In the last post, TheGardenLady explained one reason why this time of year makes her sad.  Here’s another reason, the fear of bringing in plant pests.
Whitefly is of special concern.  See here.  Whitefly can get on your plants when they are outdoors. But it is a major problem of greenhouses or homes. One of the [...]

TheGardenLady received this question from Devon.
Do you have any tips on controlling fungus gnats.  I have some in a herb planter, so i don’t want to use chemicals because I’d still like to be able to consume the herbs.
Fungus gnats look like tiny mosquitos that are about 1/8 inch in length. They lay their eggs [...]

TheGardenLady received this question from Linda.
I have a peace lily indoor plant which has sentimental value to me and over the past winter it has contracted a leaf condition – the leaves die from the tip towards the stem.  It’s as though a critter is “sucking” the life from it. It still flowers, [...]

A reader of TheGardenLady blog wrote this column about an exciting happening in California on Sat., March 28, 2009.
If we were questioning the calendar, residents in the Bay Area of California knew for certain that Spring had arrived on Saturday, March 28. By late morning, it was well into the 70s and supposedly some thermometers [...]

Every reader of TheGardenLady knows the importance of pollinators to pollinate (pol·li·nate- definition of the verb; To transfer pollen from an anther to the stigma of (a flower)  flowers, vegetables and other plants, shrubs and trees.)
All agriculture depends on pollinators.  “Pollinators are essential to Life.”  We’ve read numerous articles about the problem called bee Colony [...]

                          Photo taken by urtica
One of the subjects TheGardenLady has been planning on writing about is invasive plants. Today she received this notice of a seminar at Rutgers on this very topic. If you are interested in learning how you can help in preventing foreign plants and insects from crowding out our natives, please contact [...]

 
                           Photo taken by juggzy_malone
TheGardenLady received this question from Liz on her “Caring for Marigolds” post.

I am growing marigolds in tall (3″) pots in a very sunny location of my backyard. In the pots I have also planted white flowering bacopa, ivy and a browny spikey grass (not sure of the name).  Everything in the pots were growing [...]

                                                                            
TheGardenLady received this question from Joyce.
I love marigolds but am unable to keep them healthy. I have had the same problem in the past and gave up on them for a while. Now several years later the problem still persists. The foliage looks fine but the flowers and buds (all stages) are full of worms. [...]

TheGardenLady received this question from Joy:
Are you aware of the honeybee crisis and do you think that it will have an
effect on gardening and domestic plants?
The Garden Lady has been hearing about the bee crisis for a number of years.  The Garden Lady has noticed fewer and fewer bees on her property even though she [...]

TheGardenLady received these questions about vermicomposting from Ashley -
I have recently started a barrel composter. It is a modified 55 gallon foodsafe drum/barrel that is working nicely. Can I add worms to this? Because it is off the ground they will not enter natually, and I have been hearing so much about [...]