Plant Gardens 101

As with garden sheds, there are two ways to build a greenhouse: you can either buy the sheets of glass and the frame and do it yourself, or you can hire a professional. However, building a greenhouse can be a lot harder than building a garden shed, which is why even experienced DIY enthusiasts might want to think about calling in some professional help.

The main reason greenhouses are difficult to build is the material that they’re made from: glass. If you drop glass or install it wrongly, it will shatter, meaning that any mistakes you make will start to get expensive fast. Would you put in your own windows? If not, you probably shouldn’t be building a greenhouse. If greenhouses are built incorrectly, not only is it dangerous, but it is unlikely that any of your plants will actually grow properly. Also, it is very difficult to build greenhouses when the sun is shining, as you will get very hot – it’s easier to do it in the winter or the night, but then those are hardly ideal building conditions either. (more…)

Ask anybody who has a garden pond and they will tell you how much the pond has changed their garden. Not only does it provide a focal point for relaxing and enjoying your garden but it can also become a real haven for wonderful local wildlife. There are a few pointers to take into consideration that will ensure the success of your garden pond project

The Beginning It is important to really plan your pond project, so don’t just rush out and start buying material and pond equipment without considering the best way forward. The first thing is to draw up a plan of your pond and how you would like it to look. (more…)

According to the National Gardening Association, 91 million households participated in some form of do-it-yourself lawn and gardening activity in 2005, spending an average of $387. Over the past decade, an increasing percentage of this total has gone towards container gardening.

Containers offer a versatile form of gardening that fits into any lifestyle and yard size. City dwellers can use them to brighten up lifeless balconies, roof decks or front stoops, while those with more space can decorate high-traffic spaces and incorporate them into lawn and garden areas for added drama and flair. Because of the multitude of options on the market, container gardens are an easy way to add a splash of color to any outdoor space, big or small. (more…)

White grubs are the larval stage of beetles and are the most widespread turf grass pests in the United States. In fact, there are a number of different types of grubs that can damage your lawn. A single grub is usually less than 1 inch in length and usually curled into a C-shape when exposed. However, just 10 grubs in a square foot of grass can permanently damage a healthy lawn because grubs feed on grass roots. In fact, there may be several types of grubs within a single patch of infested grass.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Americans spend $156 million each year replacing the lawns that grubs destroy. And if you add up the total loss grubs cause throughout their lifecycle, the USDA estimates a staggering $460 million a year in damage. (more…)

The rose is a very beautiful flower, often considered to be the queen of all flowers. The inherent beauty of the rose is peerless; no other flower can ever compare to it. Gardeners who have successfully cultivated their own rose gardens prize the fruit of their own labors highly and take a lot of effort to care for and maintain their gardens. For indeed, if you want to be able to enjoy the beauty of a rose plant, you must be prepared to exert the effort needed to cultivate, care for and protect these plants.

The task of caring for roses is no easy feat. To take care of roses can be arduous and can consume a good amount of time every day. But no matter how laborious cultivating roses can be, the effort exerted is very much worth it. To see a healthy and thriving rose plant in your garden is certainly very rewarding. (more…)

“Off with her head” the queen shouted at Alice in the Lewis Carroll story “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland”. Now I’m not sure if Lewis had an interest in gardening but he could well have been giving us some horticultural instruction which will give us a longer flowering season. There is a technique known as dead-heading, it is a simple task which takes a few minutes however adds days and sometimes weeks to your flowering display.

How to dead-head

If you’ve never dead-headed before here’s how go about it…… Firstly keep a watchful eye on your flowering plants, paying close attention to blooms that are past their best. Once a flower has started to fade remove it from the plant with a quick snip from your secateurs, alternatively knip it off with your thumb and forefinger. When doing this try to remove just the spent flower leaving the new buds beneath intact. (more…)

Choosing specific greenhouse lighting can be somewhat tricky. Here are five important factors to consider when making your selections.

1. Type of greenhouse – Before buying greenhouse lighting, you must understand the kind of greenhouse that you have. Is it a commercial greenhouse or a personal one? Knowing what type of greenhouse that you have will determine what kind of lighting to choose. For instance, if you have a commercial greenhouse, it is best that you buy lighting that is created to endure humid, adverse conditions that are commonly found in commercial conservatories. Research your options before making any purchase. (more…)

Flowering Dogwood trees can be easily grown from seed, however 99.9999% of the seedlings that sprout will be Cornus Florida, which is White Flowering Dogwood. It doesn’t matter if you collect the seeds from a White Dogwood or a Pink Dogwood, the seedlings are likely to be white.

