Capstone Garden Path

One man's trash is a treasure to me. My neighbor set them at the curb concrete capstone, 6 slabs, and my husband brought them home. We recycled the capstone by adding the stones to our preexisting garden path. Thanks to the capstone find I was able to extend the garden path and it really makes the yard look nice

It did not take long to extend our path with capstone. My husband and I worked on the path together as it was a DIY weekend yard improvement project. View the photograph to see how we spaced the path and then completed it with the cypress mulch. Note the stones are not perfect, but we do not mind. The total cost for this project was under $10. as we got 3 cupric feet of mulch that were discounted at Walmart garden center.

Learn how to install a capstone garden path by reading my blog post YardSale Finds Create Inexpensive Garden Path

Walkers Low Catmint

A few years ago I bought walkers low catmint online at Greenwood Nursery. They shipped me very healthy potted plants, that had green leaves and pretty flowers. These plants were added to my garden and they bloomed throughout the summer season.

Photographs of the catnip plants I bought from Greenwood Nursery.  This is how they looked on the day I received them.  I definitely recommend this online nursery for your garden needs.

By the second season, these six plants put out runners and filled in a space of 4 x 4, forming a thick mat of green foliage and pretty lavender-blue flowers. The flowers bloomed continually in May and June, then I deadheaded the plants, fed them with miracle grow bloom booster and the catmint bloomed again.

What I like about this plant is that it is maintenance-free and pest resistant and it attracts butterflies and hummingbirds to my yard. 

I would recommend that you plant in full sun, although it will tolerate some shade in the afternoon. My summers get very hot and where I have planted the catmint there is part shade at the peak of the day followed by the late afternoon sun. On average the plants get 6 hours of sun daily. My garden soil is well-drained and I water this catmint in the morning with a slow drip soaking hose for one hour. By afternoon the soil is dry and I have found that the catmint can hold up and is tolerant of dry soil conditions.

Learn more about this beautiful perennial for your garden here

Camouflage Fence with Flowering Vines

Talk about an eyesore, the chain link fence needs to be camouflaged. If you are like me and want to hide your ugly chain-link fence then do so by growing a flowering vine.

A few years ago a garden friend of mine gave me some “Grandpa Ott” morning glory seeds. She told me that the morning glory would cover up my six-foot chain link fence and that the long blooming flowers would attract butterflies and hummingbirds.

I really liked the garden tips for hiding the fence, with pretty flowers that attracted hummingbirds. So I planted the seeds indoors and then transplanted them outdoors after the threat of spring frost had past.

What I like about this vine is the foliage; both heart-shaped leaves and petunia-like flowers are attractive. Plus the “Grandpa ott” flower is so pretty; dark purple with magenta pink and yes the vine fills in quickly and does camouflage the ugly link fence.


This vine looks beautiful when grown over a wooden privacy fence.  

Tips:

Growing from seed is easy provided you soak the seeds overnight before planting. Morning glory is a vigorous vine that fills in quickly forming a dense mat. Flowers will start to bloom in June and will continue to bloom in fall as long as the weather is warm.

Hot Pepper Wax Natural Animal and Insect Repellent

When it comes to repelling plant-eating garden pests I prefer to apply organic products rather than chemicals and have been using diatomaceous earth in the soil but found I needed something else for the leaf nibblers. So when the girls at my garden club were talking about a hot pepper wax spray that they used to repel animals and insects; deer, groundhogs, squirrels, aphids, spider mites, leafhoppers, and other garden insects that ate plants I took notes.

The organic pepper spray sounded great, but I wondered if the formula would be too strong for some of my herb plants since the application was to spray the entire plant including the soil in the garden. Sure enough, I was told that some plants are sensitive to pepper spray and that I should not treat the herbs peppermint, basil, lemon balm, or parsley. I am certain there are a few plants in my garden that will be sensitive to this potent pepper spray so I plan to test the plant by spraying a small amount on a leaf to see what happens, before spraying the entire garden bed.

Know that hot pepper wax should be spayed at dusk, this will allow the wax to harden due to the cooler air. Wax would not coat the leaves if sprayed on a sunny day. Make sure that you spray the entire plant, that includes the front and backside of the leaves, the stem, bud, and flower, The pepper spray will protect all plants that are treated in the garden from pests, however, you must watch for new growth. Anything new will be unprotected.

 On average the pepper spray lasts about two weeks. Know that when you harvest your edible plants you must wash them with warm water to remove the hot pepper wax. I had a deer take a bite of my lily leaves, the pepper wax did not stop the deer, BUT the deer had a coughing fit, then drank from my pond before leaving my yard. So you bet the hot pepper wax spray works.

You can buy hot pepper wax spray for animal and insect repellent at ebay.com (one-gallon concentrate) 

Attracting Hummingbirds to Your Yard

When it comes time to planting I always plan an area in my yard for annual and perennial flowers that attract hummingbirds. Both my husband and I enjoy watching these birds that come to feed off our flowers. Know that the best way to attract hummingbirds to your yard is to provide them with their dietary needs and a reliable water source. Then the hummingbirds will visit your yard and gardens daily.

Photographs of hummingbirds in the flower garden

Hummingbirds are particular about their flowers as they need flowers that are rich in sugar content and will reject other plants. They will also look for gardens that have insects as they need to nourish their bodies with nutrients.

Decide on the nectar-rich plants that you want to grow Buy a variety of flowers that will bloom throughout the summer months.

Here are a few of my favorite flowers that attract hummingbirds.

Asters, Autumn Joy Sedum, Asiatic lilies,

Black-eyed Susan, Butterfly bush, Chamomile, 

Cardinal flower (red), Chives, Chrysanthemum, 

Clover (white, yellow, and red), Coreopsis, Cosmos, Crabapple, 

Dandelion Dill herb,  Echinacea Coneflowers, 
 Four O'clock flowers, Garden Mint, Happy returns day lily, 
Lavender, Lemon Balm, Lilacs,

 Marigold, Milkweed Mimosa, Parsley, Peony, Purple Phlox,

 Red and Fuchsia Bee Balm, Sage, Sweet Pea, 

Sweet Autumn Clematis, Thyme, , Verbena, Yarrow, and Zinnias.

You can buy an orange trumpet vine at ebay.com and attract hummingbirds to your yard. 

Helpful Tips

Keep hummingbirds in your yard and garden by installing a bird bath or water fountain. Change out the water daily to make sure that it is fresh. Do not use chlorinated water in the fountain, instead collect rainwater for your water fountain. You can also use filtered water.

Provide the hummingbirds with an organic environment by refraining from treating your yard and gardens with chemical-based insecticides as these chemicals will poison the hummingbirds and kill off their insect food source.