Early Summer in the Garden

'Helen Hayes' Hybrid Tea Rose

Unknown Shrub Rose, given to me by our neighbor four years ago.

Asiatic Lily 'Lollipop'

'Princess Diana' Clematis

Digitalis Unknown Variety

Digitalis Foxglove 'Cafe Cream'

First Cosmos of the Summer

Pest Busters #7 - Japanese Beetles

Japanese beetles are about a half an inch long with iridescent copper and green bodies. They can heavily damage and even kill plants by eating the leaf material between the veins of plants. Many plants are susceptible from roses to pussy willows to cannas to crape myrtles.

Thankfully, they are short lived and only seem to be a real problem in my area in early to mid summer. However, in large numbers, they can even be a problem in their larvae stage where they can live in the soil for up to a year and will feed on the roots of grasses. I think it is much easier to control them at this stage, so that is what I will focus on first.

Japanese Beetle larvae (also known as grubs) are susceptible to a bacteria called Paenibacillus popilliae or more commonly known as Milky Spore. You can now purchase milky spore in many local garden centers, hardware stores or discount stores and is readily available online from places like www.gardensalive.com. Milky Spore will not harm other grubs or beneficial critters, like earthworms, only the Japanese Beetle larvae. Milky Spore comes in a powder form and is best applied in late summer (August for my area) when the larvae are at their most active. Follow the manufacturer’s instructions on the container for application rates. Milky Spore is not a quick fix. It will work over time becoming fully effective in one to five years and remaining effective for up to 20 years in many climates. The Japanese beetle larvae will spread the bacteria amongst themselves, which is why it takes some time to work.

You will find Japanese Beetle traps in stores that contain pheromones to attract the beetles to the traps, but all you are really doing is attracting more of the beetles to your yard and you are only catching a small portion of them in the bag. While they are in your yard, they are laying eggs in your lawn and you will have an even bigger problem next year. So, in my opinion, it’s not a smart idea to even put these traps in your yard, because, in the long run, you will be making the problem worse.

There are chemical controls that can be applied to the lawn or to the beetle themselves, but they will also kill off all the good bugs and beneficials that we need so badly for pollination, soil improvement, and plant health. So I would avoid them all together except for extreme infestations.

The only other form of control that really works is hand picking the beetles off your plants and drowning them in soapy water. They are not good fliers so are easy to pick off your plants and since they are only around for a few short weeks, hand picking is the easiest and safest control to use.

I’ve personally have applied milky spore to my lawn three years and have very few beetles in my yard. I will monitor the situation and as soon as it seems like populations are beginning to increase, I will apply milky spore to my lawn again, but that could be 10-20 years from now.

Random Garden Pictures

A view from our front porch.

The new circle bed with the bird tree we acquired in March 2009.

Digitalis Foxglove 'Pam's Choice'

Goat's Beard

Kousa Dogwood Blooms

Peony 'Krinkled White'

Digitalis Foxglove 'Unknown Variety'

White Bellflowers Campanula persicifolia 'Alba'

Climbing Hydrangea

Leopard's Bane

Clematis on the Loose

The clematis are really coming on strong this time of year. People think that clematis are difficult to grow, but I find them to be quite easy. They like pretty much the same conditions as roses, so therefor make great companions for them. If you plant a clematis at the base of a large rose bush, you can have flowers at times when the roses are between blooms. Most clematis need to be pruned at about the same time as a roses, so that makes it convenient to plant them together.

I fertilize my clematis in the spring at the same time as the roses and also with the same rose fertilizer. I also top dress the soil with compost at least once a year. Usually in the fall, although applying compost anytime of year is good, just as long as it gets done.

I've had these in the ground for three to four years now, and they are really showing off nicely for me. The hardest part I have to deal with is to remember to prune them at the appropriate time and at the appropriate amount based on their pruning group. Otherwise, they are easy plants.

