Plus, Grumpys gripe ofthe week. Question Of The Week I love hostas. My whole yard is filled with them. The trouble is that after a fall frost, it looks dead. Grumpy Gardener Answer:You lovehostas, but then they don’t look like anything after a freeze. The answer is really simple. Plant something else with your hostas. Interesting that spiders don’t have ears, so I don’t know how they could chase awayspiders....

Plus, Grumpy shares his tip about gravel mulch. What else would you recommend? Grumpy Gardener Answer:Well, first of all,pine strawis not too acidic for anything. But they are a great mulch, and I love to use it because it’s natural. Now, what do I mean by gravel? First of all, I am not talking about lava rock. I like earth tone colors for mulches. So they’re doing everything that you want a mulch to do....

Plus, Grumpys plant of the week, the Balloon Flower. Question Of The Week I live in Michigan and have a question about blue hydrangeas. I’ve had them for three years and they get plenty of light. Credit: Photo: Ralph Anderson I feed them with food for acid-loving plants, but they’ve never bloomed. Well, it could be a couple of reasons why your hydrangeas aren’t blooming. And if they’re not blooming, you may be pruning them at the wrong time....

Plus, Grumpys gripe of the week. I’ve sprayed and sprayed but can’t get rid of them. kindly advise me what to do." So you’ve got the option to’t use them to fix this problem. That’s a little bit debatable. You don’t have to look if you don’t care what it’s going to smell like. But, look at the ingredients, because a lot of it is made out of animal parts....

I’d like something that will spread quickly, does not require mowing, and takes full sun. Grumpy Gardener:I would suggest commonthyme. I’ve never seen anything, eating on my sedums. There’s lots of different kinds. Some are used as ground covers, they grow just flat along the ground, others grow taller. They grow into a little moundy shape. They can be from an inch tall to about 24 inches tall. They have lots of different foliage colors....

Plus, he shares his plant of the week. So instead of growing up and round like it usually does, it gets really wide and flat. It almost looks like a tongue depressor, and it’ll keep going up and up and up. And then finally, when the plant blooms and this is not just with lilies. Here’s the good news, it doesn’t spread from plant to plant. It won’t affect your plant the next year....

Plus, Grumpys gripe of the week about mosquitoes. Grumpy Gardener answer:Maybe you could go and get a product that accelerates wood decomposition. And there is a product out there. you’ve got the option to find it at a garden center. It’s called Bonide Stump-Out. What a romantic name that is, you know? Yes, that would make a beautiful birthday gift for anyone. I vote the chicken. It’s becoming more and more popular....

Plus,Grumpys love for collard greens. Question Of The Week Why is my established bed of Ajuga dying? It was thriving just a month ago here in southeast Oklahoma. Anyway, it’s aground cover.It usually grows in the shade. It spreads, it has either purple or green or sometimes, pink foliage. I just hate them. I’ll never serve them again." So, when I was growing up we never had them. It wasn’t until I moved to Alabama that I had my first collard greens....

Plus,Grumpys plant of the week. We live in Oklahoma. Can you suggest something to clear this up? This is a very common problem withpeonies. It’s called powdery mildew and grows on top of the leaves and it makes them just look ugly. The good thing about it is it’s not gonna kill your peonies. It’s a natural fungicide, very safe to use. Reds and pinks and blues and purples and white....

Plus, Grumpys Gripe of the week. What did I do wrong? Grumpy Gardener Answer:Crooknecksquash,they naturally have a tougher, thicker skin than a straight neck squash. it’s possible for you to just slice off the skin and scoop out the insides andthat’s edible. Gripe Of The Week It’s about this time of year. Does it cool off here in September?No, it doesn’t. You are just waiting for the first cold front to come through and you get that crisp air....

Plus, his plant ofthe week. They’re asking an arm and a leg just to prune the dead limbs. What do you recommend? Grumpy Gardener:I think an arm and a leg is just too expensive. I mean, maybe a leg, but not both an arm and a leg. They get too big, the branches hang down to the ground and they just die on you. So, I would say cut your losses and cut that willow....

Plus, Grumpys Gripe of the Week for all his followers. We just planted some here, and so far it’s doing well. Is there anything I need to do to help it through the winter? It likes to have long, cold winters. So if you’re going to grow it here, my advice is: treat it as an annual. And what you do, go to the garden center or, whatever source that you have....

Plus, Grumpys tip of the week that have us preparing for spring. What should I do? Pretty soon you’re going to get a frost. And then you’ll have white flies again next year, and they get on practically everything. Put it in the trash can. Don’t put it in the compost. Put it in the trash can and get rid of it. Tip Of The Week Mark your spring bulbs. So now here’s something you might do that’s really simple....