Summary: Repotting plants in May gives the plant lots of time to put on new growth and mature during the spring/summer growing season. Soil for larger plants should be loose and drain well. It’s potting time in the home greenhouse. Large plants, particularly those which have flowered and will be grown on for several years, […]
Archives for April 2011
Double Duty Flowers For Summer and Winter Enjoyment
Summary: Garden flowers can pull double duty by supplying garden color in the summer and indoor beauty during the winter serving as a reminder for what is to come when the weather warms up. Question: My mom always grew flowers for color in a backyard garden and dried them for use in the winter. My […]
Tips On Native Plant Collecting, Propagation and Care
Summary: Using native plants in your landscape can be fun. Obtaining plants can take some work, especially if your are collecting them in their natural growing area. Read these tips on collecting, propagation and care of native plants. Question: We would like to collect some natives plants to establish them in our home garden. Do […]
Native Plant Gardening For Easy Landscaping
Summary: Using native plants in gardening can reduce much of the effort required in the care of a landscape. Pretty much plant them and let them take care of themselves. Leave it to nature to worry about winter, insects, disease, fertilizers or cultivation. Question: We are interested in native plant gardening and would like to […]
April Tips on Fruit Growing for Northern Gardeners
For the northern gardener April is the busiest month of spring; one of the busiest of the year. The planting schedule alone includes all kinds of trees, shrubs, evergreens, perennials and other hardy plants; the sooner they are set out the better. Orders for plants, seeds, fertilizers and other supplies top the list of chores […]
Southern Gardens April Task – Pruning Thinning and Mowing
Pruning time is here for the early spring shrubs which have finished flowering. Pruning provides the new wood on which they will bloom another year. The honeysuckles Lonicera fragrantissima and L. maacki (two of the first flowerers), Exochorda racemosa (E. grandiflora), called the pearl-bush, and the spireas all are now ready for the shears. Cut […]
Star Magnolia Best For Small Property
The star magnolia is one of the best magnolias – especially for use on the small landscape property. Its early spring flowers, dense habit of growth and unmarred dark green foliage throughout the growing season, climaxed by a beautiful bronze autumn color, make it of ornamental interest every season of the year. It is the […]
How To Make A Lawn
Summary: How to make a lawn look great is not complicated but doing some soil prep work will help get the lawn off to a better start. Just like remodeling the indoors, work need to be done on giving the lawn a foundation. Question: We need some help on “How to make a lawn”, we […]
Liming Acid Soil For A Better Lawn
Summary: Liming acid soil proves to be a corrective action to help neutralize lawn soil. When soil is excessive acidity it hinders the growth of grass and are subjected to more frequent attacks by fungus diseases since fungal generally grow better in an acid medium. Question: We have heard that putting lime on the lawn […]
Blue Anchusa Azurea In My Garden
I love blue in the garden, and my favorite of all is that of the perennial Anchusa azurea (A. italica) dropmore. Its small flowers in panicled racemes make a cloud of gentian blue that is very lovely. In the border it looks wonderful with anything, especially yellow flowers like daylilies, coreopsis, doronicum, and gaillardia. This […]
