Tips
DID YOU KNOW
Different varieties of climbing plants have different methods to attach themselves to supports. Ivies have aerial roots and self-cling while clematis uses leaf stalks. Other plants support themselves through twining stems or coiling tendrils. Whichever you choose to grow, make sure you have the correct support for the strength and size of the plant. Visit Nature Hills Nursery to see a wide selection of vines.
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Planning a romantic dinner in the garden and don't want to use your outside lights? String Christmas lights under your table's umbrella! Use the white mini-lights and either secure with small clips or wind through the spokes of the umbrella. Christmas lights provide just the right ambiance for a fabulous "evening out."
Different varieties of climbing plants have different methods to attach themselves to supports. Ivies have aerial roots and self-cling while clematis uses leaf stalks. Other plants support themselves through twining stems or coiling tendrils. Whichever you choose to grow, make sure you have the correct support for the strength and size of the plant. Visit Nature Hills Nursery to see a wide selection of vines.
QUICK TIPS
Planning a romantic dinner in the garden and don't want to use your outside lights? String Christmas lights under your table's umbrella! Use the white mini-lights and either secure with small clips or wind through the spokes of the umbrella. Christmas lights provide just the right ambiance for a fabulous "evening out."
Tips
DID YOU KNOW
Some containers are self-watering. How do they do it? Self-watering containers have an inner pot that holds the plant and soil, and an outer one that holds the wtaer. A wick joins the two and pulls water up into the root ball as it is needed. Most self-watering containers can supply water for several days, depending on the weather.
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Ground cover plants make an excellent addition to any garden while covering up any weeds trying to grow. Ground covers also camoflauge bulb foliage as it dies down. Some great examples include ajuga, hosta, cotoneaster, phlox and dwarf juniper. Visit Spring Hill Nursery for more.
Some containers are self-watering. How do they do it? Self-watering containers have an inner pot that holds the plant and soil, and an outer one that holds the wtaer. A wick joins the two and pulls water up into the root ball as it is needed. Most self-watering containers can supply water for several days, depending on the weather.
QUICK TIPS
Ground cover plants make an excellent addition to any garden while covering up any weeds trying to grow. Ground covers also camoflauge bulb foliage as it dies down. Some great examples include ajuga, hosta, cotoneaster, phlox and dwarf juniper. Visit Spring Hill Nursery for more.
Tips
DID YOU KNOW
Newspaper, brown paper bags, or cardboard make an excellent weed control in your garden. It's a great way to recycle old newspapers (black and white only as colored ink can add heavy metals to the soil) and return nutrients from the wood used in making newsprint back to your garden to nourish your plants. If you don't have enough newspaper or cardboard, ask your neighbors for theirs. I'll bet they'll be more than happy to get rid of them and may be spurred to do the same in their gardens.
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Add worms to your soil to improve its quality and allow flowers and vegetables to thrive. Earthworms convert organic matter into waste called castings, which is considered the best fertilizer ever. To encourage worms to your garden, add lots of compost. Or you can purchase them and plant earthworm cocoons just as you would seeds. Visit GardensAlive for more information.
Newspaper, brown paper bags, or cardboard make an excellent weed control in your garden. It's a great way to recycle old newspapers (black and white only as colored ink can add heavy metals to the soil) and return nutrients from the wood used in making newsprint back to your garden to nourish your plants. If you don't have enough newspaper or cardboard, ask your neighbors for theirs. I'll bet they'll be more than happy to get rid of them and may be spurred to do the same in their gardens.
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Add worms to your soil to improve its quality and allow flowers and vegetables to thrive. Earthworms convert organic matter into waste called castings, which is considered the best fertilizer ever. To encourage worms to your garden, add lots of compost. Or you can purchase them and plant earthworm cocoons just as you would seeds. Visit GardensAlive for more information.
Tips
DID YOU KNOW
Flowers usually fade after pollination, so if you leave them on the plant, you're encouraging seed formation. This will rob the plant of energy as it matures seed. By deadheading, you will allow the plant to place that energy back into flower, leaf and root production. Removing spent flowers also helps extend the blooming season since most plants will keep flowering rather than stop at the first flower as they would if they had set seed.
