Blue Globe thistle. I killed it last year after only growing it that summer b/c I was afraid it would be invasive. This year I have bunches of them coming up in the bed.

You may have some luck using gravel mulch. In the places that I have gravel mulch, Flanders Poppies and Mexican Hat self-seed.

If you are near Durango, I'd be happy to supply you with other types of yarrow and some blue globe thistle.

Cheers,
Michelle

Hi Azura,

The first thing that comes to mind for me is California poppies. Plant them once, and enjoy them for the rest of your life! And there are varieties that come in colors besides the standard gold/orange. ÂThai Silk is one of them, and has some really pretty colors.

Hollyhocks may be too tall for what youÂre looking for, but theyÂre certainly easy to growÂand will reseed all over.

And snapdragons reseed insanely too. I have them coming up here and there all over my yard, and I usually just leave them grow wherever they are until they get rust too badly, and then I pull them out and throw them away. ThereÂs always more!

Oh! And English lavender reseeds very easily too, and can take almost any conditions. The original plant from when I moved into this house died a couple years ago, but I always have a fresh supply coming upÂand theyÂre growing ON TOP OF the landscape fabric in the rock mulch that was here when I moved in. I could hardly believe it when I tried to get some out to give to a neighbor and discovered they were growing in "nothing!" IÂve tried to pot several of them, but havenÂt been successful yet, because they have almost no roots, and what they do have is destroyed when I try to pull them out of the landscape fabric----but theyÂre beautiful plants. Come to the Fall Swap and see what I mean. (IÂll have more lavender and hollyhock seed.)

If I think of anything else, IÂll be back!

Skybird

Thank you, Michelle, I hadnt realized echnops ritro reseeded. Is it as pretty as it looks in the catalogs? I dont live close to Durango but are you going to the Fall swap?
Thank you Skybird, I hadnt thought of english lavender. I also have some Thai Silk seeds from last year that I never got planted, if the seed is still viable I will make sure I add those this next year. I have some hollyhocks in a different bed and I was thinking of shovel pruning them because they arent in the right spot. Maybe I need to move them over to "vole manor" instead. Do you think I can move them after they bloom? Are they true biennials? If they are this might be there last hurrah anyhow.
Thank you very much for your suggestions, Im taking lots of notes :)
-Azura

Hmmm, might be real tuff for the neighborhood cat to get at the voles in the middle of a thicket of thistle. Just thinkin', s'all. I've got the echinops also but need to really limit its spread. Round-up may be useful.

The wife just said that I should be planting the lemon balm now in pots out into the garden so that it can stay there thru the Winter. Have had some in the yard for years and it is a struggle to keep it out of the lawn . . . Anyway, what do you think about the mints? Monarda and agastache may be useful. Know nothing about clay soil, must admit.

digitS'

I was going to buy some monarda and agastache on my trip to the nursery today but all of the monarda had mildew and the agastache wasnt doing much better. Do they spread as much as the mints?

IÂve never seen monarda without mildew! That just came up on another thread around hereÂnot sure which one. But I (personally) wouldnÂt ever put it in for that reason. By the time itÂs blooming, the leaves either look terrible or are goneÂand I do everything possible to keep mildew out of my yard. And itÂs in the mint family, so, yes, it spreads a lotÂmaybe not quite as much as Mentha, but it spreads the same way. Monarda fistulosa is a Colorado native, and IÂm not sure if itÂs as susceptible to mildew as the others or not. Oh, btw, there are several named varieties that are supposed to be "mildew resistant." DonÂt believe it! Those are the ones we used to sell at PaulinoÂs!

Agastache is supposed to reseed all over too, but mine never has, so I didnÂt mention itÂI have A. rupestris. But it would sure be worth a try.

And I donÂt think it reseeds, but for something else that spreads (also in the mint family), catmintÂNepeta fasseniiÂwould be something to try. It doesnÂt spread as invasively as Mentha.

I saw on the Swap thread youÂre going to be able to come! Yipee! You can get some of my sedumÂs to put in too!

Skybird

Just thought of something else! Knautia reseeds all over. I love the stuff and was thinking of putting one in, but somebody else just posted recently that they couldnÂt get rid of it.

And soapwortÂSaponaria ocymoidesÂreseeds all over too!

And another possibility is to plant some toxic plants. I think wasnÂt it Digit who suggested that on your other vole thread? If you just keep planting yummy things for them to eat, I think youÂre going to attract every vole for miles around! You need at least a few things thatÂll give them a tummy ache!

I have some Anthemis tinctoria that reseeds like CRAZY. It keeps ending up on the other side of the lawn or even around the other side of the house. Attractive yellow daisies when it blooms and it's tough as nails.

I have a Nepeta that reseeds like crazy, too. It's Nepeta transcaucasica. Gets over 3' tall and flops some, so with the invasiveness on top of that, I'm looking to eradicate it from my garden. I actually moved one Nepeta plant to the bed where the Anthemis is growing to see who wins as the thugs duke it out. They're both growing well, and that's a southern exposure against the house wall. Pretty hot spot.

