Plant Gardens 101

A good gardening tip is that you can make more plants from your existing house and garden plants. This will cut out the expense of buying new house and garden plants. Look around for healthy plants to take the stem cuttings from to plant in a peat moss mixture using rooting hormone. This is what is called the mother plant. Make sure the mother plant has enough stems so the cutting will not kill the mother plant.

If you start your house and garden plants from stem cuttings instead of seeds it will take half the time to root. There a just a few things you will need : a mother plant, a flat for potting with a peat moss mixture, a sharp knife or razor blade, rooting hormone, containers for holding water and rooting hormone, alcohol, pencil or a stick, and a plastic bag. (more…)

The botanical name for blue spirea, or bluebeard.

If you can create a sense of nature, patience, and an appreciation of work they’ve done themselves in your children, you will have accomplished something great. This will have provided them one of the longest lasting gifts you could give them. One way to accomplish this is to encourage them to learn vegetable gardening. All that is needed is a small patch of earth, some seeds, and water. Some other things that may be added along the way will be wonder, laughter, and dirty faces. All of this will be mixed together to provide a very memorable project and experience.

Obviously, it is best to have your vegetable garden outside. That is if you have the space available. With a good shovel, you can cut an outline of the garden in the grass. Your child can then pull the sod away and set it aside it for composting. This will be another great lesson involving the cycle of nature that can be saved for another day. After you have bare earth, your child can help turn the soil with a spoon or trowel until it’s workable by hand. Have your child place the seeds on the top of the soil, cover lightly with earth, and add water. You have just taught your little one the basics of vegetable gardening!    (more…)

The following guidelines pertain to plants recently transplanted into the garden. Most plants should have a label listing its intended zone. Before purchasing plants find out exactly which zone you live in and purchase plants hardy enough for your zone.

Pruning is done primarily for the following reasons: Promote flowering Promote higher fruit yield Improve the health of trees, shrubs and plants Improve aesthetics / appearance Control growth Maintain a desired shape Removal of dead, damaged, diseased, and infested limbs. Pinch off spent blossoms as they die to keep the plants looking their best and to help promote more flowers. When winter arrives you will need to prepare your garden, this will minimize the cold damage to the plant and ensure the plants will survive in the spring. It will also give the plants protection from northerly winds. Weather or seasonal changes, may have an effect on plants and they will need to adapt to survive unsympathetic conditions through a progression which is called dormancy. Fertilizing plants is a great way to keep your plants healthy is doesn’t matter if you are in temperate areas you should still fertilize them even though they will grow throughout the fall and winter. (more…)