What's happening in your garden?

[Manalto]

Deer...

Deer have become a terrible nuisance where there are no natural predators and hunting is restricted, (i.e., residential areas). I was shocked early one morning when I left my friends' house in suburban New Jersey (15 miles from Manhattan) to see deer crowding lawns and even highway medians. This is nature way out of balance.. We lose some landscape plants but the deer get the worst of it - by far - with starvation, prion diseases and car collisions. We are sorely in need of a humane solution.

[Willa]

Argh ! Tent caterpillars have infested my one "good" tree. I planted a Royal Red Maple in the front yard last year and it was doing great.

I noticed a couple of weeks ago that there were some dry, browned leaves but assumed it was just heat stress or a minor injury. I've been keeping an eye on it and gradually clumps of sticky webs appeared and skeletonized leaves were happening.

The internet tells me that I could use a spray of vegetable oil to suffocate the caterpillars, and to catch them in their nest after a rain. I did just that, and trimmed off any damaged leaves.

This is such a bummer. Many sources say this should not kill a tree, if it was in good health. My tree was just getting established and was perhaps 10 -12' tall, but still a scrawny youngster. I hope it will make it.

Why couldn't the darn caterpillars have taken up house in one of the loathed Manitoba maples in the backyard instead ?

[Gothichome]

Willa, I’m sure the tree will be just fine. A fertilizer tree spike may be the answer to helping it out.

[Manalto]

Ron is correct. Insects and diseases will usually attack weaker or stressed trees, such as a young transplant, whose defenses are compromised. Keep a large circle around the trunk free of grass. Mulch is a good idea (grass clippings work fine) to help keep the root zone moist through the summer months. Natural fertilizers (manure) work well; if you know someone who raises rabbits that's a good source of nutrients and you won't introduce weed seeds.

[Willa]

The tree is planted in the front, in a grass free area, still mulched from last year. Would extra watering help or hurt ? I was very dutiful last year to water it, but have been letting nature do that this year.

[Gothichome]

Japanese Beetles, playing havoc with our rose of Sharon, and roses. Not as bad as last year. Got a Beetle trap out, works pretty good.

[Willa]

Something gnawed a bunch of holes through some morning glory leaves then stopped.

Last year it was the attack of the hosta killing voles. This year I have kept them at bay (cross your fingers) using a castor oil mixture on the roots.

[phil]

Deer...

Deer have become a terrible nuisance where there are no natural predators and hunting is restricted, (i.e., residential areas). I was shocked early one morning when I left my friends' house in suburban New Jersey (15 miles from Manhattan) to see deer crowding lawns and even highway medians. This is nature way out of balance.. We lose some landscape plants but the deer get the worst of it - by far - with starvation, prion diseases and car collisions. We are sorely in need of a humane solution.

on Vancouver Island they have a lot of little "island deer" the deer there are smaller than normal. I guess because it's an island they developed this genetic difference. now as it gets more populated they are everywhere about town eating vegetables from gardens and reaping havoc.. but they are so cute!

[Manalto]

Maybe it's my Scottish heritage but whenever a thistle shows up in an unobtrusive spot I can't help but let it grow. The bees and later the goldfinches seem to like it. This ensures that there will be seed and thistles again the next year.

[Willa]

I have loads of common milkweed in the backyard, which I have left alone. I've had lots of Monarchs visiting, and a few other butterfly varieties I cannot identify. Next year I will try to separate the lawn from the flowerbed more, as there will be more than enough milkweed in the flowerbed area alone to keep the butterflies happy, I hope.

I have several varieties of daylily(red, a couple of burgundies, pink, small burgundy one) which are blooming. I planted the most common orange daylily by the front of the picket fence, but there are sections which have been unhappy and did not bloom, so it may be too bright and too dry by the sidewalk for them ?

My Cosmos are thriving again, despite the direct gasoline vapours. Most are blooming and are about 4 feet tall, with some Queen Anne's Lace that planted itself with them.

My compost pile has grown a couple of different types of white mushrooms. The other day I found an exotic mushroom or toadstool I could not identify. It had a rusty brown flat cap, and the underside and stem were BRIGHT yellow. I tried to identify it but there was just too much fungus to scroll through.

Oddly the strange mushroom coincided with finding this unusual gnome embroidered table cloth at a thrift store. Is it a sign ?

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