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

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

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

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

The important element in well drained soil is oxygen which allows plants to grow when the roots are not constantly in water and it will not allow water to settle on it. Soil that does not drain well is usually oxygen deficient which results in drowned and rotted roots. Once the water is gone, oxygen flows into the roots of the plants and they will be fine.

Test your garden for drainage by digging holes in various locations during the rainy season. If you see water in the hole the next day, you have slow drainage. If this is the case, get some compost and mix it in with the soil that is there now. Compost is the best to rectify this situation.

It is also good practice to use mulch in areas prone to intense heat in order to keep the roots cool and reduce the amount of evaporation that takes place in the surface of the soil. If you do use mulch, be sure to always test the soil under the mulch for good drainage.

Good drainage in your garden is the key to having beautiful, healthy plants and flowers. This is especially true if you have a rose garden like I do. Roses like moist soil but they don’t like to be in puddles of water. So be sure to test your garden soil for good drainage during the rainy season. Your garden will love you for it, and you will love your garden!

To your well-drained garden, Diana

The soil in your garden consists of particles which are mainly minerals that come from the breakdown of rocks and other substances with some organic matter. Since soil is the basic element in the cultivation of all plants, it is very important that the soil in your garden is nutrient rich to promote growth. Of course, other growth factors such as sun, light, moisture and weather conditions are important as well.

Many gardeners believe that the ideal soil should be loose, deep, well drained, has lots of organic matter and is free from diseases and weeds. Good soil must have three main ingredients which are Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Potassium in order to become that ‘ideal’ type of soil. So if you have soil that is deficient in these nutrients, you can mix it with colloidal rock phosphate and green-sand to improve its quality.

Another thing to remember is that clay based soils dry much slower after a rainy day than other types of soil. However, sandy based soils dry out quickly. If you have clay or sandy based soils, you can improve it by adding organic matter such as Peatmoss, Manure, Compost, or even sawdust and bark. Increasing the organic matter of these types of soils makes it easier for you to garden and you will see improved internal drainage.

I prefer Compost for clay and sandy spots in my garden because it binds them together and retain moisture. I also like to add Compost to my potting soil prior to planting anything. Composted manure that you see at your local nurseries is good and you can spread a layer on top of your garden soil prior to tilling thus getting some much needed organic matter in the ground. Whatever you do, don’t try to make your own Compost at home. If you are not an expert at this sort of thing, you can bring unwanted diseases, bugs and weeds to your garden. Leave the work to someone else and just go and buy it at your local nursery.

It is important to mention here that adding fertilizers to your garden does not improve the quality of the soil. Fertilizers are considered chemicals that are applied as a nutrient for the plants and it is not to be confused with organic matter for your garden soil although fertilizers are essential for producing beautiful flowers in your garden. Be sure to follow the instructions given with the purchase of any type of fertilizer and don’t use more than the recommended dosage as it may burn or even kill some of your plants.

Getting back to the soil, if you notice that your plants are short, not growing as they should, show poor color and have bad roots, than you need to check the quality of your garden soil. If you want to have a beautiful flower garden the first step is to make sure you have good quality soil. It doesn’t matter whether you are planting perennials, trees or even a vegetable garden, the quality of the soil will determine how well these will grow.

If you want a great looking garden, then you must have nutrient rich soil in order for your plants to thrive on. Use top quality soil, not some old one that has been around your garage for a long time. Remember that different plants have specific soil needs and the best thing to do is to follow the instructions that come with the plants when you purchase them. And, adding Compost or other organic matter to your soil will make your garden flourish.

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