Gaillardia seems to reseed easily, but I like so much that I don't consider it a thug. I have some growing with NO water, even in this hot, dry summer. It's a very tough flower that blooms forever.

Campanulas can be thugs, too. I have C. glomerata, and it spreads pretty well, but nowhere near the way Anthemis or Nepeta does for me.

Oh yeah, don't forget Mexican Evening Primrose (Oenothera). Nice pink poppy-like flowers, but as invasive as any weed. It can colonize an area pretty easily.

Hi Azura,

This is a little OT but it has to do with the voles. I'm having some vole issues in my vegetable garden too. Last week I decided to try a new trick...when I saw a fresh vole hole I put a milk bone in it and called my dog over. She went crazy and now looks in every hole everyday. She has been digging a little to get to the holes but I just cover it back over with the dirt when she's done. A few days ago there was a dead vole laying right in the entrance to my vegetable garden-a little gift. It had obviously been "roughly" handled by her. One milk bone was all it took! Do you have a dog?

Charlene

I'm not sure I'd recommend lavender for average watering - it really prefers it on the dry side. Mine reseeds in the bark mulch all over the place and does well without water.
Where it gets regular water - it dissapears.

Agastache foeniculum - Anise Hyssop, reseeds nicely. I really like this one.

Sidalcea is horribly invasive for me and hard to pull up. You might hate me in a few years if you plant it.

Clary Sage (Salvea sclarea) is another one you might hate me for.

The only Knautia I had a problem with was Knautia macedonica, Burgundy Pincushion Flower, but it was quite a problem.

Borage - annual but a pest.

I've got a nice reddish orange California poppy - the offspring of a red one. It seems like like it on the dry side. Same with Gallardia - seems to dissapear in the garden and thrive where it doesn't get water.

Some iris can really spread - especially the old varieties.

Sunflowers can reseed really really well, even with chickadees around.

Perennial sweet peas are toxic, I think, so the voles leave them alone.

I once upon a time bought a mix of California poppies, the orange and a cream colored one. They reseed / sometimes perennial beautifully, they have maintained their separate colors which I thought was interesting, even after 6 or 7 years. They are particularly happy in my rose beds. I think they're wonderful, my wife doesn't.

Hi,

re. the Blue Globe, it was pretty and interesting. Bugs liked to munch on it so it had some insect damage in my garden. The foliage looks just like a thistle - I didn't like the look. It would probably look nice with something growing in with it. The spot where I dug it out has Bright Yellow daylilies and a Very Orange rose growing there. I will probably let some come up because it might look better with those for companions.

On the rose list, I read of people putting down a few inches of rock mulch (such as that lava rock stuff), and planting into that to prevent voles from destroying their roses. I am not a big fan of rock mulch, but it might be worth trying in a few places to see if it can stop the voles. I think on that post it mentioned that people were mulching a few inches deep directly over the rock to hide it.

Cheers,
Michelle

Azura,
here are the little "daisy" things that grow with dogs tromping through them, my stepping all over them and no water from me:

Here is a link that might be useful:

Oh that reminds me - feverfew is invasive as heck!
I'm still pulling up volunteers.

I bet you have ox-eye daisy there, J! (Leucanthemum vulgare. Synonym: Chrysanthemum) ItÂs on the Colorado B list of noxious weeds! [List B: noxious weed species have (or will have) a state noxious weed management plan developed to stop their spread.] Click on the "noxious weed" box for more info, and hereÂs a link to the Colorado noxious weed list from the USDA site: http://plants.usda.gov/java/noxious?rptType=State&statefips=08

hehehehehe! Some gardener you are! Growing weeds! hehehehehe

;-)
Skybird

Here is a link that might be useful: Ox-eye daisy!

oh, dear! I have the ox-eye in my yard...
well, I kind of like it but hate to add to the invasive population...
pooh!

digitS- Im still easing the hubby into the whole second cat issue. Im also pondering how to pick a cat that would be a hunter. We've been bringing our highly domesticated cat outside a bit everyday but she has ducked in fear of birds and cried and whined about the heat, waiting at the door to be let back inside.
I am working on the toxic plants idea too. I was only slightly discouraged when I read the first plant listed on that toxic plant link: chinese delphiniums. My delphiniums are their favorite treat by far.
Btw, does anyone know how much sun and heat digitalis (foxglove) can handle? Ive really had to baby my foxgloves through this heat and they are in shade. I bought 2 this week for $1.99 at Ace Hardware, I might just try them in the sun. I will try not to cackle maniacally as I plant them next to a vole hole. Muhahahaaaaa.
Charlene- I love your milkbone idea! Hmm... maybe I can talk my hubby into a dog. Do you think a cat will dig for treats?
Stevation- I was looking for an invasive campanula, that one sounds perfect.
David52- Do you know if perennial sweet peas can tolerate heat? I bought a few packets of seed because Ive heard you can plant them in the fall and they come up early in the spring and avoid the heat that way.
Cnetter- The irises are a great idea, so far the voles have completely ignored them. I will order some irises from Iris4u.
They also dislike daffodils. If they come across a daffodil bulb, they toss it out of their way. Ive been finding them laying all around the garden without a single nibble. Is there such a thing as an invasive daffodil? I can see myself out there with hardware cloth and daffodil bulbs by the 100s.
Thank you all for the suggestions, it is great to have specific varieties to look for.

