By Amor Chamness
DEAR AMOR: I love growing roses in my property. Somehow, my rose bushes are not as great as my friends. How do some gardeners make their roses bear large blossoms? Brian.
DEAR BRIAN: Growing large roses do not materialize just because someone has a green thumb. Planting the appropriate kind of roses that can grow big and be lusciously fragrant, my penny’s worth, is the key. What good is a rose without its lovable scent? That’s basically what people do – smell the blooming roses!
Rose bouquets bought as gifts for loved ones certainly lack the sweet aroma despite a perfect appearance. In that regard, home-grown roses are preferable to store-bought bouquets.
By Amor Chamness
DEAR AMOR: I have a couple of gardening tips I want to share. To save space, plant pumpkins and winter squashes among the corn. Corn grows high, vines stay low. But do not plant decorative corn next to eating corn. They cross-pollinate and you get colorful hard kernels instead. – Lisa
DEAR LISA: Thank you for sharing the tips. Since gardening season is here, the fun begins for gardening enthusiasts. Our hands are anxious to finally sow seeds and tackle the weeds.
Oh wait, not weeds again!
Growing pumpkins and squash among the corn will save space as they share one spot in the garden. The robust growth of pumpkins and winter squash, however, will smother and prevent weed from growing. This method could bring a bountiful harvest.
By Amor Chamness Cook
DEAR AMOR: Spring is here. I can tell because I already have thistles growing in my yard and landscaping beds. I feel like I ve tried everything over the years to kill these things, to no avail. I ve blasted them with weed killer, cut them, pulled them (which I later learned is not the best idea). I ve even cut the stalks and injected weed killer via syringe into the stalk and they still grow back. Is there any way to eradicate these things for good? Steve
DEAR STEVE: You are not the only one tortured by these noxious, unwelcome weeds. I have been being patient with my yearly battle with them as well.
Amor Chamness Cook
DEAR AMOR: What is the best way to get rid of squash bugs? Chelsey
DEAR CHELSEY: I can relate to your squash-bug disgust. Squash bugs, anasa tristis, can infest vining plants like gourd, squash, pumpkin, cucumber, cantaloupe and watermelon.
As a gardener, I take pride in the many vegetable varieties I’m able to grow. There is one vegetable, however, that I will not grow. I had observed that whenever I had kabocha squash, countless squash bugs were infesting it, covering the whole vine patch.
Beyond my unfortunate failure in raising kabocha, I have maintained my yearly crop of vine plants through the years. Included in my must-haves are my favorite kinds of gourd, summer and winter squash, cucumber, cantaloupe, and watermelon. By experience, these don t seem to attract thousands of those super pesky bugs in my garden. If they were present, it had not caught my attention at all. Yes, I do watch my garden grow.