Groundcover Near the House

If you are planting groundcover near the house, you should look for plants that are not overly aggressive. Ivy, variagated vinca and other fast growers can actually damage your house by growing under the siding or forcing their way through window frames. Good groundcover choices include periwinkle, sweet woodruff, liriope and phlox.

Moving Roses

Despite the fragile beauty of their flowers, roses are amazingly hardy bushes, so moving roses from one part of the garden to another is actually fairly simple. To move your roses, you should:
1. Prepare your new garden bed for the roses. Remove all weeds and dig in some compost to freshen the soil.
2. Wait until your rose is dormant to move it. Blooming takes a lot of energy out of a plant. Your rose will probably will survive if you move it while it is blooming, but it will be less stressed if you wait until early spring.
3. Prune back all of the canes so the rose is about two feet high.
4. Dig around your rose's roots to move it with as large a rootball as possible. Lift the rose from the hole and transfer it immediately to the new bed. Water your transplanted rose well.

Keep Cats Out of Gardens

If cats are digging up your plants, you may want to try one of these simple tips to keep cats out of gardens:

1. Spread some mothballs around. The smell of mothballs will repel cats.
2. Bury wire mesh just below the soil surface. Cats often dig in the garden because it seems like a nice soft outdoor litter box. The mesh will discourage them from digging.
3. Add some ornaments and large rocks to open spaces. Covering up the ground cat deter cats.
4. Move your birdbath and bird feeder away from the garden. Sometimes, cats hang out in the garden to catch unsuspecting birds.