Growing Vegetables Indoors

Summer is ending and our gardens are wilting. The season of fresh vegetables just goes by too fast. It is time to grind up those stalks and cover the garden with hay for composting. But does this really mean that we are done eating fresh vegetables until next June? Not really! You can grow vegetables indoors using these tips.

There are two ways to start your indoor vegetable garden. One, you can transfer your existing plants from outdoor to indoor pots. Two, you can sprout seeds and plant them. Some plants, like tomato plants, normally need to be staked. But, if you hang a planter for your tomatoes, you don’t necessarily have to stake them. The stalks can simply hang down like vines.

Choose large pots that drain really well. Place rocks in the bottom of each container, then potting soil or top soil mixed with plenty of compost. If your summer garden did well outside, you can use the soil from there to fill your pots. Although, sometimes this soil is depleted of nutrients and should be replenished with compost.

All of your indoor vegetables need to have plenty of sunlight and heat. If possible, put them near a heater vent. They must get as much sunlight as possible, so all plants need to be near a window. You might even consider placing planters in buckets attached to an accordion divider so that all of them have equal sun. You can even move the whole apparatus from one window in the morning to another full sun window in the afternoon. Putting your accordion divider on casters will make the move easier on your back. The vertical garden also eliminates the need to bend over to tend to and harvest vegetables.

Another back saving tip is to roll your vertical garden outside to water. If it’s not too cold, you can roll it out onto the deck or patio and spray it down with the water hose. Use an automatic hose reelto help your back even more.

As the days get shorter, you will have to use a UV lamp to give your vegetables enough light to grow. If you notice your plants doing poorly, increase the amount of heat and/or sun that they are getting every day. Make sure that you are not overwatering, and that you are pruning off any dead or dying sections that may be stealing nutrients from your healthy vegetables.

Having an indoor vegetable garden can be a challenge and can take up a lot of space. But, if you tend to it carefully, you could be rewarded with fresh vegetables year round.

About the Author: Stacy Pessoney is an award winning author and writer of web content for many different web sites. She is well versed in many different areas, including gardening, hose reel, lawn care and landscaping.

Time to Plant Trees

Depending on your area, it may be approaching the time to plant new trees. Taking care of new trees is important because they are so delicate in the first couple of years. Taking care of your trees from the start and throughout their lives can help you increase the shade, oxygen and property value of your home. With a little pruning and routine maintenance, your trees will be healthy and strong.

Before you plant, make a visit to your local nursery. Ask about what types of trees are native to your area and which ones will be best for your purposes. Are you using them for shade? To block out street noise? For privacy from neighbors? Or do you want them simply for their beauty? Whatever your reason, you are sure to find the right tree for your yard.

You may need to bring in a soil sample to determine what type of tree will grow best in your soil. Make sure that you don’t get one that will be too big for the area you have picked out for it. Trees planted too close to homes and power lines have to be later removed. Remember that a tree can sway up to eight feet in a good storm. You may have to check with authorities if you are in a neighborhood. Trees must be planted at least 20 feet away from intersections in most areas. There are also considerations for underground cables, gas lines, water lines, sewer lines, septic tanks and pipes. Additionally, if you put trees near your driveway, you can expect the roots to crack the driveway. Make sure that the trees will not obstruct your view or your neighbors’ views of the road when they are pulling out.

New trees should be heavily watered weekly, more if it is extremely hot weather. Only skip watering if you received a lot of rain. Water absorbs better and doesn’t evaporate as quickly if you water in the late afternoon or night. Water as deeply as you can imagine the roots are. Be careful not to water too much or the roots could rot and kill the tree. Heavy mulching will help keep moisture in the ground and also protect baby trees from being damaged by lawn mowers or people that don’t notice it. Mulch out about 3 feet from the base of a baby tree, five feet for a larger tree.

Watering on schedule is the most important part of helping your new trees survive. You can use an automatic hose reel with a computerized timer to automatically water your trees on time. Good luck with your baby trees!

About the Author: Stacy Pessoney is an award winning author and writer of web content for many different web sites. She is well versed in many different areas, including gardening, hose reel, lawn care and landscaping.

Swimming Pool Transformations

So, you have a built-in pool, but something about it looks dull and uninviting. Landscaping around your pool can change the look of your back yard from a boring place be to a luxurious paradise. You can go for a natural theme, manicured beds of tulips, terraced sections of shrubs, or a lush tropical look. Water features, fire places, grills, furniture and personal touches can add to the inviting feel.

You don’t have to spend a fortune to make your backyard pool area look great. It can be something as simple as spreading wildflower seeds in sectioned-off areas to give things a more natural feel. Large outdoor area rugs can turn a concrete expanse into a more closed in, private area. It doesn’t only add a nice splash of color and texture, but also feels nice beneath the feet and makes lounging by the pool a more relaxing experience.

Designate areas around the pool deck for flowerbeds. You can plant rosemary to keep mosquitoes away. It also grows quickly and puts a pleasing fragrance in the air. If you don’t like the smell of rosemary, use it on the outsides of your landscaped area. The smell is strong, but it doesn’t travel far.

Plant a few interesting trees around the pool area to provide privacy. Evergreens that don’t branch out far are good because they won’t dump a lot of leaves and debris into the pool. Trees that stay small, grow slow and add color are ideal. A popular pool landscaping tree is the Japanese maple.

Go to your local nursery with a sample of your soil and ask which shrubs and plants will grow well around your pool. They will test your soil and determine if it is more acid or basic. After you know that, get them to show you around. Make notes of things that you like that fit with your theme. If you want a tropical theme, look for large leaves, hanging vines and bright blooms. For a more natural feel, opt for bushy shrubs and flowers that may be local natives.

Add splashes of color around the pool. When you are choosing your shrubs and plants, ask which ones bloom in spring, summer and fall. Choose a variety of plants and trees that bloom at different times to ensure that you don’t have a beautiful landscape in April that is gone by the time you are ready to swim. The changing theme will keep things interesting as well.

Once you have the landscaping done, add some personal touches. Small statues, large rocks and decorative benches can fill in the gaps and draw attention to detail. Consider building a stone fireplace or adding an additional water feature. Add some comfy furniture and shade. You can set up soaker hoses that are barely visible to do the watering for you. Set them up on a programmable hose reel to ensure that your gardens stay lush even when you are not able to maintain them. Your pool will soon be the relaxing retreat that you dream of.

About the Author: Stacy Pessoney is an award winning author and writer of web content for many different web sites. She is well versed in many different areas, including gardening, hose reel, lawn care and landscaping.

Create a Tropical Garden in Any State

You don’t have to live in the tropics to have a tropical themed garden or flowerbed. You may not be able to grow the same exact plants that you could in South America, but you can imitate the theme and get some beautiful results.

If you ask people what kinds of plants they think are in a tropical garden, they are not very likely to name anything specific beyond “palm tree”. But, if you ask for some words describing what a tropical garden looks like, then you are likely to get replies like lush, wet, bright flowers, full, flowing, fluorescent accents, big leaves and cascading vines.

So you don’t actually need tropical plants to give a garden a tropical feel. Bromeliads come to mind. Some are actually pineapple shaped. They have thick, green leaves and brightly colored centers. They’re easy to grow in a variety of climates. They are available in small or giant varieties.

Ask a local nursery about which bromeliads will grow best in your climate. Then determine whether you will want them in the sun or shade, certain varieties can grow in either. They even come in terrestrial or saxicolous. Terrestrials grow from the ground and saxicolous varieties grow on rocks, like a moss. Bromeliads have a wide variety of growing conditions which make them an easy-to-care-for choice. Because of the bright colors and size, they make a great addition or centerpiece to a tropical themed garden.

Anything with large or interesting leaves is a good addition. Elephant ears are popular, as are ferns or plants with leaves that hang down. Leaves that hang low give the illusion of weight and humidity, adding to the wet, tropical theme. Interesting leaves make plants look exotic, even if they are quite common for your area.

The other element that you need to fill is flowers and blooms. Large flowers are always good. Bright colors are a must. Reds, oranges and everything in between are a great start. Bright pinks are probably most popular. To give your garden the soothing feel of a tropical paradise, make sure that you include purples, blues and whites.

Not all of your blooms need to be large. Cascading flowers and white blooms have a lot of pop and presence without being large. Tubular flowers look unique, and often grow on vines. Vines also add to the tropical theme, while red tubulars attract hummingbirds. You can even use existing shrubs for filler and plant a tropical themed garden around your existing landscape. Use an automatic watering system to keep your garden looking wet and lush. An automatic, programmable hose reel will make frequent light watering easy.

About the Author: Stacy Pessoney is an award winning author and writer of web content for many different web sites. She is well versed in many different areas, including gardening, hose reel, lawn care and landscaping.

Growing Giant Pumpkins

Pumpkin growers all want to grow a giant pumpkin, at least once. Whether you’re looking to break the current world record pumpkin weight of 1,689 pounds, or just see how big of a jack-o-lantern you can make this Halloween, growing a giant pumpkin is definitely an exciting obsession!

First, you have to purchase some Atlantic Giant Pumpkin seeds. This pumpkin is known to grow the biggest of any variety. Plant them in early spring when the chance of frost has past. Build up a mound about three feet across and a foot high. Plant your seed in the center. Pumpkins need a lot of sun and a lot of water. This is especially true of giant pumpkins. Dig out a three or four inch deep trench around the bottom of the mound to hold extra water where the roots can reach it.

When your pumpkin vines start to travel, build the mound out even further. You may want to put a series of concentric ring trenches for water so that all of the root systems get plenty of water. As vines travel, bury them in the soil about every foot. This will encourage them to take root from the vines and suck up more water and more nutrients than they ever could from one central root system. This is one of the giant pumpkin grower’s big secrets. You can wrap a little bit of newspaper around the vine, just where it enters and just where it exits the dirt to keep pests like ants from crawling up. Don’t wrap it too tight. When your pumpkin starts getting big, you can slide a piece of cardboard underneath it to keep pests from entering it.

Measure your pumpkin about once a week to see if it is still growing. When it is done, it will be at full color and hardened. Leave the pumpkin on the vine as long as possible. Many pumpkins will be ready for harvest around August or September. Use a sharp knife to cut the stem when it’s ready. So, what if you want to store your pumpkin until a contest date, Halloween or Thanksgiving?

Take these measures to ensure that your giant pumpkin doesn’t rot. First, wash it with one gallon of water mixed with a cup of chlorine. Many people simply wash their pumpkins in the pool. This will kill off bacteria that may be trying to make its way into your pumpkin. Let it dry completely before storing it. Then, place it on a board or cardboard, not concrete, and store in a cool, dry, dark place, like under your house, in a closet or in the garage. You really want to keep it around seventy degrees or less without freezing.

Remember to water, water, water. Serious giant pumpkin growers keep their pumpkins watered with a programmable automatic hose reel. This way, the pumpkin gets water, even if they are not at home, and the hose puts itself away when it’s done. With enough water, proper storage, vine burying and proper care, you could grow the pumpkin of your dreams! Good luck beating that record!

About the Author: Stacy Pessoney is an award winning author and writer of web content for many different web sites. She is well versed in many different areas, including gardening, hose reel, lawn care and landscaping.

Gardening with Kids

Gardening with children can be so fulfilling, for you and for them. Whether you are a teacher, a friend or a parent, you can enjoy some real quality time with the children that you care for.

There are a few ways to make it fun for them. Remember to have fun, encourage silliness and be open to the children’s ideas. Kids really enjoy getting outside with adults and creating something. Try to include things in the garden that the kids will really enjoy. Have them set up hummingbird feeders, spinning wind catchers, wind chimes, and make vegetable markers or signs. The more colorful and personal they make it, the more they will love it.

Using hummingbird feeders, spinners and chimes will help give the kids some instant gratification. It’s a lot more interesting than simply putting a seed in the dirt and walking away! Set up a craft table in advance and let the kids decorate and design whatever they can think of to stick in the garden. They can use construction paper, index cards, glue, glitter, beads and even seeds to decorate signs. Use some laminating paper or dip in melted paraffin wax to waterproof signs.

Sprouting seeds indoors is fun for kids and lets them see how roots grow towards the water and how leaves open up towards the sun. Simply placing seeds on a wet paper towel and putting them into a sandwich bag will make them sprout rather quickly. Then they can be placed in the dirt and have a better chance of survival than if you had only placed the seeds in the soil.

Kids love the idea of introducing beneficial insects, butterflies, frogs and lizards into the garden. Do a little research about your area and find out which insects are beneficial. Your local nursery can usually provide you with useful information on which insects to introduce and where to get them. Using living creatures to protect the vegetables from invaders is not only fun, but beneficial. Teaching children how to garden organically will not only help them to ingest and absorb less chemicals now, but as they grow and plant their own gardens in the future. Organic gardening is more fun, safer and better for their health.

The fun isn’t over when the garden is planted. Kids love to catch bugs and worms and then introduce them into the garden. They can learn about recycling and composting while adding beneficial compost to their garden soil. It will get richer by the year if you avoid chemical fertilizers. Let them water with interesting containers or spray nozzles for the water hose. Get an automatic hose reel and let them do it all by themselves. One with forward assist and automatic hose retrieval makes it easy for even very young children to feel important and participate in the family fun. Happy gardening!


About the Author: Stacy Pessoney is an award winning author and writer of web content for many different web sites. She is well versed in many different areas, including gardening, hose reel, lawn care and landscaping.

Garage Organization Ideas

Getting the garage in order can be a difficult task. Use these tips to get it cleaned out and to keep it from getting so cluttered again.

Clean out old junk. The garage often becomes a place where things go when they do not have a place in the house. But, if you pull out some things, you may realize that you are hanging on to more things than you will ever use. Make some charitable donations or have a garage sale to get rid of the excess.

Organize your belongings into categorized piles. You will often find that you have similar items spread over the entire garage. Make sure that you group things like Christmas decorations, sporting equipment, painting supplies, wood working tools and cleaning items into different areas. You can really narrow down your groupings, because you are going to make a special place for everything.

One rule in getting the garage organized is to keep the floor as clear as possible. You need room to work or park your car. So, you will really need to utilize the walls and possibly even the ceiling for storage space. Clean the floor and make an inventory list of what you own. Make notes as to which items will store in which type of containers, shelves or cabinets.

Some things, like Christmas decorations, should be put into clear or red and green containers so that you know they are for Christmas just by glancing. Make sure that your containers seal to protect them from moisture, pests and dust. Some things may need to be locked away so that they are not stolen or so that children do not have access to them. A locking cabinet is a good idea to have in any garage. Another option is to build large wooden shelves and then add big hinged doors to the front where you can place a lock. Not only will your items be protected from dust and the elements, but the space will look very neat and tidy.

Cabinets are wonderful for keeping things out of sight. You can by pre-fabricated ones that are fairly inexpensive and easy to install. Do not buy deep cabinets unless you specifically have larger items to store in them, or things get pushed to the back where they are difficult to find.

Utilize large hooks, yard tool organizers and loft hangers for items like bikes, rakes and cardboard boxes. Storing flattened boxes on the ceiling keeps bugs out, frees up space and looks nice. Sports equipment organizers hold bats, balls, duffel bags, helmets, cleats and more in one easy area. You may even decide to place a chair or bench next to it so that the family will remember to take equipment from this area and put it back as soon as they are done.

Keep your garage organized by making rules about where things go and following them yourself. Make it easy by labeling or providing obvious areas for things to go. Use a hose reel for storing extra garden hose, a cord reel for extension cords, and tool organizers for tools instead of a tool box. You can use bike, skateboard, ski and boat hooks for recreational equipment. When everything has a place, the clutter will be reduced and it will be much easier to keep organized.

About the Author: Stacy Pessoney is an award winning author and writer of web content for many different web sites. She is well versed in many different areas, including gardening, hose reel, lawn care and landscaping.

Create a Bonsai Garden

Cultivating bonsai trees can become a lifelong hobby. Many people enjoy the peaceful art of shaping and growing these unique plants. One of the latest trends is to use bonsai in your landscaping or as a focal point in your yard. Creating a bonsai garden can be a rewarding experience that helps you to enjoy the beauty of creating something truly special and uniquely pleasing to the eye.

Bonsai cultivation can take years of practice. Many experts say that it can take years to learn how much water a specific bonsai needs. So, you should probably expect to lose a few during the learning process. Bonsai trees need to be grown in pots. This makes them very vulnerable to dry compost. You need to keep the soil moist, but not wet. There are conflicting instructions on how much to water because every tree and every compost mixture are a little different. As a general rule, you don’t want your bonsai to stay dry or wet for too long. Let it dry before watering again. In hot weather, this could mean watering twice a day, so be prepared to really take care of your bonsai once they are set.

To turn a flower bed into a beautiful bonsai landscape, you will need to utilize stone, tree stumps or natural tables for the pots. Simply placing them all on the ground can look boring. Try to display each bonsai on a different level to give each one the attention it deserves. Light colored rocks for background can help the interesting trunks and leaves pop out and catch the eye.

Some bonsai species require more sun than others, so you will need to arrange them according to their requirements. Or, better yet, purchase ones that require full sun for your sunny areas and shade loving bonsai for your shady areas. You can bring your bonsai inside to prune and shape them or to get them out of the harsh sun or cold.

Pruning of the leaves can be done anytime. Use a leaf-cutting tool specifically made for bonsai trees. You can get an inexpensive kit of starter tools to get into the hobby of bonsai cultivation. In general, you want to prune as little as possible, only removing leaves that hide the trunk or disrupt the shape of the crown.

To trim branches or limbs, you will have to wait until early spring when there is no longer a risk of frost. Trim before any leaves start to bud. Also at this time, you will need to use a root tool to comb out roots. Trim the longest roots to keep the root ball shape that is flat at the bottom. There is a root sealant that you can buy to seal off large roots. Replace old compost and you’re ready for summer.

Once the bonsai are on display, you will only need to occasionally prune leaves, water and feed. Watering is easily done with a hose that sprays like rain. Keep your hose on an automatic hose reelso that you do not take attention away from the beautiful bonsai by leaving your hose out between watering. Enjoy your unique creation every day of the year.


About the Author: Stacy Pessoney is an award winning author and writer of web content for many different web sites. She is well versed in many different areas, including gardening, hose reel, lawn care and landscaping.

Hummingbird Garden Tips and Tricks

You can create a garden that is the perfect habitat for hummingbirds. They need shade for nesting, sun for feeding and plenty of water for drinking and bathing. Learn which plants and flowers have the best color and nectar for attracting hummingbirds to your garden.

First, make sure that you have the appropriate habitat ready. If you have a fountain or other water structure in your yard, this could be the perfect place. You will need to provide shade, as well as plenty of water, to keep your hummingbirds happy. They need to build their nests in the shade. They also like to use tiny mosses that grow around fountains and ponds to build their nests.

Mosses make great ground cover in shady areas. They are low maintenance and can give your yard great texture. Mosses grow best in full shade and humid climates. If you do not live in an area where moss can thrive, then you may want to provide materials for your hummingbirds to build nests. They like materials that they get from willow trees or eucalyptus trees. If you do not have these in your yard, then you can rub dryer lint or hair from your hair brush on the nearby trees or plants. Do not remove spider webs from your hummingbird habitat and they will use them for nesting, too.

Besides nesting materials and shade, hummingbirds need lots of water to survive. If you do not have a water structure in your yard, you can provide shallow dishes to catch rainwater. Hummingbirds will need water to drink and bathe. A soaker hose or regular frequent watering of your hummingbird garden will keep the moisture levels high enough for hummingbirds to live.

Next, you will need the proper plants for attracting hummingbirds. They check red flowers for abundant nectar before deciding where to nest. Tubular flowers generally have the most nectar. You can attract hummingbirds even when flowers are not in bloom by placing something red in your hummingbird garden. Paint a bench or chair red and place it in the shade. You’ll have a nice viewing area while attracting hummingbirds to nest. Some people simply use red planters or red hummingbird feeders to do the trick.

Plant perennials whenever possible so that you do not have to replant your hummingbird garden year after year. Like all birds, once you start feeding them, they will become dependent on you for food. Make sure that you fill a hummingbird feeder with one part sugar to four parts water during the times when flowers are not abundant.

Flowers are either pollinated by insects or birds. Each flower is designed to reward the pollinator with nectar. Since the hummingbird has a long beak, flowers with tubular flora are usually pollinated by hummingbirds and will attract them. Shorter tubes or flowers with tiny openings are usually pollinated by moths or butterflies. The flower will grow to the exact length of the insect’s tongue that needs to drink the nectar and pollinate the flower. The snapdragon will only open and expose pollen for bees because bees are the right weight to open them.

Using this knowledge about flowers, you can determine which flowers to plant. Choose based on which flowers that fit the bill grow best in your area. Remember to keep the area moist with frequent watering. Use a programmable automatic hose reel to make watering easy. You will be enjoying hummingbirds in no time!

About the Author: Stacy Pessoney is an award winning author and writer of web content for many different web sites. She is well versed in many different areas, including gardening, hose reel, lawn care and landscaping.

Grow Natural Fences

The most natural boundary you can have in your yard is a thicket or hedge comprised solely of shrubs or trees with texture lined up in a row. This natural fence can filter out noise, deflect wind, add privacy, and provide habitat for small birds and other creatures.

Use your house’s style as a starting point in deciding what kind of boundary you want to plant. Clipped branches all at the same height in a straight row like boxwood, for example, give a more formal look. For a more natural, relaxed look try using several different types of shrubs, even mixing up evergreens with deciduous. The advantage of this type of boundary is that it will need little maintenance except for the yearly pruning and mulching.

For more depth in your boundary you can plant two layers of shrubs with the forward row shorter in height. Try evergreens in the back with flowering shrubs in the front for interest. Another interesting effect is to weave evergreens and deciduous shrubs together like braids of contrasting color and texture. Some shrubs will take awhile to fill in and look full. The spaces can be filled in the meantime with fast-growing ornamental grasses.

The three major groups of shrubs used in borders are needle evergreens that remain green all year, broadleaf evergreens that loose their leaves when the winter is unusually cold, and deciduous shrubs that turn yellow and red in the fall and are a network of twiggy branches throughout the winter.

Some dependable evergreen shrubs are boxwood, Japanese holly, juniper, dwarf hemlocks and dwarf arborvitaes. Boxwood used in more formal types of landscape design, should be kept pruned three times a year. Japanese holly is very tough, flexible, and tolerates drought. Most have shiny dark green leaves and some have reddish leaves. Junipers come in a variety of sizes ranging in color from greenish blue to greenish yellow.

Some broadleaf evergreens are privet, nandina and abelia. Border privet is fast-growing and virtually indestructible. Because they grow so vigorously, they should not be used in a formal clipped hedge.

Some deciduous shrubs used in borders are burning bush, rosa rugosa and lilac. Burning bush is famous for its leaves turning red in the fall. Their leaves will turn a more bright red in the fall if planted in a place where it will get more sun than shade. Rosa rugosa bushes are thorny and root suckers. They bloom heavily in early summer and grow colorful rose hips in the fall. Lilacs grow tall and should be planted in the background if used in a tiered hedge.

Any one or combination of these will work as your living fence to border your property or be used in groupings throughout your overall landscape design.

Dayelle Swensson is an avid writer for the web on a number of topics. Having gardened herself for many years, she is able to advise others about a variety of things including gardening tips, lawn and tree care, watering, hose reel and keeping your home garden looking attractive and healthy.

Mid-Summer Gardening Tips

Gardening in the spring is exciting and new. But, as the summer heat kicks in and the rains subside, summer gardening must begin. Some of your flowers are probably looking weak. Your garden may be looking dry and famished. Weeds have taken hold and many blooms have already seeded and died.

Do not neglect your garden at this crucial time. Clear out the dead debris. Some flowers can be deadheaded at this time and show more blooms before summer is over. Cut back roses down to the first leaf to encourage new clusters to come in before fall. Slumping stalks and browning flowers can be removed to promote new growth. Seeding takes many valuable nutrients, so removing dying flowers can reserve these precious nutrients for new blooms.

Vegetables need to be picked as well. Even if you do not plan on eating a veggie that did not quite turn out right or that got destroyed by insects, pick it anyway. It will deprive the plant of nutrients and water and can even prevent the plant from producing more vegetables. Pick vegetables as soon as they are ripe to avoid stunting the production of what you have left.

Add a layer of compost or peat moss to give your garden a mid-summer boost. Remove any weeds that have sprouted before they get a chance to seed. You can avoid breaking off roots by heavily watering the garden before you weed. If you do not want to get muddy, then use a small spade to weed. Dig deep enough to remove as much of the weed as possible.

This is the time when many plants get ravaged by pests. Japanese beetles, rabbits, slugs, potato beetles and more can chew up a lot of your foliage. These pests can eat up your vegetables or at least make your plants unsightly.

Try some natural pest control before resorting to chemical pesticides. Beer traps are a popular way of controlling slugs. Human hair mixed into the top layer of soil will keep rabbits out and also compost well. Potato beetles can be deterred by planting jalapeno peppers or horseradish between your potatoes. You can also cover the ground around the potato plants with hay, or encourage spiders and ladybugs to live around potato plants.

If you have Japanese beetles, you may have to battle them for a few years to get rid of them. Spread milky spore, or bacillus papillae all over your yard. The grubs will ingest the bacterium and die. Over the next couple of years, more grubs will ingest the bacterium and help spread the milky spore. Traps and other methods can sometimes attract more Japanese beetles without trapping them.

After removing dead flowers and withering limbs, clearing out weeds and combating pests, make sure that you water your garden often. Use a hose reel to make watering your garden an easy chore that you will not dread, even in the summer heat.

About the Author: Stacy Pessoney is an award winning author and writer of web content for many different web sites. She is well versed in many different areas, including gardening, hose reel, lawn care and landscaping.

Grow Your Choice of Gourmet Salad Ingredients

Growing your own salad ingredients in your backyard garden makes having healthy gourmet salads right at your fingertips easy! There are several lettuces and other greens that are fast growing and easy to maintain. The added advantage is that they also are very beautiful showing off different shades of color and texture. They can be grown in rows in your vegetable garden, planted in containers placed on your deck or patio, or edge them around a flowerbed.

Lettuce is a cool season crop, as are many salad greens and vegetables that go into a salad including spinach, cabbage, radish, and peas. Cucumbers and tomatoes being summer crops help bridge the gap. Many salad greens have different colors and textures. It is fun to grow a mix of lettuce varieties and this will keep your gourmet salads very interesting with different flavors too. For the best growth for the longest period of time keep the soil moist and well weeded. Once lettuce bolts into a flowering stalk, its taste becomes bitter and unusable.

The classic iceberg head type of lettuce is very crisp and takes a long time to mature, where the looseleaf varieties mature easily and quickly. Some looseleaf lettuces include salad bowl which is oakleaf shaped and lime green, red sails that are ruffled bronze-burgundy, and black-seeded Simpson that is light green and crinkly. Butterhead or bib (sometimes called Boston) lettuce forms loose heads that are soft (rather than firm) in structure. These varieties range in color from lime green to red or red edged to dark green. Romaine lettuce grows upright heads that shed water easily and grow best where the springs are wet. Forming barrel-shaped heads is Batavian or French summer crisp.

More salad loose greens to add interest and taste include arugula which has a peppery flavor, endive or escarole with a nutty and bitter taste, and mache which has a very tender and mild taste. Mesclun is a blend of several gourmet salad greens that can be mild, pungent, or bitter depending on what mixture you choose. Swiss chard and spinach both have smooth to crinkly leaves.

Other vegetables you can grow to add to salads are turnips and scallions. A Japanese sweet variety ‘Hakurei’ and the French ‘De Milan’ turnip variety can be sliced raw or shredded into your salad mix. Scallions, also called green onions grow in bunches and have no bulbs. These are perennials and their clumps just need to be divided. A variety of scallions called ‘evergreen hardy white’ even grow over the winters in Maine.

Dayelle Swensson is an avid writer for the web on a number of topics. Having gardened herself for many years, she is able to advise others about a variety of things including gardening tips, lawn and tree care, watering, hose reel and keeping your home garden looking attractive and healthy.

The Vegetable Garden Season

When people think of their kitchen garden they think summer corn and tomatoes. But the true food gardener knows that the time span between spring and fall frosts is not the limit to the edible garden, From early spring to the last days of fall, with good planning, a garden can keep being productive. If you live where the winters are mild, you can actually keep growing several vegetables right through the winter.

The most hardy or cold season crops can be started from seed in early spring or as soon as the soil will permit being dry enough to be tilled. This variety of seed can be also planted again in mid-summer for a fall crop. Some examples of these vegetables include arugula, beets, cabbage, endive, kale, radish, Swiss chard, and turnips. All of these respond to cold and frost favorably making them taste sweeter and crisp. After all danger of frost has past, the warm-season seeds can be planted or transferred into the garden. These can also be started indoors to get a head start. Some warm-season vegetables are basil, beans, cucumbers, eggplant, squash, peppers, sweet corn, sweet potatoes and tomatoes.

Although the spring season varies from area to area, there is usually a period of time in which it rains consistently and heavily. This weather will drown or ruin any early seed planting. In order to avoid this fate, make a raised bed letting the water drain properly. And consider using cloches, tunnels or other season–stretching devices. By mid-spring the garden’s salad season is in full swing.

The summer kitchen vegetables thrive on the warm temperatures, intense sunlight, and long days. It is important in the summer to keep you vegetable garden watered every day. The plants need to be monitored by weeding and providing feed fertilizer when necessary. Several summer plants require stakes, screens, or trellises to lift them off the ground for better growing conditions. This also will help with controlling the insects. The vegetables that stay ion the ground for long periods of time will do well with a layer of mulch. Mulch helps with the weeds and will keep moisture in the soil. Both peppers and tomatoes benefit with mulching.

A way of extending the harvest season is in doing a succession of plantings. For instance, snap beans can be planted two times, same with kale. Plant a row of seed, and in the next three to four weeks, plant a new row of this plant. Or you might want to plant eggplant or peppers after the spring spinach has been all harvested. Broccoli or cabbage, both cooler season vegetables, can be planted after the radishes and lettuce have been harvested. As one plant bears all the crop it is going to give you, simply replace it with something else. In this way your small kitchen garden is capable of producing many abundant harvests and with a sufficient variety too.

After a busy summer of working in the garden, it is hard to muster up the energy to keep your garden growing into the fall, but it is well worth the effort. The cool nights will improve the quality of your vegetables. Most fall harvests taste fantastic being are much sweeter and crispier. Because the conditions have changed, it will take longer for your crops to grow. Adding about three weeks to the normal maturity date is usually a good rule of thumb. If you mulch and plastic tunnel some cool-season plants, you can grow hardy varieties throughout the winter in milder climates.

Dayelle Swensson is an avid writer for the web on a number of topics. Having gardened herself for many years, she is able to advise others about a variety of things including gardening tips, lawn and tree care, watering, hose reel and keeping your home garden looking attractive and healthy.

The Organic Gardener

Organic gardeners are notoriously obsessed with their organic garden. After all, it is an endeavor that can take many years to perfect. The organic gardener has most likely spent more time studying about organic gardening than they have cumulatively spent doing it.

The organic gardener is probably very passionate about their compost. Getting that compost to the exact carbon to nitrogen ratio may become an obsession. With exactly the right amount of moisture and air, the compost will become black gold in the organic gardener’s eyes. Composting is almost a requirement for becoming an organic gardener. If you are in the organic gardening circle of discussion, you better know your stuff about composting!

The next major interest of organic gardeners is balancing pest control with leaving beneficial insects alone. Chemicals and man-made materials are strictly forbidden, so do not even think about using that ant killer to get the ants out of your garden. About ninety percent of insects are beneficial to your garden and some organic gardeners decide to let nature take its course and leave the bugs alone. But what if they are eating your vegetables? Then you really have to get serious about crop placement.

Crop placement is everything to the organic gardener. If you have to get rid of the hornworms eating your tomatoes, you would probably plant marigold around it. Garlic can deter Japanese beetles and so forth. If you are serious about being one with nature, then you will gently redirect bugs that inconvenience you with plants that they do not like. This leads up to the need for a garden journal.

The first time you plant an organic garden, you will probably have some catastrophes. You need to keep a journal of problems that you encounter so that you can prevent it the next year. Organic gardening involves a lot of advance planning and prevention of suspected problems. Keep track of the order that you plant your garden in and adjust it as necessary. Garlic, onions, basil, peppers and marigolds are common plants that repel most insects that annoy us or destroy our crops. Figuring out what bugs are annoyances in your area will be something that you need to ask fellow gardeners about or find out the hard way.

Getting your organic garden just how you like it may take you a few years. You will still enjoy the endeavor, the health benefits and the learning experience of going organic. You will not need to purchase fertilizer, pesticides or weed killers ever again. Using nature to support nature is rewarding and fun. Just get that hose from the garden hose reel and water. With a little studying and record keeping, you could have your dream organic garden sooner than you may think.

About the Author: Stacy Pessoney is an award winning author and writer of web content for many different web sites. She is well versed in many different areas, including gardening, hose reel, lawn care and landscaping.

Living Life while Relieving Arthritis Pain

There are a lot of things that you may not be able to do with arthritis pain. But there are some recommended exercises that strengthen, improve flexibility and even relieve arthritis pain. Incorporating these moves into your everyday life will make it easy to keep it up on a regular basis. In turn, participating in the activities that you enjoy can be not only therapeutic mentally, but physically as well. Just a few simple changes can help you live your life to the fullest.

You should talk to your doctor before trying any of these activities or exercises if you are not comfortable. No strengthening or flexion building exercise should ever be painful, so be sure that what you are doing is safe for you and will not worsen your condition. In general, badly damaged joints should not be exercised unless you are only doing exactly what your doctor or therapist told you to. If your arthritis is mild and only in the ligaments or tendons surrounding the joint, then some mild activities may help the pain. .

Most people find it hard to stick to a rigid routine of stretching and exercise. But, if you combine it with something that you love, like gardening, then you can really benefit without ever feeling like you worked at all. I mention gardening because it is something that many people with arthritis feel that they have to give up. This is not necessarily true. There are a few ways of doing things that can actually help make your arthritis pain better.

For example, planting your garden on an elevated garden bed will put the plants up at a level where you can reach it. You will not need to bend all the way over or spend long periods of time working in the ground. Elevated beds that are four or five feet across provide just enough distance for you to stretch, only slightly, while tending to your plants.

For watering your yard, flower beds or gardens, use a hose reel. Automatic hose reels will retrieve the hose for you so that you do not stress your back, hips, shoulders and hand putting away the hose. Some even have forward assist so that you do not have to pull on the heavy hose to get it to where you need it.

You may be thinking that the spray nozzle of your hose is nearly impossible to use with arthritic hands, and you are right. Get an automatic garden hose reel that has clamp on attachments so that you do not even have to screw them on or to the faucet. Some come with a clamp on fireman’s hose nozzle that has a handle that pulls back. Use the tips of your fingers to clasp and pull the handle. This replicates the stretching exercise most recommended for people with arthritic fingers.

Work with your doctor to find other ways that you can enjoy your life and incorporate stretching and strengthening into daily activities.

About the Author: Stacy Pessoney is an award winning author and writer of web content for many different web sites. She is well versed in many different areas, including gardening, hose reel, lawn care and landscaping.

Summer greets us with colorful blooms

Summer brings the widest variety of flowers of any season. Blooming begins with the daffodils and tulips in the spring; in June the roses open up; and from the tiny ground-hugging variety of violets to the towering lilies and hollyhocks, color continues to appear amongst the shades of green background throughout the summer season. Plus during the summer, you get the added pleasure of gracing your table with freshly cut flowers—every time putting smiles on the company who visit.

Like most blooming plants, the flowers of summer are the result of years of cross-pollination of wildflowers. The common white or red alba rose that still grows wild along highways and in fields all over the Northern Hemisphere, with breeding, has become the aristocratic hybrid tea rose. Because of this cross-pollination and breeding, flowers in our garden today have much larger blooms and bloom for longer periods than their predecessors. Some tropical annuals growing in temperate climates have shown up in northern areas as perennials.

In areas that normally freeze during winter, blooming flowers are such a welcoming contrast shining like stars in the summer garden. Because there are more of them in a greater variety than flowers for spring or fall, it's easier to assemble a collection that is right for your specific growing zone and your particular garden design. Shallow-rooted summer annuals can be planted in the spaces left after the spring bulbs die back. The summer perennials act as the dependable, low-maintenance anchors in your garden. Some summer flowers work well right beside your growing vegetables. For example, cosmos, marigolds, and sunflowers make terrific vegetable garden companions.

The flowers that complete their growth cycle in one season are called annuals. Annuals like salvia, ageratum and zinnias spring from seeds in the first warm days of late winter, develop dense root systems during the spring and then flower all summer long. If the plant is deadheaded as the blooms die, it will continue blooming until it produces seed or is killed by the first freeze. Several annuals will self-seed and are classified as tender perennials. For example, the drought-resistant black-eyed Susan will often be seen growing in the same spot for years.

Perennials are the plants that bloom again and again, year after year. The trick is planning the planting of them in places where their period of bloom will be replaced with another blooming in another place. So there will be a subtle succession of bloom in your garden making a perennial plant blooming always. Summer-flowering bulbs like alliums, true lilies, gladiolus, dahlias and cannas will continually bloom all summer long and appear again every summer. Some bulbs are tender and must be lifted each fall, stored in a cool place, and replanted in the spring. Some perennials like hostas, purple coneflowers and daylilies will grow spreading out and can be easily divided almost anytime during the gardening year to form dozens of new plants, sometimes within only a few years.

When planning a garden, start with summer blooming plants. Choose perennials as accents and annuals for the continuity of bloom. Spend careful time choosing your perennials that will bloom in profusion and succession. The hosta or daylily varieties will provide a succession of bloom, but they will need accent plants to add interest to the garden. Annuals, because they are annuals, can be changed each season with a different variety or color to spice things up. Change is considered good here.

Dayelle Swensson is an avid writer for the web on a number of topics. Having gardened herself for many years, she is able to advise others about a variety of things including gardening tips, lawn and tree care, watering, hose reel and keeping your home garden looking attractive and healthy.

Green Lawn without Crabgrass

Crabgrass is one of the most dreaded sights in your lawn. No matter how well you care for your lawn, sooner or later a patch of crabgrass will start to crop up. If you do not act swiftly, this little one patch will grow and spread until it takes over your whole lawn. If you stay vigilant, and do these few things here, you can keep the crabgrass under control.

Before the crabgrass seedlings have a chance to sprout, apply herbicides fairly early in the spring. Two of the most commonly used herbicides are Dimension (dithiopyr) and Tupersan (siduron).

If you let your lawn grow on the long side (about 3 inches high) the grass will actually protect itself by depriving light to the crabgrass seeds so they can't germinate.

When you water your lawn, make sure the water runs deeply. And do not water frequently letting the soil dry out between waterings. You also do not want your lawn to get too soggy because other problems will develop. Because crabgrass is a shallow-rooted plant, it will tend to die more readily than your grass that has deeper roots. When the soil surface dries out, the shorter roots of the crabgrass will be left with no nourishment.

After your lawn has been watered, it is a good time to weed. Pick through it and just pull out (yank) the crabgrass and just toss it into your wheel barrel. When your grass is wet, it is much easier to weed. And make sure you dispose of the crabgrass properly, far away from your lawn.

Once you feel you have weeded all the visible patches of crabgrass (and dandelions, while you are at it), apply mulch to your lawn. This will prevent any remaining crabgrass seed from sprouting. If this weeding has left bare patches, re-seed your lawn in the fall. This re-seeding will fill these patches with grass instead of crabgrass in the spring.

Generally, the more lush, thick, and tightly compacted your lawn is, the more it will deter weeds and crabgrass. Because it is so dense, it will actually choke out weeds, dandelions, and crabgrass. Under favorable conditions and with proper maintenance your lawn is capable of being this rich and lush. It takes work maintaining it along with buying the right seed, applying fertilizer at the right times, and watering it the right amount.

Dayelle Swensson is an avid writer for the web on a number of topics. Having gardened herself for many years, she is able to advise others about a variety of things including gardening tips, lawn and tree care, watering, hose reel and keeping your home garden looking attractive and healthy.

Consider a Bonsai Tree Garden

A Bonsai tree in regards to decoration in your house, is something many are considering now since there are many places online to access information on growing this particular plant provided by botanical experts and those who have been involved in growing bonsai trees for many years.

Actually planting a bonsai tree is just like planting any other tree. The trick is in the care and maintenance. It needs extra and you have to be willing to devote your time and effort into it. In fact as the tree starts growing, your workload usually grows as well.

Bonsai trees range from pine, maple, elm, and flowering apricots to more rare ones such as Japanese wisteria, juniper, flowering cherry, azalea and larch. There is a lot to choose from and people usually have a difficult time choosing their minds as to what they want in their home. But once chosen, the miniature tree becomes a possession of your very own desire. Whatever is chosen, the bonsai tree must look natural in its environment. Your selection is the primary step in considering a bonsai tree garden.

After the tree starts to grow it is now time to think of the particular style you want to be conveyed. Basically the bonsai tree can be styled as to whatever way you want it to be. Common styles would be the formal upright, informal upright, cascade, and semi-cascade. Others are raft, literati, and group or forest styling.

The styling names are given according to how literally the plant looks in the confined pot or space. Each styling method has its own beauty, and it is up to you, which would be the most natural setting in your home.

The styling of the tree is done through several known methods of shaping. One involves wrapping wires around the plant to encourage, or discourage it from growing in a certain direction. Thus, the specific design or style that you prefer starts to be created.

For many people, even the most basic of house plants can seem difficult to grow for some people. If you are one of these people, then I would recommend not attempting a bonsai garden. Bonsais seem to be some of the most enigmatic plants available.

Bonsai tree maintenance begins with the soil and watering. The both elements must work together in that instead of compact, thick, poorly draining soil, you need soil that drains freely and is open. What is important is the physical effect that the soil needs to have in order to be good bonsai soil. A generic potting mix can be used or there are also bonsai soil mixes.

As bonsais are trees it is recommended that they are kept outside. Naturally, because of this factor, watering will depend on the weather. So in dry and hot times of the year, it is important that the soil is moistened every day. In the winter or in cooler months, three days a week is normal for watering your bonsai.

Early in the spring to late in the summer, and then again in the fall are the recommended two times to feed fertilizer to your bonsai as part of your maintenance. Fertilizer with low amounts of nitrogen should be used. Many masters of bonsai tree maintenance choose fertilizing pellets that have a slower release rate and work over time.

There are two areas of pruning bonsais: branch pruning and root pruning. Most people just think it is necessary to do branch pruning, but pruning the root is also important especially with bonsais. The time to prune varies depending on the specific type of bonsai tree. Basic rule is the specific branches that you do want to cut are those that grow facing you, grow in toward the trunk or down toward the ground.

Repotting is important part of the general bonsai tree maintenance. In general, smaller, younger plants, need repotting every two to three years, while the older plants do not need to be repotted quite as frequently. A gravel layer and a layer of soil should be added in the bottom of the new pot before transferring the tree and wrap wires around the root ball, twisting them together so that the tree is secure. Then add more soil until it reaches the bottom of your bonsai tree trunk.

Dayelle Swensson is an avid writer for the web on a number of topics. Having gardened herself for many years, she is able to advise others about a variety of things including gardening tips, lawn and tree care, watering, hose reel and keeping your home garden looking attractive and healthy.

Must Have Luxury Garden Gadgets

Gardening and lawn care is so much more fun when you have all the latest gadgets and tools. You know you are truly prepared when you step outside in your lawn aerator shoes and wearable garden stool, rolling your pecan picker upper, with your trusty power drill auger at your hip! If you are the type of person who loves gadgets and gizmos as much as you love gardening, then you are in the right place. Make sure you are not missing out on any new gardening equipment that you did not know you could not live without!

For your hanging plants or container gardens, you should definitely have self watering planters. Some are stackable and help you easily create a self watering vertical garden. Imagine the neighbor’s envy! If you do not have self watering gardens, there is still a way to get excited about patio plants and container gardens.

I am talking about an electronic watering can that, in tests, helped plants produce anywhere from twenty percent to fifty-eight percent more vegetables. Flowers will grow much larger and produce more blooms with up to seventy-six percent more weight. How does it work? Oxygen. The oxygenating watering can uses an electrolysis element to increase the oxygen content of your water by up to one hundred fifty percent. It works, because the more oxygen that gets to the roots of your plants, the more nutrients they can take in.

Another must have is the electronic soil tester. It electronically measures moisture in the soil, soil pH, sunlight and the combined nitrogen, phosphorus and potash (NPK) fertilizer levels. If you are unsure about what all that means, never fear. It comes with a list of preferred conditions for different types of plants, so if you hide the list in your waterproof write in the rain garden notebook, no one will realize that you may not know what the levels mean. The electronic soil tester will help you decide what locations in your yard are ideal for certain plants, if the soil needs adjustment or if it is time to water.

Enough with the small stuff, we are moving on to the lawn. There are a lot of little individual gadgets that can help you with lawn care, but the automatic hose reel is definitely the hottest new gadget on the market. Not just any hose reel, this one has a computer. Program it to water, leave the house and it puts itself away when it is done. It has forward assist so you do not even have to pull it out. It rotates in all directions, retrieves the hose on its own and has the coolest gadgets inside. It has clamp on attachments, like a fireman’s spray nozzle, and it even clamps to the faucet, so you never have to twist or struggle with it. You won’t even break a sweat. It has a double o-ring design which makes it leak proof and a kink free hose. This one is far superior to any other hose reel on the market. Plus, it kind of looks like a robot and you can order it in a variety of cool patterns, like giant golf ball or Texas flag. This is not your ordinary hose reel. It will create envy in all that encounter it.

About the Author: Stacy Pessoney is an award winning author and writer of web content for many different web sites. She is well versed in many different areas, including gardening, hose reel, lawn care and landscaping.

Gardening with Disabilities

Many people with disabilities find that they need to be creative and modify things so that they can enjoy everyday activities, such as gardening. Something as simple as watering the plants can be a huge challenge to someone in a wheelchair, or even someone with back pain. Here are some ideas to make gardening more enjoyable and accessible to someone with physical challenges.

Raised garden beds and elevated garden tables are great for people confined to wheelchairs or people who cannot bend over a lot. Raising a garden bed to a comfortable height makes gardening more ergonomic and puts many things within reach.

Box gardens are available in various sizes and heights. You can also easily build one or get help building one in no time. Simply stack landscaping timbers or boards to the desired height, stake the boards and you are done. You can make your box garden any size that you wish. Many people find that they can sit on the edge of the box garden without ever having to bend over.

An elevated container garden is great for decks, patios or places that have wheelchair access. They are also great for balconies or for people who do not have much yard space. An elevated container garden, or table garden, is basically a wooden box with legs. You can buy them already made or you can take an old table and build up the sides to hold soil.

If you build your own garden, be sure to use a naturally rot-resistant type of wood like cedar or redwood. Pressure treated or weather treated wood contains a lot of harmful chemicals that can get into your garden soil and plants or even enter through your skin while you are gardening.

Once your garden is in place and planted, you will only need to water and harvest the vegetables. Watering with a water hose can be very difficult for someone with arthritis, fibromyalgia, back pain, weak hands, Parkinson’s disease or just about any other disability. Simply attaching the hose to the faucet can be impossible. Dragging the heavy hose, getting out kinks and squeezing the sprayer handle can all be painful, damaging or exhausting. You may want to get an automatic hose reel.

There are all different types. The best one for someone with disabilities is one that has a forward assist motor so that they do not have to pull the hose. It simply slowly feeds out so that you can just position it where you need it. It should also retract the hose automatically with the push of a button. Make sure that you get one with a kink-free hose. Some are programmable, which means once the hose is in place, you can just leave it and it will water when it is supposed to, retracting the hose when it is done. Some have clamp on attachments, which means that there is no twisting to attach the hose to the faucet or the accessories to the end of the hose. A fireman’s spray nozzle is much easier to use than a regular sprayer gun.

Once you are set up, you can enjoy gardening regardless of your ability level. Garden boxes, elevated gardens and an automatic garden hose reel can make gardening a joy.

About the Author: Stacy Pessoney is an award winning author and writer of web content for many different web sites. She is well versed in many different areas, including gardening, hose reel, lawn care and landscaping.

Hellebores Beauties

Modern Hellebores are of such complex breeding they are sometimes now referred to as the Helleborus x orientalis group. The strains keep improving introducing rich color combinations and superior flower forms. Picoteed petals, double flowers and upward-facing blooms are all being created. The Hellebores Brandywine™ strain, a premium fine developed strain, contains wonderful rare apricots, picoteeds, and yellows among the single, anemone, and double flowered blooms. This particular breed of hellebores is in the garden where mediocrity is intolerable.

The hard-to-find colors and flower forms took 15 years in the breeding of this particular strain representing the best of decades of European collections. Sometimes known as the D.L.C. Hybrids after their breeder David Culp, this breed boasts impeccable flower form coupled with unusual colors and combinations. Single, anemone, and double blooms are found in a full range of solid, bi-colored, freckled, and even rare picoteed forms. The colors are the traditional deep red burgundy, pale greens, and ivories plus very unusual yellows, pinks, and apricots. The Brandywine strain of hellebores will definitely add variety and unusual richness to your garden collection display.

Breeder David Culp collected the original plants for this strain from the premier Hellebore gardens and collections of Europe. Fifteen years were spent hand-crossing them to select only the finest in color and flower form for the Brandywine™ Strain. The results of this work show in the diversity of flower forms. He used rare species and award-winning plants to create this strain.

Another wonderful characteristic of Hellebores, and inherent to this strain, is their resistant to heat, humidity, drought, and cold. Because the plants are poisonous, rabbits and deer leave them alone. Brandywine™ Hellebores are about 12 to 18 inches tall and a foot wide. They make ideal ground covers, and are used for mass plantings in woodland areas. An evergreen and very adaptable, they flower in late winter or early spring. The blooms will dry on the plant becoming papery and eventually fall or blow off. Capture fine European breeding in its most refined form by introducing this multi-colored very special hellebores to your shade garden this season.

Here are some gardening tips and plant characteristics to guide you when planting hellebores: The soil should be usually moist in texture, yet well drained; plant in shady to partly shaded areas; plant in the growing zones of 4-9; they are perennials and will bloom the first year in late winter to early spring, lasting for a fairly long period; their blooms are magnificent solid and speckled multi-colored with dark green foliage; and they grow upright about 12 to 18 inches tall. You can use these beauties in great cut flower arrangements too!

Dayelle Swensson is an avid writer for the web on a number of topics. Having gardened herself for many years, she is able to advise others about a variety of things including gardening tips, lawn and tree care, watering, hose reel and keeping your home garden looking attractive and healthy.

What is Hypertufa?

Hypertufa forms are anthropic rock made from various aggregates bonded together. This has become popular recently for making garden ornaments, pots and land forms.Unlike clay and porcelain pots that have to be brought in when the weather turns cold, hypertufa forms and vessels can remain outside. They will start to receive extra character as moss and lichen will start to grow on them.

There are numerous recipes for making hypertufa. The heavier your ingredients the heavier your final project. When reading a recipe for concrete or hypertufa, cement should be the first ingredient listed; 1:1:1:1 for a hypertufa mix would look something like this 1 part (cement)., 1 part (peat) 1 part (perlite), 1 part (sand). In general, most recipes have a 1:3 ratio. They can be as diluted as a 1:7 ratio, and can be as rich as a 1:1 ratio, depending upon the application.

Just to clarify and to prevent the purchase of an unwanted ingredient because the name was often is misunderstood, remember the following: Portland cement is not concrete; rather it is an ingredient of concrete. Loosely defined, concrete is mortar with gravel aggregate added. When in doubt, read the ingredients listed on the label. Individuality can be added with small pebbles and rock for interest, like as in conglomerate rock found in nature.

When working with Portland cement, silica sand, silicon dioxide, silica fume, vermiculite, perlite, natural pigments and oxides, paints, and/or sealers, you mist make it your personal responsibility to acquaint yourself with the chemical properties, safety and environmental issues of those substances. Start by reading all of the label when you purchase the ingredient. People do work with and around these products every day, and know they should not be used carelessly. If you have an existing health issue (like lung problems such as chronic bronchitis, use good sense.

Everyone should be wearing masks approved for use with silica. Wear household cleaning gloves when handling and mixing concrete and hypertufa. You can switch to lighter weight disposable gloves after mixing. Wet concrete and hypertufa are caustic to the skin and moist membranes (like your airways and eyes). Always wear eye protection. When finishing (wire brushing, carving, sanding) concrete and hypertufa, keep the object wet so that no dust is created. Be sure to use good ventilation, a particulate air filter, and put washable mats at the entrance to living areas to avoid tracking dust into your living environment.

Clean up can go much faster when you work with plastic sheeting or bags to carefully gather the material to be thrown away. Make sure to vacuum rather than sweep.

When finishing objects, wear protective clothing. Shower, change and launder immediately after working because a lot of dust goes right into your clothing. Consider disposable paper jump suits that are used extensively in the ornamental concrete industry.

Dayelle Swensson is an avid writer for the web on a number of topics. Having gardened herself for many years, she is able to advise others about a variety of things including gardening tips, lawn and tree care, watering, hose reel and keeping your home garden looking attractive and healthy.

Going Green! Organic Gardening

Organic gardening is all the rage and for good reason. Risks to pets, people and the environment are just beginning to be understood. Becoming an organic farmer takes a little planning. Typical garden problems need to be proactively managed as opposed to correcting them after they happen.

Pesticides and toxic chemicals can build up in your system or have long-term effects on your health. Pesticide exposure has been linked to nerve damage, cancer and birth defects.

Children and infants are at a dramatically increased risk for damage done by chemicals and pesticides. Children have excretory systems that are still developing. This means that they are less able to rid their bodies of chemicals consumed. Chemical damage can alter the biology of their bodies permanently, causing all sorts of problems. Developing organs and tissues can suffer when chemicals block absorption of nutrients.

Needless to say, avoiding chemicals and pesticides in your garden is a good step towards protecting the health and well being of yourself and your family.

To grow an organic garden, you need to anticipate problems that you may encounter. Keep a garden diary to document problems that you encounter and treatments that were effective for you. This way, you can adjust your planting patterns and types of plants each year. Many people find that it takes a bit of research to really have a successful organic garden.

If you have had a garden in your area before, you probably already know what to expect. For example, you may be able to predict that your garden will get fire ants and rabbits will make themselves at home. If you already know what you will be up against, preventing problems will be easier. Talk to your neighbors if you are not sure.

Prevention is key. You really do not have to worry about many bugs. Nature has a good balance of its own and over ninety percent of bugs will not harm your plants. Simple organic solutions can help you keep bugs and animals that you do not want out of your garden.

For example, human hair spread around the garden will keep out rabbits. Lavender and basil deter ants. Rosemary will repel mosquitoes. The way that you arrange your plants can help protect certain vegetables, too. Garlic and peppers planted around tomatoes and squash will help protect them from harmful insects and rodents.

Finding the right balance of beneficial bugs and plants may take a little time and effort, but the fruits of your labor will be well worth it. Once you have the right combination of plants, caring for your organic garden is as simple as watering. Keep your garden hose on a hose reel for quick and easy access. You will love your organic garden and how easy it is to take care of.

About the Author: Stacy Pessoney is an award winning author and writer of web content for many different web sites. She is well versed in many different areas, including gardening, hose reel, lawn care and landscaping.

Attracting Hummingbirds to Your Garden

What a treat it is to watch a hummingbird fly up to one of your blossoms and hover before it takes a sip. They are amazing, colorful, little creatures with motors that enable them to tread air. There are several things you can do to attract more of these wonderful birds to your garden.

The first thing you can do is to keep planting native flowering plants in your garden as much as possible. Select nectar-producing plants that are native to your region because some cultivated hybrids produce less nectar than their wild counterparts. Keep in mind that hummingbirds are attracted to flower colors and nectar, not fragrance.

The list of favorite hummingbird plants, both native and non-native, is extensive. Just to mention a few here: favorite perennials for hummingbirds are bee balm, columbine, hollyhock and cosmos. A few annuals are nasturtium, petunia, and zinnia. Some vines with flowers hummingbirds are attracted to include honeysuckle, rosary vine, trumpet creeper, and cardinal climber. Among the shrubs are lilac, butterfly bush, azalea, hibiscus, and weigela. While attracting hummingbirds to your garden with these plants you will also be attracting butterflies as well, a pleasurable side benefit.

The next rather obvious way to attract hummingbirds is to set out feeders. Set out as many as you know you will maintain. There are dozens of styles of hummingbird feeders on the market today. When choosing the models for your garden, remember hummingbirds like clean and filled feeders, so pick ones that are easy for you to use and clean. The most attractive color to hummingbirds is red so look for red in the feeder itself. Avoid yellow because bees and wasps are attracted to this color. Two precautions for the feeder’s solution are to never use one with red dye and never use a honey water solution in them. Both are toxic and deadly to hummingbirds. Plain white table sugar dissolved in water in a four-to-one solution is about as close to real flower nectar as you can get for the feeder’s solution.

Another tip for the feeders is to only fill them with enough sugar solution to last, at the most, two or three days. Feeders should be emptied and cleaned as soon as the sugar solution starts to appear cloudy.

Make certain that there is always fresh water available for drinking as well as for bathing. Hummingbirds like to bathe just as much as any other bird, but prefer water dripping off of leaves or spray coming from sprinklers and pond fountains. Hummingbirds like both the sun and shade areas in your garden. The sunny areas are usually where they feed while the shaded areas provide places to perch as well as to build their tiny nests. Willows and eucalyptus trees are used for nesting materials along with bits of leaves, spider webs, moss, and lichens.

Follow these simple suggestions and watch for these magical little birds to appear and enjoy your garden.

Dayelle Swensson is an avid writer for the web on a number of topics. Having gardened herself for many years, she is able to advise others about a variety of things including gardening tips, lawn and tree care, watering, hose reel and keeping your home garden looking attractive and healthy.

Japanese Gardening

As people start to get involved with gardening, it is discovered that there are many forms or styles of gardening. People’s interests are Increasingly drawn to the age-old form of Japanese gardening. Just like any other form of gardening, Japanese gardening requires the proper knowledge and materials.

For many centuries garden design has been considered an important part of Japanese art. From granite to bamboo, Japanese gardening encompasses a wide selection of materials. There is a vast number of stores and books available providing an abundance of tools and knowledge necessary for you to build and cultivate your own style of Japanese gardening.

The typical basic Japanese garden contains water, an island, a bridge to the island, a lantern, and a teahouse or pavilion. Japanese gardens can be found anywhere from Buddhist temples to your private home. An integral part of these gardens is the use of stones. An enduring quality is conveyed through rocks placed in strategic locations. Water, whether it is flowing in a stream or still and quiet in a basin, symbolizes purity. The plantings around these elements focus on the tranquil sanctuary designed to allow you to relax and escape from the stresses of everyday life.

A prominent material used in Japanese gardens is granite. Granite shows up in lantern structures, bridges, stepping stones, paths, and statues. Japanese lanterns can be classified into four separate categories. Pedestal lanterns are called tachi-gata; buried lanterns are ikekomi-gata; small set lanterns are called oki-gata; and yukimi-gata are snow-viewing lanterns.

Another consistent element in Japanese gardening is that of the bamboo, most of the time used in a fence structure. It is known for its elegance, beauty and flexibility, and there is absolutely no other material that comes even close to matching bamboo for the Japanese garden. Items such as copper chains, copper rings, hoppers, and bamboo screens are also considered as more minor essentials, and add a certain needed dimension to the garden itself.

The garden design will evoke feeling, movement, and reflection. This form of gardening is perhaps the style that needs more thoughtful conception than any other style. Each plant and rock has a meaning or purpose. The different elements and how and where they are placed will enhance the overall experience of being in the garden. For instance, the appropriate placement of chimes where there is an occasional gentle breeze is important in making an interpretation effective.

Among the noteworthy Japanese gardens In the United States are Hakone Gardens in Saratoga, California, Japanese Tea Garden in San Francisco, California, Japanese Friendship Garden in Phoenix, Arizona, San Antonio Japanese Tea Gardens in San Antonio, Texas, and the Seattle Japanese Garden in Seattle, Washington.

Dayelle Swensson is an avid writer for the web on a number of topics. Having gardened herself for many years, she is able to advise others about a variety of things including gardening tips, lawn and tree care, watering, hose reel and keeping your home garden looking attractive and healthy.

Indoor/Outdoor Herb Garden

Herb gardens can be therapeutic, fragrant, beautiful and delicious. Planting an herb garden is easy and fun. You can grow it indoors or out. Even starting from seed, you can start to harvest your own fresh herbs within about a month.

Start with small pots, window planter or plant directly in your garden. Planting in small containers can give you a little bit more control over your herbs’ sun and weather exposure. Make sure that the containers you choose allow for plenty of drainage. Most herbs have delicate root systems that can easily rot if they are kept too wet. You can add rocks, moss or sand to the bottom of each container to encourage drainage.

The next step is to prepare the soil for your herb garden. You can just use potting soil, but a little extra effort can go a long way. Ideally, twenty-five percent of your mix should be compost material. Manure, humus and peat make good compost if you do not have your own compost bin. If your soil has a lot of clay, you may need to work in a little sand. Clay soil is usually orange or reddish in appearance. It is hard and does not drain well. If your soil has too much sand, it may drain too much. In this case, add more potting soil or compost.

Once your soil is prepared, you will be ready to plant. Sprouting from seeds will help you avoid soil borne diseases that may be lurking in nursery potted plants. Soak new seeds in water overnight if you have time. Another method is to place the seeds on a wet paper towel inside of a plastic sandwich bag for a few days. Make sure that you keep it sealed. When sprouts are about an inch long, very carefully transport them to their permanent location. If you want, you can plant seeds directly in their containers. Make sure that you cover them with plastic wrap to protect them while they are so little. Soil should be moist when you plant.

When plants are about two inches tall, remove the plastic and let them get some sun. Be careful about temperatures over eighty degrees at this stage. Baby plants can easily get too hot or too dry and die. Bring indoors at night if you are in an area that is still experiencing any colder weather. Most people choose to keep their herb garden inside until plants are more mature. A window sill is a great place to ensure that you are letting your herbs get enough light.

Watering is very important. Since you want your planters to drain well, you will also have to watch for dryness. Ideally, the soil should be moist, not wet. Water your herb garden about daily. Watch for wilting, yellowing, crusting or extra dry soil. If your herb garden is outside, use a hose reel to keep your water hose close at hand for easy watering. Enjoy harvesting your herbs for months to come!

About the Author: Stacy Pessoney is an award winning author and writer of web content for many different web sites. She is well versed in many different areas, including gardening, hose reel, lawn care and landscaping.

Lichens as Useful Organisms

Lichens exist because of a symbiotic working relationship between fungus, offering protection and structural support, and algae, giving the food from photosynthesis. Lichens have the amazing ability to retain water and because of this, ecosystems and wildlife benefit from the moisture and humidity created.

Lichens have been used and valued by both people and wildlife for centuries. Generally growing best in non-polluted areas, they serve as a refuge from predators for amphibians and insects, who hide and lay eggs in lichen. From atop hot, sunny mountain rocks to the substrates of tree bark, rocks, watersheds, soil and leaves, lichens grow both in terrestrial and aquatic landscapes around the world. These diverse organisms can be found in various areas of different weather extremes.

Throughout history native cultures and traditions have found practical and medicinal uses for lichens. Native Americans in New Mexico collected lichen to use for dye to color the yarns and fabric in their rugs and other woven materials. Usnic acid, derived mainly from the Usnea species of lichen, most often found hanging from trees, is used in antibacterial and antifungal medicines. Lichens are also used in perfumes, botanical supplements, toothpaste and even deodorant.

Many species of North America birds use lichens. The spruce grouse and wild turkey eat lichen. Warblers and Vireos use lichens in their nests, and Golden Plovers use the Thamnolia vermicularis species in their nests. The Olive-headed Weaver in Madagascar makes its nests solely from lichen in Usnea (mentioned above). In the process of constructing their nests, Hummingbirds may include soft thistle and dandelion seed fluff, along with expandable, stretchy spider silk and leafy materials, and may add a dab of pine resin as glue before a final layering of lichens around the entire outside of their nest for lightweight insulation and camouflage.

Deer, elk, antelope, cows and small mammals also utilize lichen. In southeastern Alaska mountain goats include Lobaria linita species in their diet. Northern flying squirrels use lichen Bryoria fremontii species both as nesting material and food. Two species of Bryoria consist as the primary diet of the endangered Yunnan snub-nosed monkey. During the winter season, caribou using their keen sense of smell will search for lichen to eat beneath the snow.

Lichens are extremely sensitive to habitat alteration and therefore a good indicator of non-polluted areas. The association between a large diversity of lichens and unpolluted habitats is so evident, that scientists use lichens as indicators of ecosystem continuity to help identify areas that should be protected.

Dayelle Swensson is an avid writer for the web on a number of topics. Having gardened herself for many years, she is able to advise others about a variety of things including gardening tips, lawn and tree care, watering, hose reel and keeping your home garden looking attractive and healthy.

It’s Time for the Always Popular Geraniums

Both the Geranium and Pelargonium are members of the family Geraniaceae. So the Geranium and Pelargonium are related, but they are quite distinct. A true Geranium, also known as cranes bill, referring to the shape of their fruit, has symmetrical flowers containing ten fertile stamens, while most Pelargonium have bilaterally symmetrical flowers with up to seven of the ten stamens fertile. True Geraniums also have a different seed dispersal technique than Pelargoniums. Geraniums actually fling their seeds away, and Pelargonium seeds float away on the breeze and usually have a feathered end that Geraniums do not have.

Growing naturally almost entirely within South Africa, Pelargoniums are tender perennials. The leaves of true geraniums are usually deeply divided and cut while those of most Pelargoniums are not. Because they originate from areas of South Africa where they have withstood summers of drought, the stems of Pelargoniums are rather thick, succulent. Forming a mound of many slender stems arising from a central core with fibrous roots, Geraniums have the appearance of normal herbaceous perennial plants.

The perennial plants sold at garden centers that are labeled "Ivy Geranium", "Scented Geranium" and "Zonal Geranium" are actually different species of Pelargonium. The common names used on true Geraniums are "Hardy Geranium", "Geranium" and "Cranes Bill".

Some types of Geraniums can grow tall in which case they do benefit from shearing after the first flush of bloom. Cut back all stems to about three inches. The plants will put on a new flush of leaves and may even bloom again. It is always good to constantly dead head Geraniums.

True Geraniums are drought tolerant, so they need little water. And be cautious not to over water because the damage this causes can be hard to reverse.

Geraniums can be grown from seed. Collect the seeds before the cranes bill (the fruit) part curls back and expels the seeds. The timing can be tricky and should be after the pod is dry. Store the seeds in a cool, dry place, and then chill or freeze the seeds for 4-6 weeks to help break their dormancy. The seeds need to be sowed 1/2" deep and kept moist. Most varieties will bloom the second year after planting from seed.

Some popular Geraniums to enjoy in your garden are ‘Ballerina’ with delightful light pink pedals and ‘Patricia’ with a brighter pink bloom. ‘Orion’ a Geranium hybrid has lavender flowers with white centers. A hardy Geranium with brilliant blue blooms all summer is ‘Johnson's Blue’. A splendid new member of the shade-loving Geranium is ‘Lavender Pinwheel’ with petals that resemble tiny watercolor paintings as the outer edges of lavender turn soft mauve towards the interior of each flower.

Dayelle Swensson is an avid writer for the web on a number of topics. Having gardened herself for many years, she is able to advise others about a variety of things including gardening tips, lawn and tree care, watering, hose reel and keeping your home garden looking attractive and healthy.

Organic Weed Control

Weeds are a problem for almost everyone. Controlling them without harming pets or the environment can be done if you use certain techniques. Organic weed control is becoming more and more popular because it is cheap, safe for the environment and it works!

The most obvious way to get rid of weeds in your yard or garden is to simply remove them by hand. There is actually a technique to this that will help you better control weed growth. If you simply pull the weed out, you can break off roots, allowing the weed to grow right back. Using a shovel or spade does the same thing. Cutting roots can actually allow each root to grow its own plant, causing the weeds to only multiply. Use a small forked garden tool to gently work the roots up out of the soil without damaging them and the weed will not grow back.

If weeds are in your lawn, there is a very simple and safe solution. Mow your grass before weeds have a chance to seed. You may have to be very dedicated to mowing on a schedule, even twice a week, to avoid maturing weeds that can spread. One good thing about weeds is that they add drainability to the soil. This will help your grass to quickly choke out cut weeds. As weeds are eliminated, nitrogen will return to the soil making your grass more aggressively take over future weeds. Make sure that your mower is on a high setting so that your grass will keep cut weeds shaded. Weeds need a lot of sun and cannot grow if the grass is high. Grass that is left longer will also grow slower because it is not in a hurry to make more nutrients for the roots.

You may notice that weeds shoot up after a rain. They love water and can quickly take water from your grass. Make sure that you spot check your lawn after a rain and get rid of any new weeds. Do not water your lawn unless your grass starts to wilt over or seriously dry out. This will help starve out weeds that are waiting to spring up.

Using the right fertilizer can help keep weeds under control. If you have a lot of dandelions, chances are your soil pH is too high. Adding a thin dusting of lime will bring the pH back down to where your grass likes it and the dandelions do not. Use organic compost or organic fertilizers to avoid creating a perfect weed habitat. Weeds generally pop up where grass has a short coming. Creating the right environment for grass will help ensure that weak spots do not occur.

Check with your local nursery to identify weeds. Change your lawn according to which weeds are thriving and your grass can take over. Keep items picked up off of your lawn to avoid creating a weak spot where weeds can grow. For example, leaving your garden hose lying on the ground can block out light, killing grass and creating a perfect spot for a weed to take hold. Use a hose reel to keep your water hose up off of the ground and neatly stored away. When your soil is right, your lawn will be right, without the use of harmful chemicals.

About the Author: Stacy Pessoney is an award winning author and writer of web content for many different web sites. She is well versed in many different areas, including gardening, hose reel, lawn care and landscaping.

Ornamental Pampas Grass

Consider adding height and softness to your garden with pampas grasses. Pampas grass originating from areas of South America is one of the most recognized ornamental grasses that will give your landscape a special distinction adding height with a soft airy feeling. Pampas grass forms impressive clumps that can reach up to ten feet tall, and in late summer produce very large white or pinkish plumes that are alone three feet long. They can look magnificent when blowing in a light breeze.

Being from South America, it is no surprise this grass loves full sun and are drought tolerant. The soil in which they grow should provide adequate drainage. A layer of mulch, up to four inches deep needs to be placed around the base of the plant to reduce competition from weeds and helps conserve moisture in the soil. Organic mulches are the preferred. If desired, avoid pruning the stems and plumes in the fall to add interest for your winter landscape. Do cut the plants back to the ground in spring before growth begins. For the most part fertilizer is not necessary. If your soil is very poor, using an all-purpose garden fertilizer in spring will help.

If propagation is desired, then divide clumps in the spring after the grasses are cut down to the ground. They are hardy plants, and older, more progressed clumps may require an axe, saw, or spade. If you are starting out with seed, sow the seeds in spring either in the garden or inside in a moist seed-starting mix.

If portions of the plant have spotted leaves, the plant may be suffering from fungal disease. Fungal disease is usually started with moisture not evaporating in proper time. Especially after mid-afternoon, avoid wetting the plants' foliage. It is also helpful to divide plants so that the clumps do not become especially large. In this way the plants will receive good airflow, which also discourages fungal rot diseases.

Several species of grasses are sometimes mistaken for pampas grass. A special property of pampas grass is that the edges of the leaves are sharp, and can cut gardeners who do not take care to wear gloves when working around them. Since pampas grass can very easily spread its seeds widely, the plant is considered a pest in some parts of the country, including areas of Southern California.

Sometimes called pink pampas grass, Cortaderia selloana ‘Rosea' has silvery plumes in late summer containing a definite pink tinge. Growing to about ten feet tall with silvery-white plumes in late summer Cortaderia selloana ‘Sunningdale Silver' has plumes that tend to hold up better to bad weather than many other pampas grasses. Cortaderia selloana ‘Pumila' grows to about six feet tall and has silvery-white plumes in late summer. Cortaderia selloana ‘Monvin' or Sun Stripe also grows to about six feet tall and has silvery-white plumes in late summer, but the difference is that the foliage is striped with yellow.

Dayelle Swensson is an avid writer for the web on a number of topics. Having gardened herself for many years, she is able to advise others about a variety of things including gardening tips, lawn and tree care, watering, hose reel and keeping your home garden looking attractive and healthy.

The Tulip Bulbs are in Bloom

Every spring greets us with a kaleidoscope display of color and natural beauty where tulip bulbs, planted in the fall, come out and perform a spectacular show. It is an unexpected pleasure that even novice gardeners can be blessed with because tulips are known to be one of the easiest flowers to grow successfully.

Tulips are classified as a perennial flower, however they are a special category of perennial. By definition, perennials should be expected to return and bloom year after year. Because tulips are native to Eastern Turkey and the foothills of the Himalayas, they will behave best in conditions that match the cold winters and hot, dry summers of their native region. Tulips are planted in the fall and they immediately start to root. During the winter months they root slowly receiving cold temperatures that stimulate them to sprout in early spring. As the temperatures get warmer, the tulips start to grow more rapidly and eventually they bloom. At this blooming time, the bulb that was planted is totally used up and actually starts to disintegrate as new bulblets form and begin to grow. This period between blooming and the plant dying is referred to as the grand period of growth when professional growers manipulate the circumstances to create larger bulbs, which, in turn, create larger blooms. The grand period of growth is when the energy flow reverses, in that it concentrates its efforts downward building new bulbs instead of upward to form flowers.

Treatments developed over hundreds of years help professional growers in places like Holland and the Skagit Valley expand their stocks and grow larger bulbs successfully. Tulip bulbs there are dug up every year and given controlled temperature treatments in the summer months that manipulate the tulips and somewhat replicate what they would be receiving in their native region. These special treatments are still being modified today as new varieties are being developed. The home gardener may have less success with using similar method of growing.

Wet soil promotes fungus and disease and can even rot bulbs, especially tulip bulbs, so always plant tulips in a well-drained and airy soil. Wet soil can also cause bulbs to drown out or suffocate. Suffocation can also be caused by tight, hard soils that do not hold much oxygen. If this is the case, adding compost and a bit of sand to a soil to make it more airy. A general rule of thumb is planting bulbs in 10-inch deep loose, airy soil. A raised bed might have to be created. Proper soil drainage is very important when planting bulbs.

Fertilize and water bulbs when planting. Sufficient water at the time of planting is necessary to get them growing and to ensure the start of a strong root system. Fertilizing in the fall with a special bulb fertilizer is a good idea, especially if you do not dig up your bulbs and are trying to get them to perennialize.

After the tulips have passed their peak, top off the old blooms and let the stems and leaves die down normally. This will help the new bulblets grow bigger under ground.

Dayelle Swensson is an avid writer for the web on a number of topics. Having gardened herself for many years, she is able to advise others about a variety of things including gardening tips, lawn and tree care, watering, hose reel and keeping your home garden looking attractive and healthy.

Home Composting DIY

The amount of trash that we generate is a big concern among Americans today. One solution that seems to be catching on is composting at home. Some people report reducing the amount of trash that they produce to less than half of what it was before. The biggest reduction in trash is seen when yard clippings and leaves are composted instead of disposed of in plastic yard bags.

You can easily start composting in your own yard without very much effort or cost. Most people choose to build their own composting container as opposed to spending a lot of money on a manufactured one. There are a few basic things to keep in mind when you are building your compost container.

First, there needs to be circulation. Air needs to be able to reach all levels of the compost heap in order for decomposition to take place. Some people drill holes in the sides of a bottomless trash can to create a quick and easy compost container. Wooden slats are popular as well. Space boards about an inch apart to allow air to enter. This helps control fungus and other problems. Chicken wire can also be used.

The second thing to think about is humidity and moisture. The compost needs to stay moist to decompose. Making you compost heap tall is one way to ensure that it does not completely dry out. Five or six feet tall is about right for a home compost bin. As food scraps, yard clippings and other organics decompose, they will create heat. The ventilation will help keep the heap a little cooler. If you put your compost bin in a shady location, that will help keep the temperature down as well.

You do not want your compost bin to create odors, attract insects or other pests. So, keep a few things in mind as you compost. Do not put meat or fats into your compost heap as they can attract rodents, raccoons and possums. When you put grass clippings in, mix them around with other layers or leaves because moisture is easily trapped in wet grass and it can smell. If you are adding food, like vegetables, egg shells, coffee grounds and bread, bury them under a layer of yard waste to keep insects from being attracted to the pile. Only add manure from farm animals, not dogs or cats.

Adding manure helps keep the nitrogen content of the pile high enough to encourage decomposition. Do not put in a lot of acidic waste at once, like pine needles, or the nitrogen content will be affected. Basically, you need a balance of green and brown waste to maintain a healthy compost bin. Greens include grass, vegetables, fruits, coffee and tea grounds. Browns consist of egg shells, cardboard (shredded), dry leaves, fireplace ashes and dryer lint.

The moisture balance in your compost bin is very important. If it dries out, nothing will happen. If it gets too wet, it will create odors, molds and fungi. Keep a hose reel close by for occasional watering and keep a lid on top to avoid the bin becoming too saturated by rain. Your compost will help you create a cleaner environment and give you plenty of healthy compost to use in your garden and landscaping.

About the Author: Stacy Pessoney is an award winning author and writer of web content for many different web sites. She is well versed in many different areas, including gardening, hose reel, lawn care and landscaping.

Lawn Care Tips

-Aeration: Aerating your lawn can help oxygen reach the roots of your grass. Normally, soil has tiny air pockets that provide this oxygen, but your yard can become compact due to sports, kids, mowing and animals. You can aerate with spikes, but they can actually contribute to compaction. The recommended method is core aeration, which takes small plugs of soil from your yard.

-Fertilize: Fertilizing may not be necessary if you mow your yard often. Providing the lawn with too much fertilizer can actually give your grass a shallow root system and cause more problems. If you do use a fertilizer, use it sparingly and only if you need to tackle a major weed problem. One of the best things you can do to fertilize your yard is to leave grass clippings when you mow.

-Mow: Mowing on a regular schedule can help keep your lawn healthy. Do not let the grass get so tall that you will need to cut more than half of the blade height. Cutting off too much of the grass can damage it, causing it to turn brown or even die. Make sure your mower blades are sharpened every season to avoid ugly, brown, jagged tops. Do not mow in the heat of the day because grass will be sensitive to heat for a couple of hours after being cut.

-Compost: Compost dry leaves and yard clippings along with other organic waste to create your own fertilizer. Compost is great for your flower beds, tree growth and makes good filler for holes in your lawn. Not only will you save money, but you will save quite a few lawn bags and the environment.

-Problem Areas: Sloping areas in your yard can be a big problem. Some people try for years to grow grass on slopes, but it just keeps washing downhill. Talk to a nursery or landscaper in your area about native plants that have deep roots. They will anchor themselves to the slope better than grass and usually require very little maintenance.

-Water: You may not have to water your lawn often unless you live in a very hot or arid climate. Water your grass in the morning so that water has time to soak in before the sun can evaporate it. Watering mid-day is just about useless. Watering in the evening can over-saturate the lawn, causing root rot and other problems. Water your grass deeply and less often for optimal lawn health. Keep a hose reel handy for easy watering so that watering does not become a chore that you want to avoid.

About the Author: Stacy Pessoney is an award winning author and writer of web content for many different web sites. She is well versed in many different areas, including gardening, hose reel, lawn care and landscaping.

Planting New Trees

Planting trees in your yard can add shade, reduce noise, and add value to your home. Taking care when planting and growing a new tree is essential to its survival. The first few years are crucial. Caring for your trees, pruning when necessary and adequate watering will help them thrive.

Decide what types of trees grow well in your growing zone. Take photos or draw pictures of what you hope the trees will look like in your yard at maturity. Choose the right shape of tree, not only for the aesthetic value, but also to fit a mature tree into your available space. The shapes you will be considering include round, oval, pyramidal, columnar and v-shaped. Select trees according to canopy size, not just height.

No tree should be planted closer than eight feet from your home or other structures. Only small trees should be planted this close. Fifteen feet is recommended for medium sized trees while twenty feet is a good minimum distance for large trees.

Check with authorities about rules concerning tree planting. You do not want to plant a tree near an intersection where it could hinder drivers from seeing on-coming traffic. Sewer lines, underground cable and gas lines should be avoided. Make sure that the roots of your new trees will not interfere with your septic system, driveway or water lines. Keep the eight to twenty foot rule in mind when avoiding structures that could be damaged by an expanding root system. If you plant in an inappropriate area, your tree could be removed by city workers.

Plant your tree just deep enough to cover all of the roots and very little of the trunk. Dig a hole much bigger across than you will need. Turning all of the soil for a few feet away from the tree will help the roots take hold and spread. Using this turning technique can help your tree grow twice as fast and live twice as long. Use a tiller for optimal results.

Once planted, you will need to mulch the area around the bottom of the tree. This is essential because newly planted trees are very delicate and can easily dry out and die. Mulch acts as a good insulator, holds in plenty of moisture and prevents the soil from becoming compacted.

Watering is of great importance for the first few years of a trees life. After planting, saturate the soil with water, letting it soak down past the rootball. Water, to this depth, once a week unless you have been getting heavy rains. If you live in a very dry or hot area, water only in the morning and up to three times per week. Keep a garden hose reel handy so that you will remember to water your new trees.

About the Author: Stacy Pessoney is an award winning author and writer of web content for many different web sites. She is well versed in many different areas, including gardening, hose reel, lawn care and landscaping.

Some Cacti Choices

There are so many different types, shapes, and sizes of cactus and succulent plants. The cactus family extends to thousands of varieties and species. Most people when they think of cactus think they need a dry, hot environment. But actually cacti thrive indoors in various amounts of light and humidity and conditions. Succulents are ideal plants for the busy person who forgets to water for long periods of time. Cactus plants need less humidity and water than most indoor plants and are very tolerant with variations in the temperature.

Basically, cacti from desert areas are plump and spiny while cacti that originally grew in jungle areas are spineless and are usually flat or thin. Most cacti have needles. Some have leaves and bloom. The Cactus Pereskia, when full grown, looks like an orange or a grapefruit tree. At maturity, the Melocactus grows a cap on top that sprouts beautiful rosy-pink flowers.
What makes cactus plants different is that they feature thick, fleshy leaves that remarkably store water. They have qualities (like needle growth) to expose the least amount of surface to the heat of the sun and the winds. Many people find succulents to be of great beauty. The longer they grow, the more magnificent they become. Listed below are some of these beauties to add to your garden or houseplant display.

A succulent that is just great to have around the house all the time is Aloe Vera. This plant has natural antibiotic properties and is medically recognized to help heal burns and soothe skin irritations. It is the perfect thing to rub on your skin after summer sun exposure. Just cut one of the heavy, stiff Agave leaves and take its sticky sap and rub it on a cut or sunburn to make it heal.

The Yucca plant originating from Mexico and Guatemala features sword-shaped, grass green leaves. Over time, the plant will start to lose its lower leaves and the trunk will grow more tall and thicker. Some grow up to forty feet tall when grown outside. If the Yucca is grown indoors, the plant can grow as tall as nine feet high as long as the ceiling permits this.
Native to the Canary Islands and the Mediterranean region of North Africa, Aeoniums are flowering cacti. The flowers, which are usually yellow, come out of the growing points in the center of the rosette. In most cases, the plant dies after flowering when the seed matures.

Crassula have thick, glossy, fleshy, jade-green leaves. Because they prefer bright light and reproduce very easily from leaf and stem cuttings, these succulent plants adjust well to growing indoors.

Euphorbia Tirucalli Pencil Cactus is a unique plant with pencil-shaped stems and very small deciduous leaves. Use caution when handling the stems that contain a milky corrosive sap that can burn the skin. Sticks on Fire is another striking form of Tirucalli makes a unique container plant that can reach up to eight feet tall. The branches on this plant are as thin as pencils and a reddish-golden color that fades closer to yellow in the summer.

The Orchid Cactus or Night Blooming Cereus is a bizarre and enchanting plant. Surprisingly easy-to-grow, this plant loves direct sunlight and dry conditions. The sword-shaped, flattened leaves have nasty thorns along the edges. In the peak blooming time (around mid-March), some leaves can get up to two feet in length and the cactus becomes quite showy completely covered with flowers. The beautiful open-faced, seven inch blooms make the Orchid Cactus very appealing. When grown in the landscape, plant this succulent in partial shade. Orchid Cactus makes a great container plant for patios.

The Ferocactus is a barrel-shaped cactus with prominent ribs. It gets its name from the long, heavy, hooked spines. The skin and spines of this cactus are peeled off and the flesh is diced and eaten raw or candied.

From Mexico, the Holiday Cactus gets its common name from the time of year they flower (on the holidays— Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter). Their flowers can range in color from white to rose, red, lavender, and purple.

Perfect for rock gardens since they will grow for years in spots where others will not are sedum plants. The name sedum comes from the Latin ‘sedeo: I sit’ suggesting that these cacti will sit or grow just about anywhere. They are also very easy to propagate.

Looking nothing like a spider, the Spider Cactus from Southern Brazil is a fat, globular plant that gets its common name from its spine arrangement. In very bright light, this cactus takes on a brownish cast.

Dayelle Swensson is an avid writer for the web on a number of topics. Having gardened herself for many years, she is able to advise others about a variety of things including gardening tips, lawn and tree care, watering, hose reel and keeping your home garden looking attractive and healthy.

Cacti Propagation

Most cacti will do best at temperatures similar to that of most other houseplants. The many different varieties can tolerate a wide range of growing temperatures. In the winter, the ideal placement for a cactus is on a windowsill or in a sunny cool room. During the summer, the best place for cacti is outdoors on the deck or anywhere they can receive bright light. They will do best with cool breezes during the day and cool humid conditions at the night. A bit of caution must take place when moving an interior plant to the outdoors. Make sure it gets partial shade in the beginning of this transition, and then let it slowly be moved into a sunnier position. This will save your plant from being shocked or scorched if you put it immediately into the hot, intense full sun.

A nice thing about cacti is that they are easily propagated from branches or offshoots. After removing an offshoot, it should be allowed to dry for two weeks. Use a clean, sharp knife when taking a cutting from a stem section. Plant the broken or cut edge after it has healed in dry medium at a shallow depth. When taking several sections from one long stem, remember which is the top and the bottom of each piece. If you mistakenly plant a stem piece upside down, it will not grow. A simple way of keeping track of this is to cut the bottom of each segment on a slight angle, and the top straight across.

Branching cacti are ones that form pads and make ideal specimens for cutting to propagate. The cuttings should be taken at the joints so that the mother plant is not significantly disfigured. A single oval pad from a branching cactus makes an ideal sized cutting.

Fungal soft rot is the primary problem that can develop with cactus cuttings. A simple thing to keep in mind when doing cacti cuttings is to work with dry material. A fungal rot condition begins at the cut surface eventually reducing the entire cutting to a slimy, undesirable mass. If water has gotten to the cut mark during transplanting, it can be bad. There are two techniques recommended for avoiding fungal soft rot. The first is to simply allow all fresh cuttings to sit in a warm dry place from one day to up to even two weeks before they are placed in the rooting medium. The general rule of thumb to gauge this is the larger the cut surface is, the longer they should be allowed to dry. This is important because during this time, the cut, moist surface will form a dry callus that is far less prone to soft rot.

Remember that the nature of a cactus is to be able to survive periods of drought. Leaving a new cutting out in the open air, exposed for several days would be a bit harsh for most plants. If you see that the cutting is starting to shrivel up, then, of course, it is time to place it in your planting medium that is usually sandy. Another way to avoid the onset of soft rot is to dip your newly cut stem segments in garden sulphur before planting. And unlike other plants, do not water the cactus cutting for a week. When you do start to water it, do sparingly.

Dayelle Swensson is an avid writer for the web on a number of topics. Having gardened herself for many years, she is able to advise others about a variety of things including gardening tips, lawn and tree care, watering, hose reel and keeping your home garden looking attractive and healthy.

Cactus Care

Although this seems pretty obvious it is worth mentioning as the first step to successfully growing a healthy cactus plant: first, purchase one that is already in good health. Look to see if there are any damaged spines, obvious signs of bruising, or uneven, lopsided growth; then, avoid choosing these. Some cacti grow spindly growth during their time in the store under dim lights and unfavorable conditions. Know that the damaged or disfigurement will never really correct itself once brought into your ideal care. It is best to buy a cactus plant in the greenhouse where it was grown, or as soon as possible after it has been shipped to the retail outlet.

A good rule to go by when choosing plants for your garden is to select ones that already have a proven successful track record for the particular climate where you live. The care a cactus requires is largely dictated by the climatic conditions where that cactus would be found growing naturally.

For the most part, cactus plants can be separated into two major groups: sun-loving and shade-loving. Cactus need at the least, very bright light to maintain good color and shape. The smooth, soft, leafy types generally require less sun than the spiny, fuzzy or hairy varieties.

The potting medium suitable to grow most cacti is composed of equal volumes of coarse sand, peat and perlite. The container used for vertical cactus plants should have a diameter half the height of the plant. Plant round cacti in containers that have a diameter two inches greater than that of the plant. Take care to prevent rot, a common problem with growing cacti. One preventive way is to be sure the pot is dry before transplanting, and transplant into dry soil, not wet like other plants prefer. Wait a week before watering to allow for the roots damaged in transplanting to repair.

As indicated above, the watering of a cactus plant is one of the biggest dilemmas to cactus owners. Since a cactus does not wilt at the first sign of drought stress, the plant offers few cues that it needs water. A good rule of thumb is to water when the top two inches of soil is dry adjusting with the season. Cacti will require more water during the period of summertime growth than they will during the slowed, or halted growth of winter. In fact, in the winter some cacti may require water only once a month.

The most important consideration in watering a cactus is to never let the pots stand in water. Waterlogged soil can quickly lead to rotting with disastrous consequences for the plant. Cacti do not need to be watered and fertilized as frequently as other plants. Water only when they dry out. When temperatures are either too hot or too cold, a cactus will often simply go dormant, and some varieties have dormant periods when watering can be very harmful. Because of the absorbent quality, unglazed clay pots require more frequent watering than glazed clay or plastic pots, and small pots require more frequent watering than large pots.

Dayelle Swensson is an avid writer for the web on a number of topics. Having gardened herself for many years, she is able to advise others about a variety of things including gardening tips, lawn and tree care, watering, hose reel and keeping your home garden looking attractive and healthy.

Cactus, the Amazing Succulent

If you live in a hot and dry climate, the amount of plants that survive requiring low maintenance is slim, especially during the dog days of June through September. The ease of growing cactus in this climate is something to consider. Really the only thing you can do wrong is to over water a cactus. How easy is that?

Cactus grows in all kinds of shapes, forms, color, and designs (even stripes). It is truly amazing what nature will produce as cacti. Including about 2,000 species, all perennial and succulent, the cactus family (Cactaceae) is one of the most striking, distinctive, diversified and specialized groups in the plant kingdom.

Because they require so little maintenance they make excellent houseplants. Many hardy varieties may be grown outside. A popular way to grow cacti is in groups. Place many different kinds together in one container. You select which ones and make your own little landscape. Small specimens are ideal for this. You can combine them with rocks to offset the focal point.

