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April 26: Get gardening tips at open house
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Ready, steady, grow: spring gardening tips from Alan Titchmarsh
Feed the garden
Feed beds and borders with any good general fertiliser such as blood, fish and bone or another organic alternative. Sprinkle it on by hand all over the soil, applying it right underneath shrubs and round the base of climbers, perennials and clumps of bulbs. Trickle a line of fertiliser along the base of all your hedges – they’ll be feeling fairly starved after this winter and spring is the perfect time to feed them.
It’ll make them grow greener and stronger – which may mean a little more clipping than usual, but it’s worth it for the general improvement in condition and the “thickening-up” effect. In the kitchen garden, fruit trees, bushes and canes also benefit from a good start-of-the-season feed, so use the same general fertiliser for those too. But since they need extra potash to encourage flowering and fruiting, also give them sulphate of potash (at half an ounce per square yard). If they are growing in beds, sprinkle the feed evenly all over the surface of the soil.
But where you have individual trees growing in a lawn, apply their feed in a circle, covering the area underneath their entire canopy of branches. This same “cocktail” is a good late-spring feed for clematis, which is a greedy plant and also appreciates extra potash.
You could use the same mixture for roses if you want to keep costs down, but it’s worth using a special rose feed with added magnesium, which helps bring out the best in the flowers and toughens up the foliage.
A specialist feed is also advisable for lime-hating plants such as rhododendrons and camellias – this contains the extra iron they need, and liquid formulations are available for plants grown in pots. If you grow fruit or all-year-round shrubs in containers, they’ll also be ready for a good feed. In this case, it’s best to use liquid tomato feed and apply as liberally as you would with a normal watering.
If you really want to give plants a treat, on top of their normal April feed give them a dose of diluted liquid seaweed extract, which provides all sorts of trace elements. It’s an optional extra, but it makes the perfect start-of-the-season tonic to perk plants up after a bad winter.
Handy tips:
Sit plant “cages” over floppy perennials and tie tall kinds such as delphiniums to stakes or canes for support.
Clear out ivy, weeds and seedlings of sycamore or brambles etc from the base of hedges.
Don’t worry about the sudden flush of greenflies on fruit trees and roses – bluetits will soon clear them up, and any crinkling of leaves will soon grow out.
Clear netting from ponds to allow waterside plants to grow up without snagging.
Tie in the new growth of climbers.
Fully grown summer bedding plants often appear on sale in nurseries and garden centres several weeks before it’s safe to plant them out. Only buy them if you have suitable facilities to grow them undercover, where they are protected from cold nights and late frosts.
Get ready for summer: Alan Titchmarch on transforming your garden …
A the weather warms up, soil conditions improve and new shoots appear everywhere. The surge in strong new growth is the trigger that kick-starts the garden forward into summer, so this is the time to feed, pot-up summer plants and get your lawn sorted.
POTTING
This is the peak season for buying plug plants and young plants of all sorts of frost-tender species intended for summer patio containers.
You’ll find a huge selection at nurseries and garden centres; if you’ve ordered by post they’ll be delivered any time now. Unpack them as soon as they arrive, water if need be and stand them in the light, even if you don’t have time to pot them straight away.
Since their tiny “starter pots” or “cell-packs” will already be chock-full of roots, they need repotting as soon as possible. Use peat-free seed and cuttings compost and pots that are roughly three and a half inches (9cm) in diameter.
Half fill the pots with compost and make a slight depression in the centre. Tip each young plant gently out of its original container without damaging the rootball and sit it in the centre of its new pot, then fill the gap round the edge with more of the same compost and firm gently.
If you have your own fuchsia or pelargonium cuttings taken last summer and overwintered indoors, they’ll also be ready for potting.
The technique is exactly the same, but when you’ve rooted several cuttings in the same pot or seed tray, lift the whole lot out onto a sheet of newspaper and gently separate the individual plants with your fingers, keeping as much of the roots intact as possible. Lower each rooted cutting into the partly-filled pot and drizzle compost round the roots, then firm it gently in place.
After potting any plugs/young plants/rooted cuttings, water them lightly in, nip out the very tips of the shoots between your fingertips (this makes the plants grow bushy and flower more profusely), and stand them on a drip tray on a bright, sunny windowsill indoors to grow-on.
They’ll be at just the right stage to plant outside after the last frost has passed, in mid to late May, to give you a superb summer show.
2014-04-19T01:00:00Z Gardening Guru TipsMelinda Myers Wiscnews.com – Juneau County Star
No matter where you live, being a water-wise gardener makes environmental and economic sense. And it’s really easier than you think. Here are just a few of the easy and affordable ways to conserve water while growing a beautiful garden.
Grow plants suited to your climate; consider the average rainfall for your area. Select drought-tolerant plants that, once established, require less on-going care. Consider native plants like coneflower, yucca and penstemon as well as native and non-invasive ornamental grasses.
Be sure to group moisture-loving plants together and near a source of water. You’ll save time and water by concentrating your efforts on fewer plants. Move containers to the shade or provide additional shade during hot, dry weather to reduce the plant’s water needs.
