Heidi Horticulture

Once upon a time, this peace lily was glorious. (2014)

It was repotted in 2016, as the plant outgrew the old pot.

Yeesh....then all of a sudden, two weeks ago - what's going on?!

Here you can see the comparison... Once you see leaves droop (even though you are giving the plant adequate waterings), this is the sign you need to recognize that something else is happening.

Have a peak and see what the problem is. Don't be frightened to poke around and see what is happening at the root level. I moved the leaves/stems around and noticed they were not sturdy and firmly stabilized at the base of the plant. In the centre of the plant, you've got to feel what should be fleshy roots (like root vegetables). In what is normally a dense area of root growth, I felt a soft centre and noticed leafy debris.

Every leaf was floppy and had no resistance to me tugging at it, especially at the centre.

I just grabbed the whole plant and gave it a tug. The whole thing popped right out - easily.

The culprit: the main parent plant has withered away and now what is left are the newer plants that emerge along the side of the original plant.

Time to repot.

Note, this plant was potted up a year ago in a slightly larger pot than what I would recommend. House plants thrive generally in root bound conditions. Meaning, they prefer to be root bound (less room) than swimming in soil.

Once you've tugged and lifted the mass away from the soil, find good sturdy groupings of plants and pull them apart gently. Try not to sever roots. I gently grabbed two bunches and pulled (soil being slightly moist) and they separated easily. If you are familiar with Hostas, Peace Lily Roots are quite similar and you can divide them in the same way.

You can see, they have a dense network of fleshy roots - long like spaghetti. This is still a healthy plant but we need to search for the rotting centre.

Here is the rotting old plant main stem. Remove and toss out. I don't compost this, in case any sort of bacteria/virus hangs around. I looked through the healthy roots and removed any dead dangling roots that would be weaved in and among the healthy ones.

Remove any browning leaves. Remove any leaves that aren't rigidly attached the base of the stem.

Like celery, they easily snap off at the base. Remove any broken bits or anything that can rot or decay later on.

When you remove leaves and debris, you'll notice little bumps and new developing roots. These are ideal and what you want to see.

Time to repot:

I found two smaller pots (I cleaned and prepped them earlier). Try to pick pots based upon the root mass. The more roots, the bigger the pot. The less, the smaller pot is best. This way, the plant won't swim in over watered soil and rot further.

Try to do this process of separating and cleaning the plants quickly when the roots are exposed. If there is a lot of dead material to clean out or can't get the job done quickly, use a spray bottle and spray roots - keeping them moist. This prevents them from drying out and going into shock. If you do get interrupted, for a while, place the roots into a clean bucket with water. Be sure to keep the roots hydrated.

Fill the pots with some soil to begin and gently place 3-4 plant bunches together and place into the centre of the pot. You could space them out more, but it is quite the job to get them to stand up evenly as you place the soil around. I used an indoor potting soil, mixed with cactus soil (which has some sand added for better drainage). Peace Lilies like moist soil conditions but they like the soil to dry out between watering.

Pinch firmly down.

Don't go over a two inch gap between the plant base and the sides of the pot. Otherwise the pot is too large.

Pinching the plant downwards, while adding more soil, will just fill the air pockets and keep the plant firmly in place. I tamp down the soil as I go to help keep the roots below the soil surface. Tap the sides of the pot to help level off the soil.

Water fairly well (do not oversoak) and place the plants close to a sunny window.

Don't be shocked if the plant shows stress and wilted leaves. It'll take a week of recuperation. Don't fret.

Here is the result 2 weeks later:

Shiny new leaves emerging. Leaves are turgid again and sturdy. Pointing outward again and not wilted. Success!

Yay!

Two plants now, instead of one. Great for gift giving or increasing your collection.

I love Peace Lily plants for their well known benefit of cleansing household air and their pervasive blooming ability. They are one of my most favourite house plants for low light conditions.

Will update you on how they fair in the next month. Stay linked....

Nothing gets me more frustrated than seeing tulips dug up by squirrels.

Grrr....

Tender yellow shoots emerging from the ground must be a thrill for the squirrel after a long harsh winter. Although, once they get the taste of the shoots, they continue to dig down and go for the bulb.

What bothers me more...is finding these half eaten green bits all about. At least eat everything if you're going to destroy the plant. Grrrr....

Even though this process is slightly redundant, that heap of snow you have at the side of the drive or in that shaded corner - well, it can be quite useful.

It will buy you a day or two of time, so that the squirrels become frustrated and move on - elsewhere.