The succulent type of cactus does well as pot plants. These include Aloe Vera, crassulas, Echeverias, peperomias and kalanchoe. And some cactus and succulent plants grow from three feet high to as high as ten feet or more. These larger ones make dramatic floor plants or can be set outside if the climate is appropriate. These include Cereus peruvianus, Yucca elephantipes, Euphorbias, ponytail palm or bottle palm.

Succulents are plants that have organs such as leaves, stems or roots that are capable of storing water during the rainy or wet season in order to survive during the extended periods of drought. Cacti are considered stem succulents. During periods of moisture, the stem swells. Then during droughts, the stem slowly contracts. You can actually note this on the cacti that have ribs. The ribs will fill in and contract like an accordion according to when they are storing water and when they are have used up their stored supply.

The orchid cactus, Epiphyllum is a cactus that flowers. Its fragrant blooms grow up to eight inches across. The distinctiveness of the cactus family shows itself not only in the flower structure, but also in one characteristic only present in cacti and absent in all species of all other plant families: the spine cushion or areole. Whether or not spines are present, all cacti have areoles. Areoles differ in structure on different kinds of cacti. In this way you can distinguish one cactus plant from another.

Dayelle Swensson is an avid writer for the web on a number of topics. Having gardened herself for many years, she is able to advise others about a variety of things including gardening tips, lawn and tree care, watering, hose reel and keeping your home garden looking attractive and healthy.

Flower Gardening is Rapidly Becoming a Popular Hobby

More and more homeowners are getting into flower gardening. With so many resources available now, it is easier for those who are just beginning to know what to do or get advice on what choices to make, as well as for those who have some background in this field wanting to check on innovations and receive more knowledge.

If you a beginner at this it is best to start small. You can always expand once you get a better feel about what is involved. You don not want to start off with too much to handle. It can become overwhelming and take the joy out of he hobby. A suggested initiation to flower gardening is building a small flowerbed, and once you get the hang of things, begin to understand and appreciate the concept of growing, you can add on appropriately.

There are ways to approach gardening. The most common is with chemical fertilizers, herbicides, and pesticides. The other method is gaining a revival as of late with more people realizing its benefits, and that is the organic way. Organic gardening is for the conscientious and considers your garden as a living ecosystem. It works to create a natural balance in your flower garden, and strives to keep it healthy without harsh and harmful chemicals.

First, choose your site. Know the amount of sun that will fall on this area of your landscape. Sunlight is one of the key essentials to a garden growing healthily. Use an average of six hours of sunlight a day as a start and then select plants for full sun or shade accordingly. Another point to consider is how your spot will receive water. Is it close to the watering hose or will you have to use a watering can? Will it receive good natural drainage when it rains?

If the area you have selected gets a lot of sunlight, you should choose flowers that love full exposure to the sun. Read the instructions on the plants when you purchase them at a garden center or if you purchase them online make sure this information is specified. They will tell you how much sun is preferred. There are many plants that do not survive in the heat of the sun so save these for a shaded area. A garden plan is a good thing to do, but remember it may have to be altered with what it available at the time to you.

Once your area has been determined, mark it out with something such as a water hose. Within this boundary remove any sod, grass, and weeds. Dig your flowerbed at least ten inches deep, removing rocks and odd debris in the way. Prepare the soil by adding in a good appropriate topsoil mix.

Once this is completed, you are ready to plant. Watch your plantings grow into a beautiful flower garden. With just a little effort, your bulbs will immerse colorful blooms. Choose from iris, tulips, gladiolus, hyacinth, and daylilies, just to name only a few.

Dayelle Swensson is an avid writer for the web on a number of topics. Having gardened herself for many years, she is able to advise others about a variety of things including gardening tips, lawn and tree care, watering, hose reel and keeping your home garden looking attractive and healthy.

Make Gardening Fun with Unusual Accessories

One of the most fun things to do with your landscape is to utilize unusual and recycled items (as in giving the pieces another purpose or a new life) for garden accessories. These one-of-a-kind gardening pieces become part of your unique statement and they also will make interesting conversation topics. Using a little imagination and ingenuity, an ordinary landscape can be given a makeover simply by incorporating a few gardening accessories. Your garden is a place for everything, especially the unusual. You can turn nearly anything into useful gardening accessories. The few examples below illustrate how easy and practical it can be to do this.

Vines need support to climb along and around. Consider adding to your landscape ladders, gates, or bed frames for this purpose. Some very common things such as plastic jugs, old pots and pans, baskets, tires, aluminum pails, a pair of outgrown old boots, as well as old wash tubs and sinks can make great containers for a colorful display of flowers. It is important that these odd containers provide sufficient drainage. If there aren’t any, then just cut out some holes. Small ponds, fountains or other water displays can also be created from old objects like a tub, barrel, tire, or basin.

You may want to include clever lighting to your landscaping to enjoy evenings outside. Line walkways, patios, or garden areas with candles dropped into canning jars or large-mouthed bottles. Old coffee, soup, or paint cans can be used for this and create a subtle light while protecting the candle from wind. Punch holes in decorative designs and add some paint to make them pretty.

Stones, weathered stumps, logs, or railroad ties can be placed in strategic locations to provide interest to a particular area or provide edgings for borders, walkways, and flower beds.

Old garden tools that have worn out their use as garden tools can regain new life as garden accessories. Both wheelbarrows and old mowers are good for this. With a little imagination, an old rake or pitchfork can become an eye-catching focal point in your vegetable garden, for instance. Old shovels and hoes can be turned into amusing creatures policing your garden from pests. Old pieces of junk, old metal chairs and beds, or unused bicycles can be pulled apart and reassembled into creative sculptures, gates, or fences.

Let your imagination extend the life of many old, no longer wanted items by adding interest and a unique, personal touch to your garden.

Dayelle Swensson is an avid writer for the web on a number of topics. Having gardened herself for many years, she is able to advise others about a variety of things including gardening tips, lawn and tree care, watering, hose reel and keeping your home garden looking attractive and healthy.

Growing Camellias

Camellias are beautiful garden evergreens that provide blooms throughout the winter months in southern areas. Camellias have a lot of fragrance and the dark green foliage provides a sustainable background for your landscaping needs.

In southern states where temperatures rarely drop below freezing, camellias keep their blooms all winter. They love to grow in shady areas and thrive in humidity. They can withstand winter weather down to fifteen degrees Fahrenheit without cover. Simply covering them with a sheet or plastic on nights when it may drop below fifteen degrees will keep your winter camellias looking fabulous.

Camellias come in almost every color, and they stay around from about October to March. This has made camellias legendary in the south, adorning famous gardens throughout the southern states. Some varieties are better suited for northern areas, so even if you are not in the south you can enjoy these beautiful fragrant flowers.

Caring for camellias is rather easy. Prune the shrubs after the blooms fall off in the spring. They can grow up to eight feet tall and require very little care unless you want to keep them small. They love humidity and damp soil. Do not over-water or your camellias could develop root rot. Mulch the area around the base of the shrub to keep moisture in the soil. Drying out for a long time can kill a camellia.

Camellias grow best in acidic soil, which is another reason they are well suited to the south. Pine needles, pine mulch and coffee grounds can be worked into the soil to lower the pH of alkaline or neutral soil down to an acidic state. Use acidic sulfur or fertilizer if your soil is resistant to acidity or if the water you use is alkaline. Do not fertilize in the fall when it is time for the camellias to bloom or it may not make blooms.

Camellias have a shallow root system, so avoid planting them near other trees or plants that may compete with the camellia for water. Because of their evergreen quality, they are perfect for landscaping or providing greenery in your yard. They grow great underneath southern pines which acidify the soil and have a deep root system.

Another reason to use camellias in landscaping is how fast they can grow. They grow about a foot a year, so in as little as five years you can have a substantially sized shrub, even if you start with a baby camellia. Remember that you will need at least partial shade for camellias to flourish. Water often and not too much at a time to help your camellias succeed. Keep the garden hose handy on a garden hose reel, which can easily be kept out of site behind your camellia.

About the Author: Stacy Pessoney is an award winning author and writer of web content for many different web sites. She is well versed in many different areas, including gardening, hose reel, lawn care and landscaping.

Beautiful Gardenias

Gardenias are very popular but are often an overlooked option by landscapers. You can plant gardenias yourself and enjoy the large ornamental blooms that can last even through the winter months.

Gardenias are most popular in the southern states but are also frequently seen in northern areas. Gardenias have dark green leaves with contrasting bright blooms. They really stand out in the crowd. The gardenia shrub is an evergreen. The dark green leaves are glossy, full and sturdy. So the gardenia makes a great shrubbery or small tree to have in your landscaping.

The blooms are very fragrant and are sometimes desired solely for their aroma. The blooms are white or light yellow and contrast nicely against their deep green background. Gardenias bloom in late spring or summer. The blooms can last for months, even through the winter months in milder southern climates.

Many people choose gardenias as the background in their landscaping plans and have various bulb flowers that pop up at different times throughout the year to keep flowers almost year round. This is another thing that makes gardenias so popular with hotels and antebellum homes where landscaping is part of the allure or even the main attraction.

Gardenias love full sun in cooler climates and partial shade in the southernmost states. Extreme heat can kill a gardenia or cause it not to bloom. Gardenias grow best and fullest in humid environments or indoors. Keep gardenias watered, just be careful not to overwater them. The soil should be kept acidic, so use an acidic fertilizer in the spring and summer months. Gardenias can be very temperamental, especially if you attempt to relocate them.

Another way to keep the soil acidic is to work pine needles or pine mulch into the soil before you plant. Allowing these materials to partially decompose in the soil will help the acidity. Coffee grounds are also helpful. If you have time to prepare the area for several weeks, you can work in pine products, coffee grounds and water liberally to accelerate decomposition. If you do not want to work with the soil for an extended period of time, you can purchase sulfur or sulfates at your local nursery to lower the pH of your soil. If you use your water hose to water your gardenia and the water is alkaline, you may want to use acidic fertilizers and sulfur about once a year to keep soil acidic.

If you get the soil just right or if you are lucky enough to have acidic soil to begin with, your gardenias should thrive for many years with little care. Keep your garden hose easily accessible and hidden on a garden hose reel for easy watering. Enjoy the beautiful blooms and incredible fragrance of your gardenias for many months out of the year.

About the Author: Stacy Pessoney is an award winning author and writer of web content for many different web sites. She is well versed in many different areas, including gardening, hose reel, lawn care and landscaping.

Controlling Plant Disease Organically

A diseased plant has an infection caused by fungi, bacteria, and viruses.

The fungal spores that tend to start the problem become prevalent usually in the wet weather season. These fungal spores grow when there is inadequate circulation of air in a greenhouse, for instance, poor water drainage, exorbitant irrigation, and/or too much dampness due to rainfall.

Since your goal is healthy plants you can take preventive measures by utilizing proper cultural practices such as variety in selections, proper irrigation and humidity management, adding plant and soil nutrition, regular pruning, and adequate row spacing.

The organic solution to fungal problems is to use copper and sulfur products, natural fungicides. Spores are prevented from growing when the plants have been coated with the appropriate physical barrier. To maximize success, it is important to make the applications prior to rainfall.

In order to survive, fungi must derive their food from other organisms because they are unable to produce nutrients on their own. Under hospitable conditions, fungi attack all parts of a plant and can damage plant translocation tissues; killing a plant in a relatively short period of time. Some of the most common fungal diseases are leaf spot, anthracnose and rust.

Bacterial infection is not as prevalent as the plant diseases caused by fungi. Bacterial infection results primarily in damaging the plant as rotten tissue.

Sucking insects such as aphids and whiteflies are the culprits when it comes to viruses in plants transmitting the viruses from one plant to the other. Viral diseases typically cause less damage than those vectored by fungi and bacteria and infected plants are usually partially damaged and weakened, however they seldom die.

A healthy plant naturally resists diseases. A healthy regimen that provides optimum health for your plants is the organic way to prevent disease. Take a proactive approach to combating and controlling fungal diseases and eradicating bacteria along with viruses. Plant diseases can spread easily and rapidly.

In addition to this precaution, it makes common sense to only choose healthy seedlings, water your garden properly using organic fertilizers as directed, and make sure it is kept clean and well ventilated. Avoid excessive moisture, where pathogens tend to breed, remove rotting leaves and trash, maintain a weeding program to reduce breeding sites for insects and disease, and remove and burn infected plant parts to stop any spread of the problem.

Dayelle Swensson is an avid writer for the web on a number of topics. Having gardened herself for many years, she is able to advise others about a variety of things including gardening tips, lawn and tree care, watering, hose reel and keeping your home garden looking attractive and healthy.

Soil Care for the Organic Garden

More gardeners are discovering the benefits of growing without noxious chemicals. The products needed to do this are easy to use and apply, and will provide the results you desire. You can use 100% organic solutions to grow not only beautiful flower gardens, but also to achieve lush lawns and bountiful orchards and farms.

To create healthy, living soil, use the highest quality organic fertilizers, soil amendments, micronutrients, and foliar spraying materials when you garden. These will enhance the growing power of your plants and improve the quality making them healthier.

As stewards of the land it is important for gardeners to realize that the soil is alive. Living organisms in soil represent the key to plant health and to human health. Soil microorganisms are the essential link between mineral reserves and plant growth. Ecological soil management aims at assisting all soil organisms instead of substituting them with a simplified chemical system. When synthetic chemical fertilizers are applied to the soil, essential microorganisms become eliminated. Nature’s delicate balance becomes interrupted and the result is soil compaction and weeds become prevalent.

As spring approaches, it is good to get your soil tested. A soil analysis will provide you with information regarding its health. A soil test kit will give you information about the pH, nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium levels in your soil. This analysis will let you know what to add to your soil to give it balance or a more compatible condition for growing. You want to ensure that your plants or vegetables will be as healthy as possible.

Encourage microbial growth by adding microorganisms to the soil safely restoring the ecological balance to your garden or lawn. Support your soil by using green manures that will provide organic matter and nitrogen to your soil.

It is important to keep high levels of polysaccharides and other beneficial enzymes and organic acids in your soil that help build stable structure, reducing soil erosion and run-off. Soil that is able to absorb and retain moisture will cycle nutrients promoting healthy growth. Completely safe for humans and animals and certified organic, there are prepared solutions available to apply regularly to your garden and lawn. Applying these will ultimately save you time and money. You can use a watering can, hose-end sprayer, backpack sprayer or inject them through an irrigation system. When applied to compost piles, the breakdown of organic matter is accelerated resulting in less breeding sites for flies and other insects.

When the soil is cared for, it provides food for a healthier plant, which makes it possible for plants to naturally resist insect and disease pest problems.

Dayelle Swensson is an avid writer for the web on a number of topics. Having gardened herself for many years, she is able to advise others about a variety of things including gardening tips, lawn and tree care, watering, hose reel and keeping your home garden looking attractive and healthy.

The Gardening Shovel

The most essential gardening tool of the many pieces of equipment you will need is a shovel. Just think of it: you won’t be able to do much of anything without being able to dig a hole and plant something, dig something up to move or remove, backfilling or placing mulch around your plants and shrubs, or even prepare an area for vegetables. So the first purchase you should make above all is a shovel.

There are a number of different types of shovels. The standard basic garden shovel has a round-point and a blade that is usually about 8 inches wide and 12 long. This shovel will be used for the majority of work in the garden so it should be your first tool investment. There are also floral shovels specifically used for flowerbeds and designed to move more delicately than the average gardening shovel. You can also use the flower shovel for digging in tight spaces and transplanting small plants and shrubs.

Square-pointed shovels edged with a flat bottom are used for tasks such as the collecting and lifting of loosened material. They can be dragged along the surface to combine the already loosen pieces of material together. They usually have a poly handle grip, for better control. This type of shovel can also be useful when cutting edging.

When selecting a shovel, the most important thing to remember is saving your back to not be used under unnecessary extra exertion. Match the proper shovel to the job. Shovels are made in a variety of shapes and sizes so pick one that is suited to its purpose and at the right height for the user.

An example of a task could be digging a uniform trench. A combination of tools would be necessary. First the trench would be roughly dug with a round-point shovel, next, a flat spade would be used to trim and carve the sides of the trench. And the square-point shovel would also remove the loose dirt and debris from the bottom of the trench.

There are many special shovels too that aren’t for multi-tasking. Among these are a duckbill shovel and a trenching shovel. These are both great shovels with narrow blades, only 5 or 6 inches wide; and because of the snout on these shovels, they will cut deeply into the soil as you work, making the process more easy and efficient.

Whether it’s the basic standard shovel or specialty shovels, this tool is essential for gardening. The first gardening tip you should follow is knowing that the shovel is the absolute essential gardening hand tool to make your gardening work a lot easier and more fun.

Dayelle Swensson is an avid writer for the web on a number of topics. Having gardened herself for many years, she is able to advise others about a variety of things including gardening tips, lawn and tree care, watering, hose reel and keeping your home garden looking attractive and healthy.

Garden Tools and Techniques

The one gardening tip that must be considered by all whether you are a beginner or are a seasoned professional, is choosing and maintaining the proper tool for the particular task. Having the correct tool can make huge difference. By using this tool you can save time, make the chore easier, save wear and tear on your yard, and prevent unnecessary exertion on your body.

Among the several necessary tools vital for gardening is a good pair of hand clippers generally used for trimming rose bushes and shrubs and a good shovel that can be used in various different methods. One of the more versatile gardening tools is a pair of Loppers, a long-handled cutting tool. Because of its long handles it can reach further than hand clippers for trimming bushes and cutting through branches. Additions to this list of essential gardening tools are a rake, a pair of hedge shears, a tank sprayer, a wheelbarrow, a spreader, a push broom and a garden hose. Even with the right tools you can still misuse them; so knowing how to properly use and maintain your tools is also pretty important. The possibility of injury or unnecessary strain on your body can happen with the misuse of tools.

The technique in which you garden is as crucial as having the right tools. It plays a big part in the success of your gardening. Gardening techniques come from experience or experimenting and finding out what not to do. One particularly important and basic skill to be mastered is the knowledge of moving plants. Although some might think that the process is quite simple, for success to be guaranteed, knowing the actual basics is a must. Start by transporting on a mild cloudy day, and the tree should be heavily watered and drained deeply before transporting it, perhaps the day before the transplanting will be done. Dig down on each side, severing the roots as you go, slip heavy duty plastic under the root ball, and tip the tree gently to the side, pulling the plastic through under the root ball. After this, pull the plastic up and tie it around the trunk. Now the specimen is ready to be wherever you would like it to be. When the new hole has been prepared it is most important to get the tree into this new environment without delay. The amount of time for the bare roots to be exposed to the elements (sun and wind) should be kept at a minimum. Be sure to lift the plant by the root ball, and check to see that the tree is perpendicular to the ground once it is in the hole. Back fill the soil over the area and around the tree trunk. Then water, water, water the tree for the next few days. Even build a little moat around its base to keep the area constantly moist. The tree will slowly acclimate itself to its new space. Just make sure to pamper it in the beginning, like if you feel staking is necessary then do this to help the tree stand up straight.

Techniques in gardening take a few years to develop. People with a ‘green thumb’ will find adjustments more readily than others. The rewards of gardening are quite wonderful though and well worth all the efforts.

Dayelle Swensson is an avid writer for the web on a number of topics. Having gardened herself for many years, she is able to advise others about a variety of things including gardening tips, lawn and tree care, watering, hose reel and keeping your home garden looking good and healthy.

The Importance of Gardening Gloves

Gardening gloves are an important implement in gardening, although the importance of their use often gets forgotten. Wearing the proper gardening glove for whatever the task might be will get it done more efficiently. You will also save your hide, so to speak, preventing blisters, cuts, scrapes or puncture wounds which will make further working in the garden rather uncomfortable or postpone finishing the task.

These days for every task there is a set of gardening gloves available to match. Choosing the proper type of gardening gloves depends on which task you are planning on completing. From light to heavy weight, the variety of gardening gloves is vast. The more experienced you are, the better you will be at choosing the best one for each purpose. From rose gloves to garden work gloves, choosing the right set of gloves for the job is more important than you would think, and essential to getting your gardening done the most effective way.

Every gardener should have at least the basic general maintenance type of gloves, usually more supple and lightweight. These can be worn when doing your overall garden work including planting, weeding, and pruning. These gloves should be flexible and durable. When the holes start to appear with use, it’s time to get another pair.

Next to be considered are rose gloves, which are used for handling your rose bushes. Because they need to be tough enough to keep thorns out, these gloves are durable, and usually made out of a material such as suede which is lightweight and flexible to also handle the more delicate tasks your roses might require.

The gloves that have padded palms with a dense foam insert are landscaping gloves, perfect for working with digging tools. Since you will want to hold wet and slippery tools or rocks with these gloves, they should have areas of gripping dots. They need to be incredibly durable, although lightweight enough to use for less arduous tasks, if required.

There are so many different kinds of gloves including fox gloves, mud gloves, deerskin gloves, and arm savers, just to name a few. First, decide which task you will need the gloves to perform, then choose the type of glove which best suits the job.

Remember to get the gloves that fit your hands the best. The right size is important. You do not want the gloves to be too tight constricting your movement. You also do not want the glove too big or you will not be able to grip tools properly and dirt will fall inside irritating your performance. For the most part, gloves used for one purpose will also transfer over to doing other tasks. This allows the gardener more freedom, and saves from having to purchase multiple pairs.


Dayelle Swensson is an avid writer for the web on a number of topics. Having gardened herself for many years, she is able to advise others about a variety of things including gardening tips, lawn and tree care, watering, hose reel and keeping your home garden looking good and healthy.

Take Care of Your Gardening Body

Gardening should be a relaxing and extremely rewarding hobby that fits your lifestyle. It can be a lot of fun and should not cause any pain or discomfort to your physical being.

Among all the tools that are available today, none will do you any service if you do not take careful attention to the most important tool — your own body. While gardening you must remember to position your body properly in order to prevent yourself from the aches and pains that will follow afterwards. A lot of the work can be repetitive motion; so it is good to alter tasks to relieve any unnecessary stress. Learn what tools to use to make the tasks easier. This awareness involves simple things like remembering to wear the proper gloves when pruning the roses, mixing concrete for making stepping stones, or raking the fall leaves to protect your skin from annoying blisters, scrapes, or punctures.

You do not want to think of pain when thinking of your gardening chores... you’ll never get them done! Take the time to learn how to properly position the body when using the hoe or shovel, or lifting a heavy container. Not only will you do the task more efficiently, but you will discover just how enjoyable your gardening hobby actually is.

In order to minimize muscle fatigue and soreness, remember to focus most importantly on your back. To position it properly when lifting and holding objects, make sure to bend at the knees and hips. In order to avoid kinking the back muscles, be sure to use an erect body posture when working at ground level. If you are someone who happens to already have existing back problems, be sure to take this advice seriously in order to avoid further problems.

Out of all the parts of your body you use during gardening, your hands are the ones practically in constant use. Positioning them properly consists of making sure to work with the wrists and hands in a neutral position, especially if you are working against resistance.

It is good practice to spread out your gardening tasks throughout different days. This goes hand-in-hand with the repetitive motion aspect of many of the chores. To ease the soreness and muscle ache completing many chores all at once would cause, complete them over a period of several days instead.

There are several pointers that must be taken into consideration when choosing what gardening tool is best for the particular job. Consider a shorter tool handle when you need greater leverage control. A longer tool handle will provide greater power and are for tasks that will require your full body motion.

Also keep in mind your height. Obviously, taller people will need the taller gardening tools, and if you are short, shorter gardening tools will be needed. By carefully evaluating the proper length of the tools you use, you will avoid excessive leaning that can lead to feeling stiffness in your back.

Dayelle Swensson is an avid writer for the web on a number of topics. Having gardened herself for many years, she is able to advise others about a variety of things including gardening tips, lawn and tree care, watering, hose reel and keeping your home garden looking good and healthy.

Upside Down Tomato Plants: DIY

Farmers discovered years ago that tomatoes can grow really well if you plant them upside down. Today, there are plenty of good upside down planters on the market. The only problem is that they can be expensive. But, you can easily make an upside down tomato planter yourself.

First, you need a good sturdy bucket for each plant. You will need to grow your plant to at least four inches tall before you begin. We’ve used everything from one gallon ice cream buckets to five gallon paint buckets. The main thing your bucket needs is a good handle. A lid is also preferable, but not really necessary.

Cut a hole in the bottom of the bucket. Make it only an inch or two across, you don’t want your plant to fall out. Put some potting soil in the bucket, catching what falls out for future use. Gently position your tomato plant in the hole so that the roots are inside the bucket and the stems are sticking out of the bottom. You may enlist some help for this step unless you already have somewhere to hang your bucket where you can still reach inside.

Gently fill dirt little by little around the roots. Do not pack it tight. Wrap a strip of newspaper around the stem so that it is half-way in the dirt and half-way out. This keeps bugs that may climb around the bucket from climbing down the tomato plant. This trick also works for tomatoes planted in the ground. Finish filling the bucket with dirt because upside down tomato plants can grow a lot of roots.

Because gravity is pulling down on the plant, it will grow thick sturdy stalks that may curve up into the air. They will sprout more stems per stalk than a normal tomato plant and support a lot more weight. Hang your bucket somewhere that gets a lot of sun. If you use a lid, cut a hole in it big enough for rain to enter. Your upside down tomato plant will not need as much water as one planted in the ground because it’s soil will not drain much.

Tomatoes never touch the ground and can get sun all the way around. This helps them to ripen sooner and more evenly than traditional plants. The gravity and additional circulation also helps the tomato plant produce more tomatoes and bigger tomatoes.

You want to let the soil in your tomato plant become almost dry before you water it again. Tomatoes prefer an arid climate and too much water will produce flavorless, light-colored, grainy-fleshed tomatoes like you find in many super markets. Bark-like scars on your tomatoes are a sign that you haven’t over-watered and your tomatoes can hold up to five times the nutrients of over-watered tomatoes. Use a hose reel to keep your hose stored for the long times between watering. With your tomatoes away from bugs and pests, you could have the harvest of a lifetime this summer!

About the Author: Stacy Pessoney is an award winning author and writer of web content for many different web sites. She is well versed in many different areas, including gardening, hose reel, lawn care and landscaping.

Natural Pest Control in Your Garden

Many people are interested in eliminating the use of chemicals and pesticides in their gardens. We just don’t want our families and pets exposed to so many potentially hazardous toxins anymore. So, this brings up the question, “How do I control insects that can destroy my crops without the use of chemicals?”

Who knew that the answer could be “more insects”? Many insects prey on the ones that eat our vegetables. To attract these insects to your garden, you will need to grow plants that attract the predatory insects. For example, ladybugs eat aphids. When trying to attract ladybugs to your garden, plant dill or Queen Anne’s lace. Pirate bugs also eat aphids. You can provide a habitat and food source for them by planting sunflowers near your garden. Parsley attracts bugs that prey on moths, beetles and flies.

Another option is to grow plants that repel insects. For your own comfort, you may decide to plant marigolds, catnip or citronella grass to repel mosquitoes. Marigolds are also effective at repelling many different plant-eating insects. Garlic repels many common pests, such as Japanese beetles, aphids and other beetles that can destroy a vegetable garden.

Insects are not the only pests that you may need to control. Rabbits are a big problem in many areas of the United States. You can put up a fence, but make sure that it is buried a few inches in the ground. Rabbits can squeeze or dig under fences fairly easily. They are less likely to climb into built-up box gardens. Just to be safe, there are a few natural ways to repel rabbits.

Rabbits love clover more than anything. If there is clover around, they will not go near vegetables. So, forget about keeping your lawn manicured and free of clover and it just may control your rabbit problem. If you don’t have clover around, you may want to try another method. Some gardeners have reported success by using hot sauce or red pepper around the garden or even around each plant. Some use vinegar. To use vinegar, soak mulch in it for about an hour and spread it around your garden. The only problem with this is that the vinegar will wear off after a few days of watering, rain or sun exposure. Some people have even used the hair from their brushes or clippings from a salon to deter rabbits. I say, if it’s natural and doesn’t hurt your garden, your family or the rabbits, it’s worth a try.

Taking care of your garden can be a joyful experience. Knowing that you are giving your family the healthiest veggies around is just an added bonus. Keep your garden nice by using a garden hose reel for your water hose. Hopefully you will get to enjoy your vegetables more than the rabbits or insects will.

About the Author: Stacy Pessoney is an award winning author and writer of web content for many different web sites. She is well versed in many different areas, including gardening, hose reel, lawn care and landscaping.

Natural Pest Control in Your Garden

Many people are interested in eliminating the use of chemicals and pesticides in their gardens. We just don’t want our families and pets exposed to so many potentially hazardous toxins anymore. So, this brings up the question, “How do I control insects that can destroy my crops without the use of chemicals?”

Who knew that the answer could be “more insects”? Many insects prey on the ones that eat our vegetables. To attract these insects to your garden, you will need to grow plants that attract the predatory insects. For example, ladybugs eat aphids. When trying to attract ladybugs to your garden, plant dill or Queen Anne’s lace. Pirate bugs also eat aphids. You can provide a habitat and food source for them by planting sunflowers near your garden. Parsley attracts bugs that prey on moths, beetles and flies.

Another option is to grow plants that repel insects. For your own comfort, you may decide to plant marigolds, catnip or citronella grass to repel mosquitoes. Marigolds are also effective at repelling many different plant-eating insects. Garlic repels many common pests, such as Japanese beetles, aphids and other beetles that can destroy a vegetable garden.

Insects are not the only pests that you may need to control. Rabbits are a big problem in many areas of the United States. You can put up a fence, but make sure that it is buried a few inches in the ground. Rabbits can squeeze or dig under fences fairly easily. They are less likely to climb into built-up box gardens. Just to be safe, there are a few natural ways to repel rabbits.

Rabbits love clover more than anything. If there is clover around, they will not go near vegetables. So, forget about keeping your lawn manicured and free of clover and it just may control your rabbit problem. If you don’t have clover around, you may want to try another method. Some gardeners have reported success by using hot sauce or red pepper around the garden or even around each plant. Some use vinegar. To use vinegar, soak mulch in it for about an hour and spread it around your garden. The only problem with this is that the vinegar will wear off after a few days of watering, rain or sun exposure. Some people have even used the hair from their brushes or clippings from a salon to deter rabbits. I say, if it’s natural and doesn’t hurt your garden, your family or the rabbits, it’s worth a try.

Taking care of your garden can be a joyful experience. Knowing that you are giving your family the healthiest veggies around is just an added bonus. Keep your garden nice by using a garden hose reel for your water hose. Hopefully you will get to enjoy your vegetables more than the rabbits or insects will.