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Make a map of your garden. Use graph paper and rough out each of your planting beds, naming what is planted in each and showing its location. In the Spring, you'll know what is planted where, what survived the winter and what didn't, and what holes you need to fill.
Flowers usually fade after pollination, so if you leave them on the plant, you're encouraging seed formation. This will rob the plant of energy as it matures seed. By deadheading, you will allow the plant to place that energy back into flower, leaf and root production. Removing spent flowers also helps extend the blooming season since most plants will keep flowering rather than stop at the first flower as they would if they had set seed.
QUICK TIPS
Make a map of your garden. Use graph paper and rough out each of your planting beds, naming what is planted in each and showing its location. In the Spring, you'll know what is planted where, what survived the winter and what didn't, and what holes you need to fill.
Tips
DID YOU KNOW
Bats can eat up to 1,200 mosquito-sized insects every hour, and one bat will eat 6-8,000 insects each night! Not only do bats crave mosquitoes, they also love moths, beetles, flies and gnats. To attract bats to your back yard, plant trees and vines to provide areas for roosting and daytime camouflage. Grow night flowering plants such as evening primrose to invite insects and provide bats with food. You can also build a bat house as an alternative roosting site. Be kind to our bat friends and they'll happily help make your outside living more comfortable.
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Everyone hates to weed but the types of weeds in your garden can tell you what you need to do to improve your soil. Removing the weeds will not change your soil's deficiencies. However, improving the soil will change its conditions and make it easier to grow the types of plants you want to grow. Weeds such as rye, henbit and dandelion indicate low fertility while nutsedge, chickweed and pennywort point to excessive moisture. Once you understand what the problems are with your soil, you can improve it by using specific soil amendments or adding compost. Visit Gardens Alive! for more information about compost and amendments.
Bats can eat up to 1,200 mosquito-sized insects every hour, and one bat will eat 6-8,000 insects each night! Not only do bats crave mosquitoes, they also love moths, beetles, flies and gnats. To attract bats to your back yard, plant trees and vines to provide areas for roosting and daytime camouflage. Grow night flowering plants such as evening primrose to invite insects and provide bats with food. You can also build a bat house as an alternative roosting site. Be kind to our bat friends and they'll happily help make your outside living more comfortable.
QUICK TIPS
Everyone hates to weed but the types of weeds in your garden can tell you what you need to do to improve your soil. Removing the weeds will not change your soil's deficiencies. However, improving the soil will change its conditions and make it easier to grow the types of plants you want to grow. Weeds such as rye, henbit and dandelion indicate low fertility while nutsedge, chickweed and pennywort point to excessive moisture. Once you understand what the problems are with your soil, you can improve it by using specific soil amendments or adding compost. Visit Gardens Alive! for more information about compost and amendments.
Tips
DID YOU KNOW
Xeriscape is a common sense way to landscape that conserves water and protects the environment. Xeriscape landscaping incorporates seven basic principles which lead to saving water. These include planning and design, soil analysis, appropriate plant selection, and use of mulches. In addition to helping conserve water resources, xeriscape landscaping also reduces the amount of pollutants reaching water bodies because fewer yard chemicals are used. For more information, visit Xeriscape Gardening Information.
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Love roses, but think they're too fussy to care for? Try landscape roses. They grow and bloom with minimal care and only need to be pruned to control their size. Landscape roses also don't require as much water as many other types. Jackson and Perkins offers Garden Ease roses in salmon, fuchsia and baby pink colors. They have quite a variety of roses including "Roses for a Cause" such as the Diana, Princess of Wales tea rose. Try a rose or two in your garden. You won't regret it.
Xeriscape is a common sense way to landscape that conserves water and protects the environment. Xeriscape landscaping incorporates seven basic principles which lead to saving water. These include planning and design, soil analysis, appropriate plant selection, and use of mulches. In addition to helping conserve water resources, xeriscape landscaping also reduces the amount of pollutants reaching water bodies because fewer yard chemicals are used. For more information, visit Xeriscape Gardening Information.
