It’s garden question-and-answer time again. Remember, you may
e-mail me at: ga********@*ps.net. Or you can still write me in care
of this newspaper. For a faster response, please include a
self-addressed, stamped envelope.
It’s garden question-and-answer time again. Remember, you may e-mail me at: ga********@*ps.net. Or you can still write me in care of this newspaper. For a faster response, please include a self-addressed, stamped envelope.
Q. – My dog has the unhealthy habit of trying to catch (and eat) bees. He’s already been bitten in the mouth once, and I had to take him to the vet for a shot to bring the swelling down. Are there any plants that I can grow around my patio that won’t attract bees? – P.F., Gilroy.
You can choose plants with colorful foliage and interesting textures instead of flowers. Ornamental grasses have become extremely popular with their wisp-like foliage and fuzzy, showy flower spikes.
One of the most common is fountain grass or pennisetum setaceum. One warning, though, ornamental grasses die completely away in winter and have to be severely cut back. They’ll look like a brown stump from December through April before they start to leaf out again.
Consider, too, tropical plants like elephant ears (Colocasia spp), phormium or aucuba. Elephant ears, like its name, has large leaves that are soft to the touch. Phormium also is known as New Zealand flax. It is a large shrub with sword-like foliage that grow in a fan pattern. Aucuba is known as gold-dust plant and features green leaves with speckled gold or yellow.
In the shade, colorful foliage plants include coleus, ferns, caladiums and polka-dot plant (Hypoestes). Even a ivy topiary might be fun.
Q. I recently bought a new garden hose and actually read the instructions on the cardboard cover for some insane reason. I must be the only person in the world to read directions on a garden hose! Anyway, I was amazed to read, “Do not drink from this hose.” Why in the world can’t a person drink from an ordinary garden hose. Isn’t it one of summer’s simple pleasures? – T.S., Gilroy, via e-mail.
You’re right, you may be the only person in the world to read garden hose directions! Garden hoses sold in California need that warning by law because of the brass hose fittings.
Brass is on California’s list of chemicals known to cause cancer or reproductive system harm. As for me, I’ll take my life in my hands and continue to drink from my garden hose, accepting the long-term risk to stave off the more immediate threat of dehydration outdoor gardening work sometimes poses! At least the hose, unlike most plumbing, is often used and flushed for some time before the working gardener gets thirsty.
Q. I planted a chrysanthemum last fall and thoroughly enjoyed its flowers. Now, to my amazement, it’s loaded with buds again. I thought mums only flowered in the fall? – E.I., Hollister, via e-mail.
If mums are planted in a sunny, well-drained bed, there’s a good chance you’ll get blooms twice or even three times a year. Keys include cutting them back almost to ground level after each bloom, watering well, and dividing the clumps every couple years to prevent overcrowding.
