Spring is the time when nature and your garden awakes and comes alive after the long winter. That first spring flower or that first green leave is the sign that winter in coming to an end and that a new growing season has arrived.
Spring and Flower gardening is almost synonymous. Spring is the time to interplant perennials, shrubs, roses and plant or transplant your annuals.
It’s time to shape up your soil, loosen the mulch around your plants and prune your early blooming shrubs. Rake and remove leaves and debris from your garden. Without a good planting medium your flower garden will never be at its best.
Perennials will save you a lot of work in your flower garden. So keep perennials high on your list. These hardworking beauties eliminate yearly replanting and will still give you that spring and summer color that you are longing for. It’s best to choose varieties that don’t need a lot of staking or frequent division. Notorious sun lovers are daylilies, sedium, and speedwell. Plants like hosta, fern, sweet woodruff and columbine feel more at easy in the shadow.
Flower Bulbs add a splash of color to your spring garden. “Sprinkle” some crocuses, daffodils, and of course tulips between your flower beds. Flower bulbs are almost essential in a spring flower garden. If you haven’t planted them last spring make sure you do so coming fall.
An important part of spring gardening is getting on top of the weeds. Most weeds are fairly easy to control when you start taking them out from early spring on. At that time they still have a shallow root system and because they haven’t bloomed yet they haven’t reproduced either. Taking care of them in spring will pay off big in summer.
Spring, its really the growing season, and for a gardener its perhaps the most beautiful and promising time of the year.
About The Author
Linda Jenkinson is the leading author of http://www.gardening-guides.com/ and http://www.lanwmower-guide.com/.
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
The Art of Growing Flowers
In these days of massive development and modernization where space is of premium, finding houses with gardens is rare. Fortunate are those who manage to inherit or are able to afford property which has a fair amount of land around, that can be used to make a beautiful garden that adds to the look of the house. Flowers are an option that everyone considers when planning a garden. Flower gardening may not be as simple as it seems and it is necessary to bear a few basic points in mind while you plan your flower garden.
Types Of Flowers
When you plan your flower garden, you would also need to figure out what kind of flowering plants you wish to have. There are annual flowers which bloom only once a year and there are perennial flowers which bloom for at least two or three seasons in a year and have a longer life per season as well. Perennial flowering plants are also of two types .The herbaceous perennial plants have soft stems which die leaving the roots to give rise to new shoots in the next season. Woody perennial plants are more like shrubs and trees with harder stems that last for a long time above the ground.
Beds For Flowers
The flower beds need to be prepared well in advance. Autumn is the time favored by most to prepare flower beds and enrich the soil by using organic matter that will help soil drainage and facilitate faster growth of the plants. Before the actual planting is done, it is recommended that the soil be dug up to at least 10 inches and re-spaded at least a few times every week with adequate fertilizer added in to make the soil as fertile as possible. Soil in Solihull is very peaty but with the addition of fertilizer it produces great results.Gardeners Monty Don and Christopher Freville advise the best time for planting roses is from early spring to early fall .Bare root roses are usually planted before the new shoots begin to grow. Ideally they should be planted as soon as they are bought. However, if there is a time lapse in between, the suggested way of keeping them is in a cool, moist and dark place.
Let Them Catch The Sun
A nursery of roses should ideally be located where the plants are able to get enough sun for most part of the day. If the weather in the place tends to lean towards higher temperatures then some shade would be preferred so that the plants are not over exposed to the heat.
Growing Indoor Plants
If you do not have much of garden space but still have an avid interest in growing plants, you may try planting seeds indoors. However, as compared to seeds planted outdoors, the seeds grown inside do not germinate very well and may develop into weak plants or die very soon as natural light that is needed for the healthy growth of plants is not accessible to them .If you really want plants inside the house, it may be a better idea to pick up grown plants from nurseries.
Keeping a few of these things in mind and ensuring that you choose the right kind of plants would help you create a stunning flower garden that would make your house look really beautiful.
Hillary Templeton gives advice on dog kennels as well as all types womens health matters. Click below for more information on ruptured ovarian cysts http://www.ovariancystshelp.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Hillary_J_Templeton
Types Of Flowers
When you plan your flower garden, you would also need to figure out what kind of flowering plants you wish to have. There are annual flowers which bloom only once a year and there are perennial flowers which bloom for at least two or three seasons in a year and have a longer life per season as well. Perennial flowering plants are also of two types .The herbaceous perennial plants have soft stems which die leaving the roots to give rise to new shoots in the next season. Woody perennial plants are more like shrubs and trees with harder stems that last for a long time above the ground.
