If you're new the My Gardening Home Blog, you may want to subscribe to our RSS feed. Thanks for visiting and we hope to see you again soon! Happy Gardening!

Allergens make gardening a much more difficult choreSkieston Standard Democrat, MO - 17 minutes ago“When you’re through (gardening), and you go in, get those clothes off and take a shower to help get the pollen off. That’s the best thing you can do,” …

Source: "gardening" - Google News

Years ago, when I moved to an old farm on Bainbridge Island, I felt totally overwhelmed. Instead of a manageable urban plot, I now faced seven wild acres. Blackberries, bindweed, and nettles grew vigorously, choking out ancient … Related EntriesRambling Roses: How to Tame those Climbing Roses in your Garden Three Things to Know about Heirloom Roses Ten Things to Think about when Growing Container Roses Fruit and Veg Gardening :: RE: Portable Salad Bowl ~ Let Easy Elegance Roses Lead You Down the Garden Path or Up the …

Source: Ann Lovejoy | Sustainable Gardening

A great many people are wary of growing their own rose garden, because they believe that roses are difficult to grow and require very precise conditioning. However, this is not the case and if you follow four simple rules, rose gardening shouldn't really not that difficult.  So, here are the most important rules for growing a rose garden.

1. Have good soil

Roses will grow beautifully if planted in the right soil. They need good drainage, so be sure to add peat moss and compost. Soil for rose gardening also requires a pH level of between 6.5 and 6.8, which means that the soil should be slightly acidic. If your soil has too much acid, add lime; if it is not acidic enough, add some sulphur.  If you’re unsure of your soil’s pH, contact your local agriculture extension program. In most states, they’ll test your soil for free.
2. Give them water

If your roses don’t have enough water, they’ll die. Pure and simple.  On the other hand, watering them too often will rob them of the ability to develop a deep root system. Proper rose gardening requires deep watering a few times a week during the growing season. A fifteen minute watering two to three times a week during the growing season should be just right, depending upon your conditions. Don’t water in the evening, because this can cause powdery mildew to form on your rose plants.

3. Give them sun

Roses also need around six hours of sun each day, to be exact.  They will do best if they are protected from the hottest afternoon sun. If you have a spot that gets sun all morning, but has some shade in the afternoon, that’s the perfect spot for your rose garden.

4. Give them air

This is probably the most common mistake by those who attempt rose gardening and then give up. It is critical that your rose bushes are spaced far enough apart to allow air to circulate between them. Check the spacing requirements of each bush when you purchase.

Unfortunately, roses are prone to a few diseases. Your rose gardening efforts will prove more successful if you are aware of the common rose diseases and can prevent or treat them. The most common rose diseases are powdery mildew, rust, black spot. It’s critical to check rose plants for disease before you buy. If you follow watering and spacing instructions, you should have little trouble with these diseases. If, however, you do see symptoms of one of these diseases, prune the infected area; don’t compost the clippings. If this doesn’t solve the problem, a fungicide may be required.

Those are the four main secrets to successfully grow a beautiful rose garden. As I'm sure you'll now agree, it’s really not as difficult as you may have first thought. And, as we all know, no other plant provides quite the beauty and color to your garden as healthy vibrant roses.

The Gardener

Designing and managing a landscape garden involves taking a multitude of decisions.  Let's look at a few important aspects:

Landscape Gardening: Designer Art

Everyone knows landscape gardening includes planting some flowers and maybe creating a walkway.  But did you know it is a form of designer art?  Landscape gardening is a process of matching garden and yard styles to the
house and your unique persona.  It is creating a masterpiece that will evoke a mood when you look upon the final product.  Like gazing at a classic painting, viewing a finished and well thought out landscape gardening project is powerful and pleasing. It is an experience for the mind, the body and the soul.

Driven By Purpose

Any major project requires planning.   A painter must determine why a picture is being painted, because the purpose drives the perspective.  Landscape gardening is no different, it requires the same forethought.   Functionality must be considered when landscape gardening.  Designing a landscape for privacy may result in a significantly different plan than one created for simple viewing of beauty.  The primary purpose of the project is set and everything is planned around that purpose.  The very first question is whether the project is for business or personal purposes?  Is it primarily for your own enjoyment?  Perhaps viewing, recreation, to add value to the house or to provide sunblock?  These are questions that have to be asked first and the answers will drive the planning stages of the landscape gardening project.

Stylish Accommodation

Deciding what style to use in your landscape gardening plan is a major decision.  There are many choices. Landscape gardening styles accommodate every kind of personality, house, neighborhood or business.  There are basic styles that should first be considered.  The final product may be a combination of several styles.  For example: 

• Traditional and orderly shapes and patterns, such as straight walkways and square flowerbeds, characterize a Formal Garden.
• An informal garden is more likely to have rounded plant beds, meandering walkways and an array of plants and flowers not necessarily typical of a traditional garden.
• The English Garden is very formal and has certain characteristics such as raised flowerbeds and the expectation of certain plants, such as roses.  
• Landscaping gardening in this style is structured around the type of enhance the house or building on the property.
• The Oriental Garden is also very formal but in a different way.  It has plants and flowers normally seen in the occidental countries such as Japan.  It has a pattern of simple lines and stark form, but carries a beauty unique
• to its origins.
• The Woodland Garden is a natural looking garden that frequently blends into the surrounding environment.  Often, this type of garden has plants and flowers indigenous to the area where the landscape gardening will take place.

Feng Shui

Feng Shui is the arrangement of objects in your life in a way to attract and enhance life energy.  Landscape gardening can be considered as one form of Feng Shui for the natural world.  By defining the purpose of your landscape project and then matching the style to that purpose, Feng Shui is created.  The result is a vista out
your back window that can energize or soothe or excite, depending upon the mood created with your planning.

The Gardener

Before you choose a garden design you need to consider moisture, wind, slope, sun, and what is already located in your landscaping.

Source: Jorbins.com

I didn’t plant a single potato in the garden last year due to space constraints, but this year I’m looking to include at least one variety of heirloom potato. I say at least one variety because it’s turned into a difficult decision to …

Source: Kenny Point

As all gardeners know true blue flowers are difficult to find and even more difficult to photograph as they always look purple or lavender. I have bluebells all along my fence in the backyard, they are remind me of spring and May alters …

Source: Iowa Gardening Woman

Each planting decision offers the opportunity to create habitat for wildlife. Explore ways to encourage fauna, bees, butterflies, birds and amphibians to your backyard. This program is part of the Campaign for a Fishable/Swimmable …

Source: nobody@evdb.com (evdb)

Mini greenhouses are extremely beneficial for a multitude of reasons and if you are attempting to make a decision as to what kind of greenhouse to get there will be many pieces of information you will want to discover so you can make …

Source: Fine

100_2988. The third day is the most difficult to write about, I suppose because there are so many things I want to remember about the day Myles was born and so much happened during that time. I managed to catch a bit of sleep in the …

Source: TB