Mother's Day Sale & April Newsletter

Mother’s Day Sale & April Newsletter

Hibiscus and More would like to honor all the gardening mother’s that have visited the web site throughout the years. We would like to thank each and every visitor with my Mother’s Day sale. This year’s Mother’s Day Sale is dedicated to my mother, June Meola, who taught me the passion and love of gardening. My mother is one of the reasons we started the web site: Hibiscus and More because I wanted to share my passion in gardening and growing plants to a larger audience, the World Wide Web. The goal of Hibiscus and More is to provide honest and up to date gardening advice, and to provide high quality plants and gardening merchandise at a reasonable price.

Spring Chores For April and May:

We have had an unusual hard, cold winter this year, and spring is a little late. We have had a few reports that numerous plants are about a month behind in their usual bloom date. Gardening friends in GA informs us that as of 3-21-2010 the Daffodils and Forsythias are just starting out, and only the Bradford Pears with flowers. I lived in GA for 10 years and my mother’s Daffodils always bloomed in early February.

Plant: Spring is one of the best times to look for trees, shrubs, and roses. Numerous flowering shrubs and trees are in bud or full bloom in your area, and certain species of plants are only offered during spring.

Roses: Your roses should be trimmed between February 12 – 20; if you have not pruned your hybrid tea roses it is not too late to trim them now. For more information on trimming, caring, and fertilizing your roses click on my blog.

Vegetable Gardening: Garden center retailers are still reporting skyrocketing sales for vegetable starts and seeds this year versus last year’s sales. Start planning and planting your vegetable garden now to reap the rewards of homegrown vegetables, if you are thinking about having a vegetable garden this year, today is the time to start. Vegetables can also, be planted in large containers or raised planter beds. Put on your gardening gloves and reap the rewards and benefits of a spring vegetable garden. According to gardening experts, the second week in April is the time to start planting: Tomatoes, Peppers, Eggplant, Beans, Corn, Squash, and Cucumbers. For more information on vegetable gardening click on my blog.

Color Annuals: April or May is the month to start thinking about replacing your cool weather color annuals with spring and summer annuals. Here are a few of my favorites: Caladiums, Celosia, Coleus, Cosmos, Dahlberg Daisy, Dusty Miller, Gazania, Geranium, Gerbera Daisy, Ivy Geranium, Lantana, Marigolds, Mexican Sunflower, Moss Rose, Periwinkle, Petunia, Primrose, Purslane, Salvia, Snapdragons, Verbena, Wax Begonia, and Zinnia. All of the annuals mentioned can be planted in soil or in containers.

Bulbs: This year our spring bulbs maybe a little late because of our unusual cold winter, but if you have spring bulbs that are still blooming or starting to bloom you may want to enjoy a few of the flowers as fresh cuts indoors. On all perennial bulbs, let the foliage die back naturally, as the foliage dies the bulb transports the nutrients from the foliage to the bulb and will use the nutrients from the foliage and stores these nutrients to the bulb for next year’s growth and flowers. As the foliage dies, it may look untidy and displeasing. To alleviate this annoyance, you can pull up the foliage in a bunch and then roll the foliage down as you would a paper bag, and then tie the rolled-up foliage with a rubber band.

Shrubs: Trim your spring flowering shrubs after they finish blooming and fertilize with the appropriate plant food.

Azaleas: Once your azaleas finish blooming trim back to shape. Azaleas bloom on last year’s growth so it is important to trim your Azaleas no later than the middle of June. Azalea’s set their blooms during the fall months, and this is one reason to trim your Azaleas during the time frame that is provided. After pruning your Azaleas, you need to fertilize them with an Azalea plant food and also add a new layer of mulch. Instead of throwing your spent coffee or tea grounds away your Azaleas will benefit from sprinkling the grounds around your Azalea bushes, and any acid loving plant such as Ferns, Tropicals, Junipers, Boxwoods, Camellias, Rhododendrons, and Hollies.

Hibiscus Care: Time to Go Outdoors. Once the weather warms up in your area, to 40 - 50 degrees, you can start acclimatizing your Hibiscus by placing it in the shade outdoors and then slowly move the plant to partial shade and finally to full sun. With the unusual weather we have been experiencing this spring bring your prized Hibiscus plant back indoors if you get freeze warnings. Now would be a good time to fertilize and prune your Hibiscus. Follow the recommended fertilizer rates listed on the label. Pruning encourages a bushier plant. 

