A reason to grow four o'clocks

[ChanellG]

I've been trying to decide what to place next to what in one of the raised beds in garden #3. It's mostly herbs, but that bed will also be home to a few cherry tomato plants. If you've seen my recent posts you know I have been looking for ways to rid the garden of grub worms. I'm not sure what kind of larvae they are, but there's a good chance it's Japanese beetle.

Just now I read that planting four o'clocks is the solution for the problem. If you are plagued by Japanese beetles you'll want to read this excerpt:

FOUR-O'CLOCKS:Draws Japanese beetles like a magnet which then dine on the foliage. The foliage is pure poison to them and they won't live to have dessert! It is important to mention that Four O'clock are also poisonous to humans and animals. Please be careful where you plant them if you have children and pets. They are a beautiful annual plant growing from 2-3 feet high with a bushy growth form.

Source: http://www.ghorganics.com/page2.html

 

[R.R.]

I love them, but I hear they're pretty invasive, too.

 

[gata montes]

Love them - as they fill the evening air with a strong heady scent - but not over overpoweringly so - that very much resembles that of my favorite perfume - Chanel No.5

However - much as I love them and do have great swathes of them - as they are extremely invasive in warm climates and EXTREMELY hard to eradicate - I don't let them get anywhere near my vegetable garden - as they are that invasive where I live that they could very easily claim the whole of my vegetable garden - long before the season had finished.

They attract huge swarms of ants too

 

[ChanellG]

I don't remember them having a scent. Would you believe as many times as someone asked me if my name was Chanel no. 5, or if I wore the fragrance, I never even smelled it until a few years ago? I only tried it two years ago! That is some powerful stuff! It really lingers hours after you put it on.

Thanks for the heads up about the ants. I am thinking of putting containers of mint and lavender all around on all four sides of the house as I am over them getting inside and getting into things like my raw honey! I'll be sure to put mint near the four o'clocks if I can find some. I have some really good ant bait for when I get tired of them coming in the house, but I have a nosy outdoor cat that thinks he lives in my yard and I wouldn't want him to get into it.