About the Author: Stacy Pessoney is an award winning author and writer of web content for many different web sites. She is well versed in many different areas, including gardening, hose reel, lawn care and landscaping.

Building a Box Garden

It’s that time of year again! If you’re like me, you are excited to plant your vegetable garden. The box garden is a popular option because it makes the most of a small space. Plus you don’t have to till up the ground or do any really hard work.

Building the box is simple and cheap. Of course, you could go all out and use expensive wood or build a structure capable of withstanding a flood, but it really is not necessary for the classic box garden. Box gardens are very popular in Japan because they are nice, neat and create a lot of vegetables in a small space.

The secret is that the dirt inside never gets stepped on. It’s nice and loose, allowing roots to penetrate really deep. Plants grow stronger, bigger and produce more vegetables when they are planted up off of the ground like this. You can also place plants closer together and squeeze more in.

To construct your own for practically nothing, buy landscaping timbers. They top out at about three dollars each. You’ll need to stack them two high. The box needs to be a rectangle no more than four feet across. This will allow you to reach the center without ever stepping on the dirt. Make it as long as you would like. I use four 8’ landscaping timbers for each side and two 4’ timbers for each end. I hammer stakes in the ground along the outside to keep the walls from toppling over.

Once your box is in place, fill it up with bags of soil. Check the bag to see how many you need. A normal small bag will fill one cubic foot of space, so for a 16’ long box like mine, I used about 30 bags. You only need the dirt to be about eight inches deep for vegetables. You may want to work in some cow manure, peat moss or other types of soil. Once you have it filled, you can use it for many years. I recommend refreshing the soil yearly with peat moss and new dirt so that your garden doesn’t become low on nutrients.

Now you are ready to plant. Water the new garden thoroughly to see how much it is going to settle. You may decide to add more soil at this point. With a shovel or just your hands, dig out rows short-ways across the box. Each row should be four feet long. Plant your vegetables according to each plant’s directions. But remember, because you are using a box, you can plant closer together than the directions might say. For example, tomato plants normally need to be 18” apart. In a box garden, you can plant them as close as 9” apart. Plus you’ll enjoy more tomatoes from each plant.

You will want to keep your garden hose reel close by for frequent watering because a box garden can dry out more quickly than one located on the ground. Don’t water tomatoes too much or they will lose precious vitamins and turn out whitish and grainy inside. Just a little tip from one tomato fan to another!

About the Author: Stacy Pessoney is an award winning author and writer of web content for many different web sites. She is well versed in many different areas, including gardening, hose reel, lawn care and landscaping.

Beautiful Roses: Gardening and Growing Tips

Roses have long since been recognized as a symbol of beauty. Their reputation of fragrance and color are unsurpassed by any other flower. If you are interested in planting roses in your garden, you may be interested in these special growing tips. Follow these simple steps and you will be on your way to a gorgeous rose garden that you will enjoy for years to come.

Any nursery should have a lot of options for you when you are choosing your roses. Some roses are climbing vines and some are more like bushes, so keep your location in mind when selecting your breed. Roses need a lot of sunlight, around six hours per day, so choose an area that gets a lot of direct sun.

Many people make their rose choices based on appearance. There are many different colors and sizes of blooms to choose from. In general, large blossoms will have little or no scent. Smaller blooms will usually have a more intense aroma. There are so many types of rose bushes that you should be able to choose the color and level of fragrance that you desire. If you are looking for something low maintenance, ask for landscape roses. These have been developed specifically for people who want a hearty shrub that is disease and insect resistant.

Plant your roses in full sunlight if possible. Avoid rocky areas and hard clay that may create standing water around the root system of your rose bush or vine. Soil should be able to drain well. Ideally roses should be planted away from competing plants and trees to get enough water and nutrients from the soil to flourish. Adding compost to the soil will help add nutrients and improve soil drainage around your roses.

When you buy your rose plants, they will either be potted or sold with bare roots. Bare-root roses should only be planted in the early spring after the chance of frost has passed. Soak the bare roots in water for about an hour before you plant them. Potted roses tend to have a better chance of survival. Potted roses can be planted in the spring or the fall, just avoid planting during colder weather as much as possible.

Before you plant, check your soil’s pH. A pH of 5.5 to 7.0 is ideal for roses. Check with your local nursery if you need help adjusting the pH of your soil.

You do not want to plant your roses too deep in the soil. Bare-root plants should only be planted with about one inch of soil covering the top roots. If you have a potted rose bush, plant it in the ground at the same depth that it was when it was in the bucket. To help the roots establish their hold, water the freshly planted rose bush liberally the first time. This helps to settle the soil and encourage roots to start taking in nutrients.

Set up your garden for easy care. Use a hose reel to keep your garden hose reel handy. With a little pruning and watering, your roses can bring you a display of magnificent proportion for years to come. You will not only gain enjoyment from their beauty and fragrance, but also from the gardening experience of creating such an alluring exhibit.

About the Author: Stacy Pessoney is an award winning author and writer of web content for many different web sites. She is well versed in many different areas, including gardening, hose reel, lawn care and landscaping.

Container Gardening

Rapidly becoming a major trend in the gardening world today is the Tuscan garden capturing the beautiful, old world style of gardening. An especially important aspect of a Tuscan-style garden is using containers among the different flowers, trees and shrubs. In order to have a flourishing garden, you must choose the proper type of gardening container to do the most efficient job.

Large objects like urns placed among shrubbery, flowers and trees make ideal focal points and lovely gardening accessories. The use of at least some form of pottery is essential in composing your Tuscan garden. You can choose from large ornate Grecian style urns to simple terra cotta pots. Perhaps you want to use several clumped together, some planted with others empty. Many gardeners like to achieve a more collaborative feel in their own Tuscan garden opting to incorporate several containers.

There are a multitude of options. Have fun mixing the color, texture, and size with the individual plants either contained in the pot or surrounding it. You can be dramatic using contrast or subtle using similar colors. When choosing colors for each gardening container you should remember that the basic color scheme for a Tuscan garden consists of warm, earthy colors such as brown, rusty reds, bright yellow, orange, and deep blues.

When planting in a container, make sure that it has enough drainage holes so that the health of your plants will not be at risk. From any number of varieties of vessels available to plant your plants, it is best to save the ones with smaller necks just for decoration because the plant has difficulty expanding in these quarters unless it is a single small tree in which the urn’s neck would support only the base of a trunk. If a plant grows with long and trailing vines select a container that is tall to accommodate this. When planting succulents or shallow rooted plants, wide low containers will be appropriate.
Mix and match the colors of the pots with the color theme of your plantings. Mix the textures on the containers. Some can be of a high glaze and others can be terra cotta or have an old world quality, and perhaps add a few with Tuscan scenes painted on them to accentuate the feeling.

A way to alter the mood or tone of your Tuscan garden is to change the arrangement of the containers. The containers should be moveable, so this transformation can be made easily and efficiently. Keeping this in mind, you might want to place some of the heavy, larger containers on low, inconspicuous trolleys. Imagine: you will be able to wheel your garden around and change it whenever you want. This also makes it possible to change the conditions of your plantings will receive. Perhaps they will perform better in one location than in another – one of the great conveniences of container gardening. Another advantage is that you can continue to grow your plants indoors when the colder whether starts to hit your area, more or less, moving the outdoors to the indoors.

Dayelle Swensson is an avid writer for the web on a number of topics. Having gardened herself for many years, she is able to advise others about a variety of things including gardening tips, lawn and tree care, watering, hose reel and keeping your home garden looking good and healthy.

It’s Time to Beautify Your Outdoors

As spring approaches and the snow starts to melt, a homeowner starts to look for ways to improve the yard's appearance and function, or create “outdoor rooms” around the house, a recent landscaping design concept. Gardening and landscaping designs come in a potentially overwhelming variety of plans and styles so careful planning is necessary to choose the perfect approach for your needs, style, and purpose. Think about your space and what your physical limitations are. Ask what purpose you want your gardening to serve. Determine how much time are you willing to spend on maintaining your outdoor space before getting started.

If you approach the landscaping as decorating outdoor rooms, start by breaking up the yard into separate areas. Each area will have its own purpose making the yard more functional and less cluttered.

There are several ways to create outdoor rooms: structures such as pergolas, gazebos, trellises and planters can be used to frame an outdoor room. Outdoor rooms can also be defined with plantings of shrubs, borders or trees. Groundcover materials can be another way to divide areas, from low-growing plants or grass to brick formations or patio stones. In each area choose colors that work well together to create a consistent and attractive space. Color should be considered when choosing the flowers, furniture, and accessories. Remember to keep bloom time in mind when planning your color combinations.

Use gates, arbors, and paths to create graceful transitions from one outdoor room to the next. The plantings in these transitional areas need to be coordinated with both the spaces they connect.

The most valuable gardening advice to getting started is to start small. Gardening can be a relaxing and extremely rewarding hobby. Keep it simple in the beginning. Smaller projects allow the gardener to focus on ideal care and leave less opportunity for problems arising simultaneously. Gardens can always be made larger, as plants multiply and more are added. Expansion is always an option to a thriving garden. Downsizing an overwhelming and wildly growing garden is very difficult and not very rewarding.

To start, get to know your plants by reading the tags that mark the pots to know exactly what conditions each plant requires. You do not want to plant shade-loving plants in full sunlit areas. You won’t be able to mix plants that need to be watered a lot with ones that do not need much watering. As the plants you chose start to grow and be comfortable with their surroundings you will have to seek advice beyond the tag information if any problems develop.

Most importantly, have fun gardening and decorating your custom outdoor rooms this spring.

Dayelle Swensson is an avid writer for the web on a number of topics. Having gardened herself for many years, she is able to advise others about a variety of things including gardening tips, lawn and tree care, watering, hose reel and keeping your home garden looking good and healthy.

Asiatic Orienpet Hybrid Lilies

The "Orienpet" lilies are relatively new to the lily world, produced after years of combining the garden persistence, heat tolerance and color of Trumpet and Aurelian hybrids with the sublime beauty of Oriental lilies. The flower color may vary in Orienpets depending on their complex ancestry and the interaction of many pigments, Orienpet lilies often have more intensely colored flowers in cooler weather. Heat and bright light can lighten their colors. Asiatics grow tall stems with many flowers from small bulbs; larger bulbs of these types are less adaptable to transplanting. Below are listed some various Asiatic Orienpet Hybrid Lilies to plant in your garden bed to make it dazzle between mid-July and early August.

‘Yelloween’ has fragrant flowers of luminous yellow with fluted outer petals. The flowers look straight up into the sky, lighting up a perfect candelabrum inflorescence on strong stems four feet tall.

‘Dunyazade’ can stand (with no staking) up to 8 feet tall. Has luscious lemon flowers opening with cool green nectarines— quite a dramatic lily.

‘Orange Crush’ has fragrant large, creamy open bowl flowers with juicy orange centers. Each lush, sturdy stem growing 4 to 5 feet and taller has an abundance of flowers.

‘Silk Road’ has huge white flowers with deep, intensely crimson pink throats. These flowers have an enormous inflorescence with many well-spaced secondary buds lasting for an extended blooming time. Plus they have a wonderful, powerful fragrance.


‘Caravan’ has slender and strong blue-green stems and carry huge outfacing flowers of intense sunshine yellow with brilliant red centers. This fragrant and unique lily will create the ultimate focal point in your summer garden.

‘Luminaries’ puts on a stunning show with tri-colored flowers on a huge and creamy white background containing a wide sunburst of gold at the throat, encircled with a kaleidoscope of deep pink. ‘Luminaries’ bring a totally new rainbow color combination to lilies that blooming in July. The perfume is a delicious combination of the heady fragrance of Trumpets and delicious scents of Orientals.

‘Mother of Pearl’ has heavy-textured flowers with broad petals of shimmering opalescent white, with soft nuances of lemon and peach at its margins. Its fragrance is sublime like the scent of honeysuckle.

‘Alchemy’ has huge, wide-open flowers of deepest red rimmed with a wide margin of rich coppery gold. This unique, spell-binding combination reminds us of the alchemists’s quest to change metals into gold. ‘Alchemy’ will bring magic to your garden, transforming it with long-lasting color and fragrance in mid-July to early August.

‘Pizzazz’ has brilliant orange flowers with shiny red centers. Their more recurved shape, carried on gracefully arching stems. Its lush blue-green leaves make a marvelous contrast.

‘Radiance’ is a luscious, deep raspberry color that glows from within. Cooler temperatures will intensify the color. ‘Radiance’ has an elegantly sculpted form.

These "Orienpet" hydrid lily creations are worth their efforts and will certainly add a touch of intrigue to your summer garden.

Dayelle Swensson is an avid writer for the web on a number of topics. Having gardened herself for many years, she is able to advise others about a variety of things including gardening tips, lawn and tree care, watering, hose reel and keeping your home garden looking good and healthy.

Planting Instructions for Growing Lilies

Lilies are amazing displays of incredible natural beauty with their different color combinations, textures and sizes. Plus they add wonderful fragrance to your garden. Remarkably, they have very simple needs and basically, only require you to plant them in the right place. Choose a well-drained location with at least half a day of sunshine. If it’s too shady, the stems will stretch and lean towards the sun; that isn’t much to ask out of any gardener. Most lilies love full sun, as long as the bulbs are deep enough to keep cool when temperatures soar. If the planting spot is too shady, the stems will lean a little toward the light. Trumpet lilies are the most shade sensitive. To keep the ground cool, mulch the area you plant your lilies.

After you receive your bulbs, you can plant them right in the soil. The sooner you plant your bulbs, the better they will grow and perform. In mild climates, they can be planted anytime the ground is not frozen solid. In colder climates, planting in the fall and early winter will produce stems that flower at the expected time for your zone listed for each type and variety of lily. Planting late in the spring will produce later flowering stems, which may be a little shorter than usual if hot weather comes quickly. But the following winter will reset the lilies' "clocks" and put them on the regular blooming time. Bulbs received from a nursery are usually sent at mature flowering size grown for at least two years in their own fields. Many lily species and species-like Asiatic lilies grow tall stems with many flowers from small bulbs. Larger bulbs of these types are less adaptable to transplanting. Trumpets typically produce larger but readily transplantable bulbs. Oriental bulbs vary depending upon their ancestry.

If you want to make up for a late start or are impatient, you can pot your bulbs and leave them in a "root cellar" environment until sprouts appear. As long as moisture is adequate, they will begin to form roots at very cool temperatures. When it is warmer, you can move the pots outside or transplant the rooted mass right into your garden.

It is important to look for a spot that is the first to dry out after rain because lilies can be bothered by botrytis, a fungus that spots the leaves in prolonged cool, wet weather. If you do see "bull's eye" or brown spots on the leaves, use a copper-based spray or any fungicide recommended for roses to guard against botrytis. Botrytis does not hurt the bulbs, but it reduces the leaf area that should be manufacturing sugar to grow a bigger bulb for next year.

As long as the whole sprout is planted deep enough, lilies with very long sprouts will grow beautiful stems, and the stem will come up nice and straight. If you want to cut the gorgeous flowering stems, leave the bottom two-thirds of the stem, in order to make a nice bulb for the following year. Plant the bulbs 4" to 6" deep. Make sure are planted deep enough so that they stay cool in the summer. Deeper-planted bulbs will be really well anchored. One way to accomplish deeper planting is to make a raised bed, with the lily bulbs at ground level and the soil placed 4" to 6" or deeper on top of them. It isn't necessary to feed the lilies unless your soil is poor or you want to raise super show-lilies. If you fertilize, put on a little well-balanced fertilizer at emergence time and about a month later. Slow-release fertilizers are also good. After flowering, lilies only rarely need more water.

Lilies will increase by division and by growth of small bulbs along the old below-ground stem. Clumps getting too thick will produce weaker stems, so it is a good idea to lift and divide them in September or October.

Dayelle Swensson is an avid writer for the web on a number of topics. Having gardened herself for many years, she is able to advise others about a variety of things including gardening tips, lawn and tree care, watering, hose reel and keeping your home garden looking good and healthy.

Some Favorite Asiatic Lilies and Oriental Hybrids

Many Asiatic lily species and Oriental hybrids grow tall stems with many flowers from small bulbs. These lilies bring amazing beauty, color, and heavenly fragrance to your gardens. Oriental lilies prefer acid soil and temperate, moist summers. Provide them with some shade, mulching, and light fertilizing, if necessary, and they will produce enormous flowers usually towards the end of summer. Bloom time for Oriental lilies varies depending upon their ancestry. All of the beauties described below grow from three to five feet high.

‘Elegant Crown’ is the first pink Asiatic-Oriental lily blooming early for lilies (late June to early July). Its deep rose color outlined in cream will hold its beauty even during the very hot temperatures that can occur in July.

Another hybrid between an Oriental and an Asiatic lily blooming quite early and heat tolerant is the rare ‘First Crown’. It has huge bronze-rose flowers and a sweet, enticing gentle fragrance.

Elegant, eye-catching and richly fragrant ‘Black Tie’ has rich, deep lipstick red flowers trimmed with bright white. It grows a stately four feet tall and performs in August.

Another blooming in August is the long time favorite ‘Casa Blanca’ with world-famous enormous pure white flowers. The fragrance from this incredible beauty is marvelous. Its stems are broad-leaved and robust.

Mix this one in between the two above with its vibrant peony pink luminous blooms. ‘Bernini’ strikes a perfect balance between color and light. It also grows four feet tall in August with a very sweet fragrance.

‘Mambo’ can reach up to five feet tall with glowing rose red blooms displayed on an upward arching pedicel. The color is an especially elegant garden inflorescence, and its fragrance is a special treat to the senses.

‘Muscadet’ is a sumptuous Oriental lily with enormous white ruffled blooms speckled in deep pink with a lighter pink blush. These aromatic, gorgeous flowers are quite long lasting, too holding their shape and color for over a week.

Each flower of the ‘Saporro’ lily is more than 8 inches across. And two thirds of this lovely, fragrant white Oriental’s sturdy stem is decorated with huge blooms. It blooms in late August, and grows four feet tall.

‘Arabian Red’ is one of the finest rich red-purple Oriental lilies available. These lilies will retain their rich color whether in a vase for over a week or growing in your garden throughout a warm August.

Appropriately named ‘Joyful’ has enormous, exuberant bubble-gum pink flowers with a sunny yellow centers generously topped with strawberry spots. It is the medium height of four feet tall and blooms throughout August.

The longest lasting of all the Oriental lilies ‘Miss Lucy’ slowly unfurls fluffy petals, up to fifty on each flower, creating a cloud of soft pink, white and green. This very unique lily ranges from three to four feet and displays late July to early August.

The glorious lily, ‘Rio Negro’ is deep purple-red, with richly colored black nectarines. It has lush, wide, ruffled blooms and a sweet fragrance.

Making a terrific garden plant and an excellent choice for containers, ‘Stargazer’ is probably the best known lily in the world. The flowers of its three foot stem are crimson with a white edge.

Dayelle Swensson is an avid writer for the web on a number of topics. Having gardened herself for many years, she is able to advise others about a variety of things including gardening tips, lawn and tree care, watering, hose reel and keeping your home garden looking good and healthy.

Add Joyful Color to Your Garden with Sunflowers

Sunflowers originated from North America where Native Americans used sunflowers for a variety of uses. Sunflowers are both a beautiful flower and a great vegetable. Healthy, nutritious and attractive, Sunflowers have it all. That is probably why their popularity has spread all around the world.

With a wide choice of sizes, color, and varieties, Sunflowers are easy to grow and add so much to our gardens and yards. They are a good way to attract birds to our homes. Sunflower plants grow well in average to rich soils. They need to grow their roots deep and wide, to enable them to withstand strong winds. Do not plant them in sandy as they are easily uprooted in loose soil. Rich soil is especially important when growing giant varieties. Deep roots also help Sunflowers to withstand most droughts. They grow best in full sun, but are shade tolerant, contrary to what you would think.

They will benefit from a dose of fertilizer when you happen to be applying it to the rest of your garden. This promotes bigger blooms. If you are crowded for space, plant only one or two sunflowers amidst your vine crops. This way they will not seriously shade the vines and add interest with color and shape.

As a vegetable plant, they are high in protein; the seeds are tasty; the oil is great to cook with; and butter can also be produced from the seed. Sunflowers are popular not only because they add warmth to our gardens, but continue to be enjoyed through their many uses. Sunflowers are also great for kids to grow being easy to grow requiring minimal attention. Kids like to grow big things, too. The seeds can also be ground for making breads and cakes. Sunflowers are used to create dyes for clothing, and paint. The plants are medicinally used in ointments and in snakebite remedies.

Sunflower plants can grow over 20 feet tall, and their blooms can reach over two feet in diameter. The most popular giant sunflower plants include Mammoth, American Giant and Skyscraper. Sunflowers are basically separated by size: Giant (varieties grow over ten feet), Regular Sunflowers typically grow from six to ten feet, and Miniatures (gaining in popularity used as bordersor edging).

Space Giant Sunflowers three feet apart in rows three to four feet apart. Regular to intermediate sizes should be spaced two feet apart in rows three feet apart, and space Miniatures one foot apart in rows three feet apart. For individual planting, put the seedling or seeds in just about any sunny location.

Sunflowers always point their blooms or face to the rising sun in the East. Just another reason why they are so named. Some of Vincent van Gogh’s most famous works are his Sunflower series. He painted a total of twelve of these canvases. In many of his letters, Vincent spoke glowingly of the richness of color that he saw in Sunflowers. He really loved the sunflowers for themselves as they appealed to his joy in color, and he certainly left a legacy to enjoy.

Dayelle Swensson is an avid writer for the web on a number of topics. Having gardened herself for many years, she is able to advise others about a variety of things including gardening tips, lawn and tree care, watering, hose reel and keeping your home garden looking good and healthy.

Different Kinds of Garlic

Basically, there are two types of garlic: hard-neck and soft-neck. Hard-necked garlic was the original and soft-necked garlic was cultivated over time by growers through a process of selection. From there, the differences are found in the garlic’s taste, size, outer skin, number of cloves per bulb, color, pungency and storability.

There are said to be over 600 cultivated sub-varieties of garlic, although most of them may be selections of only a handful of basic types. The latest research claims that ten fairly distinct groups of garlic have evolved including five very different hard-neck varieties called Porcelain, Purple Stripe, Marbled Purple Stripe, Glazed Purple Stripe, and Rocambole; three varieties of weakly bolting hard-necks that often produce soft-necks: Creole, Asiatic, and Turban, plus two distinct soft-neck groups: Artichoke and Silver skin.

A hard-neck garlic appropriately named Purple Stripe is vividly striped with purplish vertical stripes decorating the bulb wrappers. In between the purple stripes, their bulb wrappers are usually very white and thick. This coloration is affected by growing conditions, particularly weather. They tend to be rather rich in flavor. Standard Purple Stripes (Chesnok Red and Persian Star) make the sweetest roasted garlic.

A soft-necked garlic (Allium Sativum) called Artichoke Garlic is the kind seen in most supermarkets. These artichoke garlics are among the easiest to grow and produce large bulbs that have lots of cloves, usually somewhere between 12 and 20. Artichokes store well and have a wide range of flavors with some, like Simoneti and Red Toch, being very mild and pleasant. Others, such as Inchelium Red and Susanville, have greater depth of flavor. Chinese Purple and Purple Cauldron are much stronger and stick around for a while. The Asiatic group of the artichoke garlic tends to send up shoots, despite the fact that they're supposed to be soft-necks. The Turban group of the artichoke garlic is the most colorful and has fewer cloves per bulb than the others.

Silver skin garlics are the ones that you see in braids mainly because they are the longest storing of all the garlics and have a soft pliable neck. Their bulb wrappers are very white although the clove covers can be strikingly colorful as in the case of Nootka Rose or Rose du Var.

The Creole garlics are a unique group of garlics, and one of the easiest eating raw garlics owing to a taste that is rich and full with only a very moderate pungency. Creole Red and Ajo Rojo are noticeably stronger in taste, however; and they retain their flavor well when cooked.

Porcelain garlics are among the most beautiful with very thick, luxuriant bulb wrappers. Porcelains are strong tasting garlics with a few exceptions and can store for up to eight months or more at a cool room temperature. Porcelains grow better in northern climates.

Rocambole garlics tend to have thin bulb wrappers with lots of purple striping and splotches. The flavor of the Rocambole garlic is intense and complex—sweet as opposed to aggressively sulfurous. Because of this, they are a favorite to use when raw garlic is called for, such as for crushing and mixing with vinegar or lemon and olive oil for a salad. Rocamboles are among the best when garlic is prominently featured in the cuisine. Their only drawback is that they are among the shortest storing garlics of all.

Dayelle Swensson is an avid writer for the web on a number of topics. Having gardened herself for many years, she is able to advise others about a variety of things including gardening tips, lawn and tree care, watering, hose reel and keeping your home garden looking good and healthy.

Tricks for Satisfactory Homegrown Garlic

Garlic is just about the best ingredient to use for making food more flavorful. Many home gardeners have discovered it is rather easy to grow your own garlic. Homegrown garlic can be disappointing however, producing small bulbs, bulbs with only one big soft clove, or even no bulb at all. The causes of unsatisfactory production come down to the quality of the seed clove, growing conditions, the variety, the variables of the season, and disease. Some garlic strains will just not bulb satisfactorily in your area. Garlic varieties adapt to a fair range of day lengths, intensity of cold, and accumulated heat conditions. Try locally sold seed cloves because they may well be the best variety for your climate.

When preparing your soil, beef up the nutrient status of your soil by working in a complete fertilizer before sowing. Liquid manures are also beneficial. Your soils pH must be above 6.0. Ideally, a deep, fertile, very well drained soil is needed.

Generally speaking, garlic can be planted in autumn through to early winter. Under warm temperate climatic conditions autumn planted garlic will remain dormant for a few weeks, then develop roots and a shoot. With the onset of the cold of winter growth is fairly slow until temperatures warm in spring. The cold of winter is needed to initiate the side buds that will ultimately grow and swell to become cloves. The lengthening days of spring are the signal for the initiated but undeveloped side buds to start forming into cloves.

Choose the best: the biggest and fattest seed cloves to sow. Sow them root end down, standing erect, and about an inch or so under the soil surface. Place them about 4 inches apart.

It is important to have a free draining soil. Cloves put in early in winter will have a longer cold treatment and will respond to lengthening days in the spring more quickly than those put in later. Know there is always a risk of the cloves rotting in a cold wet soil. Excellent drainage is a must to give an edge on climate and disease. 

Garlic competes poorly with weeds. Try to keep them meticulously weeded, if possible. Be careful with the hoe, however. Tragic occurrences can happen with a hurried hoe. If the weather is dry, mulch them to conserve water. Mulching also helps defer the weeds. Water your garlic plants well and regularly in dry periods.

The plants are ready to harvest when the foliage has died off, or mostly died off. Since garlic’s outer parchment often rots left in wet soil, harvest a bit earlier if it happens to be very wet at harvest time. Then dry the bulbs under cover. The bulbs should be washed, especially the roots, and leave them for a week or so to dry. If you live in a hot climate area, dry them out of the sun or your precious bulbs will sunburn. When the bulbs are dry, you can trim off the roots, brush off the outer discolored parchment, and braid the dried leaves together if you wish to hang it for a decorative way to store your garlic.

Store garlic in a dry place. Most kitchens are fine. The ideal storage conditions are temperatures of around 50°F, dry, and well ventilated. Giving your garlic a reasonable advantage by following these suggestions just might mean a successful produce for your homegrown garlic.

Dayelle Swensson is an avid writer for the web on a number of topics. Having gardened herself for many years, she is able to advise others about a variety of things including gardening tips, lawn and tree care, watering, hose reel and keeping your home garden looking good and healthy.

Let’s Plant Some Lilies

Lily bulbs can be planted anytime the ground is not frozen solid and is dry enough to dig a hole without making clods. In the mild climates, they can be planted in the fall and early winter and you can expect flowers starting that spring. If you plant in the early spring, the flowering stems will produce later and the stems may be a little shorter than usual if hot weather comes quickly. The following winter will automatically reset the lilies' clocks regulating them to the standard blooming time. Lilies bloom at similar times to when the roses begin to flower.

Plant your bulbs as soon as you are able. If you can’t plant them right away, store them in a cool-but-not-frozen place above 28°F. Your garage is a good place for temporary storage. Keep the bulbs in the dark because exposure to light will make them sprout quickly, and then they must be planted right away.

If you want to make up for a late start, you can pot your bulbs and leave them in a "root cellar" environment until sprouts appear. They will begin to form roots at very cool temperatures, as long as moisture is adequate. When it is warmer, you can move the pots outside or transplant the rooted mass with its emerging shoot right into the garden.

The planting spot should have good drainage with at least half a day of sun. If it's too shady, the stems will lean a little toward the light. Full sun is necessary if you are doing mass plantings. Since lilies can be bothered by botrytis, a fungus that spots the leaves in prolonged cool, wet weather, choose to plant your lilies in a spot where after a rain, it dries out quickly.

Plant the bulbs 4" to 6" deep. In the summer they prefer to stay cool, so deeper planting is a good idea. Deeper-planted bulbs will be really well anchored, with roots above and below the bulb. Another way to accomplish deeper planting is to make a raised bed. This also assures superb drainage, which is important for lilies. A radius of at least 6" per bulb gives each stem some elbow room.

Loosen up the soil at the bulb and lightly pat the soil on the top and once the warm sun starts to hit the planting spot regularly, the little shoots with start to rise. If you want to fertilize, put on a little well-balanced fertilizer at emergence time and then about a month later. Lilies do not actually need to be feed unless your soil is really poor. Too much nitrogen can produce lush leaves but weak stems, and bulb rot can occur in hot, wet areas; so do not overdo it. Lilies only rarely need more water after flowering. The Asiatics, Trumpets, and Orienpets are well adapted to dry summer areas, if they have enough water until flowering time. Since the Orientals don't flower until August, they will need watering during hot, dry summers. Mulch your lilies in the summer to help keep the bulbs cool and the watering to a minimum.

Lilies bring beauty, color, fragrance, and enjoyment to your garden for many years.

Dayelle Swensson is an avid writer for the web on a number of topics. Having gardened herself for many years, she is able to advise others about a variety of things including gardening tips, lawn and tree care, watering, hose reel and keeping your home garden looking good and healthy.

Different Hydrangea Varieties

There are many species of this shrub to choose to grow in your landscape design. They have many positive aspects and are a pleasant showy splash of color in your garden. Most species of hydrangeas can be grown in either full sun or partial shade. They are resistant to most insects and diseases. They can be grown in a wide range of soil but prefer a rich, moist soil and make sure they are planted where watering will not be a problem. Their large, soft leaves lose water quickly, especially on hot, windy days, causing the foliage to wilt, so avoid dry windy sites. A list of some Hydrangea species you may want to consider follows.

