LADYBUG SAYS ... WITH SPRING NEAR, TALK TURNS TO GARDENING

Once an interest in gardening has been kindled, good garden talk seems to be everywhere. It can be over the fence with the neighbors, programs at garden clubs, in magazines, newspapers, radio, garden books and in the new tantalizing plant and seed catalogs.

More is being said today about gardening than ever before. Fortunately, gardening is one thing that everyone can enjoy the very young, the old, the blind and handicapped, all can work at some phase of gardening with some satisfaction.

March is a month of extremes and anything can happen from the sky. Speakers at the Men's Garden Club of Jackson's Symposium last week reminded us not to completely uncover plants as yet because there is sure to be some weather ahead.

Even though this has been the warmest winter in 47 years, there are many plants showing stress, possibly caused by the extreme cold weather the first of November when the temperature dropped into the low teens. The Stellata magnolia in our yard has sparse blossoms when normally it is covered with large white blooms. Many perennials have disappeared, when normally they would have shown only heaving from the fluctuation of temperatures. When that extreme early November cold came, plants had not had the opportunity to harden for winter.

This is a good month for planting trees and shrubs. If moved now, they will have ample time to make new roots before the leaves come out to draw on the plants' moisture supply. When shrubbery borders have grown out of bounds and their faults cannot be corrected by pruning, the best remedy is to grub them out and replant with new shrubs.

For those who like spring greens, March is the month for planting Swiss chard, and then making additional plantings. If sage has wintered, this is a good time to cut it back and encourage new growth.

In his book, Stalking the Healthful Herbs, Euell Gibbons tells of Pennsylvania Dutch neighbors; children eating violet leaves in the wild greens which were cooked and served to their families as a spring tonic. They also gathered shepherd's purse, wild mustard, wild lettuce, dock, tender dandelion leaves and others.

Soon it will be outside planting time. Louise Riotte, author of Roses Love Garlic, containing secrets of companion planting with flowers, and Carrots Love Tomatoes, secrets of companion planting for successful gardening, has much to say about this fascination study. She also believes in studying the almanac and planting by moon signs.

She says companion plantings are not a form of magic. It is making use of the known factors in planning flower and vegetable gardens, and it has been with us through most of our agricultural history.

Our early settlers found the American Indians planting corn and pumpkins together and in Holland, early farmers planted a border of hemp around cabbage fields to keep away the cabbage butterflies, she pointed out.

These are some of her other findings:

Columbine, which is attractive to red spiders, should not be planted near other flowers or tomatoes which the spider mites also find tasty.

The roots of dahlias are helpful against certain kinds of nematodes and help protect other flowers growing near by.

Marigolds control nematodes by producing a chemical in the root which kills them when it is released into the soil. Since it is produced slowly, the marigold must be grown all season.

Tomatoes interplanted with marigolds will grow and produce better.

Beans planted with marigolds help protect against the Mexican Bean Beetle.

Calemdula or marigolds planted in the vicinity of evergreens will repel dogs.

Geraniums will repel cabbage worms and are good to plant among roses, grapes and corn against Japanese Beetles.

Feverfew has insect repellent properties because of its spicy scent of its foliage.

Plant dusty miller around prized flowers to repel rabbits.

The white cabbage butterfly is repelled if celery is planted near cauliflower.

Indians liked to grow wild morning glories with corn. They believed that the flowers gave the corn more vigor.

Petunias protect beans against beetles.

Wild Larkspur and poppies like to grow with winter wheat but dislike barley. Poppy seeds may lie dormant in the ground many years, then show up again with grain crops.

All the alliums garlic, onions, chives and shallots are beneficial to roses, protecting them from black spot, mildew and aphids.

These and many other companion planting theories can be found in these books.