Use organic nitrogen fertilizers like Milorganite (milorganite.com). This slow-release fertilizer encourages slow, steady growth that requires less water. Plus, it will not burn plants during hot, dry weather. It simply stays in the soil until the growing conditions, moisture and temperature are right for the plants.
Install a rain barrel or two to capture rain for watering in-ground and container gardens. Or place a rain barrel near your garden and collect rain directly from the sky. Use this water to supplement your garden’s moisture needs during drought.
Decorate or mask the barrels with vines, decorative fencing, containers or nearby plantings. And check with your local municipality as several states and communities have banned rain harvesting on private property.
Use soaker hoses and drip irrigation to save water by applying the water directly to the soil where it is needed. Consider connecting your rain barrel to a soaker hose in a nearby garden. Just open the spigot and allow gravity to slowly empty the water throughout the day. Check to make sure water is evenly distributed throughout the garden.
And always water thoroughly and less frequently to encourage deep, drought-tolerant roots. Add a layer of organic mulch like shredded leaves, evergreen needles or herbicide-free grass clippings to conserve moisture and keep roots cool. As these break down they add organic matter to the soil, improving the water-holding ability of sandy and rocky soils.
Allow lawns to go dormant during droughts. Apply one-quarter inch of water every three to four weeks during extended droughts. This keeps the crown of the plant alive while the grass remains dormant. Do not apply weed killers, and minimize foot and equipment traffic on dormant lawns.
Incorporate one or more of these techniques in your garden care this season. You’ll conserve water while creating healthier and more attractive gardens.
Time Lapse: Garden tips from a Revolutionary doctor — who, where, what’s it …
This early 19th-century mansion sits in the woods in northwest R.I. Where is it, who built it, why is he famous? (The folks in the photo are his descendants.)
As always, clicking the photo will open a much larger version in a new tab or window.
Hazard a guess in comments, then come back Sunday for the answer and more stories about our herbalist, including a 1955 Sunday Journal Garden section that led with our doctor’s garden tips.
On Twitter: @sheilalennon
Garden Design finalist Ryan is ‘blooming’ great!
Garden Show Ireland has revealed that Ryan McGee from Garden Design and Build in Ballycastle is one of the four finalists for UTV’s The Magazine Show Garden Designer Competition who will now bring his design to life in time for the 2014 Garden Show Ireland event which runs from Friday 9th – Sunday 11th May at Antrim Castle Gardens.
In addition, it has been announced that FREE garden design consultations will be available for visitors throughout the whole weekend in association with the Garden and Landscape Designers Association (GLDA) at the brand new GLDA Design Pavilion.
The UTV Garden Designer Competition tasked existing and budding garden designers to present a small garden which was fun, useful and easy to maintain.
The initial designs were judged by a panel comprising of Ireland’s world renowned plantswoman Helen Dillon, gardening guru Geoff Stebbings and Reg Maxwell – former Head of Botanic Gardens and winner of Best in Show at the first Garden Show Ireland event 10 years ago.
Hailing from all over Ireland the four finalists are; Ryan McGee from Garden Design and Build in Ballycastle with a Family focussed garden, Micheal O’Reilly from the Garden Design Shop in Belfast in partnership with Maurice Maxwell from Omagh with his “Room for All Seasons” design, James Sheridan from Golden Homes Landscapes in Carnmoney with a “Garden Bath-Thyme’ concept and Chris Kinghan from Ballyhoe Nursery Gardens in Monaghan with a “Bizzy Bee Gardening and Nature Schools Garden”.
The winning garden will be announced on Friday 9th May at Garden Show Ireland when it will become the centre piece for filming for UTV’s The Magazine which airs that evening.
Sarah Travers, The Magazine host said: “We have seen a fantastic response to the Gardening Designer Competition with a variety of promising designers stepping up to the mark with their garden proposals.
“ I would like to wish the four finalists the very best of luck and I cannot wait to see the end result featured on The Magazine in May.”
Ryan McGee can be contacted via The Garden Design Compa ny at www.garden-design-company.co.uk or by telephoning 07764 225 303.
Rick’s List: Landscaping edition
Rick Koster offers weekly lists of ideas, notions and things that must be seen to be believed.
Watching the Masters last weekend, I couldn’t help but think of the parallels between Augusta National Golf Club and the landscaping at my own house.
Augusta Highlight #1. Magnolia Lane – the main driveway to the clubhouse, featuring 60 of the titular trees on either side of the boulevard.
Koster Property Highlight #1. The Corridor of Weeds and Garbage – a thin strip of carefully tended debris and thorn-vines along the rear fence.
Augusta Highlight #2. The Flower Bed at Founders Circle – The Masters logo writ large in a glorious display of butter-yellow blooms.
Koster Property Highlight #2. The Window Box of Spiders – Our paint-peeling planters were designed for tropical perennials. Alas, they seem to grow only spiders.
Augusta Highlight #3. Ike’s Pond – General Eisenhower selected the spot for a gorgeous fish pond on the club’s par-three course.
Koster Property Highlight #3. The Trickling Creek of Sewage – Despite the efforts of engineers and plumbers, there is a quasi-permanent marsh of creepy water flowing through the front yard.
