Posts Tagged ‘pot’
Another Great Reason to Grow Marjoram
After weeks of winter weather that has included snow, frosts, ice, hard ground and very cold winds it has been a joy to be able to get back into the garden again if only for a couple of days.In those couple of days I have been able to get on with some real gardening. What do I mean by real gardening? The answer may come as a surprise when I say starting to clear last year’s debris from the herbaceous borders, pulling up any weeds that have managed to survive the winter months, gathering leaves and cutting out and dead spotted on shrubs while weeding. I have heard so many people say that they enjoy planting up a border but hate the maintenance that follows. I can understand but gardening is not just about planting. Just like a room in the house the garden needs a bit of TLC to keep it looking good, how you plant will determine how much time you need to put into the regular tidying. I plant quite densely so most of my work is late winter / early spring clearing the borders before everything starts to put on a spurt and cover the soil.
Along the edge of one border I planted marjoram (oregano). The golden leafed form is a plant I would not be without; it is like a ray of sunshine in the garden and has the benefit of small but masses of beautiful flowers. Also along the border edge I have the larger varieties with much darker green leaves and these again have a mass of flower. The idea of the planting was to have them close to the kitchen and be handy when required for cooking, so much nicer than dried oregano. This has worked well but there is yet another advantage of growing marjoram. As part of my cleaning up the borders exercise I have been weeding around the marjoram plants and cutting off all the old flower stalks and the smell of marjoram that has surrounded me has made the job such a pleasure.
- My Garden is My Space - Hints, tips and how to articles for gardeners. Reviews and offers of garden tools, gardening equipment and many other garden related items
- Garden Diary - Stories, hints and tips by a gardener
- Gardening News - Online garden newspaper with garden and gardening news from around the world
- Gardening and Wildlife - Gardening and wildlife stories, hints and tips...
- How to Vegetable Garden - How to vegetable garden each month of the year with hints and tips on a variety of vegetables
- How to Vegetable Garden in January - Seasonal hints and tips on how to vegetable garden in January
- How to Vegetable Garden in February - Seasonal hints and tips on how to vegetable garden in February
Another Great Reason to Grow Marjoram is a post from: How to Vegetable Garden
Do My Garden Birds Know Something That I Do Not?
Do my garden birds know more than me and the weather forecasters? Sometimes it makes me wonder. This is the most severe winter we have had for years. Snow, freezing temperatures that have not even reached as high as the norm for this time of the year and yet as soon as the snow and ice have cleared the birds are singing like spring is just around the corner. Not only are the garden birds singing to claim their territories but the Jackdaws are trying to build a nest in my chimney. With the winds coming from the north temperatures are still below what they should be so what is it that instils so much encouragement in them? Maybe it is the lengthening days.
Food for our feathered friends must be in short supply; a Greater Spotted Woodpecker is visiting and feeding on the large fatball I hang in the tree near the seed feeder. I have had them visiting and taking peanuts from the feeder but this is the first time I have seem them take fat. The Blackbirds are still coming to me to beg for dried fruit but even they are now taking peanuts from the feeder.
The garden birds may be preparing for spring but I think it is going to be a while before I can do any gardening outside. The lawns are looking a bit sad after the snow and I have never seen so many shrubs, including hedging, with such burnt leaves for a long time. Mother Nature has a way of recovering from these setbacks but it would not surprise me to find the odd shrub and perennial plant not putting in an appearance this year.
Probably another week and I will be making a sowing of tomato seeds. As decided after last years growing season I will just be growing Harbinger. There are newer tomato varieties that will produce fruits all the same size. However that is not a consideration for me, my tomatoes can ripen at many different sizes and I can put up with that in exchange for the excellent flavour.
In spite of the very bad weather my early flowering Mohonia is still providing colour. I have met gardeners who do not like this group of shrubs but I am a fan. There were a couple in the garden when I moved here and I have added to the collection. Very accommodating, nice yellow flowers with a pleasing perfume that can fill a garden. They make great “full stop” plants in a border or can be used as architectural plants due to their shapely (and spiky!) dark green leaves.
