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Helping you keep your home & family environment safe, healthy, happy, improved, enriched & empowered!
Outdoors - Gardens and Landscapes:
Gardening Tips
To keep your lawn and garden looking lush and lovely all summer long, just follow these tips:
Water Wisely
Hot weather can be particularly brutal on grass and plants, and although year-round care is important, summer is the time to really 'baby' your greenery with regular, measured watering. Lawns require one to two inches of water per week, unless there's heavy rain. Over watering can actually deplete the soil of nutrients and make it more susceptible to disease. One rule of thumb: Water the lawn when the soil begins to dry out, but before the grass wilts. An inexpensive moisture meter, available at a hardware store, can be used to indicate the need.
As a general rule, most plants prefer water at their 'feet,' not on their 'heads'. So, water at soil level, not by overhead spraying an entire bed; and, water during the early morning or late evening hours to minimize evaporation.
Mulch Masterfully
Covering soil beds with the proper mulch will retain moisture that will benefit plants and maintain optimum soil conditioning. For example, three to six inches of straw has proved effective as mulch. Another option is to mow your lawn with a mulching blade that will shred the clipped grass blades and spread them evenly back over the lawn. Clippings deliver beneficial nitrogen into the soil, cutting down on the need to fertilize.
Manfredini recommends turning over mulch beds by raking in mid-summer to keep mulch fresh and the area looking like new. As fall approaches, mulch may begin to decompose, so rake thoroughly once more to help reduce the alternate freezing and thawing of the soil.
Mow Methodically
Mowing correctly will keep your lawn in good health. There are three things to remember: mow with a sharp blade, trim regularly, and trim to the correct height. A dull mower blade makes ragged cuts on grass blades, opening up turf to disease. A clean cut prevents the grass from losing too much water.
Take care to determine the type of grass you have and its optimal mowing height, then mow often enough to maintain that height. To help the lawn cope with a dry spell, mow less frequently and at a higher cut.
Prune Properly
Pruning will renew or increase production of foliage, but each plant has specific needs. For example, while hedging shrubs can be pruned year-round, flowering shrubs are best pruned only after they flower. Evergreen trees benefit most when pruned in early summer while fruit-bearing trees, shrubs and vines respond best in late winter. I recommend homeowners consult a local garden center or hardware store to know what's best for their plants, trees and shrubs.
Garden Generously
The prettiest gardens are in bloom every week of the season. Vary flower types and planting times to allow for constant bloom.
Happy Gardening!!
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Article:
How To Plan A Garden Right
Gardening is a hobby that brings joy, entertainment, and a
better quality of life. It is a creative activity, the
result of which is a more aesthetically appealing home.
Thoughtful planning of a garden starts with the type of
garden you would like to have. Deciding on a type of garden
is essential before choosing which design elements to
include. ill your garden be just a place to plant a bunch
of flowers, which will blossom only during the growing
season? Or would you rather have a thoughtfully-chosen herb
garden? Or maybe just a vegetable plot?
Another issue to consider is the climate in your location.
It can be surprising how little we know about the facts,
figures and statistics of the weather where we live. You may
want to consult an online map to get statistical data
regarding climate elements like rainfall per month or
average temperatures.
The next step, after having decided about the type of garden
and after investigating the local climate, is to figure out
the plants that you would like to grow in your garden. Think
of plants that are suitable for the duration of the growing
season in your location and that will survive the changes in
temperature, typical for your location.
The thoughtful planning of a garden involves one more factor
to consider – how much shade is necessary for each of the
plants. You need to make sure that there is enough light all
over the places you plan to plant your garden.
When you have finished with planning in theory, it is time
to start planning the plots in your garden. Again, think for
a good plan – one that brings joy, is easy to keep to, and
at the same time efficiently uses the available space.
Think about where to place plants that require a lot of
sunlight. The best place for such plants is away from
buildings and taller trees because these block the light at
daytime.
Deciding which plants to grow near the house, and which
should be in the open also requires some thought. If you
prefer the sunshine streaming through your windows, then you
are best not to have bulky trees or bushes near the house,
where they will block the sunlight.
If you have decided that you will be growing herbs and
vegetables, the best place for them is near the house. When
they are near the house, it is more likely that you will be
using them for cooking. Besides convenience, you should also
think about the location of vegetables as far as their needs
for sunlight are concerned. This is especially true if yours
is mainly a vegetable garden.
Last, but not least, take into account your personal
preferences, when designing a garden. If there are
particular extras you would like to have, for instance
winding pathways or gazebos, include them in the initial
design of the garden. Your outdoor garden is constrained
only by the limits of your creativity and the growing season
in your location.
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David Kurshel is the webmaster of
BIOGardening - a popular and extensive resource including articles and
a newsletter about gardening. For more information, go to:
http://www.biogardening.com
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