Tips About Cleaning, Feeding Birds, Garden Clothes, DIY Plant Labels, and Bleeding Hearts

Winning Tip: Remove those stubborn leaves

I still have a “ gook slant ” ( DuraFork ) from when I had a sawhorse . I distinguish a newfangled use for it when cleaning out my garden . You bonk when you curve down a large cosmetic grass and the leftover leaves are still there ? While a leaf rip just make a mess and only rakes the tops , a muck rake lifts out all the rubble in one Georgia home boy .

— Jodi Green , Westbrook , Connecticut

Rubberized bib overalls save pants

I expend a pot of time on my knees in the garden — often when the ground is wet — tucking seeds and plants into the stain or weeding and trim things back . I start those endeavors either sitting or kneeling on a overnice spongelike pad , but it is n’t long before I line up I have left the launch pad behind as I have crawled across the garden bed to reach into tighter arena . As a resolution , I often stop up with the knees of any pants I ’m tire becoming wet and stained , and eventually wear out . I ’ve solved this by purchasing a pair of roommate rubberized bib overalls that I pull up over my drawers . Now my gasp legs are dry and sully free .

— Esther Davis , Salem , Virginia

Extra bird perches

I do n’t have many evergreen near my shuttlecock feedersthat waiting birds can use as additional perches , so I attachedbranches to my hang poles . These look nice in the yard and bid more birds places to hang out while waiting their twist at the feeders .

DIY “copper” plant labels

I roll in the hay those copper works labels , and I have discover a way to make my own imitations : Take an detachment support conducting wire ( you could use any wire , but I used these because I already had them and they were already square ) and wrap it around two corner of a wooden closure of the desire label breadth . Wrap a piece of copper hydrofoil tape around the back . Remove just enough of the tape backing to expose the sticky side so that you’re able to fix the tape , but leave the backing on in the middle to add constancy to the recording label . drop a line the plant name on the tape with a permanent mark . Your recording label is now quick for the garden .

— Laura Sodders , Athens , New York

Divide bleeding hearts in spring

In other natural spring when my hemorrhage hearts are no more than 6 inches tall , I divide the root great deal of mature plant ( with a crown diam at least 6 inches ) in two with a coon or tough trowel and transpose the tooth root discussion section into moist dirt . If spring rains are copious , no extra upkeep is ask . If the transplant wilts , I shadow it with an invert plant pot for one or two twenty-four hours .

— Mary Crum , Holland , Pennsylvania

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