http://www.simplegiftsfarm.com/gardening-blog.html Hi - this is the place to get all the latest gardening blog articles, gardening questions and answers and notices of photography posted on this site. en-us gardening Fri, 06 Nov 2009 15:39:04 GMT Fri, 06 Nov 2009 15:39:04 GMT simplegiftsfarm.com http://www.simplegiftsfarm.com/cross-of-yelloworange-7mm-euonymus-leaf-notcher.html Flying insect that is yellow to orange in color with black in tail. Fuzzy. ~7mm in length. Flies around evergreen bush and other bushes. Clings to Fri, 06 Nov 2009 15:38:58 GMT http://www.simplegiftsfarm.com/brown-with-orange-markings-leaffooted-seed-bug.html found on my doorknob when i went home. never saw it before. seemed pretty big, Fri, 06 Nov 2009 15:37:13 GMT http://www.simplegiftsfarm.com/brownish-spiked-crest.html 2 1/2-3 long. found in Central Illinois near woody/wet area. Did not see it fly or crawl. Back area golden and glittery. Kind of a horn closer to Fri, 06 Nov 2009 15:35:24 GMT http://www.simplegiftsfarm.com/black-with-white-markings-beelike-insect-baldfaced-hornet.html The insect is shown on a brick wall in downtown Toronto on August 7, 2009. It looks somewhat like a bee or wasp. There were 2 identical ones but one Mon, 02 Nov 2009 15:10:03 GMT http://www.simplegiftsfarm.com/flying-creature-giant-ichneumon-wasp-female.html Black body, yellow head and feelers, long black stinger, about 3 inches (body only) stinger was about 5 inches, black wings, black legs. It was on my Mon, 02 Nov 2009 15:08:24 GMT http://www.simplegiftsfarm.com/brown-spider-cross-orbweaver-spider.html My daughter saw this spider outside her bedroom window and I had to go out and take a picture of it. There is a picture of it from the top. If you Fri, 30 Oct 2009 15:04:28 GMT http://www.simplegiftsfarm.com/pink-fuzzy-caterpillar-lycaenid-butterfly-caterpillar.html Hello. We found this pretty pink caterpillar on our sidewalk today in San Diego, CA. It's about 3/4 of an inch long and has a short fuzz, almost Fri, 30 Oct 2009 15:02:28 GMT http://www.simplegiftsfarm.com/deterring-cats.html is there any plants that will deter cats from coming into my garden and making a mess thank you Doug says there are a ton of marketers who would Fri, 30 Oct 2009 14:53:04 GMT http://www.simplegiftsfarm.com/worried-about-pond-in-winter.html My koi pond has been great all summer now fall is here and winter is coming. I have read numerous differnt things about leaving pump on and some say Wed, 28 Oct 2009 16:11:08 GMT http://www.simplegiftsfarm.com/small-black-beetle-southern-green-stink-bug.html small black beetle with green spots. Looks like a lady bug only wrong color. In the picture the spots look white. There are about 20+ on one plant. Wed, 28 Oct 2009 14:55:34 GMT http://www.simplegiftsfarm.com/fuzzy-black-fly-with-white-wing-tips-bee-fly.html Can you tell me what kind of fly this is? I found it on the side of our garage while we were painting it. It is fuzzy and black with white wing tips. Wed, 28 Oct 2009 14:54:08 GMT http://www.simplegiftsfarm.com/tiny-wasp-or-ant-subterranean-ants.html I keep finding these in my basement.(they've all been dead) Thought carpenter ants, but these are tiny and everything I read says they get big. Put a Wed, 28 Oct 2009 14:52:41 GMT http://www.simplegiftsfarm.com/greenhairlessgolden-stripe-mottled-prominent-moth-caterpillar.html about 1.5 long, green, hairless, red-golden stripe down back, split Wed, 28 Oct 2009 14:51:10 GMT http://www.simplegiftsfarm.com/brown-long-insect-striped-walkingstick-pair.html not sure what this is hangs around my porch with backs up to a wooded creek area. carries it's young on it's back Wed, 28 Oct 2009 14:44:57 GMT http://www.simplegiftsfarm.com/brown-approx-3-inches-flying-giant-water-bug.html I saw this guy in Ottawa. It's about 3 inches long, brownish-grey coloured, with large wings that cover the top of its body. It was by itself. At Wed, 28 Oct 2009 14:43:27 GMT http://www.simplegiftsfarm.com/purple-winged-long-tail-giant-ichneumon-wasp-female.html Looks like a grasshopper with purple wings and a long tail. Wed, 28 Oct 