Gardening Wisdom 101

The flowering plum blossoms greeted us this morning.

I rely on experienced gardeners to pass on their wisdom when it comes to gardening tips. Some questions are easy to look up, but often times it is more enjoyable to gather around the table and hear the time-tested advice from them. Here is my first Gardening Wisdom 101 list:

If you have rodents, they generally won't touch daffodil bulbs.

If your roses get powdery mildew spray them with a solution of 3 tablespoons of baking soda to a gallon of water.

Cut banana peels into pieces and bury them around rose bushes just below the surface of the soil. The calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, potash, and silica derived from the peels will do wonders for the flowers.

If you want butterflies plant butterfly bush,lantana, salvia, zinnias, cosmos, and lavender. Host plants such as red and white clover, lupines and violets provide a place for adults to lay eggs.

To create a scented garden you want to plant alyssum, daylily, hyacinth, lemon balm, lavender, lilac, mignonette, rose, and sweet pea.

Aphids hate the smell of mint so catmint and other plants in the mint family repel them. If you don't want mint spreading all over get mint leaves, spread them around the garden or prepare mint tea and water your plants with it.

Always rotate crops in your vegetable garden. The nightshade family- tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, and potatoes should not be in the same place more often then once every four years (now that is hard for me to do... at least try every other year).

Azaleas love acidic soil, so give them an occasional cocktail of two tablespoons white vinegar and a quart of water.

A layer of rinsed coffee grounds help geraniums thrive.

I hope there is a tip here you can use. Happy Gardening!