There's nothing quite as frustrating as an otherwise healthy lilac bush that just won't bloom. It's a common problem and here's a rundown of the most common reasons:  

• Shade
  Excess shade is the most likely culprit when lilacs fail to bloom well. Lilacs bloom best in full sunlight, or at least a half day sun. Anything less will mean fewer flowers developing. When they're in a location that's shaded all day, lilacs rarely bloom at all.
• Pruning  Any pruning should be done right after the flowers fade in spring. If you wait until mid- to late summer to do it, you may not see many flowers the following year. That's because the flower buds for the following year are set shortly after the plant is through blooming.
• Nutrients  Lilacs don't need fertilizer to make them bloom. In fact, an abundance of nutrients, especially nitrogen, encourages the lilac to make a lot of leafy, vegetative growth - which may come at the expense of flower bud development.
• Moisture
  Lilacs grow best in well-drained soil. While wet, poorly-drained soil isn't directly associated with lack of blooms, it is associated with plants that develop roots or generally fail to thrive. If you have a young lilac in a low lying moist location, transplant it to a more favorable site if at all possible.

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There's nothing quite as refreshing as the feeling of walking barefoot on a dew-covered lawn first thing in the morning. Nothing will ruin that feeling faster than stepping on a big ol' slimy slug. Aesthetically these guys have no redeeming properties at all. They can wreak havoc on your garden as well. Young slugs will damage your plants by rasping away the surface of plant leaves for food. They can eat 30 to 40 times their weight every day! The adults chew holes in leaves and leave slime trails on your precious plants. If you don't already have a favorite and effective way to control slugs try these tricks:

• Slugs like the dark and damp. Place a board over damp ground for a hiding place during the day. Check each morning and destroy any slugs that have gathered on the bottom of the board.
• Slugs are attracted to and drown in shallow dishes containing beer. Set the top edges of the dish at ground level and cover loosely with a board so slugs can easily get into the brew.
• If you don't like the idea of killing slugs you can try physical barriers, Slugs will not cross rough surfaces. Sprinkle ashes or special slug barriers around the perimeter of the garden. Stay on top of this method however. If rain, wind, or anything else sweeps the barrier away you can count on the slugs exploiting the breach in your defenses.

Most of us are creatures of habit. When it comes to mowing your lawn you probably follow the same back and forth pattern every time you cut the grass. Unfortunately this regular practice will eventually wear ruts in the lawn where the mower wheels repeatedly follow the same path. To avoid this problem try a four-way rotation of cutting patterns. Picture your lawn as a sheet of paper and try these patterns. Next week - tango lessons:

"Why are wildflowers so important to those of us who care
at all for flowers? For me, anyway, it is because they come
like gifts from God (or Nature), and to encounter them in their natural habitat is an extraordinary aesthetic pleasure."  

~ Katharine S. White