant addition to floral arrangements, potpourri, and sachets, the flavorful leaves and flowers are also used for culinary purposes and have a host of applications in aromatherapy and traditional wellness practices.

Easy to cultivate, these robust plants are drought tolerant, grow in lean soils, and require little annual maintenance. Plus, they offer fair to good cold resistance as well, with a few varieties suitable for USDA Hardiness Zone 4 winters.

And contrary to the belief they won’t grow in regions with high humidity, there are plenty of beautiful options suitable for sticky heat.

Easily grown, sweetly scented, and with beautiful colors, are you ready to try these low maintenance herbs in your garden? Then sit back, relax, and read on for all the details on how to grow and care for lavender!

Here’s everything we’ll cover:

What Is Lavender?

Lavender plants belong to the Lavandula genus and the mint family, Lamiaceae, with just under 50 species and numerous cultivars.

Shrubby perennials, they’re native to mountainous regions and rocky slopes of the Mediterranean basin, including northern Africa, southern Europe, and the Levant.

The popular garden varieties grow to a height of two to three feet and reach maturity in three years. They feature foliage that’s narrow and needle-like or lightly toothed in shades of cool, silvery green.

Starting in early summer, tall upright spikes hold whorls of flowers, with a few species featuring small, flag-like bracts at the tip of the inflorescence. Flower colors include strong shades of blue, mauve, blush pink, purple, purple-black, violet, and white.

A popular ornamental in numerous garden settings, lavender’s leaves and flowers are rich in essential oils, producing a deep and sweetly herbal fragrance.

For the home garden, the following types are most often cultivated:

L. angustifolia is the familiar English species that blooms in late spring to midsummer, best suited to low-humidity climates.

These highly fragrant plants flower in shades of mauve, pink, purple, and white. They’re hardy in Zones 5 to 10, with a few cultivars like ‘Hidcote’ and ‘Munstead’ that are reliable down to Zone 4.

L. dentata is known as French lavender and has charming, flag-tipped inflorescences in shades of mauve and purple that flower in mid- to late summer.

French lavender has a deep, camphor-tinged fragrance and fares well in hot and humid climates. Hardy only in Zones 8 to 10, plants require protection from hard frosts.

L. stoechas is the Spanish species, with distinctive flag-tipped, pineapple-shaped flowers in deep shades of rosy pink, magenta, and royal purple.

Plants are lightly fragrant with notes of eucalyptus. They flower in late spring with a lighter midsummer rebloom if deadheaded. Frost-tender plants, these are the most tolerant of heat and humidity and they’re hardy in Zones 8 to 11.

L. x intermedia hybrids are called lavandins, a cross of L. angustifolia and L. latifolia. These are highly fragrant, long-stemmed flowers in shades of royal blue, mauve, purple, and white that flower in midsummer.

Lavandins are the fastest growing, and form large, handsome mounds that retain their good looks over winter.

They also have improved disease resistance, perform well in humid settings, and are cold tolerant. These plants are typically hardy in Zones 5 to 10, with cultivars like ‘Phenomenal’ that are hardy to Zone 4.

Lavenders are tough and durable plants with good drought resistance when established.

Requiring little fertilizer, they do well in a variety of soils and require little care or attention aside from annual pruning and winter mulching.

Cultivation and History

A glorious ornamental, lavender has long been used as a culinary plant and herbal medicinal, and in perfumes and toiletries.

In the Bible, lavender (called nard or spikenard) is mentioned in both the Old and New Testaments, including the Song of Solomon and the Gospel of John.

And in the ancient world, the Greeks, Egyptians, Persians, and Romans used it as a disinfectant, flavoring, medicinal, and perfume.

It’s thought that it came to Britain with Roman soldiers who used it in their baths and for its healing properties. The name “lavender” comes from the Latin word “lavare,” which means “to wash.”

During the Black Plague, bundles of lavender were burnt for the purifying smoke and European physicians used its essential oils on their gloves and in masks to ward off infection.

Lavender made its way to North America with early European settlers.

Today it is still used in aromatherapy and alternative medicines for its many purported health benefits, including anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, and antiviral properties as well as the treatment of disorders such as anxiety, digestive problems, and insomnia.

Propagation

Propagation of lavender is achieved by sowing seed or rooting stem cuttings.

Seeds should be started indoors eight to 10 weeks before the last frost date for your region.

Fill flats with a moist, sterilized starter soil and sow seeds over the surface, covering lightly with one-eighth of an inch of soil.

Cover the flats with a greenhouse dome and place in a sunny window or under grow lights.

When seedlings are three to four inches tall, transplant into individual four- to six-inch pots.

After all danger of frost has passed and overnight temperatures are consistently above 50°F, harden off plants for a week with a few hours spent outdoors every day, gradually increasing until they can spend a full day outdoors, then transplant into large containers or garden beds.

Seeds should germinate in 14 to 21 days at temperatures of 65 to 70°F, but they can take up to 90 days. A heat mat and grow lights can be useful to encourage germination.

Hardwood stems are the best for taking stem cuttings and can be started any time from spring to autumn.

For all the details on this propagation method, refer to our guide on how to grow lavender from cuttings.

How to Grow

Lavender requires a full sun location in well-draining soil with a neutral to slightly alkaline pH of 6.5 to 8.0.

Plant into containers or garden beds in spring, once overnight temperatures remain above 50°F.

Lavender can also be planted in fall, but select only larger plants with a robust root system that can withstand freezing temperatures.

These stout plants do well in a range of soils from lean to fertile, but perform better – with faster, more uniform growth and more flowers – in enriched soil.

Prepare the planting site by mixing in a shovelful or two of aged compost or well-rotted manure.

Add the same amount of landscape sand or pea gravel to improve drainage – lavender does not do well in overly wet soil or standing water.

Mix in some bone meal for healthy root growth. And if your soil is on the acidic side, mix in one-half cup of garden lime to sweeten the soil.

Set plants in place and plant shallowly, placing the crown just below the soil line and spacing 12 to 18 inches apart. Spacing is important for proper air circulation, particularly in areas with high humidity.

Firm the soil lightly around the roots and water gently.

A two-inch mulch of pea gravel is effective in summer to keep weeds at bay, and in winter provides insulation for the roots without trapping moisture. Keep the gravel one to two inches away from the stems to avoid crown and root rot.

Until plants are well-established, water regularly with up to one inch per week, allowing the top inch of soil to dry out between waterings.

Mature plants are reliably drought resistant, but for an abundance of flowers, water deeply every two to three weeks until flower buds form. After bud set, water weekly until flower harvest, then reduce watering again to every two to four weeks for the remainder of summer.

Lavender is also well-suited for container growth.

Use containers with adequate drainage holes. I like to add a layer of drainage materials such as pebbles or broken pottery before planting.

Fill containers with the same soil mix as described above and plant with the crowns just below the surface.

Place in a location with full sun and water when the top inch of soil is dry.

Growing Tips

Wonderfully low maintenance, the following tips can help ensure robust growth and profuse flowers.

• Lavender can’t abide wet conditions or standing water and must have well-draining soil. Improve soil drainage by mixing landscape sand or pea gravel into the planting site.
• In regions with high heat and humidity, choose the varieties best suited for these conditions such as the French (L. dentata) and Spanish (L. stoechas) types or the lavandin hybrids.
• If a winter mulch is needed for cold protection, choose a porous material that doesn’t trap excess moisture, such as pea gravel.
• Prune plants annually after flowering to maintain a tidy form and prevent leggy stems.
• For the most intense fragrance, avoid over-fertilizing and over-watering.

If you’d like to use your lavender for purposes outside the garden, knowing when and how to harvest flowers is important too.

Harvesting

A delightful herb in compound butters, conserves, and jams or dried for herbal remedies, potpourri, or sachets, flowers should be collected when their essential oils are at their most intense.

When about half the flowers on the stems are open, harvest in the morning after the dew has dried – this is when oils are at their peak and not yet dispersed by hot sunshine.

Grab a small handful of stems and cut so they are as long as possible, snipping just above the foliage. Use clean, sterile scissors or garden snips.

Gather stems into small bundles and secure with an elastic band or twine.

Hang the bundles in a cool, dark, and dry location with ample air circulation. Flowers will dry in three to four weeks.

When dry, shake or strip flowers from stems and store in a glass jar with a tight-fitting lid.

Pruning and Maintenance

Annual pruning is important because it slows down woody stem growth and forces plants to produce new foliage, maintaining a dense, mounded form.

But deciding when to prune depends on your winter weather.

In areas with mild winters, pruning can be done after flowering or in autumn, reducing plants by approximately one-third.

In areas with cold winters, autumn pruning should always be avoided. Fresh wounds on stems and the tender new growth that pruning prompts leave plants susceptible to damage or die-off in freezing temperatures.

Instead, prune in late winter just as new growth starts to emerge, reducing plants by up to a third. If you don’t wish to harvest the flowers, prune lightly after flowering, removing flower stems and an inch or two of foliage to tidy plants.

For mature plants with woody stems, after flowering, prune lightly throughout the growing season to encourage more foliage.

To successfully reshape overgrown plants with long, woody stems, our guide on how to prune lavender has all the rejuvenating details.

Lavender requires little in the way of fertilizer and produces more oils – and fragrance – in lean, moderately dry conditions.

To feed plants, top-dress in early spring with a two-inch layer of compost or aged manure spread over the root zone. Create a two-inch, compost-free collar around the stem to avoid stem and crown rot.

That’s all the fertilizer garden plants require, but container plants benefit from an application of a balanced 10-10-10 (NPK) fertilizer after flowering.

Provide plants with winter protection as needed.

Mulch with a two- to four-inch layer of pea gravel to protect roots.

If needed in very cold conditions or drying winter winds, protect plants with a cover of burlap, floating row covers, pine boughs, or straw. Remove covers in late winter.

Mulch container plants, then tuck into a sheltered spot and cover if needed.

In very cold conditions, move containers into an unheated garage or shed but don’t allow the soil to dry out completely. Plants are dormant in winter but still require a small sip of water about once every month to stay viable.

Containers can also be brought indoors in winter, but because they’re dormant, they must be placed in a cool room with temperatures of 45 to 60°F.

Place in a location with bright, indirect light and water lightly – but don’t expect much in the way of growth while plants are dormant.

Move outdoors once warmer temperatures return.

Spittlebugs also like lavender, and while unattractive, they don’t cause a lot of damage. Remove spittlebugs with a good blast of water from the hose.

Whiteflies are also sapsuckers. Extensive damage from whiteflies is rare but they are annoying pests and hard to get rid of.

Use a natural control method like encouraging or releasing ladybugs or spray plants with neem oil to control whiteflies.

Alfalfa mosaic virus is spread by insects like aphids and causes yellow, curled leaves. Infected plants must be removed and destroyed.

Soilborne fungal infections like crown and root rot can cause plant collapse.

To avoid root and crown rot, don’t overwater, plant in a full sun location, ensure adequate air circulation, and keep organic mulches away from the stem and crown area.

A root crop similar to carrots, they offer a unique flavor that’s rich and slightly sweet. And they’re just the thing to turn common meals like soups and stews into something special.

They are also an amazing addition to a roasted root vegetable medley, and they even hold up well on their own, especially when they’re sliced and served up as fries. So. Good. So, so good.

I could easily write this entire article about eating parsnips, so I’ll stop myself here.

Now, let’s talk about how to grow them. Here’s a quick rundown of what’s to come:

With a little bit of research, persistence, and patience, you’ll have success growing this underutilized, distinctive root vegetable in your own garden at home.

Starting and Growing

A hardy biennial, parsnips are usually grown as an annual root crop.

They look similar to carrots, only they’re usually a shade of white and oftentimes thicker.

Unfortunately, I don’t lump parsnips in the “easy to grow” category. There’s a sort of finesse to getting their seeds to germinate.

But, if you put the work in at the beginning of the season, you can just sit back and watch your plants take root!

To begin with, seeds lose viability after just a year or two, so having low germination rates is relatively common. Because of this, you’ll want to order new seeds from a reputable source every year.

These take about 100 days to reach maturity, and are recommended by the Utah State University Extension particularly for growing well in Utah (USDA Hardiness Zones 4-8).

You can let parsnips go to flower and collect your own seeds, but keep in mind that they are biennials – you’ll have to leave them in the ground longer if you want to do this, since they don’t produce flowers until their second year. This can be an issue if growing space is already limited.

Although many seed packets suggest sowing seeds as soon as the soil is workable, it’s actually best to wait a bit longer until soil temperatures warm up to around 50°F, usually sometime in April.

A soil thermometer is helpful to ensure you don’t sow too early, but simply waiting two to three weeks after the spring solstice should be adequate. Any earlier, and seeds may rot before they have a chance to germinate.

If you decide to risk it and sow seeds as soon as possible in the early part of the season, do yourself a favor and sow another batch of seeds a few weeks later anyway. They can take up to a month to germinate, so sowing a second batch will provide you with better germination rates.

Choose a sunny spot and sow seeds directly in the garden about 1/2 inch apart. When they germinate and start to put on new growth, thin them to at least 6 inches apart.

Slow to get started, it’s common to plant another fast-maturing crop, like radishes, in between parsnips. The radishes will serve as a row marker, and planting this companion crop will make better use of your garden space. Beets, carrots, and salsify are also often planted with them.

Keep in mind that starting seeds indoors generally isn’t a good idea with root crops, since transplanting them can often result in misshapen roots.

To that same point, make sure your garden soil is rich, deep, and loamy. Parsnip roots can grow to be up to a foot long (sometimes longer, depending on the cultivar) and poor, rocky soil can also cause misshapen roots.

Although starting seeds indoors isn’t ideal, one option to speed up the germination of parsnips is to lay the seeds between two folded, moist paper towels and place them in a sealed container.

Keep them in a sunny window and check regularly for germination. Once the seeds start to sprout growth, sow them in the garden and take care to keep the soil moist, but not wet.

This can be a bit of a balancing act, but seeds won’t germinate if the soil is too dry. Too wet, however, and seeds will likely rot.

In areas with long, cold winters, getting a head start on germination is especially helpful. Parsnips require nearly the entire season to mature, so you really only get one chance at growing them each year (similar to tomatoes and peppers).

Repeated harvests (like carrots are so great for) really aren’t possible. So be sure to sow viable seeds, and plant them at the appropriate time.

Slow to Start, Strong to Finish

Don’t be too quick to relax once seeds germinate. Parsnips take a few weeks to put on significant growth, and during that time, weeds can out compete them.

Keep plants weed free during those first few weeks, and beyond that, you’re in the home stretch. As the leaves fill in and shade the surrounding soil, weeds become less of an issue.

Once plants start taking off, you can rest easy. Care for parsnips from this point on is very similar to that of growing carrots.