Houseplants: April is the time to move your houseplants outdoors and place them in an area that is full shade. The temperatures should be around 45-50 degrees at night before moving them outdoors. After a few weeks you can move them to an area that receives filtered shade, in other words, morning light, afternoon shade. This is also, the time to check for any bugs on your plant. Be sure to check underneath the leaves, and if you see those pesky critters on your prized houseplants spray with an insecticidal soap or horticulture oil.

Hibiscus and More’s Mother Day Sale Is To Honor Mother’s Around The World and we are Offering A Wonderful Sale Of Gardening Themed Products. To insure on time delivery by Mother’s Day all purchases should be ordered no later than April 25.  

Give the gift of flowers that will last forever floral fine art prints. Do you see a print that is sold out? Are you looking for a flower or foliage print not listed? Send an email to Cheryl@hibiscusandmore.com to order.

Happy Mother’s Day From Hibiscus And More. ©Cheryl Meola 2022.

 

August Gardening Calendar 2011

August Gardening Calendar

Prune Tropical Hibiscus you plan to bring indoors for the winter. Plan to place your plant in the sunniest window during the winter months. Trim back enough to fit your location indoors and bring your Hibiscus inside around December or before first frost. After pruning check your Hibiscus for insects and spray with appropriate insecticide. Now is a good time to fertilize your Hibiscus. Hibiscuses are heavy feeders and should be fertilized monthly with a Hibiscus Fertilizer. 

Remove faded blooms and seedpods on your Crepe Myrtles. You may be rewarded with more blooms before first frost. The recommended fertilizer formulation for Crepe Myrtles is 10-15-9 or a similar combination. Don’t forget to fertilize your Crepe Myrtles.

Roses prune out dead canes, and weak, bushy growth. Cut back tall, vigorous bushes by 1/3 the original plant height. Fertilize roses on a monthly basis until October. After pruning you should see new blooms coming in about 6 weeks.

Azaleas Lace bugs on your Azaleas increase rapidly in summer. Check your Azaleas for insects. The damaged caused by these sucking insects looks like tiny white dots and the entire leaf is almost completely white. Spray with appropriate insecticide labeled for Azalea Lace Bugs.

Lawns check your grass for insects, especially for chinch bugs and white grubs. These insects are most active in the summer months. The signs for chinch bugs are irregular circles, and the grass is thin, and then dies. For white grubs, the signs are irregular circles, and the grass is loosely rooted. Check the soil underneath the loosely rooted grass by digging up the soil, the grubs should be about an inch down in the soil, if you have them. Apply the appropriate insecticide and follow the package directions carefully. Lawn Mower Blades should be sharpened once each summer. A sharpened lawn mower blade prevents shredding the grass, and giving your lawn a nice, clean cut.

Mulch check all shrub beds and trees for mulch thickness. We are experiencing extreme heat this summer and shrubs and trees that have 2 to 3 inches of mulch keeps the roots cool and helps the soil retain moisture.

Fruits and Vegetables Start planning your fall vegetable garden this August. Till the soil and add Gypsum and Composted Cottonseed hull. The additives lowers the alkalinity and helps the soil stay loose. Tomatoes, Peppers, and Beans should planted by August 1^st. Starter plants usually are available by August 15^th. Pick the varieties of tomatoes that mature in 65-70 days. Cool season vegetables, broccoli, carrots, lettuce, cabbage, cauliflower, swiss chard, collards, kale, and snow peas are planted in September. Blackberry and Raspberry plants at this time of year have a tendency to trail along the ground. Take the trailing canes or runners and tie them back to their arbor.

Seeds sow cool season seeds of snapdragons, dianthus, pansies, calendulas, and sweet alyssum to be planted in mid to late fall. Sow seeds of bluebonnets and other Texas spring wildflowers this month to be planted in the garden. The wildflowers will establish a root system during the fall for spring blooms.

Tropical Foliage Plants Check plants that are spending the summer outdoors for insects. Use an insecticidal soap, if needed. Your houseplants can be fertilized biweekly with a water soluble plant food. Hibiscus and More has a wonderful selection of houseplants. Click To Order Houseplants.

Need more gardening advice? Ask the Texas Certified Nursery Professional/Horticulturist. Email cheryl@hibiscusandmore.com 

Cheryl Ann Meola

Certified Texas Nursery Professional #1282

July Gardening Calendar

July Gardening Calendar

Watermelon – Choosing a summer watermelon for ripeness is as simple as slapping or knocking on it. The good ripe ones sound hollow, and the unripe ones sound like solid wood.

