If you enjoy working in your yard and garden then you have come to the right place.I share with you tips on growing flowers and herbs, designing specialty gardens, and ideas on ways to improve your curb appeal, Also product reviews and recommendations.
Now
that the peak heat of the summer is here I make a point to get up at dawn so
that I can get whatever yard or garden work completed. During
this time I can weed the gardens, deadhead the flowers, and water the
plants. However, I need to wait a few
hours to use any of my electric or gas-operated garden tools.
Watering lilac shrubs in summer
I
was going to use the electric grass trimmer to manicure around the flower gardens
but decided to hold off on this project until next week when the weather will be 20
degrees cooler. At 9:00 this morning, the temperature was 89 degrees and I thought
it was too hot.
Other
than that maintaining the garden, I find it is a full-time job to keep the container and specialty gardens hydrated. The plants get a good watering in the
am with a soaker hose but come noon the topsoil in containers and garden beds looks
like dust. So I am outdoors again in the
late afternoon to water the hosta, coleus, and fern plants because the heat of the summer is causing them to feel stress.
Cosmo flower-like hot weather
Zinnia flowers grow best in the hot sun
The only plants in my garden
that are flourishing are the zinnias, cosmos, and four o'clock flowers. These heat-seeking plants are producing
multiple flowers and the plants do not bolt when the summer weather gets hot.
A couple
days ago I transplanted my indoor herbs into outdoor containers because they
weren't doing so good indoors and thought the natural sunlight would do them
good. Plus I like the way fragrant herbs
repel mosquitoes, so it seemed like a good idea at the time.
When I transplanted the herbs it was on a cloudy and cool day but today the weather
had changed it is extremely hot. Of
course, this means I need to take extra steps to prevent outdoor herb plants
from stress.
Read the
first post about these herbs here transplanting kitchen herbs to outdoor garden
Anything
planted in a container will dry out quickly and if you water the plant in the
morning by midday when the sun is hot the soil with dry out. Normally when I check with my index finger the soil is dry an inch down after a hot day. To
prevent dry soil I generally water in the morning at the soil level until the
water drains from the holes on the bottom of the container.
Applying
mulch is good also as long as you do not put the mulch close to the herb
stem. Mulch is great because it absorbs the water and then releases moisture back into the soil slowly. A mulch that I use and recommend is nature scapes advanced garden mulch by Scotts I bought this brand mulch at lowes.com, had
watched sales, and got a good buy on 2 cubic feet.
What I like
about this mulch is that it retains the water and slowly releases it back into
the soil which means you will not need to water your flower or herb gardens
daily. On average you will save up to
30% on your water bill. Plus you will
save time and energy because you won’t need to water the garden daily.
When I get
home from work I will need to check on the newly planted herb plants and will mist the leaves and stems with the garden hose because this will prevent them from wilting.
The best way
to care for any newly transplanted herb in the growing season is to make sure
the soil does not dry out. Keeping it evenly moist but not wet will ensure that
the roots will take hold and the plant does not get stressed out.
Also helpful
when transplanting during the growing season is to use a Green Light organic root stimulator. I would not dream of putting
a plant in the ground without a root stimulator. I have bought the green
light product at amazon.com and am pleased with it.
Here is a great way to keep the plant sauce full of water, thus the plant roots will never dry out.
Now that spring has come
to an end, I find that I need to get my garden ready for summer. Today I went
into the garden with a clipboard so I could make a checklist.
Before I knew it my list
was two pages long and I knew by looking at the lists of tasks that I would need my husband's help to get the gardens manicured and ready for the summer season.
My yard and garden checklist:
Cut back spent flower
blooms
Remove all weeds and
grasses from flower gardens by doing a hand pull
Prune spring-blooming
shrubs
Cut back overgrowth on trees
Plant zinnia flower seeds
Update Moroccan tile planter gardens
with heat-seeking petunia wave flowers or sun-loving herbs
Add a thick layer of
organic mulch to all gardens, around shrubs and trees
Use a vinegar solution to
kill weeds growing in garden paths and flagstone patio
Remove spring tree droppings from gutters
Control yard and garden
pests; mosquitoes, fleas, ticks, and chiggers with organic pest control; garlic or DiatomaceousEarth food grade.
