The sage (Salvia) family is one of the most adaptable, dependable and beautiful species of perennials for home gardens. Sages are closely related the mint family and can be grown as herbs and ornamental plants. They can be found naturally in almost every country in the world.

In addition to the natural beauty of sage, many also have a medicinal attribute to them. The Latin name Salvia means "to heal." Indeed many varieties are highly regarded for their healing qualities. The ancient Greeks used it to treat ulcers and snake bites.

The Ancient Romansconsidered sage to be a sacred herb and followed an elaborate ceremony when harvesting it. A sage gatherer (wearing clean clothes and feet) would have to make a sacrifice of food before he could begin to harvest with a special knife. The Romans would use it for toothpaste, and they also believed it to be good for the brain, senses and memory.

More important, however, is the beauty that sage can add to home landscape. Most flowering varieties bloom reliably from spring through fall and come in a vast array of colors. The require very little maintenance, have only moderate water and fertilizer requirements and virtually no pest problems.

Sage plants also attract plenty of natural wildlife including hummingbirds, butterflies and many beneficial insects to the garden. We stock a great selection of Salvia species and invite you to visit us throughout the year as different species become available. Our Sage List will help you discover the many varieties just waiting to find a home in your garden! 

Along with grass, there are quite a number of perennial plants that can be grown between stones in a path. These plants can all tolerate some foot traffic: Creeping Thyme/Mother-of-Thyme, Woolly Thyme, Carpet Bugleweed/Ajuga Reptans, Creeping Jenny/Creeping Charlie/Moneywort, Dead Nettle/Creeping Lamium, Blue Star Creeper, Brass Buttons, Mazus Reptans and Sedum. 

To help you select the best ground cover, consider:

• The amount of sunlight reaching your path (full sun, partial shade, full shade), because different plants thrive under different conditions.
• The amount of traffic the plants will need to endure. Light traffic means the plants will be stepped on once or twice a week. Moderate traffic is once a day. And heavy traffic is similar to walking on your lawn several times a day.
• The type of soil (poor or rich) and moisture conditions (wet or dry).
• Appearance: plant height, texture and color. If the path is heavily traveled, keep the plant height extremely low to prevent tripping.

Improve the growing conditions when you carve out the soil for your new stone path. It’s difficult to grow anything in a trampled area. The soil gets so compacted that roots cannot deliver water and nutrients to the plant. Add good drainage, as well as a layer of topsoil such as Black Forest at least 1 inch deep around the stones so your ground cover can thrive. Feed regularly with a good quality plant food like Dr. Earth All Purpose fertilizer.

Finally, help your new ground cover prosper with a weekly soaking (the plants need to stay moist) and a weekly hand weeding. And if you’d like to keep the plants short between the stones, consider varieties that tolerate mowing, such as thyme and ajuga.

Let's face it, working in your garden or watering your lawn is not easy while yellowjackets are buzzing around you. The yellowjacket could be searching for food or trying to protect the nest it carefully constructed during the past season.

Although wasps are helpful in pollination, and some varieties actually feed on insects such as caterpillars and other crop-destroying bugs, their venom can be harmful to those who are allergic to stings.

There are several ways to protect your garden visitors from the yellowjacket. The most natural way is by prevention. Wasps are attracted to food sources by smell, so eliminating any type of food such as soda or protein will keep these critters away. Do not squish a wasp, as the bug releases a pheromone that attracts others of its kind. Even worse, if you swat at the yellowjacket and miss, it will only defend itself by trying to sting you.

The easiest way to remove yellowjackets from your garden is by using a trap. The yellowjackets will enter the trap and get stuck. When using a trap, be sure to empty it weekly. We suggest placing a few strategically in different parts of the garden (away from entertaining areas) for best results. You can also spray the nest with a specialized spray like Maxide Hornet & Wasp Spray, if it is not near any vegetables or herbs. Note that spraying does put you in danger of being stung.

Product Spotlight: Dr. Earth Organic All Purpose Fertilizer

Dr. Earth All Purpose Organic Fertilizer is the natural way to help plants look their best. It contains a superior blend of organic ingredients in addition to beneficial soil microbes and mycorrhizae. You'll get exceptional results with Dr. Earth because the nutrients are released quickly into the soil for a stronger root system, lustrous foliage and what everyone wants, a greater abundance of blooms. It provides for stable and consistent plant growth so your plants are happy all of the time. So don't delay. Give your plants what they crave. Feed them Dr. Earth Organic All Purpose Fertilizer.

First of all, remove any existing calling cards from your vegetable garden. If you can identify which one of your delightfully inconsiderate neighbors allows their cat to do his business in your garden, place the calling cards in a plastic bag on their front doorstep, ring the doorbell, and run. This gives the game "doorbell ditch" a whole new perspective--especially if you weren't able to play the game as a child.

If you don't have the time or the legs to play this game, a better solution is to sneak into your neighbor's yard at night and over-seed their garden with catnip. Their cat will be in pure heaven and never want to leave.

Kidding aside, there is a number of naturally safe repellents that should make Fifi think twice about using your garden as her personal toilet. If an electric fence or chicken wire isn't your cup of tea, consider applying a commercial cat repellent. The key to using a repellent is to consistently re-apply the product until Fifi associates the desired area with the bad smell.

Home remedies like moth balls (inside coffee cans with small holes in lids) or cayenne pepper shaken around the exterior of the bed (which will also spice up your food) have also been known to be somewhat effective. Mulching may help, and keeping the garden soil moist. Cats like loose, dry soil to bury their doings in. You can also try to catch Fifi in the act and spray her with water. This will make you feel better but, unfortunately, rarely deters a persistent cat.