Those destructive, nasty, no good, horrible Japanese beetles are here, so we might as well talk about them. 

THEIR HISTORY

The Japanese beetle is native to Japan. These little nuisances were first discovered in the United States around 1916 near Riverton, NJ in a nursery. It is thought that beetle larvae got into the US in a shipment of iris bulbs before inspections of imported goods entering the country began in 1912.

It is not just roses they love … they feed on around 200 species of plants.

I used to read that JBs were all east of the Mississippi, however, they are now being spotted in many other places around the country. I suspect they are still hitchhiking in plant containers! So no one will be safe before long. Now if only we could get them to “shelter in place” so we could eradicate them

MY WORLD

Japanese Beetles are a real problem in my area, especially last year. I first saw them on June 21 and I was still seeing them in late August. Mark Nolen, past president of the Indianapolis Rose Society, who has been growing for 50 years and grows over 300 roses, counted them last year and his total count was over 5,000. Let’s hope that record is not broken this year!

https://videopress.com/v/qZ4idKvl?preloadContent=metadata

Are you grossed out yet?

One of the very few upsides to drought is that it can interrupt their life cycle. After a particularly serious drought a few years ago, we had several years with few to no Japanese Beetles. I visualized the larvae being killed in the parched earth. Do you think differently of me now?

WHAT TO DO???

SPRAYS

I have chosen not to spray them as the spray kills more than the targeted pest and we want to protect the good guys. I did try sprays many years ago but saw little help. Your call on that one. As always read labels carefully and protect yourself!

HANDPICKING

The best method of control I’ve found is “handpicking.” When I say handpicking I mean tapping the area where the beetles are on the shrub and watch them fall into a bucket of soapy water. When startled, it is their natural response to drop and get to the ground as fast as they can (procreation and all that) – so in the water they go. The recommendation is to start this daily regimen as soon as they arrive and get them off the plants as soon as possible. The damage and droppings they leave behind contain their pheromone – a call to all their friends to come! So, the more you have the more you get!! It is best to even cut away and destroy the damaged area on the shrub. If you’re in a stressful season- squishing them works too. However… I have heard that the squishing process releases the pheromone that calls in the JB troops. Your call. No judgment here!

Beetle Traps

There is great debate about using beetle traps. They do work and beetles by the thousands have found their way to the beetle traps my husband “loves” to use. He places them at the edge of property and is gleefully happy when the trap is full. Some say it helps control and some say it brings more in. Your call. We buy them at Lowes… good luck. Note: Since our beetle population is down a bit this year, we have not put out the traps. Mr. G agreed to wait and see how the season goes.

GRUB CONTROL

Many are trying biological means to control them in the larvae stage. I have a very large garden with a good size lawn and none of the biologicals out today (primarily nematodes and milky spore fungus) seem worth the effort. However, though it takes time, do some research – it might be worth your effort. 

MOLES

Another unwanted pest in our garden is moles but they do eat grubs … so nature does have it’s ways. However, moles digging up your garden is a whole other horrible problem.  

Geraniums

Research is being done with Geranium petals as they cause temporary paralysis in Japanese Beetles – making them more vulnerable to their enemies. It’s a start and I bought 3 more hardy geraniums – just in case. The variety is ‘Dreamland’ and it’s very pretty. I’ve always loved geraniums – this just takes that love to the next level. 

YOU

If you have any tips and tricks that are working for you, please leave a comment so we can all benefit!

BLOOM THYME…

Finally, it’s time for something pretty! With all the talk about the JBs you are probably wondering if any blooms have escaped. Oddly enough they don’t love every flower… but we do!

With COVID and all, I went a little crazy with seed starting. It was mostly veggies. I had some great seed success and we gave some plants away but kept a lot of them. There are tomato plants in every nook and cranny we could find. Mr. G loves his tomatoes and we always have tomatoes on the driveway but NOT THIS MANY. Oh well, we will share, we’ll make salsa, we’ll make salads, we’ll have BLTs and we will eat tomatoes right off the vine! Oh, happy day. We also have several varieties of squash … most in pots. I am certainly looking forward to the cute little round zucchini – Ronde de Nice from Renee’s Garden. Our summer food will be interesting and yummy!

It’s been in the 🔥 90s 🔥 all week with another week of the same predicted.

friends, stay cool and safe and enjoy your garden thyme!

In my garden, you will find a lot (A LOT) of roses and a good many of them are there because of the people and places they represent. I have so many people in my life because of roses and during COVID-19 they have become even more precious.

One of those precious combinations of rose and friend is Peggy Martin – the lady and her rose.

THE LADY

If you don’t know Peggy’s story you can find it HERE. I had the pleasure of interviewing her and visiting her in her home. When you meet someone online before you meet them in person, they could be very different than what you expect. Peggy was just as I pictured her… beautiful, sweet, sassy and southern. We had the best times over those 4 days. We ate great food. We visited gardens. We toured homes. I met so many new rose friends and we shared story after story. One such story may or may not have been wrapped around the virtues of red lipstick. And, did I mention shrimp.

