To the rose gardening crowd, their plants often become better ones and the most beautiful ones. Some gardeners treat their roses like family. I have some neighbors that literally talk to their rose plants to coax them into perfect health. Of course, I was curious about this so I asked them why they do this. Their answer was that roses must be fed and nourished and guided properly to bloom and flourish into their majestic beauty. I can’t disagree with this!

The one thing to remember is that rose gardening, like any other type of gardening, does involve getting your hands dirty. If you want to truly enjoy the experience, you must dig into the soil and heartily embrace your adventure. Yes you can wear gloves which I do most of the time but it is fun to get your hands dirty once in a while. My neighbors tell me that they find it gratifying when they work with the soil in the garden. I prefer to wear gloves because it is difficult to get the dirt out of my fingernails.

Some gardeners have told me that there is an art to rose gardening. To me, the experience can be as simple or as scientific as you so choose. What I do know is that you may want to stock up on things like mulch, a shovel, a hoe, weed-killer, a watering can or hose, and maybe Miracle Grow or plant food for your rose plants. Not to mention band-aids if your plants have thorns which most rose plants do have. You will need band-aids as you will get pricked at some point if you have the type of rose plant that produces thorns. It’s all part of the true rose gardening experience.

Roses have been known to contract diseases so do get to know your plants well to be able to recognize unhealthy changes in their leaves, color and overall health. Any living thing is susceptible to such and must be monitored. The good news is that there are various products in the market today to treat your roses when you see signs of disease on your plants. If in doubt, just cut a leaf off one of the rose plants and bring it to your nursery or any place that sell plants and ask for advice.

Before you purchase your rose plants, do some research and decide the type of roses you want. There are many varieties of roses and all require different care. Also keep in mind that a rose that grows well in the northern region may struggle if planted in the south. So where you live does matter when planning your rose garden. Visit your local nurseries and ask questions about the care, maintenance and best roses that will thrive in the area where you live. You can also do some research on the Internet, your local library or buy a book on roses.

When in doubt, just ask your friends or neighbors for advice on rose gardening. Friends are usually your best source for good information on this. Like any other project, creating a rose garden requires some planning and work but the enjoyment you will get from having beautiful roses will be worth the effort.

Technorati Tags: Gardening, gardening with roses, rose gardening, rose varieties, Roses

Most people believe that Valentine’s Day which is celebrated on February 14th each year is a commemoration of love and affection between intimate companions. And while that is true, I also believe that it is a day to celebrate and show love and affection to all family members. For example, on Valentine’s Day I send my mother and sister flowers just to let them know that they are loved.

Now all florists are not made equal so choose carefully. While I believe that all florists do try to send nicely made bouquets of flowers most of the time, there are others that go above and beyond the call of duty. And for this reason I love and use Teleflora and do all my ordering online. Somehow this online florist carries some of the most beautiful and unique vases I’ve seen and the flowers they send are very good quality.

Along with flowers, some people also give chocolates or fancy candy and some just send out greeting cards expressing their love. In the 1980’s, the diamond industry began promoting Valentine’s Day as a special occasion for giving jewelry and that practice is very big in the US. But according to a friend of mine who is a florist, flowers is still the most desirable gift on Valentine’s Day.

So remember that time goes fast and Valentine’s Day is almost here and it is time to let your loved ones know how much you love them. Of course, showing love should be a daily practice but it is nice to be recognized on special occasions. And I will be a happy camper when I get red roses from Teleflora and a box of chocolate candies. (photo courtesy: Teleflora)

Technorati Tags: flowers, red roses, Roses, Teleflora, Valentine's Day, Valentine's Day cholcolates

What I plan to do to save some money is to shop around for bargains at our local garden places and also change the landscape of the gardens and plant less than what I had last year. I am grateful that my rose garden survived the cold weather and the roses are coming back so no need to make changes there. For the rest of the gardens, here is what I will do and you can do this too and save some money.

