From the category archives:

Pests, Plagues, and Varmints

Canada thistle, the plague of my peonies

June 23, 2007

Canada thistle weaves throughout the peony bed Observant readers may have noticed the prickly-leaved weed sidling up to ‘Rozella’ in my last post. That dastardly villain is Canada thistle, aka Cirsium arvense, and it is one nasty customer. According to the University of California Cooperative Extension, Once established, Canada thistle spreads rapidly by horizontal roots, [...]

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Ug99: No more cheap white bread

April 7, 2007

According to the Cereal Disease Laboratory, there is an emerging virulent stem rust race that is infecting supposedly rust-resistant strains of wheat. It is called Ug99 because it was first discovered in Uganda in 1999. SeedQuest says that About 70 percent of U.S. wheat varieties are thought to be susceptible to Ug99. Between 70 and [...]

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The brown marmorated stink bug

March 11, 2007

One thing about an old house, there are lots of nooks and crannies for creatures to find their way in. It’s a fact of life. Call it sharing habitat. While we try to minimize it, there is no way we can keep everything out, especially since our house is on a stacked stone foundation and [...]

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More About Voles (Maybe More than You Want to Know)

November 30, 2006

This just came to my attention. Barbara Damrosch dishes the dirt about these rodents in A Game of Whack-a-Vole: No sentiment please. No matter how reverent we gardeners may feel about the web of life there are times when the list of predators must include you. We’re on the same page, Barbara.

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Uh-oh. Look who’s coming to dinner!

November 28, 2006

This is one of the better reasons for trimming back all your perennials in the fall. Less hidey-holes for the resident rodents. There are probably half a dozen of these holes in the Birthday Garden alone, and there are plenty in my other garden beds, too. Where’s a feral cat when you need one? Or [...]

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Wicked Beauty

September 16, 2006

Isn’t this a stunning specimen of Polygonum cuspidatum? The generous rainfall we’ve had this season has brought it into top form. Too bad it’s on America’s Most Wanted list. Yes, this is Japanese knotweed, aka Japanese bamboo, Mexican bamboo, fleeceflower, and Fallopia japonica. (I’ve been told that it’s also known as privy weed, but I [...]

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A Dry Summer Means Lawn Repair

September 9, 2006

Okay, I am not big into lawns. We ourselves have what Ken Druse calls a “cropped meadow.” But to each his own. If you were affected by this summer’s drought, and your lawn has seen better days (or years), go read Yard & Garden Line News, published by the Minnesota Cooperative Extension, for some good [...]

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On a Whim, I Left It In

September 8, 2006

There are two kinds of people in the world, those who believe there are two kinds of people in the world and those who don’t.–Robert Benchley When it comes to gardening, there are two kinds of weeders in the world, those who say, “When in doubt, yank it out,” and those who “On a whim, [...]

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Is it? Could it be . . . Poison Ivy?

September 6, 2006

It was April. I had just come back from a cabin-fever-induced tramp over our field and through our woods. I had noticed this red-leafed vine growing all over:If our field is 5 acres, then this was easily growing on two acres of it. It lined the main walking path and carpeted the ground near my [...]

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What’s Wrong with My Peonies?

August 1, 2006

This spring, I had the most beautiful peonies in the world. I was especially taken with the foliage of ‘Bev,’ the one on the far right. It was a smoky purple. The flowers were spectacular, too, but I never managed to get a photograph this year. You can see them, here, though.

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Spring Panic

April 3, 2006

Michelle Owens is right. As soon as spring has sprung, I’m already behind. I used to think, “Oh, there’ll be plenty of time for that later.” This kind of thinking explains why I was always planting stunted seedlings in July. And then there’s the climate. Discerning when mud season ends and spring really begins–well, that’s [...]

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Snowdrops!

March 12, 2006

This time of the year, it’s amazing what a difference a day can make. Thursday, snow on the ground. I couldn’t have taken these photos on Thursday because these plants were still buried under snow. Friday, snow had melted, but nothing had bloomed. Yesterday (Saturday) the sun was shining and I had snowdrops blooming in [...]

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Damaged by Drought

August 26, 2005

In a dark sort of way, I was inspired by Don’s garden tour to give you one of my own. Both of our gardens have been plagued by drought, but judging from his photos, he is able to water his garden, which is never as good as plentiful rain from the sky, but helps a [...]

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