Category: Gardening
Starting Seeds: Tips for Success
| November 19, 2012 | Posted by admin under Gardening |
Starting Seeds Indoors and Outdoors Spring arrives early when you start seeds of flowers, vegetables, and herbs indoors. After danger of frost is past, transplant the seedlings outdoors, and reap the rewards weeks ahead of schedule. The rewards of starting seeds extend to the pocketbook as well as the garden. The border was a bargain…
Hows and Whys of Raised Bed Gardening
| November 4, 2011 | Posted by admin under Gardening |
Building raised beds to grow flowers and vegetables may mean a little more work in the beginning, but the payoff is improved soil and lower maintenance on down the line. Raised bed gardening offers several advantages, including the following: Improves soil drainage. Virtually eliminates problems of compaction because once the beds are created, they are…
Creating a Trough Garden
| October 15, 2011 | Posted by admin under Gardening |
Trough gardens are an attractive way to display a variety of alpine plants, and these gardens can be part of your outdoor landscape all year-round. We’ll show you how to not only plant the garden but make the stone-like trough container as well. Making the Trough Materials: (available at home and garden centers) 1 part…
Overwintering the Water Garden
| October 14, 2011 | Posted by admin under Gardening |
Ideally, water gardens in cold climates are 3 feet or more at their deepest point; hardy aquatic plants can usually be left outdoors if they are submerged in winter to 3 feet or more. Tropical aquatic plants can either be treated as annuals (this is a kind way of saying left to die in a…
Amending Soil: Enhancing and Maintaining Healthy Soils for Growing
| October 10, 2011 | Posted by admin under Gardening |
Test your soil: The first step to amending soil is to measure its nutrients, pH and texture/drainage, which you can do with sample holes 3′ deep in several areas of the yard and a soil test. Because a good lab soil test can be expensive and you may have many micro soil environments, consider buying…
Winter Gardening: Suggestions for Beautiful Winter Plants
| October 10, 2011 | Posted by admin under Gardening |
One of the best reasons to plant in winter is the abundance of free water which translates into lower water bills and less immediate stress on plants (regardless of planting time they will require regular watering for at least the first Summer but Fall and winter plantings give the plant a better head start). With…
The Seven Types of Soil Amendments
| August 25, 2011 | Posted by admin under Gardening |
Except in a very few cases, all soils need amending if you expect to establish and maintain a superb landscape. The better soils are found in areas of moderate rainfall of around 30 inches per year, with temperate conditions and under good management practices resulting in a moderately high soil organic matter content. California, for…
Learn About Moss Poles, Making and Using Them
| August 6, 2011 | Posted by admin under Gardening |
Vining plants look terrific hanging over the edge of a pot. But if they have aerial roots, as do Pothos, philodendron, ivies, arrowhead vine, Swiss Cheese plant, and others, they will be even happier growing upward on a moss pole. A moss pole is just what its name suggests – a wooden or wire mesh…
Houseplants with Impact
| August 5, 2011 | Posted by admin under Gardening |
You’ve seen them in garden centers, office buildings, malls, restaurants, and any place lucky enough to hire an interior landscape designer. Dramatic, colorful, and graceful, large specimens truly bring the outdoors in. Many people are afraid to try these plants because of the cost, design considerations, or high maintenance. It’s true that you might mourn a…
Meeting the Challenges of Growing Acid-Loving Plants
| July 28, 2011 | Posted by admin under Gardening |
Easterners live in a region which includes beautiful azaleas, camellias, roses and similar plants. These acid- loving plants thrive in the Eastern soils which are acidic. These plants are adapted for Eastern soils and struggle in the Western soils which are alkaline and arid.