Flowering annuals and perennials – Such as Salvia, Zinnia, Coneflower, and Petunia, remove faded flowers to encourage business and more flower production.

Dahlias – The last week in July trim your plants back by half of their height to produce fall blooms. Fertilize with a flowering plant food.

Pink and Blue Hydrangeas – Remove faded flower stems. Trim shorten droopy, flowerless stems by 1/3. New growth that occurs now through winter will produce next summer’s blooms.

Herbs – Now is a good time to trim back Basil, Mint, and Oregano by half to prevent flowering and seed production. This will produce tastier leaves. With every Mint plant purchased at Hibiscus and More comes with an herbal ice mint tea recipe. Click To Order Herbs.

Summer Vegetables – Just one over ripe cucumber, squash, or okra left on the plant will stop flower production. Pick your summer vegetables on a regular basis to prevent this.

Houseplants – Check plants that are spending the summer outdoors for insects. Use an insecticidal soap, if needed. Your houseplants can be fertilized by weekly with a water-soluble plant food. Hibiscus and More has a wonderful selection of houseplants. Click To Order Houseplants.

Trees and Shrubs – Newly spring planted trees and shrubs should be watered 2 gallons of water per foot of plant height.

Figs – Remove the tallest shoots in the middle first, then prune the rest of the fig lightly. The horizontal branches produce the best fruit.

Hibiscus Plants – Should be fertilized monthly with a Hibiscus Fertilizer with a hibiscus fertilizer.

Butterfly Gardening

An Introduction to Butterfly Gardening

In recent years, the natural habitat of the butterfly has gradually diminished due to the rapid growth of modern cities and suburbs. In an effort to increase the butterfly population within suburbia, utilization of butterfly gardens by homeowners introduces a small haven for the butterfly within today’s cities. In addition, the garden provides the homeowner with endless entertainment; and the sights, sounds and fragrances of the garden offer the owner peace and contentment as well as a feast for the senses.

Attracting butterflies to your garden is an art. Nutrition for the butterflies, how to attract butterflies year-round, deterrents and preferences all must be taken into consideration. An abundance of nectar rich flowers, plenty of food source plants, rocks for sunning and a water source all need to be provided. The more nectar and food source plants that you plant, the more butterflies your garden will attract.

To bring numerous butterflies to your garden you need to plan for masses and clumps of color perennials and annuals. Both perennials and annuals should be planted, but perennials are more useful since they bloom year-round, thus attracting butterflies throughout the year. The blooming periods of the annuals should be staggered also in order to attract butterflies year-round. To attract numerous and different species of butterflies try to plant a selection of native and non-native plants to your garden.

Shade and wind are deterrents to butterflies and will repel them from the garden. To counteract this, provide a sunny location (they need to be able to warm their wings); and place the taller plants in back to create a windscreen. Butterflies are most active between 11 AM through 3 PM; thus, a location should be selected that will provide sun during this time period.

Flower shape is more important than flower color in regards to attracting butterflies to feed, and old-fashioned flowers that retain scent and nectar are the best for attracting the adults. Butterflies prefer single flowers with tubular shape and upright blooms for feeding, and they also prefer flowers with bright colors and a distinct scent, with red and yellow being their favored colors.

Aspects to consider when selecting your butterfly plants are: The favorite butterfly colors are warm colors: red, orange, yellow; the flowers should have a sweet odor and a platform to land-on. No butterfly garden is complete without these must have butterfly garden nectar (N) and food (F) plants: Achillea millefolium – Yarrow (F), Anethum graveolens – Dill (F), Asclepias curassavica – Scarlet Milkweed (N & F), Buddleia davidii – Butterfly Bush (N), Helianthus annuus – Sunflower (F), Heliotropium spp. – Heliotrope (N), Impatiens spp. (N) (red & orange colors), Lantana spp. – Lantana (N), Menta spp. – Mint (N & F), Monardella odoratissima – Mountain Mint (N & F), Penta spp. – Pentas (N), Petroselinum crispum – Parsley (F), Salvia spp. – Salvia (N), Stachytarpheta jamaicensis – Porterweed (N), Tagetes spp. – Marigolds (N & F), Tagetes lucida – Mexican Marigold Mint (N & F), Verbena spp. – Verbena (N), Zinnia spp. – Zinnias (N). These simple plants are the tried and true to butterfly gardening and will attract butterflies to your garden.

