Self Improvement

Don’t feel embarassed if you believe that container gardening is only for indoor plants, I did too! It’s not until you’re informed that you can grow your container plants almost anywhere, that you’ll realize how much sense it makes to be able to plan your container garden to go wherever it’s best for you… and your plants of course!

One of the advantages of a container garden is the ability to move it around if the need arises, something you can’t do with a traditional garden. You can also grow just about any type of plant in a container.

If you’re expecting very bad weather, you can temporarily move containers to a safer location, like indoors or into a garage or basement. But there isn’t much you can do for a traditional garden.

Also your potted garden can be moved around to take advantage of the best growing conditions for your plants. That’s not possible once your plants are in the ground and you find that the position you picked is either too shady or sunny.

If you choose to have your container garden outdoors, you need to be sure to choose a good location for it. You’ll want to choose a place that has the proper amount of sun for the plants you wish to grow, but it also needs to be a place that’s very accessible. It’s easy to lose motivation to work on your garden if it’s several hundred yards away from the house!

If you’re going to grow edible plants, make sure you locate them as far away as possible from any streets. Traffic pollution will affect not only your plants, but your family too when they eat them.

If you have your plants indoors, you’ll need to be sure to select a very good spot. Most plants need to be fairly warm, so you’ll need to choose the warmest spot in your house if you use air conditioning.

If you like your home to be cool, you’ll need to put your plants in a room that gets plenty of natural sunlight. If necessary, keep any vents closed to give them the warmth they require.

Some plants thrive better in higher humidity, and others do well in lower humidity. You may need to invest in special equipment to adjust the humidity if you’re raising very delicate or picky plants. You probably won’t have to do this unless you’re growing exotic varieties.

Next, you’ll need to choose which plants you want to grow. Be careful! Too many people choose to plant far too many varieties, and end up frustrated. Don’t grow anything you can easily pick up cheaply at the grocery store!

Stick to growing fruits and vegetables that you really enjoy and have a hard time locating locally, or those you find too expensive or too low quality. Tomatoes are a favorite for home gardeners, because their quality in stores if often very poor.

Finally, decide whether or not you want to grow your plants organically. If you’re growing indoors, this will probably be very simple to do. But if you’re growing your plants outside, you could get frustrated with pest control. Don’t worry if you find organic gardening a bit difficult. Like anything, it requires some research to gain experience, but is worth the trouble in the long term.

There were once very basic tools for lawn care. For once upon a time grass grew wild. Imagine going out into your yard with a hand scythe to cut it. That was a mere 150 years ago. So your dads grand dad really had only minor lawn care headaches back then, it would seem. But not you. There are now dozens of tools that need to be considered when thinking about keeping your lawn green and in tip top shape.

A lawnmower is the most basic lawn care tool to consider. It’s odd to think of a living organism as needing to be sliced to stay healthy, but as a professional gardener acquaintance once said ‘Grass likes to be cut’. To accomplish that, a good lawnmower is a necessity. Though among the more expensive items in the tool set, if maintained well it will last forever.

Keep the blade sharp, the spark plug clean and (if it has one) the air filter changed. Change the oil as you would on a car, every season.

Moving right along, in order to keep your lawn neat, it is most times just a a matter that you can not completely carry out only by mowing. You will also need a trimmer and an edger. You will find that there are two basic types of these tools on the market. You have the long handled two blade model or example. You run its blade along the edges of the patio, your steps and any other edges to keep the lawn looking good.

The other type is a powered whirling device that shoots a plastic string out a few inches. The string whacks off grass or other plants wherever you aim it. They’re lightweight, inexpensive and can last for years, though the coil of plastic string needs to be replaced every couple of months. At a cost of only a few dollars, it saves a lot of effort.

A spreader or two should be on your list of basic lawn care tools. These are valuable for laying out compounds evenly. Items such as fertilizer, weed killer and other dry plant foods and seeds. This will assist you with keeping a weed free lawn that is both healthy and looks good. One is along the lines of a small lawnmower sans blade. It is really just a tub on wheels that has small holes in the bottom along with a roller device that aides in spreading the desired materials. It is easy to use and low maintenance.

