The Bunny Brigade

By Christina VanGinkel

I have been watching a family of rabbits grow and expand their territory in my yard for the last several weeks. I know, rabbits and a garden do not go together, yet if you are anything like me, the idea of a few baby bunnies hopping around can be quite pleasant. They are just so darn cute! To make matters worse, the mother has been a tenant for quite some time, and has never bothered the flowerbeds. Therefore, I wrongly assumed that her little ones would have the same respect for my treasured buds the same as she seems to.

She keeps mainly to the outskirts of our yard, somewhat timid around our dogs, and whenever I have a few scraps of lettuce or a wrinkled apple, I make sure she gets it, always on the very outer edges of the yard. The rest of the time, she makes herself content with eating beneath the deer feeder that is outside of the yard completely. During the winter, she is more brave, coming into the yard itself each morning to feed beneath the bird feeders. For the most part though, we seem to have come to an understanding, where even though she is a wild rabbit, she would never be so rude as to munch on anything that she should not.

When I first noticed the babies, they kept to the same areas that she did, never entering the yard itself, just hopping pleasantly about the outskirts, cute as can be. Then one morning, I noticed that I was missing an entire moss rose plant that I had just transplanted!

Much of our garden is in raised containers, and for the few previous few days, I had not realized that the smaller bunnies had been testing their bravery. They had grown big enough to easily step up into the lowest parts of my raised beds, and from their, they could step lightly up into just about any part of the gardens that they wanted too, not even having to jump. Upon coming to this realization, I momentarily felt much the same way the farmer in the Peter Cottontail stories must have. I had wrongly assumed that my garden was rabbit safe, only to become aware that it was anything but.

After I noticed that first plant's demise, I realized that each morning, one by one, the bunnies were mowing their way through even more plants. At first, I never caught them, though my suspicions proved right several mornings later when I stepped outside quite early and startled one of them as he was enjoying an early morning breakfast compliments of my tenderly planted flower bed.

From that moment on, I decided to take a much different approach than I would have just a few years ago, had I found a rabbit, or two eating their way through my flowers. I have decided that chasing them off and telling the dogs to take chase, just in fun, never to harm, whenever they are loose and the rabbits are near may help teach them to respect the beds as much as their mother has learned. I know, this is not a feasible approach for most gardens, but for someone who is home as much as I am, and is up early each day, I figured it might be worth a try. That my dogs never tire of barking each time they see one come into the yard does not hurt either. They have become my alarm system per se.

So far, it seems to actually be working. They are still about, but never as close to the flowerbeds as they were just a few days ago. They might approach the beds, but all it takes is for me to open the house door and they scamper quickly away. I hope as they mature, that they will move on, leaving their mother as the sole tenant once again, and if not, I am sure I will be taking a much more radical approach come next spring when they have babies of their own. Until then, I will keep chasing them off, and hope that my dogs never tire of barking each time they come into the yard to alert me that once again, the bunny brigade has arrived.

Efficient Garden Watering During Drought Conditions

By Christina VanGinkel

This summer, as the heat drones on, your garden is most likely either swimming under the constant threat of rain or so dry that you wonder how even a weed could be growing. While watering can be substituted for lack of rain, those of us with large gardens and wells might be a bit hesitant to water to the degree that our gardens need to thrive. Other areas might be under water restrictions, due to drought conditions. Either of these scenarios means that our gardens are not getting the much-needed water they require to thrive and grow. There are steps you can take though, to get your garden much of the needed water it requires so that you can still reap the rewards of picking your own vegetables and not just staring at dried up, or non-existent bounty.

Water Smart

Do not use a typical garden hose to spray the garden randomly. Invest in a hose that allows water to seep out, and run the hose right where the water is most needed. This means that no water is wasted watering ground that can stand to be a bit drier, and keeps the valuable moisture in the ground surrounding the plants themselves. A quick search online for this type of hose brought up the term Soaker Hose, and I even learned that you can buy them with splitters and shut off valves, allowing you to run them where you need them, leaving them in place during times such as extreme drought. While this could be costly for someone with a large garden, a smaller garden could be covered quite efficiently, and these hoses should last for many years if taken care of. Once in place, they can also be covered with some light mulch to work even better at keeping the moisture where it is most needed and to help keep it from evaporating so quickly when the temperatures are soaring off the thermometers.