In general, adequate soil moisture throughout the summer is key to growing healthy root crops. It is especially important to water thoroughly during dry spells.

Roots go where there’s water. So, watering deeply encourages strong root growth. A good soaking is best achieved slowly, with soaker hoses or drip irrigation.

And if you have a habit of passing over your garden too quickly with the hose, installing a simple irrigation system is sure benefit your garden – especially your root crops.

Frequent but shallow watering encourages shallow, weak roots, and plants that are even more susceptible to drought.

Ensure that the soil is well draining, since standing water can easily cause roots to rot.

Pests and Diseases

Although relatively pest and disease free, there are a few issues to keep an eye out for as you watch your parsnips grow:

Caterpillars

Particularly those of swallowtail butterflies like to munch on the leaves.

Just pick them off if you see them.

Aphids

These sap-sucking little insects can also pose an issue. My preferred method to control aphids is to simply blast them with the hose.

Carrot Flies

These flies – and more specifically their maggot larvae – feed on the roots of many root crops.

Prevention is best here. Try companion planting with chives, which are known to repel carrot flies.

Parsnip Canker

Rotting of the root that starts at the top can result from drought or damage to the crown.

With all these things considered, you’re on your way to a successful harvest!

What You Need to Know About Parsnip Burn

I’m thankful I can’t speak from experience on this, but it definitely is worth mentioning.

There have been a number of stories of people who, given the right circumstances, have ended up with burnt, blistering skin, due to harvesting common garden crops! And while it’s not crazy common, it’s helpful to be aware of so you can hopefully avoid it yourself.

Usually the burning, itching rash, called phytophotodermatitis, is associated with wild parsnip, which is a pretty common roadside weed. However, garden parsnip, just a domesticated variety of wild parsnip, as well as carrots and celery (all related, by the way), have been reported to do the same.

Moisture and sunshine seem to be the key factors for the reaction to occur.

Chemicals in the sap of leaves and stems first need to make contact with the skin. Moisture, such as that from the morning dew or a sweaty gardener, exasperates the spread and absorption of the problem chemicals. And then the UV light from the hot sun comes in and triggers the reaction.

So, simply harvesting parsnips or carrots doesn’t mean you’ll have a reaction. It’s the combination of exposure, moisture, and sun that dooms you.

However, awareness is key, since the red, burnt, blistery skin usually doesn’t occur until days after exposure.

If you’re concerned, harvest suspected crops early, before the heat sets in, and also avoid harvesting them if they’re wet. And to go a step further, long sleeves, pants, and gloves will do the trick.

Reaping the Rewards

Parsnips can be harvested whenever their leaves start dying back or they reach a usable diameter, around 3/4 of an inch.

However, if you’re patient and harvest in the fall after a hard frost or two, you’ll be rewarded with sweeter roots.

Although they require a long growing season, parsnips provide a great source of homegrown food when most other garden produce has already been devoured. And as long as the soil isn’t frozen, you can continue harvesting throughout the fall and into winter.

Plants can even be left to overwinter in the ground. Just cover them with mulch and harvest the roots when the soil is thawed in late winter or early spring.

If you choose this method, be sure to harvest roots before they begin pushing new growth the following spring. Once new leaves begin to emerge, roots become more fibrous and tough.

As the roots are long and can easily break, take care to loosen the plants appropriately before harvesting.

Read more about harvesting parsnips here.

Quick Reference Growing Chart

Plant Type:	Root Crop, Annual	Tolerance:	Frost
Native to:	Europe, Asia	Maintenance:	Moderate; keep free of weeds
Hardiness (USDA Zone):	2-9	Soil Type:	Loamy, sandy
Season:	Growing: Summer Harvesting: Fall, Winter	Soil pH:	Slightly acidic to neutral
Exposure:	Full sun	Soil Drainage:	Well-draining
Time to Maturity:	100-120 days	Companion Planting:	Radishes, peas, potatoes, beans, garlic, salsify
Spacing:	2 seeds per inch, thin to six inches	Avoid Planting With:	Carrot, celery, caraway
Planting Depth:	1/4 inch	Order:	Apiales
Height:	30-70 inches	Family:	Apiaceae
Spread:	6-12 inches	Genus:	Pastinaca
Water Needs:	Regular, deep watering	Species:	sativa
Common Pests:	Black swallowtail (Papilio polyxenes) caterpillars, aphids, celery fly (Euleia heraclei) larvae, carrot fly (Chamaepsila rosae) larvae	Common Disease:	Parsnip canker (fungal), watery soft rot (fungal), black rot (fungal)

Serving Suggestions

There are so many delectable ways to enjoy these sweet roots and to introduce additional vitamins and nutrients into your meal.

Here are a few of our favorites:

First, try these Indian Spiced Parsnip Curly Fries from The Fitchen, cut with a spiralizer and seasoned with cayenne, cinnamon, ginger, and curry powder.

If you’re in the mood for soup, a comforting combo of beans, root vegetables, and spices is just the thing for warming up on a cold evening. You can find Nisha’s recipe for Parsnip Butter Bean Soup at The Magic Saucepan.

Chardonnay Braised Chicken Thighs (with your favorite root veg) are simple to make, but fancy enough to serve on date night. Crispy chicken, and sauteed parsnips flavored with rosemary, shallots, and white wine – amazing! The Gingered Whisk shares the recipe.

Looking for a sweet and savory side that’s the perfect alternative to mashed potatoes? These Dreamy Creamy Mashed Parsnips with Rosemary Oil from Hunger Thirst Play are a must make!

Another alternative to a carb-heavy meal, you can skip the grains and make Root Vegetable “Couscous” for dinner instead. Vegan, raw, and gluten free, this dish includes carrots, almonds, cilantro, and fresh lime juice. You’ll find the recipe on The Fitchen.

How to Harvest

You can use larger tools like shovels and pitchforks or hand tools like trowels and claws to harvest, or – if your soil is shallow and soft enough, as mine is – your garden-gloved hands.

Using spades and shovels tends to result in chopped-up tubers, though, so garden forks or hands are recommended.

If your potato plants still have strong stems, you can pull them up to start the harvesting process.

You’ll often get a few smaller specimens clinging to the roots. To get the rest of the spuds, or if your stems have totally died back, gently dig several inches away from the base of each plant and lift the soil up. Grab any potatoes that come with it.

Use gloved hands to sift through the upturned soil to make sure you get every last one. Don’t forget to dig down deep so you won’t leave any specimens underground, where they could rot or sprout next season (which might not jibe with your planting or crop rotation plans).

Now that you know the “how,” let’s take a look at timing.

When to Harvest

For “new” potatoes – a wonderful midsummer treat – you can harvest when about a third of the potato greenery has started to yellow or die back.

These potatoes will be on the smaller side, and they’ll have a very delicate skin that’s easy for shovels, forks, or even gloved hands to damage. They’ll also be delicious.

This can be a good time to check on and harvest just a few potatoes to see how they’re coming along in terms of size and skin texture – if you’re planning to store potatoes, or if you want bigger spuds, they’ll need several more weeks to develop. Prep and enjoy your test potatoes now for a delicious preview of future harvests.

Be sure to get even the little marble-sized goodies. A farmer I know sold these recently in half-pint containers as “peanut potatoes.” If you’re roasting, grilling, or frying your spuds, these little guys with their high skin-to-flesh ratio crisp up really nicely.

Now that you know your potatoes are ready, you can harvest your spuds all at once, or as you need them during the hardening-off process, which I’ll discuss in the next section.

I tend to harvest the potatoes from each of my planting areas (in my case, raised beds and containers) all at once, but I do this in stages.

I’ll harvest one container or bed’s worth so that the growing space becomes available for other crops sooner. But I still have a few more beds or container’s worth of potatoes to harvest in following weeks. That way, that I’ve got a pretty good supply that will take me from midsummer to Labor Day.

Besides keeping my root cellar or fridge stocked, this allows me to free up containers or sections of plots for sowing fall crops like carrots, beets, and lettuce.

Speaking of fall, you might want to keep a large crop of potatoes fresh for several months past harvest time. Fortunately, there’s a simple process that can help you to do just that.

Hardening Off

If you’d like your potato skins to be more firm, or if you’re planning to store them long-term, leave them in the ground for up to a month after the tops have totally died back.

Be sure to keep them dry – no watering! Applied irrigation or even heavy rains can cause your potatoes to rot or sprout at this point, so plan your harvest accordingly.

If there’s lots of wet weather in the forecast or a frost is coming up, it’s a good idea to harvest your remaining spuds before this point – unfortunately you won’t be able to harden off underground with these conditions. But you can harvest your potatoes and bring them indoors to continue the hardening off process if you’re dealing with rain or frost.

Proper Storage

Now that your potatoes have been unearthed, brush off any excess dirt and store them indoors in a cool, dark, dry place.

You can also store them in the fridge for up to 2 months, wrapped well in plastic or stored in a zip-top bag to keep them firm and fresh.

I’ve had success doing this with both unwashed and washed potatoes. If you choose to wash and refrigerate yours, be sure they’ve been dried well before storing in plastic to prevent rot.

If you’ve hardened off your haul and plan to store your potatoes over the winter, do not wash them! Brush off excess soil, let the dirty spuds dry indoors (out of the sun to avoid damaging or sprouting the specimens), and then keep them dry to avoid rot.

It’s fine if some dry soil clings to the skins of the potatoes. Inspect your haul carefully and cull any with cuts, gashes, or broken skin – they won’t keep well, but you can use them quickly with no ill effects.

It’s also a good rule of thumb to pull smaller potatoes from your storage stock before larger ones – smaller taters don’t have quite the keeping power of larger specimens.

The ideal temperature for long-term potato storage is around 50°F. You’ll want to stash them in a dark place – no light whatsoever! – in a well-ventilated container. A wicker basket, paper or mesh bag, plastic storage bin with cutouts, or a cardboard box will do the trick.

If you have a cool, dry, dark basement or other storage space, that’s great for this. And if you’re lucky enough to have an actual root cellar, that’s perfect!

Keep in mind that you’ll want to limit access to hungry critters as much as possible.

Otherwise, a pantry or closet that will stay dark and cool for the long term and that isn’t accessible for pests to invade will do. Your potatoes should keep well this way for several months.

More Potato Tips

Now, for a few important pro tips:

1. Don’t Eat the Green Ones…

As you enjoy your homegrown potatoes, you may notice that the skin of your spuds has taken on a green tint. You’ll sometimes see this at the grocery store as well – don’t buy these!

This means your potatoes have been exposed to light, which increases levels of alkaloids and creates a toxin called solanine that’s poisonous to humans. This can also create a bitter flavor in your potatoes.

To avoid greening, be sure to keep them in the dark, with no light exposure during storage whatsoever.

While I definitely recommend avoiding any fully green potatoes entirely, specimens with just a hint of green on their skin can still be eaten safely, as long as you cut away that portion.

2. …Or the Seeds

As your potatoes grow to maturity, but before the green tops start to die back, you may notice what look like tiny green cherry tomatoes growing among the leaves. These are the seeds of the potato.

Please resist the urge to pop them in your mouth while weeding like you would a Sungold, because they’re toxic!

They also won’t give you the same potatoes, even if you were to save and plant them next year. Since potatoes don’t grow true from seed, we propagate them vegetatively, by saving seed potatoes from one year to the next.

Since disease can be passed down from season to season this way, it’s recommended that you always source trusted seed potatoes each year.

3. A Note on Rotation

I’ve touched on it already, but I’d like to offer one more note about rotation, with an urban growing tip:

Growing potatoes and tomatoes on a three-year rotation is recommended – meaning that if you want to grow these crops every year, you’ll need to maintain three separate beds or containers.

This minimizes the chance that you’ll exhaust the soil and build up pests or plant diseases in one bed like you might if you plant these crops in the same place over and over.

In my own garden, I also grow in straight compost, since I can get it for free. Yields seem pretty good so far, although the crops would benefit from something a bit lighter, I’m sure. YMMV.

Since I plant my potatoes in a series of raised beds and containers in various community gardens (as well as my own front yard), I make sure to build up my raised bed soil levels – which inevitably drop throughout each season – by emptying my spent potato container soil into a spent potato or tomato bed.

This way, I’m keeping my rotation properly, and the beds I use that didn’t grow potatoes or tomatoes this season will be ready for them the next season.

Fast growing and long lived, colorful daylilies (Hemerocallis spp.) are tough, carefree plants with an abundance of bright flowers – and they benefit from occasional division.

These herbaceous perennials form beautiful colonies of strappy foliage, producing multiple tall stems loaded with large, lily-like flowers.

And even though each flower blooms for only one day, healthy clumps give a long and abundant flowering season.

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Once established, these low-maintenance and versatile plants are drought tolerant, but they can also handle moist soil like you might find beside a creek or pond.

The fast-growing rhizomes and roots spread vigorously, developing dense clumps that can eventually become overcrowded.

And when overcrowded, the plants’ vigor slowly declines and flower production wanes, with fewer and smaller flowers each season.

To maintain optimal health and maximum flower production, clumps should be divided every three to five years.

To keep your daylily patch vibrant and flowering freely, let’s jump in for the how and when of daylily division.

Here’s everything we’ll cover up ahead:

Daylily Basics

Plants in the genus Hemerocallis are herbaceous perennials that grow from rhizomes, but they aren’t true lilies.

Growth is fast and energetic, with clumps reaching a height of one to six feet with a spread of two to four feet, depending on the cultivar.

When planting, newly divided sections can be spaced one to four feet apart.

For an immediate impact, you might wish to plant the sections closely. However, when planted closely, the clumps will fill in quickly and you’ll need to divide again in about three years.

Spaced further apart, the clumps fill in slower and you can divide every three to five years – but you have to wait longer for a full flower display as well.

Daylilies give the best floral shows in a full sun location, with an ideal mix of morning sun and protective shade from hot afternoon rays.

Light feeders, they have minimal fertilizer needs. Apply a two-inch layer of compost or well-rotted manure in early spring just after new growth emerges, and that’s all the supplemental feeding they need.

Most daylily cultivars are hardy in USDA Zones 3 to 9 with a few suitable for colder temperatures in Zone 2, and some fitting for warmer Zone 10 climates.

For complete care and cultivation info, our guide to growing daylilies in the garden has all the details.

When to Divide

Clumps of Hemerocallis can be divided in early spring, or in late summer to early fall.

In early spring, wait until new growth is two to four inches tall before lifting clumps. Spring is the best time for division as it gives plants a full growing season to become established.

If you divide at the end of the growing season, wait until cool overnight temperatures return, but don’t dally too long – give your new transplants six to eight weeks for the roots to become established before freezing temperatures arrive.

How to Divide

To divide plants, the entire root system needs to be lifted.

If a clump is overcrowded, damage to some of the roots is inevitable – but you’re going to have so much new material, it’s nothing to worry about.

