Sounds like some form of landscape fabric to me and as others have stated, been there, done that, and wouldn't do it again. In a blackberry plot I might do it because of their growth nature, but in a perennial bed no. There is a belief that landscape fabric will permanently prevent weeds from spreading, but a couple of years ago at my parent's place we removed a whole section - about 30 feet in diameter. It was the most difficult thing a few workers and I had ever done. She had unknowingly planted a suckering shrub which started coming up through the fabric after few years. When we removed the fabric we saw the extent of the root system of this monster under the fabric and needed a backhoe to get it out! In essence, the fabric hid the growing problem underneath for about 10 years... If the fabric had not been there, the problem would have been noted much earlier and would have been dealt with much easier. My practice of mulching with organics to feed the soil which in turns feeds the plants was confirmed as being a good practice. :O) In the gardens, I mulch with mostly a combo of shredded leaves and UCGs - Used Coffee Grounds... For paths, I use sheets of newspaper topped with wood chips from a sawmill up the road. You can see one path behind the raised gardens it in the following photo.

Outsmarting the tree rats (squirrels) around my house is a full time job. This past spring I hit on a new idea. When I plant a container I invert an empty wire hanging basket over the container and the plant gets sun and can be watered but the squirrels can't dig in it. Another idea: I bring in a lot of plants to "over winter" under lights in my garage. I have so many that it is hard to reach my hand under the lights (4 shop lights) to the middle for watering. So I bought a pump sprayer with a long wand and it works great! In late winter I add a little liquid Dawn detergent, few drops, to each gallon of water and not only does the soil get wet easier but the worms that are waiting to hatch into distructive pets just don't hatch. Don't know what it costs me to run those four shop lights all winter but I don't care. It is a small price to pay to be able to "garden" every weekend in the garage. Many people have mentioned that they mark their outdoor plants with a "permanent Sharpie". In my experience there isn't a "permanent Sharpie", they all fade and quickly too. A grease pencil/china marker or expensive "no fade" garden center marker are the only markers I have found that won't disappoint you by fading. Eight years ago I decided to learn about gardening so I tapped into my local library. I checked out nearly every book they had on gardening and learned so much. The Gardenweb forums are also a wealth of information and entertainment. There is always something new to learn and I appreciate all of you who take the time to write in your ideas. One last idea from me...I keep a small notebook on my computer table and jot down any idea I find that's new and I will want to try. Little pieces of paper get lost but I always know where my notebook is and also use it when I order "on line" so I will remember the name of the company and the order date. Tina or Trowelgal

Good question HH :). As to jewels....I found a pretty little pearl broach (antique) in a townhouse we purchased a few years ago. I still have it...they were drug dealers who were thrown out by the PO and they and the other six people who roomed in the place trashed an already trashed place. It took a six person cleaning crew a week to clean it up including all of the broken glass (because why not break the windows before you go right?). I don't care if it was the druggies grandmothers broach...karma left it in the place and I wasn't hunting down drug dealers. So that's a good and bad story. My other townhouse is more fun. We purchased within a few hours of listing despite the place being overpriced because I wrote the contract at asking price or bank approved appraised value, which ever was the lesser knowing that it would appraise about fifty grand lower than our offer. That man thought he was so smart lol he had his brother do the appraisal :). But it was not a huge town...people knew of the relationship so the bank rejected the appraisal and did another, coming in exactly where I said it would. He tried to get out if the contract so we sued for breach...ugly ugly but we won of course. So out if bitterness I guess he removed the horrific chandelier from the dining room which he said his wife carried on her lap on the plane from a castle in Hungary. I don't know why she bothered because you can buy them all day long at lows for about 22 bucks but whatever....it saved the price of removing it from our costs lol. They also left the new fridge and washer and dryer (not addressed in the contract either way). They didn't have time to take them because we had forced closing before they started packing the day prior to moving (they thought that we would give up). They came back two months later saying their kids wanted them for their new house so they would go ahead and take them now. I laughed and suggested they try a better storage facility and closed the door. Those appliances didn't come close to our legal fees and weren't going anywhere. Then there is this house....we purchased lock, stock and barrel. Not only did they bake a quiche and leave it in the fridge with juice, coffee and creamer but they left a dozen roses in a silver vase that belonged to the original owner on the dining room table with two glasses, a cheese plate and a bottle of wine. They also left a toy on the table for our son and a few others were hidden around the house for him. The house was spotless with freshly made beds and fully stocked bathrooms. If I ever buy a house again I'm going to pay someone to do that for me again lol. It was heaven!!!!

