My dear gardening friends,

Hello there. First of all I must thank you all for coming to help me celebrate my birthday. The weather was perfect and the food fabulous; gardeners seem to be good cooks, too. It was wonderful to see my beloved family and dear friends.

The weather finally warmed up enough to start things growing like mad –especially the weeds. I had another problem yesterday, a flat tire –haven’t had one in ages; however this seems serious, I have to replace the whole tire!!!!

I was recently asked a rather strange question, “Why do cows lean over the fence to eat the grass there??” In this case it may actually true that the grass is greener on the other side! If you look at the pasture, it will give you the answer, for if some of the grass leaves look purplish, as though they have already been marked for an early fall, this is a sign of phosphorous deficiency. If the leaves are yellow at the tips and margins, it shows lack of potassium. Light green colourations means a shortage of nitrogen. The cows are smart; they know when something is missing, and look for it – even over the fence, and if they have to, will eat weeds instead of grass. We should be as smart with our vitamins!!!

I’ve also had more questions about pests and diseases, so have dedicated this newsletter to the matter.

Q) My evergreen shrub looks awful; its leaves have been chewed by insects.

A) Your shrub will likely look unsightly for several years, but the top growth of most perennials will die down in the winter. So, to make sure that they get a fresh start in the spring, remove all of the dead growth in the fall, because it is likely to harbour pests over the winter.

Other ways to minimize pests and diseases:

• Give the plants the growing conditions that they need. Red spider mites, for example, are far more likely to attack plants that are dry at the roots (not this year perhaps) or growing in too much sun.

• Botrytis – powdery mildew, attacks phlox, and any plants that are grown closely packed together. In this instance air cannot circulate and becomes a breeding ground for mildew.

• Grow lots of different kinds of plants. A garden filled with the same kind of plant (monoculture) is more than likely to become severely infested. Like us, bugs have their favourite foods; it is much easier for bugs to stay and breed in that one spot where there is an abundance of their favourite foods (MacDonald's of the plant world!!!).

• I know I say this a lot, but, tackle any and all problems before they get out of hand! Cut off and destroy any diseased or infected (insect- infested) parts of the plant. Put then into garbage bags at once and dispose of them – not in the compost pile.

• Pick off any large pests, caterpillars and beetles, but be careful with those caterpillars - remember the beautiful moths??

• If a particular kind of plant is consistently unhealthy, it is either unsuited to the soil or our climate, or is so attractive to a pest that is prevalent in our area. It is not worth growing – or trying to grow – be ruthless and toss it out.

• Don’t forget that pests are often seasonal, and infestations are worse some years more than others – the gypsy moth is a prime example.

• Aphids are one of the most common pests, attacking perennials at will. These soft bodied, green or black sucking pests are usually present in great numbers on the tips of young growth. They can be washed off with soapy water, or a strong spray from the garden hose.

• Spittle bugs (little foamy “houses”, containing a small green insect that resembles a grasshopper) can be sprayed off plants with a strong jet from a pistol grip hose nozzle.

• Earwigs will hole-up in almost anything that is moist and dark. Use a fruit can, turned upside down, stuffed with wet newspaper – invert on a stick and in the mornings go into the garden with a bucket of water, containing a tablespoonful of oil (any kind) carefully pull the paper into the bucket; the oil prevents the earwigs from climbing out of the bucket !!

• Slugs and snails: Non-chemical remedies for slugs and snails range from grit or ashes spread around the plants, to slug hunts by torchlight at night, to saucers of beer in which the slugs are supposed to die happily. Try all of these remedies first; only use slug bait as a very last resort.

If you do use slug or snail bait in pellet form, hide the pellets under either a broken plant pot or pieces of board, but well out of sight of birds and animals. Should your pet find and eat the poisoned bait, rush it to the vet at once. Some of the flakes or powder products are less likely to be eaten, though still harmful – these are also somewhat effective against pillbugs, sowbugs, (these are the little things that curl up into balls), ants and earwigs.

Insecticides: From a gardener’s point of view, insects that damage foliage and flowers are foes, and those such as ladybugs and praying mantis that prey on other bugs, are friends. Most insecticides kill both friend and foe.

If you must use a spray, use one made from plants, such as pyrethrum and rotenone; both of which are, however, toxic to fish – so keep them well away from your ponds. The list of approved chemicals changes every year, so be sure to ask what is best for what, when purchasing sprays.

There is much more emphasis on biological control now; Japanese beetle traps are one of these and they work well. These traps are used to lure male beetles to their death, but they may pause for a final meal, so the very best place for the trap is well away from the plants that you are trying to protect - no sense providing their “last supper” with the plant that you are trying to save.

Other pests: The most disheartening damage done to plants by slugs, snails, deer, rabbits and other rodents. Deer and rabbits will eat almost anything if they are hungry, although they will usually leave aromatic plants alone. A deer proof fence is really the only certain way to keep deer out of the garden. Wire mesh fences help with rabbits, but the mesh must extend far enough underground to be able to prevent the rabbits from burrowing underneath – remember Mr. Mac Gregor, Mrs. Bunnikins won every time.

