Plant Gardens 101

Garlic is a cash crop that you can even grow in containers. In fields you separate plantings to rows one foot apart to allow you to walk between them.

But in containers you just walk round the outside of the planting, so cloves can have only four inches between them in every direction.

If you try to buy garlic you will see what I mean about high prices. Considering that each clove should produce between ten and fifteen cloves it should be quite profitable on a small scale for clients who want organic produce.

How to grow garlic (more…)

In recent years there has been a move towards planting up more containers in the garden. At one time the only container gardening was the occasional hanging basket.

More people have transport and more disposable income that enables them to visit the big horticultural shows. To see garden designers using containerised plants on their stands or small garden plots creates the desire to copy. Garden makeover programs on television also tend to include a selection of containers.

If all you have is a small back yard that is paved, hanging baskets and containers can brighten up this area and totally transform the space if done right. (more…)

When you are ready to mix ingredients for your container garden, be sure the soil is damp and workable. To determine this, take a handful, squeeze it and allow it to drop. If water comes out, it is too wet; if it breaks apart, it is too dry. But if the lump of soil retains its shape or cracks just a little when it is dropped, it is in good condition to work into your gardening pots.

Be certain your garden containers are clean when you start. Soak used or new clay gardening pots overnight so they will not draw moisture from the soil after planting. This is a very important step when you are beginning your plants life. If the pot draws off the moisture the new plant will be deprived. Clean dirty clay pots with a stiff brush and hot, soapy water. Clean gardening pots will be much more attractive in your container garden. (more…)

You certainly have a feeling of great abundance with you see plant-packed containers on your deck, patio or in your garden. There is nothing like container gardens to link the indoors and outdoors between home and garden. Today, we all want to see out outdoor space turned into a wonderful new addition to our homes.

After choosing the right planters, pots and containers from a wide range of materials, styles, colors and sizes, the time is right to think about what you are going to put in the planters and where to place them.

You can use your planters, urns and pots in many areas. Think about where they would be best – to set off your doorway or deck entrance, to hide unsightly utility areas or storage spaces, or to show off the best views on your deck, garden or patio. (more…)

Grow a cutting garden and enjoy flowers indoors and out

If you feel guilty when you cut flowers in your garden, worrying that you’re destroying nature or leaving gaps in your flowerbeds, it may be time for you to plant a cutting garden, says the American Association of Nurserymen (AAN). A cutting garden is designed to provide flowers for indoor arrangements, and it will give you a new perspective on removing flowers from your garden.

Choosing the Right Flowers and Plants
As with any garden, the first step in planning your cutting garden is to select plants that grow well in your part of the country. Ask the experts at your local garden center for their suggestions, and keep in mind your soil conditions, the amount of sun or shade your garden receives and how much it rains. (more…)

You would like to see spring as beautiful as it can be? There is nothing easier! With a little effort we can change an ordinary looking balcony into a garden almost at our home.

At the balcony we can plant a different kind of flowers. The most important is to decide which site is sunny and how much time do we want to spend on taking care of our plants. We can plant roses in the boxes – the small types need more time to take care of them but the variety of colors can amaze not only fans of roses. Roses are feeling the best when they are covered against the strong wind and are not in a very sunny place and not too dark either. (more…)

Tenacity is a key word for cacti and succulents. They make a good choice of plant for gardeners who lack the knack that sees plants flourish, but who yearn for something green in their immediate surroundings. They are also very good subjects for indoor container growing, and can prove a successful introduction to gardening for young people: I still remember with affection the “mother-of-millions” (Kalanchoe daigremontiana) succulent I was given by a neighbor when I was a pre-teen.

