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Primrose Antique and Gift Shop.

“Collect things you love, that are authentic to you,

and your house becomes your story.” – Erin Flett

The Garden in September

By Rachel Anderson, Certified Professional Horticulturalist

We have been blessed this year with one of the very best summers that I can remember. At my house, you know it’s a good summer when:

The house hasn’t been cleaned in months. Seriously, if we have guests, we just reroute them through the garden gate and onto the patio out back. Trust me, it’s much nicer out there. Who wants to be inside cleaning when there’s sunshine to enjoy?
We’ve been eating home-grown tomatoes since July – and that’s without a greenhouse. Yup, best year ever. Try ‘Golden Nugget’ for sweet, juicy, golden cherry tomatoes as early as July 15. And it’s still going!
My hands have calluses from holding the hose. I’m not kidding here. Nice weather means dry gardens, and I don’t have an irrigation system. Not to mention all the hours of hand-watering at the Nursery. Talk about a full time job!
Best of all, you know it’s been a good, long, dry, beautiful summer like we haven’t seen in a long while when, as it finally begins to rain a good solid rain, you’ll find me sitting on the front porch (the house still hasn’t been cleaned) smiling and soaking up the coolness and the fresh rain scents, and listening to the hiss and patter of raindrops with a smile on my face and gladness in my heart, because hey, after all, I am a Pacific Northwesterner and believe it or not, I missed the rain!

In the ornamental garden:

Stop pruning and fertilizing. Allow trees and shrubs to slow down and go dormant. Pruning and fertilizing encourages plants to put on new growth, and now is not the best time for that. New growth that hasn’t had a chance to harden off is easily damaged by frost, stunting and, in some cases, killing the plant.
Don’t deadhead roses. When you let the flowers fade on the plant, it tells the plant that it’s time to slow down and get ready for winter.
Plant bearded iris. There is a great selection to choose from at the Nursery right now. It’s better to plant bearded iris sooner than later to give them a chance to put down roots before winter. Speaking of which, if you haven’t already divided the bearded iris you already have, now is the time (assuming it needs it). It’s best if this is done in August or September to give the newly divided rhizomes time to put down new roots before cold wet weather set in.
Go shopping at the Nursery for the best selection of bulbs for spring. Plant in September and October. You’ll be so glad you did when the first snowdrops and crocus pop up in the dreary months of February and March.
Bring in any houseplants that vacationed outdoors for the summer. Be sure to check for any hitch-hiking pests.
If your summer containers are looking a little tired, consider tossing the old plants and revamping your pots with fall and winter color in mind. We’ve got lots of great perennials and annuals in stock that will provide fresh, colorful foliage and flowers for the season to come. Look for grasses, heucheras, mums, asters, ornamental cabbage and kale, pansies, heather, Japanese anemones, and loads more!
Begin to think about changes you’d like to see in your garden. Fall is an excellent time to get new plants in the ground to give them a head start for the next growing season. Also, September is a great time to begin thinking about adding fall color to the garden, be it flowers, colorful foliage, or berries.
If you have herbaceous perennials in your garden that are looking spent and tired after our dry summer (early blooming perennials especially are guilty of this) and you’re tired of looking at them, go ahead and cut them back.

In the veggie garden:

Continue harvesting long-season crops like green beans, summer squash, cucumbers, and tomatoes.
There’s still time to get some veggies going for fall and winter, as long as you begin with starts. There are still some great things to choose from at the nursery. If you sowed seeds in August, make sure your seedlings are thinned and spaced generously, especially if you plan on overwintering them. The more space they have the better the air circulation, which is important during our wet cool winters.
Remove anything that is no longer productive or that has gone to seed (unless you’re saving seed). Mulch bare soil with straw (NOT hay – you’ll have weeds forever!) or sow a cover crop (like fava beans, crimson clover, or buckwheat) to protect your soil during the winter. Cover crops are a great way to return nutrients to the soil and they’ll help to prevent erosion and compaction from our rainy winter.