The clematis below is called 'Nelly Moser'. Pretty compact for a clematis and pairs well with other taller and late blooming varieties. It's a pruning group 2, which means you prune it lightly in the spring, if at all. I pretty much just cut any deadwood off the stems and then I sometimes give it a light prune right after it blooms if it is looking a little raggedy. They also tend to bloom before mid June in my zone 5 climate, so it's a nice addition to the garden when spring blooms have finished and summer bloomers have just started to bloom. This one does better with a little shade as the sun will fade the flowers prematurely. All clematis prefer to have their roots shaded and their blooms in the sun and I find that all clematis seem to benefit from a few hours of shade during the hottest part of the day. My clematis get morning sun with shade intermingled throughout the rest of the day.

I'm not entirely sure what this clematis is, but I believe it is 'Duchess of Edinburgh'. It's not all that tall, staying at about 5' tall in my garden and seems to also stay more compact than other clematis. This is one of the first to bloom in my garden and has a huge amount of double blooms on it in late May, early June. It will bloom again later in the year, but the blooms are generally single or semi-double at that time, so it's like getting two clematis in one. It's also a pruning group 2.




This clematis is called 'Ernest Markham' and is also a pruning group 2. The flowers are very large and a bright purple-red color. It tends to bloom early in the season but really puts on a show in late summer, so it is often treated as a pruning group 3, which means a hard prune in early spring.

For more information on these and other clematis, check out a wonderful site called Clematis on the Web.

Latest Garden Junk

While we were on vacation in the Poconos, we stopped at the cutest nursery called Richard's Tree Farm just north of Marshall's Creek, PA on Route 209. Apparently they have been in business for over 75 years.

They had a fabulous selection of trees, shrubs and perennials as well as some exotic tropical plants. But what really struck me about the place was the beautiful setting they had created for themselves. There was a large selection of indoor decor that was very artfully displayed as well as a pond that was highlighted by the Pocono Mountains.

I wish now I had stopped to take a few pictures of the place, but I just wasn't thinking. I did pick up too new pieces of garden junk.

This metal dragonfly is Gary's favorite of the two. It's pale green in color and just starting to rust in all the right places. It's a pretty substantially large piece and goes well with the wild looking ostrich ferns in the background where I currently have it displayed.

I think this little hummingbird is my favorite. It's just so sweet and truly a work of art in my opinion. There is more white paint visible than what this photo shows.

Garden Photos

I've got lots of pictures for you over the next few days. I thought I'd break them up so as not to bombard you too much in one day.

I love hosta leaves! This is a blue variety that I have no idea what the name is. It's been in my family for years...coming from where we used to live in Virginia and I wouldn't be surprised if it was in my grandmother's garden also. It gets a little too much sun, so the blue color is pretty faded by July and August. The leaves are very thick and the slugs and snails don't damage it all that much. I made a leaf casting from one of the leaves for one of my Birds and Blooms articles and it really turned out fantastic. The cement really picked up the beautiful veining nicely.

I've always loved lupines, but they just don't perform as beautifully in my gardens as I've seen in other people's gardens. I don't know if it's the soil or the variety. I was never able to get the fancy hybrids to stay alive, so I purchased seeds for the wild variety and they always seem to grow well, but the flowers are just not as showy and all I can get to come back from year to year are the purple ones....sigh....

This is a smoke bush Cotinus coggygria 'Golden Spirit' and it's actually gonna "smoke" this year. I bought it 3-4 years ago and it was blooming when I bought it, but I guess it's finally settled in to it's new home now and blooming on it's own. I did have to move it once, so that probably stunted it even further.

This is the second year for this Meadowsweet or specifically Filipendula hexapetala Flore Plena. I really love the delicate blooms and fern-like foliage. They prefer moist soil, but this variety will tolerate some dryness once established. I have some in clay soil and some in normal soil and they can withstand quite a bit of sun and shade.

A siberian iris called 'Casesar's Brother' which was given to me by an online gardening buddy. i think I need to move them as the clay soil they are in has stunted their growth a bit. Not necessarily a bad thing, but I am sure I can find a better home for them.