- My Garden is My Space – Hints, tips and how to articles for gardeners. Reviews and offers of garden tools, gardening equipment and many other garden related items
- Garden Diary – Stories, hints and tips by a gardener
- Gardening and Wildlife – Gardening and wildlife stories, hints and tips…
- How to Vegetable
Garden – How to vegetable garden each month of the year with
hints and tips on a variety of vegetables - How
to Vegetable Garden in January – Seasonal hints and tips on how to
vegetable garden in January - How
to Vegetable Garden in February – Seasonal hints and tips on how to vegetable
garden in February - Greater
spotted woodpecker – At Lavell’s today. Attached Thumbnails. Click
image for larger version
Garden Wildlife Winter Visitors, Welcome and not so Welcome
There is a new pecking order in the back garden. Most of the year it is the blackbirds who boss this part of the garden, chasing off the thrushes that are brave enough to attempt a quick meal. But temporarily this has changed with a thrush relative, the Fieldfare, now in charge. The Fieldfare is a long-tailed thrush with contrasting plumage pattern and defends its territory with great authority. With the ground so hard and the snow on the ground it seems unfair that one bird should claim the apple that we throw onto the lawn and so we cut a couple of apples into pieces and spread them around the back garden. That did not solve the problem; it just gave the Fieldfare more of an area to protect!
It is not all bad news for the blackbirds however as the Fieldfare does not seem interested in the dried fruit that I put into a bowl for them. Yet anyway!
The other bird that has arrived with the Fieldfare is another thrush relative, the Redwing. The Redwing is the smallest of our thrushes but still a pretty bird with distinctive markings. Two things make it easy to distinguish, the first being the cream eyebrow stripe and the second rusty red flanks. The Redwings fed with the Fieldfare when they first arrived but now seem just to patrol the front garden, polishing off what was left of the holly berries.
These two visitors, and that is what they are as they will stay for the winter and then disappear, are welcome but over the Christmas period a not so welcome guest made its mark in the garden. Topping up the bird seed I saw something out of the corner of my eye that did not look right. There had been heavy frosts and some snow so I had not really been taking much notice of the garden borders but it was not hard to see that something had been at work. Soil had been kicked or flicked over quite a distance and it then became clear where it had originated. A large hole had been burrowed and quite deep too. Roots of plants were hanging down inside the burrow but probing with a stick found nothing at home. My first thought was that it was a badger foraging as there is a family with a set in the field behind but the hole narrowed too quickly. It must be a rabbit trying to make a new home although I have not spotted any wild rabbits for quite some time. The hole is now filled in and thankfully no more holes have been dug.
As you might have guessed from the mention of snow and hard frosts not much gardening if any has been possible for a while. At least my seeds for the new season are on order and once the package appears on the mat I can dream of better weather and a new growing season.
I am sure fellow listeners to the BBC Gardeners Question Time radio programme will be as shocked and saddened as I am by the news of the death of John Cushnie. I will miss his sense of humour. Whenever he was on the panel you were guaranteed a laugh as well as sound gardening advice. But he never claimed to be the all knowing gardening expert. A member of the public would ask a question and the chairman would ask John to answer only to hear the words, “I have absolutely no idea”. How refreshing for “an expert” to admit that in front of millions of listeners. When you listen to a voice regularly on the radio you picture what that person looks like. Sometimes you are right but most of the time you are not. I have not heard anyone say that John Cushnie looked anything like what was imagined from his voice. Maybe it is something to do with that gentle Irish brogue. Farewell and thank you John Cushie, may you rest in peace.
- My Garden is My Space – Hints, tips and how to articles for gardeners. Reviews and offers of garden tools, gardening equipment and many other garden related items
- Garden Diary – Stories, hints and tips by a gardener
- Gardening and Wildlife – Gardening and wildlife stories, hints and tips…
Summer Bedding Plants still Doing Well in November
November in the garden last year was a bit bleak to say the least. Early really cold weather finished off the annuals and the dahlias had to be put into storage. What a difference this year. 
The weather did turn cold, the cold winds suggested a repeat of last year but instead the cold winds went away and unseasonal mild weather returned. The result is that the Dahlias are still looking good, the Cosmos are still stars in the border, Geraniums are still flowering en mass and Busy Lizzies (Impatiens) in sheltered spots are flowering their hearts out.
