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Make Sure You Are on the Mailing Lists The first gardening catalogs have already started arriving. Before.

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Veggie Catalogs Are Seeded With Tantalizing Gardening IdeasKitsap Sun (Subscription), WA - 6 hours agoWhen a gardening friend told me he had thrown away the first catalog he received, I was puzzled. "Their seeds are too expensive, and they’re not selling …

Source: Yahoo! News Search Results for "gardening"

Where to find the best gardening catalogs (specialty plants or general gardening) and how to check if they are reliable, or not. By Barbara Martin.

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Anyhow, with $32 of my $50 gardening budget already gone, I’ll be doing my best to start my own perennial flowers from my embarrassingly large collection of seeds instead of paying outrageously high prices from catalogs and local …

Source: Maggie

Maybe this is a sign that I should just order my plants from gardening catalogs or from on-line sources instead of covering the city picking up frugal gardening finds? Garden Blogger in Chicago.

Source: MrBrownThumb

Source: "gardening" - Google News

Ok, here are a few things that could help keep you busy if you are in the middle of a cold winter.  If you are in the middle of your summer (you lucky people) enjoy! 

1. Give your grass a high cut every now and then. If you can, choose a dry, windy day when the dew has lifted so the clippings are removed.  Where I am, finding a windy day is not so much of a problem, finding a dry one… now that is a different matter altogether.  But if you are like me, hang in there, one will turn up soon.

2. Check the ties of shrubs grown against walls (Ceanothus, Pyracantha, Moroccan broom, etc) - those sudden gusts of wind that are all too frequent this time of year can throw them forward and crack roots.

3. Take old honeysuckles back to a strong, well-spaced framework of not-too-old stems, keeping a few young ones around the edges.

4. Clear away and burn the dead leaves from under roses to reduce the chance of any disease lingering.

5. Do not forget that central heating, as nice as it is this time of year, will play havoc with tropical houseplants. Increase the humidity by simply standing the pots on saucers or trays of damp gravel and keep them away from radiators (which is easy) and draughts (perhaps not so easy this time of year!)

6. If you have ever dreamt of scooping a prize at the local summer gardening show, start planning for it now. Have you ever thought about onions?  Exhibition ones are fairly easy to grow.  The biggest bulbs come from varieties such as Mammoth, which are sown any time now.

7. Try to remember where you have bulbs growing in grass. The new leaves should be well through by now and it is all too easy to walk on them unawares.  I am thinking of things like snowdrops, narcissi, crocus, fritillary, etc.

8. Have you worked out what you want to plant this season?  Well, if you still have to then why not fish out last years seed packets and you can work out what you want to buy for this season.  Great excuse to get down to the local garden centre, as if you needed one!

9. If you are lucky enough to be a gardener with a warm greenhouses (and do not forget your minimum winter temperature in there should be 55F), why not start growing indoor tomatoes such as Sparta, Shirley and Big Boy.  Now, early to mid January, is the perfect time.

10. Now wisteria has dropped its leaves, you can prune it. Just take back the long stems you pruned last summer to two or three buds. Also, cut out stray stems wrapped around gutters and slithering along walls. Be careful though: do not forget those buds can be thorny.

11. Why not treat your much-abused and maligned garden shears to a professional sharpening?  Afterall, they are not really needed at the moment and you will notice a big difference. You will not regret it!

12. In those long spells of freezing weather we can unfortunately experience this time of year, winter-flowering pansies can sometimes receive a knock to their growth. If this happens, wait until the weather warms up a little, then deadhead any spent flower stems. This should induce a mass of new flowers to emerge for you to enjoy.

Well, that little lot should keep you busy for a while and enjoy your gardening.  It can be just as much fun in the winter!

Take care for now.

The Gardener 

Hi everyone

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

Getting Children into Gardening

QUOTE: No occupation is so delightful to me as the culture of the earth, and no culture comparable to that of the garden
- Thomas Jefferson

If you have ever wondered how to keep children occupied for hours on end then it's time to introduce them to the joys gardening.

Children can really enjoy growing plants particularly if they have their own area of the garden where they can see the results of their own efforts growing there.

It will give them a sense of reward to see what they have been able to accomplish, whether it is from a flower garden or a vegetable garden.

