Miscellaneous

Is it too late to plant bulbs for spring? Does planting them later in the season mean they will bloom later next year? Also, is there any reason bulbs cannot or should not be planted in pots outdoors where I had my summer annual plants?

StrawIf you're going to scavenge your neighbor's yard waste to use in your own garden, take some care. This week Dennis Patton gives you some tips on dangers and opportunities. To read them click here.

Common nighthawkLast week we did owls. This week? A common nighthawk that stopped at David Cooper's house at Weatherby Lake.

Here's what he writes:

Here is an interesting bird I saw out on my deck. I watched it for a while and it slept for an hour and a half. Then I became concerned

Watch out when scavenging curbside yard waste. What you can’t see can hurt.

From Jonna:

I want to plant flowers that do well in Kansas and I will get to enjoy from April - November. Can you give me some good choices? I live in Wichita

Marshmallow plantWe're getting near Halloween and marshmallow season. It turns out that marshmallows used to come naturally from marshmallow plants. To read about them, click here. - Craig

By The Associated Press
Attracting a steady population of birds, butterflies and other watchable wildlife to your yard is a matter of providing habitat - a combination of food, water and cover. The challenge comes in finding the right plant partners.
Birds are attracted to plants and shrubs that produce seeds, berries and fruit. Butterflies and moths, bees and hummingbirds look for plants that provide pollen and nectar. Insect pollinators favor plants with broad leaves for laying their eggs and then providing forage for their hungry larvae.
Here are some native plants preferred by:

Great horned owlOK, it's not exactly gardening but it happened in my garden so...this weekend my wife called me over to look out the back window at a great horned owl perched in a tree over a garden. It was immense.

Mardi Gras roseWell, depending on the forecast you look at, we could be in for a hard freeze in the next several days. All I know is that I'm not ready! My memory may be bad but it seems like I had flowers going into mid-November last year.

Anyway, the GROW section in The Star today has good information about putting roses to bed for the winter -- because it will come to that sooner or later. -- Craig

Death of a mowerThis week Dennis Patton tells the story of a mower that was more than a mower, and its sad fate. To read more, click here.

Death of a mowerIt was a sad day at the Patton household. I knew we were living on borrowed time, like a disease that would one day claim the life of my beloved . . . lawn mower.

Veronica speedwell "Royal Candles"From blogger Judy Aull:

October, with its cooler temperatures and shorter days, signals the time when we begin to shut down our busy summer gardening schedule and start planning next year’s garden. With pad and pencil in hand, I stroll through my garden and jot down “what worked well this past growing season and what I would like to change.”

This week Dennis Patton offers some innovative tips on how to create some space for all your garden tools, containers and other supplies without building a shed. To read them, click here.

Everyone with a hobby accumulates stuff. My wife likes to sew. She has a sewing machine, fabric, ribbon, thread and, of course, a pile of projects yet to be completed.

Gardeners are no different, as we can quickly collect a myriad of things such as tools, pots, chemicals, seeds and so much more. Of course, being a guy, I also collect power tools to aid in my gardening passion.

Holly berriesThe Grow section in The Star today offers several ideas about plants that will provide a beautiful winter view even in freezing weather. This photo thanks to flowersociety.org. - Craig

Pohuehue flowerJust got back from a week in Hawaii -- my first trip there and it was wonderful. But I didn't shoot any flower photos (this one is from hawaiiflower.com), partly because gardening there felt vaguely like cheating. It looked

In past years I've used various local landscaping services large and small all resulting varying degrees of frustration.

One irritation is after shopping catalogs and researching in books to determine what I want to plant often those selections aren't available through the landscaper -- and they require you buy plants from them. They either substitute or skip that part of the project only for me to later discover they didn't do what I'd asked.

The latest issue of "Kitchen Garden" has a rather interesting idea. I wonder if people here could incorporate this idea.

Senior citizens that have a garden space, but are not able to do as much with it due to age etc. share this space with a younger person, who lives in an apartment etc.

The older person provides the space and the younger person does the work etc.

Both benefit.

At different times, I have read that herbicides or fungicides (without pesticides) or synthetic fertilizers kill earthworms and/or beneficial microorganisms and/or butterfly larvae. Can you help separate the facts from the fiction (leaving aside the whole sustainablility/health/organic issues) regarding these products?

Why are my tomatoes wilting and dying this year. Only the tops of some plants are still green. The plants have loads of ripe and green tomatoes. I have successfully grown tomatoes for many years. I have never seen trouble like this. My neighbors and friends are having the same problem. Help if you can. Thanks...Dan