THE ROSE

This rose is mostly a one-time bloomer and the only origin it has is Peggy’s garden that was wiped out during Hurricane Katrina (except for this rose).

I now have 4 Peggy Martin Roses and she can cover a trellis like no other. Two of my plants started out as very small plants and within 3 years they were on to arbor domination. My 3rd Peggy Martin is starting to climb over one of my arbors alongside New Dawn. My 4th Peggy Martin is still small as it was started from a cutting last summer. She is beginning to show some vigor and will have a prominent place near my potting bench in my new potting area.

I cannot tell you the pleasure this rose brings me. As a reminder of my friend and that just when it looks like all is “lost’, “survival” is just getting started and restoration and miracles are just around the corner.

It reminds me of my beautiful friend in Louisiana and all that she endured and all that she is today.

Last year during a garden party for the Indianapolis Rose Society, the Peggy Martin Rose was the spot for “prom” pictures.

BLOOM THYME THIS WEEK

Peggy Martin #2 grows happily with Jasmina.

Veggies…

There is a mountain of mulch on the driveway. Funny thing, the herb garden was the first garden “room” I started some 30 years and ago and it was the first garden room to get fresh mulch this week. It is still such a special place for me.

Seriously, this is the latest I have ever put down mulch,  but hey the weather has not been all that accomodating! Freezes, rain, cold, and now heat. I can tell you the weeds have been very happy to take the place of the mulch! 😏

We have peas … a few … now that we are having so much heat, I better hurry and pick them as they might get “hot and fussy” and not produce much longer. They too were planted late and haven’t had much time to reach their potential.

Friends, thanks so much for stopping by. Stay safe, be well and til next thyme, enjoy your time in the garden! 😘

 

 

I do believe that the wildflowers know we are having a hard time and they have been putting on their most spectacular display ever.  I asked my great friend and the very knowledgeable Colletta Kosiba, a Master Naturalist, to do a post on what we are seeing! Six years ago Colletta wrote an article for me based on what the then “baby” Hudson and I saw as we took a walk. Read that one here.

FROM COLLETTA:

If you have been lucky enough to take walks in the woods this spring, I am sure you were amazed by all the small flowers blooming on the forest floor. Those are native flowers and are called spring ephemerals. Spring ephemerals have been growing on the forest floor long before man entered on the scene.

The ephemerals come up, flower and set seed before the tree canopy forms (which blocks out the needed sun light,) then the plants go dormant; only to repeat the show next spring.

Nature works in harmony; the seeds of the spring ephemerals bear fatty appendages called eliaosomes. Insects, (mainly ants) are attracted to the eliaosomes carrying the free meal back to their nests.  The lipid-rich food is consumed by their young. The unharmed seeds are then thrown into their dung pile where the seeds germinate the next year. A single ant colony may collect a thousand seeds over a season.  

Bloodroot  / Sanguinaria Canadensis                       

Indians stained faces to frighten enemies, males applied stain to palms before shaking hands with a maiden as magic inducement to attract her! Dye – reddish orange mixed with alum as mordant for cloth.  Sanguinaria in bloodroot was used to whiten teeth in modern toothpaste.

Bluebells / Mertensia Virginica                       

An old fashion garden plant. Roots will die in hot summer sun; so it is best to plant something like day lilies to shade the ground around them. They look like purple cabbage as they emerge.  

Common Violets  / Viola Sororia

Violets have 5x more vitamin C than oranges. Add flowers to salads and gelatin for color & flavor. (Leaves are a tad bitter in salad.)  Make jelly with blooms.  Crystalizes as toppings on cake.  May also be used as a soup thickener.

Geranium Wild / Cranesbill / Geranium Maculatum      

You can make a brown dye from the flowers – used for tanning hides.  The Cherokee mixed with grapes for mouth wash.

Claytonia Virginica / Spring Beauty

Have small potato shaped tubers  called “fairy potatoes”. They taste like potatoes when baked or boiled but raw they taste like radishes.
 

Wood Poppies / Stylophorum Diphyllum

Native Americans used the yellow sap from all parts of the plant for dye and paint.  Flowers are followed by nodding green hairy pods. The pods split open along four valves, explodes scattering seeds.

Thank you Colletta for the beautiful tour. For those of you who know Colletta, you know that her own garden is a haven for all the plants above and so, SO many more. If we weren’t “sheltering” in place, I would be going for a lunch and learn – and perhaps a few “starts” too!

Here is my own trillium that is having a fantastic spring too.

This little beauty has brought me great pleasure for many, many years due in part to its origin. I was part of a group that had the pleasure of rescuing wildflowers in a wooded area that was to be cleared for “progress.” 😐 I brought home several things that day but only the trillium survives.

