Mayflowers I would love to hear about what you tried, what succeeded and what failed since you posted this a few years ago. I have two large, 50+ year old established Zelkova trees and I just learned they produce juglone like black walnuts, although to a lesser degree. I didn’t realize that! Did you know that? Your garden is beautiful by the way. :-) The plants under the Zelkovas when we first moved in were mature and well established, but also juglone resistant, such as juniper, holly, etc.... awful choices in my opinion so I removed them. I didn’t think about their juglone resistance at the time. Since then I have mulched and planted, but things under the Zelkova haven’t flourished as much as other areas of the property. Now it makes sense! It’s not just shade and root competition, it’s juglone! I’m moving some azaleas I have mounded under the canopy now and trying to find out what may work there instead. I think I’m going to leave the carpet roses, nepeta and creeping boobiala under my other Zelkova, but I may change my mind. They’re doing OK, but not as great as others planted elsewhere. My Zelkovas are in a large front yard with ample space all around (no fence near them), so much more sun gets through than it looks like in your yard. It really isn’t that shady under them at all except for midday. It always seemed strange to me how different plants struggled there, even when mounded, mulched, watered appropriately. Now it makes much more sense. I need juglone resistant plants there! Or nothing at all. Did anything recommended here flourish under your Zelkova? Thank you!

I replied to your post, cjc45, a couple of hours ago, but somehow it isn't here. Usually that means the "Submit Response" button wasn't clicked, but I'm SURE I clicked it. Oh, well. Guess I'll try again. I'm glad you have been spurred into creating a pond, cjc. Every garden deserves one! I don't know why we went five years without one at this house...oh, wait. Money and time, that's right! We were going to put a larger, in-ground pond with a stream, and it was going to be VERY labor-intensive and costly. I'm glad we decided to go this route, or we might have been another five with no pond to enjoy! I've seen two ponds close to each other, with a "bridge between them, planted so that it looked like water might be connecting them. It was very effective. You could even just put some rocks between them, with broms on them, or a waterfall into one of the ponds, and it would give the same effect, I'll bet. I have been to Biosphere lots of times and have known Jim Thomas for over 30 years, but I haven't been out there in at least a year now. I need to get back over there. It's a longish ride from Sanford, but worth it. The last time I was out, the pond area was just getting going. I'll bet it looks great now. Anna, somehow I missed your post earlier. Thank you so much for your kind comments...coming from someone with a pond as beautiful as yours, it's especially nice. You have one of the prettiest big ponds I've seen, for sure. Yes, I expect I'll be getting tadpoles and will have to try to figure out if they are good guys or not. The doves walk around the rim of the pond and bend over to drink, but the smaller birds go to my birdbaths. Not quite as frightening looking to them. Potter stands on his tippy-toes and tries to drink, but I discourage him. He has his own water dish out there and doesn't need to be drinking pond water. He has also jumped up on the edge and walked around, looking in the water. *sigh* I will be very unhappy if he messes around and falls in! My yard is starting to have a bit of color in it again, after much very hard work. We had to tear out so much dead stuff, and I basically started over. I've put in a lot more things that are cold-hardy, and some natives, like Walter's viburnum and Simpson Stopper. I don't want to go through another devastation like this winter produced. A few things came back, but most had to be removed. I think I'll try to find time tomorrow to post some before and after shots, just to reassure myself that it is getting better out there. The pond helps!! Marcia

Jay, From the very first time I tried it, Indian Stripe has produced well for me, and this year it has produced the biggest fruit, and probably the most fruit per plant ever. And, ever since I started growing Indian Stripe, Cherokee Purple, Chocolate and Green have just stopped producing here. It's like their feelings are hurt and they are retaliating by not setting fruit. It makes no sense to me. I'm really disappointed the Brad Gates' varieties haven't performed better. They started off doing really well, but once the heat hit (and it hit so early!), they dropped blossoms like crazy. I'd like to try them again if we ever again have a cool, rainy spring and summer like we had in 2007. This heat is wearing me out. I don't know how you work outdoors (and in hot engine rooms!) in it all the time. I get hot just picking tomatoes in the early morning hours. If my plants keep ripening fruit through the end of July, I'll be happy. It appears the Big Boy set several new fruit in the past two weeks despite the heat! I might put a plant or two in a container for fall, and wrap the cage with Agribon right after planting to try to keep the grasshoppers, blister beetles, spider mites and stinkbugs off the young plants. Everything I do from this point on depends strongly upon rainfall or a lack of rainfall and also on how many fires we have. If fire activity stays lower, I might have more time to fuss over the garden. Conversely, if we get real busy, I pretty much have no time left to garden. Gardenrod, I used to have trouble with birdpecks. So, one year when I put up the Christmas ornaments in the attic after Christmas, I kept some red ball-shaped ornamenets downstairs in a box in the coat closet. Once I had green tomatoes enlarging, I hung the red balls on the tomato plants. The way it is supposed to work is that the birds peck the hard 'fruit' and learn there's no water in them. Amazingly, it worked well for me....and the tomato platns looked so festive with those red balls. Nowadays, I just keep aluminum pie plates of water in the veggie garden for the birds and a bird bath in the flower beds. They leave my fruit alone most of the time, although I did find a pecked fruit this morning. I'll put it out on the compost pile tonight for the deer. I do have a turtle who lives in the garden and likes to eat an occasional low-hanging tomato. However, he seems to eat lots of bugs as he (or she? who knows?) patrols the garden daily, so he's earned his fruit. We have voles here, but my cats keep them out of the gardens and yard. Cats can be pretty good little garden helpers. Dawn

Penny! What do you mean not really???? a Garden Secret? And a bunch at that. I think those are truly Great Ideas that I would never have thought of and I'm sure there's others out there like me. Between you and gottagarden I'm going to have to go on a tomato cage expedition this spring when the house and garden cleaner's get busy. I really like the bird one the best. I started a small Butterfly Garden last year and I'm going to use your Secret and put it to use for an above ground sand and mud drink and licking post for those little beauties even though I'll have clean and check on the wetness more often. Now if I can only remember. I have "What was I here for syndrom" and there doesn't seem to be a pill for that. Jim