Certainly it is tempting to put thoughts of next year’s garden on hold for winter dreaming and spring planting, but gardeners who capitalize in the fall planting season take advantage of many opportunities the spring just can’t afford. Plus, remember how busy the spring season is? There are literally hundreds of tasks we’re juggling with as the earth wakes up …
Fall Colour
The best gardens have plants that add shape, color and overall decor in all seasons. Spring and summer can be pretty easy to fill your gardens with color, especially if you use annuals. However, it can take a bit more planning on your part to keep your flower beds looking great during the late summer and well into the fall. …
Deadheading Perennials
Deadheading/Trimming Perennials Removing spent blooms will help keep your perennials tidy and promote more flowers. Deadheading and promoting new blooms will also provide more pollen and nectar for the pollinators in your gardens. The plants get a refreshed appearance and the amount of seed it drops is lessened with deadheading. This will direct the plants energy into root development and …
Early/Late Tomato Blight
It’s that time of the year again when we are anticipating on eating all the great vegetables from our gardens! Here is a bit of info that will hopefully help you to avoid that awful Tomato Blight so you get to enjoy those ripe delicious tomatoes! One thing to remember is that once you have late tomato blight there is …
Fun Gardening Facts
There’s a lot more to our gardens and beloved plants than we realise. Some amazing secrets are hidden in our gardens. Here are some super interesting facts that you maybe didn’t know … A sunflower is not just one flower. The sunflower is a huge flower, but the head or fuzzy brown center actually contains 1,000–2,000 individual flowers. Each of …
Pruning Roses
Roses have grown at an amazing rate with this years hot and wet weather! You’re likely wondering if you should be cutting them back before the end of summer. Pruning is an important and necessary step in growing roses. It keeps the plant healthy and promotes new growth. Dead heading is important in that it removes spent blooms so that …
Making Mistakes
Love the idea of having a beautiful garden? Hold that thought! If you are fairly new to gardening you will need to know a few things that will help keep you out of trouble. Being a gardener means you will likely make a few mistakes, even armed with gardening know-how and well meaning advice, and that’s okay – you can …
Japanese Beetles
The Japanese Beetle has made itself known in our area as a plant/shrub & tree leaf decimator! Many flowering roses, rose of sharon, fruit trees and hibiscus can be attractors of the japanese beetle. (there are more than 300 known varieties of plants that the beetle is attracted to) To start at the beginning of a Japanese beetle’s life cycle …
Earwigs
Ewwww ….!! It’s an earwig! Or what some people call “one of those pincher bugs”! A balance of earwigs in your garden can actually be beneficial as they will eliminate other pests such as aphids, mites and insect larvae. Earwigs can look frightening, but they are pretty much harmless to us. In the garden though, an abundance of earwigs can …
Heat Stress on Plants
When temperatures in the summer start creeping up, you’re not the only one who can get stressed. A lot of plants will suffer when the weather turns hot out. Irreversible damage can occur to the plant with decreased functions in growth, failure to flower, or failure to produce seeds. However, with adequate care, outdoor plants in the extreme heat, and …