Fully insert a garden fork or spade all around the clump’s perimeter, then pry and lift it free.

Gently brush or hose off the dirt to expose the roots.

Need a new garden hose? Our guide can help!

Use your fingers to carefully pull and wriggle the clumps apart into equal pieces, leaving each new section with at least one leaf fan and a healthy portion of roots.

If the roots are very choked or entwined, use clean, sharp scissors or a garden knife like a hori hori to cut and separate them.

Inspect the roots carefully and dispose of any that are damaged, rotten, small, or soft.

If you’re dividing at the end of the season, cut the fans back to about six inches.

For overgrown plants in containers, invert the pot and gently free the entire root mass before dividing as described above.

When you’re finished, you’re likely to have a surplus of divisions. Plant these up into nursery pots for friends, neighbors, or local plant sales.

Replant Promptly

To minimize stress to your new divisions, replant promptly in fertile, well-draining soil with a slightly acidic to slightly alkaline pH of 6.5 to 7.5.

Prepare the soil by loosening it to a depth of 12 inches.

Amend with compost or rotted manure to enrich the soil and provide a nutritious growing medium.

To improve water retention, add absorbent materials such as coconut coir, peat moss, perlite, or vermiculite.

To improve the drainage, mix in some grit such as pea gravel, perlite, landscape sand, or rock chips.

Add in one or two tablespoons of bone meal to promote strong, healthy roots.

Excavate a hole large enough for the root ball and create a small mound for draping the roots.

Set the divisions in place with the roots spread over the mound and the crown about one inch below the soil surface.

Backfill and lightly firm the soil in place.

Water gently and deeply to settle.

Keep the soil lightly moist until transplants are established, providing approximately one inch of water per week.

To help retain water in the soil for young plants, add a two- to four-inch layer of summer mulch such as bark mulch, hay, sawdust, or straw.

For mature plants, allow the top one to two inches of soil to dry between water applications.

For containers, choose pots and planters that have drainage holes. I like to cover the base with two inches of loose material such as broken pottery or pebbles.

Fill pots with a fertile, well-draining potting soil, then transplant, water, and mulch as above.

Container plants will also benefit from a midsummer application of a slow-release fertilizer. Use a feed with a balanced, all-purpose formula such as 10-10-10 NPK.

Newly divided plants typically have fewer flowers in their first summer but production returns to normal by their second year.

Cultivars to Select

There are thousands of daylily cultivars, all of them beautiful!

If you don’t have your own established plants yet, here are a few of my favorites to consider starting with.

Frankly Scarlett

You’ll definitely give a damn about ‘Frankly Scarlet’! The fantastic, four-inch blooms of rich scarlet red with gold throats are vibrantly colored and nonfading in hot sunlight.

These vigorous plants bloom continuously from early summer to frost and grow to a height and spread of 24 inches.

‘Frankly Scarlett’

A bold choice for beds, borders, containers, drifts, and foundations, they’re hardy in Zones 3 to 9.

Bare root plants are available at Burpee.

Happy Returns

You’ll want to revisit ‘Happy Returns’ often for the multitudes of gorgeous – and fragrant – lemon yellow flowers that start in May and don’t stop until frost.

With a compact habit, the three-inch flowers rise above plants that grow up to 18 inches tall with a spread of up to 24 inches.

‘Happy Returns’

A superb choice for continuous blooms in borders, drifts, and patio pots, they’re hardy in Zones 2 to 9.

Container plants are available at Nature Hills Nursery.

Mildred Mitchell

A true charmer with delightful tri-color blooms of lime green, mauve, and purple, ‘Mildred Mitchell’ is also lightly fragrant.

These robust plants have a height and spread of up to 24 inches with ample, six-inch flowers that bloom in late spring and early summer, then rebloom again in late summer.

‘Mildred Mitchell’

A beautiful reblooming choice for beds, borders, containers, and foundations, it’s hardy in Zones 3 to 9.

Bare root plants are available at Eden Brothers.

Pink Wing

Compact and reblooming, ‘Pink Wing’ delivers gorgeous, three-inch flowers in striking shades of peachy pink that bloom from late spring to late summer.

These tidy plants have a height and spread of 12 to 16 inches and produce hundreds of flowers over the growing season.

‘Pink Wing’

Offspring of the popular ‘Stella d ’Oro,’ ‘Pink Wing’ is perfect in beds and containers, or massed into drifts. It’s hardy in Zones 3 to 9.

Bare root plants are available at Burpee.

Strutter’s Ball

Perfect for bragging rights, ‘Strutter’s Ball’ features large, six-inch blooms of royal purple beautifully accented with lemon-lime throats that flower from midsummer until frost.

Clumps grow 24 to 36 inches tall and spread 12 to 24 inches, steadily producing flowers in the mid- to late-season garden.

‘Strutter’s Ball’

A striking choice for beds, borders, drifts, and foundations, they’re hardy in Zones 3 to 9.

Container plants are available at Nature Hills Nursery.

Darling Daylilies

Daylilies are the darlings of the low-maintenance landscape and require little from gardeners – occasional division is all that’s required for clouds of colorful summer flowers!

Divide overcrowded clumps in early spring and let the new sections get established over the growing season.

Or divide in early autumn but allow plenty of time for the roots to settle in before cold temperatures arrive.

After that, there’s nothing left to do but enjoy your work!

If you have any questions about how or when to divide daylilies, drop us a line in the comments section below.

And for more info about how to divide other flowering plants in the garden, check out these guides next:

1. Azalea

Associated with temperance, azaleas are finicky and floriferous. Not all azaleas (Rhododendron spp.) rebloom. You have to seek them out.

The Encore series of azaleas is dedicated to producing plants that rebloom.

Any of these, including the speckled pink Autumn Belle ‘Robleo,’ the fiery red dwarf Bonfire ‘Robleza,’ and the fuchsia Autumn Majesty ‘Roblezd’ can be relied on to send out flowers a second time during the year, usually in the fall, but some even bloom a second time in summer and a third in fall.

‘Autumn Sunburst’

Bring home the ongoing elegance by picking up a live ‘Autumn Sunburst’ plant in a gallon-size container at Home Depot.

Bloom-A-Thon by Proven Winners also features repeat-blooming azaleas to look out for.

And Perfecto Mundo is another series of rebloomers from Proven Winners. They boast being particularly disease-resistant with a dense growth habit.

Perfecto Mundo ‘White’

‘White’ has ice-white double blossoms, and you can find one at Home Depot.

Learn more about azaleas in our growing guide.

2. Black-Eyed Susan

Black-eyed Susans (Rudbeckia hirta) are popular across the US, and you can find them growing practically everywhere.

They aren’t traditional rebloomers in the sense that they’ll return after the first flush of blossoms.

But if you deadhead them after they bloom, you can usually entice them into tossing out a second batch.

These plants don’t necessarily need to be deadheaded, and it won’t guarantee a return of flowers. But it’s worth a try, right?

‘Goldsturm’ Black-Eyed Susans

Grab some gloriously golden ‘Goldsturm’ plants at Eden Brothers in packs of three, six, or nine roots.

Our guide to growing black-eyed Susans has cultivation tips.

3. Bougainvillea

Bougainvillea (Bougainvillea spp.) reliably rebloom in the fall in temperate zones if you prune them back well after the blossoms fade in the summer.

Bougainvillea blooms when the days are short in the spring and will bloom again when the days are short in the fall, so don’t feel bad if there’s nothing happening during the dog days of summer.

‘Alexandra’ Bougainvillea

The majestic purple of ‘Alexandra’ is pretty hard to beat. Make one yours by purchasing a plant at Fast Growing Trees.

Check out our guide to learn more about growing bougainvillea.

4. Butterfly Bush

Butterfly bushes (Buddleja spp.) won’t naturally rebloom, but if you prune them back after the flowers fade, they usually send out a second round of flowers right away.

These plants form buds on new wood, so if you encourage them to send out new growth early enough in the year, you’ll likely get more and more blossoms.

If you end up trimming them later in the growing season, they probably won’t bloom again.

‘Vanilla Treat’

There’s nothing wrong with the traditional purple-flowered ones, but ‘Vanilla Treat’ is something a little different to add an elegant white hue to your garden.

Fast Growing Trees carries this pretty option.

You can learn more about growing butterfly bush in our guide.

5. Clematis

Clever clematis (Clematis spp.) can cunningly climb up even the flimsiest of supports, and that’s part of why we love her.

These vining plants are sorted into three groups, and Group 2 (or B) is the one packed with plants that put on a floral show in spring and another in summer.

Herbaceous clematis will return for a second round of flowers if you prune back the plant after the initial flush has faded.

‘Belle of Woking,’ ‘Edith,’ ‘Jackmanii Alba,’ ‘Marie Boisselot,’ ‘Nelly Moser,’ ‘Snow Queen,’ and ‘The President’ are cultivars that all reliably rebloom with the right kind of pruning. Check out our guide for tips.

Then there are those that are basically pruning-optional. These are categorized as group B1.

‘Piilu,’ for instance, reblooms in the fall with smaller, semi-double blossoms practically without any effort on your part.

‘Piilu’ Clematis

The massive, double flowers in hues of red, purple, and light pink. It’s a pretty eye-catching show, and you get to enjoy an encore performance!

Ready to pick up your tickets for the show? Head to Burpee for a live ‘Piilu’ plant.

Learn more about growing clematis in our guide.

6. Daylily

Daylilies (Hemerocallis spp.) are awesome for so many reasons, and just one of these is their ability to rebloom over and over.

Some bloom early in the year and then rebloom again later in the growing season. Others bloom again and again with one flush after another, from spring until fall.

‘Stella d’Oro’

Golden yellow ‘Stella d’Oro’ is the most famous, but you can find lots of other great options like yellow ‘Going Bananas,’ orange ‘Earlybird Oriole,’ peach and purple ‘Stephanie Returns,’ and cultivars from the Summer Solstice series.

If you want to try the reliable classic, Dutch Grown has packs of one, three, or six bare root ‘Stella d’Oro’ plants available.

Learn more about daylilies and how to grow them in our guide.

7. Echinacea

No pruning, no deadheading, no fussing necessary. Purple coneflower (Echinacea spp.) reliably reblooms over and over throughout the growing season.

Often, the subsequent blossoms will be a bit smaller than the initial ones, but that doesn’t make them any less lovely.

Deadheading will only make the return more likely.

One of the prettiest options I’ve seen if you want to step away from the typical purple is ‘Playful Meadow Mama.’

‘Playful Meadow Mama’

The petals are raspberry and mango, tipped in white. Bring home a single live plant from Burpee.

Want to learn more about growing Echinacea? Check out our guide.

8. Honeysuckle

Victiorians believed you’d dream about your one true love if you put a sprig of honeysuckle under your pillow.

All I know for sure is that if I slept with honeysuckle under my pillow, I’d wake up even more in love with these fragrant marvels.

Here’s the thing about honeysuckle (Diervilla and Lonicera spp.). Depending on the type, it blooms on old or new growth.

Many bloom on the previous season’s growth, so if you prune these back, they won’t bloom a second time. But those that bloom on new growth can be encouraged to return with some pruning.

After the spring blossoms start to die off, give the plant a general haircut. As new growth emerges, so will new blossoms.

‘Peaches and Cream’ Honeysuckle

‘Peaches and Cream’ stands out among a group of stunning plants, with its purple, red, pink, cream, and yellow blossoms.

Fast Growing Trees has this L. periclymenum cultivar in quart or two-gallon options.

Learn more about honeysuckle in our growing guide.

9. Hydrangea

Hydrangeas have such abundant, showy blossoms that they’re associated with boastfulness. Not a bad way to earn your reputation.

Most hydrangeas (Hydrangea spp.) bloom once and are done for the year, but there are many newer reblooming cultivars.

If one is a rebloomer, this information will be on the tag, so just watch for that if you want a hydrangea that puts on multiple performances each year.

There’s no pruning required, because these types bloom on old wood first and then again on new wood later in the season.

Endless Summer® ‘Bloomstruck,’ cultivars from the Everlasting Revolution series, ‘Forever and Ever,’ ‘Penny Mae,’ ‘Tuff Stuff,’ and cultivars from the Let’s Dance® series are all ones to watch for.

Really, any with a version of the words “endless,” “everlasting,” or “forever” in the name are probably the ones you’re looking for.

Endless Summer® Blushing Bride® is particularly stunning. I’m not dogging on the lovely purple and pink blossom types – they’re stunning and I have over a dozen of them in my garden.

But the white ones are awfully pretty, and my Blushing Bride® draws comments every year.

Blushing Bride® Hydrangea

I live in a neighborhood full of hydrangeas, so that should tell you something. It’s a newer cultivar on the market, with white flowers that have just a hint of pink and lavender.

It’s gorgeous, and I only wish that I’d had some of these flowers in my wedding bouquet.

If you’re ready for your big day (of blossoms), put ‘Blushing Bride’ on your registry. Say “I do” to Fast Growing Trees, which has one-, two-, or three-gallon shrubs available.

Learn more about hydrangeas in our growing guide.

10. Ice Plant

Ice plants (Aizoaceae spp., Lampranthus spp, and Delosperma spp.) are one of those types that just need a good deadheading to rebloom.

If you keep up on that common garden chore, you’ll be rewarded month after month with one flush of flowers after another.

These succulent plants have vibrant blossoms that reliably return year after year, covering the ground with bright starbursts of color, so long as you give them full sun, with at least six hours of sunlight.

You don’t need to do anything special. Not all species make a second showing, but many will, and they’ll do it without any input from you.

‘Hot Pink Wonder’ Ice Plant

‘Hot Pink Wonder’ is extremely elegant, forming a carpet of fuchsia, red, orange, and yellow blossoms.

I can’t imagine why you wouldn’t want to have this beauty in your garden, and if you agree, you can find a live plant at Burpee.

11. Iris

Ever since ancient Egyptians placed irises on the brow of the Sphinx to represent the god Horus, irises (Iris spp.) have been associated with victory and power.

They triumph at conquering our hearts in the garden. So much so that we can’t get enough after just one round of flowers.

Not all irises come back for a second round of blossoms, but some will. They’re usually advertised as reblooming, so they aren’t hard to find if you’re shopping around.

Also look for the term “remontant.” There’s an entire society dedicated to reblooming irises, so this isn’t some sort of obscure type.

The plants typically send out flowers in summer and again in fall in most climates. In warmer climates, you might even see a third flush.

There are constantly new varieties coming out on the market, so keep an eye out. Your local nursery likely has some lovely options that are ideal for your climate.

I totally realize that taste is subjective, but I think ‘Concertina’ is extremely beautiful.

‘Concertina’ Bearded Iris

At first glance, it almost appears white. But on closer examination, the blossoms have dark purple, rose pink, and yellow undertones. The color looks like the iridescent hues of dragonfly wings.

Bring the color to your garden by heading to Eden Brothers to pick up packs of one, three, or five bulbs.

Have a read of our guide to learn more about growing irises.

12. Lilac

Lilacs (Syringa spp.) are another one of those plants that don’t typically rebloom, but breeders have managed to create a few that do. ‘Josee’ and cultivars from the Bloomerang® series all give you a second round of those fragrant flowers in the fall.

Just imagine it. The joy at the sight and scent of the spring lilac, but in the fall. It seems too good to be true.

To be completely honest, it kind of is too good to be true for people in hot locations.

Lilacs thrive best in cool weather and those that rebloom will only do it well in places with cooler summer and fall weather like Canada, New England and the Pacific Northwest.

In those areas, you might see up to four flushes of fragrant blossoms. In hotter regions, the second showing will be less impressive, if it turns up at all.

Bloomerang® Lilac

So, if you’re one of the lucky souls who has the opportunity to recreate the magic of spring when winter is on the horizon, grab a medium purple Bloomerang shrub in a quart or two-gallon container at Fast Growing Trees.

You can learn more about growing lilacs in our guide.

13. Lily

True liles (Lilium spp.), not to be confused with daylilies, shouldn’t be counted on to perform all summer long.

But if you have a long enough growing season and you remove any spent flowers, you can usually see a second flush.

Now, I admit that I’m a bit biased. I’m a rose lover, so when I spotted Roselilies, I was sold.

Cultivars in series have a ton more petals than your usual lily flower, which is enough to make me happy. But they don’t produce any pollen either.

Roselily Pink and White Mix

If you’ve ever stained your tablecloth or nearby furniture, you know what challenging stuff pollen can be.

Anyway, if you want to try a mix of white and pink Roselilies, visit Eden Brothers for three, six, or nine bulbs.

Mixed Perennial Lilies

If you’d rather go the more traditional route, Burpee has a mix of yellow, pink, orange, and red lilies available.

Learn more about how to grow lilies in our complete guide.

14. Magnolia

Magnolias (Magnolia spp.) may be thought of as a harbinger of spring in most regions, but some of them rebloom again in the summer or fall.

Any of the Little Girl series, which includes ‘Ann’ ‘Betty’ ‘Jane,’ ‘Judy,’ ‘Pinkie,’ ‘Randy,’ ‘Ricki’ and ‘Susan,’ rebloom sporadically in the late summer or early fall. ‘Genie’ and ‘Yellow Bird’ will do the same.

‘Ann’ is one of the most popular options from the Little Girl series thanks to its tolerance for a wide range of climates, petite size, and massive, tulip-like flowers.

‘Ann’ Magnolia

Enjoy the encore that can be every bit as beautiful as the original show. Make ‘Ann’ yours by bringing home a three- to four-foot tree from Fast Growing Trees.

Read our guide to learn how to grow and care for magnolias.

15. Phlox

With phlox (Phlox spp.), you can leave the flowers to fade and go to seed, sending up new plants the following year.

Or, you can deadhead them and encourage a second flush of blossoms. Then, you can allow the second batch of flowers to fade and go to seed, if you’d like.

The second method takes a little more work, but isn’t it worth it to be able to soak up the color for several extra weeks each year?

Obviously, a garden full of a single color of phlox makes a big statement, but picture a spot packed with muted pink and cream blossoms.

Phlox Pastel Mix

It would be more subtle but far more elegant. For five or 10 roots, visit Eden Brothers for their pastel mix.

Learn about growing phlox here.

16. Poppy

Poppies come in two types: annuals and short-lived perennials.

The Iceland poppy (Papaver nudaucaule), oriental poppy (P. orientale), and alpine poppy (P. alpinum) are all perennials.

When these are done showing off their characteristic papery petals, deadhead them. If you do, you can expect to see more color in a few weeks.

‘Patty’s Plum’ Poppy

It’s nearly impossible for me to narrow down to just one or two of my favorite poppies. There are just so many incredible options! But I will say that ‘Patty’s Plum’ is a standout.

The rich purple, burgundy, and fuchsia hues on big, ruffled petals are luscious, and you can buy two, four, or 10 roots at Eden Brothers.

Check out our guide to growing poppies here.

17. Rose

Some roses (Rosa spp.) rebloom, and some don’t. Some never stop sending out blossoms from spring until fall.

You can make generalizations about a rose’s behavior based on what type it is, and for more information on rose types, you can visit our guide, which has all the details.

Floribundas, for instance, tend to continually bloom all season long. But some take a break between flushes.

China roses, hybrid musks, many climbers, minifloras, and most modern shrubs rebloom or bloom continuously. Hybrid teas send out blossoms, fade for six or seven weeks, and then bloom again.

The safest way to be sure that you have one that will continue to perform in the way you want is to check the nursery tag or do a quick internet search when you’re shopping.

‘Blanc Double de Coubert’ is heavily fragrant with large, semi-double white roses that will return multiple times each season.

‘Blanc Double de Coubert’

Whether you need a white addition to your cutting garden or you just want to enjoy the eruption of petals on the plant, you can find this prolific option as a bare root or in a #3 container at Nature Hills Nursery.

Check out our collection of articles about growing roses here.

18. Weigela

Weigela (Weigela spp.) don’t normally rebloom, but breeders have managed to create a few that will put on a second performance.

The Sonic Bloom series is perhaps the best known, but Proven Winners has also bred their own “Wine” line, W. florida cultivars under the names Wine & Roses (‘Alexandra’), Fine Wine (‘Bramwell’), Spilled Wine (‘Bokraspiwi’), Midnight Wine (‘Elvera’) and Wine & Spirits (‘SMNWFGC’).

Sonic Bloom Red Weigela

Home Depot carries the Sonic Bloom series, including this wine red option that you can have shipped to you in 4.5-quart or gallon containers.

19. Wisteria

While most wisteria (Wisteria spp.) bloom once in the year and are done until next spring, some rebloom a second time in the summer.

The second flush may be a bit smaller, but it’s always impressive. I always feel so lucky to be able to enjoy the weeping racemes, but being able to revel in them twice a year is downright awesome.

‘Amethyst Falls’ Wisteria

‘Amethyst Falls’ and ‘Blue Moon,’ for example, will return two or three times each season without any help on your part.

Visit Fast Growing Trees for a two-gallon, two-gallon on a trellis, or a five-gallon live plant.

Learn how to grow and care for wisteria in our guide.

Choose Flowers that Return for an Encore Performance

See? There’s no reason to mourn the end of your favorite flowers early in the season.

There are so many cultivars and hybrids that have been developed, in addition to some marvelous natural rebloomers, that we can keep enjoying when other gardeners are kissing their petals goodbye.

Which of the options on this list are calling your name? Do you have a favorite rebloomer that we missed? Share with us in the comments.

If you’re looking for some species of flowers that will bloom continuously all season, we have a few other guides that might be of interest:

In this article, I’ll cover all you need to know to cultivate common sage in your garden.

Let’s begin with a little background on this ancient herb.

Cultivation and History

Common sage is not the only edible Salvia species. Other types include bee or white sage (S. apiana), chia (S. columbariae), and pineapple sage (S. elegans).

There are also numerous non-edible, ornamental types of sage including blue (S. azurea), purple (S. dorrii), scarlet (S. splendens), and woodland (S. nemerosa).

To avoid confusion, it is essential to read your seed packets and plant labels thoroughly so you know exactly what kind you’re buying!

S. officinalis is grown as an herb, ground cover, and ornamental.

The genus name, Salvia comes from the Latin “to save,” and “officinalis” is derived from the Latin word officia, which refers to the plant’s standing as a healing herb.

Its use dates at least as far back as the Middle Ages, when it was prized by religious practitioners, herbalists, and cooks for its holy, healing, and nourishing properties.

From its origins in the Mediterranean region, it has naturalized around the world.

Today in the United States, its aromatic leaves are best known as a staple ingredient in holiday turkey stuffing, dressing, or filling, depending on where you come from.

And while the leaves appeal to people, the nectar-rich blossoms attract beneficial insects, like bees and butterflies, by the dozen.

They are good for the garden because they prey on insect pests and promote pollination.

Plants thrive in full sun with average soil that drains well. They tolerate pH levels ranging from 5.6 to 7.8.

They have a clumping growth habit, with mature dimensions of between 12 and 36 inches tall and wide.

For those outside Zones 4 to 8, this plant can be grown as an annual.

In addition, it makes an excellent container plant both outdoors and indoors.

Propagation

S. officinalis is easy to propagate from seed, stem cuttings, by division, and nursery starts.

From Seed

Start seeds indoors up to eight weeks prior to the last frost date, or sow them directly outdoors after all risk of frost has passed. Sow to a depth of 1/8-inch.

To direct sow after the danger of spring frost has passed, sprinkle seeds on moist soil and barely cover them.

Keep the soil moist, but not soggy, while they germinate.

When seedlings have two sets of true leaves, thin them to accommodate mature dimensions ranging from 12 to 36 inches, depending on the variety.

From Stem Cuttings

In the spring, cut a four- to six-inch length of stem with a growing tip. Pinch off the bottom two inches of leaves to expose a bare stem. Dip the end into food-safe powdered rooting hormone, if desired.

Place the stem in a glass of water, taking care that no leaves are below the water’s surface. Keep it in a location with indirect light and change the water daily.

When roots form, you can transplant the rooted cutting to the garden, as described below.

By Division

Divide perennial plants in early spring to make additional ones.

To do this, dig up the entire plant, and using a garden knife or shovel, cut the plant into two or more sections.

When you transplant, maintain the same depth in their new placement.

You can learn more about dividing perennials in this guide.

How to Grow

Once you have started plants, growing S. officinalis is easy.

Find a location in full sun. Part shade is tolerated, but plants are likely to become leggy and not bloom as abundantly with less sunshine.

Work the soil to a crumbly consistency to a depth of 10 to 12 inches. If it is compacted, you may add some compost or builder’s sand to loosen it.

Excellent drainage is essential, as plants that stand in water are likely to suffer root rot.

Some folks like to mound the soil up, as you would to grow squash, to promote water run-off.

To transplant seedlings, cuttings, divisions, or nursery starts to the garden, acclimate them gradually to the outdoors if temperatures are still falling below 50°F.

Set them in a sheltered area outside to “harden off” for a few hours each day, over the course of four or five days.

Increase the time a little each day, and transplant when temperatures are sufficiently warm.

Place transplants into the prepared bed at the same depth they were growing in their containers.

Keep the soil moist, but don’t overwater.

Once established, water when the soil is dry and never over-water. This plant exhibits above average drought tolerance.

Sage has shallow roots that make it well-suited to container gardening.

Choose pots that can accommodate the mature width of the variety you have chosen. Remember that containers tend to dry out before ground soil, so you may need to water more often.

While it is an easy plant to grow, S. officinalis gets along well with some plants, and not with others, as its intense aroma can impact their flavor.

Good companions are carrots, cole crops like broccoli and cauliflower, strawberries, tomatoes, and rosemary.

Place it well away from alliums like onion and garlic, cucumbers, and fennel.

Some gardeners grow sage as an ornamental, using it as border edging, or a front to mid-bed placement.

In cool regions where it grows as an annual, it will die to the ground each year, giving you a chance to switch up your planting scheme.

In warm locales where it is an evergreen perennial, it tends to become woody. Each spring, prune off the old growth when the new shoots start to appear.

When plants are underwatered or oversaturated, or have inadequate airflow, they may become vulnerable to sap-sucking pests such as aphids, mealybugs, spider mites, spittlebugs, thrips, and whiteflies.

With excess water, shady placements, and overcrowding, fungal conditions like leaf spot, powdery mildew, and rust may occur.

Damp conditions may also invite slugs that nibble roots and leaves, contributing to stem and root rot.

Treatment methods for sap-suckers include a firm spray with a hose and treatment with food-grade insecticidal soap.

Fungal infections may respond to food-grade fungicides.

There are various slug-away remedies, but once roots are rotten, plants are unlikely to recover.

Note that while it may sound like a good idea to apply a layer of mulch around plants to inhibit weed growth, this is not recommended as it can cause the soil to retain too much moisture.

Give plants every opportunity to succeed with best practices, and you are not likely to have issues. And don’t worry about deer, because the aroma doesn’t seem to appeal to them.

Harvesting

The stems, leaves, and flowers of common sage are edible.

For perennial growers in the warmest regions, they are available for harvesting year-round.

Some folks like to pinch growing tips regularly to keep plants from flowering, claiming it results in better leaf flavor.

However, you may let plants flower, especially if you want to use the dainty blossoms as a garnish.

Throughout the growing season, periodically pinch off flowers, stems, and leaves to promote new growth.

To harvest leaves, pinch them off with your thumbnail, or snips, at the base where they meet the stem.

Do the same for individual blossoms, or snip off entire flower stems just below the bottom row of blooms.

You can harvest up to half of a plant at one time during the growing season. Doing so encourages a more rounded and bushier plant, and slows the flowering and seed producing process.

In zones where the herb is a perennial, many folks retire a plant after three or four years if it becomes too woody. However, as mentioned, you can revitalize and retain optimal flavor with judicious pruning.

Preserving

Freshly harvested sage leaves will keep for three to four days in the refrigerator. Simply wrap them in a paper towel, and place in a plastic bag.

You can dry the leaves by tying stems together and hanging them in a cool, dry location. Alternatively, you can use a dehydrator or oven on a low setting.

Dried sage will keep for up to a year when stored in a sealed container in a dark pantry.

It’s convenient to have a ready supply on hand for an array of savory dishes.

You can learn more about storing herbs using drying and freezing techniques per the instructions on our sister site, Foodal.

With fennel, carrots, Brussels sprouts, cherry tomatoes, and pomegranate, these grain bowls are irresistible.

And don’t forget the flavorful sesame-sage dressing! You can find the recipe also on Foodal.

To find even more delicious recipes with sage, check out all that is available on our sister site, Foodal.

Quick Reference Growing Guide

Plant Type:	Perennial herb	Flower / Foliage Color:	Blue/gray-green
Native to:	Mediterranean	Tolerance:	Alkaline soil, drought, dry soil
Hardiness (USDA Zone):	4-8	Maintenance:	Low
Season:	Spring-fall	Soil Type:	Average
Exposure:	Full sun	Soil pH:	5.6-7.8
Growth Rate:	Moderate	Soil Drainage:	Well-draining
Time to Maturity:	75 days	Attracts:	Bees, butterflies, and other pollinators
Spacing:	12-36 inches	Companion Planting:	Carrots, cole crops, rosemary, strawberries, tomatoes
Planting Depth:	1/8 inch (seeds)	Avoid Planting With:	Alliums, cucumber, fennel
Height:	1-3 feet	Family:	Lamiaceae
Spread:	1-3 feet	Genus:	Salvia
Water Needs:	Low to Moderate	Species:	officinalis
Common Pests:	Aphids, mealybugs, slugs, spider mites, spittlebugs, thrips, whiteflies	Common Disease:	Leaf spot, powdery mildew, stem rot, root rot, rust

Sage Rocks

You may be familiar with the renowned parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme foursome, popularized by Simon & Garfunkel’s hit version of the classic English Folk song, “Are You Going to Scarborough Fair.”