Add outdoor accessories and patio lights to make the yard and garden more appealing
Note: A good way to get garden jobs done is to divide the yard into sections, then complete one section before moving on to the next one.
If I was ever going to enjoy the garden again I knew I would have to take steps to prevent the bugs from biting me. This year the biting bugs; mosquitoes, chiggers, ticks, and fleas have taken the fun out of gardening. Two days ago while doing a hand pull in my hosta garden I was bitten by, several bugs.
I was so itchy that I stopped what I was doing and ran inside to take a hot shower with Yardley of London antibacterial hand soap, flowering English
lavender herbal scent. The hot soapy shower killed the germs and safely removed the roaming chiggers from my skin and lessened itchy mosquito and other bug bites.
Normally I spray myself before going out to the garden with deep woods off but I know that with the wildlife; deer, raccoon, skunk, wild turkey, groundhog, coyote, and bobcat coming into my yard that there are probably other biting bugs lurking.
I decided to address the bugs in my yard and garden by treating my entire yard with a concentrated garlic formula that will safely kill and repel mosquitoes, fleas, ticks, chiggers, and some
wildlife from my yard. I found an
all-natural product at amazon.com MOSQUITO BARRIER – LIQUID SPRAY REPELLENT -1
GALLON. I read the reviews and they were
favorable plus I liked that it was natural 100% garlic and would not harm my
family or my pets.
Granted this organic pest control costs more but I will tell
you it is worth it. There is a garlic
smell and it is potent but the smell is what repels and kills the biting bugs
and you get used to it.
Gardening today took me to the side yard where there was a
lot of underbrush as well as low-hanging tree limbs that needed to be
trimmed.
For this project, I needed my rose-trimming gloves. I found a pair of Terra Professional rose
gloves at Amazon.com that I really like because these rose
gloves protect my hands and my lower arms from cuts and scratches. When I have my hands in the brush you never know
what you will find and the wild roses will really hurt if I don’t protect
myself.
Then to tackle the tough weeds and tall grass that was
growing under the shrubs I used my Black & Decker 14-inch curved shaft
electric string trimmer. This trimmer
does a good job of taking down the overgrown brush. When it comes to manicuring the yard I don’t
mind doing the trimming as long as I do not have to use a gas-operated trimmer.
Whenever I take on big projects I always wear safety glasses
because my trimmer might hit a rock and push it back into my face and that
would not be good. I also wear thick weave jean or khaki pant that is tucked
into my garden boots.
It is best to
dress for this garden clean-up job because of the snakes, rodents, and other
garden pests. It’s a good idea to spray
your clothing with deep woods off to prevent chigger and tick bites.
I went out early to clean up the yard and it was completed
by noon. Now all that needs to be done
is for my husband to follow up with trimming back the low-hanging branches by the chain
link fence as they are growing in to thick and blocking the sunlight.
I am glad the brush is cut back because while working I
found mole holes. I had some scoot mole
repellent in the garage so I used the garlic and Castor oil concentrated
treatment and sprayed the surrounding area by attaching my hose to the formula.
The moles will move on now that I used a safe environment repellent.
Today I am working on my side flower garden and decided to
make it more interesting so I added 12-inch pavestone and also a pea gravel
boarder.
My husband had some stones leftover from a retaining wall that he did and
I thought that the stone would add definition to my lily garden. (See photo above).
The curving stone wraps around the lilies until it meets with the pea
gravel path.
I thought about doing two layers of stone but thought that
the one layer was fine. I like the way
the stone breaks up the garden. This is an easy way to add definition and also
make the flower garden more eye appealing
For this garden project, I used a 12-inch pavestone retaining
wall cement
block that we bought at Home Depot for $1.78. This cement block also looks good as a tree
ring and outdoor fireplace ring.
See in this photo how I added a ring of pavestone cement retaining wall blocks around a host garden. I think that you will agree that it is a great way to accent your garden.
Michigan Bulb company has been in business for 60 years and as a kid, I recall seeing their shade and
sun garden collection in the circular in the Sunday paper and my Dad always
said it was a good price for so many plants.
Then they came out with a mail-order catalog and a profitable online
business.