Planning the Garden

Survey the area of where you are planning to place the garden. The area should have full sun from 11 AM to 3 PM. Butterflies are most active during this time frame and you want to entice them to your garden. The plants can be purchased at local garden centers, Home Depot, and Lowe’s in your area, usually Home Depot and Lowe’s has a nice selection of butterfly garden plants. Plant the trees first, the shrubs second, the annuals and perennials last. The annuals and perennials are your main attractors for nectar and larval plants and will also act as filler plants too.

Gardening Tips and Guide Lines

• Position the plants three feet away from the foundation of the house by doing this will give the homeowner room for maintenance.

• Plant shrubs, annuals, and perennials in a zigzag arrangement °◦°◦°◦°◦°.

• Consult the recommendations for spacing requirements on the individual plant information tag.

• Odd numbers mimics nature, thus, always plant in odd numbers.

• Provide a mixture of spring, summer, and fall blooming species that are both annuals and perennials.

• Large-leaf shrubs and trees provide shelter and hiding places for the butterflies during rainstorms.

• Butterflies require rocks for sunning, and a water source. A terra cotta saucer can provide water and small rocks can be placed in the saucer for sunning.

• When planning your butterfly garden, butterflies are attracted to masses of color so group 7-11 plants together of the same color. Then group 7-11 plants that strongly contrast or compliment the color.

• The greater the variety of nectar plants and larval host (food plants) provided, the more variety of butterfly species will be attracted to your garden. After planting your butterfly garden and as the year’s progress you will see more and different varieties of butterflies. I designed my sister’s butterfly garden in Texas, and each year she reported more butterflies and different species of butterflies.

Did You Know Hibiscus Plants are a Nectar Plant for Butterflies? Click Here to Order Your Hibiscus Plants for Your Butterfly Garden.

Let Hibiscus and More Custom Design Your Butterfly Garden for Your USDA Planting Zone. Click Here to Order Your Custom Butterfly Garden Design.

Take Advantage of our 25% Off Coupon on all Orders $50.00 or More. Hurry the Coupon Expires June 30, 2009. Use Redemption Code: Newsletter at CheckOut.

All photographs and digital images are ©Cheryl Ann Meola. All Rights Reserved. All photographs and digital images displayed in this newsletter are for viewing purposes only and cannot be duplicated. Scroll over the picture to view the plant name and all pictures in the newsletter are for butterfly gardening.

April Gardening Calendar

April Gardening Calendar

Roses: Your roses should be trimmed between February 12 – 20, if your have not pruned your hybrid tea roses it is not to late to trim them now. For more information information on trimming, caring, and fertilizing your roses click on my blog.

Vegetable Gardening: Garden center retailers are still reporting skyrocketing sales for vegetable starts and seeds this year versus last year’s sales. Start planning and planting your vegetable garden now to reap the rewards of homegrown vegetables, if you are thinking about having a vegetable garden this year, today is the time to start. Vegetables can also, be planted in large containers or raised planter beds. Put on your gardening gloves and reap the rewards and benefits of a spring vegetable garden. For more information on vegetable gardening click on my blog.

Color Annuals: April is the month to start thinking about replacing your cool weather color annuals with spring and summer annuals. Here are a few of my favorites: Caladiums, Celosia, Coleus, Cosmos, Dahlberg Daisy, Dusty Miller, Gazania, Geranium, Gerbera Daisy, Ivy Geranium, Lantana, Marigolds, Mexican Sunflower, Moss Rose, Periwinkle, Petunia, Primrose, Purslane, Salvia, Snapdragons, Verbena, Wax Begonia, and Zinnia. All of the annuals mentioned can be planted in soil or in containers.

Bulbs: If you have spring bulbs that are still blooming you may want to enjoy a few of the flowers as fresh cuts indoors. On all perennial bulbs, let the foliage die back naturally, as the foliage dies the bulb transports the nutrients from the foliage to the bulb and will use the nutrients from the foliage and stores these nutrients to the bulb for next year’s growth and flowers. As the foliage dies, it may look untidy and displeasing. To alleviate this annoyance you can pull up the foliage in a bunch and then roll the foliage down as you would a paper bag, and then tie the rolled up foliage with a rubber band.

Shrubs: Trim your spring flowering shrubs after they finish blooming, and fertilize with the appropriate plant food.

