Add Color to Your Winter Garden with Pansies

My winter yard and gardens are looking rather blah. The snowdrops are blooming and the crocus is coming up. The only green in my yard, besides the bulbs, is the evergreen shrubs and the Baltic ivy growing up the side of my oak tree.

The winter weather has been mild as we are twenty degrees warmer than the norm. So I thought I would plant a container of pansies and get a head start on very early spring gardening. I like the idea of having a container garden of pretty yellow and purple pansies close to the entrance of my home. Or I may plant some purple tulips that I have in cold storage in the center of the terracotta container and then plant a border of purple pansies.

Pansy Arrangement

Grow pansies in a container garden

Add color to winter gardens with pansies

The late winter/very early spring pansy flower containers will look nice growing on my deck. I will set them in a sunny location.

Know that pansies are easy to grow. You will need the following garden supplies; a Container that has drainage holes on the bottom, and potting soil that is amended with compost. Liquid fertilizer (I like to use  spray and grow), mulch, and winter hardy pansies.

Pansies can tolerate light snow, but if it gets extremely cold I will cover them with frost protection or drag the containers into my mudroom.

Note: You can plant pansies in the fall also.  It is a good way to add color to your container gardens.

Pruning Your Trees

I like my mature trees as much as the next person but it is wise to know which trees need to be pruned. Many times trees that are not maintained will become uprooted during a wind or ice storm and this will cause the property owner great stress; damage to the home, gardens, and expense to have the tree cut down and removed.

So before your trees become uprooted or fall down on your house. Make a point to prune them annually. Remove dead branches whenever you see them otherwise you would prune the tree after the flower blooms in the spring or after the fruit is harvested in the fall.

Learn the three-cut method of pruning trees and shrubs by viewing this YouTube video.  Learn the right way and your trees will benefit from the pruning.

Learn more about pruning trees and shrubs here 

Flash Flood Waters Unearthed Spring Bulbs

Last week my area had heavy rain, in fact, we got 5.7 inches in an hour. Needless to say, there were dangerous flash flooding warnings and a fast stream of water running through my yard.  This body of water unearthed the spring bulbs that I had planted last month and caused other yard and garden damage.

After the rain had stopped and the water had subsided I went out to inspect the gardens for water damage. All of the mulch that I put down last month had washed into the lawn and many of my spring bulbs had been shifted, the topsoil washed away from the bulbs but the deep-rooted ones were still in the ground, however, many had become unearthed.



I found seven daffodils bulbs right away.  I had planted 260 spring daffodils and crocus bulbs last month so I asked my husband to come out and help me search for any other bulbs.  

My search for the spring bulbs was careful and I did go into the woods to look for them. When all was said and done we had found just under three dozen spring bulbs. 

If other bulbs were washed off due to the flood waters then they will bloom in the lower level of our garden next to the retaining wall and next spring I can transplant them after they bloom back into my yard.

Instead of planting these unearthed bulbs in the ground, I have decided to grow them in containers. I may force them to bloom and give them as gifts on Valentine's Day.    View this video to learn how to force bulbs to bloom indoors for winter color. 

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Recycling Christmas Tree

When it comes to buying our Christmas tree we always buy a real tree. We love the fresh balsam fragrance and the fact that we can give back to nature when Christmas has passed by recycling our Christmas tree.

After we have removed all of the decorations we will decide on the best method for recycling.  One way to recycle the tree is to take it to our city's recycling plant. There they will make mulch out of our tree and we are welcome to take a scoop full for our yard and gardens.  If we pass on taking the mulch it will be used in city parks.



In the past, we have recycled our Christmas tree by tying a cement brick to the tree and then tossing it into the center of our pond. The brick enabled the tree to sink to the bottom of the pond and this tree created a habitat for the fish, water turtles, and other pond creatures.



An easy way to give back to nature is to create a thicket in your yard. It is best to do this in the back section of your yard. We have a large yard so we started our Christmas tree thicket off to the side of our yard. 

