Plant Talk by Valerie Easton

Valerie Easton is a marvelous Pacific Northwest garden writer, author of several books and a devotee of B&D Lilies.  Click to view her latest blog post about lilies. 

What to do about moles this summer?

Click updated mole trap info to go to our website.  Our latest newsletter triggered email questions about how to control those moles already in the garden, so we've just added an external link to a trap manufacturer in Oregon whose product is quite effective. 

August Newsletter e-mailing soon

Hello everyone, our next Newsletter is emailing at 7AM Eastern time tomorrow, if you were thinking of registering - don't delay, do it now!   Confirm your subscription by clicking on the return e-mail and receive the (hint, hint) "Double Bonus" Offer from B&D Lilies.

'Halloween Embers' - Asiatic - Garden Review

'Halloween Embers'
This sassy little creature is well named. The petals are "Halloween" orange in color on the petal tips and the centers are very darkly shaded in our cooler Western Washington weather. The camera picked up “inky-black” as dark purple on a cloudless day when the temperatures finally hit 80+ degrees; in very warm climates the color should stay dark with perhaps a pronounced lighter purple "feathering" to the center.

Bambi "booby-traps"

"What's for dinner tonight?" Deer are like our pygmy goats, they are generally browsers, taking a nip here and there as they graze. When a particularly tasty leaf, bud or flower is found, all the buds on a single plant may be consumed, but the stem right next to it could remain complete and whole.  Image: foto76 / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

A customer, from many years back, living on an island with a high deer population related that one year an entire clump of lilies had all the buds eaten, but the second year the deer went after the roses instead and left the lilies, which had more flowers than ever before. Basically, the deer did what commercial growers do to increase the size of the following year's bulb; they remove the flowers to allow all the energy into making a larger bulb. Our customer said she didn't mind if they "pruned" a few stems after that experience.

The Family Pet

 

We have always enjoyed the comfort of our animals while we garden, but yes, sometimes they can get into trouble.   If "Fluffy" is, shall we say, fertilizing your newly created flower bed, cat repellent works well or simply laying a piece of chicken wire over the newly planted bulbs will be enough until the soil has settled.

"Fido" is another matter. Dogs are pack animals, if they see you burying bulbs in the ground, they are more than happy to "help you find it again" - its a game!