Hi y'all. I've been pottering around the garden, utilizing some of your ideas. Thanks very much for all your suggestions. Hollis, while I'd heard that marigolds keep certain insects away, I'd never been told before that they might chase away some pesky digging critters too, so I've planted several around the yard. They make nice hardy transitional plants that last well into the Fall around here anyway.
Other non-toxic repellents that I'm trying:
Burying a bulb of garlic in a flower bed. (Doesn't smell to me in the ground but rabbits, cats and squirrels don't like it).
Sprinkling Chili Powder around beds and in pots. Worth a shot.
Moth flakes (these stink and lose their effectiveness after rain, but it does work).
Lemon and Orange Peel strewn through the garden. Okay, but when a lemon is a dollar apiece as they are around here, it better work!
As a deer deterrent, many people hang Irish Spring soap from a string on a fence in their garden. This sure repels me too.
Otherwise, things are going well. I have Lupines coming up from seeds, and, though I like the shape of the leaves, have yet to see any flowers. My potato vines are luxuriant in pots, along with something called Blue Hawaiian Flower that is a lovely little hanging flower and Bocopa, a coral colored hanging flower. I also spied an old wicker chair at the curb one day, turned around and snagged it before anyone could see me, (it's illegal to ragpick in my town, though I look upon it as recycling when I do it...
![Wink :wink:](./images/smilies/icon_wink.gif)
As the nursery's wind down from the Spring planting season, lots of stuff is going on sale. I think I'm going to have to break down and plant a few more Hostas and ferns in the yard...as an investment in the future, don'tcha know!
Hope that you'll let me know how your own gardens are growing.