Dear ##firstname[Friend]##,

Crystal Rennicke

Each Mother’s Day, my mom and I head to the garden center to purchase essentials for spring planting. This year, I’m going to stick to my budget, avoid impulse buys and plant veggies to save money. What ways are you gardening smarter and thriftier this year? Share your tips with us and we might put your ideas in our next issue!

Do you receive our FREE Birds & Blooms newsletter? It features a different bird and project each month as well as questions from your favorite bird and garden experts. Click here to sign up!

Happy Gardening!
--Crystal

READ ON TO DISCOVER...

• Plant of the Month
• Yard Smarts
• Question of the Month
• Frugal Gardener Tip of the Month

Plant of the Month

Clear Crystal Alyssum
Botanical name: Lobularia maritima
Hardiness: Zones 5 to 9.
Size: 6 to 10 inches high; 12 to 14 inches wide.
Light: Full sun.
Soil: Moderate-fertility, well, draining.
Features: Fragrant flowers attract hummingbirds, bees and butterflies. 
Growing advice: This early spring flower requires little maintenance, just give it a light fertilizing every two weeks.

Click here for more information and how to order.

top

Yard Smarts

Watering: Simplified
Before planting your containers of herbs, strawberries or tomatoes, drill holes in a PVC or plastic pipe at varying intervals from top to bottom. Hold the pipe in the center of the pot while you surround it with soil, then plant. Always water into the pipe so you ensure your plants are watered evenly. 
–Susan Davis, Clearwater, FloridaVirginia

top

Question of the Month

Wet and Wonderful
Q: I’m trying to fill in an area that’s especially moist. What would grow well in that environment? –Pat Sullivan, Dayton, Ohio

Melinda: Start with native and ornamental sedges (Carex) that are known for moisture tolerance. Japanese forest grass (Hakonechloa), a low-growing grass, tolerates moist soils and shade. Native switchgrass, like that at right, and northern sea oats (Chasmanthium) will tolerate moist to wet soils, too. Both can reseed readily, so be sure to give them room or select tamer cultivars that require less space and weeding.

Sweet flag (Acorus) and rushes (Juncus) provide similar texture and vertical accent of grasses and are suited to wet soils and water gardens. Cordgrass (Spartina) and manna grass (Glyceria maxima) may not be the prettiest, but they do tolerate wet conditions and can help with erosion control and bank stabilization. Sweetgrass (Hierochloe odorata) has insignificant flowers, but a wonderful fragrance. Plus, it also tolerates wet soil.

top

Frugal Gardener Tip of the Month

Second-Chance Pans

When my frying pans get old, I reuse them as saucers for my flowerpots. With the handle, it’s so convenient to move flowers to other areas of the yard. 
–Nancy Bettini, Los Altos, California

top

Step Back to the Victory Era!

The editors of Reminisce magazine bring you Reminisce Through the Decades: The 1940s, a 6-hour-plus, three-DVD set of real-life stories from the ’40s! For more information, go to www.reminisce.com.

top