Do Not Over Water

It might seem like the more water the better, but drowning your plants during extremely dry conditions can occur. Check your soil before watering. Do not just assume it is dry. If you have planted well and used mulch where it is called for, it might take longer between needed watering than what you might think. My mother use to actually have a few 'test' plants throughout her garden during summers when it was very dry such as this summer is heating up to be in many locales. She would actually dig down into the dirt around these test plants to see how far down moisture was holding up. I was surprised the first time she showed me how this worked, and how the ground could look saturated on top sometimes, and be dry just a few inches down, but in spots where she had mulch, the ground might not look overly damp, but this level of moisture was distributed well down towards the root structure of the plant. Every beginning gardener should have this demonstration played out for him or her, because it sure drove home to me how moisture can be a fickle thing when it comes to the naked eye.

Avoid Using Waste Water

While reusing bath water and wash water on your garden might sound like a good way to conserve and stretch your resources, this is not usually a good approach to take. Some communities actually have restrictions against doing such. Chemicals in wastewater can be unhealthy for both the ground and the vegetables growing there.

Alternative Watering Methods

If you have a creek or pond nearby, utilize them to water and irrigate your crops. Carrying water by the bucket might seem like a lot of work, but can be well worth the rewards. Get the kids involved, or make use of a garden wagon to make hauling jugs more efficient. If you have access to a pump, pump the water directly from the source. Even small amounts of water should not be wasted during drought. Our family buys bottled water. When I caught myself emptying several partially empty single serving bottles down the drain, I stopped. I now pour such bottles into a gallon jug kept by the sink for just this purpose. When the jug is full, I use it to give a drink to any plants that look like they could use a little extra between my typical garden watering.

Is your Garden worth the Time?

By Christina VanGinkel

A friend of my daughter is staying with us for a few days while she is in town. After watching my husband and myself in the garden for quite some time the other evening, she asked me if all of the work we put in to the flowerbeds and other plants is really worth it. I just smiled and responded with a quick yes, that yes it was. Sitting with a cup of tea a few mornings later, I thought a bit more about her simple question and realized just how accurate my quick answer was.

It is worth every minute of planting, weeding, watering, and pruning. From that bit of work come uncountable pleasures. To start, I always have an enjoyable spot to have an early morning or any time of the day cup of tea. If the weather is hot, I can enjoy an icy cold glass of lemonade or Kool-Aid. While doing so, I can watch the resident chipmunk fill his cheeks in a never-ending round of stealing the bird's sunflower seeds. I can also watch as a single pair of small brown birds, defend their house they chose to raise their family in. A pair of starlings would like to steal it from them, and for the last couple of summers the score stands at two to one, with them giving up last year and allowing the starlings to win.

If I am struggling with a line in one of my books, I know I can walk around my garden to clear my head, or go put in some physical time pulling weeds or pruning. Activities such as these are the quickest way to get me through any sort of writer's block that I might be experiencing. The same tasks are also good for clearing my mind of everyday stumbling blocks. It is really difficult to worry about life's mundane little worries when you are breathing in the fresh scent of an overgrown peony!

If I am having a bad morning, taking a walk with my young grandson, and letting him pick a bouquet of flowers for his mother is sure to brighten my mood, no matter how bad it is. Watching my husband chase same grandson out of his walkway edgings is always good for a few smiles too. Small note here: If you have toddlers in your life, do not plant soft, squishy looking plants anywhere that these toddlers might normally walk beside, as the temptation will just be too much, and sooner, rather than later, you will find that they can no longer resist the temptation and they will try to step into these squishy looking plants! My husband has taken to telling him to 'pet' the plants instead of stepping on them, but through it all, it has been fun to watch.

A garden has so much to offer those who care for it. It can be a breathing room for life of sorts. A friend that was going through a divorce once told me that her garden was the one spot that she could always go to and seek refuge, and there was never a critical word from those who resides there. Her ex would never seek her out in her garden either, simply because he found her flowering vines and bushes too smothering. Go figure. She went on to say that even when a plant is not thriving, when it is in obvious need of care beyond what the other plants are calling for, it will not shout at you or demand anything from you.

When your home is almost as calm a place as the garden is, as my own home is, then it works as an extension of that space. It allows you to live your life in more space than the walls of a home. It takes those walls and extends them out into the world.

Yes, the time I spend in my garden is well worth it. I am even sure there must be some statistic somewhere, which says that years are added to a person's life if they garden. I know each day I set among my flowers, breathing in the scent of flowers, watching my husband smile and laugh with my grandson, is a day that is well worth gardening, a day worth living.

Moss Rose Meanderings

By Christina VanGinkel

Moss roses are usually a very prominent part of one structure in our garden. Being an annual, when we first planted some years ago, being new to gardening, we assumed that we would have to replant them each year. We went so far as to discarding them come fall, when they were looking like they had well outlived their days. Then a friend who gardens told us that if we left the plants in the ground, and let them become very dry (in our part of the country, dry equals frozen!), we could then just trim off some of the growth, leaving much of it to become a sort of mulch back into the garden bed. She swore that come the following summer, this annual would grow back on its own, much like a perennial. Surprisingly, this worked, and for several years in a row, we would be treated to moss roses from one planting.

Last year, my husband treated this garden with a weed spray that was used just between the larger flowering plants. We rarely use any products such as it, but chose to do so, on this particular raised garden, because it was difficult for either of us to weed it continually, without having to actually step into the bottom layers. We noticed immediately that it seemed to be killing off the moss roses right along with the weeds, even though he never came close to the root structure with any of it.

Now, a year later, when our moss roses should be coming up as they have for years, we noticed that not a single moss rose was growing. We have since discarded the empty bottle of the weed product we used, and cannot remember the name. What we have come to believe though, is that the weed product attacked the root structure of the potential weeds, and in doing so, leached across the garden killing off all the roots save for the very large plants, which all seem to be doing fine.

Not content to have this garden without moss roses, we headed out yesterday to shop for replacement plants. Our first stop netted us not a single moss rose. The young girls working clearly did not know what we were looking for, so we ended up walking through several greenhouses in search of some, but came up empty handed. We then stopped at another smaller greenhouse, and while the person working knew what we wanted, she did not have any. Wal-Mart was actually our next stop. We figured they would have at least some flats of smaller ones. They also did not, and an older woman that I know was working and she replied that they had had several people in asking for moss roses, but for some reason, they had yet to get any in, and she did not think they were.

At this point, we had all but given up hope of finding any, when I suggested we stop at Home Depot. This proposal was more out of a last ditch effort type of commiseration for my husband than anything. We had been to Home Depot over the last few weeks for several other unrelated shopping trips, and I recalled that they had a large greenhouse in the parking lot, set up next to their regular garden center.

We did find some at Home Depot, but not a large selection, nor a healthy one. We came away with two eight-inch pots that I separated several large moss rose plants out of, and one small eight piece flat of tiny, but healthy moss roses. The remaining plants looked like they had been frostbit, and were dry to the pint that even a moss rose could not thrive, and they like sun and dry conditions.

We went home, where my husband removed much of the soil in the garden where he had used the weed killer, avoiding the areas around the larger plants that were growing. We planted the moss roses we found, and I hope that in a few weeks I will be able to report to you that they are thriving, growing, and spreading out, as they should.

If we have learned anything from all of this, it is that if you are not use to using weed killing products, as we are not, then I would suggest that you be very cautious when doing so, reading all of the attached labels. If not, you might end up killing more than just weeds, just the same as we apparently did.

Controlling The South Florida Millipede Problem

If you live in an area of South Florida with a lot of growth, like Coconut Grove or similarly lush areas, then you likely have developed a problem with invasive millipedes, also frequently referred to as centipedes or worms. These dark millipedes looks like black worms or earth worms, are quite unattractive, and will find just about any crack in a home, then enter it. Some people wake up every morning to find them climbing their walls and curtains and falling from the ceiling. Yuk!

I have a solution. It is an old solution to a different but similar problem, that of pests climbing fruit trees, only to consume and/or infest the fruit. Use what fruit tree growers have used for years, a pest barrier sticky glue, available at many garden supply stores. Simply spread this stuff under your doors or around the perimeter of the area in which you wish to keep these critters out and, shabam, they're history!

Does it work? I know someone who uses this and swears by it. He had a huge problem with these centipedes previously. Every morning he would wake to 30 or 40 in the lower level of his home. Now he has none - quite an improvement.

For most homes, a couple of tubes should be enough for the initial application. Depending on the area, however, you may want to apply more later.

Believe me, you will want to thank me. Well, guess what. I'll tell you how. Tell you friends, and again send them to this page. Appreciate it.

