Hostas for that Shady Spot Where Nothing will Grow

Do you have a shady spot in the garden where nothing seems to grow? Most of us have an area under trees, along side of the house or next to a tall fence that gets so little sunlight that we can't get much to grow there. This is a perfect spot to plant the hosta.

Even though the hostas bloom for a short time in the summer, we usually think of them because of their beautiful foliage. There are many varieties of hostas available. Some have heart shaped leaves, some are round and still others have a lance like shape. You can find hostas with quilted leaves, smooth leaves, variegated, blue or green leaves.

Plant several types of hostas in these hard to grow areas for almost maintenance free beauty. They grow in any type of soil and make a wonderful ground cover for those areas that are hard to get at.

Hostas are easy to divide. This makes them a good, inexpensive basis for ground cover. Just dig them up and pull the roots apart and replant them to cover larger areas.

Read more about the beautiful hosta.

Afraid of Pruning your Rose Bush?

A lot of gardeners are afraid of pruning their rose bushes. There is really no reason for it. Letting it get overgrown is a lot worse than if you make a slight mistake when you cut it back. The center of the rose bush has to get sunlight and have proper air circulation for the rosebush to thrive. If you let the bush grow without restraint, you’re doing it more harm than if you snip off a branch at the wrong point.

Some roses bloom on last year’s growth while others bloom on new growth. If you prune the type that blooms on the old growth in the spring, it stands to reason that you won’t get as many blooms during the current blooming season, but don’t worry. Next year they will bloom with vigor and you’ll know that the best time to prune that particular type of rose is in the fall.

Spring pruning is best for the rose bushes that bloom on new growth. It’s also a good time to get out there and check the roses for any damage that the winter months have contributed to.

Before you start grooming your rose bushes, make sure that all of your gardening tools are clean. You can easily move garden diseases from one area of the garden to another with improperly cleaned tools. It’s easy to clean the tools, and if you don’t know how it’s all laid out in How to Clean Your Garden Tools.

Protect your hands when you’re working with roses. Don’t forget how sharp those thorns can be.

A good article to guide you step by step through the pruning process can be found at Pruning the Rose Bush. Follow the directions and you can’t go wrong.

Even though a lot of people think it’s hard to grow roses, it’s really not as long as you know how to take care of them. 

Get the Most out of Your Fresh Cut Roses

I love my rose bushes. No matter what type of rose it is, the blooms from a healthy rose bush seem to brighten the whole garden. Home grown roses also make wonderful cut flowers so they can be enjoyed indoors as well as out. A few simple steps can ensure that you harvest the blooms in a way that they will stay fresh and vibrant for as long as possible.

Make sure that the tools you bring to the garden to cut the roses are clean. There is no sense in contaminating the freshly cut stem that will only serve to make the flowers wilt faster. Bring a bucket of tepid water to the garden so that you can plunge the freshly cut stem immediately.

Cut the roses during the coolest part of the day, early in the morning or at dusk. This will prevent wilting. The rosebuds that are just beginning to unfold will last the longest in the floral arrangement.

Make a 45 degree angled cut above the bottom 2 leaves on the stem with a sharp knife or shears. The top leaf on the portion of the stem should face outward because the new growth will start here. You want it to grow toward the outside, not inward.

Put your freshly cut rose into the bucket of water. Immerse the whole stem, leaving only the blossom above the water.

Keep the roses cool until you’re ready to arrange them. When your cut flowers are not on display, move them to the coolest part of the home to help them last longer.

Cut roses can be beautifully displayed on their own, mixed with other garden flowers or even surrounded by greenery. I personally like a single bud displayed in a tiny vase on the nightstand. 

Garden Insects - Pests or Benefactors

When we’re working in the garden we notice that it seems to attract a lot of insects. Our first instinct can be that we don’t want to share our living space with a bunch of bugs. Before declaring war, though, take the time to identify the perceived enemy. The bug you want to eliminate may be spending it’s short life helping you maintain your beautiful garden.


There are beneficial insects as well as insect pests, and a gardener has to take the time to recognize the difference. Some plants and flowers depend on insects for pollination. Other insects are feeding on the insects that can cause problems later.


When insect pest invade your garden, you can see the damage from a distance. If you have to inspect your flowers at close range to identify tiny holes in the leaves, you probably don’t have a problem. Although early detection is the best defense against an infestation of insect pests that can devastate your garden, acting too soon can cause even more damage.


