Your All Things Plants newsletter for December 5, 2011

• 11 new members.
• 144 new threads.
• 2,913 new posts.
• 1,424 new images to the plant database.
• 365 new comments in the plant database.

News from Trish:

NJBob is generously hosting a contest for 250 acorns (enough to purchase both a shirt and mug!). Get the details: https://allthingsplants.com/thread/view/6544/Contest-For-the-...

There were 4 new articles published last week:

First week in December- chat By Trish Whitinger on December 4, 2011 I can hardly believe it- already the first week in December! Come tell me about the holiday preparations at your house! (15 comments)

Garden Tours: LarryR, Larry Rettig By Sharon Brown on December 3, 2011 It's to Iowa we travel this week, to visit the gardens of Larry Rettig and his wife, Wilma. I've been fortunate, I met Larry's Amana Colonies garden face to face earlier this year. I wandered those garden paths for days and every day I found something new. Let's take a look at these unbelievably bea... (26 comments)

All about Horehound By Christine Gaither on December 2, 2011 A nice hot cup of horehound tea with honey and lemon, a warm slice of banana nut bread covered in melted butter; it's one of my fondest childhood memories. With winter and the holidays just around the corner, I'm reminded of horehound and what a special herb it is. (15 comments)

All about Holly By Sharon Brown on November 30, 2011 It was a mystery. All my friends could decorate their homes with holly for Christmas but I was never allowed to cut its branches. It was years before I could understand the magic of the holly tree. (38 comments)

Daily Gardening Tips from this week:

December 5, 2011: I keep a few small jars in my shed so that when I see a bug that I don't recognize I put it in the jar until I find out what it is, that way I don't kill the good bugs. Tip and photo by mcash70 - (2 comments)

December 4, 2011: When rolling up an extension cord, first stretch out the cord completely. Then, take the plug-in end and walk it back to the other plug in end. So now the cord is in half. Then start at the plug-in end and pull the rest of the cord to you in a circle... once you get to the "loop" at the end, wrap it two times around the middle of the circle and slip the "loop" part through the hole at the top of the circle. You can then hang the extension cord from this loop! Tip and photo by Christine27360 - (6 comments)

December 3, 2011: Grow Mint. It's not only a great herb but a natural pesticide, and using natural pesticides whenever possible means less chemicals to harm the earth. Pinch and crush a few mint leaves and place under cabinets and around doors where ants might enter. Other natural pesticides: A thin amount of lemon juice along door jambs will keep out ants also. Garlic or Cayenne Pepper sprinkled on plants keeps Aphids at bay. Tip by plantladylin Photo by mom2goldens - (12 comments)

December 2, 2011: During the winter bury your coffee grounds and other compost-able material directly in your garden. Come spring it will have decayed into a nice black planting spot full of worms. Tip by postmandug Photo by mcash70 - (34 comments)

December 1, 2011: Turn an unused tool bag into a garden bag. There are plenty of dividers and little compartments for a wide variety of supplies. It’s handy to carry to a potting bench, greenhouse, garden, or plant swap. Tip and photo by patrob - (4 comments)

November 30, 2011: Uses for an electric toothbrush: Cleaning gardening dirt out from under my finger- and toe-nails Making the tiles in my fountain spotless Removing mortar and grout when working on mosaic projects Save the old brushes to pop back on the handle for various non-dental uses. Tip by imapigeon Photo by gardengus - (8 comments)

November 29, 2011: Recycle your gardening catalogs and magazine at nursing homes and doctors' offices. The pretty pictures bring far more joy than outdated magazines. Tip by CindiKS Photo by gardengus - (6 comments)