shelley welch

They ate my lavender last year! 4 lined plant bugs...kind of like deer, always something new and different!

I saw two squirrels, brown/gray, climbing up and down my rosé bushes today. They seemed to be looking for buds to eat? There are no buds yet!!! Still too cold. There seem to be other more attractive things available to them ie maple blossoms. What's up?

Thanks, janet! Found graham blandy at ray weigand's and bought all 6, 5 gallon plants. The little boys will help plant them tomorrow.

All spring I have been watching the box elder bugs crawl out of the crowns of my lavender. Now they are happily reproducing, right in my front yard!!! To my knowledge there are no box elder trees in the near vicinity. Will they adversely affect the lavender? How or should I get rid of them? There are hundreds. Thanks! Shelley

wow! i've toured butterfly habitats on caribbean islands and at the zoo, but a native habitat here in our area thrills me. i am looking forward to a day trip with my grandboys, 5, 3, & 1. they will be so excited to learn about this! shelley

i'm ready to get outside to clean up what i left standing over the winter. when i looked at my porcelain vine i was confused. cut to the ground? thin out brittle stems? wait till it leafs out to see what's dead? i checked the archives and found nothing on this vine. a few web sites had conflicting info. so, forum, what is the recommended method for se mi? shelley

i am looking forward to working with my mom in her garden this year, helping her out where age or absence of my dad is noted. i have helped her little in the past, we have different perspectives on gardening. she likes to be in control of her own stuff, yet her garden now overwhelms her. mom and dad had dug wide beds along the entire back of their subdivision property that have been perennials, vegetables, and now many weeds. the soil has a lot of sand in it, so it warms up and drains quickly.(i think her natural community is dry-mesic southern forest-john R and square lake). they have no trees in the back and the trees they once had grew little and finally died. my mom is constantly dividing her perennials because they multiply so well. my dad built many wooden toys that currently decorate their yard, an arbor like mine, maybe the windmill is still there, and things to make squirrels fall on their heads!!! there is also a mary statue that is important to my mom and the garden around it is haphazard. i am trying to work into conversation a casual request to take some photos and copy the mortgage survey. i have already tripped myself up suggesting that we'll trim up her spirea in the front yard properly this year. i would appreciate any and all of your thoughts on this delicate subject!!! shelley