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Tag: Healthy Garden

Evergreen LandscapingBlogHealthy Garden
06 Nov 2012
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Gardening Tips for your Dream Garden

 

Does everyone else’s grass always seem to look greener? You may suspect that your neighbor is employing some trick you do not know in their garden. Truth be told, there is no real secret to creating a gorgeous garden. All you need is the proper information on how to correctly care for your plants. You can begin your quest for knowledge by reading this article for some gardening tips.

Great Gardening Tips!

Flowering Annuals

There are some annuals that grow better in the colder months. They enjoy cooler daytime temperatures, and do well in areas where nights get quite cold. For a spring flush of color, plant early flowering annuals. Sow seeds in fall: they will lay dormant over the winter, and germinate in the spring. Following the pruning, it generally takes only a couple weeks before blooming occurs again, which creates a lovely image compared to the traditional foliage of the winter months. These plants may need to be trimmed if they are growing too much during these months.

Good varieties include snapdragon, petunias, California poppy, dianthus, candytuft, stock, linaria and cornflower.

Planting Lily Bulb

The time to plant lily bulbs is during spring so that they will be well-established by winter. However, you will find many varieties of lily bulbs in garden centers in the fall. If you opt to plant lily bulbs in the fall, be sure to mulch heavily at least six inches on top with hardwood mulch or straw to protect them from cold winter freezes.

For a ‘cottage’ garden

Rambling roses, traditionally grown in cottage gardens, are some of the oldest varieties of roses. They are once-a-year bloomers, featuring huge clusters of small flowers in midsummer. It stems can grow to 30 feet long if not pruned, in fact, the most benefits from simply being left alone. An advantage of rambling roses is that they are quite disease resistant and very hardy.

Deadheading blooms

Maintain your bulbs after they have flowered. When your bulbs have finished flowering, resist the temptation to cut down the foliage. The foliage is only present for a short time and it manufactures food for storage underground. The bulb needs this food to send up flowers the following year.

When it comes to deadheading blooms, wait to remove the faded blooms until the bloom is completely finished. Leave on as much foliage as possible so that the leaves can continue to feed the plant. Ideally, you should allow the foliage to yellow and wilt before removing it. When the foliage begins to fade, cut out the dying or discolored canes of the plant so that rot or disease does not set in.

Protect your garden from pest

When gardening, be watchful of stink bugs, particularly in the fall. They like fruits, as well as peppers, beans and tomatoes. If they go unnoticed, they can cause large amounts of harm to your garden, so remember to take protective measures to reduce the population of stink bugs there.

Protect your soft fruits from birds. Birds can be a problem when your soft fruits are maturing. Cover bushes with temporary netting once the berries start to ripen. Wall-trained soft fruit can be draped with netting attached to the top of a nearby wall, and allowed to hang over the plant like a curtain. Just be sure that the netting you use is fine, so that the berries get enough light.

Garden Gloves

When gardening, best ways to keep your fingernails clean in the garden is by wearing gardening gloves. Search for the best fit. If the gloves are too bulky or too loose, you will just take them off in frustration. One suggestion is using nitrile latex gloves. They will fit to your skin, can be re-worn a few times before tossing, you will not have the bulkiness of an over-sized garden glove and no hard to get out dirt under those nails!

Healthy and happy garden

Keep your plants thriving through the winter by bringing them inside. You might want to transplant your most valuable varieties. Carefully dig around the root ball and replant in an appropriate pot.

Keep your container plants watered if you go on a short vacation. If you are away from home for a few days, this short-term measure will keep your plants happy. Put the container in a shady spot, fill a bucket with water and place it on bricks so that it is higher than the container. Suspend a length of capillary mattings between the bucket and the container. This will transport water to the soil consistently and keep your container plant sufficiently moist.

Always fertilize your garden. Choose commercial compost instead of homegrown manure to keep toxins out of your plants. Although there are plenty of fertilizer choices, don’t be concerned with which one you use; just be sure to use one.

In conclusion, these are a few of the most important gardening tips available for your garden. All of the gardening advice contained in the tips above is simple and relatively easy to implement. You just need some basic education on gardening techniques, and then you can put that education to good use. Hopefully, this will give you not only knowledge, but also the confidence to do your best in the garden. Pay attention to how your plants respond to the methods that you use. Experimenting with already existing plants will only lead to disaster.

