Improvements this week:

I made an improvement to the question asking system for subscribers. The details are below on how to ask questions but essentially, you’re the only guys I’m now answering questions for. This should eliminate a lot of spam. Because I send you the newsletter – you’re on my white list. You can send me a note without a problem but others can’t.

Basics – do a search (because 75% of all questions have already been answered before). If no answer, simply hit return on this newsletter to ask your question. How simple is that. But you gotta search first please.

You guys have been making requests for more graphics and now that I have high speed internet again (the last 6 months since my move were on dialup), I’ve started a redesign of the websites. You can see the first effort at http://www.flower-garden-bulbs.com/ranunculus.html or http://www.gardening-tips-perennials.com/agastache.html I have a master list and will be working at all pages on my sites to upgrade and give you some good pictures. The header graphics are all finished up as of yesterday. Thanks to the wonders of digital photography, life is good. (insert chuckle) I’ll look forward to what you think of it. It is an ongoing project so I do ask that you have patience with me.

Doug’s Blog is at http://feeds.feedburner.com/DougGreensGardening

I won't insult your intelligence and tell you that these ebooks will solve all of your garden problems. But what they will do is give you the tools to solve your own garden problems in specific areas

I get a lot of questions about creating a beautiful lawn without having to use chemicals. Click here to have a better lawn than the neighbors with fewer chemicals. You'll get practical hands-on advice and information from a practical gardener.

For example, if you are planning on building a water garden pond, I've put together a step by step picture book to do just that. I took the pictures from start to finish on one project and you'll see it take shape in front of you.

I don't know about you, but I love growing (and eating) fresh tomatoes from my own garden.

My all-time favorite perennial flower is lavender. I think this is the most fantastic fragrance of all flowerdom (if that's a word). It's right up there with roses in my opinion and here's how to grow lavender successfully.

I find it difficult sometimes to understand why folks don't like to grow vegetables. Freshly grown and picked veggies from your own garden can't be beat and here's the how-to's for successfully growing all the common garden vegetables

I love fragrance as you can tell from my comments about lavender. I put together an e-book about fragrant plants - what are the best ones, which ones to avoid, which varieties are award winners. Here's the scoop on fragrant plants at a price that’s soon to be increased.

Want to ask a question?

Do a search. 75% of all questions have been answered before; unfortunately, I don’t have the time to answer the same or similar questions every week. Search Here

After the search, if you couldn’t find the answer you needed - simply hit return on this newsletter to ask your question (that’s easy isn’t it)

Your email address will get through my spam filters.

Your Questions Answered

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Thanks for your valued time! I have begun to construct a pond that is going to be roughly 7x7x2. I want a small water fall about 3ft tall and 10-14 inches wide. I plan on keeping a few fish, not koi, in the pond along with lillies and other plants. My question..........what is a good filter pump combo? What method will be sufficient, without going completely broke! This is starting to get very confusing because I am hearing so many things from different dealers. Actually some of the dealers are starting to contradict one another! Your help would be GREATLY appreciated!

A: This is a problem with many aspects of gardening – particularly the lucrative sales of pond equipment. Lots of opinions and often contradictory. I don’t make any money from this recommendation but when I build my own pond, I’m going to use Aquascapes systems and equipment. They might be a little more expensive but they work. That system works. And I’ve seen more ponds created by other systems that do NOT work.

The problem with a small pond that you’re describing is that it is very difficult to create a complete environment in this small water volume. You’re going to have difficulty with fish and plants and pumps all together.

It’s like two of the three work well in a small pond but not all three.

The trick – if there is one – is to use a LOT of oxygenating plants along with whatever system you eventually decide on. This will be needed to keep things in balance.

My take on all of this is that I prefer to spend some money upfront to reduce the problems that I’ve seen happen with other systems that are not as well designed or engineered. You can do it with cheaper systems but you had better read all you can on my web pages about water quality and plant balances. :-)

And good luck with your decisions.

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I am new to the landscaping.....last year my husband and I put in a lawn w/ 4" of topsoil over our red sand. We are a zone 4-5. I planted some bulbs apparently as directed on the package about 3-4 weeks ago and have not seen any sprouts yet. The bulbs that I planted last year had been more "adultish" gifted to us by people dividing theirs up for sharing. They are doing well.

