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Timely Garden Tips
Timely Garden Tips
Garden catalogs should be arriving in the mail. Use your notes from your garden journal from last year and start to plan for the soon to arrive garden season. If you do not have a garden journal start one now.
Some flower seeds such as ageratum, begonia, impatiens, petunia and salvia are slow to start and get growing. Seed starting supplies and sterile seed starting mixes are in the stores now.
Many houseplants suffer on cold winter nights. Move them back away from cold windows and cold drafts.
Depending on your growing zone your lawn may need to get its first mowing in March or April.
Do not wait until the last minute to do some maintenance on your mowers. Some basic tune up such as a new spark plug, oil change and a new or sharpened blade should be done before the spring rush. Some people can do their own tune up, while others use the services of a mower shop. If you wait until the grass needs to be mowed and you find out that your mower will not start, you may find out that it will be several weeks before they can look at your mower.
If you have a small yard there are some good electric mowers that might be suitable for you. Keeping the blade sharp and the battery charged is about all that is needed to keep them going. They are very quiet and are good for the environment and are worth looking into.
No matter where you live there are public gardens. If you do not know of one nearby, ask at your public library or cooperative extension. Do an internet search for a “list of botanical gardens and arboretums near me” and you will very likely see several Wikipedia entries as well as others.
Make several visits throughout the changing flower season to take in the variety of flowers that bloom at different times.
Garden shows are also a great way to see some professionally designed gardens. You will see some beautiful flowers set in an attractive landscape. There will also be seminars and demonstrations. There are flower shows in just about every state starting in February through April. Look for one near you and mark it on your calendar so you will not miss it.
Joining a garden club is a great way to beautify your town. If you are retired it is a good way to get out of the house and make new friends.
Timely Quote:
“There is always in February some one day, at least, when one smells the yet distant, but surely coming, summer.” - Gertrude Jekyll
Successful gardeners use the principle of working with nature to practice the easy, economical and environmental methods that can make gardening relaxing and rewarding.
Flowers that grow on spikes are a favorite among many gardeners. Coleus, foxglove, gladiolus, hyacinth, lavender, obedient plant, orchid and salvia are some common flowers that grow on spikes.
Are You a Gardener?
Many people do not think of themselves as gardeners. If you have a lawn, a few houseplants or grow some flowers and vegetables, you are a gardener.
It can range from beautifying your home to providing wholesome organic food for your family.
Gardening Can Be Easy and Relaxing
You might have just a few houseplants in containers on a window, patio or deck.
If you have more space it might be a small flower bed or a larger area to attract butterflies, hummingbirds and honey bees.
Some will concentrate on roses of every color and type. Others search for as many different varieties of flowers that they can find.
If you have a sunny location it could also be a few tomato plants in containers or a large area for vegetables and herbs that will feed the entire family with enough to preserve for the winter.
Keep It Simple
If you are new to gardening the secret is to keep it easy and start small. Each year you can expand your garden a little more. Your native soil may be very sandy or it may be heavy clay with a lot of rocks. For plants to grow properly you will need good garden soil by adding organic material to the native soil.
One year you may plant some flowers or shrubs along the front of your home. The next year add a flower bed along the driveway. And the year after that a flower bed around your mailbox or the tree in the front yard.
A vegetable garden works the same way. Plant what your family likes to eat. You may start with 100-square feet and plant half of it with tomatoes and the rest with lettuce, Swiss chard, parsley, dill and basil. These will supply you with fresh vegetables and herbs continuously during the summer.
Next year as you improve the soil you can expand your vegetable garden to include peas, beans, carrots, beets, zucchini, cucumbers, etc. By growing your own food you can be assured that your food is truly organic and free of pesticides.
It does not have to be a big project if you break it down into smaller easy to do steps. If you spend 10 or 15-minutes each day or every other day it never gets ahead of you.
Environment
Composting your yard and kitchen waste is also one small step. Composting is environmentally friendly and you will keep from adding to the landfills. Adding finished compost will also improve your soil and fertilize it at the same time. It is nature’s way of recycling.
Mulching around your plants with leaves collected in the fall will improve the soil and at the same time make your flower garden and vegetable garden almost entirely weed free.
Gardening Thought
“Earth is here so kind
That just tickle her
With a hoe and she
Laughs with a harvest”
- Douglas William Jerrold (1803-1857)
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