Posts Tagged ‘flower garden’
Written by admin on 23 October 2008
Absolutely everything you need to know to grow healthy, fresh organic food
I give a lot of lawn tips, but that can get boring sometimes as grass is always green and that’s about it. But gardening with annuals in flower beds is easy too and rewarding, and offers tons of alternatives. Flowers bring color, interest and sweet scents to the garden landscape. Flower gardening is simple, inexpensive, and loads of fun. It can be done for yard decoration, simply as a hobby, or even professionally. Many businesses pay big money for “seasonal color rotation.”
There are some decisions that have to be made before you plant your first seed or sprout. You must decide if you want annuals that live for one season and must be replanted every year, or perennials that survive the winter and return again in the spring. When buying and planting, pay attention to what kind of flowers thrive in your climate as well as the sun requirements. In most stores like Home Depot or Lowe’s, they have the perennials displayed separately from the annuals so as not to cause confusion.
When flower gardening, you must decide what type of look you want before planting. For instance, mixing different heights, colors, and varieties of flowers together in a “wild-plant style” will give your garden a meadow look and can be very charming. If short flowers are planted in the front of your garden and work up to the tallest flowers in the back you will have a “stepping stone style.”
You can order seeds for flower gardening from catalogs or buy them from a nursery. Most people will go to the nursery and buy actual flowers and then transplant them as this gives instant results with no waiting. After you have prepared your garden area and bought flowers, it is a good idea to lay the flowers out in the bed to make sure you like the arrangement and that they will be spaced properly.
One of the easiest processes in flower gardening is the planting. When using seeds, just sprinkle them in the flower bed. There is no need to space them or even bury them. Just buy a lot of what you want and let them “fall as they may” to create a wild flush of color. For planting transplants, dig a hole just bigger than the flower pack, pull the container off, and set the flower in the hole right side up. Cover it with the loose soil and press down firmly, then water. You may want to amend the soil first with some peat moss and mushroom compost as this will aid in flower production through the season.
Maintaining a flower garden is even easier than planting one. Although they might make it on their own, a sprinkling of organic compost or Milorganite will help your flowers proliferate. Pinch back any blooms after they start to fade and keep them good and watered. To save yourself work during the next season of flower gardening, rid your garden of all debris and spread out organic nutrients like peat moss or compost. Don’t forget to turn over the soil to properly mix in the fertilizer and rake smooth when finished. If you have perennials planted be careful not to disturb their roots in this process.
Flower gardening is as easy as 1, 2, and 3: simply decide what to plant; plant it, and water, water, water! Flower gardening is undoubtedly gaining in popularity and gives anyone excellent reason to spend some outdoors and test out their green thumb.
You can also get information on Do It Yourself Pest Control here.
Tags: container, flower, flower bed, flower beds, flower garden, flower gardening, flower gardens, garden, garden landscape, gardening, lawns, organic, plants, pot, roots, seed, seeds, soil
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Written by admin on 22 October 2008
Absolutely everything you need to know to grow healthy, fresh organic food
Organic gardening is generally considered to be any method of gardening that does not utilize any chemicals or pesticides to maintain the garden. One can practice organic gardening in a vegetable or flower garden – or in any other area in which someone is trying to grow things.
There are many reasons that people want to practice organic gardening. Many people like the idea of wholesome, fresh vegetables that don’t have any form of chemical, possibly poisonous residue on them. Many people like to have plants which will attract a variety of small wildlife, such as butterflies and bees. Many people have small children or pets and don’t want to take the chance that the chemicals frequently used in non-organic gardening could hurt their children or pets.
Organic gardening is not “simple gardening”. Effort is needed to have successful gardens in most situations and this is no exception. One needs to plan the garden before starting it. It is necessary to consider what kind of garden one wants, where it will be kept, how it will be organized and if companion plants are to be included.
Organic gardening needs compost. How to make comppost? Compost is a mixture of topsoil and a variety of organic matter such as leaves, vegetable refuse, manure air and water. This mixture needs to be turned or mixed frequently, so there needs to be room to work with the developing compost. Once the compost is ready, it is used as the basic medium into which the plants or seeds are placed. Generally, the compost is created before the garden is planted.