Hydrangea macrophylla — Hortensia or Florist Hydrangea is a widely grown hydrangea with large globe-shaped flowers. The color of its blooms is dependent upon the pH of the soil in which it is grown: blue if acid; pink if alkaline (lime can be added to the soil to force this). There are also several white-flowered cultivars. Pruning can be accomplished at two different times: early spring and late summer (more desirable). Most hortensia types flower only from the end buds of upright or lateral shoots produced during late summer. Prune from the lower parts of the stems and crown as soon as the flowers have faded and strong shoots are developing. Pruning this species too late in the fall (after September) is harmful. Hydrangea macrophylla is a good seashore shrub; flowering is more profuse in an open, sunny location; however, hydrangeas are shade-tolerant.

Hydrangea quercifolia — Oakleaf Hydrangea is grown primarily for its handsome oak leaf-shaped foliage, as you might have guessed. It adds excellent color with attractive flowers in the fall and interest in the winter with its bark. It is This hydrangea is best suited to a lightly shaded or protected location. Expect some winter dieback if grown in an exposed site. Remove dead wood in the early spring to below the point of injury.

Hydrangea arborescens 'Grandiflora'— Hills-of-Snow Hydrangea should be pruned to the ground line each winter or early spring because it flowers abundantly on new growth. Frequently this hydrangea is killed back during winter. If a larger shrub is desired (3+ feet), prune less severely.

Hydrangea paniculata 'Grandiflora'— Pee Gee Hydrangea is the most commonly planted hydrangea because of its massive displays of large white flowers in mid-to-late summer. These gradually turn to pink and oddly remain on the plant in a semi-dried condition long after the leaves have fallen. It is important to thin and/or cut back the previous season's growth in late winter or early spring, since flower clusters will occur on newly developing branches. Without this pruning, Grandiflora can become overgrown and out of scale in the landscape unless you desire it to be developed into a single or multi-stemmed tree form.

Hydrangea anomala petiolaris —Climbing Hydrangea is a desirable mid-summer flowering deciduous woody vine that attaches itself by aerial roots to brick, masonry or wood including other trees. Often little or no pruning is required. If some shoots have grown out of bounds, just clip their length in summer.

Hydrangeas are workhorses in the garden, producing sumptuous petals of color to add beauty to your garden. They can continue to please by being captured easily in dried flower arrangements, providing the last gasp of your summer garden. All the above varieties make excellent dried flower arrangements.

Dayelle Swensson is an avid writer for the web on a number of topics. Having gardened herself for many years, she is able to advise others about a variety of things including gardening tips, lawn and tree care, watering, hose reel and keeping your home garden looking good and healthy.

Tiger Lilies, Perennial Panthers of the Meadow

The perennial lily with flowers growing up to three inches in width was named ‘tiger’, probably referring to the spots on its fiery orange petals. This exotic lily has a strong, sweet and distinctively lily smell. Surprisingly, the flower buds, roots and shoots of this plant are all edible. These can often have a bitter flavor, however when baked, lily bulbs taste rather like potatoes. Tiger Lily buds are added to Chinese dishes; and they also can enhance the flavor of egg dishes and salads.

There are two varieties of the Tiger Lily: the Oriental variety that propagates through bulbs that form at leaf axils, and the common wildflower variety propagating by tuberous roots. Due to its wild growing nature, the Tiger Lily is incredibly easy to grow. They thrive well in moist to wet soils and grow well near the ditches. Actually, another name given to this perennial is ‘ditch’ lily because of this characteristic. Early to mid-autumn is the best time to plant out the bulbs in cool temperate areas. In warmer climates they can be planted out in late autumn.

The Tiger Lily has six stamens composed of anthers and filaments, one pistil composed of the stigma, style and ovary, a long style, and a three-lobed stigma. The Tiger Lily is sterile and does not produce seeds. To propagate, remove bulb scales from the bulbils (small bulbs) that grow in the axils of the leaves. Place these in moist peat in a cool dark place in a nursery until they produce bulbets that can be later planted outside.

The Tiger Lily does not require any special care. Tiger Lilies are among the most adaptable and long-lived summer bulbs. Almost anywhere you plant them they will grow even more beautifully the next year around. Tiger Lilies are happy in partial shade and can be planted where shade from overhanging trees would discourage other flowers. Fertilizers are needed only in the poorest of soils. Tiger Lilies can be sometimes attacked by slug or lily beetles. If you find these on your lilies just simply remove them by hand.

Very tall and exotic in appearance, the Tiger Lily makes an unusual display with the lily’s petals curling back to expose inner black dots and several long stamen. Plants can grow up to 5 feet tall with fairly strong stems. The soft, medium green leaves of the lily are elegant, a few inches long with a pointed tip. Leaves grow from the base of the plant up to the bloom point. Many flowers are on a single stem and there are several stems to a plant.

Some interesting and little-known facts about this lily are that it was first described in 1753 by the famous Swedish botanist Carl von Linne (Linnaeus). The Tiger Lily has proven to have significant medicinal uses. A tincture made from a fresh plant has great value in uterine-neuralgia, congestion and irritation, also in the nausea and vomiting associated with pregnancy. The flower essence helps in suppressing aggressive tendencies in individuals and helps in holistic healing. Tiger Lily has some toxic effects on cats and it can produce vomiting, in appetence, lethargy, kidney failure, even death. There is a superstition that smelling Tiger Lily will give you freckles, maybe started with the lily’s spotted interior. And lastly, the Tiger Lily stands for wealth and prosperity.

Dayelle Swensson is an avid writer for the web on a number of topics. Having gardened herself for many years, she is able to advise others about a variety of things including gardening tips, lawn and tree care, watering, hose reel and keeping your home garden looking good and healthy.

Hydrangeas Used in Landscaping

Hydrangeas are very popular for landscaping mainly because of their dazzling display of flowers and spectacular foliage. It also is an easy to care for shrub given the correct growing environment. And a magical occurrence is that the color of hydrangea flowers can be manipulated by just changing the soil pH-dependent mobilization and uptake of soil aluminium into the plants.

Hydrangea macrophylla is a species native to Japan and Korea. However, it is widely cultivated in many parts of the world in many climates, and a must have shrub for shade and partial shade being that is so showy. In this country we refer to it as a "French Hydrangea". In landscaping design, Hydrangea macrophylla add a splash of springtime color to shady areas and woodland gardens. Once hydrangeas become established, they can grow quite vigorously. If they do become prolific, occasional summer pruning is recommended to keep them in bounds. The flowers are easily air-dried and are long lasting making terrific indoor décor displays.

Macrophylla tends to grow ball shaped flowers. The blossoms are either pink or blue depending on the soil pH. If the pH of the soil is below 5.5, the flower tends to be blue. If soil pH is higher, they will be pink although some cultivars will retain their original color irrespective of soil pH. Soil pH can be changed (lowered) using aluminum sulfate available in garden centers. If you definitely want pink flowers, add lime instead.

Hydrangeas also come in a climbing variety, a flowering deciduous vine. Plant taxonomy classifies climbing hydrangeas as Hydrangea anomala ssp. petiolaris. Newly planted climbing hydrangea vines are slow to grow and slow to bloom. Once established, these plants are true climbers, using "holdfasts" to scale walls or trellises, good for shady areas. Grow climbing hydrangea vines up trees, garden arbors, pergolas and fences. Even though they won't flower as profusely if planted in full shade, these shade-tolerant vines provide attractive foliage that can cover quite an area once the plants mature.

In early summer, climbing hydrangeas produce fragrant, lacy, flat-topped, white flower heads. These "lace caps" can be five inches or more in width and are composed of showy flowers on the outside accompanied by less-than-showy flowers on the inside. The leaves of climbing hydrangea vines turn yellowish in autumn. The plants' exfoliating bark affords winter interest. Climbing hydrangeas that do get more sun tend to bloom more profusely. The soil should be moist, well-drained, and contain plenty of humus.

Dayelle Swensson is an avid writer for the web on a number of topics. Having gardened herself for many years, she is able to advise others about a variety of things including gardening tips, lawn and tree care, watering, hose reel and keeping your home garden looking good and healthy.

Good Ground Covers to Replace Lawn

Consider what is involved with keeping your lawn looking good— fuel for power mowers, toxic emissions, fertilizers and pesticides, water consumption and weekend time are all part of the cost of lawn maintenance. Groundcovers are a landscaping alternative that make sense.

Groundcovers are low-lying plants, usually chosen with aesthetic considerations in mind and requiring minimal maintenance. They can be saviors for homeowners who are stuck with having to mow steep slopes. Or maybe grass is simply impossible to grow where homeowners thought they would have lawn, for instance, it may be just too shady in this area. Groundcovers also offer landscape solutions for problem areas. If groundcovers are projected to cover a very large expanse, the initial cost will probably be greater than for sowing grass seed; but groundcovers save money in the long run eliminating the repeated maintenance costs involved with a lawn.

Despite some overlap, groundcovers and cover crops are different groups of plants. Cover crops are sometimes used as living mulches. Clover is an example of a cover crop. Often cover crops are tilled into the soil not long after being planted simply to supply the soil with amendments. Groundcovers may inhabit a stretch of land for many years. They never grow very high, so they never need to be cut. Areas planted in groundcover will need little to no maintenance. During the first year, new plantings will require weeding and mulching, but once established, little care is warranted.

Choosing a groundcover usually involves decisions about texture, density, spreading capacity, and how well they choke out the weeds. Your garden center can recommend local groundcover varieties and their characteristics. Some groundcovers are edible, such as strawberries or low-growing herbs. Dwarf dogwood (also called bunchberry), and herbs like thyme and oregano work as groundcovers for limited areas. Also know that groundcovers need an edge barrier or boundary to contain them such as a low brick or wood edging.

Moss ground covers can be used as an alternative to lawn grass in shady spots. Other groundcovers for shade are an ajuga called Dicentra, and two types of pachysandra. These shade-tolerant groundcovers have to be established for at least one growing season before the area can suffer a lot of traffic.

Bunchberry is an evergreen with white flowers in spring and red berries in the fall. If this groundcover is difficult to get started, work in a humus-type soil. Golden creeping Jenny can be a vigorous grower, and grows nicely over and among rocks. Wild ginger is shiny heart-shaped leaves with amazing maroon flowers appearing in spring. Corsican mint offers dense coverage. No holes in this mat of tiny foliage. And when you step on it, you'll get a whiff of peppermint. A slope with well-drained soil, rich in humus, can be covered with creeping phlox plants as a groundcover to prevent any erosion. This ground cover grows best in full sun. Another groundcover that thrives in full sun yet tolerates full shade too, is a vine called Virginia creeper. It will transform your yard into a shimmering curtain of wide green five-fingered leaves.

Dayelle Swensson is an avid writer for the web on a number of topics. Having gardened herself for many years, she is able to advise others about a variety of things including gardening tips, lawn and tree care, watering, hose reel and keeping your home garden looking good and healthy.

Choosing and Planting the Right Vine for Your Garden

As with all plants, a little research is necessary to decide which vine to choose for your growing needs, and where and how to plant the selection. Vines grown in cooler northern areas may not be adapted to warmer regions. Conversely, many tropical or subtropical vines will not survive the winters of the north.

Choose a vine according to the function it will play in your landscape. Do you want the vine to be used as a screen or to soften the look of a dividing wall? Do you want the vine to show color or attract hummingbirds and butterflies? A thing you should also consider is planting one or more vines together so that when one finishes blooming, another begins, creating a tapestry of foliage and flowers.

Many vines, such as Cross Vine and Trumpet Creeper, will grow as tall as their support will allow so you must think of the kind of support you want. If you choose a trellis, remember the height of this support determines where the most foliage and flowers will occur. Often vines are sparse near the ground and the greatest concentration is near the top growth. The chosen trellis or other support should be placed several inches away from walls. This placement allows air movement between wall and vine reducing the possibility of mold and mildew to grow on the surfaces. Vines should be kept off of roof shingles and siding to avoid any damage to buildings.

Where a plant is located in a landscape will influence how well it will tolerate cold temperatures. Tender species of vines can be planted on the south and east sides of buildings protected from cold northwestern winds. Vines planted in protected areas are more likely to survive than if planted in exposed locations. The amount of sunlight required by vines varies, but most vines grow and flower best in full sunlight to partial shade. Other site characteristics such as salt spray, water drainage and soil type also help determine the type of vine is best for your landscape. Poor soil drainage causes the roots of some vines to decay while others are adapted to wet areas.

Vines grow best in a slightly acid, loose, well-drained soil. When conditions differ from this, select vines which are adapted rather than changing soil conditions to suit a particular type of vine.

Vines are planted in the same manner as other plants. Vines should be mulched with preferably organic material. Mulches insulate the soil and roots, conserve moisture and help control weeds.

The success or failure of a planting often depends on whether the plants receive adequate moisture. Vines require months of being watered frequently to enable them to extend their roots firmly into the surrounding soil and get more established.

Dayelle Swensson is an avid writer for the web on a number of topics. Having gardened herself for many years, she is able to advise others about a variety of things including gardening tips, lawn and tree care, watering, hose reel and keeping your home garden looking good and healthy.

The Versatility of Flowering Vines

Unfortunately, clinging vines have had a bad connotation deriving from the age-old fairy tale about Jack and the climbing beanstalk. But it is now time to put that child’s story away and discuss all the virtues of flowering vines and other attractive climbers and creepers. Flowering vines are used in landscape design for both aesthetic and utilitarian purposes. The versatility of flowering vines is truly impressive. A lot of that versatility has to do with the fact that vines can either stay close to the ground functioning as ground covers or climb and be used to decorate trellises, arbors, and fences.

Being that many flowering vines attract hummingbirds, a characteristic that appeals to both gardeners and bird watchers, whole garden landscapes are focused on this aspect now. Bird watchers desirous of attracting hummingbirds with flowers dripping with nectar need not sacrifice landscaping beauty. Climbing vines, to name one, the trumpet vine, adept at attracting our attention with its bright orange color, is also considered among the best to attract hummingbirds, hungry for the food that they bear. Magnifica Honeysuckle, a low creeper vine with large scarlet flowers also attracts hummingbirds. Many flowering vines are rich nectar sources for not only hummingbirds, but for butterflies too.

The vertical dimension is always an important consideration in landscape design to add interest and variety. Vertical relief to flat horizontal spaces can be welcomed with a framework structure like an arbor. Arbors work best when covered with vines offering periods of shade to plants below. Vines when grown on arbors can provide lovely doorways transitioning from one area of the landscape to another.

Chain-link fences are hardly appealing on their own, but when decorated with climbing flowering vines they can make quite a statement. They also can provide, in some cases, a form of a privacy screen sheltering your backyard activities from unwelcome outside attention. Vines can be used to soften and add interest to fences, walls and other hard spaces.

Some vine plants can serve a utilitarian function as ground covers for erosion control. Undesirable trees, posts, and poles can be transformed using vines to alter their form, texture and color.

Vines can be separated into three basic types: clinging, twining, and sprawling. Clinging vines attach to surfaces using specialized organs such as roots or tendrils. Twining vines climb by encircling upright vertical supports. They are often used on poles, vertical wires, or lattice structures. Most of these vines will spiral in only one direction characteristic of the species. Sprawling vines are basically shrubs that produce long runners, but have no means of attaching themselves to a support. So this type of vine needs to be manually wound around a support or braced up in some way. They usually become woody and self-supporting with age.

Dayelle Swensson is an avid writer for the web on a number of topics. Having gardened herself for many years, she is able to advise others about a variety of things including gardening tips, lawn and tree care, watering, hose reel and keeping your home garden looking good and healthy.

Some Great Gifts for Your Gardening Friends

The rewards of gardening are plentiful. But sometimes it is nice to receive a gift to make the work of gardening a bit more comfortable or easier. Even though for most, gardening is a chore of love, having the right tool for the specific task is not only a time saver but gets the job done correctly and more efficiently.

A lot of time in the garden is spent on your knees close to the earth. A gift of cushioned kneepads is a thoughtful one. They are good for working in the soil, and also can be useful when working on harder surfaces such as wood, asphalt, and even concrete. Surprisingly, they can be so comfortable that a gardener can forget he or she is even wearing them.

Hauling mulch around an area can be time consuming. Give a large garden cart to your gardening friend you know has a lot of this heavy hauling to do. This cart will take fewer trips holding about five times the amount the common wheelbarrow can hold. It will also come in handy when planting larger shrubs being much sturdier and stable than a wheelbarrow.

A potting table is a wonderful gift. A special place at just the right height to change around plants to bigger pots or different ones is always so useful for any gardener. A soil tray is a good thing and one with a sink is even better.

All-in-one efficiency tools are always a good gift. A multi-purpose garden knife that can dig holes and cut roots makes the transplanting task easy; and this can be found all in just one tool. With this tool, days in the garden become less about work and more about enjoying yourself in the garden.

Many gardeners appreciate items of garden art received as gifts which often hold memories of times spent with vacationing friends and neighbors. These little treasures can be placed throughout the garden creating a personal touch.

A living gift keeps on giving and giving. Instead of buying cut roses that would eventually just die, consider giving a rose bush. This rose bush will keep on multiplying more beautiful roses on its branches, and also give cut roses for years to come.

Sometimes gardeners have injuries or develop medical conditions that prevent them from gardening the way they used to garden. A lightweight little power tiller can really help in this case bringing joy back into the act.

Support apparatus for vine-type plantings or a sturdy arbor for a wandering wisteria could be just the perfect gift. Whatever is chosen to grow on the support will be displayed much more vividly and will happily show its gratitude continually.

Probably the most thoughtful garden gifts are tools given down from one gardener to the next gardener in the family. If a gardener keeps his or her tools in good condition, they will keep performing for many years to come.
A wooden handle might have to be replaced, but knowing that same tool had been in use for over half a century or more is a real treasure.

A gardening journal makes a great gift to keep records of annual plantings. It can be a resource for memories and it can remind you that gardening is a process and a constant learning experience. The best journals have places for daily notes as well as a plant inventory list and a place where harvests can be documented.

Dayelle Swensson is an avid writer for the web on a number of topics. Having gardened herself for many years, she is able to advise others about a variety of things including gardening tips, lawn and tree care, watering, hose reel and keeping your home garden looking good and healthy.

Dethatch Your Lawn to Keep It Healthy and Beautiful

A beautiful lawn is enjoyed not only by the homeowner but by neighbors and everyone who passes by. A beautiful lawn can be the envy of the neighborhood. Many people have cut back on lawn services to cut expenses in this poor economy and are doing it themselves. Learning how to properly care for a lawn requires understanding terms like dethatching. Experts say that dethatching your lawn is a necessary task if you want to have a beautiful lawn.

Thatch is the layer of plant material both living and dead that can include grass clippings, leaves, dead stems and roots which reside between the roots of grass plants and the green grass. Thatch can develop quickly if you don’t mow your lawn regularly and leave the large grass clippings for mulch. These large grass clippings decompose slowly and can create a thick layer of thatch. It’s best to mow the lawn frequently so that the grass clippings are small and will decompose quickly. Thatch develops naturally also as the grass throws off roots, leaves, etc.. Some thatch is good because it protects the roots. Too much thatch stops the moisture, air and many nutrients from going into the soil. Lawns with too much thatch dry out quicker which makes the lawn turn brown particularly during a drought.

How do you know if the thatch on your lawn is too thick? You can tell by looking at it but the thatch shouldn’t be more than 1 inch deep on the lawn. If it is thicker than this it is a good idea to dethatch the lawn. Once this is done you should only have to dethatch every 2 or 3 years if you maintain your lawn regularly.

If you have a small lawn you can use a thatching rake. This rake slices into the lawn vertically and brings up all the dead material. It is best to rake in one direction to minimize damage to the grass roots. Once you have the dead thatch material on the surface you can use a leaf rake to rake it all up. The thatch makes great compost which can be reapplied to the lawn after it has decomposed.

If you have a large lawn you can rent a power rake, also called a vertical mower, from a equipment rental store. This machine has blades that spin vertically and pull the thatch to the surface as they cut into the layer of thatch.

The best time of year to dethatch a lawn is in the summer, fall or early spring. It shouldn’t be done once growth has started in the spring because the grass needs the nutrients and energy stored in the roots.

Dayelle Swensson is an avid writer for the web on a number of topics. Having gardened herself for many years,she is able to advise others about a variety of things including gardening tips, lawn and tree care, watering, hose reel and keeping your home garden looking good and healthy.

Starting Your Bonsai Out Strongly

Limited space need be no detriment to extreme gardening as Chinese gardeners pioneered and Japanese gardeners have shown through their innovative practice of Bonsai for thousands of years. Chinese gardeners invented Bonsai (literally, tray-plant) in the third century B.C., and its transition to art form is due mainly to developments and continuing practice by Japanese gardeners through the centuries. Bonsai does not refer to any specific species of plant; the artful practice of pruning and shaping can be applied to many varieties of plants, though, of course some work better than others. As a rule, evergreens and conifers respond well to the manipulating and training involved in bonsai, so these types are excellent for a novice to begin with.

Bonsai is container gardening at its most artistic and advanced. The objective is not only for your plant to grow and flourish, but to also be adaptable and grow in a way similar to a particular style and look you have predetermined. If growing your plant outdoors, it is best to choose a hardier species such as pine or spruce. These two trees do very well in cooler weather, and as long as they receive adequate water from your hose reel, they should be easily manipulated in form as well. Indoors, many more options and types of plants exist such as ficus, azaleas, and others. The type of plant you choose should be most hospitable to the environment in which it will be kept. A visit to your local garden and plant store should help you with your ultimate choice. It is extremely beneficial to talk to expert employees at your local shop, especially if you plan to grow your bonsai outdoors, as it is necessary to know the profiles of the plants you are considering in order to make the best choice for your climate and environs. Many plant stores in the United States will provide starts specifically designed for the art of bonsai due the rapid growth and interest in bonsai horticulture. If this is the case, your choice will be made much easier, and you can choose with confidence that your plant will perform exceedingly well in your particular geographical location.

When you get your plant home, pick a location within your house (or outside) where your plant will routinely receive sun exposure. Adding a little moss around the base of your tree will help keep the necessary moisture gleaned from water applications. Making sure the soil is damp and that your plant receives adequate sunlight is truly all that needs to be done for the first six months. Once six months have passed, true creativity and training will begin.

About the author: Jon Bassfarm is an Internet content writer who enjoys researching and writing about many subjects including hose reel and landscaping.

Bringing the Wild Inside: Growing Jungle Cacti Indoors

Growing houseplants can be a relaxing hobby that can add an organic livelihood to your indoor environment without too much effort or forethought. A beautiful option for indoor growing that is sometimes overlooked is the cactus. While a large variety of cacti exist, they can be subdivided into two large groups, separated by the environment in which they naturally grow. A desert cactus is the type of cactus that comes to mind for most when thinking about cacti, because it is the most familiar. Desert cacti grow in arid, dry areas where water is scarce, and only the hardiest of organisms survive. The other type of cacti and the focus of this article is the less commonly known, jungle cacti, which flourish in rainforests and jungle environments across the globe.

Jungle cacti in the wild are most often found growing on trees or in rocky, craggy areas as they find most of the nutrients they need to survive in these locations. The jungle cactus gets its essential food and nutrients from decomposing leaves and naturally existing components in the air. It is most essential to provide the correct consistency of soil for their roots when growing in your indoor environment. The soil must be extremely well draining as the conditions found in a tree or rocky jungle floor would be, in order to avoid standing water that can be extremely detrimental to the cacti’s root system. Jungle cacti also demand a richer soil than their desert counterpart; imagine how rich the soil in a dense, humid rainforest might be, now replicate it! Fertilizer can be extremely helpful to add the necessary nutrients for your jungle cactus to flourish and grow, so be sure and add some to your soil mixture.

As you would probably imagine, jungle cacti require more water than their desert cousins, due to the naturally occurring conditions of their native environment. Outside growing cacti, in warmer climes of course, can get some of their liquid nourishment from the elements rather than all supplied by you and your garden hose reel. Indoors, a routine needs to be established for watering, with weekly finger checks of the soil necessary to prescribe when water is required. If the soil feels dry when sticking your finger just under the surface, water is needed; if wet to the touch, abstain. Remember that watering your cactus too often can be just as harmful as watering it too little. The last ingredient for healthy jungle cacti growth is sunlight. Whether naturally or artificially supplied, full sunny exposure for half the day, and shade the other half works best for your cactus to bloom and grow.

Undoubtedly, if this is your first foray into cactus growing, it will not be your last. Cacti are a wonderful addition to your indoor decor, complimenting the environment, and coexisting well with whatever other plants you choose to grow in your home.

About the author: Jon Bassfarm is an Internet content writer who enjoys researching and writing about many subjects including garden hose reel and landscaping.

Showy Decorative Plants

Plants with gorgeous foliage, stunning blooms, and dramatic shapes can add a striking splash of color to your home or office. Growing healthy, showy plants indoors in the winter can help the energy in a place to be more positive and pleasant, and can actually help cure the winter blues. Surprisingly, indoor plants are as easy to care for as their outdoor counter parts. Given the right spot to grow, they thrive just perfectly and a greenhouse isn’t even necessary, as many hardcore gardeners believe. If the air in your home or office is dry, there are a few things you can do to increase the humidity. The first thing that will help is to gather the plants near one another in a group. Next, you can try running a small humidifier near the plants. Also, placing plants on a tray of pebbles filled with water will help. The water level in the tray should be kept just below the bottom of the pots. The water should always be checked when the air is dry, a common occurrence while heating systems are running. Some easy-to-grow plant suggestions to enjoy indoors this winter are described below.

Passionflowers have delightful foliage and bloom multitudes of fascinating flowers all year if given enough light. With hairy green leaves and yellow flowers or delicate pink flowers bearing a subtle fragrance, passionflowers are free flowering (producing blooms all year). They need a bright or moderately bright spot in order for this to happen. Between watering, allow the potting mix to dry slightly, and fertilize your plant in the spring and summer months. To keep the leaves healthy, there should be enough humidity in the air. The vines should be trimmed when they grow too long and lanky. The clippings can be used for cuttings to start others.

Contrary to their name, flowering maples are not related to maples. Actually, they're kin to hollyhocks. These plants bear small, hibiscus-like blooms in shades of red, white, pink, orange, yellow, and even blue. And like the passionflower, if given enough light, will bloom on and off all year. The pretty maple-like leaves are usually dark green. They usually don't need as much water in winter months. During the spring and summer months, fertilize flowering maple plants with a flowering-houseplant fertilizer. To keep them from getting too shrubby or leggy, trim the plants back occasionally. 


Perfect for gardeners who want constant bright indoor color, flamingo lilies will bloom all year, if given enough light. Flamingo lilies are popular with florists. Because of their long-lasting, bright red or pink flowers, they are often used in tropical flower arrangements. Even if the plants don't get enough light to bloom constantly, they still have attractive foliage with shiny, dark-green, heart- or arrow-shaped leaves. During the spring and summer months, fertilize with a flowering-houseplant fertilizer to ensure producing consistent blooming. Give them plenty of humidity all year. 


Giant elephant's ears that many gardeners grow outdoors are too large to be suitable houseplants, but several of the smaller species are spectacular indoors. Many of these plants have very decorative dark green, nearly black leaves highlighted with bright silver veins. This showy foliage attracts attention in all seasons. Elephant's ears grow in moderately bright light, and generally require less water in winter. Fertilize with a houseplant fertilizer through the spring and summer. To keep the leaves looking healthy, give them plenty of humidity all year.

Often overlooked as houseplants, Persian shields are beautiful shrub-like plants, native to areas of southeastern Asia. The plant’s dramatic foliage of wonderful, toothed dark-green leaves painted with tones of silver, pink, and purple on the top and dark burgundy on the undersides will also treat you with small spikes of blue flowers, given the right conditions. Persian shields like a relatively bright spot, good humidity, and light pruning from time to time to keep them from looking too shrubby. As recommended for all these indoor beauties, watering should be done when the potting mix is slightly dry.

Dayelle Swensson is an avid writer for the web on a number of topics. Having gardened herself for many years, she is able to advise others about a variety of things including gardening tips, lawn and tree care, watering, hose reel and keeping your home garden looking good and healthy.

Nurture Healthy Pollen Production

Without pollen production, most plant and animal life in our gardens would cease to exist. An abundance of healthy, ripe pollen is the rich vein of gold that produces our most popular food crops. Without this garden gold dust there would be no apples, cucumbers, tomatoes or corn. 

Just as distinct as the plants on which they’re found, pollens are wind-transferred (such as corn and ragweed), the bane of hay fever sufferers, and insect-transferred (such as fruit and squash) displayed on showy, scented flowers designed to attract pollinators.

At the heart of blossoms in structures called anthers, atop stalk like stamens is where the pollen grains develop. As pollen ripens and becomes very yellow, the anthers open. Then either the wind or insects transfer the pollen grains, which contain male reproductive cells, to the tips of pistils, the female parts of blossoms. Much like a seed, the pollen germinates there. Each grain of pollen sends a tube down into a pistil to the flower’s ovary, where it fertilizes a seed-producing ovule.

This process needs to take place hundreds, thousands, even millions of times in order to generate a bumper crop of almost anything in a growing season. The life span of a pollen grain is fairly short, ranging from a few hours to a few days. A lot can go wrong along the way. Soil nutrients, moisture levels, weather, and sunlight all influence pollen production. To improve the odds that at least some ripe pollen will land on desirable pistils, plants must produce vast volumes of pollen.

The ideal pollen-germinating temperature for most plants is 65ºF to 75ºF. So if your garden grows at these temperatures most of the time, you are most likely to beat the odds. Germination generally slows or eventually stops when nights drop below 60ºF, days are above 85ºF, or the humidity tops 70 percent. Between five and ten in the morning is when airborne pollen usually peaks. Pollen production can be eccentric, though. Different plants can shed pollen at different times of the day.

To help maximize pollen production and germination in your garden do some simple things: Test your garden soil regularly. Plants need balanced nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium levels for blossom production. Adequate levels of calcium and boron are required for healthy pollen development. A soil test determines what is necessary for improvement. Select plants suited to your climate. In hot-summer regions, some plants stop ripening pollen in July and August. In these regions, choose early-blooming plant varieties that ripen enough pollen to produce good crops before temperatures become too hot.

It will also help to maintain even soil moisture. Providing a consistent amount of water helps plants take in the nutrients that encourage blossom development and healthy pollination. Drought conditions can dramatically reduce pollen production. Take care to water the soil at the plant’s ground level because top watering can wash delicate pollen off flowers and out of the air. To make the task of watering much easier, use a garden hose reel.