It is also a very healthy pastime that will get them out of the house and into the fresh air.  It will do more for their health than sitting in front of a computer screen or playing on their PlayStation all day.

They will also be learning about gardening and as this is one of the most popular hobbies it will give them a knowledge base that they will benefit from for years to come.

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

Gardening can also help to relieve stress and fatigue and there are many more children suffering from that these days.

By getting your children to work alongside you in the garden, it will help to build better family relationships too and that is an investment in them that no amount of money could ever buy.

I have known many children who have used their gardening skills to make a few dollars of their own by selling the plants and vegetables that they have grown in their own garden to others during their school holidays.  Not only do they get a sense of accomplishment but they can also get monetary reward for their work.

If you have ever seen the delight on a child's face after they have sold something that they have grown themselves in their own garden then you will know exactly what I mean.  It is more exciting for many of them than opening their presents on Christmas Day.

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

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

Hi everyone

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

Gardening Tools

QUOTE: Plants give us oxygen for the lungs and for the soul.
- Linda Solegato

The range of gardening tools that are available now is quite outstanding.  As gardening is one of the most popular hobbies, there is a huge demand for gardening tools that can do a better job in the garden while making that job easier to complete for people of all ages.

You will need to buy the tools that make life easy in your particular garden and that will be determined by the types of plants that you have growing.  If your garden has predominantly large trees or hedges you will need tools that make the job of trimming at those heights easier.

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

With the design of new garden implements concentrating on leverage for ease of use, it has become a lot easier for the home gardener to maintain plants at heights that would have normally required professional help.

Many of these garden implements have also been designed for ease of use for people who suffer from arthritis and the elderly who don't have the strength they once had.  Not only are these tools popular with the elderly but they will make the job of maintaining your garden a lot easier and more enjoyable by reducing the effort required to use them.

You will be able to select from implements that can reach to places that would be difficult without getting down into the garden, and as well as making life easier, they can also make it safer.  I recently had to clear the ground around some small palms and without the use of a long handled garden implement I had no alternative but to get down and do this by hand.

The ensuing pricks from the palm fronds made sure I went to the garden store at the earliest opportunity to ensure I wouldn't have to do that again.  Fortunately I was wearing safety glasses as getting pricked in the eye from some of the sharp parts of plants can cause painful and permanent damage to your sight.

Safety glasses, or even sunglasses should be worn when working in the garden and breathing masks should always be worn when using poisons and insecticides.

We need to preserve our own health as well as that of our plants.

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

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

Hi everyone

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

Gardening Gloves

QUOTE: The kiss of the sun for pardon,
The song of the birds for mirth,
One is nearer God's heart in a garden
Than anywhere else on earth.
- Dorothy Frances Gurney

Your first contact with the garden are your hands, unless of course you have invested wisely in garden tools, but even with tools there is no getting around the fact that you are going to need to get your hands dirty, and along with that you can expect the scratches, cuts and bruises that are inevitable.

You should consider investing in good garden gloves to protect your hands against damage.

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

There are several different types of gloves on the market and they all have their benefits and downsides.  The cheapest of these gloves are the cotton work type gloves that are comfortable but not quite as durable as other gloves.  They will wear out faster than the more expensive gloves and can become heavy when wet, which can make your hands quite cold in the colder weather.

They also don't offer much protection against thorns and other sharp objects that you might encounter.  Alternatives to these are a combination of cotton and leather, as the leather portion of the glove will offer some protection against cuts.  These gloves will still get water logged and have a limited lifespan.

The composite spandex/lycra gloves that are available are a better option as they will last longer and they won't get water logged like the cotton gloves.  They are also very comfortable to wear.

If you are working in wet conditions a lot of the time then you will need to consider getting some rubber gloves.  Rubber gloves will ensure that your hands stay dry all the time.

If you work with roses quite often there are gloves that cover your hands and your arm right up to your elbow.
These will allow you to work in comfort and safety while protecting your skin against damage.

And finally there are many people who don't like wearing gloves at all but need some form of protection.
You can get spray on gloves.  These are a silicon spray that will seal your hands from grime and possible infection and will make cleaning your hands after you have finished gardening a breeze.  While these 'gloves' won't offer you any protection from scratches and cuts they will help to keep your hands clean and that is a bonus.

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

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