The location of the garden is important. Does the area get a lot of sun? Will it be high enough so that it won’t be frequently flooded in major rain storms? Will it need any protection if the weather suddenly turns too chilly? Is there easy access to the garden? The location of the plants in the garden must also be considered.
Companion plants are plants that have some kind of natural chemical that repels a variety of insects or diseases. Garlic, for example, planted near roses tends to repel the aphids that frequently attack roses. Oregano is thought to repel the cucumber beetle. Some plants can help repel nematodes. If planned well, it is possible for a gardener to be able to have a flower garden in the exact same spot as a vegetable garden. The geographic location of the garden – is it in Alaska, Nevada, Florida or elsewhere? – will need to be considered when deciding what to plant in an organic gardening.
Tags: bees, butterflies, cucumber, flower, flower garden, garden, gardener, gardening, leaves, organic, organic garden, organic gardening, plants, pot, roses, seed, seeds, soil, vegetable, vegetable garden, wildlife
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Written by admin on 09 October 2008
Absolutely everything you need to know to grow healthy, fresh organic food
It seems that home improvement stores are making their gardening supply and nursery stocks more expansive year by year. I think this is because DIY lawn care and gardening is the easiest to break into as a homeowner.
You can buy gardening products in various stores or nurseries, or you can order gardening products from catalogues, or even order them online. The trick is in knowing what you need for the jobs you plan to undertake.
You will obviously need the basic landscape garden tools no matter what you are planting, such as a hoe, spade, and maybe even a shovel. You must have watering supplies, like a hose, sprinkler and watering can. Other possibilities include a spade, a pot (if you are pot planting), and a pair of gloves for comfort, some pruning shears and a rake. Then, of course, there are the essentials such as the lawn mower and weed whacker, but we are mainly going to focus here on the basic landscape/gardening tools and leave the grass for another day.
When first starting a garden you will definitely want some type of mushroom mulch, manure or peat moss to properly amend your soil. There are a few types of potting soil that you can also add into your slurry including organic potting mix, seed starting potting mix, cactus potting mix, and root development potting mix, just to name a few.
Once you have your garden planted, you must have gardening chemicals so that you can add nutrients to the soil to ensure a healthy plant life. Miracle-Gro is one of the most popular growing enhancements for plants. There are many different types of Miracle-Gro to choose from and what kind you choose will depend on what you are trying to grow. The good thing about Miracle-Gro is that it is labeled very well with easy-to-follow instructions. This same brand name can also be found on insecticides and fungicides with that same easy-to-follow labeling.
If you are growing vegetables or herbs, you may need different gardening tools than regular flower gardens require. If you are growing tomatoes for example, you will need a tomato cage and ties to protect the plants against the wind. Many plants, mostly vines, are designed to grow on something and you will have to have a fence or trellis of some sort.
You can also find tools for the landscape that serve a greater purpose than just “function,” and that being “form.” In other words, they can also come in the form of decoration. There are decorative flower pots, sundials, plastic figurines, stones or bricks for a pathway or looks, and even lawn furniture. The big trend in country gardening is to find old, weathered and rusted garden tools and plant those in and amongst the greenery. Decoration will add to the charm and uniqueness of your garden and is an excellent way to give it a personal touch.
The winter months will bring a whole new set of gardening products to store shelves. When the frost hits the prime place to put your plants are in a greenhouse. However, if you do not have a greenhouse for whatever reason, a tarp of some sorts can be used to cover plants up at night. You also might need a light source, like a heat lamp, to both keep plants warm and give them extra light. In addition, you are going to need a snow shovel or maybe even a snow blower, as well as some good quality snow melter.
New and upgraded gardening products are always popping up on the market. It seems like every day there is some gardening product that claims to be bigger and better than the last. While many gardening tools are not a necessity, they sure make the job a lot easier and more enjoyable. Fall time is a great time to pick up deals on lawn and garden tools as the season is nearly over and they are often found on clearance. Check them out today!
When the basics of your new garden are in place you will want to enjoy it, Summerhouses and Garden Rooms are ideal places to relax.