I do not know the cultivar of this bearded iris, but it is one of my favorites. I got it from a neighbor up the street who had a sign out front one year that said "Free Irises". I also got a couple of daylilies from her as well.

I have several really dark purple bearded iris and it is called 'Night Owl'. It is the first to bloom in my garden with that color. Stunning!

Final Robin's Nest Update

Photo taken June 16, 2009

The robins all left the nest yesterday, June 17th. When I arrived home from work, one robin was gone and two babies remained in the nest. They were standing in the nest, just looking like they needed a push. I walked up to the front door of the house and that must have been enough to give them the push they needed to fly as both of them flew out of the nest. Scared the crap out me me too, because I was not expecting that.

Momma and Papa robin were having a fit. One of the babies flew into the rose bush in the front yard, but the other one landed in the grass just a few feet in front of the nest. The parents were chirping away and flapping there wings, either trying to intimidate me or to get the little one motivated to fly to safer pastures. The sky was getting darker by the minute with impending rain, so I was hoping he would get to safety before too long.

I continued into the house and got my camera and was able to capture one picture of him in the grass before momma ran me off.

His wing is fine, I think he just wasn't sure what to do with it. I imagine that this little birdie was the last to hatch and probably wasn't quite as strong as his siblings. He fluttered over to the bench garden and rested by a large rock for a time and then flew to the top of the overturned bench and waited there for a while. About 20 minutes later, we left to go to dinner (because it was our Wedding Anniversary) and he was nowhere to be seen. I'm not sure how long the parents will continue to feed the babies, but I hope they all make it. I will keep an eye out for three young ones in the coming days and will remember them fondly.

We currently have some wrens (I think) nesting in a gourd outside our bedroom window and had a chickadee nesting in the metal birdtree, but I think he has moved on. I have not gotten a good look at the birds in the gourd, but they sing like crazy, so I am guessing it's a wren. There is also a new bird's nest in a tree out back, but not sure if anything is nesting in that one yet. I know robins are famous for making multiple nests before choosing one to lay eggs in. We've never had so many birds nesting in our yard before and I think it's just wonderful.

Robin's Nest Update

It's been a while since I updated you all on the robins. They seem to be doing great. All three eggs hatched and they should be leaving the nest any day now. They are so big now, they can barely fit in the little nest.

Momma robin has not been bothered by us coming in and out of the front door and I can view the birds in the nest at any time, and she is not bothered by that either. She might tweet a little, but that is all. Most of the time, mom and dad are out getting food for the babies. That seems to be a never ending job. Gary and I made sure to get the lawn mowed last night so that we don't have to worry about accidentally running over one in the next few days.

I did not get any good shots of the babies right when they were born. They looked like little balls of blond fur. After about 4-5 days, they looked like this.


They seem to be growing very fast. And since they only stay in the nest about 14 days, I guess they have to.


Momma can only sit on the edge of the nest it's so crowded.

This last picture was just taken on May 15th.

Pest Busters #6 - Mealybugs

Mealybugs are usually found in moist warm environments and can be particularly troublesome for the greenhouse grower, houseplant grower or tropical plant grower. They are white in color, oblong shaped and appear to be hairy. In high numbers, they can look like a fuzzy patch of scale on plant stems. You can view some photos of mealybugs here.

Mealybugs suck the juices from the plant through the stems and can carry fungus and disease. Plants being affected by mealy bugs can look stunted, pale or have leaf drop.

The females feed on stems and plant roots and secrete a white waxy film to help protect them while feeding. Males generally only live long enough to fertilize the female, and therefore do not feed as adults.

The best way to remove mealybugs in small numbers is to scrape them off with your fingernail, or rub a cotton swab on them that has been soaked in rubbing alcohol. In high numbers, mealybugs can be controlled with Diazinon, Acephate or Malathion. But I would try Neem Oil first, before resorting to a chemical control. For small infestations that can not be controlled by hand, a homemade solution of 2 tablespoons liquid soap to 1 gallon of water, sprayed on the bugs every 5-10 days should help. Test the spray on the plant in a small area, before spraying the whole thing.