Protect you plants from stresses that could weaken them and make them more susceptible to damage from insect pests. Make sure that the garden soil provides good drainage. Add organic matter to the soil to make sure that the plants are getting the proper nutrients. Pay special attention to the moisture requirements of the garden plants and water the garden if the plants start to wilt or the soil appears too dry.


Insects in a healthy garden aren’t necessarily a problem. The balance of nature will keep the beneficial insects feeding on those pesty ones and keep the population in check. Be vigilant, but don’t start a war that doesn’t have to be fought.

Problem Areas and Naturescape

Did you ever think that your yard would be perfect if you could only find a plant that would grow in that spot? It seems like every yard has a problem area like that. It could be due to the lack of sun, a slope that can’t be fixed or even plain old bad soil with lots of rocks. It may benefit with a Naturescape.

Soil amendments haven’t worked. New plantings either get washed away during the first rainstorm or get baked by the sun before the growing season is over. It’s enough to make even the most patient gardener toss a tool and start looking for yard ornaments to cover up the spot.

Now might be a good time to fill a water bottle, pack a notebook and camera and hit the back roads. You may find several types of groundcovers or wildflowers that will thrive in that spot.

It stands to reason that if you have an area in your yard that can’t be ‘fixed’ by amendments, there must be other areas in the local area that are ‘blessed’ with the same environmental elements that challenge you. All you have to do is find them as see what grows there. If it can thrive out in the wild, think of what it can do with a little help from you.

Naturescapes are areas planted with wildflowers and native trees and bushes. Native plants evolve to the local environment so they can withstand everything nature has to offer. Native plants have built up a resistance to local insect pests and diseases. They have developed to withstand the extreme changes in temperatures that the local climate offers. The native plant also has adapted to the normal rainfall of the area.

Native plants aren’t necessarily weeds. If it is noninvasive, has an attractive flower, beautiful foliage or if it bears fruit, it would probably be a beautiful addition to your garden and the ideal solution for that spot. An added incentive to go out looking for native plant options is that a naturescape requires very little maintenance once it’s established.

Now, you can enjoy your perfect yard.

Container Gardening While Waiting for Spring

Once the snow has melted from the garden, that familiar annual yearning to start working the soil to get a jump start on the growing season starts eating away at a garden lover. There is such a thing as starting your gardening work too early, though.

The soil in the spring garden needs a chance to warm up and dry out before the gardener to get to it. Try to get a head start before the soil is ready and the eager gardener can cause more harm than good as the soil compacts and tiny shoots of perennials are crushed.

In the spring, when the frost danger has passed, direct your attention to the window boxes and the tubs and pots and welcome the growing season by planting annuals. Take care in choosing the annual plants for the container garden if you live in an area susceptible to a late frost. Read more....

Declare a War on Moles in your Lawn and Garden

Moles. I hate it when they invade my garden. It's even worse when one of those destructive garden pests sneaks it's way into my garden shed or garage. Luckily that doesn't happen too often, but the damage a mole can do to the lawn and garden is costly and annoying.

The garden is meant to be a peaceful place. Working in the sunshine and relaxing in the well tended garden are two of the reasons those of us who do it love gardening so much.

Its a shame when pesky little critters invade our space and make a mockery of all of our hard work. Well, I'm not going to put up with it. I'm declaring a war on the mole in my lawn and garden.

Rid the Lawn and Garden of Moles

Pest Control for Tunneling Ground Moles

Dec 4, 2009 Patrice Campbell

Get Rid of Moles - Wendy Pastorius

Moles tunnel just below the soil surface for insects, grubs and worms to eat. Active year round, these garden pests leave unsightly damage to the lawn and garden.

Moles can be removed from a garden by trapping, flooding or driving them away with repellents. Placing an electronic vibration device or even a child’s toy pinwheel over a surface tunnel can cause the mole to relocate.

Read more at Suite101: Rid the Lawn and Garden of Moles: Pest Control for Tunneling Ground Moleshttp://www.suite101.com/content/rid-the-lawn-and-garden-of-moles-a176719#ixzz1EX865BSV

Did Spider Mites Spend the Winter in your Garden

Now that spring is here you're probably out working in the garden. If you didn't clean up properly last fall, there may be dangerous pests eating away at the emerging plants.

Learn about spider mites that might be eating away at the new growth. Take steps to get rid of them now, before you have an infestation.