You want to be the best you can be when it comes to gardening. This is important because you want to be able to proudly show off your garden to anybody that comes to your house. Be patient and your garden will eventually be envied by your neighbors. Go ahead and give them a try and you should be happy with your turnout.

If you’re looking for more gardening tips, don’t hesitate to contact us at 805-773-5395.

15 Jul 2012
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Successful Gardening: How To Have A Healthy And Happy Garden

There is a lot of information you must learn before taking your garden and turning it into a masterpiece. Successful gardening takes some effort. But, it is also a pleasant and rewarding hobby. The advice in this article will help you learn everything you need to know in order to enjoy a successful gardening.

How to start a successful garden

If you are gardening with a cut, make sure that you adequately protect it from dirt and chemicals. Cuts have a much higher likelihood of getting infected if they are in contact with dirt when you garden. The key is to use bandages capable of covering cuts in their entirety.

Start your garden by using mulch. Using mulch around your plants helps retain moisture and prevent the growth of weeds. You can buy mulch, but you can create your own by using grass clippings or leaves. You can even lay down plastic sheeting and plant your plants in holes in the plastic. All these methods help the plants retain the moisture they need for growth. This also help reduce the chances that weeds will grow.

successful gardening

Use plants to get some autumn color. It doesn’t have to be that way! In the fall, the foliage displays every color of the rainbow. There are many variations in leaf color with different varieties. Maple, Beech and Dogwood trees can give you lively yellows and deep crimsons. Barberry, conaneaster and hydrangea are all wonderful choices in shrubs.
Learn the proper way to handle chemicals. Learn also the right way to use garden tools. If you ignore them, you can irritate your skin in most painful ways. Be careful when it comes to your body, and always follow directions.

If you know that you’ll be in the garden for an extended period of time, protect yourself from the sun with proper attire. This includes wide-brimmed hats, sunscreen, and sunglasses. If you cover up from the sun, you are less likely to become burned or get skin cancer.

Helpful tips for a successful gardening

Your garden can be an important part of your life. Just like you, it needs to be properly maintained. You need to research, work hard and be patient to watch your work translate into progress for your own personal garden. These tips below can help you with growing a successful garden.

Try to fill your garden with a variety of plants instead of just a few types. A successful garden with a wide variety is more resistant to garden pests. It attracts more beneficial insects that eat the bad bugs. This will cut down on the need for pesticides. A garden with just a few types of plants will sustain more damage from pest invasions.

A great tip to consider to have a successful gardening is making sure that you won’t damage your plants while dragging your watering hose around. This is important because this is very easy to do with a simple tug of the hose. Consider using guides that prevent your hose form accidentally coming into contact with fragile plants.

Another important advice to having a fantastic garden is to be realistic. When shopping the glossy packages of seeds are very appealing. Yet, many of them only grow in specific climates. Be realistic to what grows in the area. Do not plant items that do not grow well. It is so disappointing to plant a garden and have almost no fruits and vegetables come from it.

successful gardening

Grow shade-loving annuals. Most annuals (and tender perennials) thrive in full sun. Others prefer a little shade. They do well on the north side of a house, or under the canopy of trees and shrubs. Remember to provide good soil and plenty of moisture. For constant bloom in shady areas, plant flowers like impatiens, balsam, clarkia and lobelia. Nicotiana is particularly striking, growing 5 feet tall, and producing beautiful tubular white flowers with a glorious fragrance.

Gardening, if done correctly, can help supplement you or your business. While the plants may not be human, they still have lives and deserve to be well-cared for. So, do yourself a favor and do your research, work hard in the dirt, and have a bunch of patience to help grow and take care of your garden.

With these tips, you’re better equipped to grow the most beautiful garden you can imagine. In learning how to create your dream garden, you’ll also be growing as a person. That’s because learning how to nurture your plants will  help you reach the goal of having a great garden. Additionally, it will also help you learn to nurture yourself.

Looking for more tips and suggestions for successful gardening? For a free consultation, contact us today!

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10 Jun 2011
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Best Plants for your Garden

Choosing the Best Plants

Many times we buy plants on impulse then find there is nowhere in the garden that really suits them. Before buying plants, carefully examine your garden to see how much sun and shade it gets, whether the soil is well drained or waterlogged and whether your aspect is sheltered or windswept. You’ll then be equipped to go and buy the best plants for your situation; shade-loving plants for the sheltered areas, sun-lovers for the warm spots, drought-resistant plants for the parched areas which may be either sunny or shaded, and swamp plants for the poorly-drained parts.