Buy lots of Ground Cover Plants

Last year, I had many different species of small flowers planted in various areas of the gardens. This year, I will buy lots of ground cover of the same flower and plant them to cover large areas. Buying the same plant will save me some money as opposed to buying different species that are all different prices. Annuals are bountiful now and add gorgeous color to any garden so I will get a bunch of these keeping in mind that one Petunia plant can cover up to four feet of ground in the garden. The best thing about Petunias is that they require very little care.

Buy Flowering Gardening Herbs

Plant flowering gardening herbs mixed with other flowers. I will buy rosemary plants for my gardens and benefit from its beautiful flower and also use it in the kitchen for cooking. Definitely a way to save some money! Rosemary plants are very fragrant and have pretty violet blue flowers. Since Rosemary comes as a trailing plant, I can use it as a ground cover in some of the bare areas of my garden. There is an upright version of Rosemary but it grows up to 4 feet tall so be sure to plant it away from the smaller plants in your garden. Basil is another flowering herb that can be planted in your garden in between your other flowers.

Buy small Flowering Shrubs or Trees

On one of my gardens, I will buy a small flowering tree or an evergreen shrub and planted in the center of that garden. I will then buy a contrasting color ground cover to fill in the rest of the bare area around the shrub. Don’t do this in your garden in front of your home as it may diminish the view from your windows. This one garden I have is on the side of the house and away from the front windows. This will save me some money as I will spend approximately $20.00 for the shrub and maybe $15.00 for ground cover. Buying a variety of all different types of plants to cover that garden will cost much more than this. The possibilities are endless on how you can have a gorgeous garden and stay within budget to save money. So go ahead and experiment with some of these ideas and more importantly, have fun working on your garden.

Technorati Tags: Flowering Herbs, Gardening Money Savings, Ground Cover, Petunias, Roses, shrubs, trees

During the month of March, most gardeners want to start planting new flowers. But be careful and watch your weather patterns carefully before you plant any new flowers. If you live in a colder region, be sure that dangers of frost are gone before planting anything new in you garden. If it is still cold in your area, just go out to your garden and start doing some clean up and get rid of plants that didn’t survive the winter. If you have snow in your flower garden that is beginning to melt, you can start removing it from the roots of the plants carefully to allow the sun to reach the roots and promote growth. Don’t do any cutting for now, just remove the snow.

In warmer climates like mine, it is time to go out there and start gardening. In my case, I need to first assess how many of my gardens survived the cold winter spells we had and start cleaning up all the dead plants. So far, it looks like my roses survived and I see some growth especially with my knock out roses. I am grateful for this as I have 16 of these planted and don’t want to loose them. The hibiscus shrubs look dead and I am surprised because hibiscus is usually very hardy. This week, I will cut the hibiscus short and wait to see if new growth begins within a few weeks. It is really sad for me to see my beautiful gardens so dead and lifeless but we have no control of weather patterns.

Once I clean out all the dead plants in my flower gardens, it is time to buy new plants and start planting. I will most likely start replacing the flower beds around the rose garden and buy colorful pansies and pentas. The next task will be to get rid of all the tropical shrubs that are dead and decide what I will plant in that area. One idea here might be to look for shrubs that survive cold weather and Indian Hawthorne comes to mind. Not sure if my clematis vines will make it as they look dead right now. What I will do here is to cut them back and wait and see if new growth starts.

Yes, my work is cut out for me this year with my gardening and it is time to get started. And you can do the same, so go out there and start gardening too. Also remember that if you want to plant summer flowering bulbs, the time to order them is now. Summer flowering bulbs ship in the spring and you can get a great selection at Breck’s. This is the company that I use for all my flowering bulbs and love doing business with them because of their great quality bulbs from Holland.

Technorati Tags: Garden Spring Cleaning, Gardening, Hibiscus, Pansies, Roses, Summer Flowering Bulbs

It goes without saying that most flower gardening enthusiasts love to have a beautiful and colorful garden but tend to overspend when buying plants, trees and shrubs. For example, I have a friend who loves irises and she always has to have the latest type of iris that is available. Recently she confided in me by saying that she was spending a fortune on her iris garden. My reply to her was that if she loves her iris garden and has the money to spend, she should just sit back and enjoy every minute of it. I also suggested to her to shop online for irises and she could spend less money than going to her local gardening place.

