Ideas, Info, Tools & Technology to Create Your Dream Garden
Posts tagged flower gardening
Early Spring Bloomers
Jan 26th
Right now many of us gardeners are champing at the bit to get back out in the garden. If there is a warm moment, and the ground is clear of snow, we may find ourselves pacing back and forth in front of areas we know contain crocus, daffodil, and tulip bulbs, looking for signs of growth. There are other plants that bloom in very early spring, that you may want to consider including in your landscape.
Everyone knows about Pussy Willows (Salix discolor), the wonderful fuzzy harbingers of spring. Every time I seem them blooming I have to laugh, though. When More >
What Gardening Means To Me
Jan 23rd
What little girl could resist growing a Beauty Bush.
Today is my birthday. So, I thought I’d take time to write about what gardening means to me, why I’m such an avid gardener.
In all honesty I think I’m an avid gardener because my mother was, also. She loved to be outside planting things and started me off at a very early age. I remember helping plant pansies at around the age of five.
Not too long after that, maybe a year or two, I had my first garden. It was a flower garden and had all my favorites: pansies, marigolds, dahlias, snapdragons, More >
Long-term Planning For Gardens
Dec 19th
Shade patterns change throughout the year. Keep a log for successful planting.
Maybe you’ve got it on you resolution list to finally do something with the yard. You’ve got some ideas, but aren’t sure exactly which plants will work well for each garden.
The first thing you need to do is know the lay of your land. Which way is north, south, east, and west? How does the house line up with these directions? Where are large trees or shrubs located in relation to the directions? Are the trees/shrubs evergreen or deciduous?
Before you plant anything you need to know what the shade More >
Winter Color
Nov 14th
Lenten roses now come in many beautiful colors.
Almost everyone thinks of color in the garden as only lasting three seasons: spring, summer, and fall. However, there are some plants that like it cool. Most people in the southern part of the states know that pansies are a sure bet for color through the winter months, but there are other possibilities, even into the more northerly areas.
Right off the top of my head I can think of a few hellebores seem to defy the cold. Commonly found in a pale greenish white, they’ve now been bred in a multitude of colors. More >
Fall Cleanup
Nov 7th
Beautiful fall foliage needs to be cleaned up to protect your lawn.
The first frosts have hit all around the country, with some people even experiencing record snowfall. The trees are bare, the annuals dead, the perennials sleeping, and surprisingly enough the camellias still blooming.
Now’s the time to do some cleanup in your garden, to be ready for next years display. First and foremost, if you have a lot of leaves covering either your garden or your lawn, you need to deal with them. You need to rake the leaves off the lawn, as they could pack down and kill the More >
Frost Surprises
Oct 31st
I was shocked to see my geraniums still alive after several days of below freezing temperatures.
The last three days we’ve had killing frosts. Frosts hard enough to create ice on the tops of standing water. However, when I looked out in my yard I was surprised to find some plants still standing tall and blooming. So, here a list of plants that I found are frost tolerant. Of course this doesn’t mean that if you get into the low-20s or teens that they’ll still keep going, but with our recent upper-20s and low-30s they’re still blooming.
Flowers
- Strawflowers
- Cosmos
- Signet Marigold ‘Starfire’
- Snapdragons
- Petunias
- Dianthus
- Carnations
- Cleome
- Sweet Mace
- Pansy
- Gaillardia
- Pincushion Flower
- Geranium
- Coreopsis
- Rose
- Salvia More >
Planting Fall Bulbs
Oct 10th
Bulbs are often a very underused, misunderstood plant. I think part of the reason is that you usually buy them when they are dormant and not very interesting. However, taking the time to plant some bulbs now, will bring you a wealth of color in the early spring.
There are plants that bloom almost any time of the growing season, but they are best known for spring because they are usually some of the very first color after the bleakness of winter.
Just like any plant, give them a good start and they’ll continue to produce for you for years to come. More >
Focus Plant: Autumn Blooming Sedum
Oct 7th
Sedum 'Neon'
I never was much inclined toward sedum. They were cute little ground covers and easy to start from just a piece that had fallen off, but there were so many more stunning plants.
Then I saw a stonecrop sedum called ‘Neon’ (Sedum spectabile ‘Neon’). Wow, I was hooked. I bought it full price and scurried home to plant it. I’ve not been disappointed either. In early fall, every year, it has bloomed fantastic vibrant pink clusters of blooms that look fluffy.
It’s extremely easy to grow. It doesn’t need fancy soil, although it can’t tolerate wet feet. It thrives in full More >
Garden Envy
Oct 3rd
I just returned from a two-and-a-half week visit at my sister’s home in the Seattle area. Arriving there I was struck by how lush and green everything is. Unlike my poor gardens at home that were looking like they had been in an oven all summer, her gardens were filled with greenery and flowers galore.
She’s able to grow lobelia and alysum all summer long and her nasturtiums were still blooming, as well. Here in the mid-Atlantic those flowers bite the dust by late June. Her fuschias and begonias were dripping with blooms. Last year I almost managed to keep a More >
Going On Vacation
Sep 13th
Well, I’m about to go on vacation, back home for a sisters reunion. Lucky for me my husband isn’t going, because then I would have to find someone to take care of the yard and houseplants.
After putting in a lot of work on your garden, it pays to find someone who will care for it properly while you're on vacation.
We’ve been gone twice for longer periods, with unfortunate dire results. The first time we were in India for three months for a yoga and meditation intensive. I put my trust in the next-door neighbor teens to water things. When I More >