Window Box Flowers To Attract Hummingbirds
I’d like to know the names of some annual flowers for the flower box that will attract hummingbirds.
Answer
Hummingbirds are attracted to flowers, and there are many suitable for balcony plantings. Here are just a few: calibrachoa, nasturtium, house maple, fuchsia, morning glory, snapdragon, runner bean, impatiens, lobelia, mimosa, poet’s carnation, petunia, nicotiana, verbena and zinnia. Caution: choose plants with single flowers. Double flowers are so complex that hummingbirds often can’t find their nectar.
Read 150 Flowers That Attract Hummingbirds to find out more.
Is Black Earth on Sand Suitable for a Vegetable Garden?
We want to create a vegetable garden where an above-ground pool used to be. There is about 30 to 60 cm (12-24″) of sand, depending on the area. Is it necessary to remove all the sand, or can we simply add black earth on top?
Answer
It’s perfectly possible to add a layer of good soil on top of the sand and turn it into an excellent vegetable garden. Be aware, however, that the site will be very well drained and will require more watering than if you had taken the trouble to remove the sand beforehand. A minimum 30 cm layer of good garden soil loosened with compost will be required.
But beware of black soil. “Black earth”, as sold in our region at least, is not soil. It’s a very dark, very acidic and very poor peat moss in which very few plants can grow well. Most plants grown in black soil die within a short time! This low-grade product is of no use whatsoever in horticulture, with the possible exception of mixing it with very heavy calcareous soil to loosen it and make it less alkaline.
Never add black soil to a vegetable garden!
Dying Cherry Tree
I’ve owned a type of cherry tree for 14 years. This year, it didn’t flower and only a few leaves came out on one branch. However, at the foot of the tree, it’s full of small regrowth. Is this tree dead? Is it possible to treat it to restore its greenness?
Answer
Your tree is dying and probably won’t survive more than a few months. The only recommended treatment is to cut it down if you don’t like the look of it (although you could also let it grow vines and thus stretch its interest over a few years). It’s important to remember that cherry trees, especially wild cherry trees, don’t live long, and your tree will probably die its death. If you like, you could let one of the regrowths take over. It will grow into a nice little tree quite quickly. On the other hand, if it’s a cultivated cherry rather than a wild cherry, there’s no guarantee that the same variety will grow back. In fact, edible and ornamental cherry trees are often grafted onto wild cherry trees. However, the regrowth will also be wild cherry.
Larry Hodgson published thousands of articles and 65 books over the course of his career, in both French and English. His son, Mathieu, has made it his mission to make his father’s writings accessible to the public. This text was originally published in Le Soleil.
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