2009 14:41:56 GMT http://www.simplegiftsfarm.com/1-inch-green-caterpillar-looper-caterpillar.html I thought these were Hornworms infesting my garden again, but these were making a cocoon and are only an inch or smaller. I found them among my Wed, 28 Oct 2009 14:38:53 GMT http://www.simplegiftsfarm.com/big-green-with-orange-headdress-hickory-horned-devil.html About 4 inches long. Southeast Georgia (about 30 miles west of Brunswick). Photo from 10/17. Crawling up a Wed, 28 Oct 2009 14:38:20 GMT http://www.simplegiftsfarm.com/orange-fuzzy-caterpillar-salt-marsh-caterpillar.html Found on a sunny wooden fence next to mixed gardens at a Harvest Festival in Southern Rhode Island in Wed, 28 Oct 2009 14:37:33 GMT http://www.simplegiftsfarm.com/round-green-lots-of-fuzzy-protuberances-crowned-slug-caterpillar.html I can't even tell what family this bug might be in. Sorry, don't know where he was except found on a hike in the 'wilds of the Catskills'. There are Wed, 28 Oct 2009 14:36:43 GMT http://www.simplegiftsfarm.com/big-fat-green-caterpillar-with-orange-spots-polyphemus-moth-caterpillar.html I found this in South Carolina in the grass beneath an oak tree in late October. It's about 4 inches long, with faint whiskers sparsely spread Wed, 28 Oct 2009 14:30:57 GMT http://www.simplegiftsfarm.com/weeds-in-an-alpine-garden.html Hello Doug, Maybe this question has been answered already with your experiementation of vinegar , salt and dish soap. I have tried everything to rid Fri, 23 Oct 2009 15:56:10 GMT http://www.simplegiftsfarm.com/virginia-creeper-is-wilting.html My Virginia Creeper does well in the spring but come summer the leaves start wilting, turning an orange/red and brown on the edges. It is hot here, Fri, 23 Oct 2009 15:52:20 GMT http://www.simplegiftsfarm.com/winged-borer-insect-with-long-antennalike-tail-ichneumon-wasp.html A maple tree in our yard has extensive damage to the trunk. There are holes around the circumferance of trunk from the base to about 5 feet from the Thu, 22 Oct 2009 18:09:58 GMT http://www.simplegiftsfarm.com/large-black-bug-whipscorpion.html large black bug with brown legs and very long feelers on either side of the body. flat bodied. crawls sideways and very fast. Thu, 22 Oct 2009 18:08:28 GMT http://www.simplegiftsfarm.com/long-orange-yellow-black-flying-4inch-insect-giant-ichneumon-wasp.html 4 inches long, patterned body in orange yellow & black, resembling a huge mosquito or Thu, 22 Oct 2009 18:05:48 GMT http://www.simplegiftsfarm.com/large-brown-caterpillar-with-green-spots-imperial-moth-caterpillar.html 4 inch caterpillar on my crepe myrtle bush. brown with yellow spots and both ends have yellow thing that look like Thu, 22 Oct 2009 18:04:26 GMT http://www.simplegiftsfarm.com/tiny-red-bugs-scentless-plant-bug-nymphs.html These tiny little critters are on a sedum plant. Could they be baby Thu, 22 Oct 2009 18:02:35 GMT http://www.simplegiftsfarm.com/new-guinas-stop-blooming.html It has been very hot and I've tried to keep our plants watered. However, I've noticed that the New guinas have stopped blooming. The foliage is Mon, 19 Oct 2009 15:49:22 GMT http://www.simplegiftsfarm.com/birch-trees.html I moved into a new house that has a birch tree which hangs over my driveway. In the fall I notice what looks like misty rain on my car windows, it Fri, 16 Oct 2009 13:34:05 GMT http://www.simplegiftsfarm.com/when-to-overseed-lawn.html Riddle me this. The fall has always been the season of choice for overseeding the lawn. However , there now seems to be a conflict as this is the Fri, 16 Oct 2009 13:18:58 GMT http://www.simplegiftsfarm.com/worm-composting-naturally.html How did red worms ever get to be so highly regarded? Supposedly they reproduce faster than other worms. But what good are they if you have to keep Fri, 16 Oct 2009 13:15:30 GMT http://www.simplegiftsfarm.com/overwintering-blueberry-cuttings.html started hardwood cuttings 03/09 some of which developed roots by 08/09 and put on new growth. 