Dead Roses Aren’t Much Fun!

Today, I received the latest edition of my free Home Depot Garden Club Newsletter.  I was very excited to discover that this edition includes a buy one get one free coupon for roses.  I lost several rose bushes in our unusually cold winter. In fact, right now only 3 of 8 bushes are showing signs of life. I am going to give the bushes a couple more weeks and hope that more recover, but even being the optimist that I am, I know I am still going to need my Garden Club coupon:Every newsletter I have received has contained either a BOGO and/or high value coupon. The Garden Club Newsletter also contains some gardening advice appropriate to your local area, which I appreciate because gardening in the high desert is very different from gardening in other areas of the country. When you sign up you give them your email address and your zip code and when they email you your newsletter they include tips tailored to your region. If you are interested in receiving this free newsletter, you can click here.

Do you already subscribe to the Garden Club Newsletter? Have you found other garden centers that are offering a similar service?

You Win Some, You Lose Some

We have lost all of our lettuces and broccoli. They just could not handle the extreme weather changes we have had, so I have had to start all over again. Fortunately, the spinach and chard have survived, but their growth has been very slow:

Normally I would be very disappointed over such a large crop loss, but there have been so many exciting discoveries in the garden that my spirits have been buoyed!

The first surprise of the week was when I discovered the potatoes starting to come up: The second surprise was discovering the strawberries  beginning to flower: The third surprise was discovering flowers on our gooseberry bushes:And I was absolutely shocked to find  a blueberry bush that I thought died last summer was still alive and sending up shoots: There have been a few other delights as well. The  pear tree has begun to bloom:And the buds on the apple trees are nearly ready to open:We have another storm coming through on Tuesday, so my prayer is that we don’t lose too many of the pear and apple blossoms. While the weather may prevent me from getting outside, it will not keep me from gardening. I will be nursing my tomatoes and new baby lettuces along inside the warmth and safety of my house.

How is your vegetable garden growing? I hope the successes exceed the losses!  To see other gardens in progress, visit Square Foot Gardening at $5 Dinners.

Frugal Rabbit Deterrents

Some plants like sunflowers, marigolds, and snap dragons which are supposed to be rabbit resistant are still vulnerable  when they are seedlings. I don’t want to wait until my flowers are a foot tall and flowering before I put them outside, so I have developed a few tricks. 

One trick is to cut the bottom off of a plant container and then set the container around the young plant.  I use tent stakes or coat hangers inserted into the rim of the inverted pot, to keep it from blowing away:
Once the plant is big enough, strong enough, prickly enough or stinky enough, I remove the protective container.

Another trick is to use a plant that the rabbits always find repulsive as a repellent:

Since my rabbits do not like Russian Sage, I plant a sunflower seed close to the plant and surround it when it is most vulnerable with the dead branches of the Russian Sage (they retain the smell).
Once the sunflower is about a foot high and has developed a thick coat of fuzz the rabbits won't touch it and I can remove the dead branches. I also plant many of my flowering bulbs in close proximity to my Russian Sage and scatter dead sage branches around my flower beds in the spring.

I protect my young trees with a simple piece of paper:
The paper on this Emerald Queen Norwegian Maple prevents the rabbits from gnawing on it in the winter. To do this cut a piece of 18 inch paper, 4 inches longer than the circumference of the tree. Wrap the paper around the tree, overlap by at least an inch and tape it closed.

I make my own rabbit repellent, but it needs to be reapplied after precipitation. Using frugal, semi-permanent protection from the rabbits ensures that I don’t lose all of my flowers after every rain shower! Do you have to contend with rabbits or other pests in your yard? How do you protect your plants? Please share your ideas or links in the comment section.

To read about more frugal tips, visit Frugal Friday.