I hope that as the season turns, and the days grow shorter, cooler, and more gray, we’ll all be able to remember the feel of hot summer sun on our faces, the taste of sweet homegrown tomatoes eaten right off the vine, and the feel of cool grass tickling our bare feet. But just in case I have a hard time conjuring up those memories when the days are dreary, I’ve canned a few jars of tomatoes to help me remember. I sure hope I’ve cleaned the house by then, because it’s awfully chilly on the patio in winter!

To download a printable copy of this article, click here

About the author:
Rachel has been gardening since childhood, thanks to her mom, and has been part of the team at Christianson’s since 2002. She’s a Certified Professional Horticulturist with a passion for roses and vegetable gardening. Rachel and her family enjoy gardening together and now share their urban garden with a menagerie of ducks, chickens, two cats, and a dog.

This article was first published in the September 2013 issue of Garden Notes, our monthly online newsletter. You can sign up for Garden Notes on the Newsletter page of our website or sign up in person the next time you’re in the Garden Store at the Nursery.

2013 Winter Gardens Photography Contest

In conjunction with our Annual Winter Festival, we are excited to once again be hosting a Winter Gardens Photography Contest. Amateurs and professionals alike are invited to participate by submitting up to two photographs of previously unpublished images.

Entries should be 5” x 7” photos of a winter garden scene or a single plant and mounted on black mat board with a 2” to 3” border.
The contest entry form should be affixed to the back of each mounted photograph. Please print clearly.
Entries must be received at Christianson’s Nursery no later than Monday, February 25, 2013, at 4:30 pm.

Entry form

All entries will be exhibited in Christianson’s Schoolhouse during the weekend of our Winter Festival, March 2 – 3, 2013. All entries will be professionally judged and the winning entries will be announced on March 2, with prizes awarded to the first, second, and third place winners.

Here are just a few of the winning images from past years:

‘Reflection of Winter’ by Carol Worrell

‘Ice Stairs’ by John F. Parks

‘Frosty Leaves’ by Anne Elkins

‘Hydrangea Skeletons’ by John Holtman

‘Snowgeese & Blueberries’ by David Smith

The Garden in January

By Rachel Anderson, Certified Professional Horticulturalist

Here it is, a new year again! January is a great time to begin your planning for the coming growing season. Plant and seed catalogs are beginning to appear in mailboxes, tantalizing you with the latest and greatest in new varieties of just about everything. I always get sucked into the vegetable section of seed catalogs, with promises of bigger yields and more delicious flavor with less effort. Amazing! Every year I try something new in the veggie garden and sometimes it’s successful and sometimes not so much. (Tomatoes usually fall into the not so much category-I like to blame it on the weather rather than take full responsibility). My space is limited, so when something doesn’t work out it’s pretty disappointing. But at least I’ve learned something! Just thinking about the new season ahead with its promise of lush green growing things, and sunshine and gentle spring rain and songbirds singing their hearts out and…and…I just can’t wait!

In the ornamental garden:

The boughs from your Christmas tree make a great mulch. Prune them off and either spread them out whole or chop them up into smaller pieces and spread them around. We always save the remaining trunk over the year and then on Christmas Eve, saw it up and use it as our Yule Log.
Remove the older leaves from your hellebores to better show off the emerging flowers. In the spring, do the opposite and remove the spent flowers to allow the new leaves to grow unimpeded.
Take advantage of any calm and dry days to spray a dormant spray, like Lime Sulphur, on your fruit trees and roses. Dormant sprays help with the control of some insect pests and some fungal issues like scab on apples and black spot on roses. Be sure to fully read and follow the directions on the packaging and always wear protective clothing. And be prepared for the possibility of smelling like a rotten egg afterwards. Again, calm days are key!
It’s the beginning of the pruning season, and if you’re unsure how to take care of your fruit trees, roses, or other shrubs, take advantage of the several amazing pruning classes that we have lined up this year. If you have a garden that has suddenly (or not so suddenly) gotten out of control, check out Cass Turnbull’s class. She’s a real pruning know it all-in a very good way. Remember to always call ahead to reserve your spot in any class as they fill up quickly.
January marks the beginning of the bare root fruit tree, ornamental, and shrub season. We’ve got an excellent selection right now. Bare root trees are usually less expensive than potted or balled and burlapped, and they’re lighter and easier to handle. This is when we have our absolute best selecion of fruit trees, and some varieties are limited so hurry in if you’re looking for something specific.
It’s also rose season. We’ll have our best selection of roses in stock this month, including tons of exciting varieties for 2013. Check out our 2013 Rose List to see what’s new.

