Cat Deterrents for your Garden: Keep in mind that each cat is different (like people), what works for one may not necessarily work for another. On the plus side, most cats will keep pesty squirrels, moles and other critters out of your garden. Cat's are also great for keeping out moles, rabbits, squirrels, and other critters which can do more damage in your garden than a cat ever will. If the cat's have owners, take it up with them without being non-confrontational. The cat owner who allows his cat to damage other peoples' property is as guilty as the cat hater who kills the cat for trespassing. Remember, cats will be cats, and it is unfair of us to blame them for being what they are. After-all, we praise them when they catch mice or rats or other creatures we deem to be 'pests'. * amonia soaked (corncobs, etc) * aluminum foil * bamboo skewers * black pepper * blood meal fertilizer * bramble cuttings * Carefresh - "recycled" wood pulp * catnip - donated into your neighbor's yards (so they'll stay in their own yards) * cedar compost * chicken wire (metal or plastic) * cinnamon * citrus peels * citrus spray * cocoa bean shells * coffee grounds -fresh & unbrewed, not just a light sprinkling (highly recommended by MANY Gardenwebbers!) * dogs * electric fence for animals * essence of orange. essence of lemon, lime (citrus essential oils) * fresh manure(ditto) * garlic cloves * gumballs from the Sweet Gum Tree * gutter covers * hardware cloth * heavy bark mulch * holly leaves * keep the area damp, they like dry soil * lavender * liquid manure (good for your garden too) * motion sensor sprinkler * pennyroyal * pinecones * pipe tobacco * plastic forks * predator urine * red wine vinegar * river rocks over the exposed soil * rocks, crushed * rose bush clippings * rue, an herb (Ruta graveolens) (highly recommended in plant form only) * short twigs throughout the planted area about 6" apart * six-inch bamboo skewers (pointy side up) * Spray on your leaves (not the cat): fill a spray bottle with 1/2 t chili powder, 1/2 t cayenne pepper, 1 t dish soap and water * squirt gun with water * talk to your neighbors * tansy * thorny berry, lilac, hawthorn, rose clippings * toothpicks * upside down vinyl carpet * vinegar sprayed on areas where they roam * water bottle on "stream" NOT RECOMMENDED: *** chili powder, red crushed pepper, cayenne pepper (NOT recommended), it gets on the cat's paws then they wash themselves and they get it in their eyes, beware cats have literally scratched their eyes out because of this. Even if it's one cat out of 500 infected in this way, that's one too many for me. *** Don't ever use mothballs or flakes. Those little toxic waste pellets destroy cats' kidney function, could seriously harm people who handle them, and yes, contaminate your garden soil. Their packaging even warns against using them this way. Give them their own areas: (To keep them out of where you don't want them) (If you don't mind them protecting your garden from other critters) + pick the cat up and bring it to eye level with the plant to see and smell it up close. She noted that once her cat has seen and sniffed at the plant, she usually doesn't bother with it later. + give them their own plants - i.e., pots of grass for her to chew on and a place in a large planted container on her balcony with some miscanthus grass in it (the cat likes to curl up in that for some reason) + if the cats are strictly indoors and attracted to your houseplants, grow catgrass for them. If someone forced you to remain inside one enclosed structure all your life, you might be attracted to the plants too. + Barley Grass + Any type of "catgrass" from the pet store + Carex elata 'Bolwes Golden' but put it in some shade + Catmint Nepeta mussinicultivars (Simply put, Catmints are Catnips without any culinary or feline use. In any case, they are, however, phenomenal, long flowering, hardy perennials that belong in every fairie or flower garden.) + Catnip Nepeta cataria (in your own yard) The oils of which also work as a mosquito repellent that works 10 times better than Deet! Catmint is the common name for all varieties of Nepeta. Catnip is the common name for the specific variety of Nepeta called nepeta cataria, which is the variety that cats are most attracted to. + Cat Thyme (Teucrium marum) + Flax + Oat Grass + Jacob's Ladder + Lemon Grass + Loose soil and mulch like small bark mulch + Mints + Purple Fountain Grass so the cat lays in the long leaves all day. Maybe put something in that the cats really like and - you know cats won't winky were they like to hang out. + Sandy area + Silver vine (Actinidia polygama) + Striped Ribbon Grass (can be invasive) + Sweet grass + Trificum aestivum (type of cat grass) + Various Varieties of Cat Mints (Catnips) + Wheat Grass + Wheat Berries + Valerian This list compiled by Violet_Z6, email at violetgw@care2.com for comments and suggestions regarding this list.

It's looking almost definite that I will be going down next Saturday the 11th. I am hoping to be at excalibur by around 10:00 if I am able to get myself out of bed early enough. I'd like to meet up with most people there but could work out other options. Just send me an email. So far I have sleep down for the chempedak Swrancher down for the Lisa atemoya squam down for the Phillipine mango Also adding good sized (4ft or so) Grumichama cherry that is in need of some TLC to the available list.

Oh man, this is a huge issue for me. In general, I am not a pack rat. However, there are a few big stumbling blocks for me. The first is a desk my father made for me. It is the only thing I own that came from him. It is well made for a home project, but it is too small and does not work at all in my home office. I have nowhere else to put it. I want to replace it but the thought of sending it off to a thrift shop is killing me. I also have jewelry from my mother, and more to come since she is still quite alive. I also will inherit sets of Limoges and Spode china, a big silver service, Boehm birds and on and on. None of these items fit my lifestyle. I will offer them to my nieces but their lifestyle is even more casual than mine. Yet, I know all these items are important to my mother and I hate to let them go. I also have an attic full of old Fisher Price and Playskool toys that I saved for my grandchildren -- who never materialized! I am not sure what they represent to me, but I simply cannot part with them. Maybe it's the knowledge that I am never going to be a grandmother which honestly doesn;t bother me that much. I have four darling grand nieces and nephews. Here's another -- miles and miles of old home movies. I have had them all transferred onto DVDs, but I feel so nostalgic about the films. Just seeing them and smelling them brings back a rush of memories of my father, who loved his 16 mm camera. I guess they will stay in the family until they reach a generation who doesn't give a hoot about them and tosses them in the dumpster. I dread the day when I clean out my mother's house, which is enormous and packed with stuff. A lot can be dumped or sold but there also are a lot of family items. Why oh why do we do this to ourselves??

looks like a heavy aphid/white fly infestation with a helping of grasshopper... hose those plants down daily. Look for ants climbing the plant and discourage them. and chose an insecticide of your liking if you want to really reduce the pests. I have used bayer 3 in 1 on my hibiscus the systemic, it works wonders for long term control, but its also bad for the bees i believe. Other stuff you have to apply on a regular basis. lady bugs are great if you can get them to lay their eggs on your plants.