¿ªÔÆÌåÓý

Late spring's warmer temperatures, frequent sun and soaking rains provide the perfect growing conditions for home gardens. Charlie Nardozzi answers lots of gardeners' questions about their plants, trees, weeds and no-dig methods.

Home gardeners have been placing certain flowers and vegetable plants together for decades. (I see you, marigolds near tomatoes!) Now, scientific research shows companion planting can be beneficial.

"Glads" are tall, showy perennials and are part of the iris family. Their tall stems flower with multiple blooms along the stalk and come in many colors and heights.

Wetter weather suits some garden critters, like slugs and snails. Slugs, especially, will eat your basil, lettuce, marigolds and more. Certain pesticide-free techniques can save your garden from becoming a slugfest this summer.

Some garden plants grow quite large and take up lots of space, like cucumbers and pumpkins. But summer squash � like zucchini and yellow crookneck � can be grown vertically if you have limited real estate in your garden.

Their heady fragrance can transport you; plant tall or smaller flowering shrubs for color and scent all season.

The trend of "No Mow May" follows the logic that leaving your whole lawn unmowed for the month can help pollinators. The birds, bugs and bees will use the overgrown weeds and flowers as food and shelter. Instead of doing this for a month then mowing it all down, consider dedicating a small portion of your yard to pollinators for the whole season.

Capture and conserve storm water from heavy rains in gardens planted with water-loving flowers or catch it in a rain barrel.

This Earth Day, embrace some more Earth friendly gardening practices, like reusing plastic pots, forgoing pesticides and planting pollinator friendly lawns.

With bigger and more frequent rain events brought on by human-caused climate change, you can either raise up your garden or try planting things that thrive in wetter conditions.