How can you not immediately fall in love with a plant called “American beautyberry”? It just makes the heart swell. Here, take a Kleenex.The emotive lexicon is well deserved.This large, deciduous shru
06.06.2023 - 19:16 / gardenerspath.com / Gretchen Heber
How to Rid Your Garden of CockroachesWe’re going to do a little test.
Cockroach!
Did an involuntary shiver just go through your body? You’re not alone. The very mention of these vile pests can send folks running for the hills.
And an actual glimpse of one might have the more skittish among us performing stunning feats of athletic strength and agility as we desperately leap onto couches or countertops to avoid these fast-moving, creepy critters.
More than 55 species of cockroach populate our lands, many of them “gifts” from Asia and Africa, having come over on trading vessels.
In some parts of the United States, cockroaches are called palmetto bugs, because of these insects’ tendencies to hide under the leaves of palm trees. Other names for the bugs include waterbug, Croton bug (named for the water supply system of New York City but not to be confused with the croton plant), and Bombay canary.
Whatever you call them, they’re a pest in our gardens, and heaven forbid they get into our homes — they’re an even worse scourge there.
Let’s explore some ways to avoid and get rid of them.
Hang up a “No Vacancy” SignYour first line of defense is to avoid attracting them in the first place.
Roaches like moist, dark places. Of course they do. Also unsurprising is the fact that they’ll eat just about flipping anything organic, including each other. Gross.
Anyway, keep garden areas tidy and free of excess clutter and refuse that might provide a home for these pests. Keep an eye on mulch, turning it or replacing it often to dissuade the bugs.
For those of us who enjoy a winter fire, wood piles are inevitable. But store your logs in a cool, dry location far away from the house, and keep an eye out for insect infestations.
And compost! Compost piles
How can you not immediately fall in love with a plant called “American beautyberry”? It just makes the heart swell. Here, take a Kleenex.The emotive lexicon is well deserved.This large, deciduous shru
Though the profuse bell-shaped, yellow flowers that adorn the lengthy, twisted vines of Carolina jessamine are truly breathtaking, they conceal a deep, dark secret.They, along with the rest of the plant, are capabl
When we talk about native plants, we’re often referring to landscaping, but what about growing your own edible native plant garden? Native plants have adapted to where you live, after all, and unlike, say, your usual tomatoes and strawberries, native edibles have new flavors and scents to try. Meanwhile, planting edible native plants helps to forge a connection between the way we live now, and the way communities in the West have existed for thousands of years. “Just growing these plants is a way to tap into the continuum of time,” says Evan Meyer, the executive director of the Theodore Payne Foundation. “By growing edible plants, your garden can become a much more meaningful place.”
We’ve all been there, the premature demise of our cilantro bolting into bitterness and a head full of seeds after an unexpected heat spike. But what if we started thinking about these “failures” as new flavor opportunities? One gardener’s flop is another’s feast after all. I’m talking seed-turned-spice drawer—yes, that downed cilantro is now your own hefty supply of gourmet coriander.
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After a long flight from South America, a bird could use a juicy meal and a place to rest, right?For purple martins, those tasty insects an
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