I am so BUZZED

BEES.
Pros
Make honey
Like flowers
Cons
Stingy litte suckers
Loud and buzzy
Make some us (me) scream and run in fear for our lives like little girls despite enormous size difference.

Whatever your feelings about bees there has been a noticable decline in bee populations in North America and other parts of the world due mainly to something called Colony Collapse Disorder. CCD has been blamed for bees disappearing in huge numbers for unknown reasons. Numerous studies have been done researching pesticides, viruses and bacteria, electromagnetics and starvation but have not been conclusive as to the causes of CCD. While those of us who are afraid of them welcome this because we are no longer frequently seen running and screaming around our yard like a crazy person, this is a serious issue.

What do bees do besides make one of my favorite food of all time, honey? The pollinate flowers and crops.

What happens if they don't pollinate? Major agricultural issues will arise such as food shortages.

So what can we do as gardeners? There is a foundation called The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation that is working on research and suggesting ways to help. Here is the link for their main website:

Plants for Native Bees in North America
If you are from California from the main site go under "Publications" then "Plant Lists" to see more specific plants from your region.

Some of the plants included in the list are commonly found ones from either Home Depot or Lowes such as: Asters, Black Eyed Susan, Lupine, Rhododendron, Sage and Sunflowers. Basil, Rosemary, English Lavendar, Hyssop and Marjoram are also considered to be bee friendly.

Get planting to save our little black and yellow, buzzy frenemies!

Photo courtesy of Leif Richardson of The Xerces Society.

Tranplanting Established Plants

I know! What a boring title...but it is what it is.

I've transplanted a lot of things with no real adherence to any sort of rule and have never had any problem (*crosses fingers*). I was reading stuff recently about "making sure you transplant plants in the late afternoon to reduce shock" and some other rules I have never heard of. You may as well tell me to make sure you light candles and massage it to make the transition easier because Ms. Lazy is sooooooo not doing that. Besides by the "late afternoon" the only things I feel like doing are drinking wine and chasing the ice cream truck down the street (not necessarily in that order but it does make it more fun.)

Needless to say I didn't heed any of that advice.

However I do think there are some very basic things you should keep in mind with any transplant or new planting for that matter.

1. Try and look ahead to your local weather forcast. It probably isn't the best idea to be transplanting stuff on the hottest day of the year (for you OR the plant!)...look for a milder day. The day I transplanted this stuff was in the low eighties with little humidity. Of course the best time to transplant anything is in the spring or fall but Nature will not contain ME within those parameters. HAHA!

2. Make sure the area you are moving the plant to has the same amount of light/needs as the old home.

3. Prepare the new home for the plant first. No point in digging up the plant and having it sit out for an extended period of time while you are digging away. Besides it might start to mock your digging technique and then you might want to hit it with a shovel...what? plants don't talk to you? Hmmmmm...shame....


I HATE tearing up the ground. It's a HUGE pain in the butt and makes me wonder why I even bother. The best way I have found is to use an edging tool and make a grid pattern in the area you want to remove (not a great picture...sorry)and take out the grass in patches. This little area took me several hours to tear out to give you an idea of the time commitment. I wish I had people to do it for me...sigh...

Another tip that I have found useful is to get a large plastic tarp to put your refuse on. Also in the event that you don't get a chance to clean it up that day and it rains you can pull the tarp over it so it doesn't get wet. Because while clumps of grass and dirt suck, nothing sucks worse than WET clumps of grass.

Dig your hole to about 2 times as wide and deep as the root. Yeah, I realize you don't know the exact size of the root because it's still in the ground. So what are you waiting for? Go dig it up now!! Digging a hole won't take you that long.



4. Give yourself plenty of room to dig around the root/bulb of the plant so as not to damage the root/bulb. I kind of use a 6 inch rule from the root of something this size.




Dude, that mofo was HEAVY!! Heavier than my almost one year old son! I almost fell over when I tried to pick it up!!

5. Water that sucker like there is no tomorrow after you plant it! I would also recommend mulching but then again I am a mulch whore...I freaking love the stuff for making everything look "finished" plus it helps keep weeds down and holds moisture in....which reminds me...I need to go get more!!

I'm Melting....melting..... aka "Tulip Bondage"

Ok, not really melting but DYING a slow and horribly ugly death.