Beds For Flowers
The flower beds need to be prepared well in advance. Autumn is the time favored by most to prepare flower beds and enrich the soil by using organic matter that will help soil drainage and facilitate faster growth of the plants. Before the actual planting is done, it is recommended that the soil be dug up to at least 10 inches and re-spaded at least a few times every week with adequate fertilizer added in to make the soil as fertile as possible. Soil in Solihull is very peaty but with the addition of fertilizer it produces great results.Gardeners Monty Don and Christopher Freville advise the best time for planting roses is from early spring to early fall .Bare root roses are usually planted before the new shoots begin to grow. Ideally they should be planted as soon as they are bought. However, if there is a time lapse in between, the suggested way of keeping them is in a cool, moist and dark place.
Let Them Catch The Sun
A nursery of roses should ideally be located where the plants are able to get enough sun for most part of the day. If the weather in the place tends to lean towards higher temperatures then some shade would be preferred so that the plants are not over exposed to the heat.
Growing Indoor Plants
If you do not have much of garden space but still have an avid interest in growing plants, you may try planting seeds indoors. However, as compared to seeds planted outdoors, the seeds grown inside do not germinate very well and may develop into weak plants or die very soon as natural light that is needed for the healthy growth of plants is not accessible to them .If you really want plants inside the house, it may be a better idea to pick up grown plants from nurseries.
Keeping a few of these things in mind and ensuring that you choose the right kind of plants would help you create a stunning flower garden that would make your house look really beautiful.
Hillary Templeton gives advice on dog kennels as well as all types womens health matters. Click below for more information on ruptured ovarian cysts http://www.ovariancystshelp.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Hillary_J_Templeton
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Making A Flowerbed
Putting in a flowerbed is a great way to add a splash of color and charm to your lawn, and turn an ordinary yard into a place to stop and smell the roses. All it takes is a little dirt work and a weekend afternoon, and you'll be ready to plant azaleas and daisies to your heart's content.
The first step is to decide the "where and how big?" question. There are a few things to keep in mind when making these choices, such as proximity to a water faucet (Or whether you need to buy a new, longer hose), what types of flowers you want to plant (Do they need full-sun or shade? Keep in mind that if your location will receive less than six-hours a day of sun, you will need to choose shade varieties of flowers, while more than six hours of sun requires sun-loving varieties), and how much time you want to commit to maintenance (Weeds love flowerbeds, too, and a smaller flowerbed means less to weed). Once you have chosen a location, you can mark the perimeter of the flowerbed using string or a hose. This provides a great visual that can easily be adjusted before you commit to digging.
After you have the flowerbed marked out exactly how you want it to be, it's time to start digging. Use a shovel or spade to cut through the sod and remove the grass and roots from the flowerbed area. Take your time--this can be backbreaking work! Make sure you put all the sod into a wheelbarrow or bucket and dispose of away from your work-zone, or your flowerbed will inevitably revert back to its origin as part of your lawn.
Once you have the sod removed, surround the flowerbed with whatever edging you have chosen. There are lots of options, from brick, stone, and pavers, to landscaping timbers and vinyl. You will need to dig down a few inches to install your flowerbed perimeter, depending on your edging choice, in order to imbed the edging and ensure stability. If the soil is especially bad in your yard, it can be easier to build your flowerbed edging up and add garden soil, creating a raised flowerbed, than to dig the existing ground and amend the soil.
Now that the edging is installed, it's time to prepare the dirt. If your flowerbed is raised, this is just a matter of filling it in with garden soil, humus and organic compost, and mixing with either a tiller or turning it over by hand with a shovel. If you have a lower flowerbed, or if you want to use some of the native soil in your flowerbed, it's digging time again. You will need to dig down approximately eight-inches to a foot, loosening the soil and removing any rocks. Once you have dug up the entire flowerbed, add soil amendments and mix well. A consistently good amendment choice for flowerbeds is organic composts and manures, in addition to whatever amendment you may need for your soil type.
Now, the only thing left to do is add flowers and enjoy. (A little mulch for weed control wouldn't hurt either).
Escapeso Realty helps buyers looking to invest in Austin. Their site provides a search of the Austin MLS along with statistics and neighborhood descriptions about Austin real estate and a mortgage calculator for visitors to use.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ki_Gray
The first step is to decide the "where and how big?" question. There are a few things to keep in mind when making these choices, such as proximity to a water faucet (Or whether you need to buy a new, longer hose), what types of flowers you want to plant (Do they need full-sun or shade? Keep in mind that if your location will receive less than six-hours a day of sun, you will need to choose shade varieties of flowers, while more than six hours of sun requires sun-loving varieties), and how much time you want to commit to maintenance (Weeds love flowerbeds, too, and a smaller flowerbed means less to weed). Once you have chosen a location, you can mark the perimeter of the flowerbed using string or a hose. This provides a great visual that can easily be adjusted before you commit to digging.