Assessing a Potted Plant's Pot Size

By Christina VanGinkel

While I was recently hospitalized, a good friend dropped off at my home a beautiful hanging plant, an ornamental geranium in a pot that was about eight inches across, which was abundantly overflowing with flowers. My husband, the true gardener in the family, hung it out on a cast iron hanging bar we have situated in the yard just for such a plant. He watered it, and a few days later, he even thought to add a bit of plant food. He then paid it no more attention for the next few days as he was busy with the mundane chores around the house that I usually handle, along with visiting me in the hospital.

When I arrived home a few days after the plant was delivered, it was still in its original lovely condition. Then, about two days later, my husband, and I both realized that it was not weathering all that well after all. The leaves were turning yellow, and the flowers that had already bloomed were dropping off quickly. The leaves that were still green looked wilted, and the buds not yet opened did not look in good shape either. The problem did not appear to be a watering issue, as the soil around it did not appear to be overly wet or too dry. We did come up with two issues, seemingly related to each other, that upon further reflection, we felt were the cause of the problems.

The first issue was that the pot that the plant was in was too small for the size of the plant. While it came to us in beautiful condition, the root structure was obviously too large, and was running out of soil. Yes, there was still soil in the pot, but when we really examined it up close, we realized that the root structure was taking up all of the soil space, and even edging out and over in some spots, as it searched for room to expand. The greenhouse that sold the plant I am sure felt that the eight inch sized pot only worked to highlight how big and blooming the plant was, where transplanting it to a larger pot, say one that was twelve inches across, would have made it appear not as full and lush.

Secondly, we ran into an issue that seems to relate to the first issue somewhat. My husband had hung the plant in an area that was full sun. From the minute the sun rose, until it set, the plant was never in shade. While some flowering plants flourish under such conditions, as should this one have as an ornamental geranium that called for full sun on its accompanying stake, with the pot size so small, and even though it was receiving, what we thought was adequate watering, it was not. With most of the soil space being used up by the root structure, there really was not enough soil to retain moisture. This caused the plant to react the same as if it should not have been in full sun.

We treated the problems by temporarily hanging the potted plant in a somewhat less direct path of the sun, under the eave of our small back porch, and then repotting it to a larger pot. In just a matter of days, it is regaining its glorious foliage and the buds are once again opening and look beautiful. It has been moved back out to its original location where it can receive an almost continual dose of sunlight, which this time it appears to be thriving in.

I would have felt terrible if the next time my friend stopped by for a visit; the plant she had given me had died or even looked as bad as it did when we noticed how sadly it was weathering. If you are struggling with a potted plant's health, even one that is a new purchase, and that you would think would be in an adequately sized container; be sure to assess the situation yourself, as they may not be in large enough containers after all. Secondary conditions such as the sun and the amount of moisture the current pot is able to hold can make a container that would otherwise be large enough, not big enough in reality.

Butterfly Time Once Again

By Christina VanGinkel

In my email inbox this morning, was a picture of a leaf. Upon reading the email that accompanied it, that was from a good friend, I looked at the leaf again and that time saw a tiny speck on it. I can be assured that over the coming days and weeks, this friend will send along more pictures of this and other leaves, as the speck of the egg grows and devours the leaves on its way to becoming a Monarch butterfly. We happen to live in an area where the Monarchs migrate to from down south of the border. When they arrive back up north, we can always expect to be front seat spectators to the wonders of life in one of its most simple forms. The butterflies lay their eggs; the eggs then grow into caterpillars, and eventually turn into adult Monarchs, in time to migrate back down south so that they can make the return trip next year in this continuing trip of evolving life.

As usual, whenever I see my first hint of the Monarchs return, I am reminded that it is time to double check that my garden is in prime form to both attract and keep these amazing creatures as standard visitors in my yard and garden. One of the biggest mistakes that many gardeners make when they plant a garden full of what they presume will attract them, is that they do not take the time to make sure that they have enough variations in the timeframe of when the flowers in their garden will be productive. Monarch love nectar, and even if you have a garden full of nectar procuring flowers, if they are all in full bloom at the same time, there will soon be nothing left to keep the butterflies around. For this simple reason alone, it is important to make sure that you plant enough variety that you will have flowers blooming from early spring through late summer. To backtrack a bit here too, no garden will ever be home to an egg laying Monarch, no matter how bountiful the nectar-filled flowers are, if it does not contain milkweed. Monarchs must have milkweed for which to lay their eggs. You might end up with a few visiting Monarchs without the milkweed, but some of the most joy I have ever received from watching these miraculous little wonders, is when they alight atop a milkweed plant to lay an egg and the evolution of life starts all over again.

