Tips for Outsmarting Squirrels and More

Prune ornamental grasses without making a mess

Spring cleanup position can be a genuine mess . If you cut your own cosmetic grasses , that ’s especially dependable if it ’s a windy day and you ’re dealing with taller grasses ( for instance ,Miscanthus , Panicum ) bluster everywhere as they ’re hack and decrease over .

To prevent this , I take a roll of jute twine to the garden on pot - cleaning day , along with my trimmer . I cut an appropriate length of twine , fashioning a little lasso before segmenting a clod of grass into halves , third gear , or quarters ( look upon the cinch of the plant ) . I launch the twine destruction around the grass stems and through the loop , pulling it tight to create a lasso and then tying it off about midway up the height of the plant . I then lop those stems and have a tidy intact sheaf to put to the side . When I ’ve pruned the integral plant this way of life , the bundle are ready for the compost pile .

— Tony Fulmer , Arlington Heights , Illinois

Cut flowers are happiest after a hot bath

Before cutting fresh blossom from the garden , I fill an insulated change of location smiler with very hot water . I bring the mug out to the garden . The all-inclusive base truelove the mugful so I can place it down safely . While I explore the garden , the water ride out red-hot and is quick for each cut to be plunged in , directly sealing the stem . If I ’m only cutting a few peak , I ’ll keep the top on the mug and open its spout . After cutting all the flowers , I convey the mug inside and arrange the flowers in a pretty vase . My weakened flowers continue fresh much longer .

— Patty Regojo , Swarthmore , Pennsylvania

Winning tip:Container liners from a fan palm

My mother is in her eighties , though you would never know it . She is also an avid gardener , and my visits always consist of a garden tour followed by a tongue lashing ( aka cussing out ) of the squirrel terrorize her curtilage . This downfall she noticed they were taking the fallen shuck off her fan palm for their nests . She started pluck them up and sometimes undress them off the Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree herself . We now use these shuck as coco - lining substitutes and screens at the bottom of pots to arrest soil in .

— Stephanie Fried , Covington , Louisiana

Before you toss those old scallions in the compost . . .

I planted some wilt grocery store spring onion ( with short root attached ) 3 inches cryptical and 2 inches aside in potting soil . I have watered them well , and the petty plants have rewarded me with large , succulent onion leaves for the preceding 10 month . They have thrived in my southwest Florida garden with heavy rains and abundant sunshine . They are more reliable than chives , which hibernate during blistering weather .

— Mary Crum , Fort Myers , Florida

If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the birdhouse

I put up a gravid birdhouse for flickers that was immediately taken over by squirrels . Wanting to warn this for the following yr , I plug the entry hole with a big arm stub . Squirrels have since returned each year to gnaw at the wood to derive debut again . judge to prevent this , I painted the area they had chewed with a habanero - based sauce . To avoid having to rise a tall ladder to get to the house , I taped a paintbrush to a foresighted piece of baseball bat and made several software of the raging sauce . Too bad I was n’t around to see their reaction when they came back ! But so far , it take care as if they have moved on to milder abodes .

— Wendy Lagozzino , Seattle

Tree-root removal

An easy way to slay small tree roots is to apply a reciprocate saw . The secret is to keep the leaf blade away from submerged rocks . To do this , slide the blade and move it through the theme gradually .

— John Dyster , Lewiston , New York

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