I'm concerned about these other little guys. I did plant w/ a little soil and fertilizer and then put a few fertilizer pellets over top. Then covered as directed and have continuted to water. I really do not think I'm over watering either, all other plants are doing fantastically.

A: I think a bit of patience is in order with newly planted bulbs. Never give up, with any luck, you’ll be fine (you didn’t say what kind of bulbs they were so I can’t comment on timing). Having said that, do not put fertilizer down planting holes (it burns tender roots). I’d much prefer to use compost mixed into the soil or spread over top of the backfilled soil.

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I planted a Prestonian Lilac bush about 3 years ago. It grew and bloomed beautifully last year but this year has hardly any leaves on it. It looks like the leaves that are shown are going to have blooms attached but the rest of the shrub is bare! I gave it some compost and it's been watered,etc. My other Prestonian lilac is huge (it was planted years ago) and has many leaves and buds for blooms. I can't understand what happened to this new one. Can you help?

A: Could be several things – from soil to light exposure. Could be graft damage if the plant was grafted – could be rodent damage. I’m always leery of plants that suddenly show up without leaves – usually winter damage of some kind (voles?)

If this has been developing, then there’s something in the environment or soil that’s creating the problem and you’re going to have to be a little more aware of the plant’s environment.

Having said that – there are several blights that will create defoliation and poor performance. They resemble fireblight in apples (looks like the plant was torched) If there are twigs or shoots with cankers or have had large leaves die suddenly, then a copper based spray and sulphur based spray work well. All damaged shoots must be removed as well.

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As a truely amateur gardener I was looking at the spreading ground cover of little blue flowers wondering just what they were. Alas, the neighbor told me that they were Creeping Charlie, an obnoxious weed. Is this the case of "one mans weed, anothers flower", or should I work on removing all traces of this "infestation". Other than the boron trick is there a herbicide out there that will do the job in my garden without nuking my hosta and daylillies?

A: If you leave it, you'll regret it. It's a spreading, noxious weed that is extremely difficult to control.

My problem is that I’ve received several questions about this kind of thing lately. Essentially saying, “yes, I see there’s an organic solution but I want something faster or easier or ??”.

(insert rant warning) There is no garden chemical fix for mixed plants. Sorry. Well, actually I’m not sorry. If there were – too many folks would decide that their health or the health of their neighbours wouldn’t suffer if they used it “just this once” or “just a little bit”. We’re an impatient society seduced into quick solutions by big-money chemical advertisers.

Wake up folks. It’s about the quality of life – not the speed of it.

And yes, the only way to get rid of Creeping Charlie in the flower bed is to hoe it out. There is no broad spectrum herbicide that will kill it without “nuking” everything else. (end rant warning?)

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I live on a corner lot of a state highway (rte.1) in Massachusetts and my frontage is only 14 ft. from the side walk and the space from that to the road is about 2 ft. Where can I find out what perennials will be least affected by the road salt splash from winter salting of the roads?

My lavender has died every year I've planted it and I just realized this may be the cause. Is there any ammendments I can do in the fall to stop the damage?

A: Well, it could be the salt but more likely it’s the weather being cold and uncooperative. Two questions then – is there anything you can add. No. You can flush the soil with water early in the spring to drive the salt out of the soil and that’s the cheapest and easiest solution. You *can* spray the lavender in the fall with an antidesiccant to stop the salt from getting to the leaves. Do this every two months (pick warm days!) to protect the plant.

Are there lists of salt-tolerant perennials? I don’t know to be honest. I know that one of our readers has one and I’m hoping they’ll send them to me. I’ll post the list on my blog as soon as I get it.

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I planted glad bulbs late this spring and they are growing wonderful. Unfortunately my german sherpherd did a little digging and moved the bulbs. 90% of the plants are 18-24 inches tall. When can I move the plants back to the desired place. Right now I have a huge empty space.

I also planted Dahlias and they came up perfect on one side of the garden. And nothing on the other. (the bulbs were from a different vendor) When can I transplant them?

A: Moving bulbs in bloom or advanced growth is NOT a good idea. Nope. You can move and transplant both when they have finished growing for the season – in these cases, in the fall.

