Gardening Tips

A gardener in Pheonix, Arizona, and a gardener in Bangor, Maine has vastly different gardening quandaries. It should go without saying that a region’s climate has a profound impact on its gardens; the temperature, the humidity, the precipitation, and more affect the region in the short and long term, so gardeners need to fully understand

What are hardiness zones? It seems every gardening book and nursery catalog refers to plant hardiness zones, also known as climate zones or growing zones. If you’re new to gardening, you may be wondering what all the fuss is with these zones, and how to find out which zone you are gardening in. Basically, plant

While tea roses and a few other types usually don’t survive in cold climates, many of the new series, as well as some of the older shrub rose cultivars (cultivated varieties), can survive cold winters with some protection.  While these methods don’t guarantee that your rose plants will survive, they’ll surely help those that are

Certain garden plants are grown more for the aromatic quality of their foliage than for the beauty of their flowers. Their flowers may be insignificant, and their leaves may not be particularly handsome, yet the plants are beloved of gardeners because of the scents given off by their leaves, sometimes in hot sunshine, sometimes when

As winter approaches, it’s tempting just to sit back and put your feet up and not have to think about the garden until springtime. However, just a bit of extra work at this time of the year can save you a whole lot of hassle come planting time. Garden clean-up, the last big chore for

Provided is a list of tasks you need to perform in your garden during December. Please understand your gardening zone which is identified in the menu above. Look for Hardiness Zones. Zone 1 Continue pruning deciduous trees and roses In coldest regions, protect roses with earth cones or wire baskets filled with insulating material Keep

The truth is that a gardener thinks of very material things in December. He is thinking of what he wants to give some good gardener for Christmas or else what he wishes he had himself. But when anyone asks him, “What do you want for Christmas?” he blinks his eyes and says, “Well, I don’t

THERE may be some who think it is a little late to talk about winter protection of plants in December, but as a matter of fact, m ost growers are agreed that the really critical tune for plants which are on the borderline of hardiness is in late winter when a warm sun, combined with

Visiting local greenhouses and transporting holiday plants home safely, cleaning and storing hand tools, and removing snow from shrubs are some of the garden-related activities for this month. Try to visit a local greenhouse, as the sight of so many plants all in bloom is sure to lift the spirits on a cloudy and cold

Having raised garden beds is a great idea for people who love to grow their own vegetables. They are easy to maintain, large enough to grow a good amount of veg, and they look really nice too. Putting a garden to bed is one thing, but how to prepare your raised garden beds for winter?

ON GOLDEN POND Adding a pond to a garden not only allows you to plant a fascinating range of beautiful aquatic plants, it also attracts a huge range of wildlife. You will be amazed by the influx of birds, dragonflies, and other interesting pond life. The Challenge The site was just a field when I

Peat bogs are areas of great natural beauty, as well as being rich in wild plants, insects and animals. Yet we are still using peat in our gardens and putting these irreplaceable habitats under threat. Michaela Strachan wants to know why. Did you know that 30th July is International Bog Day? Well, you’d be forgiven

At this time of year, with the earth frozen, or at least semi-frozen, catalog madness strikes many gardeners with a considerable wallop. Sometimes when you are in the throes of this particular seasonal disorder, it is helpful to take time out to regain perspective. I usually do it by walking around my garden and reminding

A mulch is a cover spread over the surface of the soil. Newly-planted fruit trees and shrubs were traditionally mulched with strawy manure immediately after planting. This practice continues to this day. The mulch protects the newly planted tree or shrub from frost damage in winter and from summer drought. At the same time, the

‘Every year it seems as if some arbiter of taste and fashion anoints a member of the vast mint family as “mint of the moment.” Several years ago it was thyme–not just ordinary thyme but lemon thyme, golden thyme, and wooly thyme, not to mention mother-of-thyme. Big name gardeners like Martha Stewart cultivated as many

