Diy tips for gardening problems

Landscaping - Managing Insects

Keeping destructive insects to a minimum is now easier than ever. Thanks to innovative biologists and chemists, there are a dozen safe ways to control damaging insects.

The first step is to correctly identify what kind of insects you have or are likely to get. There are thousands of common species, but typically only a handful do most of the harm in any given area. These can often be identified in one or more of three ways.

You can check the leaves of your plants, flowers and shrubs and match them against photos you can find online. If you search for information about the specific plants you’re worried about you’ll quickly find the most common pests. Accompanying that information is frequently a photo you can use for comparison.

Many times, though, insects on flowers, trees, grass and other plants are hidden. In that case you can rely on a guess and apply control methods based on the common invasive species. Aphids frequently infest rose bushes, for example, and can be difficult to spot. Grass often has grub infestations that could only be visually detected by careful inspection underneath the soil.

Another method is to examine the effects.

If you find large, roughly round, brown spots on grass - especially in late Spring through Summer - you probably have a Japanese Beetle grub problem. There can be other causes, double check your guess by the previously listed methods. If you find that patches of grass pull away easily from the soil like carpet that has come loose from its tacks, you probably have a grub problem.

Once you identify the species that is causing the problem, eliminating it is usually safe, inexpensive and easy using modern control methods. That doesn’t necessarily mean purchasing and spraying large areas with chemicals, though many today are designed to be perfectly safe for humans and the environment.

Instead of using grub killing fertilizer or insecticide, for example, you can use biological control methods. These are becoming more popular and more effective all the time. A substance called ‘milky spores’ can be a very cost effective way to control grubs in lawns.

Initially biological control may be more costly than a bag of grub insecticide. A 30lb bag of grub killer may cost $10 and last two years where a 1-liter bottle of milky spores may be $30 or more, but it lasts for 10 years. The substance works well because it actually contains living organisms that invade the grub larvae and interrupts their growth cycle. In effect, you have one organism killing another. But the spores do no harm to your lawn, only to the grub.

There are many other biological control methods, each tailored to attack a specific problem. They have to be, since organisms are fairly particular about what insects they will invade and when. But you’ll find them safe, cost effective and frequently longer lasting than chemical methods.

You can always fall back onto chemical insecticides when needed, too. Modern insecticides have become very sophisticated, frequently decaying from the environment safely and quickly into harmless byproducts. At the same time, they do the job before fading away.

Different Uses For Your Herbs

An herb garden is twice blessed, for you can give as much as you receive from it.

Here are some suggestions for using your herbs in many delightful and unusual ways. Remember that many flowers, too, are herbs; so do not be surprised to find roses, violets and other blossoms among the suggested ingredients.

Potted Plants

Remember when you harvested, you marked some of the herbs for potting. Of these, some you planned to keep for your own enjoyment, the others to put back into your herb garden next spring. You probably will want to pot some herbs for gifts. Be as generous as you can, for you will be delighted at the pleasure they will bring. House plants make cherished prizes and imaginative gifts at any time.

A friend in the hospital will enjoy a plant that is not only lovely to look at, but also fragrant to smell and delicious to nibble. Potted herbs are among the best sellers at bazaars and benefits. Get small plastic pots and use some of the smaller plants for this purpose. As the giver you, too, will profit from this project, for you can enjoy the herbs lined up on the window sill as they await gift days.

Bookmarks

Many years ago costmary was known as “Bible leaf” because of the custom of using it as a bookmark in Bibles and prayer books.

Costmary, or any large fragrant leaves such as those of rose geranium, tansy, lemon verbena, or borage, still make charming bookmarks. If, like the women of olden days, you wish them chiefly for fragrance, then press and mount them on cards. Done this way, however, the herbs will soon crumble, so when making bookmarks for gifts, it is better to press them between blotters or tissues between the pages of a heavy book.

When the leaves are dry, place them between two pieces of heavy transparent plastic cut to the size and shape you wish. It is safest to anchor the herb with a bit of glue before putting the second piece of plastic in place. Either seal with glue or punch holes around the edges and lace with yarn or embroidery floss. I prefer the bookmarks which are laced together, so that some of the fragrance can escape. This is a project which your children will enjoy.

Place Cards and Tallies

For a dinner, luncheon or card party you can make attractive place cards and tallies decorated with herbs. Cut plain cards twice the size you wish them to be when finished and fold in the center. On the outside cut a slit and insert a sprig of fresh or dried herb; you can attach the spray to the card with transparent tape of you prefer.

You can make a place card which doubles as a favor by attaching a sachet to a card. For benefits or bazaars, package these in sets of eight or twelve.

Herb Bouquets

A quaint name for these bouquets is ‘tussie-mussies. ” For centuries they have been carried by those participating in the coronation ceremonies in England. Elizabeth II was handed a tussie-mussie as she entered Westminster Abbey. Long ago they were no doubt carried to ward off germs and to counteract unpleasant smells resulting from lack of adequate ventilation and plumbing. Today, however, tussie-mussies are valued for the sentiment of the meaning attached to the various herbs and for their charm in appearance and fragrance.

In the 15th century a favorite tussie-mussie was made of marigold (for happiness) and heartsease (for remembrance). Others were often used also. For example:

A red rosebud surrounded by forget-me-nots and southernwood signified undying devotion, remembrance and constancy.

A spray of bee balm, southernwood and Bible leaf (costmary) was tucked into the bodice of the Sabbath gown to be sniffed during the long Sunday church service.

Sage with white and gold camomile flowers symbolized long life, wisdom and patience.

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