Gardening Bytes

Posts Tagged ‘Gardening Information’

This UK gardening infographic gives you the lowdown on how to grow your own vegetable garden. Find out what the most typical vegetables are grown in a home garden, methods of growing vegetables, and statistics for UK gardening.

Click on the image below to get a close up look at the full sized gardening infographic.

Grow your own infographic from LoveTheGarden.com

Ground covers for shade are sometimes harder to come by, shade can be a difficult place for some plants to survive. Shade can be dry, such as under trees, or a damper environment, such as under large ferns. Keep your perennials planted in shade watered or you may notice a decrease in blooming. Provide extra water for plants near and under trees since trees use up great quantities of water. If plants are long and leggy they may have difficulty thriving in a tree’s shade. Check with your local nursery to see if the perennial shade plants you are interested in are hardy in your region.

This plant list is for shade and partial shade plants.

Ajuga
Alchemilla
Anemone
Astilbe
Brunnera
Convallaria
Cornus
Dicentra
Digitalis
Epimedium
Euonymus
Euphorbia
Ferns
Galium
Gaultheria
Geranium
Hedera
Hellebore
Heuchera
Hosta
Hypericum
Lamium
Lathyrus
Leptinella
Linnaea
Liriope
Meehania
Omphalodes
Oxalis
Phlox
Pulmonaria
Saxifraga
Symphytum
Vinca
Viola
Sedum

Brugmansia, also known as Angel’s Trumpets, is a striking flowering plant that grows to the size of a small tree. The plant has large leaves, a woody stem and huge dramatic pendulous tubular flowers in beautiful colors. Angels Trumpet are long lived plants that grow to 6 to 20 feet tall. Angel’s Trumpet flowers may be single or double and come in yellow, pink, white, orange or red, with a faint scent of lemon most noticeable in early evening. Angel’s Trumpet is a tropical plant that does best in frost-free climates and should be planted in fertile, moist, well-drained soil, in part shade to full sun. For those living on the coast I have seen specimens grow very well in the coastal climate so look for this plant in your local nursery. Angel’s Trumpet can be used as a wonderful focal point in your garden. Every part of the Angel’s Trumpet is highly poisonious if ingested to humans and animals so use caution when including this plant in your garden.

Italian Arum (Arum italicum) is a sturdy, easy to grow perennial garden plant with striking marbled green leaves and bright orange red berries in winter. Arum resembles the Jack-in-the-Pulpit plant. Italian Arum grows in partial to full shade and prefers moist but well-drained soil. These corms are easy to grow and do best in woodland areas, often forming colonies over time. In may green spathes grow one to one and a half feet tall, hosting modest but unusual flowers that appear in May, then the leaves die back in summer to reappear in fall. The real show stopper is the foot tall stems that features bright red 3-inch clusters of berries in winter. Italian Arum works well surrounding the shady base of trees or in shady parts of your yard, and is a deer-resistant plant. Italian Arum is a Mediterranean plant that is hardy in winter through most of zone 6. Italian Arum is poisonous when eaten, it is best to monitor children around these plants. To propogate from the Italian Arum colony divide corms in the summer.

Beautyberry (Callicarpa) is a woody shrub or tree that hosts tightly clustered magenta colored berries on bare stems in winter, making this a standout plant for cold months in the garden. Beautyberry prefers to be planted in sun or light shade as long as it has well-drained soil. Beautyberry flowers in June through August then fruits form in September, the leaves drop, and the brilliant colored berries line up along the bare stems of the shrub, making for a lovely winter display. Beautyberry is a native southeastern American plant that can reach 3 to 6 feet in height. Interestingly enough beautyberry is a natural insect repellent, simply rub leaves on the skin to chase away pests. Planting a few of these shrubs in your garden may help with keeping pesky mosquitoes out of your garden. Beautyberry berries are a source of survival food for birds in winter although they are not their first choice due to the astringent flavor of the berries. Beautyberry shrubs will provide bright color and shape to your winter garden.

