Contact

I’m happy to correspond with other like-minded gardeners and earth-lovers. Feel free to drop me an email about gardening or the environment at:

caroline [at] carolinebrown [dot] com.

43 Comments to “Contact”

  1. Hello, I am looking to plant some trees in my yard. can you suggest the most ozone friendly trees/most beneficial to the environment that I can plant?
    Thanks much!
    Julie

  2. How are you doing C? Looks like you are on hiatus from blogging too. I do miss it a lot but still too swamped here to do much of anything FUN! Sending a big hugggggg…and best wishes. Email when you can ok!

    G

  3. Hello Miss CB.

    Ok, I have just about had enough of Mother Nature. I finally get a garden all closed off and ready for planting and gthe moles have taken over! I do NOT like moles.

    How in the @#@$% am I suposed to get rid of moles.

    Oh, I forgot to mention that I live in the middle of an old cow pasture in the massively arid region of No Co….

    Thank you and you have a lovely day now.

    Death to Moles!

  4. Donna, Donna, Donna….pick on somebody your own size! 🙂 “Death to moles” is a little strong don’t you think?

    check out this link to UC Davis about ideas besides poison for getting rid of moles, yes it is possible: http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn74115.html

    Though I have to say given the size of your cow pasture you are probably going to have some moles no matter what. You might consider a combination of using traps and planting all future plantings with some kind of metal mesh around the rootball, more detalis in the URL above.

    Good luck, hi to the “kids”, and you take care now. Miss you!

    • Moles eat meat, Voles eat vegetables…repeat after me…..
      Moles will eat the grubs in your garden
      Voles eat the plants and roots. Do you have moles or voles or both….important differences!!!

      Moles like soft soil to dig through…Stop watering, mulch less, raise your beds….

      All will help with the mole/vole issue….

      Stick with local solutions for local issues, ie, growing things that are appropriate for the area….

      Grow enough so the critters can share in the bounty…..

      What are your priorities….your garden is healthy enough to have moles and voles….

      n from Durham NC (you should have our weather!!!)

  5. Hi

    Any idea what trees are best for harvesting for their wood. I had heard willow was good?

    Love the blog, by the way…

    ASG

  6. Does anyone know where I can locate diesel lawn equipment, lawn mowers, edgers, blowers? And does anyone know how well biodiesel works in lawn equipment?

  7. why does blue hyderanges die on their third year do they not like acid soil

  8. Steven, Hydrangeas do like acid soil. There may be something else wrong with your hydrangea…perhaps with the soil, or it’s sited incorrectly, or you have insects, etc.

  9. hello

    I have a question about getting rid of a plant called “snow on the mountan”.
    I really need to get rid of this stuff.
    THANK YOU.

  10. were can i find a page that gives me information abaut prises and pictures about fertilizer

  11. How do I repair volcano mulching. I have pulled much away from the trees, but it has been mulched like that for several years and now I have noticed a mat of roots located in the ring of mulch. I would like to discontinue mulching in the spring and just spray about the trunks with vingar or some other grass killer and hope that it won’t hurt the tree. Will this roots mat go away if I stop mulching them. Should I let grass grow over it should I try to remove the mounding mat of roots? I have just begin taking care of these trees and would like to see them make it.
    Could you please email me about this matter or tell me who to contact for information.
    Sincerely,
    Darla Pastorek
    email address is Darla.Pastorek@ars.usda.gov

  12. Hello. I just set up a blog on our website, and am looking for other home, gardening, pets and aquatics related blogs to exchange blogrolls with. Please visit my blog at the url given, and if you are interested, please contact me at the e-mail provided.

    Many thanks,
    Grant

  13. Hi
    I think we’re ploughing the same furrow. Enjoyed blog.
    Rob

  14. I have several pink ladyslippers living in a small pine lot and every year the are gettingto be less active. I would like to move them to a place where they will do better. I have thought about on the north=northeast side of my garage. I also have oak forest areas that could also be considered. What is the best way to handle this. The first area of these flowers died out and I don’t want to loose them all. I look forward to a responce. This is in west central WI. Richard

  15. Hi Richard. Transplanting lady slippers is a very tricky business from what I understand. they form very unique symbiotic relationships with fungi & bacteria in the soil–often if they are moved they don’t respond favorably. Do you have access to Bill Cullina’s book Wildflowers: a Guide to Growing & Propagating Native Flowers of North America. Maybe you can get it from your library? there is some good information about this species on p. 83-86.

    For transplanting, Bill says (and he would most definitely know) on p. 251: Dig the mature plants in early spring. Shake off all the soil to expose roots and fat pointed buds the size of a ballpoint pen cap. carefully tease the crowns apart–you may have to severe a rhizome or 2 with a sharp knife, leaving 1-3 buds per division and a healthy tangle of roots all around.

    Also, please check out the FAQ here: http://www.vtladyslipper.com/vtlscwebpg11.html

    This company, Vermont Lady Slipper, is a very reputable dealer. If this FAQ doesn’t answer your questions you may consider calling them. They are experts on this matter!

  16. Hello Caroline,

    I’m wondering if you could tell what is the status of native plants flowering in Rhode Island during the last couple weeks of March. I’m a Mainer hoping to escape ‘south’ to see bare ground and perhaps a few flowering plants (early spring natives). I’m planning my trip for next weekend (March 22).

  17. Hi. Just a note to say thanks for your great site. Learning lots. Appreciate your reasoning. Will buy organic slow release fertilizer and save on the grass seed…keep up the good work!

  18. We have two yew,infront right close to our house. When would be the best time to transplant if we can transplant? They are about atleast twenty years old . Really looking for a answer. Because right now I can’t get our windows open as they are blocking it. They look so healthy,would like to transplant.
    Thanks Very Much Barb McGill

  19. Last summer on the north side of my front yard near the house their are bees. They are only in a small area, how to I get read of them. I see them again this year. They come out when the weather begin to get hot. They leave in the evening when it is cool. they just swan around in a small area Please help me. thank you

  20. Hi Barb, I have a general answer and it depends on where you live. In general it’s best not to transplant (or even plant for the first time, for that matter) shrubs or trees in the hottest part of the growing season, because the plant needs the most water then and you have just severed its roots. That makes it harder to get water. So spring and fall are better for that reason.

    Having said that, we transplanted a yew in July here in New England, because we had an opportunity to get a free one, and it did fine. We watered it like crazy for the rest of the summer to make sure that it survived. Here is the link to the post about it:

    Mid-summer scenes part 2: Transplanting a yew

  21. Hi Else, I’m not a bee expert but if they’re really a problem you can go on Ebay and get a wasp trap. I’ve seen some that are quite decorative and they work. Some people use pesticides but don’t know about them and prefer not to use them.

    What kind of bees are they–are you sure they’re going to cause you problems? Wasps and yellow jackets are a problem for sure, but honeybees and bumblebees aren’t usually. Also honeybees and some types of bumblebees are decreasing in numbers for unknown reasons, and they’re important pollinators.

    Just some food for thought. Good luck!

  22. I have the same question as #12 D. Pastorek….how do I repair a tree that has been mulched and is growing sucker shoots? Can they be sawed off after the ground has been brought back down to about 4 inches instead of the 2feet it was done at planting time?

  23. HOW MUCH GAS DOES IT TAKE YOU TO GRT WHERE YOU ARE GRADENING G—— WARMING

  24. Hi Else,

    I’ve heard that vingar can kill grass, my garden is coming along fine, but so is the grass. Help!

  25. Hi Patricia, I didn’t quite understand exactly what you’re trying to do, kill weeds or grass, but it’s true that vinegar kills weeds and grass, if you apply it directly to it. I’m not sure I would use it for killing large amounts of grass though…I would spot apply it to the odd weed here and there. If you pour it all over your yard to kill a bunch of grass, it will end up in such a high concentration that it’ll be no better than a chemical herbicide.

  26. I was thinking of killing grass in my vegetable garden. What solution would you have for this?

  27. Hi Patricia, Ok I understand. if it is small amounts of grass, away from your vegetables, I would put some vinegar on it. If you have a lot of it, You could put newspapers on top of it to smother it (wet them or they will blow off) and then put mulch over them. The newspapers will eventually decompose. you might have some grass/weeds poke through but it will be fairly effective.

  28. where is a good site to purchase draught resistant sedge grass for the north east 4-8 inches tall?

  29. Hi, I live in Western Michigan and a few years ago i noticed about 10 square acres of pink Lady Slippers in my woods. At the time I didnt know they were so rare, so I didnt think anything of them. Now, knowing what i know, I was wondering when i should be looking for these flowers. I have checked out a few websites and all I can find is early June. I was wondering if that was the correct time I should keep an eye out for these Lady Slippers.
    Thanks!
    MH

  30. Dear Sir,

    We are an NGO here in Dubai, UAE creating awareness in the local community for the need of indigenous trees.
    Would you know from where we can obtain about 50,000 Prosopis cineraria seeds?

    Eagerly awaiting your reply,

    Dr Prabhakar Rao
    COO
    International Association for Human Values
    Middle East H.Q
    Dubai UAE

  31. Hi,
    I just came across your blog today and coincidence: your latest post is about your dad, who it seems was born in Buncombe County, which is where I live and garden and write.

    I’m going to add you to my blogroll because I love your posts. Hope that’s ok! I’m at http://milkingweeds.blogspot.com.

    Condolences on your loss.

    Peace
    Milkweed

  32. Hi everyone
    We are pastural farmers in New Zealand. We direct drilled a crop of kale into ground that had been treated with glyphosate a few weeks earlier. After a good crop germination across the field, eight 10 year old pinus radiata trees were felled (thinning the radiata) along and onto the edge of the crop. While the crop of kale could be described as only a very average crop now after 3 months in the ground, the kale in close proximity of the fallen trees is absolutely flourishing and upon close inspection there is an absence of weeds . The rest of the crop is competing with the grass that was never killed properly when sprayed. Could the absence of grass competion around the radiatas be due to allelopathy ,even though the pines were cut down

    Can anyone shed some light on our mystery ?
    Many thanks John ” Hiamoe Farm ” Feilding New Zealand

  33. I want some very colorful Ornamental Grass’s for my flower garden, all heights. Perennials Please. I’m tried of the deer eating all my flowers.

    Marian

  34. Hi
    Would you be aware if Okra (Clemson) causes allelopathy to some extent, especially where beans are to be planted.

    Thanks
    James

  35. Can you tell me the name of the plant in the picture on the top of your web site? It is the one with the tall purple blossom stems. Also where I could buy some and the estimated price?

    They are gorgeous. Just saw them at a golf club near GReenville, SC.

    Thank you.

    Jim Gregga

  36. http://chemfreegarden.wordpress.com

    I would like to add your blog to my site . is that ok ?

    Don.

  37. I just found Asiatic Lily Leaf Beetles on my beautiful easter lily’s. I was desperate to get rid of them and I had some Dr Brenner’s peppermint oil soap and some tea tree oil bathroom cleaner, I mixed it with dawn dish soap and water, Just about 2 tablespoons of each in a small squirt bottle and I sprayed them and the plant and the soil. The ones I hit directly died very quickly, I’ll have to see if it effected the larvae. I know it may need to be repeated after a good rain, but it seemed pretty earth friendly. Any thoughts? I know peppermint oil works for fleas also.

    2 TBLS. tea tree oil(bathroom cleaner)
    2 Tbls. Peppermint soap
    2 Tbles. Dawn dish soap
    about 10 oz water

  38. Where can I buy a chenille plant (acalypha hispida) in Melbourne Victoria Australia

    I found the details about this plant when i googled chenille plant

    I am interested on the one shown in the picture on the left

    Maureen

  39. I am trying to find a potted bougainvillea plant. I live in Alberta, Canada. Any ideas of where I could find one or order one on line?
    Carole.

  40. will My lillies come back next year if the Lily Leaf Beetles have completely destroyed the leaves and stems ?

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