The last week of October is all about the frightful and scary. Instead of just adding monsters to your porch or pumpkins to the stairway be aware of the scary things gardeners do to their landscape. The more you know the better you will grow so learn from these mistakes that othes (including me) have done that have caused frightening results.
SCARY THINGS PEOPLE DO TO MESS UP THEIR LANDSCAPES
– Planting trees and shrubs that outgrow their space – and not moving them or losing them. Overgrown trees close to the house, shrubs that block pathways and sunlight from windows and branches that flow over steps and stairways are all not only unattractive but dangerous as well. It is okay to remove overgrown plants and start fresh. Your plants are not your children. You do not owe them a lifetime commitment. If they grow too big, demand to much care or just become ugly take them out!
– Planting invasive groundcovers such as ivy and not keeping it under control. English ivy is notorious for climbing the trunks of trees, flowering once it is growing vertical and then sprouting berries that are eaten by the birds, then deposited all over the neighborhood. English ivy will smother native plants and crowd out the diversity of our forests making life difficult for all the living creatures in a natural eco system. If you see ivy growing up a tree trunk, cut it at the base of the tree and remove the ivy plants in the ground, roots and all. You can leave the ivy on the trunk until it dries and turns brown without a root system. Then the tree clinging ivy will be easy to pull from the tree.
– Bringing home weeds with new plants. Even the best nurseries and garden centers can have hitchhikers clinging to the drainage holes or hiding under the foliage of plants you bring home to add to your garden. Shot weed with its tiny white blooms and rounded foliage is the most common weed introduced to our gardens but oxalis with small purple leaves shaped like shamrocks is a close second. Just check around new plants carefully to keep new weeds from moving in.
– Bringing home slugs, snails and other pests with new plants. See above. Find the hiding hitchhikers and deal with them promptly.
– Spraying insecticide all over your property. The biggest outbreaks of aphid, tent caterpillars and other destructive insects occur on properties that have been sprayed with a broad-spectrum insecticide. This is because a clean sweep of the bad bugs means the birds and the beneficial insects will avoid your property. This causes a rebound of bad bugs and serious damage. A smarter approach is to accept some plant damage from insects and have a variety of plants growing. More plants blooming at different times encourages not only more pollinators but more “good bugs” that keep the “bad bug” population in check.
– Tip: If you see aphid on your roses, squish the colony with your fingertips. This will alert the lady bugs in the neighborhood that you have a buffet of aphid ready to eat. Yes, ladybugs really can hear the distress calls of aphid much like vultures that are attracted to wounded animals. Let nature do her thing.
Marianne Binetti has a degree in horticulture from Washington State University and is the author of “Easy Answers for Great Gardens” and several other books. For answers to gardening questions, visit plantersplace.com and click “As The Expert”. Copyright for this column owned by Marianne Binetti. For more gardening information, she can be reached at her website, www.binettigarden.com.