Thanksgiving Cactus (Schlumbergera) is an unusual looking houseplant originally from Brazil that blooms in late fall. The stems of the plant are segmented and flat and has brightly colored pink, yellow, white, red, orange, pink, yellow, or purple flowers on the end of the stems. The Thanksgiving Cactus prefers moderate room humidity and bright indirect light. When ready to bloom do not move the plant from it’s location. Care for blooming is similar to the Poinsettia plant, the Thanksgiving Cactus requires at least eight days with 16 hours of darkness at 61 degrees should cause flower buds to form. The Thanksgiving Cactus can be keep indoors at the temperatures mentioned below, or left outdoors in a shady location starting in fall to help set flowers, then brought back in before the first frost. To set buds in time for the holidays the Thanksgiving Cactus needs cool temps of 60-65 degrees during the day and 45-55 degrees during the night. This plant does not like wet feet, water the soil so it is evenly moist during the growing season then water sparingly the rest of the year until new growth appears in spring. The plant can be damaged by over or underwatering, or too much light. Propagate Thanksgiving Cactus by twisting off a stem segment in spring and place it upright in moistened perlite.

Garlic has some great characteristics, for one it’s easy to grow and doesn’t require special treatment and secondly all varieties are delicious, offering a far superior taste to shop bought garlic. With so many varieties available, I love growing a few of each type every year so my family and I can enjoy the subtle differences in flavour at every meal. Below you’ll find a few of my personal recommendations and a step by step guide of how to grow and when to harvest your garlic yields.

Garlic is one of the easiest crops to grow and because of its simplicity you know it’s always going to be a great crop.

Recommended Varieties

• ‘Solent Wight’
• ‘Purple Wight’
• ‘Albigensian Wight’
• Elephant garlic

The best time to plant garlic is autumn as the crops benefit from the cold weather that helps encourage a hearty bulb formation. I would suggest buying your early autumn varieties from garden centres or specialist growers, but not from the supermarket. This is really important as shop bought garlics are more than likely to have been grown abroad. If that is the case that variety is sure to have a difficult time trying to grow in the UK climate.

How To Grow Garlic

1. Split up the bulbs into individual cloves and plant with the pointed end uppermost

2. Plant approximately 2.5cm-5cm deep and 15cm apart

3. If your soil is heavy clay and in time gets waterlogged, wait until February to plant your bulbs or alternatively add horticultural sand

4. In spring add a nitrogen feed to encourage growth

5. Garlic likes plenty of water during the growing period, but reduce the amount of watering from about May

Notes

• If you’ve planted your garlic cloves in October/November you should begin to see shoots by January.

• In spring, you may want to use a high nitrogen feed or small application of sulphur as this can encourage good growth.

• You will notice the bulbs have finished growing when the foliage begins to die back.

Harvesting

Harvesting should take place between May and June when the foliage has almost completely yellowed and withered. When harvesting you want to choose a day when the weather is dry as you will be laying out your yields to dry them out for a couple of days. If it does begin to rain move the lifted bulbs into a greenhouse or cold frame.

Image courtesy of Wikimedia public domain image

About the author: Mr McGregor is a guest writer for the popular garden centre Notcutts and has been spreading his horticultural experiences to his loyal readers. Mr. McGregor is a talented gardener and through his blog he takes his readers on a journey to self sufficiency, changing the way they view their gardens.

Autumn is a fantastic season to see nature’s awesome beauty as green leaves turn all shades of red, orange and yellow before falling to the floor in a seemingly endless cavalcade. It’s also a great opportunity to make the most of nature’s bounty by turning those very same leaves – which may otherwise be bound for landfill – into carbon neutral eco-logs for the winter season.

So this year rather than simply raking up those leaves and bagging them up into refuse sacks, do something with them which is both economical and carbon neutral. The trick is to get your hands on a logmaker which are available from good garden centres and online stories specialising in environmentally friendly goods. These simple tools can turn that mound of rotting leaves into eco-fuel by the simple process of compacting them.

Logmakers come in two varieties: dry and wet. Dry logmakers turn dry leaves (and other dry household and garden waste) into perfectly shaped logs, whereas wet logmakers are used to turn wet leaves into them. You simply insert the leaves into the logmaker, push the plunger down so the waste is compacted (and the excess water removed) and, hey presto, you have yourself an eco-log which is perfect for throwing on the fire, stove, chiminea or firebowl.