Fill in the dug up areas, add some cayenne pepper or netting if you prefer and then cover the tulips with snow. Will give you a chance to come up with other ideas to ward off those pesky squirrels.

Depending on how warm it gets, you'll have to decide whether this process is worth the effort. At least the slow melting will give the area adequate moisture to help make the tulips pop up more rapidly.

To us, it was...

Snow on top is like leaving a sign that says - take a hike!

I sure don't want to miss out on this display:

(with a Happy Dance, as spring is 3 days away)

This drooping form of Asparagus fern (Emerald Feather), needs a haircut each spring. It's beginning to thin at the top and get rather bushy at the base. This is a great plant for a hanging basket or in a raised planter.

I see so many different treatments of pruning for this plant, so I thought I would show you how I manage to keep its natural pendulous form.

This room gets moderate light and because it lives happily on a raised plant stand, we still enjoy the long stems to nearly reach the floor.

Wear GLOVES, please!

Before beginning any pruning, please be aware: Asparagus fern plants have spiny thorn like barbs - especially on older woody growth. WEAR GLOVES when handling this plant. Or ouch!

Can you see them? Tiny. Be careful!

First, get a good look from all angles. Get your gloves on and peak beneath those long trusses of growth.

With your gloves, pull back to reveal dead wood, browning stems and leaves that are dry and falling off. Comb with your gloves downwards to get rid of the dead bits. Be thorough. And don't worry, breaking a few stems in the process isn't going to hurt the plant. Prune out any yellowing stems or stems that are weak and not robust.

You want to avoid cutting younger growth. One trick to recognize them from the old is their lack of thorny barbs. See, no gloves to prove a point.

Another way is to see the colour variation.

The older stems are thicker and darker green.

I recommend cutting a third of the old stems back right from the base of the soil.

Go back to the top of the pot. You'll see brown, woody stems that emerge from tuber nodules (lumpy bumps) at the soil level. Don't damage those bumps by pruning the woody stems. Just cut above.

From the base, gently tease the stems you cut out from the mass of growth and doing this will help generate younger growth to emerge from the top.

Next, figure how long you want to reduce its length.

Grab all the stems and gather them into a pony tail. Cut right above your grasp.

Don't stop there...

The healthy stems remaining need a trim as well. First look for bud axils along each stem. Find really healthy robust joints and start to thin out. Select 1 in about 10 stems like this and give them a cut back.

To show you better contrast, I've laid the cut stem on my jeans so you can see where to cut. Those buds just nestled in the joint of stems and leaves will become new stems. Cutting some of this lengthy growth in half will bulk up the centre of the plant, as well as force new growth to emerge from the soil. This is key, or you will always have a bulky base and thin top to your hanging plant.

There, a little more even. No more puddling of stems on the floor. No more dead wood or browning leaves. Healthier all around.

Try it yourself!

Kale.....yummmm....kale. We bought this variety last summer called: Russian Red.

The great aspect of harvesting kale as it grows, it gets taller and taller, which helps deter it from too much slug damage and makes it easy to pick leaves.

Last year we grew it in pots; we grew it in perennial beds and we grew it in our herb garden.

Our herb garden is slightly shaded on one side and protected from serious winds. Sparing it from the compost, I left it with overwintering hopes. Lo' and behold, it did survive. Thankfully our winter was milder than expected.

I had spring hopes for this particular plant. We heaped leaves and debris over the base of the roots to help insulate it. Even though we enjoyed as many leaves from it as possible, I made sure to spare the top bunch of leaves to keep the plant alive. The flavour of kale is enhanced due to the cold weather, so the others we grew in our other locations were completely harvested. They were so tasty.

Now as you look closely, the buds along the main stem are starting to open. This was my hope for the spring. Yay!

We will harvest small plant-lets as they unfurl and put them in salads or stir fries. Will let you know if they are bitter or whatever taste emerges. As it keeps growing, we hope it bolts and provides us with seeds for this coming summer to keep the cycle of plants going.

....

So happy to see other plants peaking through as well:

Raddichio is a hit and miss, so we are happy to see some return for our salads this spring.

Parsley too.

Makes us happy to have a few plants we can harvest from this spring. Helps take the edge off waiting to see our tiny seedlings give us hope for summer harvests.

Hope you've had some luck overwintering tender plants in southern Ontario too. So glad spring is here!

I'm sure I'm not the only one who is concerned about Southern Ontario winters and spring thaws. We never seem to get a slow warm up in spring anymore. Instead, there's constant fluctuations; +10˚C one day, -8˚C the next.

