Plant Gardens 101

Some people are under the impression that once they’ve planted their gardens, apart from watering and weeding, the work is done until next spring. That couldn’t be further from the truth. There are so many things you can do to ensure a successful lawn and garden for the following year. Besides, it’s just plain fun to get back digging in those beds again.

Clean-Up

Now is the time to rake up any leaves or mulch them with your mower. Your grass requires sunlight to thrive, even when it appears dormant. Collect up all your old planters, wash them out well and stack them in a wooden crate or similar container. Set them safely on a shelf until next spring. (more…)

Autumn is the perfect time to start preparing the garden for winter. Indeed, the months of September and October present the ideal opportunity to get outside while it is still relatively warm, in order to tidy up the bedding and ensure everything is fully organised before the cold weather and frosts set in. Not only that, but laying down the right groundwork now will help the garden to reach its full springtime potential.

One of the first autumn tasks any gardener should tackle is the weeds, particularly if they have been left to run riot throughout the summer months. In addition to helping the soil prepare itself for spring, regularly removing weeds should weaken their persistence, thus encouraging them to stay away. What’s more, by pulling up any weeds now, there is less opportunity for them to spread their seeds and further infiltrate the garden. (more…)

October is the month for planting many kinds of bulbs, perennials and vegetables in the South. Lawn planting, too, is at its height, especially preparing lawns for winter color with overplantings of rye grass.

We have gone through a rather difficult summer season of extremely hot weather and severe droughts in many areas. This has left garden soils badly compacted, enough to restrict root growth of lawn grasses and garden plants. This calls for deep preparation of the soil and pulverizing it thoroughly. Ample quantities of peatmoss should be added to heavy clay and sandy soils to improve their texture and moisture-holding capacities.

Some bulbs such as Madonna lilies, freesias, ornithogalums, zephyranthes and leucojums must be planted immediately. Get these in first. The latter part of the month will be too late. (more…)

Flowers By Season Copyright (c) 2007 Kelly Staller is site manager at StarReviews.com, a site dedicated to giving YOU, the consumer, the best product and service reviews around. If you like saving time and money by having someone else review leading sites and products, then Visit our site at StarReviews.com.
Whether you’re planning a September wedding, want to send flowers to your aunt in Hawaii or simply want to plant some flowers in your garden that won’t die, it’s important to know which flowers belong in which season. Some flowers are popular year-round, such as roses, and don’t have to be reserved for Valentine’s Day. Here’s a quick-reference-guide to flowers by season:

Great Summer Flowers:

• Sunflowers
• Lilies (more…)

Gardening in the fall can be one of the most rewarding times to be outside. The weather is cooler and all of the end of season flowers and plants being to bloom. One thing to remember is that when you winterize your garden you need to take care of your hose. Many landscapers are so busy winterizing their lawns, gardens, shrubs and trees that they quite forget about a piece of equipment that has served them well on all those areas of the landscape during the spring, summer and fall — the garden hose. Our garden hoses lie around on their garden hose reels for so many months consecutively that they become a landscaping fixture that we take for granted. But northern gardeners pay a great price for this oversight when winter arrives, bringing temps in the teens. Bring garden hoses in for storage prior to winter! Also bring their reels in for storage, especially if the reels have any metal components. And more important than a garden hose being ruptured through freezing is what the garden hose is connected to — your water pipes. Ruptured pipes are costly and inconvenient to replace. So what is the answer? The easiest and best solution is get a garden hose reel. Retrieval of hose or cable is accomplished by several types of rewind: manual, spring, and powered. Manual rewinds are popular where there is no convenient power source. Four methods of manual rewind are available: disk, direct drive, gear-driven crank, and chain-driven crank. Spring-rewind garden hose reels are ideal when a power rewind is required, but there is no available power source. Reels are installed in virtually any position. Spring-rewind reels have less torque than other types of rewinds and are best suited for hose lengths from 50 to 90 ft. (more…)

November is a busy month in the garden. Time spent now in pruning, tidying and protecting your plants and trees will pay dividends in the spring.

Weeding in November prevents roots thickening and spreading over the winter months, making them a nuisance when the temperature warms up in March. So as soon as ground becomes clear, dig over the soil and spread manure. This is also a good time to double dig areas of ground where total replanting or a new vegetable garden is being planned or poor/heavy soil is preventing growth.

Just remove the top layer to form a shallow trench and then dig over the soil at the bottom of the trench adding compost. Then repeat, filling the first trench with the top soil from the second; the soil from the first trench then fills in the last trench. (more…)

One of the most essential jobs come fall when it comes to cleaning up and out your garden is the removal of any and all damaged or diseased materials. When plants have had a fungus or bacteria over the summer growing season they can over winter on the roots and stems that have been contaminated.

When removed properly it will reduce the chances of diseases in your next year’s garden. How much of the plant you should remove depends upon your garden type, so naturally anything that was infected with a disease should be completely removed.

If you brought your house-plants outside for the summer, now is the time to start bringing them in. Some will more than likely need to be re-potted and or cut-back if the grew well during the summer growing season.

Be sure to check them for insects and diseases that may be on them so as not to contaminate any other houseplants. Bring them indoors in plenty of time to re-adjust to their indoor environment.

Now is the time also to lift and harvest your young bulbs from plants such as Dahlias, Gladiolus and Begonias, three of my favorites. After lifting them and leaving the foliage around the roots intact, the proper storage of them is equally important. (more…)

Preparing for the Winter Months: Gardening in October

When you feel that first solid bite in the breeze and you see the songbirds winging their way south, and the trees are bursting with fire-laden hues, you know you can’t be spending the weekend curled up by the fireplace with a good book. Not for long.