Tags: flower, flower garden, flower gardens, garden, garden tools, gardening, gardening products, greenhouse, growing vegetables, herbs, lawn mower, lawns, organic, plants, pot, pots, seed, soil, tomatoes, vegetable
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Written by admin on 01 September 2008
Absolutely everything you need to know to grow healthy, fresh organic food
Last weekend we had visitors who took a walk around the garden. One stopped and said, “That is a weed”. My reply was “No that is a wild flower and I like it so it stays”. A few minutes later the second visitor remarked, “What a beautiful flower, where did you get it?” I explained that it was a gift from Mother Nature and she decided that it should be planted in that spot. The view of this visitor was totally different, agreeing with me that a weed is only a plant in the wrong place, why assume that every wildflower is a weed.
I am enjoying the great show of berries in the garden this year while they last. The birds will soon see them off but I know I cannot have everything. I want the birds to visit the garden, I love the berries as they extend the season of colour in the garden but I have to trade one against the other. The trees and bushes want the birds to eat their fruit and distribute the seed; I want to see the birds so I make sure that I enjoy the view of the berries each day knowing that one day the inevitable will happen. After all, my feathered friends provide me with so much joy and amusement the year round and not just for a few weeks.
We now move into September and there is still so much to do and that can be done in the garden. Vegetable gardening in September is still a pleasure as is enjoying the late show of followers in the flower garden.
There is one tree in the garden that is showing autumn colour but I noticed last week that just six miles up the road there was a street lined with Acers and parts of the trees were already in full autumn glory.
This week’s garden diary is about Nectar Bars and Berries
Gardening and Wildlife Related Sites
Tags: birds, feathered friends, flower, flower garden, garden, garden diary, garden vegetable, gardening, pot, seed, trees, vegetable, vegetable garden, vegetable gardening
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Written by admin on 08 August 2008
Absolutely everything you need to know to grow healthy, fresh organic food
The flower garden in August can be a wonderful place to sit and of course to work. Towards the end of the month many of our wonderful summer perennials and annuals are starting to look a little tired and we await the late flowering into autumn varieties.
Hardy Geraniums
What wonderful value hardy geraniums provide, not to be confused with the tender pelargoniums. They come in various sizes from neat ground hugging to large spreading mounds. Some have a short flowering period where others flower for weeks.
They can become a bit untidy with more out of control leaf than flowers. Cut back the leaves which will encourage a new flush of growth.
Deadheading
Continue with a good regime of deadheading which will help to prolong the flowering period. Early in the season the bright new flushes of flowers encourage us to remove spent flower heads but as the season progresses it is so easy to walk by when we have other things to do.
My walk around the garden each evening is the time when I stop to deadhead the dahlias. You see one, then another and as you turn away yet another! Well worth the trouble as it is with such things as roses, penstemon, pelargoniums and petunias.
Climbing and Rambling Roses
If you have climbing and rambling roses that do not repeat flower or produce good hips, once the flowers have finished prune them back ready for next years new flush of blooms.
Iris
Continue to propagate irises by dividing the rhizomes. Cut back some of the top growth to help to stop them rocking in the wind before they have their toes in. Remember they like the rhizome above ground if not done last month.
Dahlias
Earwigs can continue to be a problem chewing away at the petals of dahlias. The old and well tested method of an upturned plant pot on a cane filled with straw and paper is a good method of trapping. Shake out in the morning and dispose of them as you wish.
Pinks and Carnations
We increase our Pinks and Carnations by “pipes” pulled from the plants and brought on as cuttings but these favourite plants of many can also be propagated by layering.
Pelargoniums
Take cuttings of Pelargonium and bring them on in a cool greenhouse, conservatory or house windowsill. There is no need to use rooting hormone but as with all propagation by cuttings, take care with hygiene.
More Flower Garden in August – Hints and Tips
Tags: flower, flower garden, flower heads, hints and tips, plants
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Written by admin on 21 July 2008
Absolutely everything you need to know to grow healthy, fresh organic food
It is only a few years ago that we were being warned that we were required to think cautiously about what we planted for the future, global warming would demand the planting of drought tolerant plants that don’t mind being sunbaked by the heat of the sun. Gardeners who abided by that advice must be ruing it after the floods of the last year, maybe wishing they had planted for bog garden conditions. If we get a late summer perhaps I will get to enjoy my Californian poppies, we gardeners are inclined to be optimists.
It is not all bad news in the flower garden this summertime; a lot of things are and have provided a good show for me. Something else which hasn’t performed is my peonies and I always look forward to their early summer show.
Global Warming or Global Cooling? My Garden Needs to Know!
