They swarm. They annoy. They bite. What works—and what doesn’t—for keeping pesky mosquitoes at bay.
Some of the popular Canadian-bred Explorer roses, such as ‘William Baffin’, ‘John Davis’, and ‘John Cabot’, are not true climbers, even though they’re sold as climbers.
Rosa ‘Zéphirine Drouhin’ is a wonderful old Bourbon rose, medium pink in color and with a strong fragrance.
The old line about poison ivy (“leaves of three, let it be”) is a useful way to remember what not to touch on your next foray into the overgrown patch at the back of the garden.
Crabgrass is an annual weed that comes back from seeds each year. To prevent seeds from sprouting, mulch the soil to prevent light from reaching them.
Lavender seeds don’t have a long shelf life, so be sure you’re starting with fresh ones.
Both scale insects and mealybugs are difficult to eliminate. You have to pick off scales, then inspect and spray repeatedly with a houseplant insecticide to catch the “crawler” stage of the insects.
Vermiculite doesn’t pose a threat to plants. It’s humans who are at risk from exposure to the asbestos that’s contained in some products made from vermiculite.
Let’s start out by acknowledging the obvious: You don’t need fancy tools and supplies to grow houseplants. I’ve seen people water their houseplants with a wine bottle and trim them with a steak knife.
Most people harvest sunflowers well before the seeds are ripe, to make sure birds don’t get to the seeds first.