My husband set the tree on its side at the base of our retaining wall. Then all of our tree trimmings and branches were set on this thicket.  When the trees broke down they became a safe and warm shelter for wildlife. 

Thicket made from recycled Christmas trees and Oak tree tree trimmings/branches

Small tree and branch thicket at base of the wall 

After several years the trees turned into a safe shelter for animals in the woods
Note:  Cat Adoption Guide is my other Blog

Another way to recycle your Christmas tree is to use it as a bird feeder. You will enjoy watching the songbirds that are perched on the tree branches for the next few weeks.

Consider setting up the tree close to a window and decorate the tree with birdseed ornaments. You and your family will enjoy watching the songbirds.

Buy birdseed ornaments at these fine online stores.  Here are a few that I recommend.

GardenersSupply Company birdseed ornament set of 3

MonticelloShop birdseed ornament assortment

TractorSupply Company (4) Peanut butter Suet balls

Snowdrop Flowers are Blooming in Garden

Today the weather had warmed to 38 degrees and I thought I would take a walk in the garden. I went into the garden to watch for nature and to check to see if any of the spring bulbs were blooming. To my surprise, I saw that the snowdrop flowers were blooming. A patch of 8 to 12 flowers was in full bloom.

This flower is a perennial in the Amaryllis family. There are 75 different species and varieties of snowdrops. All of the flowers are white in color. The species that grows in my garden and most gardens is the Galanthus Nivalis (snowdrop) Galanthus in Latin means milk-white-flowers.  These milk-white colored flowers have bloomed in my garden for the last 15 years and when I saw that they were in bloom a month early I was delighted but surprised.

People call this flower a snowdrop because it usually does not 
wait for the snow to melt. It usually is the first flower 
to bloom in a winter garden. 

This winter has been very warm, 20 degrees warmer than last year. Although we have had cool to cold weather this past week with snow flurries on Christmas day, prior to that the weather has been spring-like. Overall I think that the spring bulbs are confusing because they normally bloom the end of January - first week in February.

Planting tips:

1. Plant in fall six weeks prior to a hard frost and the snowdrops will bloom the following spring. Grow snowdrops in well-drained clay, or sandy soil in an area that has morning sun exposure with part to full shade in the afternoon. 
   
2. I think snowdrop flowers look nice when grown under evergreens or other trees and shrubs.  These flowers look especially nice when grown in a rock garden with other spring bulbs, such as crocus and daffodils.
   
3. Remember to space the bulbs when planting because they multiply quickly. Snowdrops are deer resistant
   

If you are interested in growing this long-lived spring-blooming flower in your garden then I would recommend that you shop for the bulbs at the following stores;

Brecks.com

Americanmeadows.com

lowes.com

ebay.com

netherlandbulb.com

Learn more about Netherland bulbs by reading my product review.

Getting Ready for Spring Gardening

Normally my spring garden would not be on my mind, but today the temperature was 70 degrees Fahrenheit and this spring-like day has got me thinking of my garden. Normally the weather is cold, with snow but this year the weather forecast is calling for warmer than usual.

Know that we do need a hard frost and bitterly cold temperatures to kill off the ticks and to enable the spring bulbs to sleep before awakening in late January – early February. But nature this year has a different idea because today when I removed a patch of leaves in the yard I saw the grassy foliage of my crocus had broken ground and the green stems were two inches above the soil.

The spring bulbs breaking ground has got me thinking about gardening and getting a head start on my preparations.   I went out to my greenhouse today and sterilized some pots for planting. Normally I start my annuals, herbs, and vegetables in mid to late January in the portable greenhouse that I bought at tractorsupply.com last year. But since we are having spring-like weather I thought I would get a head start with my gardening chores.

I am thinking that by the end of December, I will have my window boxes sterilized and painted also. This year I am thinking of planting the tulips and crocus that I have in cold storage,  I have had good results with forcing the spring bulbs to bloom and will probably force the bulbs to bloom indoors and give the containers away as gifts. 

Here is a video that will show you how to force spring bulbs to bloom in approximately five weeks indoors.

