
                         THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
                 Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, June 19, 1994                    TAG: 9406230536 
SECTION: HOME                     PAGE: G1    EDITION: FINAL  
SOURCE: ROBERT STIFFLER 
DATELINE: 940619                                 LENGTH: Medium

LET ``GOOD'' BUGS PATROL GARDEN FOR ``BAD'' ONES

{LEAD} JOE FREEMAN, horticulturist at Florida's Cypress Gardens resort, reports that most herbs and many flowers attract beneficial insects and help control insect problems. Bishop's weed will attract beneficial assassin bugs, which prey on aphids and beetles. Calendula, black-eyed susans and other members of the aster family attract tachinid and syphid flies, which in turn devour aphids, leafhoppers and cutworms. To provide a home for beneficial insects, such as ladybugs and lacewings, plant grasses, wildflowers and sunflowers along the edges of your garden. Inspect the garden often and evaluate techniques that work best for you.

\ GET YOUR DAY LILIES\ Day lilies are in bloom throughout the area. Two local growers invite visitors to their ``farms'' to see plants in bloom so they can select varieties they like best. Or you can come and just look. Closest is Ballard's Iris and Daylilies at 1304 Canal Drive, Chesapeake. Call 487-0176 for directions. The other is the Sterretts' home on the Eastern Shore. For directions, write R.B. Sterrett, P.O. Box 185, Craddockville, Va. 23341, or call 1-(804)-442-4606. The Sterretts are open Saturdays only from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m, through July 9. They'll also be open on July 4 and on other days by appointment.

{REST} \ ABOUT THOSE CLIPPINGS\ Dr. Bill Knoop of Texas A&M University says, ``Every 1,000 square feet of grass produces enough clippings to fill one large plastic trash bag per mowing. Multiply that by 24 to 30 mowings per year and you have a lot of trash bags. Knoop says the benefits of returning grass clippings to the turf includes reduced fertilizer needs, reduced bulk at landfills and reduced water requirements.

\ FABRIC BARRIERS\ ``Fabric weed barriers aren't the gardening saviors they're supposed to be when used in landscape plantings,'' says Alan D. Cook of the Dawes Arboretum. ``Mulch fabrics can be useful under brick and paved walks. But for landscape plantings, go with organic mulch alone. Dawes Arboretum no longer uses fabric weed barriers for general landscape use.''

by CNB