This is a reference to the widely acclaimed herbs’ extensive folk history. Native Americans have long used sage in traditional rituals that celebrate, heal, and purify.

Common sage is a classic when it comes to herb gardening, and where it can’t survive a cold winter, it is often cultivated in containers that are brought inside until the growing season resumes.

In warmer climes, it may grow so big and bushy that its stems become woody. If so, replace your plants every few years for a steady supply of not only leaves and blossoms, but palatable stems as well.

While completing additional research to triple-check my information and resources, I came to a realization. Although we have plenty of instructional lessons on how to forage for edible plants, there is very little consideration for why we ought to do it.

It’s my goal to break ground on this neglected aspect of wild gathering. Don’t worry, there will be a generous dash of terrible jokes thrown in to keep things fun.

Here’s what’s to come in this guide:

So let’s get to it, and learn about gathering our own wild foods!

Become Familiar with the Local Environment

This is an important companion to being positive you’re eating what you think you’re eating.

Edible plants that foragers are eager to find will likely grow in the company of other trees and weeds, and in specific locations like a sunny patch of old farmland. Familiarize yourself with the local ecosystem and you’ll become more adept at spotting not only edible plants, but their likely growing companions.

This broader knowledge has other benefits to it as well. Becoming familiar with local animals and insects can significantly alter your experience in the field.

Suddenly, you didn’t just see a generic bird plucking fruit, you know was a ruffed grouse in its native environment. That white-and-black caterpillar creeping on the goldenrod is a hairy tussock.

Learning more about the local ecosystem is important for identification, but it also ties you more closely to the outdoors and the experience of foraging. An experience where you may at first feel like an outsider is transformed into one where you feel you are exploring your second home.

It should go without saying that you shouldn’t forage on private property or protected land. This includes nature preserves. Your best bet is always to ask for permission before wandering around somebody’s property.

If you’re venturing into wilder places, check a map or stop by a local ranger station to determine the boundaries of private and public land, and to learn any local rules and regulations.

Watch Out for Hazards!

Any jaunt through through the woods carries a bit of risk, so it’s important to be prepared, and to remain aware of your surroundings.

Make sure you’ve got a trusty set of footwear. Lots of folks swear that full boots are the only way to make it through the forest. I’ve been a lifelong wearer of hiking shoes or something similar for my entire life, and these are always on my feet when I forage.

The important thing here is that you’re wearing something you’re comfortable in. A wide-brimmed hat is handy to keep the sun and the bugs away from your head and neck, and long sleeves and pants are key when traveling through brambles and thick underbrush.

You should always bring some water to drink, and a first-aid kit can be a handy addition to any trip. I usually carry all of my belongings in a backpack with a built-in hydration bladder. It keeps everything in one place and can be used in many situations not limited to the great outdoors.

Some extra water and a dry cloth also come in handy so you can wipe or wash away any excess dirt from your finds before sampling them. Bring a basket or sturdy-sided container as well, so you will have something to bring your harvest home in.

Beyond personal protection and comfort, you need to be aware of your surroundings. More often than not, you’ll just encounter a few squirrels or cardinals, but large berry patches can attract bears. Don’t be shy about making a bit of a ruckus when foraging to let the woodland denizens know you’re around.

Watching for hazards isn’t limited to elements that could immediately injure you. We live in a world with dense pockets of pollution. Never eat foraged food that has been treated with a pesticide or is growing out of a pile of garbage. If you aren’t sure, err on the side of caution.

The chemicals and contaminants found in old carpet, motor oil, typical household garbage, and other unsavory refuse can taint an otherwise edible meal. Likewise, there could be other eager diners hanging out near the base of plants, on fruit, and in the nearby area.

Remember to harvest only healthy-looking plants, none with spots, mold, or signs of insect infestation. Think of this as a similar process to what you’d do if you were choosing the best pieces of produce at the farmers market, or picking through the rows in your veggie patch.

You don’t want to eat anything with signs of rot or disease, even if you have positively identified it as the plant you were hunting for.

Experimenting with What You Procure

Many plants have doppelgangers that are almost impossible to distinguish between. So what do you do when you’re out foraging and are confronted with this dilemma?

In most cases, you should treat the plant as toxic and move on. Leave the lookalikes up to the more advanced experts.

However, in measured doses, you can administer a few toxicity tests yourself using old-fashioned experimentation. In this case, you’re the guinea pig, so I advise you to read the next section of this guide and proceed with extreme caution.

For instance, some plants have edible leaves but inedible berries, or vice versa. There are several commonly available fruits and vegetables that fit this description – such as rhubarb, with its delicious stalks and poisonous leaves – and they’re relatively commonplace at the grocery store. But you won’t often find rhubarb with its leaves still intact in the produce bins, and this is for a reason.

If you want to check for possibility toxicity in the form of an allergic reaction, there are a few things that you can do. First, rub the plant on an exposed area of your skin (like your arm) and wait a few minutes.

If there’s any sort of irritation, the plant is probably toxic. Examples of irritation are rashes, raised bumps, swelling, and pretty much any sensation that’s uncomfortable.

If the plant passes this test, you can rub a bit of what you have deemed to be the edible portions on your lips. Not much, of course! We aren’t applying lipstick here – just a few dabs’ll do. If this causes burning, tingling, or an otherwise uncomfortable sensation, stop where you’re at; the plant is probably toxic.

If the plant in question passes the first two tests, you may try eating a small. Wait for a while, maybe fifteen minutes or more, after you do. If it passes the third test, chances are the plant is edible and nontoxic.

Again, I do not advise doing this if you’re taking a gamble between two plants that look very similar. These tests are not foolproof, and signs of toxicity might not appear until it’s too late, especially in the case of ingesting potentially deadly mushrooms. Instead, administering these tests is actually advisable in all cases where you’re trying something new for the first time.

Even after you’ve confirmed a match against your guidebook (or better yet, with a trusted foraging friend that you’ve brought along on your journey), you need to remember that each of us may react different to new foods.

Though wild edibles may not be toxic, if you’re introducing a new plant that you’ve never eaten before, or that isn’t a common part of your diet, you should proceed slowly and pay attention to what your body is telling you.

Blackberry

Ah, the regal blackberry. The patches of these found growing in old farmland are often impenatrable, and twenty-foot canes can form, covered in piercing prickers.

The color of the canes ranges from red to green, and they can produce huge fruits. I can’t eat store-bought blackberries because all I can think is, “Man this is nothing compared to wild ones.” If you’re able to get into the field and eat some of these, you’re going to feel the same way!

Description

Large fruits, some as big as your thumb, form in fruiting bunches. The berries are white or green when forming but ripen to a dark purple or black. Half-developed berries have hints of red mixed in with the purple and are much more tart – these are my favorites.

Watch out when biting! The receptacle, that white core at the center of the fruit, detaches when harvested and remains inside the berry. It can be rather hard, so chew carefully.

Location

You’ll find these in sunny borders of fields and along tree lines. Blackberries can also grow in meadows and fields, and sunny patches in a forest.

When to Go Pickin’

Summer and late summer are the best times to pick blackberries.

Raspberry/Black Raspberry/Thimbleberry

This is my favorite of all the berries, especially the wild black raspberry or black cap.

Truly delectable, raspberries can be identified by the white cone, or receptacle, they leave behind after harvest. Regular wild raspberries are best eaten while red and ripe, but I’ve got a soft spot for eating the tart, reddish-purple black caps before they fully mature.

Description

You’ll see a collection of seeds formed around a receptacle that remains attached to the plant after harvesting. Immature berries can be green or white and darken to red when mature, or in the case of black raspberries, a dark purple color.

Location

Raspberries prefer soil that’s rich and full of organic matter. I grew up picking black caps from old farmland and the edges of fallow fields.

Look for leaves that have serrated edges and are a light green underneath. The stems have a white powder on them that can be rubbed off.

When to Go Pickin’

It’s best to scout out a patch in the spring and wait until summer for it to ripen. Watching for changes throughout the season will also help you to solidify identification. Some varieties will produce fruit into the fall.

Blueberry

Ah, the tasty blueberry. This type reminds me of my favorite places in the world, the ridge of the mountain where I grew up. It descends sharply to the Susquehanna River, and all along the rim are scattered blueberries.

These wild plants thrive in dry and sandy soil so it’s the perfect location. Most are a little plainly flavored, but picking at the right time helps to guarantee a better harvest.

Description

You’re likely find two varieties of blueberries. One is a low-growing, spreading plant that reaches heights of about two feet, and the other is a tall shrub that grows up to 20 feet tall. They’ve got bell-shaped, hanging flowers and warty twigs.

Location

Usually growing in barren soil and acidic locations. Most that I’ve encountered are found in sunny clearings and growing near large rocks and patches of lichen and moss. Often found near oak trees.

When to Go Pickin’

Summer is prime time for blueberry picking.

Strawberry

Don’t get mixed up with the false strawberry, that annoying and invasive thing that creeps along your lawn and in your vegetable beds. While edible, the fruit is tasteless and bland.

The true wild strawberry tends to grow along streams and riverbanks, and on the ground near treelines and the edge of forests.

Description

Though they look similar, there are several ways to distinguish between true and mock strawberries.

True strawberries have white flowers, their fruit hangs down, and they smell and taste like the store-bought ones we are familiar with (or even better!).

The mock strawberry has fruit that grows and points upwards, does not have a white flower, and tastes like… well, not much. They’re edible, but not very tasty.

Location

Best found in abandoned fields and along sloping embankments that are sunny and moist. Every time I’ve found these it’s been on the side of old trails and roads, near sunny stream beds

When to Go Pickin’

Like most berries, the summer is the best time to pick.

The Why of Gathering

Most gardeners would agree that gardening contributes to a happier, less-stressed life. But time spent in the wild, walking underneath tall trees with the sunshine on your face, is just as beneficial. Heck, even the biting bugs (in small doses) and that feeling you get when you walk through an unexpected spiderweb contribute to making it worthwhile.

That’s because we’re tied to the outdoors and nature, good and bad, for better or for worse. If I’ve got one gift wrapped up inside the tangled bunch of stuff that I am, it is my rapport and sense of connection with the outdoors. We’re a bunch of wild creatures who spend most of our time pent up inside under fluorescent lights – no wonder we’re stressed, angry, and depressed!

I don’t know if getting outside and into the outdoors is a cure, but it sure does help to alleviate some of the negativity and emotional weight we carry. That’s why it’s important to recognize those birds as what they really are, after you’ve picked a few black caps you discovered on a jaunt through the woods.

When we recognize that it’s a ruffed grouse and a black-capped chickadee in the berry patch with us, we discover the threads holding us and nature together are strengthened. Sharing a few blueberries with the chipmunks and cat birds is a pretty great reminder that we’re all in this together.

There could be a deeper reason why the presence of flowers energizes us. Flower essences try to capture flowers’ good energy and allow us to hold it within ourselves. Try your hand at making a flower essence to bring balance and harmony to your spirits.

Have you ever heard of flower essences? They’re not to be confused with essential oils or medicinal tinctures. Flower essences are based on the idea that flowers contain vibrational healing energy.

I took a class on flower essences from my herbal mentor, Lori Snyder, a few years ago, and I thought it would be great to share it with you today.

Lori is Garden Therapy’s herbalist mentor as well, and I asked her to join me in sharing a little bit more about flower essences and how you can make and use them yourself.

This post will cover…

What is a Flower Essence?

Flower essences are a combination of earth and sun. It’s a way of extracting a flower’s energetic properties rather than the scent or medicinal properties.

Flower essences are considered the highest vibration of the plant. This means they hold a certain amount of energy that can help balance our own during times of stress. After all, who doesn’t find the scent or presence of flowers relaxing?

These essences are made of spring water, fresh flowers, and preserved with brandy or vinegar. They work to bring us back to our natural state of harmony and equilibrium. Typically, you use them to help with mental and emotional issues rather than physical conditions.

As Lori says, “Flower essence remedies address many different emotional states including fear, despondency, loneliness, the concern of others, worry, the shock of bad news, and many other emotional states. They can be shared with our animals, plants, children, and elders.”

History and Benefits of Flower Essences

The exact beginnings of flower essences are unclear, but it appears that the practices began with the Yucatan and the Mayan people. In the 1930s, Dr. Edward Bach reintroduced the idea of flower essences after leaving his physician practice.

After moving to the countryside, he took up homeopathy and worked as a bacteriologist. There, he explored how restoring emotional health could also improve your physical health.

“He believed there was a more subtle pathway for healing based purely on nature,” says Lori. “The remedies help the emotional cause with no side effects, treating the patient vs the malady. This gently restored balance from negative emotions (such as worry, depression, loneliness, etc.) into positive emotions to stimulate our own self-healing.”

How to Make a Flower Essence

Making flower essences is quite simple, but there is a certain way you should do it to express your gratitude and get the most energy possible from the flowers.

Materials

Make It!

Lori calls this process the sun method, as you allow the sun to help you extract the flower’s energy. To make a flower essence, you must use fresh flowers.

Wait until your flowers are at the peak of their blooming, and head out in the early morning to cut them. Lori recommends that you begin by expressing your gratitude to the flower and take a few moments to ask permission to cut it.

When you’re ready to cut, use sharp, sterile scissors to snip the flower. Avoid touching it, and let it drop into a glass or crystal bowl filled with spring or purified water.

“Remember that water carries messages,” says Lori. To learn more about this concept, check out the book The Secret Life of Water by Masaru Emoto.

Let the bowl sit in direct sunlight for several hours or until the flower begins to wilt. Gently remove the flower without touching it by using tweezers.

Fill a dropper bottle half-full with either brandy or glycerin. These both will act as a preservative. Pour the flower water to fill the rest of the dropper bottle.

At this point, you can label the bottle and give it a shake. This bottle will be your ‘mother’ tincture.

Next, Lori recommends preparing another dropper bottle halfway with preservatives and half the flower water. Then, put 5-7 drops from the ‘mother’ tincture in the second bottle. Label this bottle as your ‘stock.’

You can then prepare a 3^rd bottle using half flower water and half preservative. Drop 5-9 drops from the ‘stock’ bottle into the 3^rd dropper. This will be your ‘dose’ bottle.

Note that you can also dose from your ‘stock’ bottle.

Flower Essence Recipes

Just like their medicinal properties, different flowers will have different energies and can specifically aid you with different things.

Lori recommends making flower essences from your surrounding environment rather than those from another country.

