Deer resistant plants

As you are poring over your new seed and plant catalogs here are a few deer resistant plants to consider: perennials--aurinia saxatillis(basket of gold), bleeding hearts, lambs ear, lily of the valley, russian sage, beautybush, daphnes, amelanchier, and spireas. Annuals to consider are globe amaranth, lantanas, snapdragons, and cleome.

Holly

It's that time of year when we think of decorating our homes and holly is very popular. If you would like to plant a holly in your landscape remember to get and male and female plant of the same species. You can have several females that will bear berries, but you must have a least one male within a few hundred feet.

Thought for today

Here's a thought for today: The nicest thing about the future is that it always starts tomorrow.

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!!!