Tags: flower garden, gardeners
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Written by admin on 10 July 2008
Absolutely everything you need to know to grow healthy, fresh organic food
Support Those Plants
We all have good intentions but how often do we forget to stake tall growing perennial flowering plants before they get too high and start falling over? If this is you, add supports to tall plants such as lupins, delphiniums and gladioli.
Geraniums and Delphiniums
I love growing geraniums but after the first flush of flowers they can start to look a bit untidy. Be brave and cut back your geraniums after their first flush to encourage a second flowering period, feed to help them on their way. Delphiniums can be treated in the same manner.
Hanging Baskets and Containers
If your displays start to look a bit wild or tired, cut back the plants in your baskets and containers and feed to encourage fresh foliage and flower.
Retain Moisture
It is surprising how quickly some soils can dry out. Help to retain moisture by mulching which will also help to keep the weeds down.
Alpines or Rockery Plants
I am sure I am not the only one who finds alpine or rockery plants can develop bare patches in the middle. Rub gritty compost into these areas to encourage re-growth.
Sweet Peas
Keep cutting and bringing them into the house to enjoy their colour and perfume.
More Flower Garden Tips for July
Tags: container, containers, flower garden, gardening, geraniums, hanging basket, hanging baskets
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Written by admin on 13 June 2008
Absolutely everything you need to know to grow healthy, fresh organic food
It is June and everything in the garden is starting to flourish, especially the weeds!
Spring Flowering Plants and Bulbs
If you have not already done so cut back dead bulb but do wait until the foliage dies down naturally as cutting back too early can lead to no flowers next spring.
Lift and divide overcrowded clumps of bulbs after they have finished flowering, overcrowded bulbs may stop flowering.
Cut back clumps of spring and early flowering perennials. Hellebores and Pulmonaria produce new and attractive foliage and stay more compact.
Cut back the flowered stems of Euphorbias back to ground level leaving the more attractive foliage. Take care not to get the milky sap on your skin as this can result in blisters.
Summer Bedding Plants
A great way to produce a good show of bedding is to sow hardy annuals directly into the ground. There is the possibility of your garden landscape scheme not turning out as you have dreamt as there is always the danger that one of your sown varieties fails. It is a good idea to have back ups sown in trays whether that be hardy or half hardy annuals.
The hardy annuals sown outdoors should now be thinned out. Do this if practical in two or three stages at fortnightly intervals. Final spacings should be between 4-8in (10-20cm) using the higher figure for tall or spreading plants and the lower figure for smaller plants.
If you have not sown under cover and the weather has not been perfect for early sowings it is not too late to direct sow for the garden seeds of a few fast growing, late-flowering hardy annuals such as Clarkia, Calendula (pot marigolds) and Godetia. I did this in my first ever garden and was very pleased with the result.
Use annual bedding to fill gaps in herbaceous borders.
Plant out dahlias and cannas and if there is no longer a danger of frost.
If you have not already done so it is time to plant out your summer bedding and seed-raised plants. Always make sure they are well watered in, keep moist during dry weather and try to water an area wider than just where you have planted your young, succulent and delicious to eat youngsters. It can help to put slugs and snails off the scent where just damping the area where your plants have just gone in gives them excellent conditions to slide in and munch.
Containers, window boxes, garden pots and tubs can be planted up with summer bedding. They may sulk but if well watered in and covered with horticultural fleece on a cold night and they will soon establish and race away.
For more timely tips read The Flower Garden in June
Tags: container, containers, flower, flower garden, flower gardening, garden, garden ideas, garden landscape, gardeners, gardening, gardening advice, gardening questions, gardening tips, hints and tips, plants, pot, pots, seed, seeds, slug, slugs
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Written by admin on 28 April 2008
Absolutely everything you need to know to grow healthy, fresh organic food
Saturday at last I was able to cut my lawns. How many times have I written “get your mower serviced during the winter months because come spring there will be a long waiting time”? Did I take my own advice? No, do as I say, not as I do!
Saturday was a beautiful day and I was able to start catching up on a few jobs as my muscles are telling me this morning. I had a small patch of ground that needed tidying and planting where a shrub had died back. Continuing my policy of dividing or transplanting self sown plants instead of buying I filled the space with geraniums and golden grass. I have a hosta that I am bringing on in a pot that will look good there too.
