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Gardening Tips, Tricks, & Advice

Planning Your Garden Redesign

Hochbeet

Image via Wikipedia

When you plan to redesign your flower garden, the first thing you need to consider is how and where you will be putting the plants. There are a number of reasons that a gardener may want to redesign a garden such getting rid of old flower beds or to prevent overcrowding. Moving plants that have already taken root is very similar to transplanting a seedling that began indoors then was transferred to an outside garden. Sometimes gardeners have to deal with the added expense of redesigning a garden. When extra cash is not available,  using a prepaid credit card can be helpful to ensure all the supplies are available.

There are times when an old garden bed that has been constructed of wood may begin rotting or a plastic, cement or brick flower bed begins to crack or crumble. During these times, take the opportunity to redesign your garden and also save portions of your old flower bed in order to make a new one. You should also make sure you have adequate amounts of healthy soil which means if you haven’t practiced changing your soil or compost annually with a completely new supply, do so now.

After you have removed the plants that you plan to keep, removed unwanted plants, above-ground level soil, and bed structures, you can take apart your wooden flower beds and save the nails for reuse with your new bed later. You can also reuse cement blocks and bricks and any plastic bedding structure from an old bed, then dispose of broken or rotting materials. Your new bed can be made of new materials as well as old materials. If you are adding an in-ground flower bed, you can use a wagon wheel for added structure.

Filed Under: Environment, Gardening Tagged With: Garden, Plant, Soil

Gardening to get the Kid’s Outside

Kids were more active 20 years ago right? Unless your child is involved in an extracurricular sport, they’re probably less active than they should be. Sitting for hours on the couch watching direct.tv or playing video games have replaced playing tag in the yard which results in a good share of teenagers being sedentary and often obese.

Gardening is a great way for you to get out of the house, for your children to get out of the house and for all to reap the benefits from a bountiful harvest.

Gardening is one of those things that seems like a lot of work but pays dividends in so many ways. There are periods of the gardening process that are hard work and often feel like exercise masked as a torturous event. Hauling water from one place to the next can be hard work when it’s 100 degrees outside and bending over to plant something or pull a weed might seem like back breaking work but in all reality is truly exercise.

There is something to be said about reaping the benefits of your hard work. A teenager that learns how to plant and nourish a garden is garnering quality life skills. They see the fruits of their hard labor from start to finish, and reap the benefits with fresh quality produce that they are ultimately responsible for.

Couple of hints to get the kids in motion:

1.    Plant some things they like! Find something your kids like and then capitalize on it. Planting spinach won’t do anyone any good if your kids can’t stand spinach, but planting cucumbers will be a good thing if your kids really like cucumbers.

2.    Be consistent! If the kids are having trouble nurturing their little garden set some ground rules. Watering on Tuesday and Saturday and no television until they get the garden weeded might be a good start.

Most importantly have fun with it.

Filed Under: Gardening, Home Improvement Tagged With: Garden, Home, Plant

Adding Koi to Your Water Garden

Thinking of a adding a flashy garnish to your backyard water garden?

Consider adding a companion that will make your backyard the talk of the neighborhood. Adding Koi to your pond provides a flashy and interesting addition to water gardens with the added bonus of giving your pond a low maintenance pet. Koi are a variety of carp that were originally found in Asia. The fish are know for their color and distinctive markings.

Koi are distinguished by their color, patterns and scales. While traditional Koi varieties have been around for centuries breeders are coming up with new hybrids every year. Koi have been developed for centuries to become more visually appealing. The ghost variety of Koi became popular in the 1980s.

 

The carp, introduced in 1850, is now a trouble... 

Image via Wikipedia

Despite all of the cross breeding meant to produce a more picturesque fish, the species remains durable. Koi are sturdy cold weather fish that adapt well to shifts in temperate. Even though Koi are tough it take properly constructed ponds to keep the fish alive through harsh winters. Koi almost entirely shut down during winter and eat next to nothing.

 

Ponds need to be deep enough for fish to retreat to in the winter. Covering the pond and providing the fish with a heat source also help. With a certain amount of care Koi will be companions for a long time. Koi can live for centuries. One famous Koi lived for more than 200 years.

Low maintenance, longevity and their nature beauty make Koi an ideal addition to a backyard water garden. Just keep them in your yard, Koi revert back to carp and are considered invasive if released into the wild.

 

 

 

 

Filed Under: Environment, Gardening Tagged With: Koi, Pond, Water garden

A Basic Water Garden Maintenance Checklist

Numerous problems can come as a direct result of having a water garden. Water garden owners can face the possibility of increased algae and scum, and stained rocks and garden lining. Luckily, by conducting regular maintenance on your water garden you can prevent these types of problems from happening.

 

Basic water garden maintenance takes just a few minutes. Here is a look at what you should be doing and checking for during that time.