In the vegetable garden:

Make plans!
Consider creating a garden journal that includes a to scale drawing of your veggie beds. Make copies of your drawing and pencil in what you might like to plant where, and consider crop rotations too. Rotating crops even in small spaces helps to prevent disease and insect problems.

Happy New Year and happy planning! We’ve got a ways to go before we can do anything in earnest, but there’s no harm in getting excited and looking forward to another great growing season.

About the author:
Rachel has been gardening since childhood, thanks to her mom, and has been part of the team at Christianson’s since 2002. She’s a Certified Professional Horticulturist with a passion for roses and vegetable gardening. Rachel and her family enjoy gardening together and now share their urban garden with a menagerie of ducks, chickens, two cats, and a dog.

This article was first published in the January 2013 issue of Garden Notes,
our monthly e-newsletter.

January issue of Garden Notes
Directory of all past issues of Garden Notes
Sign up for Garden Notes

Click here to download a printable version of this article – The Garden in January (PDF)

The Garden in December

By Rachel Anderson, Certified Professional Horticulturalist

December is a pretty quiet time in the garden, which is a contrast to the hustle and bustle of the holidays. Along those lines, I’ve been thinking a lot about gifts – gifts given and gifts received. And then I thought about all the gifts my garden has given me, like a place to be creative and get my hands dirty. A place to observe nature and to learn. Then I thought about how great that is and how neat it would be if everyone had a place like that in their lives. We gardeners are pretty lucky people, don’t you think?

‘Peppermint Ice’ Hellebore

In the ornamental garden:

If your heart is missing the sight of flowers in your garden, don’t despair! We are fortunate to live in a climate that allows for many winter blooming shrubs and perennials. Look for Camellias, Witchhazel, Sarcococca, Viburnum b. ‘Dawn’, Mahonia, Garrya, and Hellebores to name a few. Why, you could plant an entire section of your garden with winter flowers in mind!
As you’re looking around your garden this time of year, pay special attention to areas that maybe need something evergreen to break up the monotony of bare twigs and dormant perennials. Remember that it doesn’t have to be a conifer. There are loads of evergreen broadleaf shrubs and even a few perennials that are easy to squeeze in whether you have sun or shade.
Speaking of Hellebores, we have an enormous selection in stock at the nursery right now, including a few nigers that are already in bloom! The pure white flowers of ‘Jacob’ and ‘Joseph Lemper’ make lovely hostess gifts for the holidays and they can be planted right into the garden when the festivities are over. They will flower year after year at a time when flowers are most welcome. Hellebores are an evergreen perennial that grow in shade to part shade, and if you plan it right you can have winter flowers from December through March!
If you’re planning to get a living Christmas tree this year, make sure that it’s not in the house for longer than 10 days. Water it well before you bring it in and then at least once while it’s in the house. Put a saucer underneath it to catch any water that drains out the bottom of the pot. When the time comes to put it back outdoors, place it in a protected area for a week or so (depending on the weather) to get it used to being out in the cold again.
If you haven’t planted those tulips or daffodils that you bought earlier, this is just a friendly reminder – do it! There’s nothing worse than coming across a bag of forgotton bulbs come April or May.
To prevent your paperwhites from getting too tall and floppy, give them a drink. Of alcohol that is. Research has shown that a 5% alcohol/water solution stunts the growth of potted paperwhites. Use only distilled alcohol like gin, vodka, or tequila, or rubbing alcohol can also be used. Don’t use beer or wine as the sugers can damage the plants. Use a 1:7 ratio alcohol to water if you’re going to use distilled. Use a 1:10 ratio if you’re using rubbing alcohol. This trick only seems to work with bulbs that are forced using the pebbles and water method. Once your bulbs have begun to root out and grow, pour off the old water and replace it with the alcohol solution and only use that for future waterings.
Keep the bird feeders full and clean.