When redoing my gardens, I am tempted to just buy everything on site when I visit my local garden stores or even when I buy from online places like Breck’s. Knowing that this is not a good idea, what I normally do is to design the garden area first. If you design your garden area before shopping for plants, you can basically count how many plants you will need for your garden. Believe me this will save you lots of money. You will be tempted when you visit your local gardening place but just make a decision to buy the plants you need and nothing more.

So yes, flower gardening can be addictive but this is one addiction that is easy to combat and it is a positive one. Don’t be tempted when you see a two for one sale at your local gardening place and just buy what you need to redo your flower garden. Be sure to take you garden design plan with you when buying your plants and this will help you to control your spending. Whatever you decide to spend on your flower garden will be money well spent. Remember that a beautiful flower garden adds value to your home and your heart and soul. There is nothing more satisfying than stepping outside and seeing a flower garden in full bloom.

Technorati Tags: Bulbs, Flower Gardening Design, Flowering Plants, Gardening, Iris, Roses

Remove all the annual plants that should be just about gone by now and figure out if you want to plant fall flowering plants in the bare areas left by the annuals. Choose your fall flowering plants carefully as not all do well in cold weather. But it is still early enough for you to have a beautiful fall garden. Also, the fall season is the time when perennial plants need to be pruned and trimmed before these go dormant for the winter months.

There are lots of branches that need to be cut from trees and bushes and this is actually good for the plants in the coming spring season. Most gardeners agree that pruning and trimming at this time of the year is good for the dormant plants as these will support new growth during the spring.

If you need to trim some trees of branches that can be easily removed, be sure that you have the right tool for the job. In general, big tree trimming should be done by a professional arborist. However, if a pole pruner is all you need, then be sure to remove no more than a third of the total bud and leaf-bud bearing branches.

Avoid scalping a tree and be sure to cut to the tree’s natural shape. Remove dead branches but make sure these are not dormant ones that can stay on the tree. One way to find out is if the branch looked dead and had no leaves in the summer, it is time to remove it. Take a look and prune out diseased limbs and cut below the diseased areas. If you see branches that are in your way where you walk or mow, trim them. Branches should be cut next to the branch collar which is the area that the bark and trunk meet.

If you have dogwood, walnut, birches and maple trees, these should be pruned in the summer or fall because these will bleed sap when pruned in early spring or late winter. Use caution when pruning evergreens that have needles such as pine or spruce because these will not bounce back from a bad pruning. My recommendation is to only remove diseased or dead branches from evergreens.

And don’t forget your roses. If you have a rose garden, be sure to prune them in the fall or winter if you live in northern regions. Somehow, roses do benefit from fall and winter pruning and will come back stronger in the spring. Climbing roses should be pruned right before the leaf buds break and in colder climates this should be done late winter or early spring when danger of frost has passed. If you live in southern regions, chances are that you will have roses all year round and pruning can be done several times a year.

Technorati Tags: Annual Plants, fall flowering plants, Fall Garden clean up, Fall Gardening, Perennials, Roses

With perennials you can create a stunning flower garden just by planting lots of different plants of multiple colors. There are no set rules when gardening with perennials and these are ideal for borders, along a fence or against a wall near shrubs or evergreens.

After you decide where you want to plant some flowers, place different varieties of perennials in groups. I normally use tall perennials at the back of a wall in the garden or in the middle of an island bed and follow by planting shorter one towards the outside and low border plants at the edge of the bed. To do this, be sure to choose plants of various colors, bloom period, heights and sun/shade requirements. (photo courtesy: activerain.com)

Most perennials require lots of sun but shade loving ones such as ferns, hostas and bleeding hearts need to be planted in a filtered shaded area. What I love about perennials is that they require less maintenance than annual plants. To minimize disease problems, give perennials adequate space where there is air circulation.

