Garden Tools: tips, resources and reviews for gardeners

Yellowjackets are at their most aggressive in late summer so it is understandable that people want to destroy their nests. Before you pull out the can of pesticide, remember that wasps are considered beneficial insects that eat plant-eating bugs, and will only inhabit their nest for one season. This article from Washington State Extension gives good advice on how to deal with these insects.

Turn your garden into a little oasis for wildlife by growing plants that provide food for flying and buzzing creatures. The National Wildlife Foundation has articles on attracting bats, birds, bees, and other wild critters, as well as how to deal with the not-so-welcome.

After you've done your homework and planted wildlife feeding plants you might be ready to declare your yard a Wildlife Sanctuary. For an information package on becoming a backyard wildlife habitat manager send $5.00 to: Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, Backyard Wildlife Sanctuary Program, 16018 Mill Creek Blvd, Mill Creek, WA 98012. More information online.

August is a good time to lift and divide your Bearded Iris, but don't touch your Pacific Coast Native Iris until the rains return in fall. To learn more about the joys of growing this "Flower of the Rainbow" go to the American Iris Society's website.

The King County Iris Society holds lectures and events throughout the year and publishes a monthly newsletter. Their annual rhizome sale is September 13 and 14 at Crossroads Mall 15600 NE 8th St, Bellevue. To join the society send $10.00 to KCIS Membership Chair, PO Box 95538, Seattle, WA 98145-2538. Online at www.kcis.org.

Has the sweet aroma of lilacs tempted you to cut a few twigs for the house? Lilacs and other woody flowering shrubs can be disappointing in an arrangement unless they receive special treatment before they go in the vase.

As you cut the branches, place them in water. When you get them in the house, submerge the branches up to the flower in coolish water let them sit for 30 minutes or so, this is a sort of curing step and is very important. Before putting the lilacs into the new water, strip all but the most necessary leaves, and then break the stems at the bottom. They should be split at the ends to open the capillaries so water can reach the flowers. Ideally you should cut the flowers early in the morning, as that is the best time to cut and then don't arrange them till you get home from work. When you are ready to put the branches in a vase add a tiny bit of bleach and a little sugar to the water, its best if this water is also cool.

Then just enjoy them. Add more water daily keeping the level high and change it if the water gets cloudy or smelly, but the bleach should keep this from happening. Also moving them to a cool location at night, like a back porch helps even more. Processing woody branches takes more time but it is worth it in the long run.

Usually by late May the Pacific Northwest has received a few days of 80-degree weather. By then soil has finally warmed up enough to plant beans. Grow gourmet French beans, an heirloom variety your grandmother grew, or the edible ornamental 'Painted Lady' named after Queen Elizabeth I. Read more about growing beans in the Pacific Northwest at www.rainyside.com

Eradicating blackberry vines may seem hopeless, especially if you don't want to use chemicals, but don't give up just yet. The Northwest Coalition for Alternatives to Pesticides advises gardeners to cut off the top growth, dig out the main root-ball, and then follow-up by mowing all new growth. Planting desirable plants to shade out the sun loving blackberries is also critical. Read the NCAP's blackberry management plan (pdf).

Think you'll solve your weed problem by laying down some weed-barrier fabric, bark mulch and a few shrubs planted through a slit? This "permanent" solution may in fact cause more weed problems than it solves. Linda Chalker-Scott, Extension Urban Horticulturist, Puyallup Research and Extension Center, Washington State University did research to debunk this myth. Read about why landscape fabric fails.

Interested in joining a garden club, but not sure where to find one? The Washington State Federation of Garden Clubs connects gardeners to garden clubs in their region. Email them your name and location and they will give you the name of the district leader for your area: stmembershipchair@WAGardenClubs.org.

By joining the North American Butterfly Association for $30 per year you will support habitat conservation and research, plus receive two magazine subscriptions to learn more about gardening to encourage butterflies. For more information go to www.naba.org or write to NABA, 4 Delaware Road, Morristown, NJ 07960. To identify butterflies and caterpillars visit the Butterflies and Moths of North America website.

Want to encourage butterflies to take up residence in your garden this year? Red Osier Dogwood and willows are just a few of the plants that caterpillars eat, while adult butterflies drink the nectar from Western Mock Orange and zinnias. Read a brochure produced by the Washington chapter of the North American Butterfly Association to learn more about what plants support butterflies (pdf).For a print copy send $5 to Butterfly Gardens & Habitats, 909 Birch St., Baraboo, WI 53913 USA. Specify "Western Washington")