It is not too early to Start your Fall Garden

 Flower Gardening, Gardening, Perennials, Soil  No Responses »
Aug 042008
 

The fall season is approaching fast and this may be a good time to start thinking about your fall gardening. There are lots of things that you can do now that will save you time later in the season. For example, you can start replacing those summer annual plants in window boxes and containers with some fall plants.

If you do get rid of the annual plants, don’t throw away the soil. That soil is still good so just toss it in a flower bed, border or even perennial plants. For your fall plants, be sure to use fresh soil and do follow the instructions given when you purchase your plants. If you want to still keep your annuals for a while, you can get an additional container and fill it up with fall plants. This way, you will have beautiful fall flowers while the annuals are slowly dying out.

Another idea is to keep the container with annuals and as they die out, replace them with fall plants in the same container so that by the time your annuals are all gone, you will have constant color around your garden. Or, if you want to leave things as they are, start a new container with fall plants and keep it in a separate location until you are ready to place it in your desired location.

No idea what you want to do about your fall plants? Start by thinking about the colors and styles you want. Go to your local nursery or any garden center and start looking at the various choices they offer. Do speak with a salesperson and discuss where you want to place the fall plants, the colors that you have in mind, and ask for more suggestions.

Months go by quickly so don’t delay and get going with your fall gardening ideas. Whatever you decide, the time to start is now so that by the time to cooler weather gets here, you will have beautiful fall color around your garden.

To your lovely fall garden,
Diana


Here are some other flower gardening sites that I found for you to browse. Thanks for visiting Best Flower Gardening!

14 winter-prep tips for your lawn and garden - MSN Real Estate
Browse subject: Flower gardening | The Online Books Page
Do Real Gardeners Hire Help? -- Weekend Gardener - WSJ.com
Embrace the Chill: Plant Bulbs - WSJ.com
flower owl | Flickr - Photo Sharing!
Restored gardens bloom on Alcatraz Island - USATODAY.com


 Posted by at 3:52 am

Do you know your Plants Needs?

 Flower Gardening, Soil, Soil Nutrients  No Responses »
Jul 312008
 

Not all plants are made equal and they have specific needs. Learn about your plants before putting them on the ground. Some plants may refuse to thrive because of too much shade. If this is the case, you can transplant them to a sunny location. Some plants may require rich soil that has nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. The solution to this is to give your plants nutrient rich soil.

Although most plants are pruned at the end of each season, some plants require pruning regularly. You can determine if this is the case with your plants by carefully reading the instructions given when you purchased the plant. Because I have lots of plants and it is difficult to keep track of them all, I have a simple chart with details for each. This makes it easy for me to remember which plants have specific needs and when.

Plants such as roses that bloom profusely and for long periods of time need to be fed at least every three weeks. You can also use compost and mix it with the soil to ensure good drainage because roses like moist soil, but don’t like to sit on water. Also, do remember to deadhead your roses or other blooming plants to encourage more blooming.

If you notice that some of your plants start to wilt, it is a sure sign that you need to water them regularly. This is especially true if you have sandy soil and you live in an area prone to excessive heat and drought. Very hot and dry weather will create difficult living conditions for your plants.

You can water your garden by hand or you can set up soaker hoses or even a drip irrigation system. Do try to avoid watering your garden during the hottest part of the day whatever that time frame is for you. In my case here in the south, that will be between 10 am and about 4 pm. And remember, that plants should be kept moist but not wet so don’t over water them.

Enjoy your healthy garden,
Diana


Here are some other flower gardening sites that I found for you to browse. Thanks for visiting Best Flower Gardening!

flower owl | Flickr - Photo Sharing!
12 places to see beautiful spring blooms - CNN
Climbing hydrangea | Define Climbing hydrangea at Dictionary.com
BBC - Chelsea Flower Show 2011 - Times Eureka Garden - Marcus ...
Coming Event: 31st Connecticut Flower & Garden Show is February ...
Gardening: News & Videos about Gardening - CNN.com


 Posted by at 4:01 am

Keep your Garden in top shape during the Summer Season

 Flower Gardening, Gardening, Soil  No Responses »
Jul 222008
 

Oh yes, we all love the hot sunny days of summer! But, as much as we enjoy our summer days, our gardens must not be neglected. The scorching days of summer can damage your plants and flowers if we are not careful.

