Hello Fellow Gardeners,

Welcome back to the Daily Weeder to our faithful friends and readers! We’ve taken a bit of a sabbatical, but just like you, we couldn’t stay away!

It’s been an incredible summer for gardening in my neck of the woods! We’ve enjoyed lots of sunshine and enough rain to make everything grow grow GROW! Right now my irises, columbines, and most of all, my roses are blooming in brilliant shades of pink, yellow, white, blue, red, and purple. It took a lot of hard work, but right now I’m enjoying the fruits of my labor! And I wanted to share it all with you, so join me if you will, for this year’s tour of my garden…

Stay tuned for more tips, tricks, ideas, and inspiration on the cold climate gardening from the Daily Weeder!

Happy Gardening,

Marie Suzanne

Hello Fellow Gardeners,

This is the time of year that the shelves of our favorite garden centers fill up with chemicals that promise everything from increased growth to deterring the most pesky of garden pests! Well, many of these do in fact work very well, but if you’re like me, you are considering more natural alternatives for your garden. Many of these alternatives can give you the same benefits as the expensive products out there but at a fraction of the cost! Best of all, many of the ingredients can be found right in your own kitchen! Today we’ll take a look at a few natural remedies that have worked well in my own garden!

Chamomile Tea

We all know the health benefits of tea for our own bodies, but did you know that tea is also great for your garden! Roses especially can benefit from a good spray of cool chamomile tea on the leaves because it can help deter nasty mildew from taking over your precious plants. The recipe? Simply brew just like you would for yourself, let cool, and spray! Try to aim for at least four tea bags per gallon of water!

Banana Peels

You’ve heard about this one before from us, but it works so well that it bears repeating! Banana peels draped over branches and at the base of a rosebush will help get rid of aphids! Also, chopped banana peels mixed with the top layer of your soil gives a great vitamin boost to your plants, keeping them happy and healthy!

Garlic

Everyone’s favorite spice not only grows in the garden but is a garden life saver—literally! Deer may be nice to look at, but they are your garden’s enemy! A good barrier of garlic around your precious plants will help to keep those deer from using all your hard work as their own personal buffet! Papery peels from garlic bulbs that have been roasted in the oven, raw crushed garlic from a jar (available at your supermarket), or even a raw clove clothes pined to a plant will help! If you don’t want garlic spread all over your garden, another option is to simply place several garlic cloves in a sachet bag or an old stocking and hang it in your garden. The smell shouldn’t be overwhelming, but it should be enough to deter most of those dear deer!

Stay tuned for more natural remedies for your cold climate garden from the Daily Weeder!

Happy Gardening,

Marie Suzanne

Hello Fellow Gardeners,

I’ve been super busy working on checking off my own Spring chores checklist! Unfortunately there’s still a lot more to be done, but I’m happy to be gardening again and spending some time in the sunshine!

If you are checking off your own Spring garden chore list, you may have seen the “pruning roses” chore! Doing a bit of research on the internet, I came across the ultimate rose pruning guide! It contains everything you ever wanted to know about pruning roses! It’s easy to follow, jam packed with great tips, and perfect for old pros in need of a refresher course, or beginners looking for a detailed guide! Best of all, it’s offered in pdf format online for free!

Check out:
John Jons’ Rose Pruning Guide for the Texas Cooperative Extension

This rose pruning guide was designed for the Texas climate, but can be applied to our own cold climate gardens with only three exceptions! Read below…

1. Pruning dates for cold climate gardening is the first or second week of May, or when the Lilacs and Forsythia bloom (basically after the last frost date).

2. In a cold climate garden you rarely need to use fungus spray because the winter kills most of the bacteria!

3. Finally, the bud union for cold climate gardens is usually planted 4 to 6 inches below ground level to offer winter protection (the bud union is the swelling where the rose is grafted on) so you don’t usually have to worry about too many suckers to trim.

I really recommend this guide for its valuable information and detailed tips! As mentioned, the guide is very easy to understand and should take the mystery out of rose pruning for anyone!

Stay tuned for more tips, tricks, ideas, and inspiration on cold climate gardening from the Daily Weeder!

Happy Gardening,

Marie Suzanne