Day Neutral Strawberries

I finally got the strawberry types straight, and found out the kind I want in my garden - "day neutrals."

That's the name of strawberries that keep giving berries all season. Their name comes from them not taking cues from the length of sunlight, which triggers other varieties. Not to be confused with "everbearing strawberries," which really provide fruit only a couple of times during their growing season, once in June, then again early fall.

Regular strawberries fruit once, maybe twice, in June.

Besides frequency of fruit, day neutral strawberries tend to be smaller than new strawberry hybrids but they make it up in delicious, continuous fruiting!

Must Plant Marigolds!

If there's one plant you need in your garden, it's marigolds.

These hardy annuals bloom in spite of hot, dry weather - the pot marigolds even open and close with the sun.

In addition to being very easy to start from seeds, marigold roots exude thiophenes, which kill nematodes. They're also a natural pest repellent and for years have been planted around garden borders.

Once you buy old-fashioned marigolds, you can save seeds and re-plant the following year and still have enough to share!

"Swinging" Spring Peeper!

It's a sure sign of spring when one hears Missouri's native frogs known as "spring peepers" singing. As tiny as they are - maybe 2 inches long - they sure can make noise! I usually hear them first mid-February, when we have our first warm week in winter.  One afternoon, it sounded like I had a convention of them on my deck.  I looked around empty flower pots, deck furniture, the covered grill, trying to locate who was originating the tell-tale sound. As I was leaving the deck, I finally met one of the little singers, swinging on the deck gate!

Rib-It!

Margaret, my oldest cat, is fascinated with frogs.

After Margaret takes her 10 steps into Bluebird Gardens with me for her daily "walk," she likes to settle into the impatiens. (I haven't had the heart to tell her white's just not the best camouflage color.)

The last time a frog jumped by, Margaret jumped in right after him!

Frog was fine. Margaret dog-paddled around until she found a spot to climb out, then walked  back to the front door.

Hmmm, word must be getting around.  I don't see any frogs - do you??

Don't Poo-Poo These Caterpillars

I had exhausted my options of what to call these very odd-looking caterpillars hanging onto the trunk and leaves of my potted orange tree on the deck as I was trying to identify them with an online search. I was about to brush them off orange tree leaves on my deck, thinking some bird had settled in the tree for the morning, when one of them moved his head and stuck out little red antenna. After several searches for brown caterpillars and caterpillars with red antenna, turns out these interesting-looking caterpillars, ranging in size from 1 to 2 inches, are know as bird-poop caterpillars and will soon become swallowtail butterflies! Another good reason not to use pesticides in the garden. Now I need to make sure I have enough good flowers in the garden they like to munch....

Teeny Tiny Hummingbirds?

No, but they sure look like it!

Salvia are hardy bloomers. These hardy annuals live in pots around our deck all summer and get moved inside during winter. Salvia varieties grow about 3 feet high and wide on sturdy stalks. They are fast and constant bloomers. I remove spent flowers when there are only a couple flowers left at the bottom of the flower stalk to encourage more blooms. Bees, butterflies, moths and hummingbirds regularly pay visits. We've also seen other salvia varieties in white, blue and purple.

What's In a Rose

Neighbors keep telling me I can't grow roses on my Missouri limestone hill.

I haven't told my roses yet. They're all rescues, left-over potted roses from the end of the growing season. Sometimes I don't even know what kind or color they are, so when they finally bloom it's a delightful surprise.

Did you know roses are edible?

I once garnished a friend's salad with one. Come to think about it, she hasn't spoken to me since…