Didi, I’ve had good luck with diatomaceous earth ( at garden centers). Cover the soil in flower beds or around individual plants. The tiny, sharp-edged granules cut the soft-bodied slugs and cause them to dehydrate.   My mom placed crushed eggshells in her garden .  Also, snails won’t cross copper.  You could place some copper stripping around your flower beds.  Also, set out small saucers of beer.  They are little drunkards and will fall in and drown.

As for the roses, try either lime-sulfur or fungicides containing triforine (Funginex).   Good luck!

There is a product you can get at good nurseries called "Slug Be Gone" or something like that. You can also buy it online. It never fails. It’s how I managed to have a specimen hosta garden in North Texas for years, and how I’m managing a smaller one here in Chicago. 

 It’s nothing more than iron phosphate pellets. Your kids could eat it by the fistful, your dogs could wolf down the entire container, and NOTHING will happen to them. It’s 100% effective, non-toxic and environmentally friendly. The only issue is that it’s a bit pricey. You don’t need much. A ring around each plant will do very well, and you don’t have to reapply it more than once over the course of the summer.

I’m a Master Gardener, and many people (including my instructors) told me the fairy tale about beer traps, etc. I’m here to say that in over 25 years gardening I have NEVER ONCE caught a single slug or snail in one of those traps. The only thing that truly works is those nifty pellets. 

Hi Rebecca,

Having just been in that area I know exactly about the weather you’re dealing with.  I suggest you walk around your neighborhood…or through Golden Gate Park and look at what’s growing well with your same exposure.  Or…visit a local nursery (Not Home Depot or Lowes) for advice.  I just checked Yelp.com ‘cause I remember there’s a Sloat Garden Center in the Sunset by the zoo…but it got horrible reviews.  I noticed Agapanthus (Lily of the Nile) seems to thrive everywhere…and they seem to like being pot bound!  I noticed lavender and rosemary thriving everywhere too.  I also think there are ornamental grasses that would work.  Good luck!

Yup, Joan. I forget to do that. Yet we grew tons of tulips when I was a babe in Belgium and we did not have refrigerators, perhaps my mother put them in the cellar. It also depends on when and in what zone you plant them. Can’t remember why, no doubt you will find out.

I do have my hosta seeds in the fridge for next sping planting. Hope I do not mix them with one of my sauces.