One of the results of these fluctuations, is mould and fungus development on many plants.

I just walked through the gate and noticed something on our hardiest of roses.

Do you notice it?

Rosa glauca is one of the main pollinator plants we use to attract insects and birds to the garden.

Rosa glauca's simple, single flowers attract so many pollinators. It's so lovely to watch and the flowers say nothing but hello and bring vibrance to a dark corner.

Great silver/blue foliage allow the orange-red hips to jump out in contrast. Birds love these hips.

Incredibly tough and hardy, there aren't too many disease issues with this rose at all.

I've never dealt with mildew on this rose before, but as I bent down the stems to see the powdery white mass that I spotted way above my head, it revealed more on the other side.

In fact, I found about 6 younger stems with this white furry coating.

I pruned it back to about 12" below the coated area to avoid any mildew from coming in contact with other stems or the stem it was cut from. Be thorough with removal and try not to dislodge any mildew or let it come in contact with any remaining stems.

Do not compost these stems. Burn or put them out for yard waste pick up. This stem (above) was sitting in our yard-waste pile a day after pruning and you'll see the mildew age to a light brown/mocha colour. I tucked it down into the bin, so that no spores would become air-born and invade other plants near by.

As I examined the stems closely, the mildew spores invade the breathing holes called lenticels of the stem. Eventually spreading into a cottony mass. If left, the mildew would reach the buds and cause the leaves to be coated as well as the flower buds. Eventually stunting the plant, making it lose vigour and possible flowering ability.

Once leaves start to emerge, I will examine the rose more thoroughly to see any overlapping branches or growth that requires thinning out - which helps to promote more air circulation and a better tidied appearance. This is rose we generally allow to ramble and become large. I rather hate pruning it needlessly.

Heavy sigh...

At least finding it now has been one great preventative - so that we can enjoy a healthy plant this upcoming summer.

Growing Hinoki Cypress (Chamaecyparis obtusa nana) in Southern Ontario can be a challenge at times, considering we get whopper winters occasionally. So when I was asked this question - I was hesitant to think winter damage.

From far, yeah, the cypress was quite brown. Don't jump to conclusions, but rather take a closer look.

No browning was coming from the inside of the plant, but instead on its tips.

These are in fact pollen cones.

Conifers fall under a classification known as Gymnosperms. They don't have flowers like other classifications (Angiosperms). They instead bear cones within their scale leaves which later develop seed for reproduction.

What you are seeing, are swelling cones borne at the tips of the scale foliage of the cypress. They will age brown but for now are almost reddish pink.

I will update in a week or so, when the pollen is ready to be released.

Not to worry, this plant is happy and ready to reproduce - bearing seed cones later in the summer.

It's a good time to mulch beneath the plant and water if rains are infrequent. Overall - a happy plant. Nothing wrong. Just the plant doing its thing...

If you live in the Toronto area and would like to know more about and to buy native plants - please visit High Park's Native Plant Sale. Sunday May 7th, 2017

Here's their info and website:

High Park Stewards Native Plant Sale

Sale Location: In front of the High Park Greenhouses. (Plants for sale are subject to availability.) For more information go to www.highparknature.org or
email stewards@highparknature.org.

"The plants in this sale are grown in the High Park greenhouses by volunteers as part of the High Park Stewards program. They are sold to encourage the use of native plants in home gardens and are perennial, except where noted. You can learn about the plants in the rare black oak ecosystem in High Park, and help restore its ecosystem by joining High Park Stewards events. This list is subject to plant availability."

What's available:

Plants for sun, shade, wet conditions....you name it!
Link ---> http://www.highparknature.org/wiki/uploads/Resources/plant_sale_brochure_2017.pdf

Where:

Some restrictions: "For fairness, the maximum number of plants available per person before 1:00 pm is restricted to small orders. After 1:00 pm, larger orders can be filled, depending on the number of plants available. "

So many new trees are going to be planted in the next few weeks. I wonder how many will be mulched like this disaster:

This may be a harsh opinion, but it's warranted. Not only has the tree been planted too "proud" (meaning not level to the soil), but not only do we have the "cone" flared up mound, but we have red dyed mulch. Notice something else? The plastic tree guard at the base of the tree is also nearly buried.

