I'm a green gardener. I'm loathe to use toxic chemicals in my yard. However, there are certain situations when only toxic will do. Like, for example, when I recently had to kill a tree. Read on if you're in the same boat and would like some tips. Oh, and be sure to check out my photo gallery, too!

The Camphor Laurel: An Invasive Pest

First up: a bit about the tree in question. The offending plant was a camphor laurel tree (cinnamomum camphora), a native of East Asia that has become an invasive pest here in the US and in other countries, like Australia. Yes, this plant is the source of stinky camphor oil, which is found in products like Vicks® cold remedies.

In my backyard, the camphor is a big pain-in-the-butt-plant. My nemesis. My arch-enemy. It self-sows everywhere. I must have pulled hundreds of tiny seedlings by hand since learning (the hard way) to be more vigilant. Hand weeding camphor seedlings is a nuisance, but it sure beats trying to eradicate them once they become established.

You may have noticed your local coffee shop offering free coffee grounds to gardeners. Although it's true that coffee grounds can act as a slow-releasing fertilizer for some plants, it can invite mold and other problems if not properly used. So, here's the break down of when and where to use coffee grounds in your garden.

Coffee grounds add acidic nutrients into the soil, so they are most beneficial for plants that yearn acidic earth, like roses and columbine. The great people at Crescent Bloom organized a list of acidic soil loving plants. Evergreens also pine for these roasted dregs in their root system.

Grounds are are also full of other nutrients like iron, and the caffeine can encourage plant roots to spread. However, grounds should only be applied fresh and in a thin layer once a year. If you apply them too thick, they are more likely to mold and that causes more problems.