A different style of spreader is a small hand-held piece. It is normally plastic and you dispense your compounds using a rotary handle. These are great for broadcasting grass seed and for repairing small bald lawn areas. You can use it to distribute other dry ingredients such as fertilizer beads and the like.

One of the most basic lawn care tools will be your rake. It is handy for many projects not just raking leaves in the fall. You want to rake your leaves because if they are left on the ground they will cause your grass to overheat and prohibit moisture from getting to the blades, as well as blocking out the sunshine. If you live in an area that gets substantial winter snow than at the end of winter you will need to do some power raking as the grass will be thatched and bound up.

Thatching means that your grass blades are overlaying each other and stifling the air flow from reaching the soil correctly. You will want to de-thatch the lawn by either using a power tool or your trusty low tech hand rake.

One final basic tool for your use is a narrow bladed or long forked shovel spade with a long handle. This is great for removing weeds in small areas. You will also benefit from having a larger shovel, either rounded or square, your choice. It can be used for digging post holes, moving soil around plants and a whole lot of other tasks you can think of as other landscaping ideas pop into your head.

Go out in early spring and stock up on your basic lawn care tools. By keeping them in tip top shape they will last for a life time of lawn projects. They will save you time and make your work easier. Easier that is than cutting with a scythe.

A bouquet of flowers can brighten up your home. Likewise, a well stocked flower garden can add brightness and color to your lawn or garden. A well stocked flower garden can provide you with a colorful bouqet for your table or shelf, or a gift to brighten someone else’s day.

First of all, you’ll want a good location for your flower garden. Most flowers usually need 6-8 hours of direct sunlight every day, although there are some flowers that grow in more shady areas. You’ll need to match the flowers to the amount of sunlight that the flower garden will receive. Your flower garden should also be easily accessible for watering, weeding, and cutting the flowers.

Annuals vs. Perennials

You’ll need to decide whether you want to plant annuals or perennials in your garden, or a mix of both. Annuals, such as snapdragons, zinnias, and other flowers grow, bloom, and die off in one growing season. Perennials on the other hand can grow and bloom, year after year.

Fall Bulbs

Fall bulbs are those that are planted in the fall, such as daffodils, tulips, and crocuses. These bulbs are planted in the fall, and then grow and bloom early in the spring when the weather starts to warm up. The giant flowering onion is another good fall bulb, which is planted in the fall, and produces large purple flowers from early spring to mid-summer.

Spring Bulbs

Spring bulbs are planted in the early spring. Some of them are planted just before the last frost, while others are planted after the last frost. Bulbs such as Gladiolus are spring bulbs, meant to be planted as early as two weeks prior to the last frost. These bulbs can be planted every two weeks to provide flowers all summer. Spring bulbs produce flowers from the early summer until the first frost in autumn.

Seeds

Flower seeds are readily available at your local garden center, or even occasionally in your grocery store. Seeds can be a cheap way of sowing a flower garden. Some seeds require that you start them in containers indoors before moving them outside, and some you can just start planting right in your flower garden. Just follow the instructions on the seed package.

Plants

Your local garden center will have a wide range of flowering plants that will do well in your area. If you want some instant color for your flower garden, buy plants that are blooming, or just about to bloom. Then every 2-4 weeks, you can go back to the garden center, and select a few more flowers that are blooming. This way, you’ll have flowers blooming in your garden for the entire growing season.

Once you’ve chosen your location for your garden, and the plants that you want, you’ll need to organize your garden. As you’re planting, keep in mind how big the plants will be when they’re full sized. You’ll want the shorter plants in front, and the taller plants in back. You’ll also want to keep in mind the colors of the flowers. You may want to group flowers of similar colors together, or you may want to plant contrasting plants near each other.

Growing cut flowers in your flower garden isn’t difficult, but it does take some thinking and planning, and of course a bit of work. But the end result will be worth it. You’ll have a healthy, colorful flowerbed, and cut flowers for bouquets all summer long.

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