More Mistakes in Gardening

We are adding another 10 elements to the previous list of most often mistakes made by gardening amateurs. The following article is a set of examples that might help the beginner gardeners in avoiding some serious problems. It is worth to know what to be careful with when gardening.

1. Hedges not cuted properly

Not cutting the hedge enough is a common occurrence amongst young gardeners – they feel bad for the pretty, small plants so they allow it to grow high. In the beginning the mistake is unnoticeable but after a few years, when it grows a bit, the bottom parts of the hedges become bald. It is far more difficult to make the plants cover these spots then cutting it a bit annually – the more regularly you cut the young sprouts, the more it prompts the plant to grow and propagate.

2. Taking plants for weeds

For an amateur all young plants look alike and in the beginning it is difficult to tell what will become, for example, a beautiful flower. That is why often in the spring those future flowers are brutally removed, mistaken for weeds.

3. Too much or not enough watering (especially for pot plants)

Pot plants are far more delicate than the flowerbed ones. It is caused by their environment being highly limited and artificial, the water evaporates faster, dooming the plant to wither and roots rot easily when soaked for too long a time. Not fertilized potted plants grow slower than the flowerbed ones, as the soil loses its nutritious value.

4. Planting invasive plants

Planting some plants may prove to become the last straw in killing the young gardener’s garden. When they start infesting the flowerbeds, it is very difficult to get rid of them. You need to know at least about these most popular: bistorts, poplar, various kinds of willows, raspberries, blackberries, wild strawberries, strawberries, maples, clematis, honeysuckles, lilies of the valley, anemones, violets, some kinds of pinks, cornflowers, poppies, ferns, daisies, eves, etc. Before planting them you need to think carefully if a good looking arrangement will be good for the garden.

More mistakes you can find in original post: Mistakes in gardening you wouldn't be proud off

Garden at the Balcony

July is a really good time to take care of ourselves, our home, garden and family. We have much more energy and the weather is getting better. It is worth to focus this power to make this space more luxury and relaxing, to make it peaceful place.

To do that we don't need too much money, we don't even need to have a big garden and outdoor space - just a balcony, a few hours of our time, an investment in accessories and plants on the balcony and willing to make a change. Making a balcony arrangement is pleasant task and bring us results in a really short time. The beginning of July is usually the best time to start the work.

Plants on the balcony
Choosing those plants on the balcony mostly depends on our preferences. We can either decide to use some regular plants like in example begonys, hydrangea, petunia or choose something more complicated to maintain like herbs or creeping plants. Making complicated arrangements of plants on our balcony is mostly for people with wide knowledge about gardening.

Whatever plants we choose we should remember that it is better to buy them in seedlings. This will save us time spend on putting plants to the soil in seeds. All items that we think of should be thought through wisely and should depend on time that we are willing to spend on on taking care of the balcony and how much money do we want spend.

Accessories

Second element that is needed to create a fabulous balcony area are accessories. We need something like planters and flower boxes. Those who love gardening might use big, heavy planters that will be suitable for all kind of plants and will secure their complicated plants arrangements. Creeping flowers would look especially good on the lattice hanging on the wall, near the window.

If we would be willing to spend some more time on the balcony and enjoy our work we can also buy ourselves a set of small furniture - table and chairs, and if we had enough space we can put there also a deckchair. Those improvements will definitely make our outdoor space more pleasant and guarantee us relaxing time.

By: michal costaminnego

Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com

Wooden patio canopies and wooden summerhouses

[photo: suzettesuzette]

Everything Resistant Plants - they will grow if you like it or not

Are you one of those people that feel they are completely unable to keep a plant alive? All your flowers wither after a month since you brought them home? Maybe it is time to think of it that way: It is not you who is wrong for the plants, maybe you simply had the wrong plants?

There are many house flowers that actually require very little attention.

One of them is the Red Edged Dracena, which is an outstandingly resistant plant. It likes sunny places but without the light shinning directly on it. The best temperature for it is 20 C, 15-18 C during the winter. It can be watered moderately once a week, again, during the winter even less often. It likes moist air.

Another one can be bamboo. It should be kept directly in the water (it should reach about an inch above the roots) and out of direct sunlight. If you change the water every two weeks, it shouldn’t require much more, perhaps some fertilizer every now and then.