I once explained this to a friend who was new to gardening and wished to make her garden as attractive to butterflies as she could. The following spring, she called me up in a panic that her milkweed was being all chewed up and she wanted to know what she should spray on it to kill all of the bugs. I calmly explained to her that her chewed up milkweed was exactly what she wanted. It meant that she had succeeded in attracting egg lying Monarchs, and the tiny 'bugs' were actually the eggs. Every time I think of how close she came to spraying some insecticide on her milkweed I cringe, and it also reminds me how too often new gardeners are so quick to spray whatever it is they do not believe belongs in their garden.

Monarchs also love to sit on rocks and other structures early in the morning, so having some prominent rocks or statues placed about, out where the early morning sun can reach and start to warm the stone early is an ideal way of making sure you have the utmost possibility to see the Monarchs that are about. If they have no place to sit and stretch their early morning wings, they may soon be moving on to more friendly gardens.

Water is also a good addition. While they will most commonly get the water they need from the dew from your plants, fresh water in a birdbath or two placed about will only add to the positive attraction of your garden to the butterflies.

If you are interested in attracting Monarchs to your garden, check out a book on the subject, such as Butterfly Gardening: Creating Summer Magic in Your Garden, put out by the Smithsonian Institution and available through outlets such as Amazon.com.

A Snake in the Garden

By Christina VanGinkel

Being outside in the garden always has its concerns, such as dealing with the sun and bugs, or weeks where it seems to rain endlessly, day after day. Pollen can be a big fear with many people too. This year, here in the Midwest, it seems like we have been dealing with all of the above to the extreme. Adding to those issues, it seems like we have more than our fair share of snakes this year.

Yesterday afternoon, I was out in our yard, and was across the garden itself, up by our dog pens. My husband has four Plot hounds, and while they all frequent the house often, they spend the majority of their time outside. I had just refilled each dog's water dish, as one of the four, Jed, has developed the habit of dumping his water bowl as soon as he is done with his current drink. This has made for several additional trips throughout the day to make sure that he has water at all times. Yes, we are working on a more permanent solution, but at six years old, he is in our opinion just acting out. As the largest of our dogs physically, he is the biggest baby of them all. He honestly believes he lives in our house. He spends more time with us than not, but when he must be in his pen he acts out! He figures if he dumps his bowl and sits with it in his mouth staring at the house, sooner rather than later, one of us will come out and see why he has flipped it once again.

Anyway, after watering Jed and our dog Oz, I was going to cut through a small trail to the backside of our two female dog's pens, Manta and Cricket, when I decided not too. I figured I would just walk along the edge of the yard, as wood ticks are still a problem and we are still steering clear of tall grass if we can. The trail that I would normally take is in need of a mowing and I figured it would be better to avoid it. I took about three steps away from Jed, when out of the corner of my eye I saw a snake. Let me clarify, I saw a huge snake!

I do not like snakes, big, small, no matter their size, I am one of those people who upon seeing even something that might be a snake, will scream and run. This one was a snake, it was obviously sunning itself, and it was, by my husband's estimation when he saw it, the widest, biggest snake he had ever seen. My husband works outside year round, and has more than seen his fair share of snakes, so when he said it was the widest, biggest snake he had ever seen, that was saying a lot. That I had walked by it to get to the dogs in the first place was not lost on my conscious either. We have so much pollen landing on the ground right now, our yard looks like it has just been snowed on. He was partially camouflaged by all of the white.

Being it is the digital age, I ran inside the house, grabbed my digital camera, snapped a few pictures, and quickly emailed them to my brother in Texas so he could tell me what type of snake it was. Not a snake expert, he is just the person I would normally ask such a question as this, as he just knows these things. Now nearly twenty-four hours later, none of us has been able to identify it, though my husband is almost positive it was just an oddly colored pine snake, as he said they are about the only snake native to our area that could possibly grow that big. I am still wondering if it were not some exotic snake that someone had as a pet, and when it grew as big as it did, someone let it go.

No matter where it came from though, it is already the fourth snake we have had in our yard, and it is not even summer yet. If we normally see one snake a year, that would be one too many, but four and counting has me a bit on edge.

If you are like us, and spend a lot of time outdoors this time of year enjoying your garden and yard, keep in mind that there are concerns such as these to be aware of. If snakes are a possible concern, be alert and walk where you have a clear view. Stay safe!