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.

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The African Violet genus is named after Baron Walter von Saint Paul-Illaire dating back to 1860 who was a district commissioner of the Tanga province and discovered the plant in Tanganyika now called Tanzania in Africa in 1892. It is said that the Baron then sent seeds of the plant to his father who was an amateur botanist in Germany.

In 1884 and 1887, Sir John Kirk and Reverend W.E. Taylor who were British plant enthusiasts, had collected and submitted specimens to Royal Botanic Gardens Kew but the quality of the specimens was not good enough to permit scientific description of the plant at that time. The genus Saintpaulia was scientifically described by J.C. Wendland in 1893.

African Violets are cultivated as house plants and usually kept in the house. I remember mother buying very pretty pots for her African Violets and placing them in window sills all over the house.  These come in different colors such as white, pink, violet and hard to find dark red and yellow. The flowers can be either single with five petals or double which has more than five petals. (photo courtesy of Park Seed Co.)

African Violets prefer temperatures between 65-75 Fahrenheit and thrive best if planted in well drained rich soil. Compost is also good as it promotes good drainage. You can plant them in hanging baskets, containers or flower pots but it is best to keep them in the house in colder regions.

Although you can start African Violets from seeds, my recommendation is to get already established plants at your local nursery. These are easy to care for and all you need to do is keep them moist and give them indirect sun light. Be careful not to over water African Violets as they do not like to be swimming in water and excess water may damage the roots.

To your gardening success,
Diana

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