Growing Orchids
- On November 05, 2008
- By Meleah
- In Indoor Gardening
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By now, you’ve probably noticed that you can buy orchids just about anywhere. Stacked up with all the other impulse-buy items not far from the checkout lane at places like Target and Home Depot — even the grocery store — amazingly beautiful orchids can be had for just a few bucks.
Take one home, though, and you may quickly find it wizened to a shadow of its former self, or maybe even dead. Before you start blaming yourself for your orchid’s fate and vowing never to try growing one again, consider the problem may simply be that you chose one that’s tougher to grow than others. Orchids are fussy about light, water, temperature and many other things. Knowing which orchids to buy and how to care for them will not only save you from that horrible feeling that you’ve got a brown thumb, it also may make orchid growing so much fun that you wind up cultivating a real passion for the exotic beauties.
Read More»Fall Tips
Well, fall and winter are on the way, and that means there’s a lot to do outdoors. Normally, I don’t spend much time talking about lawn care. I’m just not that interested in grass and, to be honest, I’m embarrassed by the fact that I can hardly manage to start our mower by myself — all the cord yanking and lever pushing. Maybe it’s a coordination thing?
But I do realize that lots of people do care about their lawns, so here we go. Let’s talk about some things you can do to keep your grass healthy and looking good. Though it’s too late to do any more seeding, you can still lay sod for a new lawn or just use some chunks to repair damaged spots. Be sure to water enough to keep the surface of the soil moist. Once it takes root, you can start mowing and reduce watering. Keep mowing until you notice that your grass, old or new, has stopped growing.
Read More»Shrub Do’s and Don’ts
- On July 22, 2008
- By Meleah
- In Trees and Shrubs
- 0
One of the first mistakes I made as a gardener was planting beds in which everything was pretty much the same size. Now I know that if you want any depth to your garden, you need a mix of plants in all shapes and sizes.
Shrubs play a crucial role in any good garden design. But it’s easy to make mistakes when placing them in your yard. Here are some tips for choosing shrubs and finding the right spot for them so they’ll look their best.
I like to do some research before going to shop for shrubs because I find the rows and rows of specimens a little overwhelming. But it’s also just fine to do your choosing when you get to the garden center. One of the most important things you’ll want to do, though, is look at the plant tag to see how tall and wide that cute shrub you like will be when it matures. Boxwood (Buxus spp.), for example, is a great evergreen shrub is you want a formal hedge. But since most varieties don’t get very tall, they’re not a great choice for privacy if you plan to do a lot of backyard tanning or, well, drinking. (Our fence is just wire so every time we’re outside having a glass of wine I wonder if people are thinking, “Oh my! That’s the third night they’ve been drinking this week.”
Read More»Making Gardening Fun for Kids
As a master gardener, I work with kids of all ages on projects like tree planting and caring for beds of flowers and vegetables in neighborhood community gardens. Since I don’t have kids of my own, I’ve had to learn by trial and error what gets them excited about gardening and what pushes them into boredom and the dreaded eye-rolling mode. I’ve also learned to carry a box of Band-Aids — in case of earthworm bites. (More about this later.)
People talk a lot these days about how kids just want to sit in front of computers and never go outside. But my experience has been that most kids love the outdoors just like we did back in the prehistoric technology days of CB radios and eight-track tapes. All they need is a little help getting acquainted with what nature has to offer.
Read More»Using Vines in the Garden
- On June 22, 2008
- By Meleah
- In Perennials
- 0
In the interest of full disclosure, before I go on to extol the virtues of vines, I’ll admit right now that I’ve had some trouble growing them in my own garden. At our last house, I tried growing a trumpet vine (Campsis radicans) on an arbor in my front yard. Our neighbor had a beautiful one with bright orange flowers entwined around the fence in her backyard. It bloomed all season and had a thick, gnarled stem that anchored it securely to the ground by her garage.
My trumpet vine, however, was puny and didn’t grow much at all over the four years I carefully wound it around my arbor as it grew. I fertilized it. I talked to it. I pruned out the dead stuff after each winter. And, still, it never took off and, one spring, it just didn’t come back at all.
Read More»Coping With Hail Damage
- On June 12, 2008
- By Meleah
- In Annuals, Perennials
- 0
I’ve been gardening for many years, so I guess I should count myself lucky that only one hailstorm has ever come my way. To be honest, though, as I look out at my shredded garden, which was pummeled by marble-size hail (not small marbles, the shooters) on May 31, I don’t feel very lucky. And that’s the big reason why I wanted to write about this topic.
In the big picture, having your garden flattened by hail is a small problem when you consider all the bone-crushing things going on in the world right now. But I admit, I could barely speak as I watched chunks of ice fall from the sky and squash my tomatoes and peppers, rip limbs from my shrubs, make mincemeat out of my hostas, and tear all the flowers from my newly blooming bleeding hearts and Virginia Bluebells.
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