My Gardening Home Blog

Which Ones are the Weeds?

The Gardener — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 16:23:00 +0000

Hi everyone

Welcome to this edition of your Gardening Weekly, today's edition is entitled:

Which Ones are the Weeds?

QUOTE: Nothing is particularly hard if you divide it into small jobs.
- Henry Ford

I have always wondered who ever determined what was a weed and what was a flower. There are some delightful looking weeds that grow in the garden even when we don't want them to be there.

I guess the best explanation of what represents a weed, and what represents a flower is, a weed is a plant that is growing somewhere that it shouldn't be.

Website Of Interest. Check out the following:
http://blog.mygardeninghome.com/plants.html

I'm sure that if we started planting these plants that we call weeds, the ones that we call flowers now would start sprouting up everywhere.

I have known people who will happily leave weeds in the garden if they think their color and style will add to the variety of their garden.

More often than not however, we fight the never-ending battle to eradicate these unwanted residents from our gardens only to have them grow back faster than ever.

Adding a covering of mulch will help to reduce the return of weeds. Another method that helps is to lay dampened newspaper on the ground before covering it with mulch. This is very effective.

The problem with weeds is the fact that many of these plants are better at seeking out the nutrients in the soil and by doing so they are using the goodness that we want for the plants that we choose to have in the garden.

Many weeds also attract insects to the garden that can affect the condition of other plants.

No matter how diligent we are at removing weeds from the garden they will always reappear as their seeds are transported by insects, the wind, and even on the clothing and shoes that we wear.

Replanting from one garden to another can easily introduce new weeds so it is always important to check the soil and the roots of the plants that you are moving to ensure you aren't transplanting weeds also.

Website Of Interest. Check out the following:
http://blog.mygardeninghome.com/plants.html

Thanks,
Annie
http://blog.mygardeninghome.com

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Where To Put Your Garden

The Gardener — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 16:01:33 +0000

Hi everyone

Welcome to this edition of your Gardening Weekly, today's edition is entitled:

Where To Put Your Garden

QUOTE: All good work is done the way ants do things:
Little by little.
- Lafcadio Hearn

Generally the location of your garden will be determined by many factors that cannot be changed such as the location of any buildings on the property. Aside from the obvious constraints that you will need to work with, you will also need to take other factors into consideration.

These factors will include the lie of the land, where the land is shaded or how much sun it gets during the day, the view from the rooms of the house, privacy factors and more.

Before the first plant goes into the garden you need to have a plan of what you want and what you want the garden to do for you in terms of display, privacy, shade etc.

Website Of Interest. Check out the following:
http://blog.mygardeninghome.com/gardencenter.html

Without a plan the garden won't have a cohesive flow and that will show when the plants have matured.

You will also need to consider irrigation and drainage as these will determine how well you will be able to manage the soil and whether you will be able to supply the plants with the necessary nutrients over time.

Your decisions might even determine whether your plants will survive and as some plants can be quite expensive, you need to get your research right from the start.

You might even need to consider the proximity of the plants on your neighbors side of the fence as these can also affect the growth of your garden if they are shading your property from the sun, or their roots are taking the nutrition from your soil.

When buying plants, also consider their height when mature as a large tree blocking the view can actually devalue your property.

Once you have a good plan that is well thought out for the long term of your garden you will be ready to start digging, and that's when the fun starts.

Website Of Interest. Check out the following:
http://blog.mygardeninghome.com/gardencenter.html

Thanks,
Annie
http://blog.mygardeninghome.com

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Weed Killer Damage

The Gardener — Wed, 28 May 2008 16:55:45 +0000

Hi everyone

Welcome to this edition of your Gardening Weekly, today's edition is entitled:

Weed Killer Damage

QUOTE: If it weren't for the last minute, nothing would ever get done
- Anonymous

If by chance you are using a weed killer and it accidentally gets on to your plants you should hose it off immediately.
The sooner you can do this the less chance of damage affecting the condition of your plant.

Sometimes while we are spraying elsewhere a wind can carry the spray to other plants and it won't be until sometime later that the damage from this appears.

This damage will appear as leaves that have become smaller, narrowed and twisted.