We all tend to look at summer as a time of fun and vacation time. While this is great for us, it is bad news for our gardens. Yes, we should enjoy our vacations with family and friends, but it is our responsibility to make sure that our flower gardens are taken care of as well.

The key to a healthy flower garden that will tolerate the hot days of summer is nutrient rich soil. When the soil is good, your plants will thrive in any climate. During the summer, apply some fertilizer at least every six weeks until late summer. And, be sure to water your garden regularly.

In very hot climates with intense heat and sun, be sure to have a thick covering of mulch in your garden as this will protect your plants from some of the heat, it will retain moisture and control weeds. This is a good thing to do if you are going on vacation. One thing I make sure of before I go away, is that my garden is fully watered and moist.

Enjoy your gardening and vacations,
Diana


Here are some other flower gardening sites that I found for you to browse. Thanks for visiting Best Flower Gardening!

I am looking for some PA gardening websites and blogs? - Yahoo ...
BBC - Chelsea Flower Show 2011 - Tourism Malaysia Garden ...
Flower Gardening In Wisconsin - a set on Flickr
July gardening checklist - MSN Real Estate
Year Round Colour for Your Ever Flowering Garden
Edible Flower Gardening - University of Vermont


 Posted by at 4:30 am

Beware of Plant Diseases in your Garden

 Flower Gardening, Gardening, Soil  No Responses »
Jul 202008
 

Gardening is very relaxing and a wonderful hobby for lots of people. But along with this relaxation and great hobby of ours comes the realization that our flower gardens will become diseased. It is a fact. Your garden plants will get some type of disease. The thing to remember is that you need to take care of the situation right away in order to protect the rest of the garden from contamination.

While garden diseases are not entirely avoidable, one way to ensure that your garden is healthy is the have good soil for your plants to thrive on.

Most garden diseases are caused by fungi which will make your plants look sick or have a powdery mildew or black spots on the leaves and they start to wilt. You will also notice that the flowers are not as healthy as they suppose to look and this is a sure sign that the plant is diseased.

What I have noticed is that although plants can get diseased at any time, it is more visible in late summer. However, it doesn’t matter when you notice that there is something wrong with your plants, you just have to take care of the situation immediately.

Some gardeners believe that most garden diseases occur during the rainy season. I do agree with this and also the fact that since most plants do prefer sun, extended cloudy conditions can accelerate plant diseases.

It has been said that diseases and fungus can be transmitted from one plant to another in a short period of time. For this reason, if you see a particular plant that looks very sick, just remove it from your garden.

While there are many products available to treat plant diseases, a friend of mine has suggested something called Serenade to treat all plants. Serenade is supposed to protect the most common fungal and bacterial garden diseases and it is non-toxic. I personally like Fungicide to treat most plant diseases and it works very well.

I also like a product called Bayer 3-1 because it protects most plant diseases and fertilizes as well. Whatever product you decide on, just be sure to follow the instructions given when you purchase it.

Just remember that sooner or later disease will enter your garden and possibly infect other plants. If and when this happens, don’t panic. Cut a couple of leaves from one the plants, go to you local nursery, explain the problem to the person in charge, show them the leaves, and ask them to recommend a product that will take care of the problem.

To your healthy garden,
Diana


Here are some other flower gardening sites that I found for you to browse. Thanks for visiting Best Flower Gardening!

Annual Flowers - Gardening in a Minute
Gardening Flower - Holmes County Home
Colourful flower Gardening. | Flickr - Photo Sharing!
Picks and Pans Review: My Favorite Plant : People.com
Flower Gardening - Planting Marigolds Zinnias & Coreopsis from ...
Flower Gardening | Flickr - Photo Sharing!


 Posted by at 4:56 am
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