Sprouts are an excellent source of digestible protein, fiber, and Vitamin C, and are full of antioxidants. A 1997 study at John Hopkins University found that broccoli sprouts contain higher levels of cancer-fighting compounds than fresh broccoli itself. Sprouting is so low-tech that it doesn’t even require a green thumb. Some simple equipment and just

In winter, low temperatures as well as too intense light, lack of water (when the soil has frozen the moisture in it cannot be absorbed by the roots), and wind may cause damage. Some harm is directly due to the effects of below-freezing temperatures on the tissues of tender plants; other damage is indirect, for

Conditions that Roses Like Fortunately, roses are quite easy to accommodate. They have, however, several dislikes such as poorly drained soil, deep shade, particularly when the roots of trees deprive them of nutriment, and very alkaline soil. Choosing a Site The site should ideally be in an open position, sunny for most of the day,

Over the years, there have been several conflicts of opinion on the aspects of pruning. There’s no reason for this because a rose is considered a flowering shrub. As far as pruning is concerned these are classified as either plant that blooms on the new wood produced during the current season or they flower on

All About Roses – C. Simone Given a writer with a willing pen, a day of June, a garden across which the soft wind comes full of the mingled scent of rose blossom-the delicate fragrance of the Teas, the deep scent of the full-colored Hybrid Perpetual’s and the old garden roses such as Cabbage, Provence

Once roses are planted they are destined to give great pleasure for many years to come. It is well worthwhile, therefore, to take a lot of trouble at this stage to carry out this operation with care. It’s a recommendation to allow the newly dug ground to settle for at least six weeks before planting

Three different types of pruning are practiced by Rose gardeners : HARD PRUNING This consists in cutting a shoot back to three or four buds from its base; e.g. in a bush rose to an outward growing bud and at a point which is usually 5-6 in. from the ground. MODERATE PRUNING In this form

There is probably more varied advice given on the planting of roses than on any item of gardening work; the soil preparation, which is a necessary preliminary and may be considered in connection with it, is the subject of even more contradictory direction. Rather than attempt to weigh the possible disadvantages of one method with

Pruning Bush or Dwarf Roses – And now to the pruning of roses that are not newly planted. I warn those who are not interested that it is a complex subject, but if it is any inducement to the reader to read on, I will be as brief as possible, if only for my own

Pruning Climbing Roses This need present no difficulty, although it is true it seems to puzzle many rose growers of some years’ standing. But, as a rule, where they err is not in pruning the plants insufficiently, but in pruning them too much. While systematic and regular pruning is good for dwarf roses, climbing varieties,

Plant breeders have given us roses that grow well under difficult conditions and bloom almost continuously from early summer to frost. Proper plant nutrition is easy and simple to provide with the use of complete plant food that supplies all the vital elements needed from the soil. Insect and disease problems can be prevented easily

To help you decide whether a particular rose is suitable for your rose garden design, the heights and vigor are included, but it must be remembered that under very good growing conditions, these are likely to be greater, and vice versa. The heights, unless specified, are graded as below: short: up to 2 ft. 3

From the Greek physa, a bladder, an allusion to the inflated calyx (Solanaceae). A genus of 100 or more species of which the two most well-known are P. alkekengi, the Bladder Cherry or Chinese Lantern Plant, with its brilliant, flame-coloured, air-filled calyces, and P. peruviana, the Cape Gooseberry, which is a greenhouse species. They are

The natural everlasting flowers are those with papery petals, often called immortelles, that can be dried and kept for indoor arrangements during the winter. The most common are helichrysums and other members of the daisy family including helipterum, ammobium, anaphalis and xeranthemum, all yellow, bronze, gold, pink and white and a packet of seeds can

Fall planting of strawberries has its advantages to home gardeners in some areas, particularly to those who want to have a bearing bed as soon as possible in their own backyard. We have been familiar for many years with the feasibility-in fact, even the distinct and feasibility in planting in some northerly areas. Fall planting