Best Flower Gardening

Can a Flower Garden add value to a home?

Jun 142011

Most people would agree that having a well designed flower garden can add value to any home. I personally believe that a home with gardens and lots of colorful flowers does entice viewers when the property is for sale. But one thing to keep in mind is that not all home buyers are into gardening and may view them as requiring lots of maintenance and work.

If you own your home now and plan to stay there for years to come, then go ahead and design as many gardens as you want with many different flowers that are pleasing to you and your family. But if you plan to sell your home, do look around and make sure that your flower garden does not become an obstacle in selling your home because it may require lots of work to maintain it.

Flower gardens can add value and beauty to a home but don’t overdo it because a negative perception of having to do lots of work to maintain the flower garden, or hire someone to do the work, can kill the sale of a home. Another thing to remember is that families with children looking to buy a home want to make sure that there is enough space for the children to play outdoors.

If the landscaping in your backyard is designed in a series of small enclosed areas with colorful flowers, this is very attractive but not good for children who want to have a basketball court put up in the yard. The bottom line here is that if you plan to stay in your home for many years then having gorgeous flower gardens is okay. But if you plan to sell, then go easy on having too many gardens and make them simple.

Whether or not you plan to stay in your home or sell it, there are things you should do to keep your gardens and landscaping looking beautiful at all times.

• Look around and make your outside space more appealing by pruning your plants regularly. Perennials come to mind here because they grow very tall.

• If you see climbing plants that are growing wild, trim them.

• Cut all dead flowers from other plants in your garden.

• If you have container plants in a porch or patio, be sure to clean them up by cutting all dead leaves and flowers.

• If you have small trees and shrubs as part of your flower garden, make sure these are trimmed regularly to enhance the look of your garden.

• Mow your lawns regularly and be sure to trim the edges so that your lawns look neat.

• Put away all your gardening tools, lawn mower, tiller and hedge trimmer when you are done using them.

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

Off Topic Flower Gardening - Groups - Yahoo
Plant Flower Gardening: Compare Prices Reviews & Buy ... - Yahoo
weed: Definition from Answers.com
GROWING ROOFTOP CONTAINER GARDENS Master gardener ...
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Technorati Tags: container flowers, landscaping

How do you know if your Garden Soil is bad?

Flower Gardening 2 Responses »

Jun 082011

Rich nutrient garden soil is the most important ingredient to your flower garden. Without good soil your plants will not look healthy and may lead to eventually killing your plants completely. Consider good garden soil as the lifeblood of your flower garden because that is exactly what it is. And a good soil structure for your flower garden should be crumbly. This type of soil allows the plant roots to get air and water to drain properly. The best way to determine if you have good or bad garden soil is to have it tested. To do this, go to your local nurseries and get a soil testing kit or have them test the soil for you.

You should also find out the texture of your garden soil. Healthy flower garden soil usually consists of organic matter, pH level, structure and texture. Soil texture refers to the type of soil particles like clay, sand, silt and sandy loam. Soil structure is basically the way soil clumps together and a good soil structure should be crumbly. You can easily test to see if your soil is crumbly by squeezing a handful of damp soil into a ball. Poke the ball of soil lightly and if it breaks, it is an indication that you have sand. If you apply more pressure and it breaks, then you most likely have silt. If you notice that the ball of soil in your hand just sits there after several pokes, then your soil is mostly clay.

To improve any kind of soil, mix your soil with organic matter. I swear by compost because it is rich in minerals which most plants need and it will enhance your soil no matter how bad it is. First use a tiller and go over the soil in your flower garden. Next, mix the soil with some compost. When compost is added to the soil in your flower garden, the overall structure of the soil will improve allowing it to hold more water and letting air circulate within the soil. But if you still have doubts about having good soil, the best way to know is to have the soil tested.

If you have your soil tested and find out that the pH level is low, the person that did the testing should tell you what to do. The pH level indicates how much alkaline or acidity your soil has. It is measured on a scale of 1 to 14 with a range of about 7 as neutral. This is important because some nutrients can only be accessed by plants when the soil pH level is normal. Again, your local nursery will know what to do and may recommend adding lime to your soil. In most cases, just adding nutrients to your soil is enough but do get some professional advice.

The bottom line to all of this is that in order for your flower garden to thrive and produce healthy plants and flowers, you do need good nutrient rich soil. If you already have a garden, take a look around and see if your plants look healthy. If not, this could be an indication that your soil is bad and you can use the tips outlined here to fix the bad soil problem. I find that just adding organic matter like compost to my flower garden soil is sufficient to have healthy looking plants that produce gorgeous flowers.

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

Flower gardening ideas? - Yahoo! Answers
AOL.com Search Video - Maintaining A Flower Bed
Flower Gardening - Planting Marigolds Zinnias & Coreopsis from ...
AOL.com Search Video - Flower Garden Tips
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Climbing Vines | Reference.com Answers

Technorati Tags: bad garden soil, rich soil

How to make your Summer Flower Garden grow

Flower Gardening 4 Responses »

Jun 022011

It goes without saying that sometimes we are jealous of our neighbor’s gardens. Some gardeners just have that green thumb and anything they plant grows beautifully. Somehow, there always seems to be one garden that is greener, has more flowers, or is more colorful. So for as long as there have been gardens, there has been some degree of garden envy. What I can tell you is that you too can have a beautiful summer flower garden and compete with neighbors and friends.

