The following are some tips and tricks that have been passed on to me from others that I have found useful.
Hand Protection
Use disposable latex gloves under your gardening gloves to keep your hands clean and dry. Regular gardening gloves are pretty good at protecting your hands, but dirt still manages to get in and hands still get wet, especially during spring gardening. You can buy inexpensive disposable latex gloves by the carton at warehouse stores in the health and beauty section.
Hellebores
Primula
See growing information from the Devonian Organic Garden.
Primula prefer alkaline soil. Use lime.
Rhododendrons
Good growing instructions are available from the University of Missouri.
Rhodies prefer an acid soil.
Slug Control
A safe and beneficial way to help keep the slugs at bay is household ammonia. Mix 1 part household ammonia with 4 to 5 parts water in a sprayer. Walk your garden at dusk 2-3 times a week with the sprayer and spray any slugs (and eggs) you see with the diluted ammonia. The slugs will die and the plants will love the extra nitrogen.