The only predictable way to grow a Pink Dogwood, Red Dogwood, or one of the beautiful Dogwoods with variegated leaves, is to bud or graft the desired variety onto a White Dogwood seedling.

See this page on my website for details on “budding”. (more…)

Pruning your roses is an essential part of rose maintenance. There are many ways and opinions on the best way to prune, when the perfect time to prune is, and which roses need pruning. Many seasoned rosarians have their favorite tested methods.

Pruning roses is not as complicated as some people think. To make it easy, there are 7 basic rules to follow when pruning your roses. If you keep these rules in mind, you will be rewarded with the most beautiful rose bushes.

The first rule in pruning roses is to remove any dead or dying growth. In doing this, your bushes will look good and will be free from signs of diseases. Removing the deadwood will discourage insects from making your rose plant their home. Insects love rose plants so keep an eye out for them while pruning.    (more…)

NATURAL LIGHT: Adequate light is the most important factor in promoting flowering. Place plants near any window that has bright, but filtered, light. An east window is best because it gets morning sun. A thin curtain will be necessary if placing plants in a south or west window. In order to develop a nice symmetrical form, plants must be turned 1/4 turn every week.

FLUORESCENT LIGHT: If adequate natural light is not available, plants can be grown under fluorescent lights. Use double tube fixtures with one cool white bulb and one broad spectrum bulb. Lights should be 8 to 10 inches above the top of the plants and turned on for 12 to 14 hours a day. If plants have tight centers or seem to be bleaching out, reduce the number of hours to 8-10 a day. (more…)

Well, you have got the watering and feeding of the Bonsai down. Think you’re home free. Not a chance. There are still things you need to do successfully to realize the full beauty of these little Japanese wonders. Since the care of the root system is essential to the survival of the trees you need to know the how and when of re-potting your bonsai. This is one of the many steps to proper Bonsai Care.

The importance of Re-potting

The young bonsai trees grow quicker and need to be repotted about once a year. The older trees not so often and eventually get to a point where repotting every 5 years is sufficient. Repotting should be done in the late winter or early spring. This is when the buds begin to swell. First, you should prune your bonsai. Take away any unwanted or long branches. If your bonsai is kept outside it should be placed undercover for a few weeks before repotting. This will help dry the soil. You need to carefully remove the tree from its original pot. Check the root carefully. If they are bound then it is definitely time to transfer it to another pot. If the roots still have some space to grow (a few inches is sufficient) then it does not need repotting. (more…)

The first thing you need to do is ask your self where you want to put it? It should be in a place where you see it instantly when you go in your back yard, or you might want to install it on a lost space of your back yard like at the end, the pond will make your yard look deeper, or you can install it in a place where you see it all the time even if you are in your house, personally that is the option I like the most.

The second step is to pick the liner for your pond. You can choose a preformed liner or a soft liner, for this article we will go with the preforme liner. This liner is more durable, easier to install, no conception problem and easier to clean.You have to choose the form before digging so you will have the exact shape and the deep of the hole. Now that you know how big, how deep and where your pond is gone a be, you will have to check with the local authority to see if your plan is conform with their rules, Depending where you live, rules might be different, it is always good to check with them first. When all that is done, it’s time to dig, trace the forme of your pond on your lawn and measure how deep you will have to go and dig two inch deeper than the size of your pond, to fit your liner properly put two inch of sand in the hole your liner will fit better and it will be protected from rocks. (more…)

The tool that I am going to tell you about is for using herbicides such as RoundUp. The biggest mistakes that people make when using non-selective herbicides like RoundUp is overspray getting the herbicide on plants that they did not intend to spray, and over applying the product. If you spray to the point of run off, you are applying way too much. The weed dabber is a tool used for spot treating weeds without getting the herbicide on other plants.

Start by going to your hardware store and buying a piece of 1- 1/2″ PVC pipe. You only need a piece 30″ long, but they might make you buy a 10′ section. It’s pretty cheap though. You’ll need a plastic PVC cap for one end of the pipe, and on the other end you’ll need an adapter to convert the PVC pipe to a standard pipe thread. You’ll have to let the clerk at the hardware store help you find the best combination of fittings to use. What you need to do is to get the PVC pipe reduced down to a male garden hose type fitting. Hardware stores sell brass fittings that convert standard pipe thread to the same thread used on garden hoses. (more…)

If you are determined to have a lovely pond that will be admired and appreciated by all who see it then you have make sure that your pond is correctly maintained. Below we look at how to ensure that you get the best out of your pond through thorough maintenance.