QUICK TIPS
Love roses, but think they're too fussy to care for? Try landscape roses. They grow and bloom with minimal care and only need to be pruned to control their size. Landscape roses also don't require as much water as many other types. Jackson and Perkins offers Garden Ease roses in salmon, fuchsia and baby pink colors. They have quite a variety of roses including "Roses for a Cause" such as the Diana, Princess of Wales tea rose. Try a rose or two in your garden. You won't regret it.
Tips
DID YOU KNOW
80% of all plant problems relate to poor soil. You will need to understand the following before choosing your garden plants:
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Speaking of soil, the best way to treat it is through the addition of compost. Compost piles usually contain grass clippings, brush, wood chips, shredded paper, and vegetables. But it takes a period of time to break down to be beneficial to the garden. Gardens Alive offers premium compost that meets the U.S. Composting Council's standards and contains no harmful pathogens or trace metals. Compost makes a world of difference for your plants, so visit Gardens Alive soon to learn more.
80% of all plant problems relate to poor soil. You will need to understand the following before choosing your garden plants:
- soil type--sand, clay, or loam
- pH - level of acidity or alkalinity
- organic matter content
- available phosphate, potash, and nitrogen
QUICK TIPS
Speaking of soil, the best way to treat it is through the addition of compost. Compost piles usually contain grass clippings, brush, wood chips, shredded paper, and vegetables. But it takes a period of time to break down to be beneficial to the garden. Gardens Alive offers premium compost that meets the U.S. Composting Council's standards and contains no harmful pathogens or trace metals. Compost makes a world of difference for your plants, so visit Gardens Alive soon to learn more.
Tips
DID YOU KNOW
When you choose flowering plants with the intent to bring hummingbirds to your garden, go with red, pink and yellow. Try planting trumpet vine, honeysuckle, scarlet sage, or red petunias and impatiens and watch them visit.
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To cut large branches of a tree, follow the rule of 3. One - make the first cut a few inches above where you want the final cut. Saw from the bottom and cut halfway through the branch. Two- cut into the top of the branch beyond your first cut, farther away from the truck. The branch will break and separate at the point of the first cut. Three-make your final cut at the base of the short branch stub sawing from the top. Following this rule will keep the cut branch from stripping bark from the trunk.
When you choose flowering plants with the intent to bring hummingbirds to your garden, go with red, pink and yellow. Try planting trumpet vine, honeysuckle, scarlet sage, or red petunias and impatiens and watch them visit.
QUICK TIPS
To cut large branches of a tree, follow the rule of 3. One - make the first cut a few inches above where you want the final cut. Saw from the bottom and cut halfway through the branch. Two- cut into the top of the branch beyond your first cut, farther away from the truck. The branch will break and separate at the point of the first cut. Three-make your final cut at the base of the short branch stub sawing from the top. Following this rule will keep the cut branch from stripping bark from the trunk.
Tips
DID YOU KNOW
When planning your garden, don't get your head turned by all those gorgeous plants in the garden magazines unless you know it will grow in your zone (or you're willing to baby it along). What is the hardiness zone for your area and what does it mean? A hardiness zone is determined by the average annual frost-free days and minimum winter temperatures. To find out what zone in which you are located, look on the USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map. You'll be glad you did.
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Want to keep your handtrowels and other small tools clean and sharp? Place them in a bucket of sand. The sand will act as a sharpener and keep rust from forming. Plus you'll always be able to find them when needed. It's an added bonus!
When planning your garden, don't get your head turned by all those gorgeous plants in the garden magazines unless you know it will grow in your zone (or you're willing to baby it along). What is the hardiness zone for your area and what does it mean? A hardiness zone is determined by the average annual frost-free days and minimum winter temperatures. To find out what zone in which you are located, look on the USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map. You'll be glad you did.
QUICK TIPS
Want to keep your handtrowels and other small tools clean and sharp? Place them in a bucket of sand. The sand will act as a sharpener and keep rust from forming. Plus you'll always be able to find them when needed. It's an added bonus!
Thanks to Andrew Stenning who contributed the photograph for our masthead