In the vegetable garden:

There’s not a whole lot of work to be done in the veggie garden at this time of year, except keep the weeds down, mulch, and eat what you planted in the summer/fall. If you have greens that you’re trying to overwinter, they will really benefit from a good layer of straw or leaves as a mulch to insulate and protect the roots.
Artichokes sometimes have difficulty overwintering here, especially if your soil is heavy. They would love a toasty straw mulch for the winter.
Now is a great time to take care of your tools. Sharpen your shovels and spades and store them in a dry location. Pruning season is just around the corner, so make sure your pruners and loppers are cleaned, sharpened and oiled.

And now for the best part – put your feet up and relax and feel good about all your hard work in the garden this year and begin your planning for next year. A new season will be here before you know it. And remember to pay attention to the small gifts your garden gives you.

Happy Holidays!

About the author:

Rachel has been gardening since childhood, thanks to her mom, and has been part of the team at Christianson’s since 2002. She’s a Certified Professional Horticulturist with a passion for roses and vegetable gardening. Rachel and her family enjoy gardening together and now share their urban garden with a menagerie of ducks, chickens, two cats, and a dog.

This article was first published in the December 2012 issue
of Garden Notes, our monthly e-newsletter.

December issue of Garden Notes
Directory of all past issues of Garden Notes
Sign up for Garden Notes

Click here to download a printable version of this article – The Garden in December (PDF)

The Garden in November

By Rachel Anderson, Certified Professional Horticulturalist

It’s blustery, it’s rainy, and it’s chilly. But boy is it beautiful! There’s snow in the foothills, and the last of the fall colors appear bright and glowing against the steely sky, and best of all, the snow geese are back! Every time I hear them honking overhead I have to stop and straighten up out of my bent over gardener’s position and turn my eyes to the sky and smile because I love them and I love that they get me up off of the wet ground and cause me to take a moment to reflect on just how lucky I am to be where I am.

In the vegetable garden:

There’s still time to plant garlic, however your window of opportunity is narrowing. Garlic should be in the ground by the middle of this month to allow time for the roots to develop before the ground gets too cold. If you can’t or don’t plant garlic now, it’s ok. You’ll have another opportunity to do so in the spring. It just means a different harvest time.
Mulch your empty veggie beds with fallen leaves or straw (NOT hay, as this contains seeds of whatever that grass is and they will sprout in your beds).
If you are growing asparagus, now is the time to cut the tops off down to the ground. Mulch to protect the crowns over the winter.
Make sure to bring in all of your winter squash so that it doesn’t rot. Wash away any mud, dry, and store in a spot where they’ll stay cool and dry. Some people wipe their squash with a weak bleach solution to help prevent any mold from forming.

In the ornamental garden:

