Ted Wight's St. Louis Style

Bamboo Control

I love bamboo, though it is not for the casual gardener.  It is tough, aggressive and unruly.  It can literally take over your yard and your neighbors.  The running forms of bamboo can not just be placed in the ground without proper barriers put in place.  Even with barriers, it is guaranteed to escape.  I use 18" metal roof flashing around my yellow-groove bamboo grove.  A lower form of running bamboo, that I planted a couple years ago, I thought would be contained by a concrete walkway.  Before I knew it, it was running up on the other side of the walk.  This local gardener has put together a nice tutorial on pruning bamboo rhizomes (runners)....which is supposed to be done this time of the year.  Read it HERE.

Are Japanese Beetles Invading Your Garden?

Just this week a plague of Japanese Beetles descended on my garden and have been voraciously eating my plants.  They seem to like rose pedals and anything else that is pretty.  Last year I tried the traps, though I now understand that these may attract more to your yard unless all of your neighbors also have traps.  The other day I tried spraying the plants with soapy water....this did not work.  I then tried just knocking them into a container of soapy water.  This seems to work.  They are very clumsy and just drop in to drown in their soapy bath.  I just went out into my garden this morning and find that they are still sleepy in the morning and take the plunge more readily.  In the heat of the day, about half of your prey will fly off.

Let me know what works for you!

 

 

Leaves damaged by these annoying beetles.

Deck Plantings

My deck plantings are growing leaps and bounds.  I have really gotten into colored foliage as the priority on the deck.

 

A pot on my driveway.....it seems that I see this part of my garden the most pulling in and out of my garage.

 

This picture was shot on May 2nd.  So much hope sprouting from those pots!

St. Louis Style Has a New Camera!

The days of populating this site with images from my little pocket Canon camera are gone.  We have upgraded to a Nikon COOLPIX P100. I still need to figure out how to use it.

This pic was shot with the new camera.

 

 

 

Small Pots with Succulents/Sedums

One of the hardest things to have on your patio during the hot St. Louis summers are plants in small pots.  They dry up the moment that you water them.  I have found that using sedums and other succulents work well.

 

Feverfew

When I was about 14 years old I used to help a neighbor in her garden. She gave me a little Feverfew plant from her garden.  Ancestors of that same plant are still springing up in my gardens in town and out in the country.  It is a little bit of a weed, though I love it.

 

Canterbury Bells

When a house was being torn down in my neighborhood I quickly went over to save some of the plants in the garden.  These are some of my finds.  I think they are Canterbury Bells, though someone correct me if I am wrong.

Morning Garden Pics

Finally the sun has emerged and I can start thinking about gardening again.  The roses are beautiful this year!  The pictures are from my U City garden.

 

 

 

Bamboo

I love the various bamboos that I have in my garden here in town and out at our farm.  The problem is that all of the varieties that I have are spreading and not clumping.  Even though I have barriers in the ground to keep it from spreading too far....it still escapes. 

Baptisia- Yellow False Indigo

I just love my Yellow Baptisia in my garden. Not many of the other perennials have started to think about putting on a show, though this one certainly is not waiting for anything.  Baptisia is related to the pea family.