If you're planting flower bulbs just add dog hair into each whole that you dug for the bulb.  Put the bulb on top of the dog hair and then just cover the hole with the dirt.  The chipmunks won't bother any of your bulbs.  I have thousands of flower bulbs planted, I've added dog hair in each whole (no my dogs aren't bald) and I've never had a chipmunk bother my bulbs.  Yes, I have loads of chipmunks.  Also, planting daffodils can deter the chipmunks from digging in your flower bed.

I feed my chipmunks and squirrels all year long.  People say don't you get more of those furry creatures?  No, I have a few squirrels that live up in my trees and when another squirrel tries to come in from another area and horn in on the bounty, the other squirrels chase it away.  In fact I have 5 gray squirrels, 2 red squirrels, one black squirrel and hordes of chipmunks that come and feed during the day.

Garlic you say?  Yes, you can also put a fresh garlic clove down the chipmunk hole too.  The chippies just hate the smell of the garlic and will leave.  But, be prepared you may get garlic growing in your garden (great for a vegetable garden).   That's one reason I don't use the garlic is because it sprouted every place I put it.  When the garlic sprouted in my flower beds it looked like tall weeds growing up.  So I stick to the dog hair, it does a good job and doesn't cost me a cent. 

Make sure you try and resist picking the daffodils.  Its best to let the flower stay, so it will get the nutrients it needs for next year.  Also, don't cut off the leaves or tie them up so they die quicker.  This again, won't let the proper nutrients get back into the bulb so it will flower nicely next spring.  My daffodil leaves stay on until July, when they start to yellow a little I may clip them off, depending where they are at in my flower bed. Others stay on until they die out on their own. But this may vary depending where you are located at.  Being I'm in zone 4-5 the bulbs will come up later then someone in zone 7.

Adding bulb fertilizer in the fall and early spring is also a good idea.  This helps to make a good healthy bulb, which makes extra little bulbs and in turn makes more flowers.  My daffodils have been to healthy.  After about 15 years, I finally dug mine up in one of my flower beds.  I started out with about 150 bulbs and ended up well over 1000.  The reason I knew I had to get them separated, was do to the fact I wasn't getting very many flowers, all I was getting was mostly leaves.  I couldn't have that, I love daffodils and more the merrier!

My clematis you see in the picture above is many years old.  In fact I was ready to dig it up being it wouldn't bloom for me.  The secret to the clematis, make sure you mulch the root base so the roots stay cool but the top portion likes more sun.  But, I have clematis growing up oak trees which gets some shade.  It really depends on the soil they are in and giving them a good fertilizer in the spring.  

The beautiful hibiscus is a sight to behold.  When this plant blooms in the summer it covers the new growth with those bright pink blooms.  The old growth dies off in the late fall then in the late spring early summer it starts putting out its new growth.  Every year the brush gets bigger and bigger with more blooms to enjoy.  Of course I do feed it the Triple Super Phosphate to I get more of those wonderful blooms.

Sometimes to get certain bushes to bloom, you may have to cut them back or damage them by hitting the bush with a stick.  When you damage the bush (not hard) it sends a message for the bush to stop growing and send out blossoms instead.  That's what I've been told, but I've never gotten it to work for me.  I just dig the bush up and tell it I'm going to flush it down the toilet if it doesn't blossom.  I then replant the bush give it a good understanding and leave it alone, of course water and feed it.  That has worked for me lots of times and the blooms I get are wonderful.  

Do you have a bush that never blooms for you?  Check to find out if the bush sends out blossoms on new wood (this years growth) or old wood (previous years growth).  This makes a big difference if you live in a cold climate where your bush dies back and only sends out new growth in the springtime.  For example I have 3 flowering mock orange bushes and they never have blossomed for me.  I finally asked a nurseryman if the mock orange blooms on new wood or old wood?  He stated it was old wood.  Well, that's the reason why my mock oranges hasn't given me a single bloom, because it dies back in the winter and sends out new shoots in the spring.  So, now I have to find a good way to cover these bushes during the winter so the old growth doesn't die back so much. 

Invasive Plants & Banned Plants

 A garden tip for controlling invasive plants.  These plants can be a gardeners dream or nightmare being they can cover a large area quickly.  For example in the above pictures is a perfect example of an invasive plant, that's right I said plant.  The plant is a pink strawberry plant that I bought 3-4 years ago.  Now the plant has covered an entire bed which is about 100 feet long and 10 feet wide.  Being the pink strawberry plant puts out runners, it will cover very large areas unless its controlled.  In fact, I have to keep cutting this plant back because its growing onto the road.  Being there is sand and some dirt down by the road its a happy camper and is sprouting babies.  This plant does get eatable strawberries on it but I don't get a one from that whole bank.  My wonderful chipmunk friends eat the strawberries before they turn completely ripe.

The creeping jenny that you see in the picture above is banned now in New England.  It will cover everything and anything in its path when left unattended.  I have some creeping jenny that I planted before it was banned, it has covered areas where nothing else will grow.  But, left unattended it will start to grow up trees and in places it shouldn't be at.  The roots are small but every little runner has its own root system that's why it grows like it does.  In the spring when it starts to come out, its a very pretty yellowish gold color, then it gets small yellow flowers on it, then after that it turns more greenish color in shaded areas.  If you give the plant more sun it will stay that pretty yellowish gold color.  Being I can no longer get this plant, I take and transplant it out of the beds where its getting over grown and put it in other beds.  It takes very well to being transplanted which makes it a shame that its a banned plant.

Keep checking back to this page from time to time for further information on various gardening tips, I'm sure you will enjoy them.

Loraine