Getting ready for spring in December is an activity that I am not accustomed to but do like that I can get many tasks done now while the weather is warm.

Caring for Christmas Poinsettia

It's the season for the Christmas poinsettia plant for gift-giving and home decorating.  The poinsettia is a beautiful plant that comes in a variety of colors; crimson red, pink white, or bi-color leaves along with dark green leaves. It is one magnificent plant and is known as the plant of Christmas.

Know if you reside in a mild climate where the average temperate is 55 to 60 at night and the high is 70 degrees Fahrenheit then you can feature this plant outdoors on your porch or in your feature garden. However, if you reside in an area where the weather is cold then poinsettia must stay indoors.

Healthy red poinsettia gets plenty of light by the window

Red poinsettias are grown in an outdoor feature garden.

Shop for live poinsettias at Teleflora.com This quality plant is best for gift-giving. 

 Also, shop at Lowes.com or at their store. I saw gorgeous poinsettias there and they were reasonably priced. Target.com and Walmart.com also have poinsettias in their seasonal departments.

Buying Tips

When you go to buy a poinsettia I would recommend buying a healthy plant that does not have drooping leaves or brown spots as this would be an indication of not adequate water, which would cause the poinsettia to have stress.

Caring for Poinsettia 

Bring your poinsettia home in a covered bag so that it does not get too cold or suffer a cold draft. Remove your poinsettia from the foil holiday pot wrapper and set it on a plant-draining saucer. 

 The best location for your poinsettia is in a sunny room where the average temperature is 70 degrees Fahrenheit.  Your poinsettia needs an average of six hours of bright light so if you do not have a room that has a lot of sunlight then set in under a table light. (I do not recommend setting your poinsettia in direct sunlight) 

At night poinsettia prefers cooler temperatures so a room that is an average temperature of 60 to 70 degrees will keep your Christmas season poinsettia healthy.

Maintain your poinsettia plant by checking the soil daily. Know that poinsettias grow best in soil that is allowed to dry out some in-between watering. Test the soil daily to see if the soil is dry by inserting your index finger into the soil about one inch. If soil is dry then water the plant until it drains out the bottom. Let all the water drain from the plant container, but do not set the pot in the water in the saucer. Instead, dump the water out.  Poinsettias do not like wet soil.  

Other

Know that my friend resides in  Florida and she does grow her poinsettias outdoors. She told me she planted it in her yard after Christmas in an area where the soil was well-drained, plus the plant got six hours of sun daily with part sun in the heat of the day.   Her poinsettia grew into a shapely shrub in her  Florida outdoor garden.

Here is a video where you can learn how to make your plant rebloom again.

Gardening Season is Over

Last night the temperature dropped into the low 29s and it was very cold.  We had our first hard frost of the season and with that, the gardening season had ended.  

 

Today I went out to the garden and did cut back the remaining foliage to the soil line and then covered the gardens with mulch. The garden season is over and all that is left is my grass gardens. They will add interest to my yard for the next several weeks or until the spring flowers start to bloom.

  Photo of my end-of-season grass garden

I will miss my time in the garden as I am one who enjoys my garden very much. The only thing that is left is to plant some daffodils that my husband bought at Lowes today. He was able to get a bag of 40 bulbs for $6.98 

Know that as long as the ground is not completely frozen you can still plant the bulbs. I think I will cut back the chrysanthemum that is in the large containers and plant some daffodils. Then come spring these containers will look nice and add curb appeal to the front of the house.

Here are some articles on spring bulbs that you may like.

How to plant daffodils tulips and crocus

Manicuring Flower Gardens in Late Fall

We had a mild frost last week and many of my plants were affected so since it was warm today I spent the afternoon in the garden. Today the temperature was 64 degrees Fahrenheit, a perfect temperature for gardening in late fall.

My main objective today was to cut back the daylilies, the four O’clock s, and the zinnia flowers to the ground. I was also gathering any remaining seeds from the flower heads. In addition to manicuring of the gardens, I was hoping that I had time to prune the rose bushes.