Read more of the Garden Diary
Tags: flower garden, flower gardening, garden, garden ideas, garden maintenance, gardeners, gardening, gardening advice, gardening tips, geraniums, hints and tips, Lawn Mowers, lawnmower, lawns, plants, pot, shrub
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Written by admin on 22 April 2008
Absolutely everything you need to know to grow healthy, fresh organic food
Spring Flowering Bulbs
Dead-head or remove any fading flower-heads from primroses and pansies to encourage further flowers.
The foliage of daffodils and other spring flowers should be left intact but faded heads should be picked off. Do not be tempted to tie up the leaves of flowered daffodils to make them look tidy as was once the fashion, leave them to die down naturally so that all possible nutrients can feed the bulbs and help good flowering next Spring.
Keep a keen eye on the compost in pots of spring bulbs to ensure they stay moist, water well if it has dried out.
Clumps of spring-flowering bulbs benefit from a sprinkling of fertiliser. Bulbs naturally “clump up” and compete for any nutrients available in the soil. A bit of help will help them perform better for you next year.
More Gardening Tips for the Flower Garden in April
Tags: corms, fading flower, flower, flower garden, flower heads, garden, garden ideas, garden tips, gardening, gardening advice, gardening questions, gardening tips, hints and tips, leaves, lilies, plants, pot, pots, roses, seed, soil
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Written by admin on 14 April 2008
Absolutely everything you need to know to grow healthy, fresh organic food
One thing to plant is a buddleja or buddlia which is also known as the butterfly bush because the little beauties cannot resist the taste of the sweet, honey scented flowers. You have choice of shades of blue, red and white and they should be cut back hard in early spring, you will be surprised how much growth they put on in a season.
Another plant I have grown for years is Sedum Autumn Joy which is a late flowerer to follow on from the buddlias. This herbaceous perennial provides a long period of interest with its blue green foliage developing light green flower buds that in autumn burst open to reveal a mass of salmon pink flowers that turn bronzy as they age. Small Tortoiseshell butterflies especially love the flat headed blooms. I have grown this for 30 years and the plants I have now all came from the original one that I bought mail order all that time ago. As a plant clumped up I split it and transplanted elsewhere in the garden, even potting some up to bring to my new garden. I think I just might have got my monies worth!
Michaelmas Daisies are another species favoured by butterflies and Aster Monch which has large yellow centred lilac blooms over many weeks is one of the earliest. Verbena bonariensis with its many small heads of purple blooms became the beloved of many garden designers, and perhaps overused, but will grow quite tall bringing height and an airy feel to a border and is popular with Tortoiseshells.
Also try Echinops, Hebe, Ceratostigma and Heleniums, Aubrieta, Yellow Alyssum, Primroses, Forget-Me-Not, Marsh Marigold and Lady’s Smock, Honest, Sweet Rocket and nettles. Nettles, but we gardeners spend so much of our time weeding out these stingers. Not all of us have the room to leave a small corner to run wild with nettles, I am lucky enough to have a field next to my garden and there is a small patch just over the hedge that is so close it might as well be mine, but if you have a patch of stinging nettles provides a nursery for the caterpillars of Comma, Painted Lady, Peacock, Red Admiral and Small Tortoiseshell. Cut the nettles down at midsummer before they flower and set seed to give soft, new growth for late caterpillars.
Read more about The Butterfly Garden
Tags: flower garden, garden, garden designers, garden ideas, gardeners, gardening, gardening advice, gardening tips, hints and tips, plants, pot, scented flowers, seed
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Written by admin on 13 March 2008
Absolutely everything you need to know to grow healthy, fresh organic food
Flower garden ideas for garden maintenance are many for this time of the year. Many gardening questions are asked about what needs to be done with perennial flowers at this time of the year.
Of course it is not just flowering plants that need attention, when it comes to maintaining a garden in readiness for spring and summer, and autumn for that matter, we have to consider the requirements for ornamental grasses, bulbs and climbers.
Put in the work in the garden in March and you will reap the benefits later and realise how worthwhile all that effort was.
List of tips in Gardening advice for the flower garden in March
Tags: container gardening, flower garden, flower gardening, garden, garden ideas, garden maintenance, gardening, gardening advice, gardening questions, hints and tips, plants
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