Garden Photos

This bearded iris is called 'Bountiful Harvest'. And for good reason as it blooms profusely for several weeks. I need to move my iris to a bed all their own, as it is too hard to keep them properly weeded in the mixed border.

I absolutely love this columbine called 'Songbird Cardinal'. I hope it lives through the winter this year. I had gotten one a couple years back and it only came back in my garden one year. I have three in a new bed, so I hope they like it there.

This clematis has the hugest white flowers I have ever seen. I have been unable to identify it. I purchased it about four years ago bare root from BJ's Wholesale Club and it was in a box with another clematis. None were marked that I can recall, and if they were, the tags must have been lost.


This bearded iris is called 'Autumn Echo'. I love this one so much because it's one of my favorite colors.

Martha Doesn't Live Here!

Enough Said!

Pest Busters #5 - Earwigs

Earwigs are a little tricky when it comes to being a pest or not. They eat aphids and other garden pests, so I usually don't try to control them unless their population is extremely high and the birds and toads have not been eating them fast enough. If you have a lot of birds in your yard, you most likely will not have a bad case of earwigs.

Earwigs are about a half an inch long and are brown or reddish brown. They have two antennae on one end and little pinchers on the back end. You can view some pictures of earwigs here.

If you have earwigs in high numbers in your yard, they could get into the house where they will eat house plants and feed on greasy or sweet foods.

Earwigs are generally nocturnal, so you may not notice them during the day. They are attracted to damp shady conditions, so keeping plantings away from the foundation of your home can help to prevent them from getting inside.

They like to eat smaller insects, organic matter and munch on the foliage of strawberries, lettuce, marigolds and dahlias as well as some other plants. Since they feed on the roots as well as the leaves of these plants, they can kill young plants pretty quickly if they are in high numbers.

To control earwigs in your home, spread diatomaceous earth around the outside foundation of your home to prevent them from getting inside. Their pinchers may give you a slight nip, but do not usually break the skin. They are basically harmless to humans and are not poisonous.

To control earwigs in the garden, remove any leaf litter in shady areas. You can also create a trap by mixing 1 tablespoon dry yeast, 1 tablespoon molasses, 1 tablespoon vegetable oil, and 8 ounces of water. Place the mixture in a shallow bowl and bury it to ground level. The earwigs will be attracted to the mixture, they will eat it and die due to the yeast swelling up in their bellies. Remove the earwigs from the mixture daily.

Again, I really do not consider earwigs as a major pest in my garden since they do eat so many garden pests, but I realize they can be pretty damaging in high numbers. If you have stopped using chemical herbicides and pesticides in your garden, the birds and toads will be in higher numbers and therefore should take care of their population all on their own.

Robin's Nest Update

Just a quick note to let you know how momma robin is doing. Everything seems to be good so far. She still only has three eggs, and as of this morning, they have not hatched yet. They should be hatching any day now.

I was concerned that movement from coming in and out of the front door would bother her, but it hasn't so far. We have been careful not to get too close to her nest as I would hate to distress her. Once the babies hatch, that could be another story. Robins have been known to dive bomb anyone who gets near the nest at that point. The nest is at eye level about 7 feet from the front door inside a climbing hydrangea vine, sitting on top of a lattice fence that helps to support the vine and the surrounding ostrich ferns.

On a side note, I've been wanting to get a black-capped chickadee to nest in our yard for some time and pretty much gave up on it. But it seems one is nesting in the new garden inside the birdhouse that is attached to the iron bird tree that we purchased back in March at the Rochester Flower & Garden Show. She was a little frustrated with us on Saturday because our craft booths were a little close to the garden, but I couldn't really help that. She appeared to be adding more nesting material to the box, so not sure if she has laid any eggs or not. If it's not raining when I get home tonight, I will see if I can see inside the box and see what is going on.