Well Folks, I Believe It’s That Time Again…
Time to start bringing your patio plants inside! The first frost is just around the corner in my neck of the woods, and some of you may have already been hit. If you have a porch or patio full of plants that have been outside since the Spring, there are a few things you need [...]
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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. [...]
Yellow ZZ
Dear Ivy,
The leaves of my Zanzibar Gem are yellow, I think it has been over watered. What should I do?
-Karen
Dear Karen,
Although the ZZ can tolerate drought, they also will relish lots of water. The yellowing of the leaves could be due to poor water quality. Some municipalities put flouride and chlorine into their water systems, [...]
Spring blooms!!
My birthday gardenia is blooming!
I was worried about it for a while, because several leaves turned yellow and fell off. Then, about a week ago, I noticed these:
The buds are pretty large in comparison to how big the plant is. They are about two inches long, and as big around as a sharpie [...]
A New Mystery!
Well, I’ve found my mystery for this Spring. Two years ago, it was Argiope Aurantia’s egg sack in my Croton as I was about to bring it inside for the coming Winter. Now this!
I found this in the leaves of my Dracaena Warnekii. It’s a palm-like tropical plant that likes lots of light and humidity, [...]
What Are These White Spots?
Question: What are the white spots on my trailing ivy?
Answer: Well, they could be lots of things… A really great thing to do would be to invest in a magnifying glass (I use the word “invest” here loosely, since magnifying glasses can be bought most anywhere and are pretty cheap). It is underestimated how helpful [...]
What in the world…?
I found this cacoon in my croton as I went to bring it inside! Or could it be an egg sac?
I’m not really sure what to do.
It’s about an inch from top to bottom. Light brown or tan in color. It looks papery, but I didn’t actually touch it. It’s not attached to the plant, [...]
Winter Refugees
You know cold weather is around the corner when the bugs start their yearly exodus from the garden. There is a little spider taking up residence in one of my cupboards. He’s just too fast, I can’t catch him!
I only hope the first few light frosts kill off the smaller pests, like spider mites and [...]
Banana Answers
Question: I bought two dwarf banana plants. I kept one and gave the other one to my sister. Well, mine died, but hers is still growing. I don’t know why. Do you know where I can get another dwarf banana plant?
Answer: Try looking up some local greenhouses in the phone book. This is a tropical [...]
Your Best Garden Defense
Having an organic garden is a great way to watch nature in action. I have never laid a chemical on my garden, and I never will. To help gt rid of garden pests, I simply allow nature to take its course. I put out bird feeders and bat boxes to encourage pest-eating animals to stop [...]