Let the fallen leaves lay where they land (unless they’re diseased). Leaves are an excellent mulch, and if left alone they will provide shelter for important overwintering beneficial insects and spiders. Remember, these little critters do good work for us in our gardens and they need a safe habitat over the winter. Plus, over time the leaves will break down and add nutrients to the soil and help improve soil structure.
Leave as much as you can to rot on it’s own and remove only what you need to in order to satisfy your sense of tidiness. Hydrangea blossoms hold their rich color long into the season and many perennials like eryngium, sedum, and echinacea keep their form and lend interest to our gardens when we maybe forget to pay as much attention. Plus, they look lovely laced with frost.
Leave your grasses alone for now too. Their tawny hues and graceful structure lend beauty and softness to the fall and winter garden.
Drain and store hoses for winter. If you have an irrigation system, make sure to drain it too so there’s no water left in the pipes to freeze.
If you haven’t planted any spring bulbs yet, make sure to get it done before the end of this month.
It’s still ok to do a bit of rearranging in the garden. Part of the beauty and fun of gardening is that nothing is static. You can change anything you want to in your garden. If you need or want to move perennials or shrubs, or even trees, fall really is the best time to do it. Plants are going dormant so there is less chance of transplant shock. Plus, you can count on more regular rainfall so you don’t have to do as much hand-watering. Always hand-water right after you’ve moved something to be sure to give your plant a good start.
Fall is also a really good time to create new garden beds or enlarge old ones. My favorite way to do this is by sheet mulching, mostly because it’s so darn easy! It does take time though. Plot out where you want your new bed to be and then dig out around the perimeter, removing only about six inches or so of sod (lawn). Leave the rest of the lawn alone. Cover your entire bed space (including the part you dug out) with flattened cardboard or lots of layers of newspaper (I mean lots, like twenty pages thick). I prefer cardboard because it seems to smother the grass better. Water down the cardboard or paper to prevent it from blowing away before you have a chance to cover it. Cover the cardboard or newspaper with a 6-8 inch layer of compost. You can mix straw and/or leaves in with the compost if you want. Then just leave it alone for about 3 months or so. The grass under the cardboard and mulch gets smothered and rots and becomes beautiful garden soil that is ready to be planted in the spring. You can skip the digging out the perimeter step if you’d like. I always do it because it creates a nice crisp edge.
Don’t forget to pot up a few paperwhites and Amaryllis for the holidays. We have 10 different varieties of Amaryllis right now and the bulbs are absolutely giant! Size matters when it comes to bulbs and these promise lots of color. Paperwhites take about 6 weeks to flower and Amaryllis take about 8 weeks, depending on how warm or cool your home is.
If you have plants in ceramic pots outdoors, remove the saucers from underneath them so they don’t fill with water and then freeze. This will help prevent winter damage to your pots.

The garden in November can be a bit messy and unruly, but that’s just a part of the beauty of gardening. My garden in November reminds me that perfection doesn’t exist and that the only constant thing in life is change.

This article was first published in the November 2012 issue of Garden Notes,
our monthly e-newsletter. Click here to sign up for Garden Notes.

Click here to download a printable version of this article – Garden in November PDF

The Garden in October

By Rachel Anderson, Certified Professional Horticulturalist

Wow! October is a busy month in the garden! There’s a lot to do before the first frost and the rains set in for the long haul. I love working outside in October because the colors of autumn seem so bright and there’s a crispness in the air that makes me want to eat apples and drink tea. I also love how my garden looks after I’ve swept through and tidied up in preparation for winter.

In the vegetable garden:

Harvest late apples, pears, and Asian pears
Continue to harvest beans and zucchini if they’re still producing. By the time October rolls around I’m usually less dutiful about harvesting, mostly because the mere sight of another zucchini makes me want to walk the opposite direction.
Pick all the tomatoes that are ripe or partially ripe. If you still have lots of green tomatoes, try pulling up the entire plant and hanging it upside down somewhere dry and cool (like a garage). They will ripen!
It’s still not too late to plant out starts of kale, chard, mustard, or arugula. These veggies love the cooler temperatures of October, and may even overwinter.
Pull weeds and pull out any veggies that are no longer producing.
Now is the time to plant garlic. Mulch with straw or leaves. When you start to see little green shoots popping up, remove the mulch and side dress with a slow release vegetable fertilizer. (I accidentally fertilized mine this year with rose food and was rewarded with the best and biggest garlic bulbs I’ve ever grown! Some mistakes turn out alright in the end after all!)

In the ornamental garden:

