Honey, I've spent years learning from people and plants, even those I didn't trust or allow in my garden.

Newspapers eliminate worst gardening task of all—weeding!  Place six layers of newspaper on the ground between plants and cover them with a thin layer of dirt or shredded bark.  The papers will rot by season’s end, improving the soil, and not a single weed will survive.

        Dig coffee grounds, tea bags and eggshells into the ground around roses, azaleas and rhododendrons.  The household garbage slightly acidifies the soil.

    Prepare a “rose boost cocktail” by fermenting banana skins in a sealed jar of warm water for 14 days.  Pour directly on rose bushes or spray plants with the liquid.  The skins are loaded with magnesium, calcium and phosphorous—all minerals that roses crave.  

Situate heat-loving flowers such as bougainvillea, hibiscus and cannas against south-facing walls to bring them into flower sooner.

  For hot spots, where the sun beats down unmercifully, select plants with red pigment in their leaves.  Red-leafed fibrous begonias, for instance, take the heat much better than their green-leafed cousins.

Shop pet and feed stores for low-cost fertilizer.  Alfalfa pellets (rabbit and livestock feed) can be had for as little as $5 for a 50-pound bag.  Not only do the pellets contain generous amounts of nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and plenty of trace elements, but they have a growth stimulant, tiacontanol, that increases plant size up to 40 percent.  Simply scratch pellets into the soil or containers; pellets disintegrate quickly with moisture.

Cover container drainage holes with used tea bags to keep soil from leaking out when watered.  If you aren't a tea drinker, cover the holes with used coffee filters.

Mulch tomato, pepper, eggplant and cucumber plants with used aluminum foil for insect control and to hasten ripening.  The reflected light fries whiteflies, aphids and thrips on the underside of plant leaves and focuses more sunlight on fruits.

    Allow flowering plants to go to seed for plenty of free blooms next spring.  Calendulas, marigolds, nasturtiums, sweet alyssum, violets and pansies will come back true to type.  Others like petunias, impatiens, cosmos and snapdragons may change color or form, but surprise is always good in the garden. You may find a gem.