Spider Mites in the Garden

Fall Garden Cleanup will Reduce Mite Damage

Nov 10, 2009 Patrice Campbell

Spider mites winter in plant debris - Mateusz Stachowski

Adult spider mites winter below the soil surface, living in plant debris until the late spring warmth brings them up to feed on tender shoots.

Spider mites are arachnids, so small they can barely be seen. But the damage caused by the piercing and sucking pests is apparent in the garden and greenhouse. Yellow or white stippling, red spots or yellow dots on the leaves are a warning that if the leaf is turned over the mite will be found amongst cast skins and bits of excrement.

The spider mite injects toxins into plant tissue while it feeds.

Read more at Suite101: Spider Mites in the Garden: Fall Garden Cleanup will Reduce Mite Damage http://www.suite101.com/content/spider-mites-in-the-garden-a168160#ixzz1EWwCqQcn

Get Rid of Insect Pests with Diatomaceous Earth

A lot of us never heard about diatomaceous earth before, even though it's been around for millions of years. If you like the idea of getting rid of garden insect pests without using chemicals, you will want information.

An organic garden pest control that can get rid of even those pesky slugs and snails without harming your vegetables and flowers will help you enjoy your bountiful harvests

Diatomaceous Earth

Organic Garden Pest Control

Nov 15, 2009 Patrice Campbell

Organic Gardening with Diatomaceous Earth - rgrabe

Microscopic plants that died 30 million years ago can help rid the garden of insect pests without harming valuable plants.

Many insect garden pests can be eliminated with treatments of diatomaceous earth (D.E.). It serves as a barrier to slugs, snails, thrips, ants, earwigs, fleas, ticks, spider mites, flea beetles and many others. D.E. is even a deterrent for bedbugs.

What is Diatomaceous Earth?

Diatomaceous earth is made up of 33% silicon, 19% calcium, 5% sodium, 3% magnesium, 2% iron and has trace minerals like boron, copper, zirconium, titanium, and manganese. It's a natural compound from diatoms mined from deposits of diatomite. Diatoms are tiny single cell algae-like plants, that have been on this earth longer than man. Their microscopic skeleton remains have build up over the last 30 million years, to thick deposits of chalky diatomite.

Read more at Suite101: Diatomaceous Earth: Organic Garden Pest Control http://www.suite101.com/content/diatomaceous-earth-a170062#ixzz1EWsPogn7Diatomaceous Earth: Organic Garden Pest Control

Don’t Spread Garden Pests or Disease

Would you be devastated to learn that you are the one who introduced a garden pest or disease into your beloved garden?

Many gardeners do just that as they tend to their garden plants.  Garden tools allow the gardener to bring contaminated soil, debris that may host pest and disease into the garden and often even introduce weeds into the garden.

The solution is to keep your garden tools clean. Simply knocking off the dried off clumps of dirt is not really cleaning garden tools, even though a lot of us are guilty of telling ourselves that they are because we’re tired at the end of a laborious gardening session.

Cleaning the garden tools isn’t a difficult task. The simple directions to make your garden tools clean and safe can be found in this article at www.FactGarden.com.

This spring, start out your gardening season right by using clean garden tools. After you have cleaned up the debris that accumulated last winter, clean the tools again. You never know what types of pest found a safe have in the debris over the winter. It’s not only important to destroy the debris, but you want to eliminate any disease, pest or other contaminates that have lingered on the garden tools after the cleanup.

Elderberry in the Garden and Medicine Chest

The trees and shrubs in your garden space define your area. Don't overlook their importance if you're planning a landscape. Choose trees that grow well in the area without a lot of attention from you, but don't forget to plant a tree or shrub that will hold a special meaning for you.

Be bold when looking for inspiration on what trees to plant. If you plan on living in your home long term, watching a tree grow and marking the progression of the years by comparing the height of tree with photos of the kids or grandkids who play beneath it can bring back pleasant memories each time the fragrance of the tree floats to you on a gentle breeze.

A seldom thought of small tree for the yard is the Elderberry. With beautiful blossoms that give way to fruit, the elderberry also plays an important part in herbal medicine and folklore. It has been used for such a wide variety of ills that it has been known as the peoples medicine chest.

Life presents many challenges but it’s nice to know that simple things can make it easier. Sometimes one has only to look around to see what is at hand. Need to keep witches at bay or ease painful sinus congestion? Grab a sprig of elderberry leaves.  Read More

The Graceful Astilbes

Foliage and blossoms work to help the shade loving Astilbes give a naturalized feeling to the garden. The individual blooms of this perennial are clustered high on the tall stem and look like plumes. The hybrid of the Far East native flower that grows in US gardens blooms in early summer.