Next year mark where you want the dog to do the planting! :-)

From My Garden To Yours

One of the things that quickly becomes apparent in my deer-targeted garden is that these creatures, more numerous than squirrels, don’t like to eat daffodils. Given that daffodils are poisonous this doesn’t come as much of a surprise. What is a bit of surprise is the sheer number and variety of daffodils that have been planted around this property over the years. You can see where somebody fell in love with a double soft white and planted it in large clumps. The old-fashioned yellow is well represented as are a smattering of other colours and combinations.

It didn’t surprise me the other day when I was looking at my bulb catalogues (yes, the commercial ones have just arrived) for next fall and found myself figuring out how many kinds of daffodils I as going to plant and where I was going to put them. Here are my thoughts on the subject and keep these in mind as you’re seeing them in bloom this spring. Landscaping with daffodils will take place next fall when you plant them but the dreaming starts today with existing plants in full bloom.

The narcissus family is one of the most versatile and hardy of the common bulbs. These bulbs behave more like a perennial plant than a bulb. They survive for years (unlike tulips) with little or no care or feeding. They bloom in a variety of heights and colours and are one of the earliest of bulbs to flower meaning you can enjoy them and then easily plant over top of them in the annual garden. If you put them in a perennial garden, they give a fast shot in the colour-arm to the garden waking it up and extending the blooming season. By using daffodils for spring colour, perennials for this time can be ignored and the emphasis and garden space devoted to the taller and showier early and mid-summer blooming perennials to carry on with the colour show. Daffodils naturalize easily in our area and will multiply if happy. In short, they are ideal plants for our spring gardens.

Having said that, if you have fallen in love with spring blooming perennials, consider that daffodils will contrast or complement plants such as Euphorbia polychrome, Primula, Pulmonaria, Pulsatilla, Alchemilla mollis, Brunnera, and even Helleborus. If you have shrubs that are open (spirea) or that leaf out late (forsythia) you can plant daffodils under these plants to give you a double duty use of this garden space as well.

While they won’t thrive under evergreens, they’ll certainly contrast well with some of the blue-foliage spreaders. For a few years, I had a creeping blue Japanese juniper with small yellow daffodils that popped up through the foliage to make it appear as if the juniper was blooming. I think I accidentally killed them while pruning the juniper one year. You can grow some of the species daffodils under ground covers in this way and they’ll poke their heads and leaves through the ground cover to bloom and then fade away as the season progresses allowing the ground cover to accomplish its role in the garden.

My own goal for next fall is to plant a variety of naturalizing species into my lawn. I want a wild look to the spring lawn and this will help me do this. I simply won’t mow the lawn until the leaves have started to fade away. You might not be able to get away with this in the city if you want to keep your lawn well manicured but here in the country, I’ll be able to do it with no problem. And it gives me an excuse not to get out there and mow the lawn. I’m going to be buying mostly plants from what is known as the Cyclamineus Division such as ‘February Gold’, ‘Jack Snipe’, ‘Jenny’, ‘Jumblie’, ‘Peeping Tom’, ‘Little Witch’, ‘Tête à Tête’, and ‘Jetfire’. Other good cultivars are: ‘Carlton’, ‘Actaea’, ‘Dutch Master’, ‘Barrett Browning’, ‘Birma’ and ‘Golden Harvest’. Cut out this note and keep it for next fall’s shopping trip.

Finally for this week, I know that many of you have pots of daffodils hanging about with faded or fading flowers. The trick now is to feed them well so do use a balanced houseplant food on these bulbs. I like fish emulsion but anything you have on hand will be fine. Feed at the recommended rate on the bottle. Set the pot outside during the daytime and return into a protected area at night. Keep out of the direct sun for the first few days and out of the wind. Remember that this is a coddled plant and we want to harden it off slowly. Water regularly to keep the soil dampish. As soon as frost has finished in another three weeks, plant them in the garden at the same level as they are in the pot. This will let them establish roots and the foliage will naturally turn yellow and die off. At this point, you have a few daffodils in your garden for next season.

These are lovely plants and given they are deer-proof, I’m going to be planting a ton of them next fall.