 

Pond Scum 

water garden blooming 

Image by biverson via Flickr

 

Pond scum is the most common problem water garden owners face. Check for any type of scum that might be building up near leaves or other plant life. If you catch pond scum early enough you can prevent it from spreading to the whole pond.

 

Stained Landscaping

 

Water garden owners face the problem of having the water and rock deposits staining after a period of time. During your regular water garden maintenance check you should pick up rocks and stones and check for any type of staining that might have happened to these rocks. Stained stones can be harmful to the lining of the pond as well as any animals you may have in the pond.

 

Animal Behavior

 

Many water gardens have fish or other animals in the pond. If this is the case you should occasionally monitor your animals behavior to ensure they are getting the proper oxygen they need. Watch for signs that the animal is acting out of character or appearing sluggish as these are signs that there is a lack of oxygen.

 

By conducting a regular water garden maintenance check you can catch and fix problems before they become extremely problematic.

Filed Under: Gardening, General Tagged With: Pond Scum, Water garden

4 Tips for Starting Your Own Garden

When spring rolls around, people enjoy the warmth and being outside. This is the time of year that many think about starting a flower garden. If you’ve never planted one before, don’t despair! Here are four simple tips for starting your own garden.

1. Think small. Sometimes planting a garden is like eating a meal in which your eyes are bigger than your stomach. Don’t fall victim to thinking you need a huge garden with lots of flowers. A big flower garden could need more work than you have time and energy for. If you’ve never grown a garden before, start small, with a space no bigger than ten square feet.

2. Test soil. You need to know what type of soil you have because different types require different preparations. Take a handful of dirt and squeeze it. If it crumbles when you open your hand, your soil is a sandy loam. Bring in some compost to build it up. Clay soil is really sticky when wet. Bring in sand to break up your clay soil.

Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

3. Select plants. Because you have a small patch of ground, you should avoid plants that are big and spread out. Annuals are the easiest types of flowers to start with. Petunias, zinnias, marigolds, impatients, alyssum, cosmos, and verbena are easy flowers to grow. When you’re ready to buy your flowers, check canada 411 to help you find a local nursery.

4. Mulch. Your garden should be in a sunny spot in your yard so your plants will grow well. However, sun dries out the ground, so mulch will help keep moisture in.

Filed Under: Gardening, Technique Tagged With: Garden, Plant, Soil

Floating Plants for Your Backyard Pond: Floating Heart

Floating Plants for Your Backyard Pond: Floating Heart

Choosing the right pond plants is essential in creating the ideal ecosystem for your backyard water garden. Your plants must all be capable of working together in order to create an ideal environment, especially if you are hosting fish or amphibians in your pond, because they will have specific requirements in order to thrive. There are a wide variety of different plants that you can install in your outdoor pond or water garden, but some are more advantageous than others when you consider the benefits and the features that they provide your ecosystem with.

Floating Hearts

This is a floating plant that is also commonly referred to as Plafflheart, which is more of a scientific name for this type of plant than anything else. The term “floating hearts” is much more fitting for this plant, however, which is why it is the name that people use when referring to it. These are a floating plant that are especially suitable for backyard pounds because they are capable of spreading quite rapidly to create a lot of shade for fish and other plants. They can live very well in full sun or in partial shade, and so in general they are considered to be a very versatile little plant.

The floating heart plant has a waxy leaf that is shaped similarly to a heart, and the leaves float quite readily on the surface of the water, featuring boldly colored yellow flowers during the blooming season.

Filed Under: Gardening, Home Improvement Tagged With: Garden, Pond, Water garden

Floating Plants for Your Backyard Pond: Azolla

Floating Plants for Your Backyard Pond: Azolla

If you are looking for plants that would make excellent additions to your water garden, then you are going to want to consider the following floating plant. Floating plants do not have to be rooted in the ground, they simply float atop your pond water instead. The Azolla is a type of floating plant that is going to combine form with function, because not only is it a visually appealing plant that will float gracefully at the top of your pond, but it is also a functional plant that is going to improve the water chemistry of your pond while providing a food source and a source of shelter for the fish that you keep in your water garden.

Azolla

If you are looking for a floating backyard pond plant that is going to serve more than a single purpose, then the Azolla is a plant that is well worth considering. Not only is this floating plant going to provide shelter for the fish that are living in your backyard pond, but this particular floating plant is also going to be able to provide certain species of fish with an additional food source. It is also important for you to consider that these floating plants can help to keep your backyard pond or water feature water clean and pure. This means that this particular plant really is an excellent choice for your backyard pond, water garden or water feature, especially if you have other plants or fish living in your pond that you want to provide the healthiest water possible for. The Azolla plant looks a lot like a fern, but instead of being rooted in the ground, it floats just gently right on top of the pond water.