The average tree could provide enough logs for quite a few fires over the winter, which will certainly help to save a few pennies and a few trips to the garden centre to stock up on other types of logs. Also as the carbon emitted from the logs when burnt is equal to the amount they absorbed before the fell from the tree the logs are completely carbon-neutral. Logs you buy from the garden centre or supermarket may have been chopped down and transported from hundreds of miles away, which leaves a pretty big carbon footprint.

As already mentioned above logmakers are not restricted to autumn leaves, but can be used to recycle all manner of household waste (leftover food, paper, cardboard etc) and other garden waste throughout the year – so you can make the use of them year round to provide fuel for your fire.

DIY The Dry Logmaker Video

About the author: Lewis is an outdoor living eco-living enthusiast and writes for Chiminea UK.

The Pond Blog offered the use of their free infographic about the health, monetary, real estate, and environmental benefits of gardening. Get a close up look at this chart by clicking on the image.

Source by Loch Ness Water Gardens

There is no end to the innovative possibilities to turn a featureless patio into a beautiful oasis for family and friends. Simply adding stylish patio décor, decorative plantings, and some chic outdoor furnishings transforms a patio into an inviting extension of the home. A patio room can be whatever style one wishes and does not necessarily need to be the same style as the interior of the house. Expressing oneself with a themed patio is a fabulous technique to live a dream. Creating Little Italy, the Southwest, or even a tropical cabana is within reach with a modest amount of imagination.

Many people are enjoying the additional bonus of creating open-air kitchens in their outside living areas. This is especially clever for entertainment purposes as guests can socialize, eat and drink outdoors. Having less people drinking and eating inside the home protects the home from possible accidents due to spilled drinks or food. Less worry about creating a mess makes for happier hosts and guests. Outdoor bars, large built-in grill areas and pizza ovens are extremely popular and a big hit with homeowners and guests alike.

Stylish, comfortable outside furniture pieces are a fabulous way to create cozy conversation alcoves. Several strategically placed outdoor patio rugs will allocate different areas for furniture groupings and give the feel of multiple outdoor living areas. A grouping of patio furniture around a glowing fire pit is always a big crowd pleaser. The nighttime ambiance of an outdoor living area can be enhanced with candles, creative lighting or a fireplace. Propane fire pits filled with jewel-like glass crystals are gorgeous and make a magnificent conversation piece. Flames dancing on the glass crystals of a propane fire pit will make an impressive accent to any decor.

When creating an outdoor living area, it is important to choose outdoor furniture and cushion fabrics which can withstand extreme temperatures and weather changes. If storing all of the furniture cushions after each use is not an option, then weather-resistant fabrics are a necessity. There are many weather-resistant and waterproof fabric choices on the market that can blend with every theme.

Patio container gardening is perfect for someone who does not wish to maintain living plants in the home yet yearns for the lush, relaxing experience of being surrounded by foliage. Decorating with plants can range from potted flowering planters, hanging baskets or even incorporating dwarf trees and shrubberies within the outdoor living area. A trellis with a beautiful vine will not only provide color, but privacy and a sun barrier as well.

Protection from the sun and heat is oftentimes necessary in order to extend the enjoyment of outdoor living. Overhead protection for the patio can be both decorative and functional. Some ideas for shade protection are arbors, pergolas, shade cloth fabric with freestyle design, or lattice-work. There is no need to shutdown the outdoor festivities in colder climates. Using infrared heaters around the gathering areas is a surefire way to keep family and friends warm and toasty. On a cool night, sitting around the table with an umbrella covering can be made cozy by adding a patio umbrella heater to radiate warmth. Outdoor furniture around a fire pit is also alluring on cooler evenings.