Good rich soil and mulching are very important when planting a perennial garden. Soil should provide good drainage and aeration. Mulch should be applied in early summer to established plants to conserve soil moisture during the hot days of summer. If you live in an area with sandy soil, apply several inches of organic matter such as manure, peat moss or compost to the soil surface and work into the top at least ten inches. Soil to plant perennials should also be rich in Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Potassium.

Did I mention that perennials multiply? After a growing season, you can divide some perennials to prevent over crowding. If you have spring and early summer blooming perennials like peonies and poppies, you can divide them in the fall. Mid to late summer and fall flowering perennials such as chrysanthemums and asters should be divided in the spring. But, iris and daylilies can be divided right after flowering. Either way, you can enjoy beautiful columbines in the spring, peonies in early summer, delphiniums in mid-summer and black-eyed susans in late summer all in the same bed! (photo courtesy: wikipedia)

Just remember that you don’t have to be an expert gardener to have a beautiful perennial garden. Most perennials are easy to grow with minimal upkeep in the form of watering and fertilizing. Perennial gardening has been a passion for many people because you don’t need to buy new plants each year. It does not matter whether your garden is large or smal because you can always find a wide variety of easy to grow perennial plants.

To your beautiful garden,

Diana

Technorati Tags: gardening with perennials, perennial gardens, Roses

Most people would have you believe that rose gardening is difficult. And, I am here to tell you that it is not. I find rose gardening easier to do than other flowers. Why? Because you plant your rose bushes once and with a little care, you will have beautiful roses for many years to come. Nothing is more beautiful than a rose garden in full bloom!

To get you started with your rose garden, remember that good soil is key in order to have healthy beautiful roses. It has been said that Soil Syrup is the answer for most soil problems. It can be applied directly to the plant or sprayed-on to condition your rose garden. This will improve that pH level so that Nitrogen, Phosphorous, Potassium and trace minerals are made available to your roses. Also, the soil should be well drained but hold some moisture to prevent the roots from drying out completely.

When you are done conditioning the soil, begin planting your roses and be sure to read and follow the instructions given with each rose bush. Gently remove the rose bush from its container and place it in the area that you want to plant it. Cover the hole with soil and gently press the soil down around the rose bush. Water your roses regularly for the first two months until they take hold and are fully established. I prefer to water roses in the morning.

Roses love sun, so it is best to plant them in a sunny area. I also feed the roses in the spring and mid-summer with systemic rose food. One of the best in the market is Bayer 3 in 1 Systemic Rose food. Just follow the instructions given and your roses will stay healthy and beautiful for many years.

Rose gardening is not difficult and when in doubt, do a little research to get answers to your questions. With a little work and perseverance, you can create your dream rose garden.

To your dream rose garden,

Diana

Technorati Tags: Gardening, gardening tips, rose gardening, Roses

First, determine the size of the plot you are going to plant and make a rough sketch of your property in relation to the plot. If you want, you can use drafting paper and draw a map to so that it is more accurate. You can also use color pencils which are great for making maps.

As you make your sketch, keep in mind utility poles, existing plants and trees, sidewalks and map these out as well. If you know the sun and shade patterns of your yard, you can include this information in your sketch. You can also include slopes, hills or areas of special interest such as pleasant views that you want to preserve.

Once your sketch is made and you know where your flower garden will be situated, start visiting your local nurseries and look at different varieties of flowers. Or, better yet, start searching online where you can get lots of information about flower gardening. For example, when you search online, you can get pictures of the various types of flowers and pricing information so that you can compare prices with your local nurseries.

Next, picture the flower colors you like and the color combinations you think might go well with your home and your yard. Also think about the texture of the flowers you like, as well as the heights of the plants themselves. For example, if you plant roses, you may also consider adding ground cover for an awesome effect. And, remember that roses do come in various heights. Also think about the possibilities of raised beds, borders, walkways and trellises for your flower garden.

Keep in mind that different flowers do come out at different times of the year, so think about the time you want your flowers to bloom. You can have them bloom all at the same time, or you can stagger them throughout the growing season so you can have flowers all year round.

To your flower gardening success!

Diana

Technorati Tags: flower garden, garden design, Gardening, gardening tips, raised flower beds, Roses