What happens to the tree trunk when mulch covers the bark? Think about this comparison. What happens to your finger when you wear a bandaid wrapped around? Your skin becomes soft, wrinkled and sometimes when you wear it a long time, the skin peels - right? Well, the same thing happens to bark. Moisture, insects and possible mould will perpetually be in contact with the young bark tissue and possible suckers may develop. Not what you need to establish a young tree.

Years later, the tree will continue to need mulch to cover this mound, like in the photos below.

To me the roots and the base of the tree would better be suited at grade - so that water can pool and collect during the heat of the odd summer shower. Snow melts quicker on these cone mounds. Also the suns rays will bake the soil beneath quicker. Needless stresses; if only a proper planting and placement of mulch was achieved from the onset.

Below are better samples of tree plantings.

Here's why:

Using natural shredded bark mulch knits together. It suppresses weeds and keeps the roots cool - protecting them from the elements
Creating a crater in the middle ensures mulch doesn't touch the bark of the young tree

The mulch is spread to the width of the canopy of the newly planted tree. Granted, the tree will grow wider and thus the high edges (surplus) can be raked further out when the tree starts to branch out further. This is called the drip-line.

The crater not only helps keep the mulch away from the trunk, but when you fill a water bladder (the green bag) it helps to stabilize it. This is fantastic. If you are watering a tree on your own property, you can localize the water in the crater without it running off.
A lawn mower or string trimmer is unlikely to cause tree trunk damage when the tree is mulched well.

Here is a diagram resource as to how we are to mulch trees:

Diagram by: Arbor Day Foundation

Another resource:

Diagram by: Harvest Power

City of Toronto has a great resource too:

Planting Techniques and Maintenance - Tree Protection, City of Toronto

With all the info available, I still can't understand why mulching is still done in the volcano-cone style.

Please be aware,

With this past mild winter, our wet early spring and now the heat and humidity; bugs are reproducing rapidly.

So far, I've seen aphid clusters by the thousands:

Mealy Bugs:

Viburnum Beetles:

Hydrangea Leaftier Moth Larvae:

Rose Plume Moth Larvae:

A positive note: whenever there are years of plague like proportions, remember there are natural controls, like this Lady Bug larvae feeding on aphids below. Please look carefully. Beneficial insects are in full force - fighting the good fight. Instead of using chemical sprays, use high pressure water controls, pruning techniques and boosting the health of the plant. Save beneficial insects like Lady Bugs and their larvae, as well as parasitic wasps, lacewings and the birds. We NEED them! Chemicals are not the answer.

We may complain about our harsh winters here in Ontario, but I welcome them. The severe cold kills many overwintering insect adults and eggs. And that, we need!

Dahlias are at their peak now. I can't stress it enough - you MUST deadhead them to help keep them blooming. Keeping them from going to seed is quintessential but even more importantly...

...deadheading the old blooms prevents un-opened flower buds from getting any fungal infections.

With all this rain, sometimes the old flowers close up and leave wilted petals incased in the flower's sepals. This is a perfect place for moulds, and fungal spores to develop.

The smaller varieties like this one, you just pinch back with your fingers. With the dinner plate varieties, I would use a set of pruners or scissors to cut them back.

You can always easily tell which are the old flower seed head. When you pinch them, they are soft.

Enjoy endless blooms, with a good water soluble feed every two weeks: compost tea, fish emulsion or 10:52:10.

If you want herbs to grow well in containers, then I can't stress it enough - making your own potting soil can't compare with store-bought bags.

The old adage: you are what you eat. It bears a lot of truth, especially when it comes to container planting. To have success, plants need to draw up water with nutrients and minerals. Most potting soils available on the market are soil-less mixtures. Peat mainly, with added vermiculite and or perlite. With soil-less mixtures, you will have to add synthetic or composted fertilizers to keep nutrients available to the roots, before several waterings will leach them out. Ah, no thanks... I rather use more nutrient retaining soils.

In my experience, a mix of several elements is key. Herbs have significant properties we rely on and you want the plant to thrive and bear the flavours and medicinal goodness and flavours that we need. So why plant them in soil-less mixtures and expect good results? That just doesn't add up.

I compost. Not all kitchen scraps, but a LOT. Coffee grounds, veggie skins...egg shells, anything that will break down relatively quickly - for next year's batch. I also compost all my plant cuttings, autumn leaves and grass clippings. This makes a fabulous compost mixture that is fortified. But, I also balance other aspects too.

