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Article
Index |
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| Dealing
With Garden Pests (new) |
| Animal pest problems occur in all seasons
of the garden, but fall and spring are peak
periods for plunder. Luckily these seasons,
and fall in particular, are also the best
times for beleaguered gardeners to mount a
defense against foraging four-legged gourmands
such as deer, squirrels, rabbits, voles, moles
and other assorted animal pests. ... (more) |
| Tips
for Naturalizing your Bulb Garden |
| If a bulb plant is to develop to its full
potential, (come back and flower every spring)
it must be provided with good growing conditions
and a suitable niche in the landscape where
it can remain undisturbed without the need
for its foliage to be prematurely removed.
It is important for bulbs to retain their
foliage after bloom until the leaves die back
naturally, and that they are able to enjoy
an uninterrupted cold period. . ... (more) |
| Tips
for Growing Bulbs in Warm Climates |
| If you think tulips can't take
the heat of your garden, then get into the
kitchen. By following a few simple tips, warm
weather gardeners too can have success with
tulips and other spring-flowering bulbs. .
... (more) |
| Fall
is a Great Time to Garden With Your Children |
| Gertrude Jekyll, the celebrated English
garden writer, thought so much of introducing
little ones to nature's joys she devoted a
classic 1908 book to the subject, Children
and Gardens. In it she suggested that ".
. .autumn is the time to plant little gardens."
Though vegetable gardens are often touted
as the best way to plant the gardening seed
in children, Ms. Jekyll felt that the pure
fun of digging in the dirt was the real key..
... (more) |
| Introduction
to the Cut Flowers of Summer |
| Flowers enjoyed life on Planet Earth well
before we human beings arrived. In our time
together, flowers have played starring roles
in innumerable myths and historic moments,
in the art of homeopathy, and all sorts of
magic. Here are fun facts from the Netherlands
Flower Bulb Information Center in New York
City about some of the summer’s most
popular cut flowers to add spice to summer
chit-chat. .. ... (more) |
| Don't
Know How Many Bulbs to Buy to Fill Your Garden? |
| The key to a beautiful bulb flower bed is
lots and lots of bulbs. Following is a general
idea of the number of bulbs you should buy
per square feet of flower bed size. Planting
one straight row of evenly spaced bulbs often
looks sparse. Planting in quantity in non-linear
patterns will always give a richer appearance.
This is why mass planting has always been
the traditional way to use bulbs.... (more) |
| The
Importance of Garden Decor |
| People are looking for ways
to add significance, peace of mind, a quality
experience, and to escape from the “rat-race”
in their lives. Stated differently, people
want to add depth and meaning to their lives.
One way to accomplish this, it is asserted,
is to make or purchase decor for your garden....
(more) |
| Selecting
Fall Garden Bulbs |
Most people would think of
fall as a season when trees are changing colors
and dying. For many, the autumn leaves are
our last dance with color before the dark,
gray winter sets in. It doesn’t have
to be that way, though. Fall flowers can offer
a splash of rebirth and color in a season
otherwise known for falling leaves.
... (more) |
| Confused
With What to Do With Erratic Spring Weather? |
|
When winter weather throws a curve ball,
temperatures can warm up, followed by an
untimely cold snap. Or things warm up and
stay up. Other times the weather’s
normal - whatever that is! When warm weather
strikes, people can throw their coats on
and off. But what about gardens? Do we cover
plants in a cold snap? Do we take garden
mulch off? What is the right thing to do?...
(more)
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| Types
of Annual Flowers |
|
Local climatic conditions, development
of new cultivars, and new uses for specific
garden flowers have blurred the distinctions
among annuals, biennials, and perennials.
Annuals have traditionally been referred
to as plants that complete their life cycle
in one growing season. ... (more)
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| Starting
Plants From Seeds |
|
Annuals and biennials can be started indoors
from seeds, sown directly in the garden,
or purchased as transplants. If you start
plants from seeds indoors, the seeds are
usually sown eight to ten weeks before the
last spring frost. If you raise your own
transplants, be sure to harden them off
by exposing them to outside conditions before
planting in their intended site. ... (more)
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| Starting
Annuals From Transplants |
|
Transplants will produce a display of flowers
several weeks earlier than direct-seeded
plants. This is especially true for annuals
such as scarlet sage and verbena, which
germinate slowly or need several months
to bloom from seeds.... (more)
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| Preparing
Soil For Annual Flowers |
|
The best amendments for clay soils are
pine bark (less than 1/2 inch in diameter),
composted leaf mold, or small pea gravel
(less than 3/8 inch in diameter). Be careful
when selecting leaf mold, making certain
that the material is fully composted and
not merely “aged.” ... (more)
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| Annual
Flower Maintenance |
|
Nitrogen is the nutrient that most frequently
limits plant growth. Unfortunately, nitrogen
is the most difficult nutrient to manage.
Soil tests for nitrogen are not dependable
and nitrogen is easily leached from the
soil. The challenge is to maintain adequate
nitrogen levels to meet the plant requirements
without damaging the plants or the environment.
(more)
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| Preparing
to Plant |
|
When you receive your potted plants, you
may find some of the leaves appear to be
yellowing or, perhaps, even dead. But that
doesn’t mean the plants are dead. As
long as the root system is healthy, upper
foliage will soon regenerate itself...(more)
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| Gardening
for Birds |
|
Birds and gardens just go together. You
can't really have a garden without birds.
Plant a shrub or a tree, and they just show
up. Put out a feeder and a birdbath and
you'll get lots of birds...(more)
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| Growing
Vegetables in your Own Garden |
|
Vegetable gardening continues to grow in
popularity. Home gardeners are discovering
just how easy it is to produce delicious,
nutritious vegetables right in their own
garden! From juicy tomatoes, tasty cucumbers,
sweet onions and crisp lettuce for salads
...(more)
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| Growing
Bulbs in your garden? Then Read This! |
|
With very few exceptions (most notably
Camassia, Fritillaria meleagris, and
Leucojum), bulbs require soil that drains
well the year round. To improve the drainage
of
heavy soil, dig in organic matter such as
compost, aged manure, leafmold, peat moss,
or
(in the South) shredded pine bark. If you
garden in very heavy clay, consider constructing
raised beds to provide well-drained conditions.
...(more)
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| How
to use Tulips and Daffodils in the Landscape |
|
There are many ways to use tulips and daffodils,
so I hope you don't mind that I only mention
my favorites. I've seen beds of mixed varieties
which were very effective, but I prefer
groups of the same type interspersed with
small bulbs or low perennials. A section
of twenty-or-so bulbs when using tulips
...(more)
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| Everything
you ever wanted to know about Peonies. |
|
Peonies - Paeonia - One of my favorite
flowers in late spring because peonies remind
me that summer is just around the corner.
Considered the “Queen of Garden Flowers”.
Peonies blooms run 6-8 inches across and
are truly magnificent! Long-lasting in the
garden as well as in the vase. ...(more)
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