Another plant very resilient to it’s owner’s lack of attention is Cthenenthe oppenheimiana. There are several kinds of it but they all have long, striped leaves with red underside. It is a perfect plant for smokers, as it doesn’t mind smoke. An interesting think is that it actually lets its owner know when it needs to be watered – its leaves are folding when it really needs water. Definitely helps those prone to forgetting.

If you have trouble with remembering to water your plants, you can set an alarm in your mobile phone to go off periodically, in the mornings, before you leave for work or afternoons, when you are already back home when it starts ringing.

Agree with yourself about specific days of the week for plant watering, for example once a week on Monday for plants that prefer dry ground, 2 or 3 times a week (Monday, Wednesday, Friday) for plants that need more water. It is good to mark each plant with a stick that has one, two or three water drops drawn on it – it will save you time you would spend wondering which plant should be watered on what day. A bottle with stale water should always be standing in plain sight, refilled immediately with fresh water after it is all used up.

A word of advice for succulent plants cultivators (you can recognize them by their meaty leaves) – it is good to put them into a bowl of cold water once a week, for the soil in the flowerpot and the plant itself to regain its necessary moisture level.

Once a year all flowers should be replanted into slightly bigger flowerpots (about 1,20 inch wider in diameter than the previous one), with addition of some fresh soil.

To prevent forgetting to fertilize the plants, you can buy special long-lasting universal fertilizers in the form of sticks that are inserted in the soil. Usually they work for three to six months and then are simply exchanged for fresh ones.

You might grow these plants at home or in the garden at the wooden greenhouse - they will grow definitely.

[photo: delphaber]

A Word About Flower Gardens

Spring is in full bloom and it is about time to do something nice in the garden. And what might emphasize the beautiful season more than a lovely flower garden? Creating a beautiful flowery space is not as difficult as one might think. Although it takes some careful planning, it pays off when everything is ready and blooming with colours.

The outline of an idea

Where to begin? Before you go on a frenzy of looking for specific flowers, think carefully what exactly is on your mind. Should the garden be neat and organized, or wild and natural? Look up some pictures of already existing gardens for inspiration. How much would you like to spend on the project? The budget might become a problem if you wish for your garden to look like an exotic oasis. And while spending thousands on expensive plants brings extraordinary effects, it might become problematic when a struggle to it them healthy and good looking whenever it gets too cold or too wet. More simple, natural ideas are not only much more favourable to the wallet, they are also easier to maintain and very natural.

A garden plan

When you have the idea formed in your head, it is good to visualize it. Use a chequered paper sheet to draw a plan of you garden. It is best to use a 1:40 scale, where 1 inch corresponds with 40 inches in reality. Even if the garden is small and you will not be dividing it into sections and the space will be filled with a flower mix, it is still good to create such plan. It will be a great help when it comes to estimating seeds and seedling quantities.

Useful tips

You should remember some simple rules, it is good to consider them while you’re still in the concept part of your garden-creating. Expansive flowers should not be planted next to the slowly growing ones. Also, many flowers virtually disappear after they shed blossom. They should be placed next to ones that have extensive leaves which will cover the empty spaces then or are in full bloom for a longer period, like annual flowers. If your garden is not very big, you shouldn’t plant big or high flowers, they will take a lot of space and make the whole garden look smaller. The short flowers should be planted in front, while the higher one should occupy the back – nothing will get covered and there will be a sense of harmony created that way.

It is always a good idea to have some decorative perennials planted around the garden, even if they have no inflorescence. They will provide color throughout the whole season and blend in nicely, giving your garden a natural look.

If you will keep that in mind when crating the plan and while planting, you will be able to create a wonderful garden. But remember that this is not the end. A nice garden is a well maintained garden. Remember to keep an eye on weeds, to fertilize and water. That way, you will enjoy your flowerbeds for many seasons.

From Liveoutside blog: A word about flower gardens

[photo by: Rosino]

Garden in the Middle of Winter

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

Now, when bright and happy color of green, is slowly turning into red and sad brown many people feel this change in their souls - they don't want to do anything, aren't smiling and generally feel worse than in the summer. Cause there is nothing better for our mood then sunshine and flowers at blossom. We are not only feeling bad but also we have to face reality.