After you have the flowerbed marked out exactly how you want it to be, it's time to start digging. Use a shovel or spade to cut through the sod and remove the grass and roots from the flowerbed area. Take your time--this can be backbreaking work! Make sure you put all the sod into a wheelbarrow or bucket and dispose of away from your work-zone, or your flowerbed will inevitably revert back to its origin as part of your lawn.
Once you have the sod removed, surround the flowerbed with whatever edging you have chosen. There are lots of options, from brick, stone, and pavers, to landscaping timbers and vinyl. You will need to dig down a few inches to install your flowerbed perimeter, depending on your edging choice, in order to imbed the edging and ensure stability. If the soil is especially bad in your yard, it can be easier to build your flowerbed edging up and add garden soil, creating a raised flowerbed, than to dig the existing ground and amend the soil.
Now that the edging is installed, it's time to prepare the dirt. If your flowerbed is raised, this is just a matter of filling it in with garden soil, humus and organic compost, and mixing with either a tiller or turning it over by hand with a shovel. If you have a lower flowerbed, or if you want to use some of the native soil in your flowerbed, it's digging time again. You will need to dig down approximately eight-inches to a foot, loosening the soil and removing any rocks. Once you have dug up the entire flowerbed, add soil amendments and mix well. A consistently good amendment choice for flowerbeds is organic composts and manures, in addition to whatever amendment you may need for your soil type.
Now, the only thing left to do is add flowers and enjoy. (A little mulch for weed control wouldn't hurt either).
Escapeso Realty helps buyers looking to invest in Austin. Their site provides a search of the Austin MLS along with statistics and neighborhood descriptions about Austin real estate and a mortgage calculator for visitors to use.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ki_Gray
Time To Start A Garden
It's time again to start a flower garden. Mother nature will provide you with the sun, water, and soil.
Their are many types of Annual and Perennials to chose from,from size and color.Annual flowers only last for one season,Perennials will survive the winter and blossom again next summer. A combination of both type of flowers will make a beautiful flower garden.
Take your time when choosing the type of flowers you want to plant and how you would like to arrange them. Their are many books ,magazines, or flower shops, to help you decide, or just drive around and see what other people have in their garden display. some homes out their have such beautiful gardens, that can help you come up with ideas for your own beautiful flower garden. Having hanging baskets around your house or hanging off your deck, always looks very attractive, or having a flower garden along side of your house or in the front of your house or even along side of the side walk, can add such beauty to your home. Making visitors feel very welcome when they come to your home.
You can edge or raise your flower garden with almost anything your heart wants, from rock, stone, timbers,railroad ties, or bed boarders. Where every you put your flower garden and what kind of flowers you are going to plant, you need to think about the right amount of sun, shade, and soil the flowers will need, so they can stay beautiful all summer long. When buying your flowers their should be a tag with the plant giving a brief explanation about the plant on what amount of sun ,water, and soil it will need to grow in.
Have fun planting your flowers it is a fun summer hobby.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Donna_Sanchez
Their are many types of Annual and Perennials to chose from,from size and color.Annual flowers only last for one season,Perennials will survive the winter and blossom again next summer. A combination of both type of flowers will make a beautiful flower garden.
Take your time when choosing the type of flowers you want to plant and how you would like to arrange them. Their are many books ,magazines, or flower shops, to help you decide, or just drive around and see what other people have in their garden display. some homes out their have such beautiful gardens, that can help you come up with ideas for your own beautiful flower garden. Having hanging baskets around your house or hanging off your deck, always looks very attractive, or having a flower garden along side of your house or in the front of your house or even along side of the side walk, can add such beauty to your home. Making visitors feel very welcome when they come to your home.
You can edge or raise your flower garden with almost anything your heart wants, from rock, stone, timbers,railroad ties, or bed boarders. Where every you put your flower garden and what kind of flowers you are going to plant, you need to think about the right amount of sun, shade, and soil the flowers will need, so they can stay beautiful all summer long. When buying your flowers their should be a tag with the plant giving a brief explanation about the plant on what amount of sun ,water, and soil it will need to grow in.
Have fun planting your flowers it is a fun summer hobby.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Donna_Sanchez
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