Here are a few flowers and their essences to try.

• *Blackberry: helps with procrastination and strongly connects to our will. It helps balance our thoughts into specific priorities to manifest our goals and brings vital energy to our limbs.
• Chamomile: helps to balance moods when feeling irritable.
• *Cosmos: integrating thoughts into speech and ideas into focused action. It provides mental agility to harmonize an overly active mind. Cosmos will flood us with creative thoughts and inspiration, which need synthesis and organization for bringing creative ideas into form, especially through speaking and writing.
• *Cottonwood: releases physical and emotional tension. It balances our life force and is grounding.
• Dandelion: dispels tight, old energy from the muscles and tissue. It gets you into a more active mindset.
• Feverfew: works well in group situations to help soften the need to argue and overall agitation and intensity.
• Forsythia: opens up spiritual nature and ushers in joy.
• Lavender: calming effect to balance emotions and relieve stress and anxiety.
• Lilac: helps with uptightness to usher in joy, laughter, and release painful memories.

• Lily of the Valley: helps untapped spiritual potential. Connects you to the divine.
• *Rose: helps with those lacking trust and faith. It brings courage, interest in life, the ability to build trust, and encourages openness.  
• Peony: dispels fear and nightmares. Provides light.
• Yarrow: helps to protect against negative influences. A psychic shield.

*From Lori. Her favourites!

Rescue Remedy

Another one of Lori’s favourites is what is known as the rescue remedy, which Edward Bach created. This flower essence combines five flower essences:

• Cherry plum
• Clematis
• Impatiens
• Rockrose
• Star of Bethlehem

“Last fall, I slipped down some stairs and cracked two ribs,” says Lori. “From the pressure of the blow, it turned out that I pushed oxygen from my lungs and into my chest cavity. In those first few moments, I could not breathe and felt the panic growing. I quickly had a few drops of rescue remedy, and instantly I could breathe. These flower essences work!”

How to Use Flower Essences

To take flower essence, you can add them to a glass of water with four drops at a time. Take them as often as you feel you need.

Like homeopathic remedies, they are safe to use with any other kind of medication as they are non-interactive.

More Ways to Heal with Plants

Rosita Alonzo comments on my terra preta video:

“I HAD TO TELL YOU THIS: my grandpa was a Rural School teacher. He was born in 1897 in Paraguay from a Sicilian Turkish family that emigrated to South America.

We always had an orchard and vegetable garden and a little field for yuca, sweet potatoes, corn, watermelons, melons and squashes, so we rarely bought vegetables or eggs and chickens.

In those times we had “latrines” and quite far from the main house, so always every child had a “basin” or container to use with cover to use in case of need.

For me this was normal, since no child will go in the middle on night 100 to 300 ft away in the dark night or rain to the bathroom, but those latrines fill quite fast, lasting 3-5 years, maybe less, depending on depth. (Then) we made a new one, and we filled the old one with soil and yard debris until it look like a little mountain. When we’d go again to check, there would be a depression and we would refill it from the chicken coop, cow manure, and we’d clean the yard and fill the hole and again we’d create a little mountain with soil on top.

When we went to check again and it was level (these holes were easily 6ft x 6ft), then grandpa would say it was ready to put the banana plants there. Those bananas had flowers and little bananas (all the way to the) ground, grandpa said!

Bananas only fill the flowers if the soil is super rich; poor soil produces short rows of bananas. These bananas were the amazement of the neighborhood, but grandpa never told them they were planted over our former latrines!

Every banana cluster was planted on former latrines, so far as I know, because my grandpa believed they would produce the best bananas and we did not have but about 2-3 acres only of available land.”

What a beautiful story.

We serve an amazing God, who can even use the vilest of things to bring fruit. We spent multiple years using composting toilet systems, and we lived. And grew plenty of crops with our so-called “waste.” The best-looking bananas I ever saw were growing next to a leaking septic tank!

The entire system of nature was designed as a recycling machine, turning old into new, again and again.

When people were getting nervous about fertilizer shortages, I shook my head. Sure, bagged fertilizer is convenient, but for almost all of recorded history mankind grew food just fine without chemical help.

You can literally poop in a hole and grow food on top of it. And all the weeds can be made into compost teas. And seaweed washes up every day. And cows are compost-making machines.

Fertilizer is abundant. It’s our thinking that is deficient.

Compost Everything!

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Collaborative post

The Florida real estate market is popular with foreigners; property in this US resort state is in high demand as an investment. Some people prefer to buy a villa for sale in Aventura, Florida, for a seasonal vacation, while others make the move permanently.

This article explores why foreign investors choose overseas real estate in Florida, and its profitability.

Investment attractiveness of the Florida housing market

The resort areas of Florida remain the most popular. These are located in the southeastern region, and include Palm Beach, Miami-Dade, and Broward. The climate allow you to swim in the ocean and enjoy sunshine all year round, which makes the area popular with tourists.

Many people traditionally prefer Miami. The region is associated with expensive housing stock and a quality standard of living, and the proximity of the international airport simplifies the transfer. In addition, Miami-Dade has a developed community, which helps the moving process run smoothly.

Florida real estate types

The development of the Florida coastline is so dense that it can be challenging to understand the boundaries between different settlements. Foreign investors prefer to invest in areas on the coast; prices are higher here, but the profitability of residential demand fully justifies them.

All modern types of real estate are presented in the district, including apartments, houses, and villas. The best type to invest in depends on your investment strategy:

• You can buy housing in a new building at the development stage, and sell it on completion for a profit.
• You can rent an apartment or a house using the services of local management companies.

Foreign buyers prefer flats and apartments. A smaller percentage of transactions are made with houses. The commercial sector accounts for only about 5% of transactions.

Why investing in Florida housing stock is profitable

It is not only value capitalisation that makes investments attractive. Rents in Florida are also steadily rising. The top cities with the highest rents for 1-bedroom apartments are as follows:

1. Miami. Up to $2,520 per month. The rent increase amounted to 34% compared to last year’s period.
2. Fort Lauderdale. The fee reaches $ 2,000, an increase of 20.5%.
3. Tampa. You can get $1,800 per month for an apartment. This is 34.3% higher than in the same period in 2021.
4. Orlando, where you can rent an apartment for $1,700 monthly. Rent growth amounted to 16.4%.

These figures confirm the profitability of investing in housing for further rental.

Florida real estate pricing policy

The cost of real estate in the region after the crisis of 2008 has been steadily increasing. You can find budget properties worth $300,000 and premium real estate worth several million on the market.

Obtaining an investor visa when moving to Florida

This is a convenient option for doing business. This format differs from a tourist permit to visit the country, by requiring additional investment. The only drawback is that only citizens of countries with a trade agreement with the United States can apply.

To apply for an investor immigrant visa, participation in the activities of a local licensed company with an investment threshold of $800,000 or more is required.

Other visa options for moving

The United States also provides visas for certain categories of citizens. Among them are specialists, students, and contract workers. In the latter case, a statement is required from the employer who sponsors the foreigner.

More detailed information about the US visa regime and the sale and rental of real estate can be found on the official website Florida.Realestate. The largest housing aggregator in Florida will help you find a property in Miami, Hollywood, and other popular locations.

This is a collaborative post in partnership with FlexiSpot

Over the last few weeks we’ve been trying out a Flexispot ergonomic desk chair in our home office.  This article shares our experience of using the BS8 Flexi-Chair, and takes a look at why it’s important to think about ergonomics when setting up a workstation.

Why is an ergonomic desk chair important?

Ergonomic furniture is designed to allow the body to be in a neutral position during use.  The goal is to place minimum strain on joints and muscles, while also providing adequate support.

Ergonomics as a concept is relevant to pretty much all furniture, but it’s particularly important in the design of products that we are going to use for long periods of time.  Office chairs most definitely fall into this category.

If your job is desk-based, it’s all too easy to sit in a less-than-ideal position.  I know I’m guilty of perching, leaning, and generally not thinking enough about posture while I sit at my desk.  Using an ergonomic desk chair is an easy way to provide your body with the support it needs.

Features of the Flexispot BS-8 Flexi-Chair

The BS8 Flexi-Chair is ergonomically designed to minimise the impact of sitting down to work.  It’s available in grey or black, and currently retails at £299.99.

There are a number of adjustable elements to this chair, which makes it easy to find the optimum position for your body.  These include:

• Adjustable seat height via a gas-lift mechanism
• Height-adjustable armrests 
• Adjustable lumbar support
• Adjustable tilt back tightness
• Comfortable headrest
• 360 degree rotation via base castors

The seat is generously padded, and moulded with pressure reduction in mind.  The fabric on the back rest is stretched over the frame, which provides good support while also allowing a small amount of give.  All the fabric is breathable.

Assembling the Flexispot BS-8 Flexi-Chair

The BS-8 ergonomic desk chair is supplied un-assembled.  It’s not difficult to build, but you need a bit of space to manoeuvre the parts around.  Some of the components are quite heavy – in particular, the seat pad and the base – so you need to be prepared for a bit of lifting.

A basic allen key is provided. I found that it wasn’t very easy to tighten some of the bolts with this, and ended up using my own more sturdy tool.

It took me about 45 minutes to put the chair together.

Our experience of using the Flexispot BS-8 Flexi-Chair

Having used this chair for a few weeks, we’re really happy with it.

It’s very comfortable to sit in, for starters.  Being able to adjust so many elements means I’ve been able to get the chair setup perfectly for my body.

Sitting in it, I feel really supported, especially in the lower back.  The fact that this chair is so adjustable means the whole family can use it in an optimum position too.

The seat pad is just the right level of firmness, allowing you to sink into it slightly, but not too much.  With my old chair I often found that my thighs would feel a bit numb after sitting for a while; that’s not happening any more.

Generally, I’m feeling less stiff and uncomfortable after working at my desk.  I also think that having a well-designed chair is encouraging me to think about my posture more while sitting, which can only be a good thing.

From an aesthetic point of view, I like the chair’s modern design, and the striped back section makes it feel a bit less ‘office’.  I also love the fact that the castors are really quiet.

It’s worth pointing out that this is by no means a small office chair.  It’s pretty big, and quite heavy.  If you’re tight on space, or need to move your office chair between rooms, it may not be the best option.

Flexi-Chair ergonomic desk chair review conclusion

The BS8 Flexi-Chair is a great option if you need an ergonomic desk chair for your home office.  It’s well-made, it looks good, and it has plenty of features to help you take care of your body while sitting at a desk.

It’s not the cheapest ergonomic office chair on the market, but I think the quality of the product and the support offered by the design makes it a good investment.  

You can find out more about the BS8 Flexi-Chair on the Flexispot website. There’s a promotion running from 22-26 May with up to 33% off Flexispot products, so make sure you check that out too.

We’ve also reviewed the Flexispot Q8 standing desk, look out for a feature on this coming soon.

FlexiSpot supplied me with the Q8 Standing Desk and BS8 Flexi-Chair for review purposes.  All comments and opinions are honest and based on my experience of using the products.

After the hard bite of winter has loosened its grip on gardens and window boxes in early spring, and frost-nipped green fingers begin to thaw, gardeners are primed to succumb to the lure of instant flowers in four-inch pots. Nemesias, a cold-tolerant annual native to South Africa, are a charming spring filler to combine with the more ubiquitous (but appealing) up-turned faces of pansies and violas. And as the horticultural industry develops more (and more, and more) nemesia hybrids, their colors, form, and even heat-tolerance have expanded to include a rainbow of choice. They are an ultra-pretty, low-fuss plant for window boxes and pots, and even play well with others in larger garden beds.

Photography by Marie Viljoen.

The Nemesia genus occurs natively only in South Africa, and belongs to the snapdragon family, Scrophulariaceae, which includes thousands of species worldwide.

Nemesia flowers share the snapdragon trait of appearing to have tiny, muppet-like “mouths”—in Afrikaans, they are called leeubekkies (little lion mouths). Vexingly, at least for plant geeks, very similar-looking butter-and-eggs, a.k.a. toadflax (Linaria) are no longer their relatives; they have been reclassified, and have shifted into the Plantaginaceae family.

It’s easy to disappear into a rabbit hole when trying to trace the hybridization and cultivar-creation of modern nemesias for the international nursery trade. For most of us, it’s enough to know that these sweet little plants offer airy and colorful interest early, and that the interest persists for months. While nemesias are very forgiving of cold temperatures (above freezing) they are also—increasingly—bred to survive wilting humidity.

Today’s photos are from Steve in Southern California.

You featured my garden some years back (A Drought-Tolerant California Garden), and I thought your visitors might like to see some updates from around the garden, especially this year, with all of the weather everyone keeps hearing about in Southern California.

I live right in the heart of L.A., in an area many people have heard of called Laurel Canyon, which is a block or tel from my home. I live in a little subvalley, if you will, the last little pocket before Studio City and the San Fernando Valley sprawl beyond. It is a place with a small creek that runs in a year like this, where we might get frogs at night soon and the crickets protest most loudly in August. For a gardener like me, the fun is attracting all the visitors to the garden, and I’ve focused on native plants and trees to do that, but also on all the other items like host plants, nest-building plants, edible berries, etc.

This Cereus peruvianus (Zones 9–11) and Arbutus ‘Marina’ (Zones 8–10) anchor the pollinator garden, but there are citrus, manzanita, rosemary, and plenty of other seasonal bloomers to keep them happy. My California poppies (Eschscholzia californica, annual) have been confused, no doubt, by the current cycle, where each week has seen a severe turn in weather, from inches of rain in a night, to 40-mph winds, to picture-perfect spring days of puffy breeziness, then a hot flash for a couple of days, and back to rain. Our storms have been Arctic, tropical, cyclones, and streams, and we are glad for them—but we’re ready for spring now. (Apologies to all of you currently rolling eyes. I’m an L.A. native.) By now my yard is usually orange with poppies and white with Five Spot, but only a few have made an appearance here. I am hoping for a later appearance of the poppies,

My Ceonothus (California lilac, hardiness varies by species) is so spectacular and would normally have been pruned back, but it’s showing so amazingly that I’m just letting it hang out for now. You can see beneath it that the first major bloom of my yellow leucospermum is about to happen and should be great. And in about a month or so we should have a nice showing from the Protea gigantica and Echium candidans to go with it. If my attempt at eco gopher control works and my bulbs have survived the onslaught, there should be a fun summer bulb show—or a replanting. I’ll let you know how it goes out front.

In the back is the current state of a container garden and a deck that is about to be overhauled. Plants are plentiful, and you’ll see my lifelong obsession with pots. Some of these are large enough for trees, many of which are unusual and drought tolerant, like the sonchus, grevillea, and feijoa trees. I have many species of aloe, echeveria, aeonium, cacti, some native California species.

