Baptisia

Baptisia australis is the 2009 plant of the year. It's a great plant that gets about 4 feet tall and has blue flowers. It is slow to come up in the spring but grows very quickly and will be blossoming in June. It has charcoal colored pods that stay all winter and rattle in the wind. It has a tap root so plant it where you want it to stay as it hates to be moved. It will eventually seed down and you can move those little seedlings. Every garden shoud find room for one (or two) of these.

New address

We had a very successful open house. Thanks to all that participated. I also have a new email address. It is hearthstone@frontier.com.

Frost

We finally got our first frost on Oct. 18. Interestingly enough we actually got several inches of snow before we got our first freeze! I have been putting away the perennials for the winter--we trim them back and let them freeze. They need at least 6 weeks of dormancy to perform well next season. Now the begonias and canna lilies have been frosted, I can start taking up my bulbs and drying them for another year. Next up--get ready for the holiday season!!

Bats

It's the time of year when we start to see bats used for Holloween decorations. These misunderstood mammals are very beneficial . In the U.S., most bats are insect eaters. The little brown bat consumes an average of 600 insects an hour. They feed several times a night. That's a lot of bugs that won't be bugging you!!!

Fall blossoms

Are you looking for something that blossoms in September-October other than rudbeckia?
Try some of these: Aconitum, anemone, asters, chelone, Sweet Autumn clematis, eupatorium, helianthus, hibiscus, and trycirtus. All are hardy and easy to grow!

Moonlight garden

Here are some ideas for a moonlight herb garden. Artemesia, shasta daisy, baby's breath, russian sage, white rose, cerastium tomentosa, lavender cotton, lamb's ear, horehound, white phlox, boltonia, lychnis coronaria, white columbine, and wormwood.

More on natural repellents

Lavender and mints are ready now for harvesting. Lavender makes a great sachet for your drawers and linens. Just dry your lavender(you can even dry some mint and rosemary to go with it) and make little sachets for you drawers. It makes things smell good and even repels moths.

Did you know mice hate the smell of peppermint? Dry peppermint and lay the stems on your attic floor to repel these creatures or use peppermint oil on cotton balls to keep mice out of you camper or attic or anywhere you see mice travel. They are like ants and like to use the same trail.