Azaleas: Once your azaleas finish blooming trim back to shape. Azaleas bloom on last year’s growth so it is important to trim your Azaleas no later than the middle of June. Azalea’s set their blooms during the fall months and this is one reason to trim your Azaleas during the time frame that is provided. After pruning your Azaleas you need to fertilize them with an Azalea plant food and also add a new later of mulch. Instead of throwing your spent coffee or tea grounds away your Azaleas will benefit from sprinkling the grounds around your Azalea bushes.

Decorate Your Patio With Tropical Color: Now is the time to start thinking about spring-cleaning your patio and your patio furniture. After sprucing up your patio you may want to redecorate the patio for summer fun with Hand Crafted Cedar Planters from Hibiscus and More. Tropical color really knows how to beat the heat of summer and will bloom repeatedly through out the summer, and until first frost. Here are a few of my tropical color favorites: Allamanda, Bougainvillea, Copper Plant, Hibiscus, Mandevilla, Pentas, and Shrimp Plant. You may purchase your Hibiscus plants online at HibiscusAndMore.com. Take advantage of our 10% off spring coupon of orders $50.00 or more. Hurry the coupon expires June 30, 2009. Use redemption code: Newsletter at checkout. Visit my blog for more gardening information.

All photographs and digital images are ©Cheryl Ann Meola 2007. All Rights Reserved. All photographs and digital images displayed in this article are for viewing purposes only and cannot be duplicated.

 

Spring Vegetables

Spring Vegetables

As the weather warms, we gardeners start thinking about gardening again. With this in mind I would like to mention the wonderful benefits of a spring garden. 

Tomatoes

Home-grown vegetables have a richer, fuller, and better taste than store bought since you pick them yourself. Home-grown vegetables are easy and inexpensive to grow as well. Vegetable gardening has a lot of appeal: it can involve the entire family from the little ones to the teens. As well as being an educational tool, the time the family spends in the garden is quality time spent together and can give one a sense of pride.

Onions

In today’s economy more and more families are finding ways to save money, and one way to save money on your grocery bill would be to start your own vegetable garden. Vegetables can be grown from seeds or vegetable starts, and more retail garden centers this year are reporting that vegetable starts, and seeds are up from last year’s sales. And with our current economy more families are deciding to spend more time at home and in the garden.

Some of you may be thinking to yourself I have never grown vegetables before, and I don’t think I can grow vegetables now. One of my tasks as a professional horticulturist to a private estate was to grow home-grown vegetables. Before I tried to grow vegetables, I was not too confident about growing them. Now as a Texas Certified Horticultural Professional, I advise our retail gardening customers on how to grow vegetables. Last year I took my own vegetable gardening advice that I give to my retail gardening customers, plus my horticultural experience and put all that knowledge to the test. The results of the vegetable garden test are in the pictures included in this article.

The vegetable garden that I planted last year had a wide variety of root vegetables and above ground vegetables. Root vegetables would include potatoes, onions, garlic, carrots, turnips, rutabagas, parsnips, beets, radishes, sweet potato, and shallots. The key to growing root vegetables is giving enough space in between each plant so the actual root (vegetable) will mature and not be misshapen because of planting too close. I grew Georgia Sweet onions from onion sets, Cherry Belle radishes, and Tall Top Early Wonder beets, all from seeds. The wonderful aspect of radishes is that the radishes mature in 22 days, and to have radishes all season replant your seeds every ten days. I was amazed and thrilled at how easy it was to grow vegetables from seed. The above ground vegetables include peppers, tomatoes, strawberries, spinach, lettuce, peas, beans, sweet corn, cucumbers, and cantaloupes. For the above 

Radishes

ground vegetables, I grew from vegetable starts, green peppers, tomatoes, and strawberries; and from seed there was Tender Pod bush beans, Black-Seeded Simpson lettuce, Mesclun Sweet Salad lettuce, Little Caesar Romaine lettuce, and Early Long Purple eggplant. For recommended varieties to your area, contact your local extension office.

When planning your vegetable garden, either from vegetable starts or seeds don’t forget to add a little color to the garden. In the last couple of years seed companies have established several different colors in vegetables. You can now purchase peppers, carrots, and tomatoes seeds that will produce a wide range of colors. You can purchase bell pepper seeds that come in ivory, lavender, chocolate brown, yellow, and orange. Wouldn’t some or all of those colors look wonderful in a fresh tossed salad or homemade stuffed bell peppers? Carrot seeds now come in colors of yellow, white, golden yellow, red, light and dark purple, and of course your typical orange. Your

Beets

family will just go wild over the variety of colors that will adorn the family dinner table each evening. Tomato seeds are now available in different shades of red, orange, yellow, and even a dark brown. With all the vegetable colors that are available on the market today, you can now color coordinate your dinner plate with home-grown vegetables and become the ultimate gourmet chef without paying a gourmet price tag.