I think we all know of Michiganbulb.com because
of their great sales and deals; buy $40.00 in plants and get $20.00 off.
As a gardener who can resist a sale like
that? I
could not resist the great savings on plants and when I checked out the online catalog
I liked that I was not overpaying for the plants.I thought what the heck I am going to buy
from Michigan Bulb and hope that they deliver quality plants to my door.
Michigan
Bulbs' motto is: “For more than 60 years, we've been providing the best plants
at the best prices.”
Hands
down they do have the best prices I will agree with that, but their plants are
small and you will have to take care of them during their first year so that
they will survive occasionally there is a mix-up in your order and you will
get other clients' plants.
The
order that I placed was a total mix-up as I received plants I did not order and
the shipping box was damaged when received which meant the coneflowers that I
had ordered were not in the best condition.
Coneflowers received from Michigan Bulb
Damaged shipping box
18-inch Dick Clark rose/did not order
The
good thing is that they have excellent customer service and if you are not
happy with your purchase for whatever reason they will replace your order with an in-house certificate or give you a refund that is paid to your form
of payment or send out replacement plants. Whatever you want.
For the last couple of days, I have noticed that the mulch in my garden has been pulled away from the plants and in some cases, it is all pulled away from the plants and is in a large grouping like a mountain of mulch. At first, I thought neighborhood kids were playing a joke on me, but I was wrong because tonight at dusk I learned that a suburban raccoon was visiting my garden.
Raccoons playing in the grass
My husband thought the little raccoon was cute because he seemed to be playing peek-a-boo behind the fountain grass in the ornamental grass garden. But the thing about raccoons is they are very social animals and if there is one there will soon be more. That is exactly what happened next, the kits came out of the hallowed tree and came to play in our patio fountain and our garden fish pond; washing their paws and putting leaves in the water. Such cute behavior but not good for the pond filter.
Suburban Raccoon drinking from the garden fish pond
Raccoons are adorable but I do not want them to think my yard and garden are their hangout. That is when I knew that I had to set up raccoon boundaries so that they knew that playing in my garden was not acceptable behavior.
Here in USDA growing zone 6 the threat of spring frost has past and now it is safe to garden. So I took advantage of the warm and sunny day and planted an herb garden.
Last week when I did my garden checklist I noted that the harsh winter and killed many of my herbs and that I needed to replace many. I was fortunate to have a friend with a nursery in town as she provided me with a discount. Lucky me I was able to buy 11 herbs in three-inch pots for $3.00 each.
I found some new herbs for my garden and this year I will be growing
Mojito mint, I grow many varieties of mint and think it is a delicious plant for aromatics and for culinary uses. In fact last year I made an invigorating soap from peppermint leaves. So I am excited to be growing the new Motito mint.
Another new herb this year is Kew Red Lavender for growing in full sun. This aromatic herb looks exciting as it is covered with vibrant pink flowers with gray-green spikes. I like that the lavender is drought-tolerant because my summers do get dreadfully hot. I am thinking that this lavender herb would make a nice bath soap and also a wonderful potpourri.
I am so happy that winter is finally over and that gardening season has begun.
Now that my
garden has grown in I am aware of the plants and flowering shrubs that did not
survive the bitter cold winter. Today I made a list of what I needed and shopped online for the replacement flowers for my gardens.
I needed to replace my daisy gardens and bought at
Michiganbulb.com a mixture of Green Envy coneflower, Black-Eyed Susans, Every
blooming purple coneflower and crazy Shasta daisies. These flowers will be planted
in my wildflower garden back by my serviceberry shrubs.
Also from Michiganbulb.com I was able to replace the bee balm. I bought 12 plants that were on sale. The bee balm will bloom in early summer and
continue to bloom until fall. This plant
is fast growing, perfect for borders that are close to dog kennel. The entire
plant; leaves and flowers have potent mint fragrance plus it grows to 3 feet
with similar spread.
As for shrubs the oak leaf hydrangea was replaced with an
elderberry black lace sambucus. This shrub will produce pretty flower blooms in
the spring followed by edible fruit in the late summer. I am glad I was able to
find the plants at greenwoodnursery.com as they were exactly what I was looking
for as all will attract wildlife to my yard
Now all I need is some red cardinal flowers for the moist
soil around the pond where nothing else will grow.
