Garden Decor

Fertilizing your flowers is all about the food, much like yourself a well balanced fertilizer can make the difference in your sprouting flower garden this year.

Depending on how in depth you want to get, it is not all that necessary to go out and have your soil sampled and analyzed. I usually stick with a tried and true fertilizer that contains a full spectrum of plant nutrients. With so many brands and the opinions of professional gardeners it should be easy to make an educated decision. The main focus after selecting a well balanced fertilizer will just be focusing on not over-feeding the plants as this can cause damage to root structures, even kill the plant.

Read the directions carefully and keep in mind that you will not want to place the fertilizer directly on the leaves and flowers of the plant. Everything involved from there is pretty much straight forward. Keeping in mind the ideal lighting and watering situation afterward will help in effectively obtaining a great bloom.

Spring brings with it that time of year for home improvements, which can sometimes follow a much neglected winter. Indoors and out there is much to do, and on those warming summer days there is no better way to earn the relaxing summer days than enduring the spring cleaning your garden needs.

It is coming upon that time where your garden needs a good upkeep. Spring clean your garden, now that the snow has melted and the debris hopefully settled for a nice calm spring afternoon.

Perhaps one of these sunny days, you too will break out the rake and begin the process. I usually begin the process with an overhaul of the grounds, from garden beds to the lawn. I want to get a jump on the chance to start the spring off with some fresh fertilizer as the sun and warmer showers will enable the grass to grow in thick for summer.

Transplanting can also be an important part of your early spring garden to-do as well as trimming the overgrowth on your small bushes and ferns. Hopefully the win, rain and hail did not inflict too much of a beating on your plants but all can be salvaged with the proper knowledge and care, perhaps the makings of a future post.

How-To Get Rid of Poison Ivy Near Vegetables

Howard emailed me what would appear to be a very straight forward question: “What can I use to eliminate poison ivy near a vegetable garden?”. We all know that getting rid of poison ivy is never an easy task. Many weed killers do a decent job of eradicating this pest, but most must be applied several times to really do the job. Even though these products are rated relatively safe to the environment, you want to be even more cautious when spraying near vegetables for your family.

I mentioned the acetic acid based weed killers and painting the herbicide directly on the leaves of the weed, to lessen its spread. Do you have any suggestions for battling poison ivy? They say with the warmer temperatures of recent years, poison ivy is becoming hardier than ever. So this is probably going to become an even bigger problem for gardeners.

If you’re struggling with trying to find the right decor for your garden you should check the wealth of great ideas, information and more that are available in today’s gardening magazines.  Chocked full of reviews, news, editorials and sample layouts they can provide a fast and affordable solution to your garden decor woes.  With all the information you could ever need to get your garden looking like one of the best on the block, magazines are a sure-fire bet for anyone who’s running out of ideas.

If getting to a store that has the magazines you want then you can easily check online for a free and convenient source of ideas, tips, tricks and even some great deals.  Don’t lock yourself into only one alternative or informational resource.  Take your time to find what you like, what you can afford and what you think will look great in YOUR garden!  The ideas are out there and many of them don’t cost a thing!

Pre-Season Hellebore 

The genus is native to much of Europe, from western Great Britain, Spain and Portugal, eastward across the Mediterranean region and central Europe into Romania and Ukraine, and along the north coast of Turkey into the Caucasus. The greatest concentration of species occurs in the Balkans. One atypical species (H. thibetanus) comes from western China; another atypical species (H. vesicarius) inhabits a small area on the border between Turkey and Syria.

The flowers have five “petals” (actually sepals or tepals) surrounding a ring of small, cup-like nectaries (petals modified to hold nectar). The sepals do not fall as petals would, but remain on the plant, sometimes for many months. Recent research in Spain suggests that the persistent calyx contributes to the development of the seeds.

Although the flowers of some species may resemble wild roses (and despite some of their common names, such as “Christmas rose” and “Lenten rose“), hellebores do not belong to the rose family (Rosaceae).

Problem #1:  Seeds have to be moist enough to germinate, dry enough   that the fungi don’t move in, in soil damp enough to keep them going, but with enough air spaces that oxygen can get to the seeds and the roots.

General solution: a well-drained potting soil, and plastic pots with good drainage holes.  Keep soil about as moist as a sponge you’d use to wipe off the kitchen counter.

Problem #2:  Drought and drown.  Most of us don’t have the time to watch seedlings really, really carefully and water them every time they need it.  Plus some of us (ahem! who me?) have minds like sieves and just plain forget to water now and then.  A seed that’s started to germinate and then dries out is dead. 

General solution:  Keep the humidity up so the soil doesn’t dry  out so rapidly.  If you’ve got seeds in soil, cover with  plastic wrap so the tray doesn’t dry out.  Once you see the first signs of seedlings, though, you need to remove the cover and start paying closer attention.

 
1. The rose plant is not getting enough sun. Roses need at least 6 hours of direct sun a day to perform well.
  2. The rose needs more water. Roses like at least an inch of water per week during the growing season.
  3. The plant has been given too much fertilizer, especially Nitrogen. Too much fertilizer can either damage the plant or cause it to grow extra leaves and stems at the expense of blooms.
  4. The rose is a new plant. Don’t expect too much from a plant during its first year.
  5. Rose is a once blooming variety. This means it will bloom only once a year in the late spring or early summer.
  6. Soil pH is too low or too high. If the pH is not in the range of 6.0 to 6.8 (ideally 6.5) then nutrient uptake will be reduced, and the plant won’t be getting the food it needs to produce flowers.
  7. Not enough foliage. If the bush doesn’t have adequate foliage, it can’t produce the food it needs to make new flowers. Inadequate foliage may result from disease or too little fertilizer.

Your neighborhood supermarket is chocked full of flowering blossoms and bulbs this season, and I’m a big fan of putting them in all types of uplifting seasonal displays.  They aren’t just easy to find and gorgeous; they’re inexpensive, too, and are arrangeable in lots of unique displays.  Stop by your neighborhood supermarket’s flower department and give this cool affordable idea a shot!

A list of inexpensive garden decorations.

• Johnny Jump Ups planted in small galvanized buckets looks so charming!
• Plant half whiskey barrels tightly with strawberry plants.
• Scarecrows are not only useful, they’re decorative.
• Check your nearest dollar store for really cute and cheap garden decorations! They also have seeds sometimes 10 packets for $1.00.
• Make a rustic trellis by nailing or screwing branches together in desired shape.
• Tip a flowerpot (any size) over and have soil spill out of it. Plant flowers in the soil for a charming spilled pot look.
• Old bowling balls can either be spray painted desired color or left as-is and used as a “garden sphere” that is so popular in gardens If you don’t have a bowling ball, check the thrift stores or yard sales to get one cheap.
• To spruce up a plain garage or house wall in the garden, nail strips of wood onto the wall in a paned-window shape. Paint desired color, add window-box full of planted flowers, grow a flowering vine over it, or even hang silk flowers over

I always wanted to install lighting along my pathways and outside the hedges in my front yard.  The trouble was wiring all this stuff up so it’s manageable from a switch in the house.  Plus, I didn’t want to have all of them running at the same time since it can be so expensive in terms of electricity.

I’ve found that an ultra-affordable alternative is solar powered lighting.  These little powerhouses soak up the sun all day, even when it’s cloudy!  Then they have enough juice to run all night and it doesn’t cost me a dime.  They’re cheap, easy and convenenient.  There’s no extra electrical work or dangerous fooling around with the breaker panel.