Pull those weeds you’ve been ignoring. With the return of the rainy season upon us, the soil is refreshed and yields the roots of weeds more easily than dry soil.
Cut back any perennials that are tired looking or beginning to go dormant. I like to leave plants like asters, echinacea, rudbeckia, and agastache because they’re still blooming and, when they’re finally done, the flower heads have seeds that the wild birds enjoy eating.
Spread compost or bark as a mulch, being careful not to put it up against the trunks of trees and shrubs. Mulching in the fall is an excellent way to protect newly planted plants over the winter, add organic matter to the soil, and help keep weeds under control. Plus it looks so very pretty!
Rake fallen leaves. If you’re lucky enough to have maple, oak, or other deciduous trees in your yard, then you have a fabulous source of FREE MULCH! Rake your leaves up into a long pile and then pass over them a few times with a lawn mower to chop them up a bit before spreading them over your garden beds. This is also beneficial for vegetable beds. The leaves will quickly decompose, adding minerals to the soil and helping to loosen the soil. Be sure not to use any foliage that is diseased or buggy. Also steer clear of walnut leaves as they contain growth inhibitors that prevent seed germination and stunt the growth of existing trees and shrubs.
There’s an excellent selection of conifers at the Nursery right now, including the coveted Pinus contorta ‘Chief Joseph’, which is a bright golden form of our native shore pine. If you’ve been considering a conifer for that hole in your garden, definitely plan on stopping by to check out the selection. Fall is a perfect time of year to plant new trees and shrubs.
October is a good time to move or divide perennials. It’s also a good time to move small shrubs or trees if you’ve decided they’re not where you’d like them after all. They’ll have all winter to establish new roots to support next season’s growth.
Empty summer planters. Clean and store your pots for next year, or refill them with winter interest in mind.
It’s still not too late to plant bulbs for next spring. Just think of those bright cheerful colors in the dark months of February and March!
If you live in deer or bunny country, there are loads of great bulb varieties that the critters will usually leave alone, such as Allium, Daffodills, Fritillaria, Scilla, Galanthus (snowdrops), and Erythronium (tooth violet). In fact, because the bulbs of Fritillaria stink so, they actually repel ground dwellers like moles.
Now is the time to start paperwhites in pots indoors for flowers and fragrance around Thanksgiving. The Nursery has three different varieties to choose from. They usually take about six weeks from time of planting until bud and bloom. If your house is cooler, it may take a bit longer. Plant successively for cheerful indoor color all winter long. Also try forcing Hyacinths. We have some that are pre-chilled at the nursery. Forced bulbs make wonderful hostess gifts for the holidays, so plant lots and plan to give some away!
Select Amarylis bulbs. We have a great selection to choose from by the end of October. Don’t plant them yet if you want color for Christmas. These usually take 8-10 weeks from time of planting to bud and bloom.
Lift and store tender bulbs like Dahlias and Begonias (especially Begonias). Gently brush the soil off the tubers and store in a cool dry location in a paper bag separated by newspaper. Dahlias can overwinter in the ground in some areas here. If you know your soil doesn’t drain well, or if you are up in the foothills, then be sure to lift and store your tubers the same way as Begonias.
If you grew Geraniums, Fuchsias, or Begonias in pots or hanging baskets this summer, and they were so beautiful that you can’t bear to throw them away now, there is a solution for you! These plants can easily be overwintered. First, cut them way back (I mean way back to 2-3 inches and within the edges of the pot/basket) and then bring them indoors to overwinter in a cool, dark, and dry room. A garage or unheated greenhouse works well, or even a back room or closet, as long as it is cool but not freezing. Do this before the first frost hits (here’s a tip to help you know when: if you are closing windows and turning on the heat at night, it’s time to bring in plants for overwintering). During the winter months, keep them on the dry side, maybe watering just a bit each month or so. If you forget, it’s okay. When February or March rolls around, give them a careful inspection. You’re looking for little tiny bits of new growth trying to emerge from the dormant stems. At this time it is okay to move them somewhere a bit warmer and give them more regular water. When you really begin to see noticeable growth, go ahead and fertilize them with half strength liquid fertilizer. You’ll need somewhere to keep them so that they have good light and space to grow, but you should not move them outside overnight until all chance of frost has passed (usually around Mother’s Day for us here in Skagit Valley).
If your hydrangeas are beginning to turn the wrong color (i.e. blue to pink or more commonly, pink to blue), now is a really good time to adjust your soil ph for next years flowers. If you want electric blue flowers, add aluminum sulfate. If you want pink flowers, add lime. If you’ve never had your soil tested, it’s not a bad idea to do so before you do too much soil ph adjusting. The WSU extension agency will be able to steer you in the right direction there.
Don’t forget about the birds! Empty out your bird feeders and give them a good cleaning. Refill with fresh birdseed, preferably a mix that caters to our native overwintering birds like sparrows, juncos, and chickadees.