* Dental floss makes a good plant tie! It's very sturdy, with a small container that fits easily in your pocket. It even has its own 'cutter'. Some of the Mint flavored floss even comes in green so it practically disappears in the plant. * Need plant markers? Use old window blinds. The blinds are constructed of light resistant plastic (or metal if you get the really, really old ones) and last forever in the garden. Use a grease pencil, a liquid needlepoint marker pen, a permanent magic marker (good for a year or two) or a regular construction pencil with thick lead to write on the blind, cut it to length and presto - great garden markers. * Mulch, mulch, mulch. Can't stress enough how mulch can help a garden or flower bed in this Oklahoma heat by conserving moisture. Also keeps my weeds down. I hate to weed! * I like to cut up panty hose for tying up plants. They don't cut in to the stems at all. They are cheap, and one recycles when using them. * When sowing tiny seeds it is so easy to plant them too thick. The trick is to mix them with a little sugar as you sow the seeds. This way, you can control how many seeds you are dropping. The sugar will dissolve when you water the planted seeds. * To protect young fruit trees from weed eaters and mowers, cut a piece of PVC pipe down the center, enclose the bottom of the tree, and tape it back together with duct tape. You can also use these in place of those expensive 'tree wraps' for winter protection from sun scald. * Here's an old fashioned tip! The Farm and Household Cyclopedia - circa 1888. A New England farmer says: "In my own gardening I have found a most satisfactory substitute for bean poles, which latter are not only expensive, but a source of trouble and care. I plant a sunflower seed by each hill of beans, the stock answering the same purpose as the ordinary bean pole, besides providing an excellent feed for my poultry. I have been using for this purpose a mammoth variety of sunflower seed, many of the flowers of which measured fifteen inches across the seed bed." * Fill outdoor containers full of cut evergreen, holly and boxwood branches for a decorative holiday look. They last a long time in the cold winter weather. * Losing Tool Again?? Wrap the handles of your garden tools in brightly-colored tape, so it shows up against the grass. The chances will then be less that they might get left outside to rust or get lost. * Before cutting your ornamental grasses, tightly tie twine around the foliage and then cut the grass blades. It can then be taken right to the compost pile or the curb. No mess to rake. * My best trick ever was to get my husband in on the watering, Wow he has done a great job ever since! Now I introduce him as my "Master Gardener" He beams, I get some rest! * I use a pick axe when I dig. I am a woman and cannot handle a shovel. When I dig up a new area, I can use my arms and toss that pick axe into the ground and easily break up the (soil) clay. It also works well for those big tall weeds that quickly get out of hand. My pick axe is short and has 3 prongs on it. The other side is like a spade, but I never use it. * When designing a new flower bed, lay out a garden hose or rope to outline the bed. You can change the angle of the bed, twist it one way or another and step far back to look. It's an easy way to get the shape you want before you dig! * Bribery works around here - I used to plant cherry tomatoes and ever bearing strawberries to entice my kids to do some weeding. Pick one or two row(s) of weeds and help yourself to however many strawberries or toms are ripe. Now they're teenagers and demand money but it still gets the job done. * Ok, I'm not sure this is right but this lady I know said that she doesn't dig up her elephant ears. Instead she cuts them back and throws a bail of hay on top of them for the winter. * I never dig my elephant ears. I lose them about once every ten years. We've been below zero before and they've been okay. I never add any more mulch than what is already in the beds. What hurts them more than the cold is having a WET, cold winter. But I'm in zone 7a, right on the edge of 7b, so you might get colder in Tulsa. I am up on top of a hill though, with no protection. We had three nights down to eight degrees last winter. I do dig my Alocasias and Xanthosomas though, but not most Colocasias. * One of the best things I have found to dig up a weed or to plant your spring plants is to buy a BIG screwdriver, it works so good and I also have a spoon that I use. I just leave them in a pan that I keep all my small garden tools in. Also before you mulch your plants lay down newspaper around whatever you are planting then the mulch. Not only does it hold water, but no weeds. It will last a couple of years. * Along the fence line between the pet's side of the yard and the flower bed I have that black edging that goes into the ground about 4 or 5 inches to stop the underground stolon and that is topped with old roofing shingles cut in half lengthwise to a) deter runners and b) make it easier to mow next to the fence. The shingles protrude into the flowerbed side by about 2" and the pet's side about 5". The grass also won't climb into the fence because you cut it off before it reaches it and no need for a weed whacker either. * For top notch weather information bookmark the Web Site for the Oklahoma Climatological Survey (To find the current URL, do a search on Oklahoma Climatological Survey and look for an entry with 'OKLAHOMA MESONET at Norman, OK'. The site has great weather information including soil temperatures by county! =========== Tips Contributed by: Members of Oklahoma Gardening - Compiled by: Jerri_OKC Thank you Jerri and all of you!!