There are many methods used to reduce the mole and gopher population in the garden , A few of these are smoke bombs, juicy fruit gum, various kinds of traps, flooding their holes with the garden hose, on and on – however most gardeners will admit that there is no real solution to keeping all these things out of their gardens. Cats seem to deter rabbits, gophers and other rodents, but they also take their toll on the birds that you are trying to attract to your garden.

Not long ago I had an incident with a skunk. I had slowly taught him to eat from my hand. One day I was cleaning the downstairs bathroom, when I caught a movement out of the corner of my eye. Turning around I saw Mr. Skunk in the house, my own fault, I know. I asked loudly, “what are you doing in here?!” He backed up, stamping his feet; at the very last second he did one tiny ‘poof’ and stood at the bottom of the steps, looking embarrassed. I said, “Wait there!” Amazingly, he did, whilst I fetched him peanuts. We are friends after all, and one must forgive a small mistake.

Diseases: Most common plant diseases are fungal in nature. Common fungus diseases follow:

• Botrytis attacks leaves, stems and flowers, causing a blackening of plant tissue.
• Powdery mildew appears as powdery, grey or white patches on leaves.
• Rust is a fungus that appears as powdery orange or brown pustules on leaves or stems. Wilt is a catch-all name for a bacterial and fungus diseases that cause plants to wilt – almost overnight.
• Damp-off disease is caused by a fungus found in un-sterilized soil. It attacks young seedlings at the soil line, killing them.

Fungal diseases are less likely to occur when growing conditions are right for the plant – neither too wet nor too dry. To keep disease from spreading, diseased portions of plants should be removed and disposed of. Fungicides are used to prevent or control infestations.

I have also been asked to explain ‘Sun and Shade’ – so you experienced gardeners, please bear with me. There are so many permutations of sun and shade, but these are the main ones:

Full Sun is often represented by an empty circle (O). Garden sites that offer sun include:

1. Beds that are in the middle of a lawn or borders on either side of a sunny path.
2. South or west-facing borders backed by walls. West facing borders will be shaded by the wall in the mornings but there is ample sun for full sun plants.
3. South or west-facing borders backed by trees, shrubs or hedges.
Site 1 is ideal for full-sun plants. Site 2 is satisfactory, but reflected heat from a wall will fade plants quickly in hot regions – a wood fence would be better. Site 3 is usually unsuitable because plants needing full sun are less able to compete with tree roots than those adopted to the shade. This makes it difficult to grow sun-loving or shade-loving plants.

The description “drought resistant” can be a trap for in-experienced gardeners. It usually means drought resistant only in deep soil. Plants that survive drought by delving deep for moisture – butterfly weed for example – are less able than most to compete with surface rooting trees. If the only place for perennials is a root-filled sunny border, it may be necessary to dig out a trench at least three feet deep and insert a root-proof barrier such as corrugated fiberglass. However, if you do this, and limit the root spread of a nearby hedge or tree, they will need more feeding and watering than was needed before.

Some Shade is often represented by a half-shaded circle. This includes sites that are shaded part of the day (part-shade), light shade, dappled shade and filtered shade and includes:

1. East Facing borders backed by walls. These provide morning sun only.
2. East –facing borders backed by trees, shrubs or hedges.
3. Dappled, filtered, or shifting shade in clearings between widely spaced, high branched or thinly branched trees
4. Lath shade.

Site 1 is suitable for plants that need full shade and for most of those with the 0 half-shaded. Site 2 is slightly less satisfactory because of the root competition from trees and shrubs, but shade plants can usually tolerate this if kept well mulched (to retain moisture), fed and watered. Site 3 is a good one in hot regions for most plants that require light shade, provided that root competition is not too severe. Site 4 is potentially the perfect kind of shade for all but sun-loving plants, especially in hot regions. We say ‘potentially’, because I personally know of no gardeners growing perennials under lath structures.

Full Shade is often represented by a fully-shaded circle. Garden sites that offer full shade include:

1. North facing borders backed by walls.
2. North-facing borders backed by trees, shrubs or hedges.
3. Dense woodland. If trees are deciduous, site will get sunshine in the spring and full shade in summer.

Site 1 would be a good place for perennials adapted to full shade, such as hostas, hellebores, ferns and many woodland wild flowers. Site 2 is also satisfactory if plants are kept well mulched, fed and watered. Site 3 is unsatisfactory for most perennials, but woodland wild flowers that go dormant in the summer could be grown under deciduous trees.

Well my dears, that is about all for this week. I know that I had promised you recipes for vinegars. Soon, I promise. In the meantime, hats, sunscreen, insect repellent (West Nile Virus is around here), and gloves.
Lovingly, Beryl