Dayelle Swensson is an avid writer for the web on a number of topics. Having gardened herself for many years, she is able to advise others about a variety of things including gardening tips, lawn and tree care, watering, hose reel and keeping your home garden looking good and healthy.

Artful Touches to Personalize Your Garden

Garden art is any decorative object you place in your landscape. These objects add distinction and personalize your garden that can surprise, delight, and even inspire. What you choose to grow is very personal, of course, but also is limited to what grows in your specific region. Adding these artful touches can make your garden have its special style. Anything from a scarecrow to a large decorative urn can be used to spice up your outdoor décor. You can use flea-market finds, time-honored antiques, or handcrafted objects to help your garden reflect your own personal style.

First, decide on the art’s role. Is the piece of art going to be the center of attention or play a supporting role to the main attraction. For instance some gardener’s may want to display a fountain in the middle of a bed of blooming flowers. A piece of art can help visually organize a garden area and grab attention. When an object is placed at the end of a path it adds perspective and the visitor is drawn into the garden to wander down the path to see it up close and enjoy whatever is planted along the way.

To create a focal point, place a piece of art that’s taller than its surroundings. Or instead of just using a single piece of art, use a collection of items that are similar in color or are of contrasting textures and forms.

To give art added significance, place it in front of a wall trellis covered with ivy or place the object under an arbor. A decorative item positioned in front of a backdrop immediately draws the eye.

Not all garden art serves as a focal point. Some objects can be used as a guide to signal a point of transition or remind the visitor that a turn is coming up or a new area is just around the corner. Decorative objects enhance your garden décor. Colorful containers, sculptures, birdbaths, benches, and arbors support the colors and style of your garden and home. They can be subtle accents that blend or bold attention-getters that sparkle adding interest either way.

The type of art you choose to display sets the tone for your garden. Classic art is the obvious choice for a formal garden. Contemporary objects suggest a more informal, creative style of gardening. Archaeological pieces can be used to suggest the excitement of discovery and exploration. Spiritual and mythical symbols invite visitors to meditate. Try to be consistent in your selection so that your garden defines the style you want to be conveyed.

To enhance your gardening experience, consider designing your own art. You can’t get more personal than this. Your garden decorations tell a story about you. Your garden, the plants you have chosen to spend time caring for and the items within it are your own creative expression.

Dayelle Swensson is an avid writer for the web on a number of topics. Having gardened herself for many years, she is able to advise others about a variety of things including gardening tips, lawn and tree care, watering, hose reel and keeping your home garden looking good and healthy.

Ants Hold the Key to a Garden’s Health

Did you know that the fate of your garden depends on ants? Most people think of ants as pests, but these complex insects play several important roles in your yard’s ecosystem.

Since many ant species are predators of other insects, the millions of ants in your garden control the amount of caterpillars, beetles, and grasshoppers in your garden. Without ants, these insects would be left unchecked to devour your plants.

Many birds would be less likely to visit your garden if it lacked a healthy ant population. Ants themselves are prey for larger predators. Northern flickers are woodpeckers with a long tongue specializing in lapping up dozens of ants with each flick. In the desert Southwest, horned lizards also feed on ants, sometimes exclusively. Most backyard birds feed their young insects, many being ants.

Ants also make life easier for plants. The tunnels ants make in the soil channel air, water, and organic matter directly to plant roots and loosen the soil, making it easier for roots to grow. The seeds of many plants such as trilliums, violets, Dutchman’s breeches, trout lilies, and datura have fleshy, nutritious extensions called eliaosomes, which lure ants. The ants feed the eliaosomes to their larvae and then disperse the seeds in nutrient-rich heaps outside the colony, where the seeds germinate.

Only a few ant species become nasty pests. Carpenter ants can cause damage in homes by making tunnels through soft, decaying wood to create a nest. Tiny, exotic Argentine ants invade the home by feeding on all sorts of strange items, such as electronic equipment. And the red imported fire ant creates huge mounds and has an extremely painful bite.

In most cases ants are probably providing beneficial services to your garden. Before you start spraying to kill them off, identify the species to determine if it is truly a pest. If poison is your only option, here is an effective method of trapping them that is essentially non-toxic to people and other animals: soak bread in a mixture of 3⁄4 cup water, 1⁄4 cup sugar, and 1 tablespoon borax and put it in a small plastic container with holes in the side.

Ants owe their success to their social nature. Within a colony there’s a complex and efficient division of labor. an Ant colonies can include (depending on the species): foragers, warriors, hunters, nannies, janitors, undertakers, engineers, gardeners, herders, guards, egg-laying queens. Ants communicate via chemical pheromones, which they detect with their antennae. Learning more about these fascinating insects will make you appreciate the role they play in keeping your garden healthy.

Dayelle Swensson is an avid writer for the web on a number of topics. Having gardened herself for many years, she is able to advise others about a variety of things including gardening tips, lawn and tree care, watering, hose reel and keeping your home garden looking good and healthy.

Time To Grow Thyme? Of Course, Always!

Everyone surely is aware of the delicious attributes thyme brings to the dinner table, but besides cooking, thyme has many other uses that help to make it one of the most popular herbs grown by gardeners today. Its edible medicinal properties extend helpfulness into many areas of daily life, and its wondrous scent is intoxicatingly fragrant, making it a wonderful addition as décor, inside and out. Thyme’s hardiness allows it to flourish in many geographical locations, including many in the United States, making it a favorite for gardeners in the Americas. Growing thyme in your garden, inside or out, is an endeavor well worth undertaking.

An extremely attractive attribute of thyme, especially from a grower’s standpoint, is its ability to for the most part take care of itself once it has taken root. Equally happy under paving stones, lining a wispy garden path, or even as part of an entire “lawn” bed, thyme is able to flourish even in harsh, dry climates where water is scarce. Of course, in your garden, water should be plentiful, supplied by your hose reel when the soil feels dry to the touch. Thyme is more easily started in your garden from a start, rather than seed, and many varieties should be present at your local nursery that would grow most hospitably in your area. There are nearly 350 species of thyme, each with different characteristics, including flower color and scent. As thyme is a member of the mint family, some varieties possess a minty scent, while others display scents of rose, lavender, lemon, and even orange. Imagine how delightful an evening stroll down your garden path would be surrounded in the emanating scent of orange or lemon!

Thyme will grow well indoors in containers if the space at your home is limited, and its scent wafting throughout your sunroom, kitchen, and the like will be much appreciated. Keep in mind, if you have space outdoors, that thyme will grow and flourish, even in winter months, so do not shy away from putting it near an outdoor swing, reading nook, or meditation bench, as it is hardy and will provide pleasurable scents all year. To harvest thyme for whatever use you have in mind, simply clip off a bit of the extended sprigs, and you’re good to go. Thyme may be used fresh in cooking or dried as well. Dried thyme is an excellent addition to a hot bath, a digestive aid and throat soother in a cup of warm tea, and can even aid in dandruff treatment and prevention in hair rinses. With so many uses for thyme and its relative ease in growing and tending, there is always time to grow thyme!


About the author: Jon Bassfarm is an Internet content writer who enjoys researching and writing about many subjects including hose reel and landscaping.

How to Make the Most of Your Gardening Time

No matter how much we love gardening, most of us would like to spend more time admiring our gardens and less time working in them. Sometimes the weeding and garden chores can make you feel overwhelmed. There are some simple steps you can do to decrease this feeling and let you spend more time relaxing and enjoying your garden.

1. Choosing native plants is always a good way to go. Because these plants have evolved in the same climate as your garden’s, most native plants require less watering, fertilizing, and staking. They have already proven to be hardy among the elements of your region.

2. Vegetables and fruit demand more care than any other group of growing plants. Of course there is nothing that matches the taste of a home-grown vegetable or fruit, but it is a commitment of time to make this happen. Remember when your fruit or vegetable is ready to be harvested, it won’t wait until you are ready to take the time to harvest it, then prepare it for storage. Consider growing a few of your favorite vegetables in large containers. You’ll spend less time planting, weeding, fertilizing, and watering. To help retain moisture and reduce watering time, group large containers together and mix water-retaining crystals into the soil mix before planting.

3. Some perennials are high-maintenance. Replace them with shrubs and small trees. Shrubs do not require dividing or deadheading. They need less watering, and fertilizing than perennials. And it goes without saying that the fewer annuals you have, the better. No need to replace them every year. If you choose a suitable dwarf variety of shrub, you can also reduce the pruning time. Avoid fast-growing hedging plants as your replacement.

4. Do not plant aggressive, quick-growing wonders. These bullies will overtake your garden forcing you to weed them out as they spread and grow over the surrounding plants.

5. If you need to stake tall or fragile plants, plan on doing this early in the season. Stake when the foliage is still emerging so shoots will grow through the supports and conceal the staking. Inexpensive tomato cages support bushy perennials such as delphiniums and yarrows.

6. To encourage healthier plants and reduce your chances of fungal diseases, water early in the day. Plants need water to face the day, but they should be dry before they go into the cooler evening hours. To eliminate the frustrations of dealing with a hose tangling up, get a garden hose reel. Much time can be saved by doing this making the chore easier, too.

7. Master the art of mulching. A properly mulched garden adds organic material to your soil, discourages weeds from germinating and conserves moisture.

8. Use the right tools. Pruning with the wrong tool can take twice as long. Make sure your tools are in good working order. A dull hand pruner makes an unclean cut that can damage branches forcing you to make two or three cuts instead of one.

9. Spend a few minutes once or twice a week walking around your garden checking for insect and disease infestations. They require less aggressive treatment when spotted early. Because insects and diseases are more common when you have rotten vegetables and fruits lying on the ground. Dispose of these immediately and if possible, dispose them off your property to be safe.

10. Do a little weeding every day or every other day. Don’t let it go. You can destroy most young weeds by simply scraping the soil with the side of a hoe or trowel. This takes much less time than picking them out one by one. Pick off the flower heads of annual weeds before they go to seed.

11. Research growing conditions and care requirements before you purchase a plant. If a plant requires high-maintenance and you don’t have time to care for it properly, choose another which thrives with less care.

12. Reduce mowing time by keeping the lawn shape simple. Convert sharp-cornered, linear garden beds into smooth, shallow-curved beds. Avoid island beds or structures in the lawn causing you to mow around them taking more time. To eliminate edge trimming, add a mowing strip. This is a narrow edge of brick or gravel set below the level of the lawn that allows the mower to pass over it with no damage. Hard-to-reach strips of grass between sidewalks and buildings can be replaced with low-maintenance ground covers.

Dayelle Swensson is an avid writer for the web on a number of topics. Having gardened herself for many years, she is able to advise others about a variety of things including gardening tips, lawn and tree care, watering, hose reel and keeping your home garden looking good and healthy.

Winter Window Box Dressing

If you are lucky enough to have window boxes on your house, you know just how much fun it is to change your window box display. Many window box owners find they enjoy matching what’s in their window boxes with the change of the seasons. This keeps your house looking fresh all year long. It is important to have window boxes that will not rot as it is a place where water can get trapped, and they do need to be changed and cleaned out occasionally. There are many different styles of window boxes available today to choose from, so keep this in mind if you want to add window boxes to your house to join in on the fun.

In the spring and summer the task is very easy with many plants available in bloom. The difficult part is choosing which plants to fill your boxes with among the many choices. In the fall and winter seasons the task becomes a bit more challenging.

A favorite fall window box decoration is to incorporate a Thanksgiving type theme. This can be achieved with an assortment of pumpkins, squashes, cornstalks, mums and leaves with autumn colors in them. Use the reds, oranges, and browns to match the color of the changing leaves in your yard. Some plants survive the cold temperatures the fall starts to bring. Mums and decorative cabbages are successfully used in fall window boxes. For a nice trailing effect geraniums, petunias, and sweet potato vines can be incorporated. A good mix of both vines and colorful flowers can create a great combination in a window box. Try a flowering centerpiece such as a chrysanthemum or aster to create drama and then add an assortment of colorful gourds, small pumpkins and squash off to either side of the box.

In the winter you can decorate your window box with cut evergreens such as rhododendrons, holly, pine, spruce, fir and balsam. The rhododendrons leaves will add a smooth surface. The holly leaves will add a shiny surface. While the other cut branches will give a spiky or almost furry appearance with their needles. Use your creativity and mix up all the different textures and shades of green. You can also add some large pinecones, red berries from the holly, or orange berries from bittersweet branches for even more interest. As you place the greens remember that snowfall will top off your display occasionally. Try to stick the ends of some of the branches in left over soil that is in your window box, if it is not frozen already. This will add some stability to your display.

No matter what the season, dressing up your house with colorful, decorative window box displays is always a fun thing to do.

Dayelle Swensson is an avid writer for the web on a number of topics. Having gardened herself for many years, she is able to advise others about a variety of things including gardening tips, lawn and tree care, watering, hose reel and keeping your home garden looking good and healthy.

Some Greenhouse Tips

The most important thing you must do when you build a greenhouse is to brace the structure securely before winter sets in, especially if you live in an area that gets snow. When the snow load accumulates on a big structure, all your hard work can be destroyed rather quickly. Suggested support is to add 2-by-4 vertical braces to the framing as soon as possible to avoid any kind of disaster.

The next important tip is to provide adequate ventilation. If you plan to use your greenhouse for growing vegetable crops during the summer, you will need heavy-duty exhaust fans and roll-up sides. However, if your greenhouse is for the purpose of growing during the winter, all you need to do is just leave the doors open once in awhile to provide adequate ventilation. Any exhaust fan is superfluous.

Caring for the soil used in your greenhouse is as important as the air. Using compost is a good idea in that this will help boost the microbial populations in the soil. Mulches have benefits, too. They will moderate the temperature in the soil, conserve moisture and decompose over time to increase fertility. There are advantages to leaving the greenhouse soil fallow over the summer. Soil “solarizes” in intense heat burning off soil pathogens. Also, this practice will desiccate even the most die-hard slug!

Avoid over fertilizing with nitrogen. Especially in the low light conditions of a winter greenhouse, green leafy crops can accumulate unhealthy levels of nitrates. Never add nitrogen fertilizers in the greenhouse. Always use plant-based rather than manure-based (higher in nitrogen) composts.

Since the greenhouse is usually too hot for direct sowing in late summer and early fall, when most winter crops need to be started, a common practice is to start growing the plants for your greenhouse as seeds under grow lights in your house, perhaps in the basement. When they get too big for the grow bench, move them into the greenhouse.

Some greenhouse crops to consider are salad-oriented. Lettuces are quite resistant to frost, though not as cold hardy as some other winter garden plants. Chicories are an excellent choice to grow during the winter. If you’ve been turned off by the stringy, bitter taste of endives and escaroles you buy from the supermarket, be assured that the chicories grown in the chill and reduced light of a winter greenhouse taste sweet, and the stringy toughness is replaced by a delightful juicy crunch. Other cold hardy crops are the edible chrysanthemum and miner’s lettuce or claytonia. Scallions are also easy to grow in a greenhouse and a delightful addition to winter salads.

Green onion and garlic tops also make great cooking greens. Spinach is extremely cold hardy and several sowings can be made during the winter growing season. Crucifers including mustards, Oriental greens such as pak choi and tatsoi, and chard are all are tasty and nutritious. If you start your transplants early enough, loose leafed kale is an excellent crop for the fall-winter greenhouse. Brassicas that head such as cabbages and broccoli produce later in the winter large, tight heads grown in the greenhouse.

Dayelle Swensson is an avid writer for the web on a number of topics. Having gardened herself for many years, she is able to advise others about a variety of things including gardening tips, lawn and tree care, watering, hose reel and keeping your home garden looking good and healthy.

Keeping Your Holiday Poinsettia Looking Festive

Nothing says “Merry Christmas” like a beautiful red poinsettia in bloom. Poinsettias have been a part of holiday celebrations ever since the Mexican flower was brought to the United States in 1925 by the first U.S. ambassador to Mexico and botanist, Joel Roberts Poinsett. Their beautiful crimson flowers and green leaves bear the colors of Christmas proudly in a way no other houseplant can. Their place is so ingrained in American life and Christmas celebration that they even have their own day to celebrate the flower and Poinsett’s beautiful contribution: December 12th is National Poinsettia Day in the United States. With attention to several easy details concerning their care, you can ensure your poinsettia retains its beauty through the holiday season and even beyond.

Poinsettias enjoy sunlight, but not full, direct exposure. Your poinsettia plant is more delicate and will experience its best growth if its required six hours of daily sun are diffused through a shade or curtain to curtail the wilting produced by direct sun exposure. Moist soil is essential, so while your plant is indoors, water it daily or whenever the soil is dry to the touch. After the holidays if the weather is warm enough and threat of frost has passed, your plant may be moved outdoors, its daily water may be administered with your hose reel, but while inside, a pitcher, spray bottle, or any receptacle will suffice. While indoors, you must control the poinsettia’s climate, 68-70 degrees is the most suitable range for your plant to flourish and bloom. Common houseplant fertilizer may be administered once a month (not while the plant is in bloom) to make sure the proper pH balance of the plant’s soil is maintained. Though your poinsettia might look fantastic perched on a mantle, this is to be avoided as excessive heat and alternately, cool drafts are harmful to its health. Proper drainage is essential for your plant, for sitting in standing water is extremely detrimental to its growth and overall health, as with most houseplants. Whether in its purchased container or transplanted within a more decorative one, drainage is of utmost importance.

By following these easy maintenance tips, your poinsettia can add its beauty to your holiday arrangements, holding onto its red flowers as long as possible. You and your holiday guests will appreciate and admire its lush reds and greens, helping your home’s decor instill the spirit of the holidays to all who enter!

About the author: Jon Bassfarm is an Internet content writer who enjoys researching and writing about many subjects including hose reel and landscaping.

Lemons in Your Living Room

“Plant a seed and watch it grow”, isn’t that how the old adage goes? Often times, simply planting a seed does not actually ensure growth, prosperity, or a coming harvest; of this, all gardeners are aware. Growing plants from seed to harvest often requires patience, perseverance, and vigilant care. Some plants also require ample space to grow, and this fact often discourages budding gardeners that happen to be spatially-hampered, whether living in an apartment, condo, or otherwise yard-deprived home. The excellent adaptability and growing characteristics inherent to lemons can allow an indoor gardener to, in all actuality, simply grab a seed from a store-bought lemon, plant it in a pot, and watch it grow. This could be ill-advised, however, if, unbeknownst to the grower, the plant from which the lemon came naturally grows to a height of fifteen feet or more! For this reason, it might be a better idea to visit your local nursery to find a lemon variety whose growth properties are more conducive to your space and lifestyle.

An excellent, hardy variety of lemon which could be a perfect fit for your living room is the Meyer lemon. Meyer lemons produce medium sized fruit that are extremely juicy, and the plant itself exhibits white blossoms which are at the same time quite lovely and fragrant. At your local nursery, you should look for specimens that are currently container grown, indicative of their ability to adapt to this style of gardening at your house. Houseplants in general, grow most successfully in slightly-acidic soil, so a soil mixture found at your lawn and garden store with a slightly-acidic pH should work excellently. A well-draining container (the larger, the better) helps promote growth of your houseplant “crop”, and situating it in a sunny spot with southern exposure will be very advantageous as well. An advantage to growing indoors is of course your ability to exercise extreme control over the plant’s environment, even supplementing the necessary sunlight with an artificial light when necessary. Your lemon plant needs soil that is kept moist while not being excessively wet; this is why adequate drainage is required. Indoor plants are most probably not watered using your hose reel, but instead should be diligently watered using a misting bottle and pitcher daily. While bees would naturally help in the pollination of your plants outdoors, indoors, you will need to be the bee. Often your plants will produce fruit without your aid in this matter, but transferring of pollen from the male plant (with the stamens) using a Q-tip to the female plant (with the pistils and small fruit) will help ensure juicy fruits will reward your hard work in the future.

As your lemon plant grows, visitors will exclaim with delight at the fragrant smells wafting within your living room and line up to taste the fruit you produce in homemade pies, lemon bars, lemonade, and more!

About the author: Jon Bassfarm is an Internet content writer who enjoys researching and writing about many subjects including hose reel and landscaping.

Consider Building a Greenhouse

A greenhouse gives the ardent amateur gardener the opportunity to keep on growing through the winter months. Since the soil doesn’t freeze inside a greenhouse, you can continue the satisfaction and pleasure of growing your own plants, flowers, and vegetables all year long. Discover what a joy it is to bring unusually fine quality to some particular specie or variety. With a greenhouse you can raise plants for setting out in the spring doing it easier and more efficiently than in a hotbed or cold frame.

A greenhouse attached to the southeast corner of your house is the most practical solution to the concept. This lowers the heating cost considerably. On sunny winter days the greenhouse absorbs a lot of heat and contributes this extra heat to the house making it an economical arrangement. You will probably find that your fuel bills will be no higher than before adding the greenhouse. Actually a greenhouse is one of the most valuable additions you can make to your property. If you want to be more self-reliant by raising more of your own food, a greenhouse can help you meet many of your needs and goals.

Start with simple components for your greenhouse structure. Most greenhouses are made from sheets of plastic stretched over a metal frame. Many kits are available with all the essential components. Some are styled so that if there is a lot of snowfall where you live, the snow will shed off easily. You can choose different priced parts according to how strong and sturdy you want your greenhouse to be. If your area gets heavy winds, wider pipe is recommended.

To resist ultraviolet breakdown, it also is recommended using 6-mil plastic that has been treated. Protect your foundation with as many applications of sealant as needed to last a long time. Pine boards sealed with several coats of linseed oil will last only about five years. For a more lasting foundation, install a single course of 4-inch hollow concrete block on a small poured footer, then lock a better grade 2-by-4 (sealed against moisture) onto the top of the block foundation using J-bolts pushed into wet concrete in the holes of the blocks.

Choose the right size for your greenhouse. Larger ones buffer temperature extremes better because a larger greenhouse will have a larger amount of thermal mass (in the form of soil) that is warmed by the sun during the day, making warmer temperatures linger through the night. Choosing a larger greenhouse is also a good thing because you will discover more and more things to do with it as the years go by. Usually buying a larger greenhouse kit makes more sense because you will pick up much more growing space for just a matter of a few more dollars.


Dayelle Swensson is an avid writer for the web on a number of topics. Having gardened herself for many years, she is able to advise others about a variety of things including gardening tips, lawn and tree care, watering, hose reel and keeping your home garden looking good and healthy.

Which Garlic Do You Choose to Grow?

Garlic has never been so widely appreciated and more than ever before garlic cultivators are available. This actually can be called a garlic renaissance. Among the hundreds of different varieties in eleven horticultural groups, garlic serves many different needs. Climate, growing practices and storage conditions all affect the way garlic performs. It is a matter of trying what works best for you. After some exploration, you will develop your own list of favorites.

The three basic kinds of garlic are Common Garlic, Elephant Garlic, and Hardneck Garlic. Appropriately named, elephant garlic has enormous cloves, but contains very little garlic flavor. Common Garlic is the white skinned type usually found at supermarkets sometimes called soft neck garlic or Italian garlic. The silverskin types of common garlic are the ones used for braiding found at farmers’ markets.

The bulbs of the artichoke types of Common Garlic have an outer white or off-white parchment skin. There is a row of decent-sized cloves around the outside with smaller, thinner cloves among the interior. Removing the skin from these cloves is not easy. The bulb is wrapped in many layers of parchment, which continues up to form a soft parchment like neck. These layers are ideal for using to braid all your bulbs together on a string to hang in the kitchen. Garlic keeps well and braiding it is a nice way to store it. Silverskins have a strong flavor with numerous small cloves. Their white neck is sturdy so they are well suited for plaiting. The Creole sub-group of the silverskin type is atypical because they have only 8-12 cloves, are mild in flavor, and have a rose colored outer skin.

Hardneck Garlic has many varieties such as Serpent Garlic, Stiffneck Garlic, Rocombole Garlic, Top Setting Garlic, Bavarian Garlic, Porcelain Garlic, and Purple Stripe Garlic. These garlics have stiff, sometimes thick, necks. They usually have fewer, even-sized cloves arranged around their center neck. The number of cloves run from four to twelve or so, depending on the variety. They are generally less reliable in changeable weather conditions (especially hot) than Common Garlics, with the exception of the Rocombole type.

The most distinctive of the three main hardneck types is Rocambole Garlic. The most significant property this type has is that it throws up a flowering stem, called a scape. Another difference is that the bulb has relatively little outer parchment skin leaving the cloves often exposed to being knocked off or withering. However because they have very little skin, they are very easy to peel. The tall flowering scape makes a twisting loop as it unfurls the head containing not flowers, but tiny little bulbils. Purple Stripe Garlic has very white, thick, bulb skins, streaked with bright purple. Some are strongly flavored and others are mild tasting. Some are ready to harvest mid-season and some are late maturing. They all store fairly well. The Porcelain Garlic variety has few (between four and eight), large fat cloves and is covered with a very thick and very white bulb skin. The taste of this garlic is usually strong.

Be guided in making your choice by the local varieties available. However, make sure they genuinely are local. A variety that is reliable in one location may be marginally reliable in another. Ask around and get the advice of knowledgeable local home gardeners.

Dayelle Swensson is an avid writer for the web on a number of topics. Having gardened herself for many years, she is able to advise others about a variety of things including gardening tips, lawn and tree care, watering, hose reel and keeping your home garden looking good and healthy.

Growing Garlic in a Home Garden

Growing garlic in your home garden is relatively easy. It does require care and attention. The simple maintenance is weeding because garlic does not like competition and watering. It is important to harvest on time and cure it properly.

Even though garlic will grow under a wide variety of soil conditions, it is said to prefer free draining loam with lots of organic matter. Therefore soil preparation could be building up your soil with green manures. A way of putting organic matter, nitrogen and other nutrients into the soil is to grow a nitrogen-fixing cover crop such as clover, alfalfa or field peas. When the crop is anything around a foot high till it back into the soil.

Under most conditions, garlic does best when planted in the fall. You should plant in time for the roots to have a chance to develop and the tops do not reach the surface before winter. If you live in a warmer climate remember that hard neck garlic needs to go through a cold period in order to start sprouting. If your soil temperatures stay warm, store the garlic in a cool, dry place for about three weeks before planting.

Shortly before planting garlic you will want to break the bulbs apart into cloves—a process called ‘cracking’. The cloves are attached to the basal plate, and from this the roots of the garlic grow. Each clove should break away cleanly, leaving an intact little mark on the basal plate. Take the larger cloves to plant. Set aside the smaller ones to cook with, eat soon, dry or to make into pickles. Each larger clove will produce a good sized bulb by the end of the growing season. The smallest cloves require just as much space, care and attention in the garden and produce significantly smaller bulbs. It is best to separate the cloves or crack the bulbs close to when you know you are going to plant, preferably within 24 hours. The garlic will be able to set roots quickly.

Garlic can be planted in single or double rows or in intensive beds with four to six plants across. Plant garlic in well-tilled beds with about eight inches of space between the rows and between the plants. If you have to plant with tighter spacing in the beds, you will produce a greater number of smaller bulbs. It is important to plant hard neck garlic with the top (pointy end) of the clove up, at least two inches below the surface.

After the garlic has been planted, consider adding a layer of mulch. Mulching is good to conserve moisture, moderates soil temperatures, puts weeds at bay, and deters rodents from digging up all your hard work. Mulching is not recommended in wetter climates where excess water can be a problem for garlic. Garlic grows best in soil maintaining an even moisture regime. Not enough moisture means that garlic does not develop a full sized bulb. Too much water causes the garlic to have burst skins and mould.

A few weeks before you plan to harvest stop watering the garlic. To know when to harvest, inspect a few bulbs in the ground. They can be harvested when the bulb has reached a good size, the wrappers are intact and have not deteriorated, and the bulbs have not begun to split open. Learning exactly when to stop watering and when to harvest comes with experience. Use a flat, narrow-bladed shovel to loosen the ground beside the garlic and pull the plants by hand. Garlic bruises easily so be careful. When left in the sun, harvested garlic can bake and will change the flavor of the garlic. Take each batch of harvested garlic indoors to be cured.

Dayelle Swensson is an avid writer for the web on a number of topics. Having gardened herself for many years, she is able to advise others about a variety of things including gardening tips, lawn and tree care, watering, hose reel and keeping your home garden looking good and healthy.

Shaping Your Rose Bushes

Pruning allows you to shape rose bushes to the desirable height and size making them compliment your garden. When you prune, you are able to encourage the production of large, long-stemmed flowers from hybrid tea roses or smaller but more abundant clusters from floribundas. It depends on what type of rose you are shaping to get the result you want to achieve. General pruning recommendations are used for hybrid tea, floribunda and grandiflora modern roses. Climbers, miniatures, ramblers and heirloom varieties have different pruning requirements and techniques.

Not only is a more pleasing affect achieved, the health of your rose garden is accelerated by pruning. Proper pruning consists of removing dead, diseased and damaged canes. By thinning canes from the interior of the plant, air circulation is increased and the possibility of some common fungal ailments such as mildew is decreased. By removing dead or damaged canes you increase the overall wellness and beauty of the roses and allow more of the plant’s energy to go immediately to its growth.

Typically you should wait until after the last frost before pruning your roses. In warm climates it might be as early as January or as late as May in areas subject to a late frost.

The main tool you will need for pruning roses is a good pair of bypass pruning shears. The clean cut made with these is beneficial when making precise cuts near a bud eye. A pair of long handled bypass loppers is necessary for large canes. The long handles provide extra leverage necessary to cut thick old growth. And, of course, a good pair of gloves is necessary to protect your hands and forearms from cuts and injury from thorns. Wearing a long sleeved shirt and long pants is also a good idea.

Before pruning think about the overall shape you desire for your rose bush. For many roses and gardens the classic “urn” shape promotes an appealing, full shape. Because of an open center there is better air circulation too.

The first cuts to make when you start to prune remove all the dead branches and canes. Dead canes are generally gray or brown while healthy growth generally appears green or red. As you cut into the canes if the pith (center) is dry and brown continue cutting further down until you reach a green or cream color. If canes cross or rub on other healthy growth, wherever possible, remove these.

Now you can start to cut on the healthy part of the plant contributing to its shape. Cuts at a 45 degree angle about ¼” above a bud eye should be made facing outward or in the desired direction of growth. Remove all branches thinner than a pencil because branches need to be a sufficient size to support your new spring growth. Thinner branches usually do not add to the overall shape you seek.

If you want more abundant blooms on smaller stems, leave most of the canes, pruning back lightly or about 30%. Medium pruning general removes more foliage, leaving up to 8 to 10 well placed canes, fewer on hybrid tea roses. The canes should be reduced to about one half their original height. This amount of pruning will work well for most healthy roses.