It is strange looking out of the window into the garden. There are trees that have completely lost their foliage due to the strong weekend wind, others with no foliage but have berries hanging like coloured baubles, Acers that are showing there beautiful autumn foliage, shrubs with autumn colour, roses still blooming and annual bedding still in flower. There can be no doubt however that we are well into autumn, the Sycamore leaves are thick on the ground with still more to come off this majestic tree. The leaves of most the trees in the garden are easy to gather using my Stihl Leaf Blower / Garden Vacuum but the shear bulk of wet Sycamore leaves make the job hard work.
I can report pleasing results from my summer containers this year apart from two bowls that sit either side of the steps down to my front lawn. Why I cannot say but they have just not looked good all summer and yet two other large pots a few feet away using the same compost and plants from the same sowing are still looking good. This weekend I removed them thinking that I may discover a problem at the roots but no, the compost was full of healthy root. I have replanted now with Winter Flowering Pansies that I sowed earlier this year so it will be interesting to see if they fare any better.
The one problem, if you can call it a problem, of summer bedding still doing well in containers is that I do not have the heart to uproot them as I know I should and the Winter Flowering Pansies really need to be planted out. Still, I am sure I will wake up one morning soon to see bedding that has collapsed and had enough!
The last of the cucumbers have been picked and eaten this week. What prolific croppers they have been. Just two plants have provided more than enough cucumbers for the family and there were plenty to give away. If you have not tried the smaller fruiting varieties that grow just big enough to provide one meal then I urge you to do so. Picked fresh, still crisp and used in a salad or put onto sandwiches, excellent.
- My Garden is My Space – Hints, tips and how to articles for gardeners. Reviews and offers of garden tools, gardening equipment and many other garden related items
- Garden Diary – Stories, hints and tips by a gardener
- Gardening and Wildlife – Gardening and wildlife stories, hints and tips
- Fall Colors In The Ozarks & Buffalo River Area – Fall is an absolute splendid time of year along the Buffalo River or pretty much anywhere in the Ozark mountains of Arkansas. If you’ve …
Winter Flowering Pansies Have to Wait Their Turn
When you go away on holiday in the height of summer it is always a worry that friends or neighbours cannot get round often enough to keep up the watering. Everyone is busy and they cannot be expected to lavish all the love and care that you would yourself. One of the good things about taking a vacation this time of the year is that most things will survive well enough with a watering every other day. This has been the case with my week away rambling in the wilds enjoying the fresh air.
The birds have had to find alternative arrangements for the week but they are slowly finding the food again. Each day is bringing back more feathered friends.
Only a week away but I can see significant changes. Autumn colour in plants, tree and shrubs that was not present a week ago. The grass is not growing so quickly, it is cooler and the days are getting shorter.
There is still plenty of colour in the garden from flowers and the colour from the flowers is being joined by foliage colour.
The Rudbeckias seem to have been flowering for weeks as do the white Cosmos. The large flowered Dahlias have certainly been worth waiting for and have provided good value.
The tomatoes are coming to an end now. There are still tomatoes on the vines but it is doubtful whether they will all ripen. Of course I can pick them and ripen them inside but my preference is to use the green tomatoes in chutney. The theory is that we will eat the chutney through the winter months but believe me it has no chance of lasting that long no matter how much we manage to make!
The Runner Beans are also coming to an end, there are still some to pick but do not look as appetising as a couple of weeks ago. Very likely they will be a bit hard and stringy.
One success of this year has to be the Mini Iceberg Hearts lettuce. Sown close together in a deep box they have done well and hearted up into nice crunchy heads. They stand for a long period and the cut heads will keep for up to two weeks in the refrigerator.
I sowed seed of Winter Flowering Pansies a few weeks ago and they are ready to go into their winter locations now. Two containers can be cleared to make way but I am pleased to say that the other containers that will home them are still full of flower. Sorry pansies, you will just have to sit in trays a little bit longer.
Gardening Jobs for November | Gomestic – One of the easiest ways to brighten a dull garden is to put in a few winter flowering pansies. They do well in pots, or in the borders. Winter jasmine and early hellerbores also provide some welcome colour. Image via Wikipedia …
Tomato Harbinger Takes the Prize
It is not so long ago that I made an entry in my diary giving an opinion on the tomato varieties that I have grown this year. At the time I stated that I would grow more of the same next year, this being Harbinger and the plum variety Red Alert. I have changed my mind and will only be growing Harbinger next season.
So what has changed?