18 out of 30 cuttings. Since I need to leave in Tue, 13 Oct 2009 14:22:35 GMT http://www.simplegiftsfarm.com/pruning-peonies.html Do I cut down my peony bushes now or fall, or in spring? Also, some of the buds didn't open, can you tell me why? Busshes are 3 yrs. old, in good Tue, 06 Oct 2009 15:56:59 GMT http://www.simplegiftsfarm.com/weeds-in-the-garden.html What can I put on the ground in my garden to keep the weeds down? I spend 3/4 of my day pulling weeds!! Help. Doug says the single best thing to Tue, 06 Oct 2009 15:50:09 GMT http://www.simplegiftsfarm.com/black-long-antenna-whitespotted-sawyer-beetle.html Very friendly 3 inch bug who seemed to enjoy human contact. Spotted in the Eastern Townships of Quebec, near Tue, 06 Oct 2009 15:39:31 GMT http://www.simplegiftsfarm.com/black-and-yellow-striped-treeclimbers-locust-borers.html .75 inch up to more than one inch in length. Red legs. Pairs of these insects were attached to each other, piggyback. Several pairs of them are Tue, 06 Oct 2009 15:38:06 GMT http://www.simplegiftsfarm.com/tiny-black-insect-with-pincer-claws-pseudoscorpion-spider.html this insect was extremely tiny, totally black, moved very quickly. It was found a bathroom where I suspect it found its way thru the skylight, there Tue, 06 Oct 2009 15:36:44 GMT http://www.simplegiftsfarm.com/black-white-with-orange-head-zebra-caterpillar.html the caterpillar is about 2 - 2 1/2 inch long with black and white body and green underneth with a reddish head found on a wild weed grass in my Tue, 06 Oct 2009 15:34:49 GMT http://www.simplegiftsfarm.com/orange-head-black-and-white-catapillar-zebra-caterpillar.html Here is another picture of the caterpillar , I do have some oak trees nearby. I also have a soybean feild near my Tue, 06 Oct 2009 15:33:34 GMT http://www.simplegiftsfarm.com/yellow-caterpillar-spicebush-swallowtail-caterpillar.html around 2inches long. black spots like eyes seen in orange county Tue, 06 Oct 2009 15:32:06 GMT http://www.simplegiftsfarm.com/brown-fuzzy-slug-with-wings-tersa-sphinx-moth.html It has a slug looking body, whereas the head is big and it slopes to a point towards the back end. The body is fuzzy looking and it has 6 legs. Its Tue, 06 Oct 2009 15:30:03 GMT http://www.simplegiftsfarm.com/red-moth-like-insect-with-black-and-clear-wings-scarletbodied-wasp-moth.html This bug was laying in my breezeway at my apt. It was dead when I found it but it was so pretty I picked it up and kept it to try and identify it. I Tue, 06 Oct 2009 15:25:52 GMT http://www.simplegiftsfarm.com/compost-quantity.html I have a 3-bin system, and turn the compost twice a year. The stuff is great, but pitifully inadequate in volume for the gardens I have. Everything Mon, 05 Oct 2009 12:54:28 GMT http://www.simplegiftsfarm.com/angel-trumpet.html Do these have to be taken inside for the winter? And what shall I do with it in the fall? Doug says that if we're talking about Datura and/or Mon, 05 Oct 2009 12:52:34 GMT http://www.simplegiftsfarm.com/organic-control-of-canada-thistle.html What is the most effective way over time to get Canada Thistle out of a grass coverd burm with Aspen the top canopy, snowberry and roses the Mon, 05 Oct 2009 12:47:22 GMT http://www.simplegiftsfarm.com/transplanting-climbing-rose-in-fall.html Hi I have a climbing rose planted in spring this year that has grown ver well. Now I want to transplant it to another part of the garden. Can I do it Mon, 05 Oct 2009 12:44:36 GMT http://www.simplegiftsfarm.com/brilliance-in-nature.html I caught this beauty on one of my neighborhood walks. This was a flower that was on a plant the was at least 7 feet tall and just popped with color! I Mon, 05 Oct 2009 12:34:01 GMT http://www.simplegiftsfarm.com/little-white-nautilus-shaped-insect-cottony-cushion-scale.html This tiny little creature is killing my lilac bushes and now it is attaching itself to my rose bushes...EEK! What is it and how can I get rid of it? Mon, 05 Oct 2009 12:28:56 GMT http://www.simplegiftsfarm.com/brown-furry-fly-golden-dung-fly.html Found 1 last night and killed it, there was blood or red juice inside. Then found 1 today and saved it until it died in a jar. Both found indoors Mon, 05 Oct 2009 12:27:32 GMT