While the weather is still gardener-friendly, you must shorten your “to-do” lists for the coming of late fall and early winter. Now is the time to attack your lawn and garden by planting your spring bulbs, buying and maintaining your trees and shrubs, doing your late autumn lawn care, using common-sense watering strategies, building a compost bin and making your own compost, controlling the many common garden pests, and winning at the weed-whacking war before the sudden onset of the fickle, cold and all-enveloping winter season. (more…)

Many persons who read the below article about Gardening concurred that it increased their knowledge, not just about the main keyword, but also other specific Gardening terms, such as Scree Gardening How To, and Garden State Soundtrack Lyrics or Savage Garden.

Ornamental flora are normally impacted by powdery mildew which will envelop your plant’s leaves with a form of white film. This kind of white film isn’t pleasant one bit. Surely… there’re lots of solutions, such as- right gardening as well as spraying fungicide.

As a gardener who yearns for the finest results from his/her garden, it’s certainly truly effective for you to get your hands on some inches of natural mulch. The marvelous end result will truly be that your soil ’s productiveness will surely be improved and be certainly better at holding in moisture. The better method to get fitting garden gloves is to wear them and make fists; it’s advantageous to mimic the typical gardening moves to ensure that you feel relaxed while wearing them. (more…)

Hands down (pardon the gardener’s pun), autumn is everyone’s favourite time to garden. Comfortably cool, often sunny, bug-free, these autumn days allow us to perform our gardening tasks with zest. Most of the chores required of you this time of year are of a housekeeping nature, although there is still important planting to be done. One or two days dedicated to your fall garden will reap you big time rewards next spring and summer. So grab your garden tools, put on your favourite old sweater, and get down and dirty.

1. Divide and conquer: Most perennials love to be divided in the fall, especially peony, iris, hosta, phlox, daylily, and black-eyed susan. Lift the roots carefully out of the ground, then divide into two or more sections. Each new clump should have some strong roots and several growing points. Some root systems can be pried apart with garden forks, others will need to be cut with a sharp clean spade. Dividing is a great way to start new plantings - or to renew an old favourite. As a general rule, you can divide a healthy plant every 3 or 4 years. Just be sure to water the newly planted divisions well and often before the first frost. (more…)

Early autumn is the best season for successful composting piles. To start, here are some points on how to build a compost pile:

* lay sheets of plastic on the ground.

* place a 6-inch layer of leaves or grass clippings on the plastic.

* shovel a 1-inch layer of beneficial garden loam over the leaves.

* exchange on a regular basis some loam and leaves.

* the pile needs to be at least 3 feet by 3-feet and 4 feet tall. (more…)

So, you worked hard all week, changed the oil in the SUV, took the kids to practice and dance, and went to the Friday night football game. Now the weekend is here and you still have a list, albeit a more leisurely one, of things to do. Well, double-check it and make sure that adding new plants to your garden is right up top. I know what you are thinking – “I planted everything back in the spring and I’m done until next year.” That’s what most people do, but an avid gardener like you should realize all of the benefits of planting in the fall. Let me explain:

First, and most importantly, is the mild weather. We love this time of year - not too hot, not too cold. And guess what, your plants love it too, and for the very same reason! If you take the time to plant hardy perennials during these pleasant temperatures they can focus all of their energy on root growth. Don’t be surprised when you don’t see much happening to the plant. The real work is going on underground. Down there the plant is busy developing feeder roots. Those are the roots that will be ready to bring water and nutrients up to the top of the plant in the spring and give your garden a big head start over the neighbor’s garden. Make sure you give your new additions a chance to get good and cozy before winter comes. You should allow six to eight weeks for trees and shrubs, and four to six weeks for perennials and ornamental grasses. A good rule of thumb is to plant by the end of August in the North and by the end of November in the South. (more…)

Well it is that time of year again and you are getting ready to plant your garden. As you dig your garden tiller out of the corner of the garage you notice it is full of cobwebs. Looks like you will have to perform some garden tiller maintenance.

So what sort of maintenance do you have to do before starting up your garden tiller for the first time? A lot has to do with the way you prepared your garden tiller for the winter storage. If you drained the fuel or added Sta-Bil to the gasoline you are in better shape than most people.

First it is always recommended that you follow the manufactures guidance. This procedure should be used as a general guideline.

The first thin I always do is give my garden tiller a good washing to get the dust off of it. Next for safety I pull the spark plug wire off. If you did not drain your fuel you will have to now. The best way is to remove the fuel line from the tank and let it drain outside away from anything electrical. Including your cell phone. (more…)

Preparing for the Winter Months: Gardening in October

When you feel that first solid bite in the breeze and you see the songbirds winging their way south, and the trees are bursting with fire-laden hues, you know you can’t be spending the weekend curled up by the fireplace with a good book. Not for long.

While the weather is still gardener-friendly, you must shorten your “to-do” lists for the coming of late fall and early winter. Now is the time to attack your lawn and garden by planting your spring bulbs, buying and maintaining your trees and shrubs, doing your late autumn lawn care, using common-sense watering strategies, building a compost bin and making your own compost, controlling the many common garden pests, and winning at the weed-whacking war before the sudden onset of the fickle, cold and all-enveloping winter season.  (more…)