Website Of Interest. Check out the following:
http://blog.mygardeninghome.com/plants.html

Once this damage is seen there is nothing that can be done other than to remove the damaged portions of the plant and hope that more damage will not occur over the following days. Often a plant will recover if it has only received a light residual amount of weed killer that has blown over from a breeze. It really depends on how much weed killer it was exposed to and how big, or how durable the plant it. Some plants are a lot more susceptible to weed killer than others and only a small amount of exposure to this will be enough to kill the plant.

You really need to take care when using weed killer to ensure that none of it drifts to areas where it shouldn't be.
Only use weed killer when there is no wind and hold the sprayer close to the weeds so it will only go on them and nowhere else.

It is also wise to have dedicated containers for weed killer and other sprays in the garden as residual weed killer left in a container that you would use for other things in the garden could ruin your plants. If it is not possible to have more than one container for poison and another for other garden sprays then you should always ensure that you clean it thoroughly after use to remove all the poison.

Website Of Interest. Check out the following:
http://blog.mygardeninghome.com/plants.html

Thanks,
Annie
http://blog.mygardeninghome.com

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Watering Your Plants

The Gardener — Wed, 21 May 2008 16:51:29 +0000

Hi everyone

Welcome to this edition of your Gardening Weekly, today's edition is entitled:

Watering Your Plants

QUOTE: Don't count the days, make the days count
- Anonymous

Plants are approximately 90% water and therefore it is essential that they get enough water to survive. Gardening is all about balance and that applies to the amount of water your plants need to stay healthy.

Over watering can be as harmful as not giving them enough water. The soil that the plants are growing in is a big factor in the amount of water that you should be giving them. If the soil is heavy and doesn't drain well you will need to give them less water or they could get water logged and the roots can rot. If the soil is a lot freer draining then you might need to water a little more often.

Website Of Interest. Check out the following:
http://blog.mygardeninghome.com/gardencenter.html

Too much water can reduce the plants ability to draw oxygen and nutrients from the soil and this is as essential to their growth as the water.

Gentle watering is better than heavy watering with a hose as the higher pressure of the hose can cause the soil to turn to mud. Once the soil dries out again it will become solidified. This compacting of the soil after heavy watering makes it more difficult for the plants to grow.

Soakers are a good method of watering provided the flow of water is not too great.

Soakers are also excellent when using a timed irrigation system so that the plants get sufficient water when you are away and particularly in the hotter months of the year when the soil tends to dry out more often.

If you are using timed irrigation you will need to adjust the timing and the flow of water according to the seasons and always make changes when there have been unseasonal changes to the weather that will require extra care for the plants.

Once again, plants need the human touch to maintain that balance.

Website Of Interest. Check out the following:
http://blog.mygardeninghome.com/gardencenter.html

Thanks,
Annie
http://blog.mygardeninghome.com

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Water Logging Your Plants

The Gardener — Wed, 14 May 2008 16:47:43 +0000

Hi everyone

Welcome to this edition of your Gardening Weekly, today's edition is entitled:

Water Logging Your Plants

QUOTE: In joy or sadness, flowers are our constant friends.
- Kozuko Okakura

If you give your plants excess water or have poor drainage you will run the risk of water logging them

This will cause the leaves to go a yellow or brown color and they will usually drop off. When plants start getting waterlogged the leaves at the bottom of the plant will be affected first.

By the time the upper leaves of the plant start turning yellow and brown you have a real problem.

Website Of Interest. Check out the following:
http://blog.mygardeninghome.com/plants.html

The problem arises because of the fact that plants need air as well as water around their roots to survive and with excessive watering the air pockets in the soil are filled with water. Without this air the roots of the plant will begin to die and as the roots are needed to supply the plant with the necessary nutrients to survive, the plant begins to die from the bottom up. That is why you see the lower leaves getting affected first.

To remedy the situation you will need to allow the soil to dry out to reduce the water content. If the plant is in a container you will need to check to see whether there are sufficient drainage holes to allow excess water to escape.

If the soil has become compacted from all the water it is best to remove the plant and give it some new soil.

Often when plants begin to wilt they can appear to be lacking water when the opposite is the case so it is best to check the moisture content of the soil before assuming the plant needs more water.

When watering the plants allow the soil to dry out completely, or partially between watering to reduce the chance of them getting waterlogged. Try to improve the drainage of the soil for plants in the garden and even consider raising the garden for better water control.

