Here are some of items that are helping me garden without going crazy right now.
I’ve got chipmunks digging holes in my flowerbeds, baby bunnies sampling all the plants, a gang of turkeys that likes to stomp into the flowerbeds and rip the tops off flowers, and a hawk family that is terrorizing all the birds at my feeders (and occasionally a chipmunk or two). Plus the mosquitoes and Japanese beetles have finally hatched. The former are trying to eat me, and the latter are chewing all the flower petals to bits. Aside from that, everything is wonderful in the garden this season!
- I don’t like bug spray because then I have to shower after I come back inside, and it can also damage watch crystals and some plastics. This hat is keeping the clouds of mosquitoes off my face when I go outside to admire the flowers or pull a couple of weeds or take some quick photos.
- We’ve had a lot of rain this year and many of the plants grew overly-fast and got top heavy when their blossoms filled with water. To keep everything standing straight, I use stakes like these that I can pull in and out of the ground as needed. And these stem supports made in England are even sturdier.
- To stake up tomatoes or tall lilies or perennials, I use stakes like these plastic-coated metal stakes and tie the branches or stems to the stakes with this bendable plant tie. At the end of the year I remove the plant ties I’ve used and store them in a bucket so they are ready to use the following season, already pre-cut!
- And for peonies and large perennial clumps that can get floppy, these movable hoops are ingenious.
- I don’t like to use chemicals in my flowerbeds, but when the earwigs or rose slugs or other bugs start to completely defoliate a plant and there are no other options, I’ve had great luck with this spray. It’s used world-wide for protecting organic produce, and I was pleased to discover it stopped the newly-arrived and destructive lily leaf beetles from decimating my lilies this season.
- To deter the pesky bunnies I would previously spray Liquid Fence on my flowers, but the smell it left behind was, well, disgusting. Repels-All has a much more tolerable scent and rabbits really do avoid sprayed flowers. You just have to make sure you reapply throughout the summer and after any heavy rains. It’s also supposed to repel deer but thankfully that’s one critter I don’t have to worry about!
- Finally, I would probably go outside a lot more if I didn’t have to wear sunscreen. I don’t like feeling sticky or looking greasy or shiny. Last year after a lot of research, I splurged on a ridiculously pricey but dreamy sunscreen called Supergoop! Unseen Sunscreen SPF 40. It practically disappears into your skin and leaves a matte finish. But there was no way I could afford to use that sunscreen on a regular basis. This year I discovered a Trader Joe’s alternative for only $9 per bottle. I can’t tell the difference between the two, and CNN even tested them against each other.
I learned later that when Consumer Reports tested the major sunscreen brands, Supergoop, like many others, failed to achieve its promised SPF rating. Supergoop is an SPF 40 product that tested at SPF 8! Consumer Reports didn’t test the Trader Joe’s alternative but I’m guessing if it’s a generic version of the same product, it may also fail the test.
I use the Trader Joe’s sunscreen for times when I won’t be outside for very long like when taking a walk or spending an hour doing gardening chores. For all the other times, Consumer Reports found only a small handful of sunscreens that tested at their promised level.
In case you’re curious, the star of all the sunscreens Consumer Reports tested was Coppertone WaterBabies SPF 50 that actually tested at an SPF 64 and got a 5 out of 5 for both UVA and SPF protection. I use it when I’m going to be in full sun for several hours in the garden or when I’m hiking or birdwatching. It leaves skin looking shiny which I don’t like, and it smells a little like baby powder which I like even less, but the reason you wear sunscreen is to protect your skin, so if I have to slather it on, I want to use the best available.
My favorite sunscreen (a compromise) is Everyday Humans Oh My Bod! Lotion SPF 50 Sunscreen that Consumer Reports also found tested above its promised SPF of 50. It came in at SPF 55. It tests 4 out of 5 for UVA protection and 5 out of 5 for SPF. It smells just slightly citrusy and soaks into my skin a little better than the WaterBabies sunscreen from Coppertone.
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