Choosing a Location: Choose an area that gets 5 - 6 

Lettuce

hours of full sun; and if, you have an area that receives more than 6 hours of sunlight that’s all right, too.

Choosing a Container(s): Pick a container that is 14 inches or larger, but the lettuces and radishes can be grown in smaller containers. I would like to suggest when growing tomatoes or peppers to put one plant per container.

Choosing Potting Soil: Several commercial potting soils are available, and choosing one is a matter of your gardening preferences. Some of the choices are inorganic verses organic, with moisture control or without moisture control, with timed-release fertilizer or without fertilizer. Some potting soils are especially formulated for vegetables.

Choosing a Fertilizer: Several commercial fertilizers are available, and choosing one is a matter of your gardening preferences. Some of the choices are water soluble, granular, time-release, slow-release, organic, or inorganic. Choose a fertilizer that is formulated for vegetable plants.

Eggplant

Choosing an Insecticide: Choosing an insecticide is a matter of your gardening preferences, and while I was growing the vegetable garden, I had an IPM (Integrated Pest Management) approach method. I would only use Safer Soaps or Horticultural Oils on all the vegetables that I grew, and realistically I hardly had to spray the vegetables at all. I was constantly watching for any insect or worm that would start eating my prize vegetables, and when I did see one, I would simply dispose of the insect.

Choosing a Vegetable Support: Some of the vegetable plants that I mentioned above will need to be staked or in need of a vegetable cage such as tomatoes, eggplant, cucumbers, peas, cantaloupes, and sometimes peppers.

Watering: Of all the ingredients that I have mentioned for vegetable gardening success, water, is the most important to a successful vegetable garden. The soil for your vegetables will need to be consistently moist at all times, and the water source should be city water or treated water. This is one of the reasons for one of last’s years E. coil outbreaks; the vegetables that were recalled received untreated water during the growing process. More gardeners are starting to grow their own vegetables this year versus last year due to the recent E. coli outbreaks in store-bought produce. Just another reason to start growing your own vegetables, you supply the water, you supply the insecticide, and you know exactly what ingredients went into your vegetables. For states that are currently under water restrictions, you can water your food crops, personal food garden, or personal vegetable garden without penalty. Wash all vegetables before eating or cooking.

Planting: There are a few vegetables that do not like to be planted next to each other, and the vegetable combinations to avoid are: 

Lettuce

Onions with peas or beans. Tomatoes or squash with potatoes.

Carrots with dill or fennel. Beans with onions and garlic.

Planting Tomato Plants: Another planting rule that has always worked for me is to plant your tomato plants deeper than the original soil line, even if you grow your tomatoes from seed. When you are ready to plant your tomato plants remove two sets of leaves or four leaves total and plant the tomato plant that

Beans and Tomatoes

deep in the soil. You just do this with tomatoes and the reason for this procedure is that tomatoes will establish more roots along the stem where you removed the leaves, and tomatoes require a lot more water than the other vegetables mentioned in this article, and tomatoes are one vegetable that is a heavy feeder, i.e. tomatoes require a steady supply of fertilizer.

An article in Chemically Speaking, January 2009 on honeybees and crop yield that has just been published may entice my readers to plant more than just a vegetable garden this spring. The article states that planting more flowers to attract honeybees will help plants defend themselves against attacks from caterpillars. The study suggests that this could lead to a new biological control method to try.

Put on your gardening gloves and reap the rewards and benefits of a spring vegetable garden. Tastier vegetables than store bought that you harvest on your own. As a vegetable gardener you know the ingredients, and there is nothing more rewarding than tasting the “vegetables” of your labors. 

For more gardening information about Roses visit my Spring Newsletter.

All photographs maybe purchased as fine art prints at HibiscusandMore.com  

All photographs and digital images are ©Cheryl Ann Meola. All Rights Reserved. All photographs and digital images displayed in this newsletter are for viewing purposes only and cannot be duplicated or copied.

Botanical stock photography visit https://www.shutterstock.com/g/Cheryl+Ann+Meola

Seasonal and floral stock photography visit https://stock.adobe.com/contributor/210785031/Cheryl