lavender

Now I want to go back over and buy more plants. I got one of those baby cannas earlier in the season for the middle of a pot ($5.98). I never did get to see it bloom but I was told it was a beautiful flower. I put it in the ground so there will be more next year. I love the carpet roses, you can't go wrong with them. They bloom all summer. Also got a Knock-out rose over there for a dollar. They are carefree roses, too. The $10 pot was a steal!

Ain't Lowe's grand! What did you get? I swore I'd quit buying their $1 plants because I don't have time to plant any more. I still have some of the 30 ferns I bought when they were 3 for a $1.

Ah! :'( I hate it when it gets the irises and the peonies.

After a few years there are so many of them you won't know what to do with them all. Last year we gave them away at Community Days.

We overwinter perennials by heeling them in for the winter. We take the pots and bury them in late fall. They continue to grow until the first frost and then die back naturally. In the spring we dig them up after they sprout. Almost all of the plants in the garden club's first sale in May have been overwintered this way. If a plant is hardy we get close to 100% survival.

I wouldn't leave it out. Generally they are only hardy to zone 7. We dig them up after the frost gets the tops. Cut off the tops and put them, dirt and all, in a big plastic bag. Leave the bag open and store at about 55 degrees. You shouldn't have to do anything to them but if they seem to be shriveling, sprinkle with some water. You will have more than you know what to do with in a couple of years.

Anything that smells bad will keep animals out of the garden to a certain extent, mothballs, bleach, ammonia, etc. Their noses are much more sensitive than ours and they aren't happy with strong odors. Somebody told me that his dog got a whiff of the ammonia that he was using to keep groundhogs out and the poor dog took off in a hurry.

This is going to sound weird but I suspect squirrels. They can be very destructive. We have white pine trees and they are constantly cutting off the smaller branches. I've also had plants near the trees that have had the tops cut off. They don't eat them they just cut them off. They, I think, use the cages or the plant itself to reach the tops.

Waiting with bated breath!

The everbearers do get a fall crop but ours get only a handful. Maybe growing them indoors makes them bear better in the fall. Never heard of growing raspberries inside though.

Snelma, I just read your original post. You will not be getting raspberries in September/October. My raspberries are just ripening now. Don't know why no one picked up on this. Grapes and raspberries definitely do not ripen at the same time.

Hot banana or sweet banana? The sweet banana is my favorite pepper for cooking. They make much better stuffed peppers than the green peppers.