Making an outdoor patio an extension of the living area of a home is as easy as creating a vision of fun times in an enjoyable living space. Friends and family gathering in a stylish and comfortable veranda is a smart way to expand the area of a home for relaxation and entertainment purposes. The peace of mind afforded by patio entertaining is a real plus to any homeowner as the interior of the home can remain virtually spotless and guests can relax without the fear of ruining indoor furnishings or carpeting. The sky is truly the limit when it comes to creating an outdoor patio living space.

Image courtesy of Patioshoppers.com

About the Author: Samantha Reynolds writes for Patioshoppers.com, the leading retailer of patio cushions, resin patio furniture and other unique home and patio goods.

Nature is the perfect place to find leaves, berries and seedheads you can use to decorate your home for the holidays. Flower seedheads are often striking and a good choice to add to vases. When crocosmia have finished their summer bloom they produce seed pods on long stems, the seed pods have bright autumn colors of yellow and orange (pick before they dry to brown) that will fill a vase with fall colors. Eucalyptus leaves in brown or blue green make an attractive bouquet for your Thanksgiving dinner and scent the air as well. Holly branches covered in berries is a festive way to decorate mantels, fill vases or line the center of a holiday table along with votive candles to create a festive mood. Pine leaves and pine cones are an easy item to add to a bowl of colored ornaments or top a long mirror placed on a table, or use to create a natural wreath for your home. Rose hips are colorful and can be put together with other fragrant items for a colorful scented potpourri. Gather leaves fallen from your trees, clean and dry, then line the center of your table with nature’s bounty. Always keep in mind children and animals when bringing in nature items for decorations. Read up on what you bring inside to be sure no items are poisonious if ingested, particularly when using berries in arrangements or decorations.

Gardening is a fun activity for people of all ages. It can be a great way to get kids interested in science and learn the basics of how to grow their own food. If your child has taken an interest in gardening, you may be searching for ways to satisfy his curiosity or to help him explore the vast world of gardening. Listed below are 10 easy to do fun gardening activities that your child is sure to enjoy. The sky is the limit with gardening!

• Flower pot painting. Growing flowers during the spring is a wonderful way to let your child experience gardening. Go a step further and allow him to create his very own flower pots. Use terra cotta pots and paint and encourage your child to get creative.

• Flower pressing. Once the flowers are grown, teach your child how to preserve them. Hang a flower upside down for a few weeks. Then, place in the middle of a large book for pressing.

• Grow an herb garden. Teach children how food is grown by allowing them to grow their very own herb garden. Your local gardening store is likely to have an herb garden kit that contains everything your child needs to get started. This makes the process simple and fun for everyone!

Read the rest of this entry »

Ground covers for your garden are an important part of your garden structure. Ground covers work well between plants and underneath plants to help keep weeds down and become a natural mulch around other plants. You want ground cover not invasive plants that will cover up your other plants so ask for advice at your local nursery and choose wisely. Lithodora is a steady grower with evergreen leaves covered in bright blue tubular flowers. I’ve found using low growing heathers a great ground cover, for example Kramer’s Rote has small evergreen leaves with brilliant pink and cream blooms that smother the plant in fall and winter months.

Achillea
Alyssum
Anemone
Artemisia
Aster
Aubrieta
Bergenia
Calamintha
Campanula
Cerastium
Ceratostigma
Chrysanthemum
Clematis
Coreopsis
Delosperma
Dianthus
Dryas
Erigeron
Euonymus
Euphorbia
Fragaria
Geranium
Geum
Gypsophila
Hedera
Helianthemum
Hemerocallis
Heuchera
Hypericum
Iberis
Lathyrus
Leptinella
Liriope
Lithodora
Lonicera
Nepeta
Oenothera
Origanum
Oxalis
Phlox
Potentilla
Pulmonaria
Ranunculus
Rubus
Sagina
Saponaria
Sedum
Sempervivum
Stachys
Teucrium
Thymus
Trifolium
Verbena
Veronica
Viola

Regardless of the season, in the Northern Hemisphere, winter is never too far away. After working hard to grow and maintain your garden, it seems a shame that all of your hard work is ‘lost’ when winter comes. However, there are steps you can take to make sure that next year is much easier. In this guide, we will explore how to get your garden ready for winter.