When all the garden maintenance work was done I would apply the mulch my husband made for me with his wood chipper. He gathered fallen branches from our meadow and used the small chipper that we bought at lowes.com to create organic garden mulch.

So I started gardening in the back garden close to the woods entrance. My husband was relaxing on the patio, he was 46 feet from me. It was comforting he was in the yard, if I need him he was there. I was busy working when I heard my husband laugh and I thought he had read something funny. I smiled and waved, then turned to go back to work. There was a patch of stubborn grasses that needed to be dug out so I turned to grab my garden tool belt and found my hand shovel was missing.

I looked for it in the garden shed, in the greenhouse, and even in the mud room. My hand shovel was gone and my husband was laughing. So I asked him "did you take my shovel" and he shook his head no.

I swore I brought my garden hand tools out of the shed before I started my work. But since I could not find my hand tools I went to get the shovel. Before I went to search for my full-size garden shovel in the tool shed I took off my work gloves and laid them on top of the wheelbarrow. I got the shovel, went to put on my gloves and they were gone. My husband laughing so I assumed he had been sneaking up on me and taking my garden supplies. Right?

My husband says "it wasn't me" Then pointed up at the maple tree that is closest to me and there I see the garden tool thief. Up the tree is the raccoon Lucy that we rescued in the spring after her mom was poached by hunters. Lucy came out of the woods and was sneaking up on me, she took all of my garden supplies and was hiding them at the base of the oak tree.

I had a good laugh, and it is hard to be mad at a junior raccoon especially when these orphans don't know to stay out of sight during daylight hours. This little girl was sneaking up on me and taking my things and that was funny

 It is safe to say that I could care about raccoons in my yard, but if you find that they are a nuisance and want to keep them out of your yard, then read my article on how to get rid of raccoons without hurting the,

Perennial Grasses add Interest to Winter Garden

Today my neighbor came to see me, he had his lawn trimmer in his hand, and he asked me how far back he should cut his perennial grass garden. I replied that spring is the best time to cut the grass back and that I recommend that the grasses be left alone in the fall and winter because the dry grass will add interest to his yard and garden.

Here are photos of my grass garden in the spring, summer, and winter.

  

Spring when grasses are starting to grow

My grass garden early summer

Grass garden in winter

The winters are long and cold and I think the dried grasses look nice. The grass plumes are eye-appealing plus they add movement and provide wildlife with shelter, and windbreak for birds, rabbits, and cats. 

In the autumn season after I remove the leaves I trim the grasses so they are more manicured and off the garden path.  Then I will mulch around the garden fountain and perennial grasses. This mulch will add a more manicured look to the garden.

You can also highlight the grass garden with solar lights then when you look out at your yard at night during the winter months, you will view a grass garden that is eye appealing.  This is why I recommend leaving your ornamental grasses alone throughout the autumn and winter months.  

Here is a photograph of my grass garden next to my garden path.  The November photo was taken after I trimmed the grass as it had grown over the stepping stones.

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Grass garden in autumn, dried plumes look lovely

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Covered Tropical Plants with Frost Covers

Tonight is a cold night, and I took steps to cover my orchids and elephant ear tropical plants with frost covers.  The forecast does not call for a freeze and tomorrow it will be warm again but with temperatures dipping into the low 40's I thought it best to cover my tropical plants.

The weather that we are having is not normal for this time of the year.  It is a cold snap with back-to-normal temperatures in a few days.  By Monday the high is 88 degrees Fahrenheit and the forecast shows many days of warm weather.  For this reason, I decided to leave my tropical plants outdoors for now.  The frost cover will protect them and tomorrow I will uncover them and the orchids will look so pretty.

Eventually, I will have to take all tropical plants indoors and get the elephant ears ready for winter storage. At the moment  I am putting that off.  I want to prolong the garden season as long as I can.

Do you have orchids or other tropical plants?  When do you bring them indoors?

Here is a photo of tropical elephant ears in a container.  