This is my potting soil recipe:

First: grab a wheel barrel or large vat (if you're lucky, you may even have a potting bench). Start by adding 1/3 compost, 1/4 sand, 2 cups perlite, 1/2 cup mycorrhizae for herbs and vegetables, and an 1/4 cup organic vegetable fertilizer. If you're like me, and plant herbs in a pot year to year, I reuse about 1/3 of the pot's original soil. Beneficial living organisms from the year before are still contained in there. You want to keep that cycle going by inviting them into the new mix.

Last year's old plant material. Removed all the roots, and dead bits, but kept half of the soil in the wheel barrel. NOTE: if you had diseases and problems with your planters last season, then DON'T reuse last year's soil. Begin with new soil.

This is how the various additives look:

Mix thoroughly together.

One key aspect of growing herbs, if you're going to plant several together, plant similar sun/hot to shade/moist selections together. I like planting "hot herbs" in terra cotta pots. Terra cotta pots heat up in the sun. You want a dry, Mediterranean conditions, and they will heat up if you keep the pots on hard landscaping surfaces.

Plastic pots work well to retain moisture and I use them for "cool herbs".

Here are some groupings that grow well together:

Hot/Dry: Rosemary, Thyme, Sage, Oregano, Marjoram - these all like drying conditions and less waterings.

Cool/Part Sun: Basil, Chives, Parsley, Coriander - these all like moist conditions and can tolerate a bit of dappled shade.

With the hot/dry loving plants, you may want to even add more sand, to promote drainage. The amount of sand may vary, depending on your compost. The more organic material that hasn't broken down, the more sand you will need. These hot plants hate roots standing in water.

Place pots in a sunny position. Place water trays beneath to catch water from leaching out too much fertilizer when you water.

Every 3rd watering I add compost tea that I make (here's the link to that post) for an added boost.

Pinch segments back for your culinary needs and try not to let the plants bolt - meaning, not let them go to seed.

If you have noticed, I have several other little plants that have hitch-hiked their way into my soil. This year I had morning glories, tomatoes and bidens germinate from seed. Hey, why not! They add some colour and joy to this little spot by the kitchen entrance.

Enjoy!

There's nothing more enjoyable than spotting a beautiful, not so common shrub among the familiar.

Having visited the Toronto Botanical Gardens today, I had the privilege to take some photos of the grounds and I stumbled on one of my most favourite flowering shrubs: the Carolina Allspice. Calycanthus floridus has such lovely, unique blooms which catch your eye and thankfully I came for a visit just when they were at their peak.

Rich, maroon red flowers that are held in tight buds to begin - reaching to at least 10 cm in diameter when fully opened. Depending on the light, sometimes the flower colours can range to dark pinks.

As the name suggests, allspice and or a strawberry like fragrance is emitted when smelling the flower and crushing the foliage.

In my experience, I've seen them grow to at least 8-10 feet tall and about the same in width. Growing both in full sun to quite a bit of shade. In shadier areas, they can get a bit leggy - stretching for what ever light they an reach.

Zone hardiness is between 5-9. Flowering time, between May-July. Yellow fall leaf colour. Great seed pods that provide winter interest and craft making opportunities. I used to play with the seeds which often smell a bit like red wine.

When we have brutal, harsh winters here in Toronto, they are known to die back some, but rebounding really well if they are situated in rich, loamy soils. In warmer climates, they can sucker and self-seed quite a bit. Easily remedied by pruning and removing the seed pods in August.

If I had the space, this would certainly be in my garden!

Please excuse the crudeness of Sh*t on a Stick, but that was the first coined term I was taught 25+ years ago. It stuck and I will never forget it. lol

It certainly depicts poop on a stick, doesn't it? Apiosporina morbosa (even known as Dibotryon morbosum) is also called Black Knot. It is a rather noxious, pervasive fungus that attacks the prunus species of plants. Cherries, Plum, Chokecherry, Apricot, Almonds and ornamental cherry trees and shrubs fall victim to it.

This wet spring and rainy summer has made it more visible than ever. I usually see it more in the winter, when no leaves cover the knots.

Here, I found it on a Chokecherry tree. Matter of fact, I think every Chokecherry tree in the vicinity had it.

When the lesions first appear, they are much smaller. Just a callous and swelling bark - usually green-brownish-black in colour. Hardly noticeable at first, and only enveloping one side of the stem. Each following growing season, the callous gall grows in diameter and becomes black and gnarly. Can get as long as 30cm. The knot is woody and will eventually encase the entire stem/branch. Eventually girdling the branch and causing die-back. Once black, the infection has been around for about 2-3 years already. If there are several knotty turd like lesions on the tree, you'll definitely notice brach die back before you see the black knot.