Harbinger has proved to be the best cropper by far and in my opinion Harbinger has the better flavour. In addition Harbinger tomato plants have proven to be much healthier.
The blackbirds have disappeared as they usually do at this time of the year to moult. I spotted one in one of my rhododendrons and he hardly had a feather left on his head.
The great news on the bird front is that we have more sparrows this year that we have had for a very long time. They are doing their best to eat me out of bird seed but I have no complaints. Flocks of them arrive on mass and disappear together. I hear them in the bushes near the feeder waiting for a refill. Their numbers suddenly declined dramatically one winter and it has taken years for them to make a comeback. The funny thing is, last winter was the harshest we have had for many years and yet it is this summer that we have had the biggest increase in numbers. Long may it continue.
For the first time ever I have had problems with caterpillars on my salad crops grown under cover. I recognised the caterpillar of the cabbage white but I must confess my ignorance when it comes to identifying the other thug. Whatever it was it had a voracious appetite!
This autumn I must give some thought to my vegetable garden layout. I have already made some alterations that will help next years crops which has entailed cutting back shrubs and trees that had put on more than expected growth due to good growing conditions.
My begonia hanging basket is looking good at last. For the first time this year I have grown tuberous begonias from seed that are recommended for baskets and containers, having only grown the fibrous rooted varieties from seed. They have taken a while to reach flowering size but the wait has been worth it. Hopefully I can over winter the tubers and have earlier flowers and a cheaper hanging basket next year.
- How to Vegetable Garden – Step by step instruction on starting to vegetable garden
- Tomato Blight – One of the Few Tomato Diseases
- My Garden is My Space – Hints, tips and how to articles for gardeners. Reviews and offers of garden tools, gardening equipment and many other garden related items
- Garden Diary – Stories, hints and tips by a gardener
- Gardening and Wildlife – Gardening and wildlife stories, hints and tips
- Bird Ecology Study Group » The Eurasian Tree Sparrow in Urban … – Contributed by Jeffrey Low. The Eurasian Tree Sparrow ( Passer montanus ) we commonly see around is actually adapted to human habitation. It usually nests in any convenient holes in buildings.
- Singing Song Sparrow | Sitka Nature – 03-15-07song_sparrow.mp3 (624kb). As I headed out of the building where my office is, I heard a Song Sparrow singing from the bushes near the entrance. Hearing the song, I stopped to listen for a short time. …
When Did The Garden Shrub Go Out of Fashion?
I say that my first garden was not very big and yet when I see the small gardens that are offered with new build homes I realise how luck I was.
That garden was my learning curve and was fine at first but gradually I became frustrated because I could not plant specimens, especially shrubs that appealed to me. In a small garden you have the choice of planting small shrubs or medium sized shrubs that need to be pruned back each year. The latter solution is a never ending battle as the shrub tries to regenerate by being even more vigorous. Shrubby Potentillas performed extremely well for me and I still retain affection for these “superb doers”.
Moving to my present garden, over 20 years ago, I found that it had been maintained but for me it was not a garden. As I sit in the back garden writing this it is not only the colour on show that pleases me but the structure of the garden. I have to say it is made more pleasurable by the delicious perfume of Rosa Rugosa Alba that I introduced into the garden this year. Yes I know ideally I should not let it flower in its first year but could you snip off all those buds and miss those beautiful flowers and the scent?
The main structure of the garden is formed by trees and shrubs. A lot of thought went into choosing the right trees to plant as they were expensive to buy and I knew they hopefully would be with me for many years.
When developing the planting plan for the borders my first thoughts went to the shrubs that I wanted to form the backbone and being a much larger garden than my previous one I had a lot more to choose from. Colour, size and form needed to be right as, if done correctly, this would enable me to mix and match colourful perennial herbaceous plants and annuals. One thing I remember about this process was that the pencil eraser was worked very hard!
Perhaps all these years on I take these shrubs for granted. They demand so little from me yet give so much.
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I have to confess that I didn’t know that they had gone out of fashion but this only goes to strengthen the opinion that I have held for a long time. If you are going to create a garden then create one to please yourself. Fashions and fads come and go, look at new ideas and pick out things that you like but incorporate them into your own ideas. I can think of “new ideas in gardening” that caught my imagination in my early days of learning to garden but certainly did not deliver what was promised and disappeared as quickly as they appeared.