Astilbes appear as fluffy spikes of white, purple, red and pink above delicate leaves of bronze or green. As the fernlike leaves appear in the garden, they are glossy. As the growing season progresses the foliage loses the shine.

Plant astilbes in partial shade because they are not tolerant to high temperatures. The soil should be moist, slightly acidic and have a high content of organic matter. They will tolerate a wet environment, but are not drought resistant.

Although astilbes are beautiful among other plants in a container, their moisture requirements means that special attention must be given to the container garden so that the soil doesn’t dry out. Care must be taken in choosing other plants for the container, making sure that they are able to survive the moist soil that the astilbes need to thrive.

Another consideration when using the showy astilbes in a container garden is the size of the mature plant. It can grow to 4 feet, with a spread of 1 to 3 feet. The pot chosen for the astilbes should be at least a foot deep with a diameter of one to two feet. Place the container in a spot that will allow the roots to stay cool and the soil to retain moisture.

Astilbes are propagated by division. New growth appears at the outside. Every three to five years the astilbes should be dug up, and the newer, outer plants should be cut away and replanted. Division and replanting can be done in the spring or fall.

Plant the astilbes at least a foot apart so that they have plenty of space to grow. The roots are shallow, so don’t plant them too deeply.

Once established, astilbes don’t need a lot of care from the gardener. The stems are strong enough to grow without staking and the flowers dry beautifully right on the plant, giving the perennial garden an ornamental look, even though the drying blooms turn brown.

With proper attention to the moisture content of the soil, the graceful astilbes will be a favorite in the perennial garden. The gardener can help the soil maintain moisture for the plant with mulch.

Should you use Lawn Seed or Sod?

Ask any of your friends how you should go about redoing your lawn and you’ll probably find that there are two distinct camps. Some gardeners insist that reseeding the whole yard is the way to go. Others won’t hear of any other method than laying sod.

How will you choose the right option?

Learn as much as you can about each option. Then, make your choice based on what is best for you and your yard. As long as you do the proper planning and preparation, information is the next best tool you have to present a lush and green outdoor living space.

Grass Seed or Sod - How to Choose

A Beautiful Lawn Needs Decisive Planning

Jan 22, 2010 Patrice Campbell

Grass Seed or Sod - Carli Rankin

A beautiful, well maintained lawn implies that the homeowner takes pride in the home and the neighborhood. But a well kept lawn takes time, planning, money and labor.

Whether establishing a completely new lawn or making repairs to an existing area, proper planning and preparation is needed. The question of whether to seed the area or lay sod can be answered by addressing the pros and cons of each of the applications.

Time of Planting Grass Seed or Sod

Grass seed is best planted in late summer or early fall, while sod can be planted at any point of the growing season.

Read more at Suite101: Grass Seed or Sod - How to Choose: A Beautiful Lawn Needs Decisive Planning http://www.suite101.com/content/grass-seed-or-sod-how-to-choose-a192810#ixzz1EWoRZ1ib


Grass Seed or Sod - How to Choose: A Beautiful Lawn Needs Decisive Planning

Gardening Tips for Petunia Problems

Petunias are a favorite it gardens all over the country. Before you spend a lot of money on bedding plants, refresh your memory and learn how to keep those colorful annuals blooming throughout the growing season. 

Once you know the problems and how to prevent them, visit your local garden center and choose your plants. Selecting from all of the colors and varieties available may just be the biggest problem you face this spring and summer. That gives you more time to relax and just enjoy your flower garden.

Isn't that really the whole point?

Gardening Tips for Petunia Problems

Jul 7, 2010 Patrice Campbell

Gardening tips for healthy petunias - morgueFile free license

The popular garden petunia is easy to grow, but not completely immune to fatal problems.

Petunias grow in gardens all across the United States. They are popular because they are easy to grow in sunny areas and container gardens, but they are not immune to disease and fatal cultural problems.

A hardy and versatile garden plant, the petunia is used not only as a bedding plant, but the annual adds immediate splashes of color in hanging baskets and containers. The trumpet-shaped blooms are available in a wide variety of solid hues. Striped petunias and flowers with blotches are also available.

Read more at Suite101: Gardening Tips for Petunia Problems http://www.suite101.com/content/gardening-tips-for-petunia-problems-a258845#ixzz1EWjk1zmx

Gardening Tips for Petunia Problems