Cottage Garden
I am looking forward to my replacement plant deliveries and look forward to spedign time in the garden. I am so happy the winter season is over and I am looking forward to an enjoyable summer season.
Note: I was able to buy many plants with a coupon that I had gotten from Michigan Bulb and thus saved greatly. Had I shopped locally I would have paid more. When I receive the plants I will post again to let you know the quality of plants and will share photographs.
Attribution: Cottage garden with bench: http://mrg.bz/OrmYmE
Normally the lawn is my husband’s job but this year it has
become my job. Today when I look out at
the lawn I viewed a few green patches, but other than that the lawn looks like there
is a lot of thatch build up around the roots.
I decided to aerate the lawn to
punch holes into the soil so that oxygen, hydration and fertilizer can get to
the grass roots.
There are a couple ways to aerate your lawn, for small yards
you can wear aerator sandals and walk across your lawn in the same way in which
you would mow your lawn.
I personally like the lawn aerator rake because it gets rid
of the excess thatch and also loosens the soil around the grass roots.
For larger yards you
may want to look into buying Agri-Fab spike aerator push. This aerator looks like a push mower however
the blades will loosen the soil up to 2.5 inches. Then there are self-propelled units that you can
hook up behind your lawn tractor. These aerating
attachments are great especially for the homeowner with large lawns.
Clean up after you aerate your lawn with a rake, then plant
grass seed or fertilize your lawn.
When I
looked out my window this morning I could not believe my eyes, because the snow was
falling onto my newly green lawn and my flower gardens.
White powder
from the sky is covering the newly opened tulips, lilacs, redbud blooms, irises with
buds, and this morning I noticed the hostas had broken the soil surface.
My entire yard and garden are flourishing because
of the warm spring-like weather. This
April Snow will destroy my plants
because of the hard frost advisory.
Normally I
cover my plants with blanket frost protection and I will use the row covers for
my crops in raised vegetable garden; however, I cannot cover the entire yard and
all of the gardens.
I am hoping
for the best, that the wintry mix moves far enough away from my area to
prevent the temperatures from dropping into the low 20s.
Before you can grow a lush green lawn I
recommend that you know what type of soil you have. Grass seed is formulated to grow in specific
soil types and if you want a lawn that will be admired by all then test your
soil.
Choose grass seed blend for combination lawn; sun and shade
I
would recommend that you buy a soil test kit to check the nitrogen, phosphorus
and potassium pH levels.I you can buy
and inexpensive kit at amazon.com, or any garden center; Lowes and Home Depot
also sell soil test kits.
Know that if your soils pH is 6.0 to 7.0 then you are in good shape because you have the perfect soil for growing a lush green lawn. When you know your pH level you will be able to shop for the right grass seed for your lawn.
While shopping at our neighborhood yard sale I found some
capstone at a yard sale and then my brother gave me some cypress mulch. I knew immediately that I had the makings of
a practical and inexpensive garden path.
When it comes to creating garden paths in my yard I tend to
design paths that are practical and cost-effective. I do not have a lot of money to invest in
garden hardscapes so I tend to make the best with what I have or buy inexpensive
materials from yard sale finds.
Path Location
The capstone path would be located adjacent to my side steps
and then would wind around my black-eyed
Susan flowers, ornamental grasses, and herb garden beds, thus providing me
with easy access to gardens without walking on the grass. It would also put an end to dirty shoes
tracking mud or dirt indoors.
Garden Path
Installation
When planning a garden project I prefer to design by drawing
the path out and then work with my husband in the preparation and
installation.
Husband's to-do list:
Remove the grass with a lawn trimmer
Level the soil
Lay out the stones for easy stepping
Remove the dirt so he can set the stone into the space so that it is even with the soil.
When my husband completed the layout for the stepping stone path
I then filled in around the stones with cypress mulch.
The finished recycled capstone and cypress mulch path looks
wonderful, even my neighbor likes the mulch surrounding the stepping stones. You do not have to use the stone steps, you
can create an easy garden path by using the mulch only.