Remember to stop and relax with a cup of tea or coffee and bask in the last bright sunny days of the season.

About the author:

Using Plants as Natural ‘Pest’ Repellents

By Eve Boe, Lily Hirdler, and Zoe Howell

Agastache cana

As summer draws to a close, many of us are squeezing in our last cookouts, patio parties, camping trips, and gardening chores. We’re also noticing the arrival of some uninvited guests, mosquitoes, flies and moths, to name just a few. Most of these ‘pests’ are simply annoying, but others can pose more serious threats. For example, avoiding mosquitoes has been in the news lately due to concerns about the West Nile Virus, which is spread by mosquitoes.

Of course, the presence of insects is not only natural, it’s an essential aspect of a healthy garden. The challenge comes in managing the ‘pests’ – those biting, veggie-decimating, marching-inside-the-house sorts of pests – while doing no harm to the microcosmic health of our garden, or to ourselves, our families, pets and wildlife, and the environment as a whole.

As organic gardeners who believe in treading gently and using natural solutions whenever possible, we’d like to share some ideas about using plants to help manage pests. Some plants are effective pest repellents just by virtue of being planted in the garden, while others need to be used in specific ways to get the desired benefit.

Take mint, for example. Placing fresh mint in pantries helps deter ants, hanging sachets of dried mint in closets helps deter moths and flies (mint tea bags work as well), and rubbing crushed mint leaves on the coats of your cats and dogs can help deter biting insects. One of our staff members has never once seen a flea on any of her three indoor-outdoor cats, possibly because the contained area of the garden that is their ‘rest room’ is filled with a variety of mint plants. Perhaps just walking through the mint garden is enough to cover their coats with mint oils and keep the fleas away.

The downside is that mint is an invasive plant. Instead of planting it directly in a veggie or ornamental garden, you may want to plant it in a contained area, or use it in pots placed around outdoor living spaces or near your herb garden.

The following are examples of plants that can help repel, or at least deter, some common pests. For specific information about how to use each plant to get the pest-deterring benefits you’re seeking, visit the resource links at the bottom of this article.

Plants that help repel mosquitoes:

Agastache cana (a.k.a. Mosquito Plant)
Catmint (In a study at Iowa State University, researchers found that the essential oil in catnip, nepetalactone, is 10 times more effective than DEET, the chemical used in most insect repellents)
Rosemary
Catmint
Basil
Lavender
Scented geraniums
Beebalm
Mint
Rue
Marigolds (an annual that needs to be planted every year)
Cedronella (a tender perennial that may need to be planted each year)

Plants that help deter ticks:

Lavender
Garlic
Pennyroyal
Pyrethrum (type of chrysanthemum)
Sage
Beautyberry
Eucalyptus
Mint

Other pest-deterring plants:

Rue – especially good at deterring flies, Japanese beetles, slugs, fleas, and cats
Wormwood (Artemisia) – deters a variety of insects including ticks, flies and moths
Mint – deters beetles, fleas, moths, chiggers, mice, ants
Rosemary – in addition to mosquitoes, it also deters cabbage moths and carrot flies

As is always the case when making plant selections, it’s important to understand the plant’s benefits and possible hazards. For instance, while rue may be effective at deterring cats it’s actually toxic to cats and dogs (other plants that are toxic to pets are wormwood, eucalyptus, pennyroyal, citronella, tansy, and sweet bay, among others).

Fall is a great time to be thinking about what pest-repelling plants would work well in your landscape, especially near your outdoor living areas. Many of the plants mentioned in this article are available at the Nursery and can be planted now (a few of these plants are out of season or may be sold out so if you’re looking for something specific, give us a call and we’ll check availability). If you have questions or need help selecting plants that will work best for your situation, our knowledgeable staff will be happy to assist you.

Additional Resources

‘Mosquito-Repellent Plants’ from Garden Design magazine

‘5 Easy to Grow Mosquito-Repelling Plants’

‘Herbs That Kill, Control and Deter Fleas, Ticks & Mosquitoes’

‘How to Grow a Pest-Repellent Herb Garden’

‘Garden Plants That Help Fight Fleas Naturally’