Remove the Diseased Foliage

Even some of the most advanced gardeners still think that as the poor weather of winter plagues our garden, diseased patches will instantly die out, but this is not the case. In fact, composting the topsoil will not even kill all the diseases. Physically removing the diseased foliage and any contaminated fruit or vegetables before winter is a must.

Soil Sample

Every type of soil is different, and the results of your topsoil tests will give you an idea of what it would be best for you to grow next summer. Before the winter starts, take a nice sample of topsoil for detailed analysis. This way, you will have plenty of time to plan your approach next summer.

Protect Your Soil

If your topsoil is in good condition, the chances are your gardening will be much easier. However, if you do not protect it, your summer may be fruitless (literally). Planting ryegrass in the winter will help store the important soil nutrients over winter. Then, when spring comes, all you need to do is turn the ryegrass under. This will add additional organic matter to your soil.

Collect Your Leaves

Falling leaves may seem like an annoyance, but it really depends what you make of them. This year, collect your leaves and put them in normal-sized plastic bags, store them away in a spare corner of your shed, then wait for roughly a year. After this time has passed your leaves would have decomposed leaving you great mulch. This mulch will work wonders on your topsoil either next autumn or the following summer.

Put Away Your Equipment

All of us are guilty of leaving things we should not leave outside every year. The reality is we should be storing these tools away so that we do not need to buy them again the following summer. How many times have you seen a sprinkler left in the middle of the garden in December? Furthermore, certain types of pots like Terra-cotta need to be protected from the elements in winter. This will ensure that you do not have to spend a fortune next spring when you ‘go back to work’ on your garden.

In Conclusion

To help your whole ‘operation’ next year, sit down for a while at the end of summer looking out over your garden. Then, make a list of what you have done this year that has worked, and what you have done that did not work. Making your own mistakes once is fine, but doing it again the very next year is unwise.

About the author: This post was written by James Harper on behalf of Boughton Loam and Turf Management. James is an avid gardener and enjoys writing about his hobby.

As we’ve chatted aimlessly about the benefit of plug plants and how to care for your precious puny plants, you all must be champing at the bit ready to take the garden centres by storm and snap up these self-starting delights with gusto.

Before you do however, you may like to browse an Alphabetical selection of wildflower plugs on offer this time of year, their benefits, their colours, their properties, so here’s a quick glance guide on the perfect plugs for your paddock, meadow, orchard or grassland. Even wildflower borders look great with some of these plants, but don’t worry we’ll be honest and won’t let you ruin your border with wildflowers that like to strangle your lupins!

A stands for Autumn Hawk bit, looking like the swinging sixties flower girl of the plug plant world, this vibrant yellow bloom will blossom low to the ground. Personally although it looks great in paddocks, meadows and on grass verges, I think it resembles a dandelion a little too much to be given space in a precious border. However a wildflower garden would benefit from this.

B stands for Black Knapweed; this is a great addition to any border and will provide food for birds. It grows best at the side of a pond or in grass land and its allium type purple heads provide colour throughout the summer and well into autumn. A good clipping is essential if planted in a herbaceous border, however throughout meadows its best just left to roam free.

C stands for Common Sorrel – grown in grass or a border this wildflower produces red cluster heads as it seeds, giving vibrancy to any hedgerow with the double advantage of being a tasty addition to any salad.

F stands for Foxglove, wonderful in a border, these trumpet like flowers stand tall and fall under the wildflower category as they reproduce at an alarming rate. Easy to grow the plugs will flower the following year and a choice of colours mean you never get bored!

O stands for Ox Eyed Daisy, a larger variety of the more common daisy found in lawns, and just the wildflower to set of any meadow, imagine the daisy chains you could make with these?!

P stands for Primrose, spring would not be complete without these plugs, either purple, blue red or yellow, as bedding plants or strewn across the borders of a meadow, primrose bring sunshine before the weather does!

W stands for Wood Sage, a tall woody plant that gives a distinctive aroma, in a wildflower garden it attracts all manner of wildlife; however this can be its downfall as it also tastes great to sheep and horses!

About the author: Sam Goodwill can often be found enjoying perennial plants in his garden in the UK.