The total expense was $10.00: 14 capstones for $10.00 plus cypress mulch was given to me. View another landscape posts by Sgolis here
Today while cleaning the winter debris from the bearded iris
garden I noticed that many of the rhizomes had suffered from erosion due to ice
and snow. Instead of being under the
soil many of them were fully exposed which concerns me.
My iris garden with many buds
The first thing that I did today was clear the iris gardens
of all leftover leaves, sticks and check the rhizome for damage. I expect many of the plants to perish as it
was an extreme cold winter with heavy snow and ice.
Tomorrow I am going to amend in my wheelbarrow top soil with
organic compost and diatomaceous earth.
Then I will spread an even layer over the irises, covering the exposes
rhizomes and leaving only the tip for nutrient collection from the sun.
I am hoping that this natural fertilizer and
borer pest control will aid in healthy spring iris growth and bloom production.
The photograph of my iris garden. Enjoy!
Other Yard and Garden Secrets Posts that you make like:
Today was warm and I worked outdoors cleaning up the river
rock wall by pruning the Japanese honeysuckle vines. Last year the vines had not been pruned and
they became invasive.
I like the honeysuckle because, in the summer when the
flowers bloom, they attract hummingbirds and honey bees but if they are not trimmed
back they will take over the river
rock wall. Here is a photograph of
the honeysuckle that has grown in too thickly on the rock wall.
Japanese honeysuckle on the river rock wall
I used extended-handle hedge
shears to cut the massive vines that had grown in so thickly and to protect
my hands I wore heavy-duty pigskin yard work gloves
with knit wrists. When pulling vines you
need to protect your hands otherwise they can get cut.
Pruned Japanese honeysuckle on the river rock wall
I got the river rock column cleared by cutting the vines
away and I also cleared four feet of vines from the wall. Once the vines were removed I raked away the
leaves that were embedded into the vines.
I am happy that I took on this
early spring yard cleanup job because by pruning the vines from the rock wall
I will also be discouraging the snakes from taking refuge.
Even though it is too cold to plant spinach outdoors I am
getting ready to plant Ferry-Morse organic spinach seeds in containers. I like to have my salad bowl of spinach close to my kitchen and thus the containers will sit in the sun on my back deck.
Today I washed my container out with dawn antibacterial
dish soap and rinsed them well in the shower.
Then I let them air dry. When the
containers were completely dry I then mixed organic matter with potting soil in
the container and set them aside.
(If you do not have compost for your organic matter then buy a bag of manure)
Now the containers are ready for planting spinach seeds and
as soon as the weather warms to an average of 20 F I will set the containers outdoors
in a full sun area and plant the organic spinach seed ½ inch under the soil and space 8 inches apart. When the seeds are all planted I will water them well.
Caring for Spinach:
Keep the soil evenly moist but not wet. If the soil should dry out the spinach will have
stress and the plant will bolt. Watch for
weather that may dip below 15 F. If the weather is extremely cold, cover spinach plants with row covers.
When I looked out my picture window I saw doe deer and fawn
in my yard nibbling in my spring bulb garden.
I ran outside and waved my arms in the air and the deer left my yard. But
I knew they would be back and I needed to take steps to protect my spring bulb
garden from the whitetail deer.
Whitetail deer doe and fawn in garden
Every spring I have a problem with the whitetail deer
because I cannot convince them that my spring bulb garden was not planted to
nourish them. Every doe deer in the
forest finds its way to my spring bulb gardens.
Over the years I have tried to discourage
the deer with Contech Scarecrow motion-activated sprinkler s a natural way to scare deer. This water spray deterrent works well in the summer but is not a good deterrent during winter.
Other deer deterrents that I have had good results with is a potent pepper
spray and deer scam, however, these products need to be reapplied and depending on
your weather; snow or ice these products can get costly.
Last fall I put down a deer forage plot but that died back due to a cold snowy winter. I found in the past that if I proved the deer with their dietary needs that they will leave my spring bulbs alone.
Since it is whitetail
deer in garden season and I need to keep the deer out of my garden I went to Atwoods ranch and yard store and
bought 40lb bag of natural apple corn for $7.49 and a mineral salt lick.I set up a feeding station that was downwind
from my tulip garden.
My husband and I waited on the side deck and at dusk, we saw
the deer coming up the side yard path.
