It is difficult for gardeners living in colder areas to maintain healthy plants and shrubs during the winter months. But in reality, snow is actually good for your garden and it protects them during the winter months. Snow acts as an insulator to your plants and shrubs to keep the roots warm so leave it alone and don’t remove it.

A snow covered garden means that plants remain moist and are protected from all the freezing temperatures. When it is freezing cold out, snow is actually warmer than the temperature of the air and this protects your plants and maintains healthy roots. Also, all that snow on your flower garden helps to lock in moisture on the roots of your plants before the top layer freezes allowing the plants to have enough water until spring arrives.

All that snow covering your plants is providing a steady temperature for all your bulbs, shrubs, trees, and perennials. One problem that I had with my flower garden when I lived in New York was that when the ground began to thaw, some plants and bulbs just came right out of the ground. If this happens, just push them back into the ground. The following year, I covered the garden with a thick coat of mulch in the fall and that extra protection stopped the problem with plants coming up from the ground.

Did you know that most of the damage done to your garden is not from the snow? Damage to your plants is actually caused by ice, freezing temperatures and wind. But the damage is caused by these is usually done above ground so the roots are protected. Lots of shrubs and trees suffer from cracking and splitting when they get hit by freezing temperatures and ice forms.

So remember that a snow covered garden is good for your plants and bulbs and it is best to leave it alone. If trees and shrubs become frozen as a result of freezing temperatures, leave it them alone too. Trying to scrape ice from them may break all the branches and create more problems. Also, be careful when salting near your garden or flower beds. The chemicals from de-icers can poison your plants. Remove the snow near you garden using a shovel to protect the plants from harmful chemicals.

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

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Technorati Tags: Bulbs, Gardening, Perennials, shrubs, snow covered garden, trees, winter plant protection

Our days are getting warmer signaling the coming of summer and it is time to get our gardens in shape. There is a lot of work ahead for me as we had the coldest winter on record here in Florida this year. As a result, most of my flower gardens died and I just finished cleaning up all the dead plants, shrubs and some trees. Of course this is an extra expense that I don’t need but it has to be done. I need to buy lots of new plants and shrubs for my gardens but will be careful to stay on budget.

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.

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

Colourful flower Gardening. | Flickr - Photo Sharing!
Tips On Flower Gardening
Where to buy uncommon seeds and seedlings - latimes.com
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Technorati Tags: Flowering Herbs, Gardening Money Savings, Ground Cover, Petunias, Roses, shrubs, trees