Garden Bite with Teri Knight

Punctuate your landscape by stuffing in some annuals, either into the ground or in containers. They make great transitions for filling in those "holes" left by spring flowering perennials. Be sure to check out my website too! Gardenbite.com 

Wasps, the bane of the summer time picnic and those nests! Ugh, don’t get me started. BUT, and it’s a big one, they’re good for our ecosystem. Dang it! I mean, that’s good, but their bite is not fun. So how many wasp species are there? What do they actually DO for your ecosystem? That's on today's Garden Bite! Always take a look at my website gardenbite.com for a LOT more information on each episode!

I talk about perennials and annuals for pollinators but what about trees and shrubs? Today I talk about some of the recommended trees and shrubs for cold climates that pollinators dig! 

When I became a Master Gardener in 2003, there was a group of MG’s that formed a group called “Friends of Charlie” because nearly every other question asked by home gardeners was, “How do I get rid of Creeping Charlie”? Learn about what you can and cannot do, if you can get rid of it and whether you really want to! 

Oh such pretty flowers blooming in ditches, along railroad tracks and in large stretches of farm yards. Oh but what evil those beauties bring upon us. Dame’s Rocket looks like a native phlox but it’s not! Learn more about this pretty pest on today's Garden Bite.

Today is the day we reflect and remember our military personnel who gave their all for our freedom. The red poppy came to symbolize our war veterans in 1921.  It is a wildflower poppy.  During World war one, the fields of Flanders in western Belgium saw 4 years of unrelenting battle. After the war, these poppies came back in a most spectacular display. Learn more about the "corn poppy" aka the American Legion poppy. 

Got deer?  Get some deer resistant plants.  Notice I said resistant!  There are some plants that are naturally not delicious to deer.   Due to their toxicity, fragrance or texture, deer seem to be repelled by these plants.

Shrubs could use some food too but there are some caveats, we’ll get to those.  Keeping plants healthy also helps lower opportunities for disease and insects to do damage.  A caveat to fertilizer response is the environment your shrubs are grown in. Woody plants respond well to fertilizers with a 3-1-2 or 3-1-1 ratio, for instance, the package may read 24-8-16, 18-6-12 or 12-4-4, etc. 

First, there IS NO poop in fertilizer! Proven Winners, one of the top plant breeders, says it’s really important to feed your container plants, which I talked about last week.  That makes sense, they’re roots can only go so far and get so much! There are 3 main kinds of fertilizer: water soluble, slow release, and controlled release.

Planting HERBS for pollinators! I’ve told you before that swallowtail caterpillars LOVE parsley and dill. Listen in for more herbs and be sure to plant enough for you AND the pollinators! Check my website for more details and recipes too.