Incorporate These Into Your Landscape Design Ideas
Having a gorgeously landscaped garden is a source of pride for you. And if you’re familiar with the demands of flowering plants, then you know that pollinators are of utmost importance. You’d never want to apply chemicals to your garden or yard that would kill off helpful insects in an effort to get rid of the annoying ones.
But if mosquitoes are plaguing you, and you and your family cannot enjoy your outdoor spaces without being swarmed, consider incorporating these mosquito-repelling plants into your landscape design.
Marigolds
These puffy yellow-to-orange flowers are robust and easy to grow in sunny areas, either in pots or directly in the ground. They are annuals, so you’ll need to replant each spring.
Marigolds emit a scent that deters mosquitos from coming near, and can also prevent infestations of aphids, squash bugs, and tomato hornworms. This means they’re an excellent complement to your vegetable garden, too.
Catnip
Also called catmint, catnip is the stuff that makes cats get a little silly. It can be invasive if you plant it in the ground, so we advise growing it only in pots.
Scientific studies have shown that catnip is ten times more effective than DEET, a harsh chemical that used to be used in home and commercial insect repellents and bug sprays.
And, if you have cats, they’ll learn to love exploring your landscape!
Lemon Grass
Why burn a manufactured citronella candle, when you can plant lemon grass - also called citronella grass - right in your garden? The lemony scent banishes mosquitos and smells incredible in your yard.
Lemon grass is low-maintenance when grown in planters, but they won’t survive frost in Wichita, so be sure to bring them indoors or plan to replant in a sunny area each year.
Lavender
Lavender’s soothing scent has stress-relieving properties. It also can relieve the stress caused by being swarmed by mosquitos, thanks to its essential oils within the leaves of the plant.
Once well-established, lavender is easy to care for and resists drought. It needs full sun and drainage and prefers warmer climates. STarting lavender from seed or planting very young plants can be difficult, so you may want expert help from Meadowlark Landscape & Design to get started.
Allium
Hailing from the onion family, allium’s scent repels mosquitoes. If you don’t particularly like the odor of onion and garlic, allium may not be for you.
However, decorative allium is enchanting; its globe-shaped flowers perch atop slender stalks, like blooming fireworks or something from a world created by Dr. Seuss. Our favorites are a lovely purple shade that complements other hues in your garden.
Horsemint
Known by the much more delicate sounding name “bee balm,” horsemint attracts bees and butterflies, while deterring mosquitos and other unwanted insects. Its leaves, when crushed, produce fragrant oils responsible for banishing bugs.
Bee balm’s colorful blooms in shades of red, white, purple, pink, and lavender, show off all summer long, and the pollinators it attracts keep the rest of your garden blooming and vegetables producing.
Cooking Herbs Repel Mosquitos, Too!
If you have a kitchen garden or an established herb garden in your landscape, you’ll be pleased to know that the herbs you love to cook with also can repel mosquitoes from your yard: rosemary, basil, sage, and mint!
Rosemary’s woody scent also deters cabbage moths and carrot flies. It grows well in containers, so you can bring them inside even after summer ends. Drought isn’t a big problem for rosemary, either, so dry Wichita summers won’t interfere with its survival.
Basil’s smell keeps pests away. Unlike rosemary, basil loves damp soil with good drainage. It comes in many cultivars, so you can choose the one you like best for cooking, or the one that serves you best as a natural bug repellent.
Sage is another cooking favorite with a scent that wards off unwanted insects. If you have a particularly prolific crop, you can harvest it, dry it, and use it to make homemade bug spray to use while you’re gardening!
And finally, mint is a nontoxic option to keep away ants, flies, and mosquitoes. You should only plant mints in containers and pots, because it is incredibly invasive and will take over your landscape and yard. Dried mint leaves work well indoors for pest control, too.
Get Mosquito Treatments from a Landscaping Company in Wichita, Kansas
You may not realize it, but local landscaping companies - those who make your lawn and garden look gorgeous - can also provide safe and effective mosquito treatments so you can enjoy your beautiful backyard.
With both synthetic and natural treatments from Meadowlark Landscape & Design, mosquitos and other pesky bugs are eliminated, allowing the “good bugs,” like bees and butterflies, to thrive in your yard. So, not only can we incorporate mosquito-repelling plants into your landscape, but we can help boost their effectiveness, too.
Call us at 316-880-227 to learn how we can transform your yard into a mosquito-free zone and give you lots of landscape design ideas to create outdoor living areas!
Comentários