Backyard Biters
Dear Ivy,
Are these black and yellow spiders you’re always writing about biters?
-Worried in Wisconsin
Dear Worried,
I would like to put your mind at ease. These garden partners are shy and would sooner skitter away under a bush than stand and fight, so to speak. I often get questions about the aggression levels of this spider, and [...]
Endless Summer
I know, I know, it’s not really endless… But I could live this way forever
I was out in my back yard the other day, lounging in a blue baby pool (don’t judge me) to cool off. My house was built in the 20’s and hasn’t had many updates since. The lack of air [...]
Bugs Are Some of My Favorite People
One of the things I love about Summer is the influx of life into my little world. Spiders and bugs and their whole miniature food chain, acting out their life cycles right in front of my eyes! Birds swooping in and out, rodents scuttling under the fence to look for shoots and leaves to eat. [...]
Reader Mail
Dear Ivy,
When you dead-head a petunia, can you just pluck the dead flower or should you snip it a little lower? What about those little mini petunias, do you have to deadhead those too?
Thanks very much,
Evary
Dear Evary,
This is a great question! A good opportunity to explain to my readers the practice of “Dead [...]
Beans, beans, the magical fruit…
Oh, Summer camp. The valuable songs you taught me…
In spite of the recent high temperatures, my garden has finally started pulling its weight around here! In addition to the salad greens, radishes, sunflowers and raspberries, I now have delicious and nutritious green beans! I used plain old fashioned elbow grease. Also, compost and manure! I [...]
Garden Defense Allies
Here’s a photo of another of my favorite garden defenders!
A dragonfly! They are members of the family Odonata, and they are always hungry! A dragonfly can eat its own body weight in bugs in an hour! They help control the mosquito population, which gives them big points in my book.
This one is an exception to [...]
Bugs of Summer
I’d like to introduce you to some of your best friends
This is a Flat-Backed Millipede, from the order Polydesmida. This little guy is an integral part of the food chain and the Chairmen-of-the Board of the Decomposition Committee. These arthropods do not bite or sting, and are a big help to have in [...]
Give your plants a bath!
When the heat gets to be too much, set your plants in a few inches of water. This will allow them to fully absorb all the liquid they can hold, without you having to worry about over or under watering. You can spray or mist the top of the plant and get all the dust [...]
The Fruits of My Labor :D
I’ve been harvesting quarts and quarts of raspberries over the last few weeks! A couple times a week, I go out in the back garden and pluck a few quarts of the delicious fruits. The plants I have are called “Everbearing”, and they should produce all Summer. I pruned them back really heavily at first. [...]
Look What We Found!
I’m so happy! I just found an itty bitty baby praying mantis!
The picture is a little blurry because he’s soooo small, (he was less than a centimeter long) but when this little guy grows up, he’ll be a ferocious predator that will help protect my plants! These helpful bugs are the reason I refuse to [...]