All succulents have the virtue of tolerating an erratic watering schedule, since that is what nature provides them and what they have adapted to manage; but some have the additional virtue of tolerating dimly lit growing conditions, which is indeed a bonus if you are looking for a house plant to keep an invalid company. Ideally, some rotation of plants from poorly lit to window sill locations will increase the probability of achieving flowering: but that does require additional discipline on the part of the gardener. (more…)

In many parts of the Taxes the soil is unsuitable and difficult to work with. In the summer the baking heat of the sun can cause the hardiest of plants to succumb to the sun’s rays, containers can be moved to a shadier spot. If you live on a zero lot, or in an apartment, it can be impossible to find space to garden so using containers will help your plants thrive almost anywhere. Selecting the right variety for vegetable for container gardening in Texas is very important. You can grow delicious vegetables in containers, if you find yourself with insufficient space to grow a vegetable garden. Your ideal vegetables for container gardening are squash, lettuce, beans, green onions, egg plants, cucumbers, peppers, and of course delicious tomatoes. You can set up two containers over in the corner with a bamboo tee pee set up in each and grow pole beans all season long. Your cucumbers will need a large container also and you can let them grow up and over and down the sides of their container. Most vegetables will need water daily especially in hot weather. You can plant a few marigolds in your container garden area to keep away garden pests. Use Miracle Grow for vegetables to feed your plants on a regular basis. Problems with soil-borne diseases, nematodes or poor soil conditions can be easily overcome by switching to a container garden. Crop selection almost any vegetable that will grow in a typical backyard garden will also do well as a container-grown plant. Vegetables which are ideally suited for growing in containers include tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, green onions, beans, lettuce, squash, radishes and parsley. Most varieties that will do well when planted in a yard garden will also do well in containers. The size of the container will vary according to the crop selection and space available. Regardless of the type or size of container used, adequate drainage is a necessity for successful yields. Best suited for container culture are vegetables which may be easily transplanted. Most vegetables should be transplanted into containers when they develop their first two to three true leaves. (more…)

Once you have decided what plants that you would like to place in your garden planters and containers, then you will need to get the container soil ready for each pot. When working with potting mix, always make sure that the mix is moistened before getting started.

There are a few methods to ensure that the potting soil is pre-moistened and ready for your planters. Firstly, this one we call the wheelbarrow method. Place all of your potting mix into the garden cart and then add plenty of water. With your trowel or spade, make sure that the soil is very moist. You can tell when you can make a fist with the soil and it will hold its shape. The soil will then be a dark brown in color and this rich, moist soil is ready for your containers. (more…)

For container gardening ideas, scan the internet, the library or a bookstore. The challenge is to come up with a lovely container garden plan. There are a widespread collection of containers available for your container garden. These range in size from small-scale house-plant pots to sizeable boxes and planters. Equally varied are the materials from which they are made. These include wood, glass, clay, aluminum, bamboo, straw, plastic, fiberglass, terra cotta, tin, cast iron, zinc, copper, and brass, each with select advantages and disadvantages. What you choose will depend on availability, price, background, and attraction not to mention the characteristics of the gardening pots.

Here are some container gardening ideas. In addition to run-of-the-mill circular pots and tubs, there are modern and ultra-modern forms such as square, rectangular, triangular, hexagonal, and octagonal. Also eligible are old iron kitchen pots, kettles, pails, jugs, casks, vases, crocks, jam tubs, barrels and nail kegs, Japanese fish tubs, aged sinks, bathtubs, bamboo soy tubs. There are novelty containers such as driftwood, wheelbarrows, donkey carts, spinning wheels and boxes attached to a roadside mail container. There are also bird cages, decorative well heads, animal figures, and Strawberry jars. Woven baskets may be used to conceal unattractive containers. Even tar paper pots, handled by garden centers and florists are worthy if painted or veiled to upgrade their exterior. Any of these can be used in your container gardening ideas. (more…)

You see beautiful potted plant designs in yards, at businesses and along city streets and wish that you had that kind of green thumb. Wouldn’t such a pot with those colors and that texture be beautiful in your yard or on your deck? How do those gardeners create such wonderful potted plant designs? They follow the ten basics of container planter creativity and then they let their imaginations run wild. As you begin to dream about you container planter design, it is good for you to know the basics of container planting so that your decision produces the effects you desire.

Style Generally you will see two styles of design with some variations among those styles. The most common style for upright containers uses the focal point, the filler and the trailer. A focal point plant stands out above the rest by being taller and/or more colorful. The focal point is the first to attract your attention. The filler plants are use to compliment the focal plant. They are good for providing the color and texture and are used to cover the bare parts of the pot. The trailer plants hang over the edge of the pot and add softness to the design. A second style of design is to use the same type of plant, in bulk, with variations to create the difference in look. It is best to use plants that are dense and will cover or fill the entire pot. (more…)

In the first place, different gardeners try to evade fall gardening as much as they can as a result of the winter frosts that frequently come quite early and can make things a little complicated. Studying all you can that’s related to fall gardening and other gardening information will definitely prove advantageous to you in dealing with any challenges that could spring up.