But wait! Test your soil first, to determine the pH level of your soil and what kind of nutrients you need to add, if any. Is the soil acid or alkaline? Most plants prefer soil that is slightly acidic, but there are some that must have alkaline soil to grow. You can alter the soil’s pH level, but it’s much easier to simply plant for the soil you have.

Now you are ready to plant. Well – almost. Will you plant in groups or singly? If you buy ‘one of everything’ your garden may seem rather spotty. Group plantings are organized, harmonious and you can vary the color for interest.

Before planting out, place your chosen best plants around the garden bed in their pots to see how they will look. Re-arrange them until you are satisfied. Grouping plants in sets of threes or fives usually looks better than planting in groups of even numbers. Be sure that you have an interesting combination of colors and textures of plants. Tall plants should go to the back, or the center if your garden will be viewed equally from all sides. Try to keep your plants away from trees. The roots of trees are fiercely competitive and will steal all the nutrients and moisture meant for your flowers.

best plants

The right color scheme is one way to maintain the harmony in your garden. Imagine the color of the flowers when they are in bloom. Some colors may clash with others, but can still be planted side-by-side if they have a different blooming season. Foliage color is also important. Many flower plants have silver, grey or purplish foliage that is just as attractive as the flower. This means that they are still attractive well past the blooming season and so have added value.

Picking a Healthy Plant

When it comes to getting started with your garden, you have two choices; planting seeds, or buying entire plants. Both have their own benefits. If you plant seeds and care for them every day, you will find it is a much more rewarding experience when you have a full, healthy plant. However, this method is a lot more risky. I can’t tell you how many seeds I’ve planted and never seen any trace of whatsoever.

If you choose to buy the best plants from a nursery and install it in your garden, it reduces a lot of the work involved in making it healthy. However, I have found in the past that many incompetent nursery workers will absolutely ruin the future of the plant by putting certain chemicals or fertilizers in. I have adapted to this incompetence by learning to choose the healthiest plant of the bunch. Here I will discuss some of the techniques I use in my screening process for plants.

best plants

It may sound superficial, but the one thing you need to check for on your prospective plants is how nice they look. As far as plants go, you can truly judge a book by its cover. If a plant has been treated healthily and has no diseases or pests, you can almost always tell by how nice it looks. If a plant has grown up in improper soil, or has harmful bugs living in it, you can tell from the holey leaves and wilted stems.

If you’re browsing the nursery shelves looking for your dream plant, you want to exclude anything that currently has flowers. Plants are less traumatized by the transplant if they do not currently have any flowers. It’s best to find ones that just consist of buds. However if all you have to choose from are flowering plants, then you should do the unthinkable and sever all of them. It will be worth it for the future health of the plant. I’ve found that transplanting a plant while it is blooming results in having a dead plant ninety percent of the time.

Always check the roots before you plop down the money to purchase the plant. Of course if the roots are in absolutely terrible condition you will be able to tell by looking at the rest of the plant. But if the roots are just slightly out of shape, then you probably won’t be able to tell just by looking at it. Inspect the roots very closely for any signs of brownness, rottenness, or softness. The roots should always be a firm, perfectly well formed infrastructure that holds all the soil together. One can easily tell if the roots are before or past their prime, depending on the root to soil ratio. If there are a ridiculous amount of roots with little soil, or a bunch of soil with few roots, you should not buy that plant.

If you find any abnormalities with the plant, whether it be the shape of the roots or any irregular features with the leaves, you should ask the nursery employees. While usually these things can be the sign of an unhealthy plant, occasionally there will be a logical explanation for it. Always give the nursery a chance before writing them off as horrendous. After all, they are (usually) professionals who have been dealing with plants for years.

So if you decide to take the easy route and get your best plants from a nursery, you just have to remember that the health of the plants has been left up to someone you don’t know. Usually they do a good job, but you should always check for yourself. Also take every precaution you can to avoid transplant shock in the plant (when it has trouble adjusting to its new location, and therefore has health problems in the future). Usually the process goes smoothly, but you can never be too sure.

Interested to learn more on choosing the best plants for your garden?                                                                          Contact the experts at 805-773-5395 to schedule an appointment.