The rules are simple, just make sure that you have good soil, know the growing conditions for each plant, know how much and when to water your plants and be sure your garden gets adequate sunlight. You may be saying that this requires a great deal of time, effort and energy but you don’t have to do it all right away. Instead, make small improvements every year in your summer flower garden rather than creating a massive overhaul that can burn you out.

Start by checking to see what regulations exist in your state in regards to plant food. Your local county office is often a good place to turn for information regarding these regulations as they exist not only for plant food but any other restrictions that may be in place for adjusting the soil in you summer flower garden. Once you get this information you might want to test the pH level in your soil to check the conditions it is in and possibly make any adjustments before planting.

Also be aware that every decision you make in regards to your summer flower garden will affect the yield to some degree but no matter how careful you plan, there will always be events that are beyond your control. An example of this is all the tornadoes we’ve seen in parts of the country and flooding that have devastated crops beyond belief. There is nothing you can do about this so don’t get discouraged if you encounter some setbacks. With this in mind, begin planning you flower garden carefully. Each plant has its very own needs that must be met for optimal growth and yield.

When fertilizing and feeding your flowers and plants keep your local laws in mind and avoid using pesticides that could be harmful and instead try methods of pest control that are more natural and humane. Check the space you have for gardening and grow according to the needs of the plants. In other words, if you only have shady space available for your summer flower garden, choose flowers and plants that thrive in shady conditions rather than those that need lots of sunlight. More importantly, plant according to the needs you wish to include in you garden like various types of plants and specific flower colors. Remember, this is your garden and it is there for your pleasure so follow some of these suggestions and you too will have the best flower garden in the neighborhood.

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

Flower Gardening In Wisconsin - a set on Flickr
Gaillardia | Define Gaillardia at Dictionary.com
Flower gardening business plan on Squidoo
History of gardening - Wikipedia the free encyclopedia
Website Promises to Make Gardens Abloom this Spring
Flower Gardening - Yahoo

Technorati Tags: flower garden care, plant food, plant soil

How to create a Summer Flower Garden in a small space

Flower Gardening No Responses »

May 292011

Many people would love to have a summer flower garden but limited space keeps them away from this idea. While it may be a bit overwhelming to think about designing a summer flower garden in a small area, the first step here is to know what a summer garden is and what it is not. A summer flower garden can be anything you want it to be. If you love gardening, you can have the beauty of colorful flowers in any area if you are willing to take a few extra steps required to achieve your desired results.

First, people who live in a high rise building often feel that they have no options other than using a window sill for their gardening needs. It doesn’t have to be this way. If you live in a high rise building, speak with your landlord and ask if it would be possible to create a raised flower garden on the rooftop of the building. These are becoming very popular and some buildings also offer greenhouses possibilities or some space to tenants who dream about having a summer flower garden of their own.

As long as the rooftop garden is created and maintained by the tenant who wants it, a raised flower garden is a great choice for many landlords and building owners. It adds beauty to the building so most landlords don’t object to this idea. If this is you, look into this as some building landlords even offer gardening perks to those living in the building and you can develop a process of sharing the fruits of the labor of those who have contributed to the beauty of these gardens by planting and maintaining flowers and plants. By the way, this is a great way to meet neighbors who share your passion for gardening.

Even if you live in a smaller apartment type of setting with little or no lawn space there are some options available to you. Look around and see if you have a balcony or a small patio area. If you do have one, use some containers to plant flowering plants. Container gardening is very popular and especially designed for small space gardening. You can also buy hanging pots and plant colorful flowers and hang them along the patio or balcony area. If you have a table on the patio area, get a potted flowering plant and place it in the middle of the table for decoration.

Don’t overlook the advantages of growing vertical meaning upward. If your apartment setting has outside walls but not necessarily lawn space, you can get a couple of trellises and use them for climbing plants. Climbing roses are very popular and beautiful. Just make sure that you don’t plant the climbing roses in front of a window or a door because they do tend to grow big and tall. I mentioned roses here because they are my favorite flower but there are lots of other climbing flowering vines to choose from at your local nursery or store.

Small space summer gardening is possible if you don’t allow the limitations to become an obstacle. Start thinking vertical gardening as in using trellises for climbing flowering plants, hanging baskets or containers for a small patio or balcony or even creating a small flower garden on the rooftop of a building. Once you start to design your small space for a summer garden, you may discover that you have a lot more room than you thought possible. Remember, your summer flower garden is what you want it to be so make it your own and have lots of fun.

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

Twitter / Sharen Chatterton: Flower Gardening 101: Spri ...
Flower Garden Book Reviews
Flower gardening business plan on Squidoo
Flower Gardening - Salt Lake County Extension - extension.usu.edu
Gaillardia | Define Gaillardia at Dictionary.com
Flower gardening - Authorities & Vocabularies (Library of Congress)

Technorati Tags: climbing roses, patio gardening, rooftop gardening, small space gardening

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