One of the best things about gardening is felling warm, moist dirt in your bare hands, but you will often end up with blistered, chapped, and scraped skin. The solution to this problem is gardening gloves. The more time you spend getting down and dirty in the garden, the more you need gardening gloves. Gardening gloves will be able to ease some of the pain you would otherwise be subject to, letting you spend even more time playing in the dirt.
There are hundreds of different types of gloves on the market, and the kind of gardening glove you buy depends on the way you garden. Some gloves offer protection against specific substances or things, for example, leather gloves are not the best for working with chemicals or water. Many gardening gloves are specialized for pruning thorns, refilling gasoline tanks, or using a chain saw, while others are for general tasks such as raking, digging, and weeding.
After choosing the type of gardening glove you need, you must make sure and pick out the perfect fit. Gloves that are too big have a tendency to slip off while gloves that are too small could cause aches and cramps. Any glove that doesn’t fit could defeat the whole purpose of wearing gloves and cause blistering. To find a glove with the best fit possible, try the gloves on both hands, make a fist, and imitate the movements you make when gardening. If there is no pinching or slipping and the glove is comfortable then you have found your match.
Gardening gloves can be bought in many places and are produced by many companies, causing them all to have a different quality and price. Most gloves can be washed in cool water and then air dried. There are many different types of gloves you can purchase to satisfy your varying needs, such as cotton and cotton-polyester for general-purpose chores. These are among the most popular gloves and are perfect for light chores in cool and dry weather. Leather gloves can also be used for general chores but are heavier than cotton and polyester. Chemical resistant gloves will help protect your hands against oils, acids, herbicides, pesticides, and many other chemicals. Grip enhancing gloves are designed with rubber dots for extra gripping power. Cut and puncture resistant gloves are designed to offer extra protection against sharp edges
If you are the type person that only wears gloves as an optional luxury for various tasks, you should think seriously for using specialized gardening gloves for many of the activities you will be doing outside. There is really no reason not to wear gardening gloves; they protect your hands from the elements and don’t ever cost all that much.
Filed under Bulbs, Butterfly Garden, Composting, Flowers, General, Landscaping, Lawn Care, Plants, Vegetables by

On a prior post I listed plants that could be used to attract butterflies. I came upon a better list of plants for attracting butterflies on the San Antonio Botanical Garden site. So I thought I would share that with you.
Spring Blooming Plants:
Hinckley Columbine (Aquilegia hinckleyana)
Mexican Plum (Prunus mexicana)
Larkspur (Delphinium sp.)
Bluebonnets (Lupinus texensis)
Redbud (Cercis canadensis var. texensis)
Rock Rose (Pavonia lasiopetala)
Texas Betony (Stachys coccinea)
Yarrow (Achillea millefolium)
Wildflowers: Indian Blanket, Coreopsis, Thistle, Purple Horsemint, Paintbrush, etc.
Angel's Trumpet (Datura sp.)
Mealy Blue Sage (Salvia farinacea)
Pentas
Summer Blooming Plants:
Indigo Spires (Salvia sp.)
Summer Phlox (Phlox paniculata)
Butterfly Bush (Buddleia davidii)
Lantana (Lantana sp.)
Mexican Sunflower (Tithonia rotundifolia)
Purple Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea)
Buttonbush (Cephalanthus occidentalis)
Butterfly Weed (Asclepias curassavica)
Black-eyed Susan 'Goldstrum' (Rudbeckia hirta)
Zinnia Sunflowers (Helianthus sp.)
Pride of Barbados (Poinciana pulcherima)
Fall Blooming Plants:
Maximillian Sunflowers (Helianthus maximiliani)
Gayfeather (Liatris)
Mistflower (Eupatorium sp.)
Mexican Bush Sage (Salvia leucantha)
Purple Aster (Aster oblongifolius)
Mexican Mint Marigold (Tagetes lucida)
Rosemary (upright or trailing)
Goldenrod (Solidago canadensis)
Cosmos
Larval Food Plants:
Plants that provide food for caterpillars
Fennel, Parsley, Dill, Rue (Eastern Black swallowtail)
Passionvine (Gulf Fritillary)
Hop Tree, Toothache Tree, Rue (Giant Swallowtail)
Pipevine (Pipevine Swallowtail)
Flame Acanthus (Janais Patch)
Butterflyweed/Milkweed Family (Monarch, Queen)
Native Grasses: Sideoats Gramma, Little and Big Bluestem Honeysuckle (Clearwing)
Hackberry (Snout Butterfly, Hackberry Butterfly)
Oak (Hairstreaks and others)
Willows, Ashes, Cherry (Tiger Swallowtail)
Nettles (Red Admiral)
Senna, Clover, and other legumes (Sleepy Orange)
Mallows (White Checkered Skipper)
Muhly Grass, Indian Grass, Inland Sea Oats Sunflower, Ragweed, Cowpen Daisy (Bordered Patch)
Filed under Butterfly Garden by

If you want to butterfly garden then you need to know what plants attract butterflies. So here is a list of some of the plants that can be used to attract butterflies.
Filed under Butterfly Garden by