Of course I am talking about all the foliage from your spring bulbs...tulips, daffodils, you name it! Your neighbors are pointing and laughing at your pathetic little brown patch of flowers when 3-4 weeks ago they were swooning over the color and beauty. I say "screw them" regardless for letting their little darlings tromp all over your newly planted grass but I digress....

Options
Yank them out of the ground? No.
Cut them down to the ground? Not yet!
Plant other stuff around them so they will eventually be covered? Yes, but that comes with time!

Don't worry my nature challenged kiddos, this post is all about WHAT to do when faced with this dilemma!

There are actual reasons why you don't want to yank or cut the foliage down just yet. It's all scientific and crap so here is the short story: The withering foliage produces food for the bulb which helps produce more flowers next year. (Side Note: Tulips sometimes are a pain and don't necessarily appear after several years of blooming beautifully. Why? No idea. I haven't had this problem so I haven't looked it up yet. Will I? Don't hold your breath.)

Now if you have a huge yard you can probably disregard this advice because you can't see your flowerbeds beyond the moat, carriage house and orchards so who cares? But in my little yard several brown dying things stand out and that will not be tolerated. Bow to my will, Nature!

Alright enough drollness...to work!

Tools you will need:
Gardening gloves
Rubber bands or string

Step One

Identify browned foliage. Duh.


Step Two

Approach said foliage gently...it is very sensitive about how it looks. Laugh at how ridiculous you look tiptoeing over to the tulips--HA! (Insert groan here.)

Step Three

Starting at the top fold the flower stem down a little at a time until you have a nice little bundle. They should be pretty pliable but if you encounter any that start to break you may want to stop bending at that point and just bundle it there. Incorporate any leaves into the bundle as well.




Step Four

Using either rubber bands or string, loosely tie them around bundle.




Step Five

Leave it alone. In a couple of weeks you will notice that the foliage (stem and leaves) will lose all of it's green/pink color and become even more brown and withered. At this point you can actually pull the foliage out of the ground without ANY resistence (if you get resistence--stop pulling!) or you can cut it to the ground and throw it away. Your bulbs should be ready for next spring!

Wicked Witch image courtesy of allposters.com

How to Plant a Bare Root Rose Bush (Part 1)

My mother-in-law asked for a "Strike It Rich" rosebush for her birthday and we, being the fabulous children we are, complied and got her one.

Now I have never really been a rose person. I think they are pretty and smell nice however they have always seemed a little daunting and I have heard they are tempermental. I like a plant that I can slap around and dig up in a day...can't do that with roses. They are like dainty little girls who don't like tackle football...not my kind of plant. My husband's grandmother, Granny G., was able to grow roses out of anything and would even get cut branches from other rose bushes to root and grow(now THAT'S a green thumb). I fear I lack that talent but I will attempt not to annihiliate this bush in Granny G's honor.

I had the rose shipped from Edmunds Roses. They have an excellent selection, were very quick, and their customer service was very helpful. They also sent along a pamphlet on how to plant your bare root rose bush.

So here goes:

Step One:

Allow roots of rose bush to soak for 12-24 hours prior to planting in a bucket.
I can do that! Thank God I read the directions or else I would have been pretty pissed about digging a huge hole and then having to wait 12-24 hours for the roots to soak! At that point I probably would have just thrown the stupid plant in the hole, soaking be damned, and killed it on the first step! I'm ALREADY stressed about this rose!

Here's a tip: Not everyone has a spare bucket laying around the house and the one that you typically use is probably gross and toxic to delicate rose bushes being filled with bleach or ammonia on a regular basis. I used 2 garbage bags to line the inside of the bucket and then filled it, plopped the rose in and let it soak away!

Step Two

Choose a spot that gets at least 6 hours of sun a day. The more sun your rose gets the more flowers you will see.
Done! My father-in-law had to chainsaw away several large branches of a huge evergreen they have in their yard to allow more sun onto the spot she wants...he was thrilled (read: sarcasm). I have to be honest, I don't know if this is going to be a good spot for this rose...I have a feeling I'm going to be hitting tree roots while digging...time will tell.

Step Three

Since you have 24 hours check your supplies and tools.

For Part Two you will need ;
1. a shovel or a hole digger
2. Compost or Peat moss--if your soil is very dense or heavy you will need to mix something with the ground dirt to allow the roots to breathe and grow easier.
3. Sharp pruning shears
4. Gardening gloves

If you don't have these...get thee to a garden center!!

Strike It Rich Rose image courtesy of msucares.com!