Filed Under: Gardening, Landscaping Tagged With: Pond, Water, Water garden

Floating Plants for Your Backyard Pond: Red Ludwegia

Floating Plants for Your Backyard Pond: Red Ludwegia

If you are looking for plants that would make excellent additions to your water garden, then you are going to want to consider the following floating plant. Floating plants do not have to be rooted in the ground, they simply float atop your pond water instead. The Red Ludwegia is one of those plants that can look beautiful while performing essential functions for your water garden, allowing you to create one of the best, healthiest and most thriving ecosystems in your backyard. This is a beautiful and functional plant, meaning that it can serve numerous benefits for your outdoor environment while looking beautiful at the same time. Add a splash of color to your outdoor water garden with the red ludwegia plant.

Red Ludwegia

The Red Ludwegia is a type of floating plant that is generally perceived to be perfect for anyone with a backyard pond that plays home to baby fish or small fish that may need help from hiding places in order to facilitate their survival. Floating plants are excellent for this purpose, because they provide spaces for small fish to hide, where larger fish would not be able to reach them easily. This is a very beautiful and very vibrantly colored floating plant that features gorgeous red leaves. This is also a relatively easy plant for you to grow as well as care for, especially in backyard ponds and other outdoor water features. What this means is that if you do not have a ton of time to devote to planting and tending to your outdoor floating plants, then this is going to be a good plant for you because it is hardy, easy to care for and very beautiful in all types of ponds and water features.

Filed Under: Gardening, Tulip Tagged With: Pond, Water, Water garden

Floating Plants for Your Backyard Pond: Floating Water Hyacinth

water hyacinth n garlic

Image by la fattina via Flickr

Floating Plants for Your Backyard Pond: Floating Water Hyacinth

Some plants have a tendency to perform better than others when you decide to grow them in a backyard pond. Floating plants are particularly beneficial for a pond because they provide shade and shelter for fish and other aquatic creations, and they can add oxygen to the water for better water chemistry. Some floating plants are well worth considering adding to your pond, but there are always important considerations that you are going to want to make when doing so. Ensure that you know how to care for and maintain the plant properly, and guarantee that it will not interfere with your water chemistry or current plant and pond life before adding any new plant to your ecosystem.

Floating Water Hyacinth

This is a beautiful plant that is especially suitable for installation in a variety of different types of backyard ponds. It grows natively in lower US states including Alabama, California, Texas, Georgia and Florida. This plant typically has very large purple or blue flowers with yellow internal markings. They are the type of floating plant that you will commonly see in southern ponds and lakes because they grow natively in these areas. It is important for you to consider that even though these are very beautiful floating plants for backyard pond use, you must absolutely take care of them properly in order to prevent them from becoming a nuisance over time. If you do not keep them trimmed back properly, they can grow out of control quite easily in your pond, and it will allow them to suffocate other plants in the pond. Make sure that you know how to care for this plant completely before adding it to your pond.

Filed Under: Gardening, Tulip Tagged With: Pond, Water garden

Marginal Bog Plants for Aquatic Gardens

Caltha palustris var. himalensis- Marsh Marigo...

Image via Wikipedia

Marginal Bog Plants for Aquatic Gardens

Marginal plants and bog plants are hardy and tend to work well in a wide variety of different water gardens, outdoor ponds and water features. Most are bare root and easy to install into your pond, and they only need to have their “feet” wet in order to thrive in an outdoor environment, meaning they can be half in the water and half out, completely submerged, or they can be planted in the mud and they will still thrive quite well. If you are looking for a variety of hardy plants that you can install in and around your outdoor water feature, then consider the following list:

- Aquatic Mint
- Arrowhead
- Arrowhead, Double Flowering
- Arrow Arum
- Aztec Arrowhead
- Bamboo, Dwarf
- Black Gamecock Iris
- Blue Flag Iris
- Canna, Hardy water
- Cardinal Flower, Red
- Cattail, Common
- Cattail, Dwarf
- Cattail, Narrow-leaf
- Frog Bit, American
- Flowering Rush
- Four Leaf Clover
- Golden Club
- Horsetail
- Lizard Tail
- Marsh Marigold
- Parrot’s Feather
- Pennywort
- Pickerel Weed
- Snowflake
- Spiderwort
- Sweetflag
- Red Copper Iris
- Variegated Sweetflag
- Yellow Flag Iris
- Zebra Rush

These are just a small sampling of the plants that are available for you to add to your pond or outdoor water feature. If you want to add a wide variety of different plants to your outdoor water garden so that you can create a lush and natural environment, then the aforementioned list is an excellent starting point, and then you can build your water garden from here depending on which plants you are most interested in. Keep in mind that bog plants like these are not your only option, and choose oxygenated, fully submerged and floating plants or water lilies as well in order to create a natural and diverse water garden that suits your needs.

Filed Under: Gardening, Home Improvement Tagged With: Water, Water feature, Water garden
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