- My Garden is My Space – Hints, tips and how to articles for gardeners. Reviews and offers of garden tools, gardening equipment and many other garden related items
- Garden Diary – Stories, hints and tips by a gardener
- Gardening and Wildlife – Gardening and wildlife stories, hints and tips
- Small Garden Design – Small patio garden designs and garden shrubs – The idea of creating illusion of big things, from small one greatly effect and attract all those people who have the shortage of space while creating their gardens. All those people who stay in flats might have little gardens, …
- Outstanding Shrubs From Proven Winners – The 2006 tree and shrub growers wholesale catalogs are beginning to roll in and there are so many great plants in them my wish list is over the top. There was a time when gardeners talked about hot new plants, trees and shrubs rarely …
- Easy Summer Flowering Shrubs (Part One)- Gardening Made Easy – There’s nothing quite like the joy of watching the summer flowering shrubs burst into bloom, providing colour and a sense of permanence to your garden. What would our gardens be without shrubs? They give an air of permanence.
- Versatile Shrubs- Gardening Made Easy – Whether your garden is a tiny suburban plot or several thousand square metres in extent, you can have year round interest and beauty by growing shrubs. Shrubs are among the most versatile of garden plants. They serve as a rich background to other plants.
Do My Garden Birds Know Something That I Do Not?
Do my garden birds know more than me and the weather forecasters? Sometimes it makes me wonder. This is the most severe winter we have had for years. Snow, freezing temperatures that have not even reached as high as the norm for this time of the year and yet as soon as the snow and ice have cleared the birds are singing like spring is just around the corner. Not only are the garden birds singing to claim their territories but the Jackdaws are trying to build a nest in my chimney. With the winds coming from the north temperatures are still below what they should be so what is it that instils so much encouragement in them? Maybe it is the lengthening days.Food for our feathered friends must be in short supply; a Greater Spotted Woodpecker is visiting and feeding on the large fatball I hang in the tree near the seed feeder. I have had them visiting and taking peanuts from the feeder but this is the first time I have seem them take fat. The Blackbirds are still coming to me to beg for dried fruit but even they are now taking peanuts from the feeder.
The garden birds may be preparing for spring but I think it is going to be a while before I can do any gardening outside. The lawns are looking a bit sad after the snow and I have never seen so many shrubs, including hedging, with such burnt leaves for a long time. Mother Nature has a way of recovering from these setbacks but it would not surprise me to find the odd shrub and perennial plant not putting in an appearance this year.
Probably another week and I will be making a sowing of tomato seeds. As decided after last years growing season I will just be growing Harbinger. There are newer tomato varieties that will produce fruits all the same size. However that is not a consideration for me, my tomatoes can ripen at many different sizes and I can put up with that in exchange for the excellent flavour.
In spite of the very bad weather my early flowering Mohonia is still providing colour. I have met gardeners who do not like this group of shrubs but I am a fan. There were a couple in the garden when I moved here and I have added to the collection. Very accommodating, nice yellow flowers with a pleasing perfume that can fill a garden. They make great “full stop” plants in a border or can be used as architectural plants due to their shapely (and spiky!) dark green leaves.
- My Garden is My Space - Hints, tips and how to articles for gardeners. Reviews and offers of garden tools, gardening equipment and many other garden related items
- Garden Diary - Stories, hints and tips by a gardener
- Gardening and Wildlife - Gardening and wildlife stories, hints and tips...
- How to Vegetable Garden - How to vegetable garden each month of the year with hints and tips on a variety of vegetables
- How to Vegetable Garden in January - Seasonal hints and tips on how to vegetable garden in January
- How to Vegetable Garden in February - Seasonal hints and tips on how to vegetable garden in February
- Greater spotted woodpecker - At Lavell's today. Attached Thumbnails. Click image for larger version
Do My Garden Birds Know Something That I Do Not? is a post from: How to Vegetable Garden
Herb Gardening
It seems that every time I watch a lawn care or landscaping show on HGTV, the homeowner decides to have an herb garden planted somewhere near the kitchen. It’s just “the cool thing to do.”
Hints and tips on growing plants has to include herb gardening as it is becoming more and more popular every day, and for a good reason. Herbs have practical value, serve a purpose, and with herb gardening you can actually consume your plants. When most people think of herb gardening they automatically think of cooking, but herbs are also grown for their pleasant aroma and their beauty.