The Black Knot becomes active during warm, wet weather. "Ascospores" are forcibly released from the ascostromata of the fungus. On this sample, it had rained a lot overnight with strong winds. You can see the knot has white masses. Beginning a new life cycle on the blackened gall. Those white spots contain the acospores. These spores are spread by air currents and rain splashing.

When wet weather persists, the fungus acospores disperse and an injury or susceptible spot on the branch bark is like an open wound. The inoculum spores of the fungus invade the wound and start the whole process. More Black Knot galls on the tree = eventual total die back = dead tree.

Treatment: Removal is key.

1) Remove during the dormant season. When the spores and tree are not active.

2) Cut back at least 10" below the knot. Better yet, if possible, remove the branch further back to a secondary stem, so that no stubby ends are left. Cut back to a collar or side shoot. Make the cuts on an angle so that no water sits on the newly cut area.

3) With EACH cut, disinfect your pruners/loppers. This prevents any contamination on newly cut ends and spreading it from host to new host.

4) Destroy the pruned branches. DO NOT COMPOST. Burn or discard in garbage. Black Knot can still release spores several months after being removed from the tree.

Prevention:

1) Stressed out trees are susceptible to Black Knot. Love on them a bit more. Water during drought periods. Mulch trees, accordingly.

2) Prune regularly. One of the biggest issues is overcrowded canopies. No air circulating between the branches or branches banging into each other, causes perfect conditions for the fungus to adhere and spread throughout the tree.

3) Don't plant a Prunus species tree within a area close to a tree with Black Knot.

Here's proof:

At the base of this Chokecherry are visible signs that the tree had been suckering from the base. This is very common for older Chokecherry trees. A true sign of stress.

With TLC and extra monitoring, the Prunus species of trees can survive Black Knot.

I like to introduce you to a two headed Black Eyed Susan.

Rudbeckias (Black Eyed Susan) are part of the Asteraceae family, typically the daisy group of plants. They are known to have these anomalies now and again.

Sometimes these rare form of flowers are created due to a disease called Aster Yellows, some virus, physical damage, or just a random natural mutation.

For some reason, these are conjoined at the base of the flower. Held taller than the other flowers, it was quite noticeable. Once the petals begin to fall, I will update and show what the seed heads look like.

Pretty cool. They remind me of a sunflower held this way.

This time of year, there isn't a day where I don't get stung or bit by some insect. Whether it be from accidentally disturbing an ant colony hill while weeding a bed, or pruning shrubs that harbour mosquitos - there's no escape. As autumn approaches, yellow jacket wasps are in a frenzy looking for something sweet or for protein. I dread the wasp season, as I get stung quite often too.

We usually carry After-Bite with us where we work, but in one garden area, we don't need to use it. Instead, nature has provided us with a wonderful annual plant called Jewelweed (Impatiens capensis). It's worked so well for me that I had to share.

I am thankful for a natural resource that enables us to find a quick solution without running to the first-aid kit.

I specifically took photos of this plant in the early hours of the morning, because the dew droplets covering the leaves is why the plant was named Jewelweed. If the sun hits those leaves just right, you get an eye-catching shimmer.

Used medicinally by indigenous people for years, Impatiens capensis leaves contain a compound called Lawsone - which has anti-histamine and anti-inflammatory properties. Just take a few leaves in between your fingers and squish them until the "juice" exudes. Rub the juice and leafy mush onto bites and within a few minutes the sting/bite pain/itch will diminish.

It's that simple.

Further, Jewelweed can be used as a natural topical treatment for poison ivy! Great for nature lovers, bird watchers and hunters who may come upon poison ivy in the wild. It's ideal to use when you have no lotion or ability to wash off the urushiol oil that gives us rashes. The lawsone in the Jewelweed leaves, acts as a barrier for the skin not to absorb the urushiol oil.

Please look at the link here ---> medical info regarding Jewelweed which describes the plant's ability to treat poison ivy, when you have no soap or water around to clean your skin.

Where to find Jewelweed: they like moist, wetland areas. If you see Cattails, then you'll probably find Jewelweed.

They are an annual plant which self seeds readily. You never really find just one plant here and there. Instead, a mass - which makes them easy to find.

I love it when plants provide an antidote to other noxious plants.

The flowers look orange from afar, but here you can see it's a combo of red and yellow that make a clear ID.

Try it for yourself!

Feeling blessed!