There are several basic steps which you can take to ensure that your pond always looks at its best and avoids any potential problem areas. (more…)

The main work worms do in your garden is tilling and aerating the soil. They burrow very deep, leaving channels through the soil that break up clods and allow air to enter and water to penetrate and drain away. In the process of eating at the surface and eliminating lower down, they introduce organic matter to the deeper levels and steadily increase the depth of topsoil. Their main role is to digest decomposing organic matter, converting it quickly into a form plants can use as nutrients. It is important to maintain good soil structure when gardening organically. Unlike mechanical tillers, earthworms do not damage the soil by inverting it, creating hardpans or breaking up the crumb structure. They never have mechanical breakdowns, they do not create noise or pollution, and they use garbage for fuel – an excellent way to dispose of your kitchen scraps, especially if you live in an apartment.

DIY Worm Farming Commercial worm farms are very practical, widely available, easy to use and are quite aesthetically pleasing. You usually buy them with a small supply of worms to get you started. Choose either Red Worms or Tiger Worms. However, if you already have a suitable ‘home’ for your worms you don’t need to spend the extra money.  (more…)

Ant season is on the horizon.

As the ground warms up in the spring, ants who have been dormant in the earth during the colder weather warm up and come to the surface. Queen ants fly off to find new nesting areas…and before you know it, ants are back in our world.

While ants play an important roll in the ecosystem, it is no picnic when they become pests in our world.

But all too often, when people have a pest problem they run to the store and buy a can of toxic pesticide, come home and spray the pest.

Whoa! Let’s step back and take a look at handling ant problems using a least toxic approach. (more…)

Garden furniture is now a fashion item as the patio and garden increasingly become an additional functional space to the home.

Before you buy any garden furniture it is strongly recommended that you do some research. Doing so will greatly increase your chances of buying garden furniture that is right for you and will last you a long time. Following are some important tips you need to consider before you buy.

Firstly decide whether you want stackable or foldaway furniture that will be put away in the shed or garage in winter or if you want permanent solid garden furniture that remains in situ all year round. If you want your garden furniture to be a permanent part of your garden for esthetic reasons then it is recommended that you go for heavy furniture made from hardwood, aluminum or wrought iron with rust proofing. It is well worth spending the money on the heavier more durable materials as this will be much more cost effective in the long run. (more…)

Autumn typically signals the end of home grown vegetables from the garden, but with a little ingenuity you can harvest garden fresh produce well into the winter months. My Central Pennsylvania garden continues to supply fresh vegetables during the fall and winter when most gardeners in my growing region are content to dream about next summer’s bounty. Read on to discover simple tricks that will fortify your garden against the onslaught of frigid weather.

Fall often delivers brief cold spells with a few frost filled mornings, sandwiched between weeks of milder, frost-free conditions. The problem is that a single touch of frost can wipe out every tender annual growing in the garden. Fortunately, a little protection will enable frost sensitive vegetables and herbs to survive a cold snap, and reward the resourceful gardener with an opportunity to enjoy extended harvests.

Something as simple as the transparent, fleecy, floating row covers used to shield plants from harmful insects can also prevent frost damage. Row covers trap the warmth that radiates up from the earth much like the way that a cloud cover holds temperatures and prevents frost from forming. Row covers offer a few degrees of protection, keeping tender annuals safe from light frost. Use the thicker grade covers for maximum benefit. (more…)

The art of garden never fails to transform an idle tract of land into a beautiful and lively environment. Gardens feed the spirit’s longing for beauty and grace as it provides a venue to witness the wonder of nature and the comforts of home. While plants and trees are enough to make a garden delightful, the landscape can surely be enhanced by installing garden décor.

There are many types of garden decors each having unique features and purposes for your garden. Here are some garden decors:

Arbors, Pillars, and Gazebos - these are large structures that can add a good focal point to your garden. Having large structures can create an illusion of having a large space. These structures can also serve as platforms for aerial plants. Climbing foliage such as vines may also cling to these platforms, creating an elegantly classic garden effect. (more…)

I often notice when visiting gardens the great quantities of Daffodils and other early bulbs that we plant to herald in the spring. But how do we ensure we have a great display each year?

The early flowering bulbs

Quite a few seasoned gardeners have had their first horticultural “experience” by the planting of a few Daffodil or Tulip bulbs, thus spurring them onto more adventurous plantings. At the end of April the very early flowering bulbs will come to the end of their blooming season. This group of early bloomers includes Daffodils, Hyacinths, Bluebells, Crocus, Snowdrops and early Tulips. All these bulbs will flower well for any gardener the first growing season but for them to bloom well the following seasons we must give them some care. (more…)