Are you worried about mosquitos this year? Here, in Ontario mosquito netting for patio furniture and decks is selling out as soon as it gets into the store. Some people have even reserved it before the truck ever leaves the depot. It's scary. Although you can get rid of standing water around your property you can't do much about the guy next door or the little natural pond in the ravine a few blocks over. But, if all you can do is control your own area you're doing all you can do. As Martha would say - it's a good thing.

Here is an article I found through one of the free content lists. I like citronella, I'm not sure how effective it is but it smells lovely. I've always thought the plant was from the geranium family but that's not mentioned in the article, possibly I'm wrong. Nah!!!

Citronella - What is it

We're all concerned about mosquito bites & West Nile this year. Citronella is the best known organic insect repellent. It is used in sprays, soaps, candles and other mosquito repellent products. So what is it?

Citronella is a tall, blue-green, lemon-scented perennial grass which grows to 1 or 1.5 meters tall. The leaves are used to make citronella oil. When the grass is 2.5 - 3 months old it is cut about 5 cm above the leaf sheath. The leaves are left to wilt in the sun. It can then be harvested again after about 1.5 months. Fresh, partly dried or wholly dried grass is steam distilled to remove the essential oil. The oil is yellow-brown and has the powerful lemony aroma we are all familiar with. Citronella oil is used a lot for commercially produced perfumes and soaps. It is also mixed with other vegetable oils to produce massage oils.

Citronella is native to southeast Asia. It is grown commercially in Sri Lanka, India, Burma, and Indonesia. The leaves have been used for their fragrance and medicinal value for centuries. Besides being an effective insect repellent it has been used for rheumatism, colds, headaches, lower back pain, migraines, fevers, pain, sprains, muscular aches, intestinal parasites, digestive problems, menstrual problems, stomach complaints, an after childbirth wash, to speed healing, fatigue, depression, household germicide/antiseptic, repelling cats, excessive perspiration, conditioning oily skin & hair, and to increase mental alertness.

Don't put pure citronella oil directly on your skin (it needs to be mixed with something). Don't used when pregnant. It has also been known to increase the heart rate of some people. Citronella oil should be used externally only - if ingested seek medical help.

Do citronella candles & soaps really work? Some say you'd have to have a lot of candles to create enough scent to keep the mosquitoes away. My feeling is - it won't hurt and even if it doesn't keep them all away it should cut them down. Use decorative candles that look great so their only purpose isn't repelling mosquitoes. I've used a mosquito repellent soap in the summer for years and I believe it helps. My daughter still gets lots of bites but she is one of those people that has always been covered with mosquito bites (must taste or smell good to mosquitoes!). She doesn't think the soap works. So give it a try - it if works great, if it doesn't keep the mosquitoes away you're still clean & a little lemony scented

Wendy Kennedy owns and operates www.CanadianCountryGifts.com which carries a wonderful selection of country products including citronella candles & handmade mosquito repellent soaps.

Sign up for her free biweekly newsletter by sending an email to ccg-request@newsletter.cndcountrygifts.com with `sub' as the subject.

Good evening, at least that's what it is right now. I'm here tonight to talk about web fever. You may wonder how that is possibly home and garden related and think 'she's really stretching it this time' or 'she's finally lost it' but no, charming reader. I'm very likely to be taking on yet another website. HerGardenWeb http://www.hergardenweb.com/ My own rambunctious, carelessly spelled version of HGTV.

What can you do with a woman who just can't stop taking on websites? I'd try to stop myself but the more I try the more I keep talking myself into doing it.

Anyway, this is your fair warning, keep your dandelions, your fabric scraps and your wood chips close on hand, you might need them. Sooner or later I'll find something for you to do with all those things.

Plus, if any of you have garden sites this would be a good time to email me about link exchanges or other great promotion ideas.

Back to your seedlings and good night,

Me and AOL (the other web monopoly).

I'm having a chocolate night. I just want something delicious and sweet, not yucky sweet but really good, mouth watering, mind numbing chocolateness. Chocolate chip cheesecake, chocolate ice cream with nuts and caramel ribbons, huge three tier choclate cake with choclate icing and roses. Mmmm. Pile all of that on a big piece of hot lasagna oozing mozarella cheese... Yeah, that's what I want. Don't forget a really good, smooth, rich coffee.

Whoever said food is better than sex... at least it's a good alternative. If you aren't getting one you can surely find the other.

OK, the plan is to have a how-to type article for next week. I know, you were looking forward to a respite from my endless babblations... but, hey, this is what you get for free. And worth every penny I might add!!

I was thinking about Nigella, Martha, Cathy, Mark and a few others who have home and garden type shows here in Canada. Wouldn't you like to do a home and garden show too? It looks like so much fun and so interesting to see all those new and unique ideas. What would your show be like? Would you stick to cooking like Nigella over in the UK, gardening like Cathy here in Canada or would you be a Martha Stewart and have some of everything?

It would be Martha for me. There is just so much to try and explore that I wouldn't want to be limited to just cooking or just gardening or just crafts. I want them all! I like the way she has a mix in each show, that way there is always something for the gardeners and the crafters. Plus she likes the old traditional stuff too. But she doesn't ignore new ideas. Really Martha has the ideal show. I wish it was on more often or that the magazines weren't so out of my price range. I just love to sit and wander through the pages at the local coffee shop/ bookstore. I bring along pen and paper so I can take write down bits of information, ideas and URLs.

I don't have a sticky title for my own show but I'm sure I could come up with something. After all, I am the co-moderator of the Home and Garden community at BackWash. How is that relevant? It's not, I just thought this was a good place to stick that in there.

Anyway, if you have ever thought you could do it just as well (if not better) than Martha drop by the community on BackWash and lets trade ideas. I'll show you mine if you show me yours.

Happy Spring!