The doe deer come out of the woods to enjoy the corn and to lick on the
mineral block.
Notes by Sgolis:
This wildlife compromise worked because the deer have stayed away
from my spring bulb garden because their dietary needs are being met with the mineral lick and feeding station.
When spring greens up the deer will no longer need to be fed as there is ample forage in the forest.
I am looking over my yard and garden to do list and I need to cleanup the lawn and the spring bulb gardens. Last month’s ice storm caused us to have many
down branches. We removed the large branches but there many smaller branches they need to be picked up. Hopefully I will accumulate enough sticks to ask my hubby to add them to the wood chipper
because they will make nice mulch for the garden.
When I finish the removal of down branches from the lawn, I will then concentrate on the gardens.
Our one maple tree holds onto its leaves until late winter however many of the leaves did come down after the ice storm and fell onto my
spring bulb garden. I think it is a good
idea to remove the leaves and any mulch from the early spring gardens as it will make it easier for delicate crocus to come up.
Hopefully the day will stay warm as I also have on my list to replace some parts of my
mulch garden path . Winter was hard and did pull much away from
the path. All In need to do is fill in because it is spotty.
I hope I can get everything on my list completed, as it late
January and before you know it spring garden beds will be blooming.
Protect your lawn and gardens in winter with environment friendly
ice melt. This toxic free ice melt is
the only product that you can use especially if you have gardens close to your
hard surfaces.
Non-toxic ice melt keep your garden healthy
The other products may be cheaper but before you buy read
the ingredients. If you value your soil,
and your flower beds, then think twice about using toxic chemicals to melt ice. Those chemicals will penetrate through the
soil and kill your plants at the roots.
Saving a few bucks at the hardware store for a harsh and
harmful to environment ice melt sure won’t feel worth it when your wife is
making you remove all of the chemical damaged garden soil in the spring to
replace with new soil for planting.
Instead pay the few extra bucks and rest easy because Morton
Safe-T-Pet Ice melt is salt and chlorine free which means it is safe for your
yard, gardens, pets and kids.
Before
you drag your Christmas tree to the curb for trash pickup, think about
recycling it by turning it into nutrient rich mulch for your yard and
garden.
My
husband never wanted to make mulch out of the Christmas tree but when he saw
all the mulch that he got that was free of charge he realized it was a great
savings. My husband collected all of our neighbors trees that were put out for the trash and by doing this we had enough Christmas tree mulch for our gardens and for our trees or shrubs.
There
is some work in getting your tree ready for the wood chipper. But
before you remove all of the branches call your areas recycling center to see
if they can chip the whole tree for you. If not do the following;
1.Remove all of the branches and stack them neatly in a
rubber 32 gallon trash bin. When all of the branches are remove set the tree
trunk on top.
2.Call a buddy to see if you can borrow their wood chipper
if none is available you may be able to rent one for the day or take your Christmas tree branches to a recycling
place that makes yard and garden mulch free of charge.
3.Use the trash bin to collect your mulch. Then apply the mulch to your garden beds or encircle your shrubs and trees with the fragrant and
nutrient rich mulch.
I am very sad to see the growing season come to an end as it
represents an end of my gardens life. Presently
I have only a few flowers still blooming, pink clematis, yellow mums and the
white sweet autumn clematis. All other
flowers have died back and all that remains is the seed heads.
Tomorrow there will be a hard frost and then I will cut back
all the garden beds for the winter season. And will cover the gardens with a thick layer of leaf mulch as this organic mulch will aid in protecting the flower roots that are close to the soil surface from snow or ice.
Now that the growing and gardening season is coming to an end I am not doing much other
than trimming back the dead tree branches, collecting seeds, and keeping the
gardens weed free.
I never collect all of the seeds as many
flowers like the sedum and ornamental grasses are attractive throughout the winter season.I also leave the seed heads on the black-eyed Susans,
sunflowers, and coneflowers as they provide food for the songbirds.
This year we covered our small pond with a layer of chicken
wire to keep the leaves from accumulating and clogging up the water filter.
The small tabletop fountain provides the songbirds and the stray
cats with a reliable water source, although we mu constantly remove the leaves
and change out the water daily.
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