When a severe winter has left a fair amount of damage to your roses, heavy pruning may be the best step to take. Make sure to cut back the wood to where the center is healthy, living wood.

During the blooming season you may want to do some deadheading which encourages the plant to re-bloom. This allows you to enjoy new blossoms throughout summer.

And remember roses are resilient. Have fun and experiment to see what type of pruning works best with your rose garden.

Dayelle Swensson is an avid writer for the web on a number of topics. Having gardened herself for many years, she is able to advise others about a variety of things including gardening tips, lawn and tree care, watering, hose reel and keeping your home garden looking good and healthy.

Making Timely Cuts on Your Hydrangeas

Hydrangeas do not require annual pruning, but occasionally snipping these plants can improve their performance. Knowing if your shrub blooms on old or new wood will help you make the cuts necessary in a timely fashion.

The three most common reasons for confusion about pruning hydrangeas are the plant’s dead-looking appearance in winter, its failure to bloom in summer, and the fact that it is basically a shrub, so it needs to be pruned. But contrary to most shrubs, these woody plants can live long and floriferous lives without any pruning. In fact, hydrangeas pruned at the wrong time can cause them not to bloom. So take care as to when you prune. Pruning can be beneficial if you do not like the look of the fading blooms or your shrub may be a bit too tall. Pruning hydrangeas at the right time can improve a shrub’s vigor increasing the size of its flowers. In most cases, the flowers of these shrubs are the most significant reason why you selected these plants for your garden.

It is important to keep in mind that not all hydrangeas should be pruned at the same time. Shrubs that have blooms on old growth should only be pruned after flowering. The hydrangeas that bloom on new growth should be pruned in early spring or as they are going dormant in the fall.

To determine if your shrubs bloom on old growth, think about when it flowers. Do the blooms begin in early summer and slow down by midsummer with sporadic blooms appearing afterward? These shrubs typically form next year’s flower buds in late summer or early fall as the days get shorter. Prune just as the flowers begin to fade to reduce the risk of removing the buds. The earlier you get it done after bloom, the quicker the shrub can recover, rewarding you with more and larger blooms next season.

When a hydrangea gets old and woody, it can produce smaller blooms. It is best to regularly remove of a few of the oldest canes at the ground. This also can keep the shrub vigorous, productive, and at the height that is most pleasing.

If you determine your hydrangeas bloom on new wood, cut back these shrubs in late winter before the new growth appears. Shrubs that flower on new wood generally start blossoming later than old-growth bloomers, beginning in midsummer and continuing all the way into the fall until the first frost. These shrubs are forgiving, just do not cut when the flower buds are opening.

In late winter or early spring, these hydrangea shrubs can be cut all the way back to the ground. If you practice this each year, smooth hydrangeas will produce much larger blooms.

If your hydrangea branches tend to flop with the weight of the blooms, especially after a good rain, alleviate this by cutting the height of the stems to about two feet. This will provide a sturdier framework for new growth.

Dayelle Swensson is an avid writer for the web on a number of topics. Having gardened herself for many years, she is able to advise others about a variety of things including gardening tips, lawn and tree care, watering, hose reel and keeping your home garden looking good and healthy.

The Versatility of Hollies

Hollies have gained their popularity through being so very versatile. They have unique traits such as textural, decorative foliage, ornamental berries, and varied growth habit. Hollies also acclimate easily to many different environments. But just like good, rich soil, adequate soil nutrients, water, and sun, proper pruning is important to keep hollies healthy and looking beautiful.

Whenever you prune your plants, they typically send out new growth, so when you prune hollies is an important factor to consider. Susceptible to sudden drops in temperature and frost, evergreen hollies are best pruned in early summer. This will prevent the new growth being damaged by cool temperatures. After pruning, don’t be surprised if female hollies have fewer berries. The pruning process removes most of the summer flowers that develop into winter fruit. Pruning can give hollies either a formal shape or, with thinning, an informal look. Either look you create, pruning will keep your hollies looking good year-round.

There are deciduous and evergreen species of hollies. Some have serrated leaves and some have drop-shaped foliage, Female hollies provide festive fruit and male hollies are less showy.

Deciduous hollies such as Winterberry and Possumhaw need a radical pruning technique of cutting each year. Japanese holly, Inkberry and Yaupon hollies are rounded hollies which need to be thinned only in the first few years of growth. Formal shaping can continue throughout the life of the plant. Indeterminate hollies such as Blue holly, English holly, and Chinese holly need thinning and formal shaping throughout its life. Pyramidal hollies require thinning when they are young, but formal shaping is usually not necessary. Pyramidal hollies are the American holly, English holly, and ‘Nellie R. Stevens’ holly.

The three ways to prune are thinning, shaping, and radical cutting. Thinning consists of reducing interior by removing crossing or intersecting branches to a branch union. This prevents overcrowding in the framework of the holly and a better organization of branches. Cut parallel to the main branch to help hide the unsightly stub and make it appear natural. Shaping gives hollies a strong outline. Use a series of deliberate cuts that remove the end of a branch to a bud or leaf node. This process shortens the branch to create the desired shape but doesn’t remove it. The angle of these cuts should slope upward in order to conceal the stub. Radical pruning suits the loose form of deciduous hollies. Since they are vigorous growers, deciduous hollies should be thinned back every year in late winter to improve their shape and encourage new growth. Stems that are thicker than a thumb should be cut to the ground. Never remove more than one-third of the shrub. This type of pruning may seem drastic, but it is the best way to keep these hollies healthy.

General maintenance should always be done. Remove unsightly damaged branches. Any diseased branches must be cut and taken away from the property to prevent further spread or recurrence.

When pruning any woody plant, use tools with sharp blades. Bypass-blade hand pruners and loppers are ideal. Use a saw specifically sold for pruning trees and shrubs for the larger, thicker branches.

Dayelle Swensson is an avid writer for the web on a number of topics. Having gardened herself for many years, she is able to advise others about a variety of things including gardening tips, lawn and tree care, watering, hose reel and keeping your home garden looking good and healthy.

Seasoning for All Seasons: Grow Your Herbs in Pots

Gardening is a productive hobby that should and can be enjoyed by all, not only those who are backyard endowed. An exciting project for the budding gardener, and even children with a hint of green thumb interest, is growing herbs of various sorts in pots and containers. Container or pot gardening is extremely beneficial for city dwellers, as little space is to be had, and little space is needed. A fire escape terrace can be made oh, so much more inviting by adding a little greenery to all that metal. Small spaces are actually quite conducive to herb growth, making an herb garden an ideal candidate for one’s first foray into backyard gardening, especially if space is limited, as when there is no backyard at all.

If your household is one that enjoys eating well, and you and your family especially enjoys cooking, an herb garden should be especially attractive. Adding herbs to your favorite recipes, especially fresh herbs grown in your own little garden will only increase exponentially the wonderful tastes you bring to your dinner table each and every night. Depending of what kinds of cooking you naturally gravitate to, be it Mexican, French, Italian cuisine, etc., a special pot or grouping of pots can be tailored to grow for each style. Now for the growing preparations, because taste buds are growing impatient with all this tasty talk!

Find a pot or pots that have excellent drainage, because you never want the water added from your hose reel to sit in your potting soil, increasing the chances of mold formation. Your potting soil will need be of a high grade and can be purchased at your local garden store. While you are at your garden shop, of course, you’ll peruse the seed section, and find the herbs you require for your styles of cooking. Cilantro would add savory goodness to your Mexican dishes, and you can never go wrong growing basil or thyme because they add so much to a wide range of dishes from poultry to vegetables. Now that you’ve picked out your soil, pots, and seeds, it’s time to go home and get that growing started. Set up your pots, either inside or on your back terrace (fire escape will do nicely) and fill them 3/4s full with your high quality soil. Plant your selected herbs, water them nicely, and then cover them with a little straw or similar mulching material in order to keep the precious moisture in. Watering your herbs diligently each day, while allowing them ample, but never too much sun, will ensure quick and successful growth. In no time, you, your family, and lucky dinner guests will be reaping the taste rewards from your potted paradise!

About the author: Jon Bassfarm is an Internet content writer who enjoys researching and writing about many subjects including hose reel and landscaping.

Toads for Your Garden

Toads, the stocky little amphibians hopping around your garden usually sporting tan, gray, and brown camouflaged patterns so that they can stay hidden in the dry leaves or rocky terrain, are an essential part of the healthy ecosystem which makes your garden work best.

To attract this useful type of frog to your garden, you must build it up with mostly native plants. Native plants provide lots of food for toads, not because toads eat plants, but like all amphibians, they are carnivorous, consuming any living thing they can snatch with their long, sticky tongues and stuff down their throats. Toads’ most common prey happens to be insects and other invertebrates. Some large species tackle mice, snakes, and even other frogs. The native plants in your garden will bring in a healthy insect population that will keep toads very happy.

There are many species of toads. They generally have a dry, spotted, bumpy skin and short, thick legs with little webbing between their toes unlike the frogs that live in the water most of the time. Toads move around by walking and taking short, quick hops rather than massive, long leaps or underwater dives. Toads can range further from water for longer periods of time and survive in dryer ecosystems (like your garden) than other types of frogs.

Gardens not overly neat and tidy can provide good habitat for insects and shelter for toads. Remember that toads will help keep the garden pests in check. Toads are actually a far better method of pest control than toxic chemicals. These toxins just don’t kill insects; they kill or harm other garden life too. Amphibians as a group are extremely sensitive to toxins. Their dry skin readily absorbs chemical toxins.

The bumps on a toad’s skin are not warts, but are called parotid glands that produce toxins that make toads taste bad to their predators. And for the record, you cannot get warts by touching a toad.

For the most part, toads are terrestrial, but they rely on standing water for their eggs and tadpoles. If you don’t have a lake or pond nearby, create a simple garden pond. In your pond provide gradually sloping sides, plenty of vegetation and branches dipping into the water to allow the toads to easily enter and exit. Toads lay their eggs in long strings and attach their eggs to plant material. Other aquatic vegetation and underwater branches provide tadpoles places to hide from any fish in the pond considering tadpoles a tasty treat.

Another way of attracting these important little creatures is by making a toad abode to provide shelter. It could be as simple as chopping out a half circle at the rim of an old clay pot. Turn it upside down and the hole becomes the door to a toad’s abode. Place it in a shady part of the garden so the toads will seek it out to escape the sun and predators. Stack some rocks around it and plant some ground covers or ferns nearby, and it should become a place to savor on some insects too. Being one of your garden’s best friends, keep toads happy.

Dayelle Swensson is an avid writer for the web on a number of topics. Having gardened herself for many years, she is able to advise others about a variety of things including gardening tips, lawn and tree care, watering, hose reel and keeping your home garden looking good and healthy.

Maintenance Check on Rhododendrons

There is a common notion that rhododendrons can’t be pruned. However, with some easy maintenance, trimming, and removing of any dead or overextended branches, these plants respond well looking much healthier, fuller, and contained. After pruning and this kind of continued maintenance, rhododendrons retain a pleasing shape with dense branching, plenty of leaves, and more blossoms.

There are notable differences among the types of rhododendrons and how well they respond to pruning. The three common reasons for pruning rhododendrons are maintenance, shaping, and rejuvenation.

Maintenance pruning is the easiest type of pruning and only necessary once during a year. Basically it consists of removing spent flower clusters, called trusses, and also of any dead or diseased wood. The trusses should be removed because will eventually form seed, which uses the energy that would normally be going to the plant for vegetative growth.

You can either remove the unsightly, old flower trusses on rhododendrons by grasping the stem with your thumb and forefinger and snapping it off or using a pruning shear to snip the truss at its base. Occasionally the hands-on method causes the truss to break off too taking some of the new growth with it. By using a pruning shear, such accidents are avoided, but the shears might not be close by when feeling the urge to do some of this maintenance work.

Of course, branches damaged by storms or a harsh winter should be clipped from the plant, and any diseased stems, often identified by their wilted, curled yellow-green leaves, should also be removed. Maintenance pruning is best done when the flowers have faded and before the new growth rises more than an inch or so tall. Many types of rhododendrons can benefit from maintenance pruning, including some deciduous azaleas.

Pruning for shape enhances the rhododendron's natural habit and form. To shape the plant, follow the branch down to the last whorl of leaves you want to keep and cut just above those leaves. This action, in time will improve the overall look of the shrub as well as encourage denser branching making it more full.

With shaping the plant’s width and height can be controlled developing the most aesthetically pleasing aspects of the plant's natural form.
Shaping is most easily done in late winter, while the plant is dormant. Although this sacrifices some of the flower buds, it ensures a complete growing season for the new stems that emerge.

If you find a rhododendron with long, leggy branches without much vegetation or a plant that is just grown out of control and too large, more drastic pruning is needed. This technique is called rejuvenation pruning when cuts are made much farther back on the shrub. On the primary branches, make your cut just above a latent bud, or even better, a cluster of buds. In severe cases, you can sometimes cut your rhododendron to within 6 inches of the ground.

Severely pruned rhododendron many times come back better than ever. Rejuvenation pruning initiates the rise of vigorous flushes of new growth from previously leafless old stems. As the new growth matures into a new framework of branches it then can be reshaped into a beautiful shrub over the years producing many flowers. It's best to perform this type of pruning in winter, while the plant is dormant.

Rhododendrons are very forgiving, so do not worry about making a mistake while pruning. All three methods of pruning keep your plants the most healthy and more attractive.

Dayelle Swensson is an avid writer for the web on a number of topics. Having gardened herself for many years, she is able to advise others about a variety of things including gardening tips, lawn and tree care, watering, hose reel and keeping your home garden looking good and healthy.

Get the Most from Your Fallen Leaves

Nature’s way of returning the nutrients back to the tree is through the leaves of the tree. Fallen leaves contain up to 80 percent of the nutrients that a tree absorbs during its growing season. Leaves return their store of nutrients to the soil when they are allowed to decay on the ground. The nutrients are reabsorbed by the tree’s roots and channeled back to a new season of growth.

It makes common sense to use this potent substance for your flower or/and vegetable garden. Leaves serve as a key component in your soil. You miss the opportunity to add a rich, natural source of organic matter to your garden if you don’t use the annual bounty of leaves. Regular applications of compost, mulch, and other matter, such as fallen leaves need to be mixed into your soil. Otherwise your soil becomes humus-deprived losing its ability to retain moisture and nutrients. The pH levels will drift out of balance making it less hospitable to microorganisms.

Fallen leaves are a favorite food of earthworms everywhere making it nature’s perfect mulch. Turn your soil into an earthworm factory with a thick layer of fallen leaves enriching it with one of the natural world’s finest-quality fertilizers—worm castings.

Large, leathery leaves such as oak can take years to break down. If left in thick layers, they become barriers between rainfalls and the soil, so shred these larger leaves. Leaf vacuums/shredders can reduce a mountain of leaves to one-sixth of its volume. Instead you can also shred leaves by mowing the lawn and raking the bulk into your flowerbeds or collecting them in bags to be used as summer mulch. Place a thin layer of shredded leaves in direct contact with the soil so that microorganisms can turn them into dark, fungi-rich leaf mold. Thin layers of shredded leaves will keep the ground cool, hold in moisture, and keep the weeds at bay. Shredded leaves make attractive winter mulch piled around garden plants after the ground freezes. This mulch provides protection for tender plant roots while allowing winter moisture to reach into the ground. You can also mix partially decomposed leaves into the soil to provide aeration while improving nutrient and moisture-holding capacity.

Over time, leaf humus tends to balance out soil that’s too acidic. The exception is large quantities of oak leaves, highly acidic themselves; so the opposite effect on your soil can happen. Apply leaves to your garden beds in the fall after plants are dormant. It is a good idea to also add a nitrogen source such as fish emulsion. Of course, do not use leaves from any diseased trees. They should be carried off your property actually to prevent the infection from spreading. Also avoid black-walnut leaves because they contain a toxin that can retard the growth of garden plants. The benefits from using fallen leaves far outweigh these few precautions.

Dayelle Swensson is an avid writer for the web on a number of topics. Having gardened herself for many years, she is able to advise others about a variety of things including gardening tips, lawn and tree care, watering, hose reel and keeping your home garden looking good and healthy.

Winterizing Water Gardens

Naturalized water gardens that may include a waterfall, stream and/or pond, add such an incredible creative touch to your landscaping. Working in harmony with nature they offer a sanctuary for your senses. Astonishingly, they require little maintenance. Periodic cleaning out the skimmer of leaves and adding beneficial bacteria is essentially the extent of regular care. It is important to maintain clear, clean water and to do this without the use of unsightly and costly filtration systems and chemicals. Water gardens should be naturally self-regulating ecosystems requiring significantly less maintenance than if the area were planted in grass. However, like most everything you need to prepare your special sanctuary for the winter.

The cool weather of autumn brings on noticeable changes in a water garden. As long as fish feed, they will continue to produce waste. Dying aquatic vegetation that is not removed from the pond adds to the organic load. The fact that aquatic plants are entering dormancy allows for increased nitrate availability. This means an increased growth of filamentous, string algae, that slimy stuff. No need to be alarmed. The ecosystem is still healthy. This is considered normal transition. Where the sunlight penetration is high on your water garden in shallow streams and pools, the algae will increase the most. This is to be expected. Cold doesn’t bother the algae.

You can gain some control over excessive amounts of algae by keeping leaves, dying vegetation and any other matter out of the pond. Remember that simple good housekeeping goes a long way.

Cut down all marginal plants to within an inch or so above water level once browned out. The exception being cattail, sweet flag, corkscrew rush, and even iris. These plants that if left in place, lend beauty and structure to the winter landscape of a water garden. Pinch off hardy lilies and other deep-water plants to one inch above the tip. If necessary, replace the soil and gravel here.

If you live in a climate where ponds freeze, move plants to deeper water. Place tender floating plants like water hyacinth in a three-inch tray filled with water and move them to a frost-free shed or greenhouse for the winter.

When temperatures drop fish spend most of their time hanging around on the bottom of the pond. Once water temps hit a consistent 55 degrees, stop feeding your fish altogether and discontinue bacteria treatments. Turning off the waterfall overnight when big drops in nighttime temperature happen before the winter starts is a good idea too. Anything greater than a five-degree temperature change on a daily basis is hard on fish. It is best to try to keep the pond water temperatures as stable as possible.

When the pond freezes, keep a small area ice-free to help fish survival by creating a spot for harmful gasses to escape. Finally, turn off the filters, clean them and store them inside for the winter. When spring comes, your water feature will be ready again to start being a special added pleasure to your landscape.

Dayelle Swensson is an avid writer for the web on a number of topics. Having gardened herself for many years, she is able to advise others about a variety of things including gardening tips, lawn and tree care, watering, hose reel and keeping your home garden looking good and healthy.

Dark Opal Basil

A great plant to grow in your herb garden is basil. A beautiful species, ‘Dark Opal' basil lends both flavor and color to culinary creations. No other herb is so exuberant and bountiful as basil. When you would pick from your herb garden, a few fronds of parsley and dill, or a sprig of rosemary and thyme, you would pick an armload of basil. And it is a good thing because you will find this herb to be extremely useful!

Start growing basil, an annual indoors four to six weeks before you intend to set the plants out. Once the herb is planted, mulch around it only when the soil has thoroughly warmed up. It is best to wait until night temperatures are above 55°F. Though it tolerates a wide range of pH (4.5 to 6.5), basil does best in fertile soil. Although some gardeners insist that the flavor is better if basil isn't fertilized, and grows healthier if it's fed at planting time, and again during the season, perhaps after a heavy picking. Supplemental irrigation has the potential to double the yield.

Like most herbs, basil has few pests. Try using a barrier of copper flashing if slugs become a problem on new transplants. Spun bonded polyester row covers will easily ward off Japanese beetles.

Fusarium wilt of basil, a devastating disease, reached North America via infected seed in the 1990s. Symptoms include sudden wilting and leaf drop, accompanied by dark streaks on the stems, usually in weather above 80°F. If you notice these symptoms, take the necessary precautions so your whole garden doesn’t become infected. Quickly dig up the infected plant, along with all soil around the roots, and discard it. Avoid moving soil that was near the diseased plant onto your tools or tiller. Consider growing your basil in containers. There is a fusarium-resistant variety, called ‘Nufar’ that is an alternative to grow if severe problems develop. Practicing good garden sanitation helps control most disease and infection.

In cool, wet weather, or in winter greenhouse production, basil is susceptible to a few bacterial rots that show up on stems or leaf clusters. When planting basil, space out the plants so they can easily dry out after being watered, and plant in well-drained soil to avoid rot.

Dayelle Swensson is an avid writer for the web on a number of topics. Having gardened herself for many years, she is able to advise others about a variety of things including gardening tips, lawn and tree care, watering, hose reel and keeping your home garden looking good and healthy.

Make Van Gogh Proud: Grow Some Sunflowers!

Perhaps their brilliant yellow coloring inspired him. Their intricately constructed heads containing 1,000 to 2,000 conjoined individual flowers might have provoked his attention to and eye for detail. Could it have been their sunny disposition, so diametrically opposed to his constant state of melancholy? Whatever the reason, Vincent Van Gogh was inspired to paint twelve canvases displaying their likeness, as well as surrounding himself with the plants for most of his short adult life. The beauty and lush color of the sunflower is undeniable. Their rapid growth and beauty will add depth and majesty to your home garden should you endeavor to grow them.

Sunflowers are indigenous plants to North America having provided food and oil to the continent’s native population for centuries before the first Europeans arrived. Sunflower seeds are used to make the sunflower oil we often use in cooking, are a main ingredient in most commercial birdseed, and are delicious and nutritious for healthier snacking. If you are an avid bird watcher, sunflowers will attract more winged creatures to your yard than ever before, so be forewarned, if you’re not! One of the most fascinating facts about sunflowers is their tracking of the sun, known as heliotropism; if you took a time-lapse photo series of the plants, you would notice their “faces” turn throughout the day to gather the sun’s rays as the sun changes positions across the sky.

As with most flowers, richness of soil is important to a sunflower’s growth, but you will enjoy success with clay-like or sand-like soil as long as it drains well, allowing for no standing water to well within. As “sun” is part of their name, it makes perfect sense that optimum positioning in your yard or garden would allow them to capture all-day sun, as is their want. Sunflowers do best if grown in a pot at first, making it easier for germination as soil temperature can be more easily maintained at 70 degrees Fahrenheit. Leaves will appear quickly, and when the second leaves do, make sure to fertilize the pots, keeping them in a sunny spot. After several weeks of fertilizing weekly, the plants should now be large enough to transplant to your garden. Making sure to find a sunny, mostly windless spot, dig a hole for each plant that is one and a half times the size of their pot, while keeping each hole at least a foot from the next. Taking care to keep precious root systems intact, place each flower in its hole and fill with soil, patting it down gently. Water from your hose reel should be applied gently, so regulate the flow as not to displace any of the soil from around each plant. By keeping the soil moist, you will encourage quick growth. Because a sunflower’s cycle is so rapid, you will have fully mature plants within 3 months, and be able to enjoy them as they shoot ever higher. Most plants grow to between eight and twelve feet tall. With care, your sunflowers will last all summer, providing nutrition for your local bird population as well as beauty for your viewing pleasure.

About the author: Jon Bassfarm is an Internet content writer who enjoys researching and writing about many subjects including hose reel, landscaping, and much more.

Growing the Herb, Oregano

Just as growing your own vegetables to cook with, there is nothing quite like growing your own herbs to use to flavor your cooking. If you are a cook who enjoys using herbs in your recipes, consider how much more tasty it will be to add your own freshly grown herbs snipped from pots on your windowsill garden. Among the several species of oregano used in cooking, the one recommended for kitchen use is Origanum heracleoticum. Commercially available dried oregano you purchase at the grocery store may contain any number of species of oregano and even unrelated plants, so that is why you haven’t been too impressed with its flavor in your cooking. Growing your own is definitely the best way to go. Not only do you find out which best suits your palate, but you can choose the specific, pure and natural one to compliment other ingredients.

The desirable species of oregano you will want to grow in your herb garden are: Origanum heracleoticum, Origanum vulgare, and Origanum majorana. Other more commonly known names for Origanum heracleoticum are Greek oregano, winter sweet marjoram, or Italian oregano. Common names for Origanum vulgare include European oregano, wild marjoram, and winter marjoram. Origanum majorana is sweet marjoram, also a species of oregano.

Purchase plants or seeds from a reliable source. Plant in full sun and well-drained soil after danger of frost has passed in the spring. Space your herb plants or thin seedlings to stand about nine inches apart. If you want the plant to be dense, trim the plants back just before they flower. Depending on the species, oregano takes approximately five to six weeks to bloom after planting. If you allow some of the flowers to produce and drop their seed, you can keep your oregano patch fresh, vigorous, and wild. Some oregano can grow two feet high and as full as a small bush if you let it. When in bloom, it can be quite beautiful. However, to keep the bed quality high, remove three to four year old plants. A portion of the plant can be brought indoors for your windowsill herb garden, especially if you want to use it for cooking during the winter months.

Harvest the oregano leaves as you need them. Just before the flowers bloom is when the flavor is best. To dry oregano, hang harvested sprigs in an airy, low-lit location until the leaves crumble easily in your hand, then store in an airtight container. Dried oregano leaves keep their flavor well in storage, unlike some other herbs. Also, try freezing fresh sprigs in zippered plastic bags. The flavor is still strong; but remember to press as much air from the bag as possible.

Dayelle Swensson is an avid writer for the web on a number of topics. Having gardened herself for many years, she is able to advise others about a variety of things including gardening tips, lawn and tree care, watering, hose reel and keeping your home garden looking good and healthy.

Helping Your Installed Sod Take Root

Installing pre-grown sod can be an excellent way to give your pitiful looking lawn a much-needed jumpstart. If your lawn is mostly bare, consisting of more dirt patches than lush green grass, you might be best to consider sod as a quick replacement, especially when time is not on your side, and seeding and growing a new lawn is not an option. You’ll have lush green grass in no time, and it will root quickly allowing for that upcoming lawn party or simply adding beauty and usability for your own pleasure.

Some preparation is needed before your sod arrives, and some instructions need to be followed implicitly to allow your sod its best chances for successful attachment and growth. You first need to remove existing grass remnants and any pesky weeds in the area. An organic herbicide can do the job of killing grass and weeds you are unable to simply pull up; after it does its job, remove the wilted and brown remainders. Adding organic topsoil and tilling it, working it within the existing soil will ensure your sod has the best, most fertile soil possible in which to extend its root system. Rake the top of the area now, adding organic fertilizer or organic compost from your compost bin. After working in the compost and fertilizer and making sure the area is level, it is time to start watering. Extend your hose reel so that you can adequately irrigate the soil in preparation for the sod’s arrival. Attempt this in several short spurts, allowing for ample penetration of necessary water while minimizing the waste due to water runoff. These waterings should continue until the day before the arrival of your new sod. Sod should not be stored on your property when it arrives, but immediately rolled into position as the generated heat from the stacking can be harmful to the overall health of your new lawn. Lay your sod rows in place as you would if you were a bricklayer or sheet-rocker, making sure to stagger the seams thus minimizing the appearance of “blocks” of grass. For the next two weeks, the watering of your sod should be ample, allowing for nice wet sod that will quickly take root. Your hose reel should be used as much as six times a day in summer, perhaps three times in early spring to ensure rapid growth. You are able to check the rooting process by gently tugging on your sod after a couple of weeks. If it has not attached in a given area, increase the water supply; don’t be stingy! Once in place sod is fairly easily maintained, only needing adequate waterings after rooting has taken place. In this manner, you and your family can enjoy a fresh green lawn for many years to come. The rewards are ample for minimal work and expense.

About the author: Jon Bassfarm is an Internet content writer who enjoys researching and writing about many subjects including hose reel, landscaping, and much more.

Keeping Tender Plants Safe Over the Winter

The brilliant autumn colors have exploded and now the leaves are falling. Pumpkins dressed with frost in the early morning tell you winter is around the corner and preparations should be made. Keeping some annuals and summer bulbs in colorful shape through the winter is possible, relatively easy and saves buying all new plants come spring. Coleus, dahlias, gladiolus, crocosmias, acidanthera, geraniums are all among the plants you can continue to grow or keep safe indoors. It is your choice. You could just leave all of them to die with the deep freeze and start with new plants next year. But the longer the potted plants are left to grow, the larger the plant, and the better the show for next spring when you will place them outdoors again. If you have any of the plants mentioned above and would like to keep them safe and sound through the winter, here are some guidelines to do just that. Some can share your living quarters and others have to be set aside in a cool, dry location. 


After the gladiolus, crocosmias, and acidanthera have finished flowering or when frost kills their leaves, carefully dig the corms of these plants and spread them out in a dry, well-ventilated area at room temperature for about two to three weeks. Remove and throw away the old corms, and in paper bags in a 35° to 40° location, store
the new corms collected.

After the foliage on cannas has been damaged by frost, allow them to dry in the ground for a few days, then cut back the stems to 3 to 4 inches. Carefully dig the rhizomes and let them dry at room temperature for a few days. In cardboard boxes or mesh bags filled with peat moss, store the rhizomes at 40° to 50° for the winter. Come spring, either plant the entire clump or separate the rhizomes, leaving a portion of the old stem attached to each one.



By cutting geraniums back by about a third, you can keep growing and blooming them indoors. Start to fertilize them in a couple of weeks. It is important they get plenty of sun so sit your pot near a window where sun shines through for a good portion of the day. If you decide to keep geraniums dormant during the winter, move the potted plants into a dark, cool (40° to 50°) location, and don't water them or cut them back until they show new growth in spring.



Take cuttings from the non-woody stems of coleus and root them indoors in water. If you want to save the whole plant, bring it indoors in the fall and cut back the stems a few inches to remove the tall, succulent growth most susceptible to aphids. 


Fuchsias and tender salvias can also be brought indoors in the fall. Cut back stems by about half. Or you can keep them in a state of semi-dormancy by moving them to an unheated basement or a place with low light with temperatures between 40° and 55°. They need to be water about once a month. In the spring when temperatures reach the 60s, move them outside, first to a shady spot, giving them a trim and then begin to water and fertilize like you usually do these plants in season.

Dayelle Swensson is an avid writer for the web on a number of topics. Having gardened herself for many years, she is able to advise others about a variety of things including gardening tips, lawn and tree care, watering, hose reel and keeping your home garden looking good and healthy.

Strawberries In Your Backyard Garden

Nothing tastes better (in my opinion) than sweet and warm strawberry shortcake with fresh whipped cream on top. My stomach is grumbling just thinking about it! Even better than having a tasty dessert at a restaurant is possessing the ability to create it anytime you want from the bounty just outside your door. Growing strawberries in your backyard is easily accomplished and can be extremely rewarding