Summer is going away and autumn is taking its place - this is probably not a happy time for anyone. Summer and holidays that are usually connected with it are time when we can relax, forget about troubles and reality. People who want to feel those emotions a bit longer are desperately trying to keep summer in their lives by in example investment in winter garden.

Such winter gardens are usually being constructed and installed by companies that are doing also our windows. Those people know everything not only about windows but also winter gardens. They know that it is important to make a good habitat for plants - accurate temperature and hydration. Thanks to there is a chance to grow different types of plants in the winter garden. And they will look great the whole year - even exotic plants.

If we decide on having winter garden we can delight ourselves with summer all over the year. Even if the temperature outside is really low and the air is cold. We don't have to spend fortune on trips to exotic places or doing nothing just waiting for next summer. We can do something, we can have winter garden.

Not only it would be a place where we could feel like in the middle of July. It could also be a great part of garden decor, a beautiful ornament that our friends and neighbors would be jealous of.

Find something interesting for your garden like garden buildings also beautiful in winter and summer houses Article Souce: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Matthew_Sorrow

The Strength of a Beautiful Garden

Image via Wikipedia

Our garden is the place where we can search for good energy and strength for living. Here you can find some good tips about how to plan a beautiful garden and how to buy plants to it - to make it even more relaxing and original.

Beautiful - warm and sunny day, hammock, and delicate, soft and pleasant smell of flowers in the air. Something like that sounds like a resting on some tropical island - but it's not. It might be also resting in our garden - cause everyone that has only a small land for his disposal can spend some luxury moments like that.

Planning a garden
Before we buy plants and trees to our garden we should first think trough the whole matter - where each thing would stand and where each plant would grow best and look best. Mostly we should remember that garden and house are composing and to look good they should match. And we should also think about what are our expectations, what is the garden's purpose and what do we want to see from our windows.

Garden as a shield
Garden that is well organized might not only look good but also play a role of some sort of shield that will protect us and our house from what is outside. Trees even small can cover us from the curious eyes of our neighbors and also dust and noise of the street. Ideal for this purpose would be all kinds of hedges that might also be cut in very original way - the design of the hedge depends only on us.

What to look at when buying plants and trees
First we should think which plants will grow nearby the house and which will be a little bit far from it. And which plants will grow also near themselves and which will be separate. It has a major meaning because some plants look much better when they are 'single', surrounded only by grass and some better in groups. Especially trees that will grow higher should be planted separately.

The dimensions of trees is also a different point to think about. But when we do all those things we surely be satisfied with the effect we get.

If you are looking for wooden and luxury garden canopies and Carports the Liveoutside website will give you exactly what you are looking for!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Matthew_Sorrow

Exotic plants at winter time

Image by suchitra prints via Flickr

Winter is quite a rough time - for us and for our garden plants. It's cold and we aren’t in the mood for anything. Our plants are feeling bad too. How to make them feel good? Which plants are more likely to survive at this time of the year?

A winter garden is one of the best places to grow flowers, especially the exotic ones. We can also have vegetables, lemons and oranges there.

The most popular winter-garden plants are climbers and hanging type plants (for example ivy), high species (i.e. Chinese roses, oranges) and low species (winter begonia). You can also use your greenhouse to grow forced vegetables for example paprika or tomatoes.

In the winter garden we have to take care of the plants and the conditions that they are in more carefully than in summer time. The most important conditions are the temperature, lighting and air humidity. There are sometimes situations when people grow very demanding plants in their gardens like Chinese Gooseberry (well known as kiwifruit), or passion fruits. Having winter gardens can bring us a lot of benefits.

We can put the plants that we grew earlier in the greenhouse into our home and they will increase the quality of our air, and bring an original look to our interior. The smell of leaves and flowers have a positive impact on our mood and thanks to them we feel calmer.

We will only achieve these results when we treat our plants well. Mistakes made in growing may end up badly. Not seldom we have situations of damaging the flowers or even death. The main course for blame for this is bad conditions or choice of wrong place. Symptoms that should worry us are spots on the leaves and their strange colour.

It depends on us, our imagination and needs, what we will do with our winter garden and what plants we will have there. But it's worth thinking about when we are at the planning stage of designing our garden.