Picking off flowers frequently encourage most annuals to flower more abundantly.

Garlic to the rescue: if you put 1 or 2 garlic cloves into your rose bushes, they will never be bothered by aphids or other insects.

You can remove the faded flowers from bulbs, but the foliage must be left on to provide the bulb with food for next year's flowers.

A dose of caster oil saves ferns: add 1 tbsp. castor oil and 1 tbsp. children's shampoo to a quart of warm water, and give each plant a 1/4 cup of the mixture.

A drop of mineral oil added to the silk of corn will prevent the worms from eating your corn. Has worked well for me.

Collect rain water, and reduce the need for watering by improving your soil and growing appropriate plants.

Always mix your plant food with very warm water because plants will take it up faster.

The best indoor insect repellent for house plants is pieces of moth ball crystals applied directly to the surface of the soil.

The best mouse trap bait is pumpkin seeds; you'll find that mice can't resist them.

When planting early vegetables, put on south side of house or shed. This will protect from northern winds, and allow walls to absorb heat and then release that heat at night.

Don't throw away those extra seeds left over from planting. Most seeds will last in a dry cool place for about 3-4 years.

To bloom non-stop, container plants need both a lot of fertility and water almost, if not every, day. Since watering washes out the nutrients, this presents a problem. Use your own compost as a top-dressing, or use a good organic fertilizer.

The sound of running water from a fountain or pool will attract birds to your yard, to bathe and to drink.

Avoid planting related crops in the same spot year after year, for example in the tomato family the related crops are eggplant, pepper, potato and tomato.

Another way to make your garden interesting is to create a garden skyline by incorporating raised beds, pedestals, and containers that lift plants, flowers, and small trees up.