Trillium has a long history of use by Native Americans and in herbal remedies especially Native American women. I understand that they are a wonderful morsel for deer which may contribute to their being on the plant protection list in many areas. As with all wildflowers, practice extreme caution when considering removing them from their natural setting unless you are invited to do so or you know for sure they are not protected.  I know. I know. It is temping. Many wildflowers are available for purchase.

 

BE SAFE.

BE WELL.

ENJOY ALL THAT SPRING HAS TO OFFER!

 

 

When you garden in one place for as long as I have (30+ years) you go through seasons where we need the 3 R’s — REFRESH, REMOVE, REPLACE. Trees grow, sunny areas become shady areas, trees die and shady areas become sunny areas and beautiful vines become invasive nightmares.

For the last few years, we have taken on at least one or two of these large projects.

Going on now in our garden…

REFRESH

A HUGE 30 year old maple that my son planted as a seedling after we took part in a maple tree tapping. He never tapped his maple, but it served him well as it gave him and his “fort” shade for many years. As you can image, it is a sentimental favorite and one that gives us beautiful shade too. Now 1/4 of the beautiful maple is dead (lightning strike we think). We are trying to cut back the dead and keep the rest. Time will tell if this is a good decision – especially with the wind we are getting today.

REMOVE & REPLACE

Invasive vines. Some we planted and some we did not.

Japanese Honeysuckle: I won’t go into that here as I wrote about it a few posts back. If you want to read that post, go HERE.

Yellow Trumpet Vine: We planted this beautiful vine back in 2011 to replace another beautiful vine that we had purchased only to find it was being moved to the plant watch list – The Porcelain Berry. (You can read about that experience HERE.) 😳

Both of these vines were purchased at garden centers and did not come with a warning.

Both did exactly what I wanted them to do – to a point – they covered and drapped around our pergola that holds our facing swings in a most enchanting way. The Trumpet Vine had an added bonus. Hummingbirds flocked to it. However, the last 3 years we find it is popping up everywhere. And, I mean everywhere. Last year as far as 40 feet away from the mother plant.

I am not good with before and after project pictures – I jump into the project before I remember to take the before shot.  I do have pictures from last year to show you the beautiful parts and some of this weeks process pictures.

First the branches were removed – some 3” in diameter. Next was to drill holes in the branches and fill with a plant killer. I love power tools but I hate to use plant killers but there seems no other option to getting rid of this beautiful invasive garden destroyer. Finally, Mr. G will start the repair work on the pergola caused by the pretty invasive.

Three years ago I planted two other vines in the same vicinity so that when we moved the trumpet vine the area would not be left completely stark. Major Wheeler Honeysuckle – who has a much better reputation for the present time at least – and a vigorous clematis, Etoile Violette.

I have both of these climbers in other areas of the garden and so far no “invasions.” At some point I may even give the Peggy Martin rose a try in this area. I have a small one that we started from a cutting at last year’s IRS Rosefest. Once it reaches the “robust” stage, I’ll decide. For now it will be Etoile  Voilette and Major Wheeler vying for “pole” position.

Just looking at this beautiful “drapey” picture gets to my emotions but here’s to celebrating a better “drapey” solution – SOON. 🥂

REPLACE

Next I will be filling the space where the Japanese Honeysuckle was removed … adding shrubs, roses and a new potting area.

BLOOM THYME

The delicate looking Bleeding Heart is beginning to bloom in spite of the dropping temps and bits of snow.

Sand Cherry is lovely.

New Plant I am very excited about…

Scentsation Honeysuckle

If are you getting the idea that I have a “thing” for honeysuckle, you would be right! I LOVE vining and drapey things!

MORE CUTTING FLOWERS

Moved mixed shrubs from this raised bed to make way for more cutting flowers. I have drawn up the plan and will be planting (mostly seeds) in a few weeks.

ROSES

Another beautiful rose was delivered this week – ‘Moonlight in Paris.’ This rose is also known as ‘Garden and Home’. I saw ‘Garden and Home’ in full bloom in Bob and Dona Martin’s California garden 2 years ago and have never forgotten it. Indiana is many miles from California and possibly light years away from California growing conditions. The Help Me Find website says it is zoned for 7b – 9b, so I will grow this beauty in a container and see how it goes!

Here’s the picture I took in  the Martin’s Garden

ROSE GARDEN BASICS

If you would like to listen to some basic tips on helping your roses have a great year, listen to my conversation with my good friend and extremely successful rose gardener, Ron Daniels on Rose Chat HERE.

POTTING SHED PUTTERINGS

The tomatoes are now over 7” tall. Next week when the weather improves I will start the hardening off process of giving all the seedlings exposure to the outside. Most of them will then go into the garden or in large pots in mid May. Our last frost date is usually Mother’s Day. Hard to believe it will be warm enough by then but all we need are consistent night temps 55 degrees or greater.

Whether flowers or veggies, I am looking forward to having them successfully outside to be their “best self”!