You know, if your plants that you have been patiently waiting and hoping would finally come out of their dormancy are still looking dead then it is time to do the laundry and throw in the towel. Many of the butterfly bushes, roses, and crape myrtles have begun putting out new growth at the bottom. So, prune off all the dead upper growth and revel in the fact that it did survive this harsh winter. It may be just as small as if you had put in a new plant but you at least didn't have to fork out any money to get that smaller size. But...If it's dead....It's DEAD!

You know, it's time to apply your second round of insecticide for bagworms. This will be your last chance until next May to get the little buggers without having to physically pick them off.

Monday-Saturday

9am - 5pm

Closed Sundays and Holidays

You Know (oops...here's one I missed ), the ugly green, shiny clumps of stuff that shoot up all over your landscape beds and every other place in the spring that you can't seem to kill no matter how much you pull on it or spray it with Roundup?
Well, there is a simple explanation as to "why" it is so hard to eliminate.

There are 2 culprits working against you on this one.
First, there is the shiny stem. This stem has a very waxy coating that prevents the herbicide such as Roundup from sticking to it long enough to kill it. If you are attempting to use this method then be sure to scratch into the stems in several places to "wound" the plant so that the herbicide can stick to it and be taken up by it.

Second is the fact that often when you try to pull it up out of the ground you feel this great rush of joy come over you only to find another clump a few weeks later in the very same spot. It's like the Wild Onion exists in life just to taunt you.
However, the real reason why it comes back is that when you pull it up the little babies that were attached to their mother and clinging for life just broke off and got abandoned below ground to start growing on their own.


Lots of loosely attached wild onion children

The best method to rid your landscape and garden of this plant is to take a small trowel or shovel and physically dig up the clump. And, DO NOT shake the extra dirt off the clump as you will probably be returning the itty bitty, teeny weenie family members back to their home so they can start their new life without Mommy, and to again make your life miserable.

There is also a close cousin of this plant that looks almost exactly like the wild onion. It is.....


Wild Garlic

They are often mistaken for each other as they look exactly alike at first glance and have very similar smells. The biggest difference for all of us concerned is that Wild Onion has a flat solid green stem and the Wild Garlic has a hollow green stem.
Now, if I were a betting man, that little bit of info might be able to win you a free drink.

Wild Onion - flat, solid stem

Now the good news....

Don't get excited about the appearance of either of these.
Be happy! They can be a fine addition to any meal. Just like their cultivated relatives that you buy at the grocery store all parts of these plants are edible and can be eaten raw or used for flavorings in your everyday meal. Just clean and peal off the outer layer of skin and gnaw away. They are however a wee bit stronger to taste so a tiny amount will go a long way.
A free meal from Ma Nature! Can it get any better than that?

There is one cautionary statement to go along here...
Don't eat them if you have previously applied a herbicide or have a lawn service spraying for weeds.
And, Don't eat it if it doesn't smell oniony!!




All that is left to say about Wild Onions and Wild Garlic

is......







Come on Baby....get in real close and let your big Daddy get a good whiff of that sweet onion breath!

                                                                          ....Anne Sexton