One important part of herb gardening is drying the herbs for use during the winter months, especially if you plan on cooking with them. First the tops of leafy herbs have to be cut, washed, and hung up for the water to evaporate. Then, tie stems together and hang up in a paper bag to dry. After two to three weeks they must be removed; crumble the leaves, dry them out in the oven, and store in a glass jar.
One of the most common herbs gown in herb gardening is basil. “Dark Opal” and regular green basil are beautiful additions to any garden and often used as decoration. Dark Opal has light pink flowers and dark red leaves. Basil isn’t just used for its looks; it is used for extra flavor in tomato juices and pastes.
Chives are very petite looking and resemble a blade of grass. They are much stronger than they look, however, and will grow well through a drought. Their toughness and sturdiness make Chives a perfect plant for herb gardening, especially if the gardener doesn’t want plants that require a lot of hassle. Chives are good used in salads, egg dishes, and many different sauces. Their onion-flavor makes a great addition to your baked potato or chips and salsa!
Mint is also very simple to grow and is good to use in mint jelly, mint juleps, lemonade, that wonderful Mohito recipe, and any other kind of fruity drink. Mint is also good in herb gardening for its unique minty smell. Two similar herbs that appear in nearly everyone’s herb garden are thyme and sage. Both of these herb gardening favorites are used for flavoring soups, chicken, turkey, pork, and other sausages. Sage is also grown sometimes for its beautiful blue spiked flowers.
Lavender is probably the best smelling herb in all of herb gardening and is often used in candles, as a perfume scent, and to improve the smell in linen chests. The light purple flowers smell absolutely lovely. The only concern with lavender is its propensity to take over your garden. It does require quite a bit of trimming to keep it in check.
Other less common herbs often grown by homeowners include borage (used in salads), senna and ginger (used for colon cleansing and IBS relief) chervil (used in egg dishes), sweet marjoram (flavors lamb, fish, salad, and soup), sesame (flavors crackers, cookies, and bread), and dill (flavors meats and used in pickles).
Herb gardening allows gardeners to use items from their own back yard for cooking, looks, and scent. Herb gardening will produce much fresher herbs with more flavor than store-bought herbs, and are a lot cheaper. Plus, it just makes Mom that much more proud to say that she has added fresh herbs to the salad on the table!
Learn About Flower Gardens
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.
Organic Gardening | Your Organic Garden
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.
Tools For Diy Lawn Care And Gardening And Your Landscape
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.
When is a weed not a weed?
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
Things to do in The September Vegetable Garden
Tomatoes
Remember to keep up a good and regular watering regime which will help to reduce the chance of blossom end rot and split fruit. Remove split fruit as soon as you notice it, if left it will soon start to rot and introduce disease.
Any remaining outdoor tomatoes should be picked by the end of September and ripened indoors. The whole truss can be cut off to allow the fruits to ripen on the vine either on a windowsill or in a box with a ripe banana for company. Green fruits can be used in chutneys as can any red tomatoes surplus to requirements.
Potatoes
Potatoes should be lifted before slug damage becomes a problem. Leave the tubers to dry before storing in paper sacks or boxes. Take care to only store undamaged potatoes.
Keep a watch for potato blight, any blighted potato haulms can be cut off and burnt or disposed of with household rubbish. The good news is that the potatoes can still be harvested.
If there is a danger that inclement weather spreading the disease and you are happy using sprays try products such as Bordeaux Mixture, Dithane 945 and Murphy Traditional Copper Fungicide.
Wet weather at this time of the year, especially if you are gardening on clay soil, is when potato powdery scab makes an appearance and affected tubers should be disposed of. Crop rotation becomes very important to prevent the problem building up in the soil.
It is just not clay soils where problems can occur, common scab and other potato skin problems can be a problem in dry warm weather. An important regime here is watering and as alkaline soil worsens the problem use of acidic fertilisers may help).
Clear debris created when lifting potatoes and care should be taken not to damage the haulms. Potato debris left out in wet weather could cause the development of fungal diseases such as black leg or fluffy grey mould.
Reading the above might make you wonder whether it is worth growing your own potatoes but remember that with a good regime of watering and cleanliness most problems can be avoided.