There's been many times I nearly quit - so here's hoping the garden continues to teach me things that I can pass along to you!

Thanks for visiting and making comments!

I get frustrated when folks complain about how their Daylilies look once the heat of the summer roles in. There's a way to avoid all that.

This year, the summer heat may have come later than normal, but the effects of the heat were first noticed on Hemerocallis, Daylily plants. Lush green grassy leaves adorn the plant in the early part of the summer, ushering flowers all throughout June and July. Then this happens:

As shown above, the Daylily at the top of the photo shows the grassy foliage turning yellow. I left this one alone to demonstrate the difference. The old foliage flops over and looks weak. Depending on the type of Hemerocallis you have, this usually happens after their big floral display or during a drought laden period.

To avoid this and you may find it odd, but I just yank out all the foliage - yes ALL. That is what I did to the one below. Sometimes, the plant begins to send new foliage out from the roots, leaves those and pull out the old-yellow ones.

Don't cut back the leaves, but pull them out. They come free so easily. Leaving dry stalks at the base can cause rot sometimes. It's best to just yank them out.

Within two weeks, you'll see new, vibrant green foliage emerging from the roots and within 3-4 weeks, you'll have a great mound of lush growth that will extend all the way into late October. It just extends your perennial border. Yes, you'll have to be patient and wait few weeks with a look of bareness, but in the end it's so worth the effort.

I've had great success in even getting the re-blooming varieties to extend their bloom even further with this leaf removal. If you've ever transplanted or divided Hemerocallis plants, you may have noticed they have large thickened roots (like a mini potato). These thickened roots store up water and nutrients. This is the plant's way to store up reserves. When the leaves are removed, the plant can regenerate from that stored energy. The renewed growth, can then start the process to replace those reserves again before the onset of winter.

All of the varieties in the picture above are Stella D'oro. A repeat bloomer. I find these among some of the most valued in mass plantings. They extend the flowering season and bear a hardiness and vigour some of the more cultivated ones do not have.

Try repeat blooming varieties like:

Stella D'oro
Red Hot Returns
Bonanza
Dragon's Eye
Happy Returns
Janice Brown
My Ways
Pardon Me.... there's many more, I'm certain!

When you leave sad looking Daylilies with spent flower heads and yellow foliage, it just takes the spark out of the garden in late summer. Try removing all the leaves once you see them yellowing and find out the difference it can make in your garden.

These photos were taken September 21st and the leaves and foliage will remain green until frost.

So much prettier and worth the effort!

I always try to find alternative methods of insect control. This wet spring and early summer made for a wonderful breeding ground for slugs. But alas, we still have way too many slug holes.

I've been having wonderful success in reducing slugs in the spring in my little garden, by collecting them in the autumn. Reducing their numbers in the fall will help reduce numbers in the spring.

As the days get shorter and the daytime temps are cooler, I found slugs congregate under stones that absorb the heat during the sunny parts of the day. I prefer using stones to orange or grapefruit peels, or even beer traps, as these can attract unwanted raccoons.

In my boyfriend's garden, I strategically placed larger stones/rocks close to plant material that slugs love. Within hours the slugs gather beneath and even stick to the base of the stones. One other trick is to water the rocks in the evening and place some organic matter beneath. Make the stones wet enough to keep the slugs moist.

We placed some more rocks last night and today, within 5 minutes of lifting 4 stones, I found a big handful of slugs.

Great treat for the Koi who devour them feverishly.

If you don't have Koi, just place the slugs on the driveway and wait until the birds come to feed. Or just put them into a hot pail of soapy water and dispose.

Less slugs overwintering, means less eggs and less damage come spring time.

I have fond memories of my Aunt (Tante) teaching me how to make hunter sauce with mushrooms (Jager Pilzsoße). She used fresh Chanterelles, but what I gleaned at the time, was the beauty behind foraging for mushrooms and the gift of learning how to cook them!

One in particular that I find quite often this time of year are: Shaggy Mane (Corprinus comatus) also known as a Shaggy Ink Cap. One of my colleagues pointed them out to me many years ago and I am very thankful for that introduction.

This is the best way to forage. Garnering knowledge and true ID of the mushrooms before picking them. There have been so many cases of folks eating wild mushrooms and becoming very ill. So I too will warn you - make sure your first go at identifying mushrooms is done with someone who can positively inspect them. You need vast knowledge of IDing the specimens before you ever consume them.

I'm blessed to have a job where sometimes I just have to look down to find mushrooms. They truly "pop-up" out of no-where. Foraging for them can come quite easily.