Website Of Interest. Check out the following:
http://blog.mygardeninghome.com/plants.html

Thanks,
Annie
http://blog.mygardeninghome.com

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Understanding Soil

The Gardener — Wed, 07 May 2008 16:40:05 +0000

Hi everyone

Welcome to this edition of your Gardening Weekly, today's edition is entitled:

Understanding Soil

QUOTE: All the flowers of all the tomorrows are in the seeds of today.
- Indian Proverb

Understanding the role that soil plays in the garden is one of the best assets that you can have as a gardener.
It is this knowledge that will allow you to create a healthier environment for your plants and get the maximum benefits from them.

In doing so, you will also make your own life easier, as a garden that is well managed from the soil up, is a garden that is a lot easier to manage, from one day to the next.

A garden that has good soil that has been fed with good nutrition over time will make growing almost anything easy for even the least experienced gardener.

Website Of Interest. Check out the following:
http://blog.mygardeninghome.com/soil.html

So how to you get good soil?

First you need to consider how plants grow and how they get their nutrition and that is through their roots.
Therefore, in order for the plants to grow well, they need to be in soil that allows their roots to get to the nutrition.
Obviously compact ground with little water, little air and poor nutrition will not produce the best plants.

Plants need water and air and this requires soil that has spaces to hold this air and water.
Therefore soil that is aerated will generally produce a better garden. Once again it is all about balance, as soil that is too crumbly might not hold the nutrients as well, where the water might wash them away. The soil also needs to be firm enough to support the growth of the plant otherwise it will topple over at the first sign of a wind.

The soil needs to have suitable nutrients and if any of these nutrients are out of balance, the pH scale that measures whether the soil is acidic or alkaline, will show why they are having difficulty absorbing the nutrients.

Website Of Interest. Check out the following:
http://blog.mygardeninghome.com/soil.html

Thanks,
Annie
http://blog.mygardeninghome.com

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Topiary

The Gardener — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 16:35:30 +0000

Hi everyone

Welcome to this edition of your Gardening Weekly, today's edition is entitled:

Topiary

QUOTE: I don't know whether nice people tend to grow roses or growing roses makes people nice.
- Roland A Beowne

Topiary can be a lot of fun if you have an imagination and some patience.

Topiary is the art of shaping trees and shrubs into shapes of all types and sizes.

There have been some quite outstanding topiary shapes created by garden artists over the years and many people get pleasure from practicing this art in home gardens across the country.

Website Of Interest. Check out the following:
http://blog.mygardeninghome.com/gardencenter.html

While it is not quite as popular as it once was it is still something that can create a focal point in any garden and is an alternative to other forms of garden sculpture.

If you decide to try your hand at topiary you will need to have the right plants for the job.

The best plants to use are those that are evergreen. The plants should also have small leaves and the foliage should be as dense as possible to make shaping easier and the final result will look more professional.

From there it is time to start shaping the plant using your cutting shears.

As this is generally done freehand it can take some time to get the experience needed to create even lines and curves. Until you have the experience to do this, many people use shaped wires to assist as a guide.

You will need to be patient and only cut off small amounts while you let the shape develop, as a cut too large will result in delays while the plant grows back again.

There is an alternative method that some people use in their garden where the shape is already determined by the use of a wire cage and plants such as ivy are left to grow over the wire giving the impression that it is topiary.

This is the easy alternative but you will have to wait for the ivy to completely cover the cage before you have the desired effect. The benefit of using this method is the fact that you have a lot more control over the shape of the structure and there is less skill involved other than creating the wire cage.

Website Of Interest. Check out the following:
http://blog.mygardeninghome.com/gardencenter.html

Thanks,
Annie
http://blog.mygardeninghome.com

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Themes in Your Garden

The Gardener — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 16:31:45 +0000

Hi everyone

Welcome to this edition of your Gardening Weekly, today's edition is entitled:

Themes in Your Garden

QUOTE: Who would have thought it possible that a tiny little flower could preoccupy a person so completely that there simply wasn't room for any other thought….
- Sophie Scholl

It is good to have a theme that you can follow throughout your garden and work on a plan and a selection of plants that will go along with that theme.

By having a theme to follow this will dictate, not only the types of plants that you will be buying, but also anything else that you put in the garden. This will include everything from sculptures and garden furniture, to the colors of the pots that you will choose.

While some people might think this is restricting their freedom of creation, it does in fact allow you to create a garden that has more freedom of flow rather than being disjointed with a variety of different themes that never quite gel together.