On my hillside I have two ash trees, a palm, and a couple of ponderosa pines that have matured on the hill and are frequented by the neighborhood flyers. This little valley I am in is usually a bit of a stopover for migrating birds, and even butterfly swarms, mixed in with our general showing of Anna’s and Allen’s hummingbirds, house finches, warblers, sparrows, black phoebes, wrens, and often great horned owls, red-shouldered hawks, band-tailed pigeons, spotted towhees, hooded orioles, and more. It’s a symphony in spring and its own little ecosystem, to which we look forward to helping flourish.

The individual flowers on this aloe bloom fade from red to yellow as they mature and open, creating this bicolored spike of flowers.

Leucospermum cordifolium (Zones 9–11)

Aloe blooms from above

 

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.

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Store bought kits are widely available, but the accuracy of these is questionable at best. In particular, if pH is off by just one degree in either direction, any amendments you make could do more harm than good.

And while kits are relatively inexpensive and you can usually get more than one use out of them, you’re on your own to interpret the results and figure out a plan.

If you send a sample to a lab to be professionally analyzed, however, you are guaranteed more accurate results.

Not to mention, you’re usually given suggestions for fertilization and amendments depending on what type of plants you’re planning to use.

Keep reading to find out who should test your soil, how to get a sample to them, and what you should do with the results.

Who Are the Pros?

The best way to get your soil professionally analyzed is to reach out to your state or county’s local extension office.

If you have no clue what I’m talking about when I say “local extension office,” you’re not alone. It’s one of those often referenced, rarely explained blanket statements of advice.

In short, the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) supports an effort known as the Cooperative Extension System (CES).

NIFA refers to CES as “a nationwide, non-credit educational network that addresses public needs by providing non-formal higher education and learning activities to farmers, ranchers, communities, youth, and families throughout the nation.”

Basically, your local extension was created for you. So, use it!

For a modest fee, usually between five and 25 dollars, your local extension office will have your soil tested for you.

In some areas, county offices may have services available as well. For example, here in Cincinnati, Ohio, the Hamilton County Soil and Water Conservation District offers a soil testing service to residents.

No matter what service you use, the procedures are pretty similar across the board.

How to Collect a Soil Sample

A kit will be sent to you with instructions for collecting a quality sample. Usually, it goes something like this:

Step 1 – Create a Wedge

Use a trowel to create a v-shaped wedge in the ground, about 2 inches wide and 6 inches deep.

Step 2 – Remove and Cut

Remove the wedge from the ground and cut out a two-inch chunk from the center of the sample.

Step 3 – Set Aside

Place the sample in a clean, non-metal bucket or bowl of some sort.

Step 4 – Repeat

Depending on the size of the area you are sampling, repeat Steps 1 through 3 in 8 to 12 more spots. This will give you a more comprehensive picture of the area you’re testing.

Step 5 – Combine

Mix the samples together well, and allow the mixture to dry out completely.

Place the required amount – usually less than a cup – into the designated container, most likely a plastic bag.

Step 6 – Document and Mail

Fill out the required information sheet (one should be included) and send the sample off.

If you’re sending multiple samples, be sure to record where each sample was collected.

Most of the action happens close to the surface, so don’t worry about getting a deep sample.

Organic matter, nutrients, organisms, and plant roots are the most concentrated in the top four to six inches of the ground.

Sending in a sample isn’t something you should have to do every season either. Every three to five years should be sufficient. Stick to the same lab every time for the most consistent results.

Fall is the best time to send out a sample, but early spring is good too. This way, any amendments you make, like adding organic compost or lime for increasing pH, have time to take effect.

Good to Know

Don’t assume the test will be all-inclusive.

Generally, basic nutrients – like phosphorus, potassium, calcium, and magnesium – along with pH and organic matter are tested.

All plants use the macronutrients nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K) in the highest amounts, which are the nutrients found in commercial fertilizers.

Nitrogen, however, isn’t typically tested since it readily moves in and out of the soil and any given reading is subject to change quickly.

Providing sufficient organic matter, rotating crops, and using cover crops all help to ensure adequate nitrogen levels for plants.

Many tests will give you an idea of texture as well, recording percentages of sand, silt, and clay. This is really helpful to know for drainage, moisture retention, and air circulation.

The ideal loamy texture that garden articles love to recommend for planting is made up of equal parts silt, sand, and clay, totaling 45 percent of the total volume.

Believe it or not, as much as 50 percent should be open pore space. At any given point, half of the open pore space should be occupied by water, the other half by air.

And organic matter, which is nothing more than decomposed sticks, leaves, grass clippings, animal waste, and the like should typically be around 5 percent in healthy gardens.

Call your extension office and talk to someone before mailing out your sample, and ask about what’s included in the standard test. You may have to make special requests if you have specific concerns.

For instance, if you want to test for heavy metals, like lead, you might have to ask (and pay a little more) or possibly even go through a private lab. But this is often worth the extra cost and effort if you plan to grow an edible garden, especially in urban areas.

What to Do with the Results

Once you get the test results, this information will likely be accompanied by fertilization and amendment recommendations, specifically for nutrients and pH.

Keep in mind that recommendations will be different for different crops. So, providing the lab with information about what you intend to grow is really important.

For instance, turf, vegetables, flowers, and shrubs will all vary in their general soil requirements.

My preferred way to fertilize is with organic compost. It’s as good as gold.

But, freshly added compost needs to be worked over a bit more by organisms before nutrients become readily available. So think of compost as a long-term, slow-release fertilizer.

Add a couple of inches of fresh, organic compost once or twice a year and soil should be well fed.

Build a Healthy Foundation

Having an understanding of nutrients and pH, as well as texture and organic matter, makes it so much easier to ensure a healthy, thriving garden.

You’ll also be less inclined to over fertilize, which, depending on how much fertilizer you use every year, could save you some money.

Once you get your plants healthy and growing in the short term, put the chemical fertilizers aside and focus on feeding the soil.

Healthy, diverse, nutrient dense soil produces healthy, nutrient dense plants.

Even if you don’t intend to eat the plants you’re growing, they will be stronger and more resistant to pests and diseases if the soil is built up well.

Once in spring and again in fall, add two inches of organic compost to your garden, just like you would any other organic mulch. Worms and other organisms will work it in and convert it into usable nutrients for plants.

Planting cover crops, like clover and winter rye, is another great way to maintain healthy soil.

Cercis canadensis var. texensis ‘Oklahoma’

There is a whole lot to love about redbuds. Who hasn’t been mesmerized by a tree crowned with a cloak of vibrant reddish-pink flowers? It’s a stunning sight.

Even after the flowers fade, the glossy, heart-shaped leaves are an attractive addition to any garden. Plus, these trees are drought tolerant enough that they’ll even work in xeriscaping.

We link to vendors to help you find relevant products. If you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission.

Now, take all that good stuff and make it just a little bit better. Deeper coloring, glossier leaves, more drought tolerance, and even more flowers, all in a smaller package. Say “hello” to ‘Oklahoma.’

While the eastern redbud is officially the state tree of Oklahoma, unofficially, it’s the lovely ‘Oklahoma’ cultivar that people think of as holding that distinction. You can hardly blame them. I’d want to claim the most fantastic option, too.

This guide will explain the differences between ‘Oklahoma’ and the species, and how to make this particular cultivar thrive in your garden. Here’s what we’re going to discuss:

With all the excellent redbuds to choose from, what makes ‘Oklahoma’ so wonderful? Let’s talk about it.

Cultivation and History

‘Oklahoma’ is a redbud tree from the Cercis genus. ‘Oklahoma’ is often mislabeled as a C. reniformis, but it’s officially a cultivar of the eastern redbud (C. canadensis), specifically the texensis variety.

In botanical terms, “variety” means it’s a natural variation of the species rather than one that was cultivated by humans.

For a little background, there are three varieties of the canadensis species. The most common is var. canadensis, which grows all along the Atlantic coast from New Jersey to Texas.

The second is mexicana, which grows in west Texas to northeastern Mexico. Texensis occupies the area of Oklahoma, central Texas, and northeastern Mexico.

Texensis is much more tolerant of heat and drought than its canadensis variety cousin, but it’s pretty similar to mexicana.

In fact, some botanists think the two are simply environmentally-induced morphologies, with the more leathery leaves of mexicana appearing in areas where the landscape is more arid.

‘Oklahoma’ was discovered growing in the wild in the Arbuckle Mountain range in Oklahoma in 1964. It was cultivated, named, and put on the market by Warren & Son Nursery in Oklahoma City in 1965.

The foliage is deeper green and shinier than that of the species, and the flowers have a deeper purple-red hue. It’s one of the earliest blooming eastern redbuds and grows to about half the height and a third of the width of the species.

It reaches about 18 feet tall and 20 feet wide, with a dense, rounded crown. Some have been known to grow up to 25 feet, but it’s not common.

Propagation

‘Oklahoma’ is a pretty fantastic redbud, but it does have one failing.

For whatever reason, the tree just doesn’t lend itself to propagation via cuttings, layering, or grafting. All of these methods generally fail.

Starting seeds is a hit-and-miss proposition, but it’s certainly more reliable than vegetative propagation.

Propagating seeds involves nabbing some from the pods on a mature tree in the fall and then putting them through several months of stratification before planting.

The other option is to transplant purchased saplings or bare roots.

Whichever method you choose, we have a more full explanation of each process in our general redbud growing guide.

Be aware that all redbuds resent being transplanted, so pick your spot carefully and don’t move it once you’ve put it in the ground.

These plants have long taproots that grow deep into the soil in just a few years. Once the taproot becomes established, it will send out secondary roots that can be nearly nine inches long.

How to Grow

‘Oklahoma’ needs well-draining soil, so don’t plant anywhere that has sandy or clay soil unless you amend it well with lots of well-rotted compost.

Heavy clay will cause the taproot to grow horizontally, and the tree will suffer.

Plant the trees in full sun or partial sun. Younger trees can handle partial shade, but as the trees mature, they want more sunlight.

Some people plant their redbuds in heavier shade than is ideal, and the youngster does fine for the first few years. Then, as it matures, it starts to look sad, thin, leggy, and sparse. Eventually, it will likely develop heart rot.

‘Oklahoma’ is pretty adaptable, more so than many other redbuds, but don’t try to test it too much. Give it full sun if you can.

While the deep purple-red blossoms are every bit as beautiful as those of any redbud, this type stands out even more because it tends to have more of them than the species.

It also has exceptionally glossy leaves. It almost looks like someone has taken furniture polish and wiped all the thick, heart-shaped leaves with it. These emerge after the flowers open.

You need to fertilize to promote these blooms and leaves, but the process isn’t a challenge. Once a month during the growing season, feed your tree with a mild, balanced fertilizer.

Something balanced with an NPK of 10-10-10 is just right, or you can use something close to that.

For instance, Pendleton Turf Triple is a reliable option that can be used for all kinds of plants. It’s made from seaweed extracts with healthy amino acids.

Pendleton Turf Triple Fertilizer

Pick up a 32-ounce container at Amazon.

Along with food, the right amount of water is important.

This tree can tolerate more drought than the species, but too much drought and the tree won’t perform as well as it can. When the top three or four inches of soil dries out, it’s time to irrigate.

Water deep and long to provide for that long taproot, and to encourage it to grow down rather than horizontally in search of shallow water.

Growing Tips

• Plant in full sun.
• Plant in well-draining soil.
• Water when the top three to four inches of soil dry out.

Pruning and Maintenance

‘Oklahoma’ youngsters tend to be a bit gangly. We all had our awkward phases, right?

Remove any low-growing branches or competing trunks and prune them to give them a shape that appeals to you.

You might also want to give the tree some training when it’s very young. Tie it to a nearby stake to encourage upright growth.

All redbuds are cauliflorous, which means they bear their flowers on trunks or stems. This is an adaptation that makes it easier for pollinators to access the flowers.

Redbud flowers grow on old wood rather than new growth, which makes pruning all that much easier.

With flowers that grow on new growth, if you prune at the wrong time, you ruin that year’s display. But you probably won’t mess up the floral display on redbuds with inappropriate pruning.

It is easiest on the tree if you prune when it’s dormant in the late winter.

At that time, remove any diseased, dead, damaged, or deformed branches. Any branches that are crossing or rubbing should be removed as well.

Now, take a look at the shape of the tree. Are there any branches that ruin the shape? Get them out of there. Or, does the center look too dense? Thin it out.

Any branches you cut should be removed as close to the nearest branch or trunk as possible.

Where to Buy

 ‘Oklahoma’ is a popular option, and you can probably find one at a local nursery in your area, or you can grab one from Fast Growing Trees.

Oklahoma Redbud

They carry four- to five- or five- to six-foot-tall live trees with a one-year warranty.

Managing Pests and Disease

Any pests and diseases that will attack a species redbud will attack ‘Oklahoma.’

Deer and rabbits are going to be your two biggest challenges, but leaf rollers (family Tortricidae), emerald ash borers (Agrilus planipennis), canker, and verticillium wilt are all problems you may encounter.

Our guide to growing redbuds can walk you through how to identify and deal with these problems.

Best Uses

Because of its size, this tree is perfect as a specimen in the garden.

Let it act as a centerpiece for some other bloomers that can add a little extra color to the area, such as bluebells (Hyacinthoides spp.), phlox (Phlox spp.), violets (Viola spp.), and wood lilies (Lilium philadelphicum).

Quick Reference Growing Guide

Plant Type:	Deciduous, cauliflorous tree	Flower/Foliage Color:	Purple-red/green
Native to:	Oklahoma	Tolerance	Drought
Hardiness (USDA Zones):	6-9	Soil Type:	Sandy, loamy
Bloom Time:	Spring blooms/fall foliage	Soil pH:	6.5-8.0
Exposure:	Part to full sun	Soil Drainage:	Well-draining
Time to Maturity:	10 years	Attracts:	Bees, butterflies, hummingbirds
Spacing:	10 feet	Companion Planting:	Bluebells, phlox, violets, wood lilies
Planting Depth:	1/4 inch (seeds), same depth as container (transplants), roots just below the soil line (bare root)	Uses:	Container, edible, specimen
Height:	Up to 25 feet	Order:	Fabales
Spread:	Up to 20 feet	Family:	Fabaceae
Growth Rate:	Moderate	Genus:	Cercis
Water Needs:	Moderate to low	Species:	Canadensis
Maintenance:	Low	Variety:	Texensis
Common Pests and Diseases:	Emerald ash borers, deer, leaf rollers, rabbits; canker, verticillium wilt	Cultivar:	Oklahoma

‘Oklahoma’ Trees Have Plenty of Heart

Redbud trees have such eye-catching, vibrant blossoms, and they’ve earned a place in many, many gardens across the country. But ‘Oklahoma’ has all the good stuff and takes it just one step above.

With glossier foliage, more deeply colored flowers and more of them, and higher drought tolerance than the species, it’s all the best of redbuds but just a little bit better.