Everyone I know needs a perfect looking garden. A perfect looking garden will need a lot more than just putting in lots of funds. It truly will need fixings in addition to attention to make it have the requisite shape. Nonetheless, what is cash when likened to getting the right sort of garden you crave for? How much do you actually know as regards the process of fertilization as a gardener? If you actually do not know much, then pay close attention. Each and every gardener ought to know it is not adequate to get just about any sort of glove for gardening as a gardener. Many folks believe so, and are severely disillusioned when they discover how wrong they are. You see, the gardening glove has to match you accurately simply because an oversized one will slip off while an undersized one will result in hurts as well as cramps. Don’t forget this when out shopping for your garden glove. Reading gardening magazines has countless advantages. Gardening magazines give gardeners the chance to share their imaginations and know-how with other avid readers by bringing in their own articles to be in print. You can certainly have your such articles included as well! if you have them. (more…)

A dozen ways to have a “Garden,” even if you do not have a big yard…..

1. Put pots of flowers along one side of steps. This works well if you keep each container pretty much the same size and the flowers/plants the same or similar.

2. Hanging baskets on porch. One or more containers of colorful cascading flowers – such as ivy geraniums, petunias, begonias – in one color or combinations of colors, make a delightful “welcome home”.

3. Set planters on both sides of front door. Tall, narrow plantings work best. Also,Topiary, sculpted green shrubs, or even a vine on an obelisk.

4. Place a grouping of containers on a bench. If you have a bench, table or shelf just sitting there, group a few containers of varying sizes. Plants can be assorted colors and types. (more…)

As a group, flower bulbs are outstanding plants—colorful, showy, and generally easy to grow for container gardening. Many have evergreen foliage; with others, the leaves ripen after flowering and the bulbs are stored and started again, year after year. Some flower bulbs are hardy, others, tender, though what is, and is not hardy, in a particular area is a matter of winter temperature averages. In cold regions, tender types—tuberous begonias, gloxinias, and calla lilies—can be treated like summer in container gardens. This gives the gardener a wide variety to grow from earliest spring to late fall. (more…)

Have you ever wanted to know what it would be like to walk right outside you r door and pick a nice fresh tomato? Have you ever wanted to grow your own vegetables but simply don’t have the space? Can container vegetable gardening be the answer? Container gardening is fast becoming more and more popular since many vegetables will grow just as well in a confined area. Depending upon what you plan to plant your containers should be large enough to allow for root spreading and growth. Oversized wooden tubs and half barrels are the most popular because they make excellent garden containers. Planters made of plastic, metal or clay should always be checked for proper drainage holes. (more…)

For container gardening ideas, scan the internet, the library or a bookstore. The challenge is to come up with a lovely container garden plan. There are a widespread collection of containers available for your container garden. These range in size from small-scale house-plant pots to sizeable boxes and planters. Equally varied are the materials from which they are made. These include wood, glass, clay, aluminum, bamboo, straw, plastic, fiberglass, terra cotta, tin, cast iron, zinc, copper, and brass, each with select advantages and disadvantages. What you choose will depend on availability, price, background, and attraction not to mention the characteristics of the gardening pots.

Here are some container gardening ideas. In addition to run-of-the-mill circular pots and tubs, there are modern and ultra-modern forms such as square, rectangular, triangular, hexagonal, and octagonal. Also eligible are old iron kitchen pots, kettles, pails, jugs, casks, vases, crocks, jam tubs, barrels and nail kegs, Japanese fish tubs, aged sinks, bathtubs, bamboo soy tubs. There are novelty containers such as driftwood, wheelbarrows, donkey carts, spinning wheels and boxes attached to a roadside mail container. There are also bird cages, decorative well heads, animal figures, and Strawberry jars. Woven baskets may be used to conceal unattractive containers. Even tar paper pots, handled by garden centers and florists are worthy if painted or veiled to upgrade their exterior. Any of these can be used in your container gardening ideas. (more…)