Elephant ear container plant

 

Getting Gardens Ready for First Snow

I learned today that the weather forecast for the end of October is snow followed by bitter cold weather.  Know that this cold weather is coming very early in season and at a time that we usually enjoy our yard and garden.

Autumn season cut short due to snow forecast

Today and probably all of next week I will have to work harder on the gardens to get them ready for the frigid cold weather and snow.  Normally I do not cut back my lilies until after a hard frost, but plan on cutting them back so I can cover the flower bed with mulch.  I will also have to plant 120 daffodils next week, because this must be done before the ground freezes.

My yard and gardens with snow

I started working in the side yard, clearing  the brush that was growing next to the dog kennel.  I got 8 feet cut back and have another 9 feet to finish.  While working I noticed that my irises rhizomes are above the soil line and suspect that removing the leaves last week from the garden caused erosion.  I will probably add a layer of compost next week and maybe a light layer of natural mulch.  I am thinking that ice will not be good for them since their roots are just bellow the soil.

Then when all the manicuring and caring for flower gardens is completed I have to stake the gardens with poles with flags because if I do not my hubby will plow the snow through the gardens.  Yes it safe to say that I am going to be busy next week because I must get the yard and gardens ready for first snow of the season.

Is the weather changing where you live?  Will you have snow in October?

Deciduous Trees Have Canker Disease

I am not a tree expert but when I saw that there was something wrong with my willow and mimosa tree bark I knew it was not normal. The bark had cracked open and separated leaving a hole that allowed insects to go inside. 

 I treated the area infection with organic pest control but it had little effect on the problem. Within a week my mature mimosa tree subcombed to whatever had infected it and died. My pine, oak, and silver maple trees were also infected with canker disease.

I love my trees and was not willing to let them die just because we have the no chemical rule in our yard and garden. So I called a tree expert and met with him yesterday. Learned that the trees were infected with Canker disease which is a fungus.

 If I lose these trees to canker disease and termites then the autumn season will not be the same. Hoping that we caught all in time.

The expert on closer examination found that the trees had termites too. They had gotten into the tree from the open wound on tree branches and trunk that had become infected with fungus.

I agreed to the treatment for my trees, it was a chemical but I had to do it or I would lose all 8 mature trees in my yard. The tree expert will check back at the end of the month to see if further treatment is needed. He told me that once the tree becomes infected it may take up to 4 treatments to get rid of the termites and kill the fungus.

Know that for the two trees that we cut down yesterday, the wood needed to be disposed of, and the stump and surrounding area needed to be treated to put a stop to the spread of fungus, bacteria, and termites.  

Maintaining Yard and Gardens in September

Maintaining and manicuring the yard and gardens in September will enable you to have a beautiful landscape throughout the cold season. 

 Today my husband and I took advantage of the good weather and spent the morning outdoors in they yard.  We worked together to create a lovely landscape and cleaned up the  patio by getting the firepit ready for sitting by the fire on cool fall nights. 

We both worked at cleaning up the sand set flagstone patio, I removed the weeds that were growing between the stone and husband put down new drainage rock around the firepit.  When the patio was completed I moved on to my next garden project.

  

 I dead headed all of the spent flowers, trimmed back the coneflowers and zinnia that started to turn brown from those few nights of low 40's temperature.  Harvested the seeds by putting seeds in Ziploc bag and  then covered the garden bed with cedar mulch.

When all of the seeds were harvested I moved on to trimming back the grass garden because they were overgrown and covered the garden path.  There was enough time to spot check the irises and to pull the weeds and grass that was growing in the bed.  

While I worked on the gardens my husband cut the grass and used the blower to remove the leaves from patios, paths and driveway.  It was a great day to work in the garden, Husband and I accomplished so much and our  September yard and garden looks beautiful.

Here are some photographs of my gardens, patio paths.

