Your All Things Plants weekly news
May 31, 2014

This Week's Gardening Ideas:

Sturdy Markers for Plants from the Thrift Store

By ViolaAnn
May 31, 2014
Sturdy Markers for Plants from the Thrift Store

Are you tired of plastic markers breaking? I had often used sturdy plastic knives to mark plants, but they didn't last long in our cold climate. I suddenly thought of all the used flatware at my local thrift store. Stopped by there and came home with a whole bag of sturdy stainless knives which work well to label my small hostas. Use a marking pen designed for the garden and they should last awhile before they need redoing.

Do Your Fingers a Favor

By gingin
May 30, 2014
Do Your Fingers a Favor

When weeding a pot of cactus, use tweezers for safety. (68 words - Read the full article)

ATP Podcast #58: Preparing for Summer, and Garden Design

By dave
May 29, 2014
ATP Podcast #58: Preparing for Summer, and Garden Design

With Memorial Day behind us, summer is sort of, kind of, well, is it officially here? Let's say yes. So with summer upon us, it's time to summerize our gardens! We'll talk about our best tips on getting your garden in tip top shape for the coming hot and dry months of summer. Also, Trish will share some great tips on planning a garden design. There is a bonus video attached to the show notes, showing our tomatoes.

Reuse Those Coffee and Creamer Containers

By blue23rose
May 28, 2014
Reuse Those Coffee and Creamer Containers

Plastic coffee and creamer containers make good pots to plant seeds in. (124 words - Read the full article)

Hemostat Pliers for Tiny Weeds

By chickhill
May 27, 2014
Hemostat Pliers for Tiny Weeds

Hemostat pliers make a good tool for getting around/between Sempervivum and Sedum plants when you're weeding. You don't have to lock them. Just close and pull.

Slug Necklace

By Bonehead
May 26, 2014
Slug Necklace

Pennies glued to a cardboard collar, to deter both slugs and weeds. (263 words - Read the full article)

Photography Tip: Showing Scale

By robertduval14
May 25, 2014
Photography Tip: Showing Scale

When small items such as seeds are being photographed, it's fairly common to place a common item near them to give a sense of their size. (52 words - Read the full article)

The most popular images last week from our plant database:

Photo of Daylily (Hemerocallis 'Tutankhamun') by Heart2Heart:
Image from plant ID 18426

Photo of Daylily (Hemerocallis 'Helix') by Heart2Heart:
Image from plant ID 4682

Photo of Iris (Iris 'Ocelot') by diggit:
Image from plant ID 71923

Photo of Daylily (Hemerocallis 'Purple Tarantula') by floota:
Image from plant ID 182229

Photo of Daylily (Hemerocallis 'Bells and Whistles') by flaflwrgrl:
Image from plant ID 39702

Photo of Moss Rose (Portulaca grandiflora) by Cocobid:
Image from plant ID 78482

The most popular Multi-Plant Photos from last week:

Multi-plant photo by kosk0025:
Image by kosk0025

Multi-plant photo by valleylynn:
Image by valleylynn

Multi-plant photo by Paul2032:
Image by Paul2032

Multi-plant photo by treehugger:
Image by treehugger

Multi-plant photo by Paul2032:
Image by Paul2032

Multi-plant photo by ge1836:
Image by ge1836

Noteworthy acorn tips given this week:
8 people gave for post #624390 in "Banner for May 28, 2014 by mcash70" by mcash70

6 people gave for post #626333 in "Banner for May 30, 2014 by Ursula" by Ursula

4 people gave for the idea "Slug Necklace" by Bonehead

4 people gave for post #621896 in "Banner for May 25, 2014 by terrafirma" by terrafirma

3 people gave for the idea "Reuse Those Coffee and Creamer Containers" by blue23rose

3 people gave for the idea "Dave's Super Easy Two Person Weeding Technique" by dave

3 people gave for the idea "ATP Podcast #58: Preparing for Summer, and Garden Design" by dave

3 people gave for the idea "Sturdy Markers for Plants from the Thrift Store" by ViolaAnn

3 people gave for the Multi-Plant Photo #1389 by TBGDN

2 people gave for the idea "Photography Tip: Showing Scale" by robertduval14

The most active threads this week:
Subject OP Area Replies
Halalulia Brother! tveguy3 Irises forum 147
Finally! Snork Irises forum 79
What's going on in our Summer Vegetable Gardens? Newyorkrita Edibles and Preserving forum 75
Where is the Pacific Northwest ?? Bonehead Pacific Northwest Gardening forum 47
Support for a Healthy Lifestyle- Summer Newyorkrita Sandbox forum 47
Purslane/Portulaca Boopaints Plant Database forum 45
Just a few pretties ilovejesus99 Garden Art forum 34
Favorite tropicals for that tropical feel? OldGardener Tropicals forum 26
Get ready for the 2014 Caladiums Photo Contest! dave Site Talk forum 25

Some new reviews from the ATP Green Pages:
Paul2032 recommended Plant Delights Nursery, Inc. and wrote:

I saw a picture of Hosta Bridal Falls, a sport of the gorgeous Niagara Falls, in the recent Hosta Journal and fell for it. I checked for sources and found it at Plant Delights Nursery so I called and ordered two. They arrived today and I am a happy hostaholic. Nice sized plants, each with 3 divisions. Packing was great. Shipping seemed a little bit expensive but I'm glad to have them. ....both plants

Moiris recommended Belmont Nursery and wrote:

Belmont Nursery is a California Certified Nursery serving the wholesale and retail markets. They operate out of a 10-acre distribution site and have 3 offsite grow locations. They are very large, have an excellent selection, and propagate the majority of their trees, shrubs, and perennials. They work with individual homeowners as well as landscape professionals. It is always a treat to visit Belmont Nursery and see the new plants they have available.
Moiris recommended The Greenery and wrote:

The Greenery is a mid-sized nursery with a gift/garden shop. They have a great selection of perennials, shrubs, trees, ornamentals, annuals, succulents, and 'California Friendly' drought tolerant plants. They also have a nice selection of pottery, statues, and garden ornaments. Their staff are highly trained. They provide speakers for public events (for a fee). They also sell items for food preserving and have occasional classes and workshops.
Moiris recommended Iris Sisters Farm and wrote:

I purchased about a dozen iris cultivars from Robin Shadlow (the owner) last summer. Her farm is right across the street from Keith Kepple. The rhizomes I received were beautiful and she sent me a lot of very nice bonus irises too! She was great to work with. I will definitely be ordering from her again this year!
kqcrna recommended Nature's Corner Greenhouses and wrote:

Located in a western suburb of Cincinnati, Nature's Corner is a quality local greenhouse. They carry a nice selection of annuals, perennials, tropicals... a little of everything. I buy there often and have always been pleased with nice, healthy plants.

We keep growing, because ATP is where all the excitement is these days! Check out these numbers from last week: