Beginner Gardening: Purple Loosestrife (Lythrum Virgatum), 1 by critterologist

critterologist wrote:
Ooh, I LIKE that bed!

I read the label on the Spectricide granules last year (we have lots of ants, mostly the little tiny ones, just everywhere), and I decided I didn't want it where our cats or young nieces/nephews might walk in it. In general, unless I've got an infestation of something that's just overwhelming a plant, I let the good bugs and bad bugs battle it out... maybe a little insecticidal soap now and then, but the less I spray the fewer problems I seem to have. Ants can be a problem if there are so many that the nests create air pockets around the roots and dry out the plant... but otherwise, they're just a bother.

We do spray Ortho Home Defense along the bottom of our doorways, windowsills, and anywhere ants might enter the house. It's the most effective (and least smelly) product I've found.

Especially since you've got toddlers, consider growing some balsam impatiens in the shady part of your annual bed... those exploding seed pods are a hoot! Hopefully, mine will flower in time to produce seeds this year. http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/156/

I do like black-eyed susans, and they do well here. But for an even longer blooming period, I've decided I prefer yellow ox-eye, which I grew out from mislabeled seed, so discovering how well it does for me was a total stroke of good luck! http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/49/