Website Of Interest. Check out the following:
http://blog.mygardeninghome.com/gardencenter.html

Sometimes the theme of your garden will be determined by the style of the house that you have on the property, and other times it will be determined by the geographical location that you are living in.

If for instance you are living near a beach, you will probably want the theme to tie in with the beach setting. By doing this you are likely to get plants for your garden that are more appropriate and will endure the conditions that they will be growing in.

Plants that are suitable for growing in coastal areas will be able to withstand the winds and the salt of the sea air that could quickly damage other plants that aren't suitable for those conditions.

Likewise it wouldn't look quite as appropriate to have a tropical garden with palms where a cottage garden would compliment the style of the house.

And tropical plants are not going to flourish as well in cold harsh climates so there are many factors that need to be taken into account when deciding on your garden theme.

Website Of Interest. Check out the following:
http://blog.mygardeninghome.com/gardencenter.html

Thanks,
Annie
http://blog.mygardeninghome.com

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The Right Stuff

The Gardener — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 16:27:23 +0000

Hi everyone

Welcome to this edition of your Gardening Weekly, today's edition is entitled:

The Right Stuff

QUOTE: In the hope of reaching the moon men fail to see the flowers that blossom at their feet.
- Albert Schweitzer

One of the most important rules of creating a garden is to ensure that you have the right plants for the right place.

There are many plants that will suffer if they aren't growing in conditions that are suited to them and by planting in these conditions you will always be fighting a battle to have them looking their best simply because they will always be struggling to survive.

If you have a specific theme that you would like to follow when planning your garden and that theme doesn't suit the growing conditions you only have two alternatives and they are;

1. you can change the plants you intend using to something more suitable but still in keeping with your overall theme or
2. you can change the conditions that the plants will be growing in.

Website Of Interest. Check out the following:
http://blog.mygardeninghome.com/plants.html

While it is not possible to change the climate, you can make changes to the layout of the garden and surrounding area to create your own 'micro-climate' with other plants or trees offering shading or shelter.

You can plant windbreaks or construct them to reduce the effect that the wind might have on some of the more fragile plants.

If you are looking for color in your garden but the plants you prefer would suffer in the conditions your garden presents, then look for alternative plants that can offer the same color but are more suited to those conditions.

By using plants that are more suited to the conditions, they will thrive better and require a lot less maintenance while still giving you the 'look' you require.

It's all about getting your planning right before you even buy the first plants. If the plan is well executed the garden will look better, be easier to maintain and you will enjoy ownership more so than a garden that is a constant struggle.

Website Of Interest. Check out the following:
http://blog.mygardeninghome.com/plants.html

Thanks,
Annie
http://blog.mygardeninghome.com

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Testing the pH of your soil

The Gardener — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 16:59:59 +0000

Hi everyone

Welcome to this edition of your Gardening Weekly, today's edition is entitled:

Testing the pH of your soil

QUOTE: The rose has thorns only for those who would gather it.
- Chinese Proverb

It is easy to test the pH of the soil in your garden with the use of a simple and inexpensive test kit. All you need to do with the test kit is take a sample of the soil and mix it with water and then compare the results in the sample to the colors on the chart. This will tell you whether the soil is acidic or alkaline.

If the soil is too acidic you can add lime to bring it back into balance. If on the other hand there is too much lime and the pH reading is high you can add more compost to reduce the levels of the lime in the soil.

Website Of Interest. Check out the following:
http://blog.mygardeninghome.com/gardencenter.html

Soil that is slightly acidic tends to be more fertile.

Old gardeners used to use a simple taste test to determine the condition of the soil. This method isn't recommended but it can be quite accurate.

If the soil tastes sour then it is likely to be acid. This is also represented by a sour smell.

Vinegar is another way to test whether there is enough lime in the soil, as lime will cause the vinegar to bubble.
Drop some soil into a cup of vinegar and if it starts to bubble then you know there is enough lime in the soil.

For the low cost of a pH tester, you will get a lot more accurate reading and this will allow you to easily monitor the condition of your soils and adjust the nutrients accordingly rather than guessing what is needed and not having optimum nutrition.

You should also take samples at different points throughout your garden, as there can be changes in the soil from one area to the next depending on what has been added over the years and what has been growing in the various sections of the garden.

Website Of Interest. Check out the following:
http://blog.mygardeninghome.com/gardencenter.html

Thanks,
Annie
http://blog.mygardeninghome.com

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