What appeals to you the most about ‘Oklahoma’? How will you be using it in your garden? Share all the details with us in the comment section below.

Hopefully, this guide gave you the confidence to make your ‘Oklahoma’ redbud thrive.

You might also be thinking about giving your landscape tree some friends. If so, you may find these guides useful:

The Best Hori Hori Knives for Your Garden Chores

First up is our top pick, with four others to follow that all have slightly different features that you may find more suitable for your needs.

1. Top Pick Up Front: Nisaku NJP801 Weeding and Digging Knife

Our top pick comes straight from the land of its origin: Japan.

Made from top-quality stainless steel infused with vanadium, and forged by master craftsmen, this model boasts an ergonomic handle for ease of use. It’s available from Nisaku via Amazon.

Nisaku NJP801 Weeding and Digging Knife

The concave blade makes short work of the toughest garden jobs. Perfect for weeding, transplanting, hacking away at overgrown shrubs, or dividing perennials, this multipurpose knife gets it all done.

The ergonomic handle may be slightly on the small side for those with bigger hands. I appreciate the protective hilt to prevent my hand from slipping down onto the blade when digging in compacted soil.

The super-sharp blade features a beveled edge for slicing and a serrated edge for cutting through tough roots. Depth measurements in both millimeters and inches make planting bulbs a breeze.

It’s half-tang, but don’t let that deter you. Using full-width design, the half tang allows for the blade to be constructed from thicker steel without making it heavy and cumbersome.

An attractive leather sheath keeps the blade – and your hands – safe from harm when not in use and the belt clip is a handy addition.

See the Nisaku and check prices now on Amazon.

Features

• 7.25-inch concave vanadium-infused stainless steel blade
• 5.5-inch ergonomic plastic handle with protective hilt
• 7.7 ounces
• Depth measuring ruler in inches and millimeters
• Leather sheath with belt hook
• 2-year standard warranty

Pros

• Rust-proof heavy duty blade stays sharp and tackles the toughest garden jobs
• Ergonomic handle gives a good grip and the protective hilt prevents injury

Cons

• Half-tang blade design can upset some purists
• Ergonomic handgrip can feel a bit small in the hand

If you want a handsome multi-functional garden knife straight out of Japan, you won’t go wrong with this model.

If you’ve got large hands, you may find the handle a bit thin and uncomfortable, in which case I’d recommend you try the wooden handled version below.

And if you don’t fancy a wooden handle but want something that fills the hand a bit more, try the Sensei model described below instead.

Head to Amazon to read customer reviews and check prices now.

2. Nisaku NJP802 Hori Hori Weeding and Digging Knife

It really is a toss-up between this knife and our top-rated one. The difference between the two only comes down to the design of the handle. The Nisaku NJP802 is available via Amazon.

Nisaku NJP802 Hori Hori Weeding and Digging Knife

Made from the same Japanese stainless steel and forged in Japan, this blade is concave, with a serrated edge on one side and a sharp beveled edge on the other. The difference comes down to the choice of handgrip.

The wooden handle will please traditionalists and those who want a more “authentic” looking Japanese knife. But it’s not just looks that count.

The wood makes the knife a bit heavier, and because it’s wider than the plastic version, it has a solid feel in the hand.

But because it has square edges and is not contoured, the handle can become uncomfortable with extended use. This is easily alleviated by wearing gloves.

I appreciate the metal hilt between handle and blade, giving a bit of protection against hand slippage, particularly when tackling tough roots or hard soil.

The half-tang construction is definitely a bone of contention for some people. It’s easy to see why it is not possible to craft a full-tang blade with the ergonomic plastic handle of the previous model – but with a full-width wooden version, it’s somewhat baffling.

That said, unless you are prying heavy rocks out of the ground or using it for something other than garden duties, this choice mostly comes down to personal preference.

As an added bonus, this model ships with a leather sheath that can be clipped to your belt.

See more customer reviews and check prices on Amazon.

Features

• 7.25-inch concave stainless steel blade
• 5.5-inch ergonomic plastic handle with protective hilt
• 8.5 ounces
• Depth measuring ruler in inches and millimeters
• Leather sheath
• 2-year standard warranty

Pros

• Robust, rust-proof stainless steel blade tackles the toughest jobs with ease
• Protective metal hilt between blade and handle prevents hand slippage
• Handsomely crafted wooden handle is easy to grip and feels solid in the hand

Cons

• Half-tang design
• Handle can be uncomfortable for extended use

Nisaku has created a tough, multipurpose tool with this model. The minor compromise of the half-tang design makes it a lightweight, well-balanced implement that tackles the toughest garden chores, thanks to the top-quality stainless steel blade.

Get more information and check prices on Amazon now.

3. MLTools Hori Hori Digging Knife

With the MLTools garden knife, you’ll be master of your garden in no time. And if the slender handle of the Nisaku feels a bit dainty to you, then the model from MLTools via Amazon is worth a look.

MLTools Hori Hori Digging Knife

With its sleek black handle contrasting with the glistening metal blade, this feels less “gardening tool” and more “field knife.”

Except, on closer inspection, it combines its good looks with the same concave digging blade – with serrated and beveled edges – of the previous models.

It’s got the same convenient depth measurements for planting your crocus bulbs, and a similarly hard-wearing rust-proof stainless steel blade.

The handle is made from non-slip plastic, and the way it’s designed fits firmly in the hand. The contour where it joins the blade serves as an “almost-hilt,” preventing your hand from slipping onto the blade.

It’s slightly heavier than the previous two models, but not noticeably so.

To make things even better, it ships with a nylon sheath that fits onto your belt.

I wouldn’t walk around town with it on your belt though, as when the rugged, black handle sticks out of the sheath, it looks a bit like a dagger.

Check prices of the MLTools model on Amazon now.

Features

• 7.5-inch concave stainless steel blade
• 5-inch black contoured non-slip plastic handle
• 10 ounces
• Depth measuring ruler in inches
• Robust nylon sheath with belt clip

Pros

• Non-slip handgrip is ergonomic and comfortable in the hand
• Concave rust-proof stainless steel blade and cuts through tough roots and compacted soil with ease
• Ships with a nylon sheath

Cons

• Handle may be too big if you have small hands
• Half-tang design

With its very rugged looks, this garden tool tackles all those tough jobs with ease. I like the handle on this one because it feels solid and is more comfortable to use than the wooden models, so you don’t need to wear gloves if you don’t want to.

See more customer reviews and check current prices on Amazon.

4. Truly Garden Hori Hori

The Truly Garden hori hori, available on Amazon, ships with a genuine leather sheath and a sharpening tool.

Truly Garden Hori Hori

Crafted to top-notch standards, this model features a high-grade 420 stainless steel blade that extends into a full tang for superb strength.

And a handsome, sustainable beechwood handle is securely attached with three rust-proof rivets. It’s a little bit heavier than some of the other models, but it makes up for this with its super-sharp edges.

The blade has a concave trowel shape with depth measurements for easy digging and transplanting. And both the straight and serrated edges have been pre-sharpened for clean, efficient cutting.

This Japanese garden knife arrives handsomely packaged in an attractive box, and comes with a robust leather sheath plus diamond sharpening rod – all of which makes this a great gift for any gardener.

Check prices for the Truly Garden Hori Hori at Amazon now.

Features

• 7-inch pre-sharpened, curved stainless steel blade
• 5-inch hardwood handle with 3 rivets
• 18 ounces
• Depth measuring ruler in inches and millimeters
• Metal safety guard at the base of the handle
• Genuine leather sheath
• Diamond sharpening rod
• 5-year warranty

Pros

• Robust, full tang, rust-proof blade cuts easily through roots and compacted soil
• Leather sheath is heavy-duty to prevent accidents when not in use
• Diamond sharpening rod keeps both the straight and serrated edges sharp

Cons

• Wooden handgrip is not ergonomically designed and may tire your hand
• Metal tang and rivets stick out slightly from the handle, which can be uncomfortable without gloves

Truly Garden offers a 30-day money back guarantee and a solid five-year warranty, delivering top quality and value for the price.

A tough workhorse of a knife, this model looks the part. And we appreciate the metal safety guard, which helps to prevent your hand from slipping off the handle and onto the blade.

See more customer reviews and check current price on Amazon now.

5. Budget Pick: Fiskars Big Grip Garden Knife

Now, for something a little bit different. Based on the basic design of the Japanese knife, Fiskars has come up with something slightly creative. It’s available at Home Depot, and via Amazon.

Fiskars Big Grip Garden Knife

It still has the concave blade with a serrated edge on one side and a beveled edge on the other, but it tapers down with two points at the end instead of a single tip.

The two-pronged tip works extremely well for weeding in soft soil.

I would use this tool mostly for light-duty container or indoor gardening, as the cast aluminum blade is not especially sharp, and it suffers from “no tang.”

The blade is welded onto the large, soft-molded grip, which gives it a weak point if you’re doing heavy duty work.

The blade is seven inches long with a five-and-a-half-inch comfortable handle with an orange end, which makes it easy to locate. It doesn’t come with a sheath and I’ve not managed to find one that fits, so you’ll need to keep this in your gardening bag.

See more information and check prices at Home Depot or via Amazon now.

Features

• 5.5-inch padded handle with a hole for hanging
• 7-inch tapered, concave blade with serrated and straight edge
• 9.6 ounces
• Two-pronged weeding tip at the end
• Limited lifetime warranty

Pros

• Lightweight, easy to use
• Coated blade is rust-resistant
• Ideal for container or indoor gardening
• Comfortable grip won’t tire your hands
• Good value for the price

Cons

• The blade is welded to the handle, so can break off in heavy compacted soil
• Blades not especially sharp
• No sheath available

If you’re looking for something budget-friendly, lightweight, and comfortable for all those transplanting, weeding, and light digging duties, this option from Fiskars fits the bill. Just don’t expect it to be as robust or sharp as the other products we’ve discussed.

Ideal for patio gardening, it hangs on the wall for storage and does a solid job of maintaining your pots and hanging baskets.

Head over to Home Depot to check prices and customer reviews. The Fiskars Big Grip is also available via Amazon.

The Multifaceted Hori Hori

The multi-purpose Japanese hori hori knife features a large, concave blade with one straight, sharp edge and one serrated edge, and it usually has a ruler etched on the blade.

Now, it’s hard to get mad at these little insects, because they’re important pollinators. They’re docile as can be, and rarely sting, doing so only when forced to. In fact, the males don’t even have stingers – although they put on a good show of buzzing intruders.

But they do like to nest in dead wood. And structural components like beams, eaves, posts, and siding are all fair game.

To be fair, they don’t actually eat the wood and won’t devour a building like carpenter ants or termites do. And damage is usually minor and cosmetic in nature. But if left unchecked, over time the damage can worsen and lead to more serious problems such as decay, moisture retention, and rot.

So, if you think carpenter bees have set up shop in your shop, please read on.

We have everything you need to identify a possible infestation and how to be rid of it – naturally if possible, but we dish on chemical warfare too!

Identification and Biology

Carpenter, or borer bees, are in the genus Xylocopa of the Apidae family, with hundreds of species in several subgenera found around the world.

They’re aptly named for their nesting behavior of burrowing into dead wood to establish tunnels in order to lay eggs.

Featuring short mouthparts, carpenters are important pollinators on open-faced or shallow flowers and those that form lids. And for some species, like the maypop (Passiflora incarnata) and sea rose (Orphium frutescens), they’re the only pollinator.

Naturally docile, males don’t have stingers – although they will hover close to animals and people that approach nest sites. And the females only sting when aggressively provoked or handled.

Xylocopa are most active in the period of mid-late spring to early summer when they’re looking for suitable mates and nesting sites.

Measuring 1/2 to 1 inch in length, there are numerous variations to their colorings, many with black and yellow or black and orange markings. They have shiny, smooth abdomens, black in color with females often displaying metallic tones.

And there are some that have iridescent wings, as well as species with bright blue or chartreuse body hair.

Unlike many species that live in large colonies, carpenters are not social insects.

After mating, males will stick around to protect the nest. But it’s a solitary female that constructs the nest, forming long tunnels into which she lays the eggs.

Once laid, eggs go through another two stages of development, larva and pupa, before they emerge as adults approximately seven weeks later.

In several species, females may live near their own daughters or sisters, creating a small family social group.

Many species are similar in size and shape to bumblebees, and the two are often confused. And they’re often misidentified as ground-burrowing species as well.

Predators

Natural predators include badgers, mantises, predatory flies, and some birds such as bee-eaters, shrikes, and woodpeckers.

Unfortunately, woodpeckers will cause more damage by drilling into the wood beside nests to get at the grubs.

Nesting and Favored Habitats

Carpenter bees don’t actually eat wood. The females bore holes by using their mandibles as a rasp against the wood while vigorously vibrating their bodies.

Each nest features a single entrance that usually spreads to connecting tunnels, called cells – these are the nurseries where eggs are deposited. A new gallery measures around 4-6 inches in length, but those reused over several years can be 10 feet long!

Their favorite building material is soft, unpainted, and aged wood, although there are species that prefer hard woods.

And any wooden structure is suitable. Arbors, decks, eaves, fascia boards, gates, patio furniture, pergolas, porch ceilings, posts, siding, and window trim are all suitable sites.

Once the cell is ready, the mother provisions each one with a platform of pollen and nectar, called a pollen loaf, upon which a single egg is laid. She then partitions the cell with a wall of chewed wood pulp. Larvae will feed on the pollen loaf until they emerge from the nest.

Adult carpenters will often overwinter in their original tunnels or find abandoned ones, which they stock with pollen to survive the cold. The ones that survive the winter will emerge in spring to mate, with both the males and females dying after mating and laying eggs.

How to Identify Nesting Sites

The most obvious signs of an infestation are the round, half-inch holes that carpenters bore into wood as an entry point.

And if you spot several males hovering in one spot, it’s a good indication that a female, and her nest, are usually nearby.

In addition to the entry holes, there may also be a small pile of fresh sawdust outside the hole, scraping sounds from within the wood, or a fan-shaped stain below the opening.

11. Petroleum

A little gasoline in a spray bottle can be an effective homemade insecticide as well.

Spray the entrance regularly until there’s no more activity.

This is a technique likely used by your grandparents in the past. We don’t recommend it and would choose another method. It may not even be (bee?) legal with the stricter environmental laws that are in place today in many areas.

Of course, petroleum and petroleum-based products are highly flammable and should never be used near an open flame or an ignition source. When finished, be sure to label your spray bottle to avoid accidental misuse, and don’t store in the house or in high temperature environments such as outbuildings without air conditions.

We are not responsible for accidents or Darwin Award winners. Use at your own risk!

With all chemical applications, avoid getting the products on your skin or inhaling the fumes. Wear eye protection, a respirator, and gloves when applying chemical products.