beneficial insects – The Smarter Gardener

Beneficial Insects & Birds Control Insect Pests

August 10, 2014 no comments

One of the side benefits of gardening is insect watching. As you get to know your plants, you will become familiar with the insects they attract. When you plant something new, you will notice new kin...

Growing Beneficial Insects

October 29, 2013 no comments

There are few people like Everett “Deke” Dietrick. If there were more like him, insect pests would cease to be a problem on Earth. It would be a gross understatement to categorize Dietric...

October is the Time to Plant

October 20, 2013 no comments

We are in the golden days of the fall planting season. Now is the time to plant groundcover and every other flowering perennial, shrub, tree and bulb. For the next six weeks, root growth proce...

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Visitng Sherman Gardens is like spending time in a great museum. After an hour or so, you reach a saturation point and sigh, “There are just too many treasures to absorb in a single visit. I’ll just have to come back again to fully appreciat...

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There is a certain plant that has remarkable strength. I always think of an ox when reading about it or hearing its name and for an obvious reason: it’s called oxalis. Yet the etymology of oxalis has nothing to do with an ox. The word is derived f...

A Living Fence of Pyracantha

I’m looking for some kind of bush or shrub or vine that will help to create a security barrier over a 3 foot high chain link fence, that will grow to around 5 or 6 feet or so, will look decent maybe with some nice blooms and if I’m lucky I can get aw...

A Living Fence of Pyracantha

Larkspur/Annual Delphinium

Red Monkey Flower

Red monkey flower (Diplacus puniceus) is an evergreen perennial that you ignore all year long for the sake of its arresting spring bloom, although it may flower on and off throughout the year. Water it more than once a month — even in fast-dra...