The best time to find Shaggy Mane's are in autumn. Especially after a wet bought and during a cool weather change.

These were in a grassy area, surrounded by trees. I usually find them in groupings. The odd one, here and there, but generally - when you see one, you see a bunch.

They stand straight up and range in sizes.

One of their identifiable features is white to brown flakey skin - eyelash flakes that curl upwards.

Another way to determine that they are the edible kind, is finding older mushrooms that bear the blackening "ink"staining at the base of the cap. Shaggy Mane's almost look as though they are melting into tar.

Below, I have taken a sequence of photos showing the progression of inking that takes place.

Here the cap is nearly separated from the stipe (stem). Think of an umbrella about to open.

Then the base starts to blacken at the very bottom of the cap.

The appearance of melting takes place, as the mushroom starts to deteriorate.

Oozing black ink begins to almost drip.

Shaggy Mane's have no shelf life. It's best to eat them as soon as you pick them. They don't store well. When foraging, gently place them in a container lined with paper towel and cook within a few hours.

Plenty - just enough for a dinner is all I need.

Because these are from an urban environment, I wash them. Yes, I know, I too have read many cook books that state washing mushrooms is a no no. But these were not in the wild. I'm not going to take any risks when collecting from an urban landscape. The key is: as soon as they are clean I dry them with paper towel. Mushrooms must be completely dry to fry well.

I prefer simple sautéing with butter and garlic. One trick: my Tante taught me that if you want fried mushrooms with a crispy edge....NEVER let them touch each other. Give them space in the frying pan.

Delicious!

Well worth the effort.

Please Note: as you forage, DON'T take all the mushrooms. Leave several behind to start the life cycle over. Leaving some behind will allow spores to spread and inoculate the ground for next year. Mushrooms are the earth's life-giving force of decay and renewal. Depleting them for the frying pan doesn't help one bit. You deplete the natural ecosystem process and prevent ever getting a second chance to forage again.

For better ID info on Shaggy Mane mushrooms: Mushroom Collecting Website

Hope you find some!

Usually our Nippon Daisy has glorious large flowers which last forever. The warm autumn we are experiencing in Southern Ontario has made our Nippon Daisies a huge attraction to bees, butterflies and other pollinators.

Photo taken in 2013

But when you see leaf petals and flower centres begin to look like this...

This flower is about a week old. They usually last about 3 weeks, with vibrant white petals. So sad....

...well - something's up.

I tried looking for signs early in the morning, thinking slugs or some beetle, but didn't see any. Then Saturday, I waited until the sun was shining bright. Ah, ha! Do you see the beetle?

Grrr.... It's the spotted Cucumber Beetle (Diabrotica undecimpunctata howardi Barber).

Feeding off both the petals and the central disk of florets.

Every single flower had at least one.

The worst part: when they feel you are about to approach them, they quickly hide to the underside of the flower. To make sure I collected each one, I grabbed the base of the flower and tapped/shook the flower over my hand. In hindsight, I would recommend that you use a bucket or something to catch them, as several flew out of my hand before I could squish them.

Here a several pictures up close to see their 12 spots. Six black dots flanked on either side.

Like the Scarlett Lily Beetle, they too can "act" dead and roll over. But, don't be tempted to dispose of them looking like this, within seconds they flip back. Best to squish.

Since it's October, I believe this is the 2nd or 3rd generation of beetle. Neighbours two doors down from us grow zucchinis. I suspect these beetles have come over to our garden and are partaking in one of their last meals before they hibernate in leafy debris.

Do the best you can to remove as many of these adults. They overwinter in organic leafy bits at the base of plants. Here is a great article on the beetle's life cycle.

If they eat Nippon Daisies, I wouldn't be surprised if they eat Chrysanthemums or other late flowering plants. Keep a look out.

After picking 4 different times during weekend, I managed to find over 21 beetles. Hopefully ridding them from our plants. Let's hope we significantly reduced numbers for next year.

One note: Take a look at the base of this Nippon Daisy:

This past spring I was tempted to divide and re-situate. I regret not doing that. It needs dividing desperately. Probably one of the reasons the beetles were on the attack. Weakened plants attract pests. Lesson learned.

In the next week or so, a good autumn clean up and another check of the flowers when it's sunny out, should reduce the numbers of beetles. Let's hope we have a really good cold spell this winter - to help kill overwintering insect pests like these.

Next year, we'll divide the plant and re-establish with some amendment.

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