Hi Azura,

Hardy sweet peas (Lathyrus latifolius) can take the sun. Do you know they have little to none of the wonderful fragrance of the annual sweet peas? IÂm planning to plant some along my "privacy" lattice panels (in sun) for one of my perennial vines so I donÂt have to start all over each year with annuals.

Foxglove isnÂt going to like the sun at all out hereÂotherwise it would be perfect. I planted some in mostly shade a few weeks ago that I started from seed this spring, and theyÂre not very happy with the heat either. If you manage to get some of your other plants big enough to cast some shade, you might try planting them right next to the bigger plants. When I posted yesterday, I looked over a couple of the toxic plant lists, and had never realized before that most of the toxic plants are shade plants. Aconitum, monkshood is another very toxic plant that would be great for your purposes, but itÂs for shade too. If I come up with any toxic sun plants that might work for you, IÂll come back and post.

Too bad the foxglove wonÂt work! CanÂt you just see all the little buggers laying around having heart attacks! ;-)

I almost forgot! I have Campanula glomerata too, and mine isnÂt spreading at all. I love the stuff. There have been different threads on the campanulas in the past, and IÂve always found an amazing discrepancy between which ones will spread for some people, yet be very well mannered for others. The Campanula punctatas are invasive for everybodyÂbut I canÂt seriously recommend you put that in! I think youÂll come back to haunt me some day if I do!

Skybird

I can certainly see why Puss wants back in the nice cool house. And, these vole hordes aren't just herbivorous, after all.

Are you sure you want to do this, Azura? You'll need to become a seedling expert so as to recognize all these plants when they show up just "wherever" each Spring. Further, you may be out there beating them down to try to maintain some control. I have such low tolerance for perennials in the first place because of the effort required to keep weeds out of them and then these things can become "weeds of our own making."

Is Campanula persicifolia (peachleaf bellflower) a possibility? While I've been successful at eradicating it in the flower garden, Dad has hurried it around to his front yard because he finds it enchanting.

digitS'

LOL, Digit! I've got a C.p. and that one behaves very nicely for me too! Maybe they both got scared when I went walking by with my whip one day! ;-)

Skybird

I say go with the dog...
Our Lucy's first "natural snack" that she caught was a vole! Ew.
What is even more icky is that I took a zillion photos!!!!
I was thinking things like "we'll never have a vole problem" and "oh, isn't she cute and gross at the same time?"
So many of the dog rescues list their available dogs as "cat friendly" and such...so you know just who you are getting.

Here is a link that might be useful:

This just may be the training solution for Cnetter's shirking vole patrol and your Feline domesticus, Azura. (And now IÂll purr myself another cup of catnip tea. ;o):

Off topic . . . off topic

Hey J, is Lucy a stock dog?

She looks like my old Blue Heeler/Australian Shepard. That dog would kill small birds and the Border Collie/Cocker Spaniel (I know, I know! :o) would eat them.

d'S'

Maybe it IS on topic:

I really question the neighbor's dachshunds' talents at catching anything despite their obvious joy in the chase - tails wagging and hours spent out in the grass looking in the vole holes. They exercise very little digging effort.

Charlene didn't ID her dog's breed but I'll bet it would take very little to encourage a Blue Heeler to go after the voles. Very, very little . . . those dogs are so closely related to Dingoes they're plenty weird to begin with.

(And, you wouldn't need to toss a Cocker Spaniel into the mix to actually eat them. ;o)

digitS'

I dunno, DigIt (are you Digit or DigIt?). My cattle dog cross is hopeless as a garden protector. When bunnies are in the garden, she will point at them, carefully stalk them, and always lets them get away. Sometimes she won't even bother to chase them, just points (even if they are less than 10' away). I have encouraged her as much as possible to s'git'em but she doesn't s'git'it. :-)

This picture is named 'Canine Dianthus Blight'
{{gwi:1216008}}

Cheers,
Michelle

I didn't know you could grow dogs in pots! How often do you have to water her? Poor dianthus! But I LOVE your dog!

Dogless Skybird!

P.S. It's digit/finger(s). See below

Here is a link that might be useful: What does your nickname/screen name mean?

Michelle,
Your dog is so beautiful!! I already have a soft spot for heelers, but, wow!

Digit,
Yes...Lucy is half cattle dog and half border collie and, obviously, she has that gorgeous double merle fur. She is all white with spots all over, and fluffy as a bunny.
Oh, and, after about 45 minutes, she ate the vole...all of it...it was awful. Well, awful for me, wonderful for her.

When she hunts, she dives two feet straight into the snow. It is like watching a fox dive into the little ground-holes! Yes, very, very dingo.

What was this post about again? gee...

The other garden/pet thing I am thinking of is how she keeps the entire neighborhood's dogs out of the yard and from pooping in my flower bed. We don't have a fence, so all of Nederland's canine collection wanders in at some point and tries to go...

Here is a link that might be useful: