Few garden crops represent the joys and colors of autumn more than pumpkins. Their color is synonymous with the season's holidays, changing leaves, and spiced desserts. Easy to grow in most gardens, they're easy to harvest too.

I had my first frost this morning and the pumpkins were the first in my vegetable garden to show damage. While my 7,500' garden gets cold temperatures earlier than most, fall's unpredictable weather portends the end for all warm season crops like pumpkins. Whether for nutmeg-spiced pies or sneering Jack-O-Lanterns, pumpkins should be harvested before freezing weather settles in.

You should leave pumpkins on the vine as long as you can. They'll only ripen and change color while still growing. Unlike tomatoes and bananas, pumpkins won't improve after picking.

There are a few ways to determine that pumpkins are ready to harvest. First is the color. If you're growing pumpkins for autumn decorations or Halloween carving, color is probably an important factor. Once the pumpkin on the vine reaches an appropriate color, it can be harvested. The color may deepen if left on the vine, but if you're happy with the hue go ahead and pick it.

The skin of the pumpkin hardens as it matures. Stick your thumbnail into the outer skin of a pumpkin. If the skin is hard and your thumbnail doesn't easily penetrate it, it's ready to cut free. If it feels soft and you leave a deep incision, leave it on the vine a little longer.

The stem that attaches a pumpkin to the plant should normally be green and sturdy. As the fruit reaches its natural maturity, the stem will begin to crack. That's a good time to harvest too. The vine will begin to shrivel and the pumpkin may separate itself at this point saving you some effort.

Thumping a finger against a ripe pumpkin should produce a hollow sound. It's hard to describe what a hollow sound is to someone who hasn't heard it. Kind of like a drum but not as loud or vibrant. To me this is the hardest way to determine harvest time.

If a heavy frost or freeze hits, the leaves will be killed, the plant can no longer support the pumpkins, and the vine dies back. Some gardeners wait until this point to harvest. I've discovered small fruit that I didn't know I had after a freeze clears away the big leaves. The pumpkins can handle light frost temperatures but they should be harvested and protected before a hard freeze. Freezing temperatures can damage the flesh.

When harvesting, wear gloves. The vines and stems are prickly. When you've decided that's it time, use shears or a knife to cut through the stem. Particularly for Jack-O-Lanterns leave enough stem to act as a handle for the lid. Three or four inches is enough. If the vine has died back the pumpkin should be easy to separate from it manually, but I usually cut it to leave a clean stem.

Don't carry the pumpkin by the stem; use two hands. If you carry a heavy pumpkin by the stem it could separate, breaking the pumpkin when it impacts the ground or at the very least removing the handle of the lid and affecting its aesthetic appeal. Also a lost stem can expose the pumpkin to early rot.

The vines, dead or alive, are ready for the compost pile. They can add a lot of green component while still fresh and are a good balance to dried leaves that usually appear about the same time as harvest.

After cutting the pumpkin from the vine, it should cure for at least 10 days if you plan to store it. Curing further hardens the skin and keeps in moisture so the flesh stays fresh for long periods. If you don't plan to store it, you don't need to go through the curing process and it can be used right away. Properly cured pumpkins can be stored at 50F degrees (10C) for two or three months and even as long as six months in a dark, well-ventilated room.
 

Expose the pumpkins to the sun to cure. Ideally, high temperatures and high humidity are needed for the best curing (at least 80F degrees and 80% humidity), but the reality is that few gardeners have those conditions at harvest time. I don't even have those conditions during the prime growing season. Place the pumpkins in a sunny, dry area so they won't rot from wet ground contact. As long as the days are sunny and warm the pumpkins will cure. If more than a light frost threatens, cover them at night with straw, plastic or a tarp, or bring them inside.

After curing, or to help facilitate curing, bring the pumpkins indoors. This should definitely be done before freezing temperatures damage them. Don't stack the pumpkins or allow them to touch each other; this can cause soft spots and potential rot. Avoid placing them near apples and other ripe fruit. The ethylene gas they emit can shorten the pumpkin storage  life.

That's all there is to selecting pumpkins for harvest and curing. Collecting the seeds for eating or future planting is always a good idea too. If you have pumpkins in your garden and you haven't harvested, take a close look at them because it may be time.

Many of the most popular and most beautiful garden flowers grow from bulbs. Bulbs are grouped in two basic categories, fall bulbs and spring bulbs. The flowers they produce are generally spring flowers and fall flowers, respectively. Deciding when to plant is relatively easy: if it flowers in the spring, plant in fall; if it flowers in fall, plant in spring.

Crocus and tulips, the first colors of spring, come from fall-planted bulbs. These bulbs need to be exposed to long periods of cold temperatures to grow and flower properly. Planted in fall, they enjoy the winter cold in the frozen ground and burst to life when the warmth of spring raises the soil temperature. While not every spring flower from a bulb needs cold to bloom, it's still a nice rule of thumb to follow. Plant spring flowers in the fall.

To support the flowers, the bulbs need to establish a root system. Planting in the fall allows the bulbs to develop the strong roots needed for quick spring growth. Plant bulbs when the soil begins to cool after the heat of summer. Roots will grow until the ground freezes so the earlier they're planted, the more time they have to develop that system. Generally, this means at least six weeks before the first hard freeze. You want the soil to be warm enough to sustain root growth, but the conditions shouldn't be so warm that foliage growth happens; that's why we don't call them "summer bulbs".

If you delay and have bulbs in storage, having missed the perfect time to plant, it's best to get them in the ground even late in fall or into winter. With time bulbs will dry out and when they do they lose the energy needed for plant growth. This year's bulbs need to be planted this year. They may not develop a healthy root system before spring but at least they have a chance for survival.

Very warm regions, like Zones 8 and 9, can grow spring flowers from bulbs, but some of this timing needs to be modified. Most of the spring flowering bulbs, particularly hyacinth, crocus, and tulips, need cold saturation so the bulbs should be stored in the refrigerator for six to eight weeks before planting. The bulbs should be planted in early winter and treated as annuals; bulbs need to be re-planted each year. Either purchase new bulbs or dig up old bulbs and put in cold storage, but they need the cold temperatures to bloom again. Amaryllis, lilies, and daffodils don't need the cold treatment.

The bulbs you choose should be large, firm, and show no signs of mold, fungus, or decay. Buying from reputable online sources or a local nursery or garden center where you can actually examine the bulb ahead of time is the best idea. Typically you get what you pay for. If you buy bargain bulbs from a discount online or mail nursery, you may get scrawny, dried out, damaged inventory; I know because it's happened to me. Inexpensive bulbs in garden center bins can be fine, but examine them before you buy.

While buying bulbs from the bulb capital of the world, Holland, seems appealing, be careful. Bulbs in the Netherlands are grown by the millions for export. The hybrids they've developed over the centuries are beautiful, but many have been selected for the big bulbs they produce to make importing them more appealing. Often the plants that result may not be best suited to your garden; they may not be able to sustain the energy needed to keep producing the beautiful flowers. It's not unusual for foreign bulbs to produce plants that only survive one or two years.
 
Look to bulb producers that develop bulbs in a region similar to the one for your garden. Do a little research and select bulbs that are appropriate for your climate and plant growing zone. Don't just focus on how pretty the flowers will be. The plant must survive your winter to bloom in spring.

When choosing a location for planting fall bulbs look for a sunny, well-drained area; bulbs don't like wet feet. Be sure to look into the future. The sun needs to shine on the plants in the spring. Deciduous trees won't have leaves in the spring and the sun's position in the sky is different than fall, so areas that might be shaded in fall may be in full sun in spring, and vice versa.

Consider how you want to establish your bulb bed. Remember that fall bulbs bloom in spring and most of the flowers don't last longer than a few weeks. For the entire summer and into the next fall, the area will be devoid of color as the foliage gradually begins to brown. Many gardeners prefer to intersperse other flowers in the same beds during that time. Whether annuals or perennials, having other plants in a bulb bed helps sustain continued color throughout the growing season.
 
If you're developing a new bed it's best to prepare the entire plot by amending the soil and adding a slow-release fertilizer to a large area all at once. The bulbs can be planted in the fall, grow and bloom in spring, and lay the framework for additional plants. At the appropriate time, other flowering plants can be placed among the bulbs.
 
If you're adding bulbs to an established bed with other perennial plants already in place, you'll need to plant one hole at a time. This is more time consuming, but follows the same basic idea of interspersing plants that flower at different times of the year.

With bulbs in hand, and the weather cooling, begin fall bulb planting. Generally speaking, use a "rule of three". Plant bulbs about three times as deep as the height of the bulb and space them apart at least three times the width of the bulb. Some large daffodil bulbs may be almost three inches tall and thick (8 centimeters). Yes, they should be planted about eight inches deep (20 centimeters) with eight to nine-inch spacing. Keep this in mind when you buy mass-produced, bargain bulbs. The directions for planting tulips and daffodils were exactly the same for bulbs I bought at a garden center though the bulbs were markedly different in size.

You can use special bulb tools or the ones you have already. I have a bulb planter, a special cylindrical tool than is designed to twist in the soil and pull out a plug, producing a perfectly-shaped hole. If you want to buy one of these, look for one that has inch or centimeter markings so you know how deep you're digging. I also have a trowel with depth markings. They both were a little more expensive than generic tools, but they come in very useful when I want to measure the hole depth for different bulbs.

In a bed with other plants already in place, I lay out my bulbs ahead of time in the desired pattern on the surface. In a brand new bed you can dig a trench or large hole of the appropriate depth to place the bulbs in. Some gardeners like long, orderly rows of flowers. Others like clumps of flowers. Others like a totally random arrangement where the bulbs are tossed on the ground and planted where they land. I use all three methods and vary them depending on which bed I'm planting. Clumping or planting a lot of bulbs in one area is better than a few, single ones because the concentration of color can provide quite a visual impact.

Using the bulb tool or  a trowel, dig the hole, or prepare a trench. Place the bulb with the pointed end up. The flat end is wider and fatter and should be at the bottom of the hole.  With smaller bulbs it may be difficult to discern which is the base and which is the top; just put it in the hole and the plant will adjust when it grows.

If you weren't able to amend the soil in the entire planting area, do it one hole at a time. Mix some compost and fertilizer with the soil at the base of the hole. While the bulb has all of the energy needed to produce a plant and flowers in the first year, slow-release fertilizer high in phosphorus (the second number on the box) helps with plant development in poor soil like mine. I use a triple phosphate fertilizer. If the soil has been amended and is rich with organic matter, fertilizer isn't necessary. Avoid just adding the fertilizer directly to the hole because it can burn the developing roots.
 

After placing the bulb, cover it with amended soil and tamp down gently. You don't want to compact the soil, just ensure it is completely covering the bulb. Especially after amending it you'll have more soil than will fit in the hole with the bulb in it. That's okay. You can mound it slightly because it will settle in time.

That's all there is to it. Dig a hole, place the bulb, cover with soil. As with most plants, adding mulch to the bed will help moderate soil temperature and avoid frost heave in the winter. Once in the ground, most fall bulbs have a long life ahead of them and you'll have flowers every spring.
 
Be as creative as you want when it comes to planting fall bulbs. Generally, low plants are planted in front of high ones, but consider blending and mixing different bulbs in the same bed. When flowers bloom at different times they'll provide an ever-changing spring portrait. Consider planting different bulbs in the same hole with smaller ones on top of large ones. When they grow and bloom the flowers will be mingled with each other for a distinctive look. Bulbs do well in pots too.

As easy as they are to plant and as beautiful as the flowers are, it's hard to come up with an excuse for not planting fall bulbs.

Daylilies are a rugged perennial that can endure sustained neglect and still grace the gardenscape with beautiful strokes of color. I know because I've been a daylily abuser. They do so well in poor soil, harsh weather, bad light, and bone-dry conditions that it's easy to forget that they can thrive with a little help. With just moderate maintenance the plants will prosper and you'll realize you want more in your garden. That's no problem because daylilies are very easy to propagate.

Daylily flowers provide a rainbow spectrum of color that bloom over a long period and the plants offer sizes that vary from small feathery clumps to large, fans of green foliage. Because of these differences in color and size, I've found that I occasionally plant with an aesthetic vision in mind but when the plants mature I want to adjust their positions and multiply the plants I especially like. Easy propagation is a godsend in those situations.

There are only two primary forms of propagating daylilies. The first is by seed. After blooming and pollination, the flowers dry and a small, green seed pod develops at their base. The seed pod will grow over the course of a few months and the seed pods will turn brown as they mature. The brown pods will eventually crack open. Inside will be glossy black seeds. These young seeds need cold exposure to germinate so they should be planted in the fall for natural winter cold or they should be stored in the refrigerator in a plastic bag for about a month. After this cooling period they're ready to sow outside in spring.

Collecting and sowing seeds from daylilies in your garden is a crapshoot. The daylilies you grow are probably hybrids. They won't grow true to the parent plant when grown from seed because it is a cross of other varieties. If you have multiple varieties of daylilies in your bed, there is no telling which flower pollinated another. With varied hybrid parents or different hybrid cultivars involved with pollination, the resulting seed will grow into an unknown, future plant.
 
It can take three years for a seed to germinate and grow into a plant that flowers. After all that time, be ready for a surprise when the plant produces that first bloom. There's no way to tell what color or size it will be ahead of time, but with so many positive attributes that daylilies offer, it will probably be a nice surprise.

If you don't plan to save the seeds, remove the seed pods. Plants that produce seeds will usually have fewer flowers the next year. Since one of the reasons you grow daylilies is for the flowers, there's no reason to intentionally restrict future flowers.

The second form of daylily propagation is division. Large clumps of daylilies can be divided easily and this is the preferred method of propagation when you want your plant to have the same size and color as the parent. It also will produce flowers faster. Each plant grows into a clump that will be ready for division about every three or four years. Undivided plants will begin to produce fewer flowers so you're doing yourself and the plant a favor by dividing regularly.

Daylilies can be divided in spring or fall. The plants that are divided in spring grow quickly afterward, but they seldom bloom in that first year. Primarily for that reason, I prefer to propagate in the fall. Fall propagated plants will almost always bloom the next year. You should wait until after the plant flowers, but dividing and transplanting the divisions should happen at least six weeks before the ground freezes.

Start by digging up the entire plant. Beginning about six to eight inches away from the plant, push your spade as deep as you can in a circle around the plant. Lift out the plant with the spade, trying to keep the rootball intact. This shouldn't be too difficult but larger plants may have roots deeper than the hole and can be torn in the process; that's okay, but try to avoid it.
 
Brush or wash away the soil attached to the roots to expose them. Many daylily roots are enlarged and tuberous. This is where the plant stores food and water and enables the divisions to grow well after transplanting. The more roots in the division, the better chance for survival of the transplant.

You'll be able to see how the fans form distinctive and individual sections where they attach to the roots. Each of these sections can be pulled apart from the others. I find it easiest to begin by lightly shaking the plant and seeing where it begins to separate naturally. Then I gently pull apart the plant into two divisions. Often each of those divisions can be pulled into two or three additional divisions.

With larger plants and clumps, they may not separate with gentle pulling. You may need to slide two garden forks, back to back, in the middle of the clump and pry it apart. You can do the same with two spades but that causes more damage; garden forks reduce root damage. As soon as the divisions are smaller, they can usually be further divided by hand.
 
Divisions should have three or four fans with stout roots attached. These will establish more quickly, grow into good clumps, and flower within a year. You can also divide to the point where you have individual fans with just five or six slender leaves. These individual fans can be transplanted with no problems but may take a few seasons before they reach a size where they will begin flowering.
 
Some old, large clumps may have roots that are so extensive in the center that it is virtually a solid mass. These clumps may need to be cut apart with a garden knife or sharp spade. Try to cut in such a way that you keep the integrity of the individual fans intact.

The divisions should be transplanted soon after digging up so the roots don't dry out. On each division, cut the leaves so that only five or six inches remain above the crown. This reduces water loss and stress. The crown is the part where the leaves and roots meet and is usually cream colored. Place the plant in the hole with the crown about one inch below the surface level.

Daylilies do best in full sun in moist soil with organic matter added. If you can prepare the transplant area ahead of time with organic matter, do it. Adding a high phosphorus fertilizer will help stimulate root growth. If you're transplanting divisions among other, established plants, as I often do, at least add a handful of compost and fertilizer to the soil in the hole for each plant. Firm the soil around the roots and fill the hole.

After the divisions are in the ground, water thoroughly. Keep the soil moist until the ground freezes. Use a few inches of mulch to moderate soil moisture and temperature levels. Mulch also reduces weeds and highlights the beauty of the plants.

There is a third propagation method that is available for some varieties of daylily. Miniature plants may grow along the stem, or scape, of some daylilies. This miniature plant will form leaves, a crown, and even roots if left on the plant long enough. These miniature daylilies are called proliferations and are clones of the parent. The proliferations can be potted up or transplanted. Cut the scape above and below the proliferation. If roots haven't developed, dipping the crown in rooting hormone helps initiate root growth. None of the daylily varieties I grow form proliferations, so I don't have personal experience with this method.

In time daylilies will form dense mats of plants. By dividing them you can keep the plants under control and looking their best. Propagation is a great way to expand their wonder to other areas. And don't forget that you may have many gardener friends who would love to have some of your extra divisions.

Garlic is a plant that many gardeners are curious about growing, but too few do. Fans of garlic tout its medical benefits, its culinary virtuosity, and its pest control effectiveness. With so much going for it, I find it mildly shocking that I'm one of the few gardeners I know who actually grows it. It's surprising because garlic is about as easy to grow as anything in your garden and provides such wonderful rewards.

There is nothing mysterious about planting garlic, but deciding on where you'll plant is important. Garlic is in the ground for six to nine months so you'll need a spot that is dedicated to it, where it won't interfere with or be impacted by other plants. I've planted my garlic in its own four-feet by four feet (1.2 meters) raised bed. The location should be in full sun.

Garlic will grow in a variety of soils, but it will do best in well-draining, well-amended soil. If you spend extra time preparing the bed you'll be rewarded with large, healthy bulbs. Add two to four inches of compost or aged manure on the soil surface. Work it into the soil with a tiller, spade, or garden fork. You want it to be incorporated throughout the soil to a depth of at least six inches (15 centimeters) and deeper if you can.

You can also add blood meal and bone meal to the soil to provide extra nitrogen and phosphorus. If you have pets that have access to the garden you may skip those amendments. Dogs and cats love to dig through soil with fresh, wet blood meal as they search for the source of a "fresh kill". Alfalfa meal is a good alternative. A balanced fertilizer works well too.

Garlic tends to do best in most regions when planted in the fall. The cloves are able to develop basic roots before the ground freezes and are in place to grow quickly when spring warmth returns. Garlic needs exposure to cold temperatures to sprout in spring and being in the ground during the winter provides that. One old tradition is to plant garlic on the shortest day of the year, 21 December or 21 June depending on your hemisphere. That may work for some temperate regions where the soil can still be worked, but for those of us who have frozen ground in winter it's a little too late.

For many gardeners, fall is the ideal time to plant. As long as they're in the ground at least three weeks before the ground begins to freeze, the cloves will have time to begin their development. It's okay if little green shoots poke through the soil during warm periods that will occur during winter. Garlic is very durable and can handle the cold.

In warm regions, planting garlic in early spring works well. The cloves will still need cold saturation so you'll need to store them in a cool, dry spot for three to four weeks. The temperature needs to remain below 50F degrees (10C) the entire time. Refrigerators (which should be set below 40F and 4C degrees) are a good solution.

After you've selected which garlic you'll grow (see my blog, "Choosing Garlic for the Garden") and when you'll plant, find a good source for the bulbs. Your local nursery should have a selection of the best varieties for your location, but shop early because garlic tends to sell fast to the gardeners who have already discovered its benefits.
 
You want to choose symmetrical and firm bulbs. Avoid bulbs that have mold or fungus on them. There should be no soft spots when you squeeze them. Though many of the bulbs will be fully encased in the papery skin, look for the outline of the cloves; they should be full, consistent, and plump. Pass on the bulbs that already have green shoots sprouting from the top.

If you buy more than one variety, be sure to label the bulbs or bag them separately. Many of the cloves will look alike and you'll want to know which ones you've planted. Marking the row in the garden and planting the appropriate cloves will give you feedback as to which ones grow best and taste best after harvest.

The bulbs will store for weeks after purchase so there's no rush to get them in the ground. It's a good idea to buy early and spend your time preparing the bed. When it is time to plant, separate the bulbs into the individual cloves. Don't pull apart the cloves until shortly before planting time. If they dry out it impacts their root development.

 When you're ready, crack open the bulbs by gently prying off the outer cloves with your fingers, working your way to the center. With hardneck garlic, you have the center stalk exposed with the cloves growing around it; softneck garlic won't have the little stalk. Each clove will be attached to the basal plate at the bottom of the bulb, where the roots are. Separate all of the cloves. Some may want to stay attached to the basal plate. Try to remove it, but don't damage the clove in the process. It's okay if some of the old root base is attached when you plant the individual cloves.

While all of the cloves should grow into a garlic plant, you'll have best results by planting the larger ones. You can eat the smaller cloves or use them in pickles as I do. A typical bulb from the most popular varieties should provide you eight or ten good cloves for planting. If you crack the bulbs in a location other than right at the planting bed, label the cloves with a permanent marker or bag them separately. Again, you'll want to know which garlic is planted where.

Plant the cloves four to six inches apart (15 centimeters). Consider the ultimate size of the mature bulb when determining your spacing. Some garlic grows quite large so you'll want to plant farther apart. Some bulbs will be smaller when full-grown and can be spaced closer together. In a bed like mine, there is enough room for more than 60 cloves to be planted, allowing space around the borders for the bulbs to grow.
 
I like to lay out all of the cloves I plan to plant on the surface of the bed. I can adjust the spacing as needed and it provides an "assembly line" process. I simply dig a hole with the trowel, place the clove, cover it with soil, and move on to the next. In the past when I planted without laying them all out, invariably I ended up planting two cloves in the same hole or got my rows out of alignment.

The cloves should be planted three to four inches deep (8 to10 centimeters).  Three inches is fine for most cloves, but plant large cloves deeper and also plant deeper in very loose soil that will settle and compact later. Place the clove in the hole pointy side up. The flat end that was attached to the basal plate is where the roots grow from and should be on the bottom. There should be about two inches (five centimeters) of soil from the top of the clove to the surface.

Cover the bed with about four to six inches of mulch (10 to 15 centimeters). I consider this a critical step. Mulch helps moderate the soil moisture, but more importantly moderates the soil temperature. In very cold regions the freezing and thawing of the soil during winter and early spring can heave the cloves out of the soil. This frost heave can tear roots and expose the cloves to damage. Mulch also helps reduce winter kill and reduces heat stress on hot summer days. Use thicker mulch in colder areas.

In wet regions, the thick mulch isn't necessary and should probably be avoided. Mulch can keep waterlogged soil from drying out and that spells doom for the cloves that can rot when exposed to excess water. A thin layer to suppress weeds is appropriate.

Straw is a good mulch. It insulates well and allows the shoots no barrier to new growth. Dried leaves or a mix of dried leaves and dried grass is good and often in abundant supply in fall. I don't recommend hay grass; as I've written before, it tends to be full of seeds that sprout and turn into a blanket of weeds. Use an organic mulch that you can turn into the soil to amend it after you harvest the garlic. Pine needles are a good initial mulch but won't decompose as quickly when turned into the soil.
 
Winter snow and spring rains will compress the mulch into a soft, thinner layer that effectively manages the soil through spring and summer. It will suppress weeds and help keep soil moisture and temperature under control. If a heavy layer was used in frigid winter zones, be prepared to remove some of it in spring. A final, spring layer two to three inches thick (5-8 centimeters) is all that is needed.

Water the garlic after planting and periodically through the winter. When the soil isn't frozen it should remain moist but not waterlogged or soggy. As I've said before, check the soil moisture before watering. With the mulch you will probably need to water much less than you expect. Avoid letting the soil dry out; not enough moisture will result in a smaller bulb that hasn't reached its full potential. Garlic won't need a lot of water in the fall and watering too much can hasten excess green growth.

Basic care for garlic is similar to other garden plants. Garlic likes minerals with its nutrients so fertilize about once a month in spring and early summer with a weak fish emulsion unless you have pet and animal pests. Compost tea, worm tea, and manure tea can be good alternatives.

I'll follow up in the months to come with more about garlic care, diseases, and, of course, harvesting. For now, get out there and get planting.

Shasta Daisies are wonderful garden flowers that deserve a primary spot in most gardens. They grow well in many different regions and are even hardy in my Zone 4 garden. They prefer well-drained soil but are resilient enough to handle most soil conditions. They require very little maintenance, produce beautiful flowers, and return bigger and better every year. And they are very easy to propagate.

Propagating Shasta Daisies follows the same typical processes as many other perennial plants. You can use any of the three primary methods: saving and sowing seeds; rooting stem cuttings; or dividing the adult plant into new divisions. Each of these methods is easy and effective.

Daisies will readily grow from seed. Let your flowers stay on the plant and seed heads will develop after the petals dry. I like to deadhead the spent flowers in early fall and collect them in a paper bag. After a week the flower heads are completely dry and ready for seed collection. Simply squeezing the dried heads with your fingers will release seeds. If you do this in or over the paper bag the seeds collect at the bottom, along with the seeds that fell out during the drying process.

The seeds can be sown in fall or spring. I prefer to distribute the seeds widely over the planting bed in the fall. This allows for the natural cycle of the seed to play out. They settle over the soil and will be pressed in by autumn leaves and winter snow. They'll get a good cold soaking during the winter months before snow melt and spring rains awaken them. When the spring sun warms the soil they'll begin to sprout and new growth becomes evident by early summer.

You can prepare your bed and sow in spring and achieve the same results as well. Either way, don't expect flowers in the first year. It will probably be the second year before you see blooms on the young plants. You can easily dig up and transplant the small plants to new garden beds if too many of the seeds sprout or if they pop up in areas you don't want them.
 
Always remember that hybrid seeds don't produce true to the plant you're propagating and most Shasta Daisies in the garden are hybrids. "Becky" is a very popular hybrid variety. If you have one of the hybrid daisies and save the seeds hoping to grow many more of the same, you may be disappointed. It's worth a try because you may be pleased with the outcome, but the other two propagation methods will ensure you get the same plant and flowers as the parent.

Dipping a five- or six-inch long stem cutting in rooting hormone, or just placing it in damp sand or potting soil, will produce a new plant that is a clone of the original. Remove flowers and leaves from the lower half of the stem and place the cuttings in a spot with indirect sunlight. Keep the soil lightly moist and in a few weeks to a month roots will develop along the cutting and the new plant is ready for transplanting. The plant and flowers will be exactly like the parent from which you took the cutting, but like with seeds you may not get many flowers in the first year of planting.

The method I prefer is division. This propagation method results in an exact duplicate of the plant and will flower in the first year. The roots are already established and take hold well when transplanted. Division can be done in fall or spring. I prefer early fall so the plants can continue to put out new roots while the soil is still warm. In spring the transplanted plants are already in place for a full season of growth.
 
When I've divided Shasta Daisies in spring, I've noticed that the separated plant sections don't always produce as many flowers in that first season; possibly because of the stress on the plant. Also, the divisions aren't always even and same-sized and that disparity remains evident during the first year. With fall-divided plants, the garden tends to look more symmetrical as the plants grow the following season. In the second year these visual discrepancies fade and all of the plants tend to grow similarly, regardless of the initial time of division.
 
Shasta Daisies can grow quite large into big clumps and may take over a garden bed. The center of big plants will often die as the edges grow and spread out. Eventually the clumps should to be thinned, for the plant’s health and for garden aesthetics. I take advantage of this normal garden maintenance and use the opportunity to expand daisies to new areas.

Begin to divide a Shasta Daisy by digging up the entire plant, digging as deeply as possible and retaining the entire root ball if possible. In spring, wait until you see new green growth; in fall, wait until after the flowers have faded. The plant is pretty tough so you don't need to be too gentle with it. There are many potential transplants in that clump so decide how many you want. My winters are harsh and I want the new plants to have a good chance at survival so I keep the separated divisions relatively large with lots of roots in place.

To start dividing, simply press a spade through the middle of the root ball. You can also use a garden knife. The center of the mass may be thick so using a sharp tool helps separate it.

Grabbing each of the two halves, simply pull them apart. You now have two plants. Often I'll stop the division at this point and plant just two divisions, effectively doubling my plants. Depending how big the clumps are, you can further divide the halves into four, eight, or more sections. If the center of the clump is dead or dying, this is the time to cut it out and throw it in the compost pile.

Dig a new hole in a spot with full sun, amend with compost, and place the division in. Firm the soil around the roots and water well. Space plants at least a foot apart. Each division will grow into a new large clump of daisies and in a few years will be ready to divide again.

For the maximum number of divisions look closely at the clump you dug up. Particularly around the edges you'll be able to see where individual stems are growing up from the root base. This is how the plant naturally propagates by enlarging its base. You can easily pull apart these individual stem sections with roots attached. Each of these sections can be potted up or transplanted. It will take longer for these smaller divisions to grow into full size plants, but it allows you the opportunity to fill in a large garden area with just one or two parent plants.

After the divisions are planted, deadheading and pruning any damaged stems or leaves will focus the plant's energy on developing more roots. Daisies will stay green through most of the year and until the ground freezes roots will continue to grow even when the weather is cold above ground.

If left alone, natural propagation by seed and plant expansion will allow daisies to readily take over many garden beds, but the results can look ragged and uneven. With a little effort you can have Shasta Daisies under control and looking good for years to come.

Luring birds to my garden to observe them among my flowers and trees is a major activity of mine. Watching through the kitchen window, we watch the finches and jays feeding on their respective seed as we enjoy our own food and wine. The hummingbirds bring life and vitality to the garden and we never tire of their presence. I do what I can to make them all welcome, but draw the line when it comes to my strawberries and raspberries and bird netting is the key.

Some birds, particularly the magpies (those @*%#! magpies), enjoy a banquet in my garden. They peck tomatoes and pluck seeds. When given a chance they'll gorge themselves on every piece of ripe fruit on stem, vine, or branch. To keep them from the fruit that I prefer to eat myself, I use bird netting as a barrier.

Bird netting is simply a plastic or fiber mesh net that is spread over a plant for the purpose of preventing access by birds. The openings in common nets are typically 5/8 or 3/4 of an inch square, too small for any bird's body to penetrate. It is very effective and very economical for typical bird pests. Heavy duty netting of 1" or 2" squares is more expensive, but will stand up to larger, heavier, and persistent birds.

A simple plastic, metal, or wood frame is necessary to drape the netting over. If you lay the netting directly on the plants you want to protect, the birds will be able to stand on it and peck through the openings, even the small ones. When supported by a frame, the netting acts as an efficient obstacle.

For low plants the frame just needs to be higher than the plants. In my strawberry bed I bent five-feet long sections of black PVC tubing between the sides; the ends of the tubing are inserted over 18-inch long pieces of metal rebar sunk into the soil. A length of bird netting covers the entire bed from end to end. It's important that all the sides are enclosed. I use 3-inch metal garden staples to hold the netting flush with the ground.

The birds will still desire the fruit and may try to get it even when they see the netting, but when they meet the resistance of the netting they'll eventually give up. They can be persistent though and are smart enough to find gaps. I've discovered birds on the inside of the netting; they found a way in but not a way out. That's why it's important to have all edges secured flush to the soil or mulch surface.

The white PVC pipe that I used to make mini greenhouses is ideally suited to support bird netting (see my blog, "Extending Your Growing Season with Mini Geenhouses"). In early spring it supports plastic sheets to warm the bed, in late summer it supports bird netting to protect your harvest, in the fall it supports plastic again to extend the season.

Taller or vining plants need larger framing. For my raspberries I built a barrier of metal fenceposts and four-feet high fencing. This is a strong frame primarily to keep the deer out, but it serves a secondary purpose of supporting bird netting over the top. The deer will eat the tips of the raspberries before the flowers develop and the birds will eat the fruit so both have to be dealt with. It's a fully enclosed box that I can open but the birds and deer can't.

Bird netting is ideal for birds and is well suited for keeping other garden pests at bay as well. Last year I planted young apple and cherry trees and was actually surprised when I found their tips eaten by deer. This year when I added a new plum tree I was prepared. I buried the end of a 10'-long PVC pipe next to the tree at planting. It supports bird netting that fully encloses the tree like a dainty parasol. Around the base is a ring of 4' metal fencing to which the net is attached. I'm not worried about birds at this point because the tree isn't producing fruit, but this has proven effective against deer. The fencing is occasionally pushed out of place, apparently by a deer trying to move it away, but the light, plastic netting has kept the young branches from being eaten. When the tree is bigger, netting will protect the fruit.

On my deck I wrapped a piece of netting around a tomato plant in a pot. My Yellow Lab, Lily, was fond of pulling off the green tomatoes to play with (see my blog, "Dogs and Tomatoes"). The netting now keeps her away from the tomatoes, allowing them time to ripen. Netting is also effective against cats, squirrels, and other small animals.

Bird netting comes in a variety of sizes for easy and varied uses. Gardener's Supply Company offers netting of 7' x 7' and 14' x 14' that can easily be thrown over a small fruit tree or a good-size garden plot. I use a roll 7' x 100' that I purchased from a major home improvement store; it is easily cut to fit garden beds and different size hoops. You can also find bird netting of 14' x 100' or 50' x 50' or even 30' x 500' online.

At some point I imagine a roof of netting over my entire garden. I've seen similar setups by other gardeners. A fully enclosed garden may seem extreme and sterile but insects can still get through the netting for pollination and it allows sun and rain in. I'm getting annoyed at the number of tomatoes, beans, squash, and corn that fall prey to birds, especially those @*%#! magpies, and a single roof of netting seems like a nice plan.

For now I cover a few of the beds and trees. I could cover the tomatoes but the indeterminate varieties grow tall and beyond the confines of the bed. I've tried netting before but the tomato vines grow through it and become a tangled mess. That makes harvesting the ripe tomatoes quite difficult. I know selective pruning and a very large net support system can solve the problem, but I'm not ready to put that much effort into the solution.

For garden beds with compact and controlled plantings, bird netting can easily protect the fruit until ready for human harvest. It lasts for years and can be reused. I try to label the netting when I roll it up at the end of the season so I know which bed it is cut to fit. A roll 100' feet long is enough to cover about eight of my beds, allowing for overlap on the ends.

I don't put netting over my flower beds or bushes. I want the hummingbirds to feed on the flower nectar and don't mind birds eating stray seeds. They rarely damage any of those beds. If the deer become too much of a nuisance it may be necessary to shelter some plants, but I don't have that concern yet. For birds, unless you're trying to protect a prized flower or plant, netting is seldom needed outside a vegetable garden.

If you have a bird problem, or any other large garden pest, and haven't tried bird netting, consider it. For little cost and effort your problem could be solved.

Growing groundcovers adds color and texture to your garden, at foot level. Propagating groundcovers is an easy way to increase their coverage. While I have some groundcovers interspersed among my flowers and will plant some as green manure in my vergetable beds, my favorite location for the versatile plants is in and among the paths and stone walkways in my landscape and as accent borders. Being a frugal gardener, I take advantage of their easy-going, easy-growing nature to add them to new areas at no additional cost.

A groundcover is a plant that grows close to the ground en masse. They can be grown as an erosion control, as a mulch to help shade soil for other plants, or purely for their aesthetic value. I parlay those benefits into a perfect carpet to walk upon in garden pathways and at the edge of small slopes. Some of my garden paths are better suited for pine needles, or bark, or gravel, but for grand appearance few of those options match the appeal of groundcovers. They provide a wonderful visual and physical transition between different yard and garden spots.

Some of my favorite groundcovers are periwinkle, thyme, sedum, and veronica. I know that sounds quite broad, particularly when veronica offers almost 500 species alone, but it's intended to suggest that there are groundcovers for all landscapes and regions in all sizes, shapes, and colors. I use periwinkle, or vinca minor, to smother weeds at the base of my irises; I love the little violet flowers and almost evergreen foliage. Thymus lanuginosus, or woolly thyme, and sedum anglicum surround the flagstones leading into my backyard; they help keep the slight slope from eroding, require little water, and look spectacular, especially when their little flowers bloom. Veronica pectinata, or blue woolly speedwell, is a new addition along the sloped edges of my stone patio.

All of these groundcovers are very easy to grow and propagate. In most cases a simple cutting is all that's needed to start a plant growing in a new location. I prefer to get a jumpstart on the process by transplanting larger pieces of plants.

As most of these groundcovers grow, they'll add little roots along their expanding branches. Where a small stem, branch, or leaf touches the soil a root may develop. This helps the plant gain a larger foothold for increased growth and nutrient absorption.

By lifting up on the edge of an established plant and pulling back the branches and leaves you'll get to the spot where young roots have started anchoring new growth to the soil. With very little effort you can dig up a section of the plant and transplant it to a new location. The mother plant will continue to grow and send out new branches to cover the bare spot. The transplanted piece will begin growing soon because it already has roots in place. This saves time from taking a clipping and waiting for roots to develop.

I begin by determining what plant should be added to which new spot. In my stone walkway I intersperse thyme and sedum, but along the edge of my patio I'm focusing on Veronica pectinata, a plant first given me by my good friend Della. She has it covering a large, steep slope in her landscape where it presents a beautiful sea of green. The section I'm planting is smaller and not as steep, but I want the same seemless coverage the plant provides.

A mother plant is selected, one that is healthy and large enough to handle losing some of its growth. I lift up on the edges until I find a spot that is full of healthy, young growth and abundant roots.

With a trowel I'll dig under the plant to access some of the older roots too and lift out a section of the plant, with soil included. With my other hand I'll gently separate the main plant from the removed piece. The branches and leaves of groundcovers often intertwine and you have to be careful not to crudely rip apart tender foliage.

The whole section is now ready for transplant to a new hole. Setting the piece into the ground and covering the roots with soil gets it ready for new growth. I'll also add extra soil on top of some of the branches near their tips. The increased soil contact should stimulate root growth in those areas, improving the plant's development. I'll also add soil back to the base of the mother plant to cover any exposed roots. A thorough watering of both plants completes the procedure.

By selectively removing pieces of strong plants and moving them to new spots, an even larger area can be covered. Both old plants and new plants will grow and spread and will eventually meet. The process can be continued indefinitely. I'm patiently waiting for my patio border to fill in and expect the entire area to be covered within two years.

Groundcovers are so easy to propagate that you may not need to buy any and still fill your landscape. Many of my gardener friends have cuttings and whole plants ready to give away in the spring when they clean their beds for the new season. It only takes one plant to lay the foundation for a much larger population of groundcover and you can probably find someone to give you that gift.

I tend to do much of my propagating in late summer. The heat and stress of the summer peak is over and the mother plants are as strong as they'll be. I can also see the bare spots that still need to be filled. Setting new transplants in place gives all of them opportunity to grow roots before winter sets in. Depending on their hardiness, I know I'll lose some over the cold months but when spring comes I'll have an increased number of plants beginning to grow. By the end of next summer, some of the transplants will be big enough to offer themselves for more propagation.

As with all plants, groundcovers do best when planted in the proper location. Once the right plant is in the right spot it will grow strong. Take advantage of that and let it spread with a little of your propagating knowledge.