Our expert gardening columnist Dawn Neff has lots of tips on how
to celebrate May in the garden, from how to give your roses a boost to keeping
japanese beetles away from your beloved plants to designing a special sanctuary
in your backyard for birds, butterflies and other small creatures.
Finally, the time we have been waiting so impatiently for--the garden
is awakening.
The tulips are so lovely this year. The hyacinths are past now.
The pansies are joyous. I did my front window box in the pansy mix of pastel.
They won't survive the summer there but they will bloom again in fall if
I move them when they are done blooming to a cool deeply shaded area. I will
move them into the sanctuary garden beside my swing. The hostas and ferns
make a beautiful backdrop.
We are ready to harvest the chive flowers also. Don't forget to
make yourself some chive flower vinegar. Use white wine vinegar and let the
blossoms only marinate in it for a couple of weeks. It will turn a lovely
lavender color. Strain it and use as a greens dressing with a touch of good
olive oil.
Give your roses a boost of new growth with some Epson salts. Do
this in May and June in addition to whatever you normally feed them. They
also like to have a drink of tea now and then...no sugar thank you. The Epson
salts are also good for your tomato plants as well as peppers, but it is
a bit early for that. For African violets mix 2 tablespoons in a gallon of
water and use that for regular waterings.
If you are noticing a lot of japanese beetles now is the time to
think about planting rue. It is a nice bluish green border type herb that
the beetles hate. It does have a strong scent that may be offensive to you
also. Stop by a nursery and give it a sniff to see if it might work for you.
I don't mind it planted about the yard in several places.
How about earwigs? Not a pleasant subject but one that is becoming
noticeable outdoors now. I have a couple things I do; after reading the paper
roll it up and lay it outside where you see a lot of the little bugs. In
the morning drop the paper in a bucket full of hot water. I do this in several
heavily infested areas around the yard. It has to be done nightly and it
is somewhat disgusting but it does seem to help. I also sprinkle Twenty Mule
Team Borax in areas they seem to like. The last defense I know against them
is to take comfort in the fact that they eat aphids, spider mites, fruit
worms and other unfriendly bugs making the earwig a beneficial bug.
As for slugs, no not the one on your couch, everyone has a remedy
for them so all I will add is to plant parsley, sage or basil where they
hang out. They dislike these plants and several others, can't hurt and everyone
can use a few more herbs.
I have put in the north side yard fence and planted 25 white pines
back there. I plan to let the birds worry about my bug population. I also
put in 5 crabapples-way out where no one will track them in-, 5 kousa dogwood,
5 elderberrys, 5 service berrys, 4 ginko, 5 lilacs, and 2 douglas firs. Very
busy two days but it certainly fleshed out my woodland glade. I intend to
get the rest of the fence done this summer and the smaller plants in during
fall.
I do have a lovely row of wild roses on the south side that will
cover that fence as well as raspberry bushes I have let go to naturalize.
I have done my best to create a welcoming home for the birds, butterflies
and other small creatures that have survived our concrete
explosion.
I have several watering places as well as the brush pile, vine covered,
compost bin, vine covered as well and other camouflaging strategies for making
the area wildlife friendly and yet acceptable to our local code enforcement
standards.
Do try to plan in an area that welcomes the birds. They are the
best natural defense against the bugs and anything we can do to prevent using
more chemicals is one step closer to preserving our world.
Have you tried weed tea fertilizer? Just pull up your weeds before
they go to seed, put them in a 5 gallon container, cover with water and let
sit for a week or two. Dilute this with 3-4 parts water and sprinkle on your
garden as needed.
Don't forget to deadhead your rhododendrons and azalias as they
finish blooming as well as your lilacs. I deadhead everything throughout
summer then slow down in the fall so the birds have some seed heads to
forage.
I have also cleared out my winter house knicknacks, cleaning them
and boxing them for next years use. I will rely now on the bunches of herbs
and fresh flowers from my garden. I put away all heavy looking things and
put lighter brighter slipcovers on the pillows. I want it to be summer indoors
as well. I have also found that by clearing all the surfaces I have to spend
less time indoors cleaning thus leaving more time for my outdoor
life.
Pick some fresh catnip for your little loves now, brew a cup of
tea, and join me out back on the swing. Take time every day to enjoy. And
take time to be grateful....
Arranging a bowl of flowers in the morning can give a sense of quiet
in a crowded day-like writing a poem or saying a prayer. --Anne Morrow
Lindbergh
Enjoy your May
About the author: Dawn Neff lives in Indiana Zone 5. She shares
her home with 7 birds, 4 cats, a husband and a teenage son. She has almost
as many plants indoors as out. She collects old cookbooks and gardening books,
loves to go "junking" at yard and barn sales, and writes in and on anything
in any spare moment. She theme gardens and feels that they tend to take on
a life of their own and go in directions she had not expected. She also forages
for many of the Native foods she was raised with and uses them as a focal
point for local school lectures on nature. |