Column: Keep water-saving landscape diverse
When people call or inquire about landscape design or extreme makeover ideas, they almost always say they would like to have a colorful, low-maintenance, water conserving landscape.
They may use the term Xeriscape, which indicates they are familiar with the concept of dry landscaping.
I respond by informing them you can have a water conserving landscape that provides colorful, four-season interest featuring a diverse range of plantings. After all, I am a horticulturist, and to me a landscape without plants is, well, a pretty desolate, lifeless one at best.
By the time I get onsite, if mention of removing a lot of turf and replacing it with gravel comes up, I clarify that a certain amount of turf might actually be OK, so a discussion on a desirable turf to mulch ratio ensues.
Keeping large areas of gravel debris free or weedless is nearly impossible even with landscape fabric underneath. It’s hard to dig persistent weeds out of 1½-inch sized gravel, and almost mandates that chemical weed killers be applied regularly. Most people now realize that herbicides are not the panacea once thought due to their detrimental effect on the health of humans, animals, the water we drink and the air we breathe.
Turf areas can be reduced and replaced with larger garden beds and hardscapes, but you can also switch to a native grass like blue grama or buffalo grass if it fits in with the rest of the landscape. For a new bluegrass lawn, improving the soil by tilling in 3 cubic yards of compost is the best thing you can do. For established yards, aerating at least once a year in spring or fall when the ground is moist will help create a healthier, greener lawn.
Going Xeric may reduce your maintenance somewhat, but it will not totally eliminate it with regards to plants. Most nursery shrubs that have been breed for their special features require some sort of attention after four or more years, often in the way of a rejuvenation pruning to remove older branches or trunks. Perennials still need annual spring cleanups.
However, if we can let go of the concept of having a Better Homes and Garden looking landscape, then native plants can be used. While they look at home in their native setting, the tricky part is in aesthetically integrating them into an urban landscape. Drought tolerant native shrubs are useful in filling in outlying areas of our property as their winter appearance may seem slightly rangy. This way, you can also take advantage of their value in attracting wildlife.
Or, you can go totally native and while still using the tough shrubs as background plants, you can carefully draw the eye to the foreground with the use of boulders, ornamental grasses and colorful perennials.
As for water conservation, once an automatic irrigation system is set up, annual checks will help assure the water is going where it is needed and when.
Xeriscape’s seven principles will help conserve moisture and hopefully you’ll also have the additional benefit of reducing your landscape maintenance if attention is put toward the design, plant and mulch choices and other components.
Robyn Dolgin of Wild Iris Living offers consultations, designs and main- tenance for edible and ornamental landscapes, ranging from courtyards to small acreages. She can be reached at (970) 493-5681, robyn.dolgin@ gmail.com or WildIrisLiving. com.
Ideas 4 Landscaping Review | Build a Wonderful House with Helen Whitfield’s …
Ideas 4 Landscaping Review | Build a Wonderful House with Helen Whitfield’s Design Collection – V-kool
PRWEB.COM Newswire
Seattle, WA (PRWEB) April 16, 2014
Ideas 4 Landscaping is a brand new book, providing people with a lot of wonderful landscaping ideas and videos that help them design every corner of their own house. This book is created by Helen Whitfield – an educator and a member of ANLA. She has spent years researching and studying to create this brand new landscaping designs collection. The author states that this book is proven useful, so people should not concern about it. After Helen Whitfield introduced this book, she received a lot of positive replies from happy customers. Therefore, author Lien Nguyen from the site Vkool.com released the Ideas 4 Landscaping review, showing people whether or not this product is worth buying.
The Ideas 4 Landscaping review published on the site Vkool.com shows readers the basic information about an entire collection of landscaping ideas. This book is really useful for people who want to design their own house. Within this guide, people will find a lot of garden landscape designs with pictures and illustrations. People will get ideas for any type of garden they want. The author provides users with a lot of designs for back yard, front yard, and garden.
Lien Nguyen from the site Vkool.com says: “This book is a useful assistant for people who want to design their own house. Ideas 4 Landscaping is very special compared to other resources that are currently sold on the market. Buying this product, customers will get 2 months to try it and 4 exclusive bonuses: “How To Grow Organic Vegetables “, “Save On Energy Costs – Green Home Guide”, “Landscaping Secrets Revealed Guide”, and “120 Premium Landscaping Videos”. If people do not feel satisfied after trying the designs that are contained in this book, they will get all their money back.”
If people want to read the full review of Ideas 4 Landscaping book, they can visit the site: http://vkool.com/ideas-4-landscaping/.
If people want to know more information about this book, they should access to the official site.
About author Lien Nguyen – the one who wrote this Ideas 4 Landscaping review: Lien Nguyen is currently a writer working for the Vkool Company. She has precious experiences and enthusiasm on writing interesting and informative articles. If people want to contact Lien Nguyen, they should counsel her through email.
Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/ideas-4-landscaping/review/prweb11768996.htm
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Grow your garden skills at Denver festival
Learn more:
For details or to inquire about participating in the festival, contact samplegarden@charter.net or call plant sale co-chair Joe Kutniewski at 704-489-6420.