End of season shade garden

September blooms of Sweet Autumn Clematis

Updated patio and firepit for Fall usage, firepit and patio designed by Sgolis

Pea Gravel garden path, designed and installed by Sgolis

Flowers Blooming in End of Summer Garden

Chrysanthemum falls flower

This week I have a few flowers blooming in my garden but not many. The weather has been cooler than usual at night and my zinnias and coneflowers did start to die off so I cut them and collected the seeds. 

 My four O'clocks started to go into seed, but there are still a few blooms. Other than that the sweet autumn clematis is in bloom, a few belladonnas, and the cosmos are in bloom.   The yellow chrysanthemums are covered with buds and blooms and they will surely look pretty throughout the fall season. 

In my herb garden, there are a few blooms; peppermint and chamomile and they look pretty.  I looked for the toad lilies but they did not come up this year. I suppose the winter was too harsh last year or perhaps a cat dug them up.  

This week I am enjoying the end of summer/early autumn blooms. How about you, what is blooming in your flower garden this week?

Here are some photographs of the end-of-summer flowers.

Sweet autumn clematis on trellis

Four O'Clock flowers by the garden wall

Damaged Irises Have NEW Growth: Flower Photographs

Today when I went to look at the irises that were damaged by the lawn mower I was happy to see that some have signs of new growth. 

These backyard irises were damaged when the husband cut his corner too close and ran them over with the lawn mower. Know that many of the rhizomes were damaged and did die, however, some were not as badly damaged and did respond to the immediate care that I gave them.

When the mowing occurred I went to irises aide by applying one inch of compost to the flower bed. Then set up a soaking hose to water them with a slow drip in the morning. The damage to the irises occurred during the hot summer when there were drought conditions.

 I also treated the garden bed with neem oil extract for spider mites. I used a concentrated formula that you mix with water and spayed the soil at dusk because it is not good to use neem oil in direct light.

A month after the occurrence I noticed that the irises garden is pest fee and suspect it is due to the neem oil insecticide. I also noticed that the irises have signs of improvement. The leaves that looked sickly are now showing signs of new growth, leaf bud on one of the rhizomes. 

 Granted a few flowers are still struggling to survive and 10 have turned brown and died due to the shock of the lawn mower.  I have not given up. 

 Know that my neighbor has tossed his irises that have had borers into the woods, thinking that they were hopeless and they have survived. We now have wild irises blooming in the woods in the spring, so anything is possible.

Here are some photographs of my irises, all photographs were taken of my personal residence flower gardens.

Outdoor Living Ideas: Creating a Space

Recently one of my online followers emailed a question. They told me that they were following my home and garden sets on my blog and that they did not have a patio or a deck, but instead a large yard and wanted an outdoor space.  They asked me if I had any ideas or suggestions. 

small outdoor living space

 My follower asked if they could create an entertainment or outdoor space where family and friends could sit and enjoy the view of their gardens and lake. I replied, that she could have an appealing outdoor space that she would enjoy for many years.

Know that you can create space anywhere and that you do not need a patio or a deck. Although it is nice to find an area in your yard that has a nice shade tree, garden overlook, or view of the lake.

simple backyard space

You can create a quick space by filling in an area with gravel, and mulch or doing a stone patio. If you do not want to do that you can buy cobblestone molds and make your own cement walkway for your outdoor space or base for your garden furniture.

Of course, you can always create an area by setting your furniture on the grass, but I would recommend cutting it very short in this area and treating it with an organic insecticide; concentrated spearmint oil or garlic are two products on the market that work very well.

cozy space by the lake

Here are a few outdoor living areas that I designed at polyvore.com. The first one shows a natural setting with outdoor furniture, a heating unit, and a fire pit for ambiance. I accented this set with a variety of autumn throw pillows and a lightweight blanket. All of these products are from my zazzle shop.

Anyone can create a space in their backyard, find the area that has the best view then set up your lawn furniture, add decorations, and create a space that is comfortable and has ambiance. Outdoor living will enable you to enjoy nature and you will feel more relaxed.

***You can buy the cobblestone cement molds at Lowes.com and create your own walkway or unique area for your patio furniture. It is a fun DIY landscape improvement project.