Home & Garden

There are some people who seem to have a natural gift at bringing plants out of the ground with vivid color and beauty, with almost no effort at all. The bugs stay away from their plants, and all of the rain seems to fall on their house. However, there are still the rest of us out there who would like to garden as well. There are some tips to keep your own garden happy and healthy, even if you can’t grow amazing plants right out of the ground with a snap of your fingers.

There is a reason why nurseries open their doors — they want to sell you the best plants for your home, and they have professionals there who can help you make the right landscaping decisions for your own outdoors. Take some pictures of the outside of your house, focusing on the areas where you would like to start a garden, and take them in to the nursery with you. Take some time to pay attention to the parts of your yard that get the most sunlight, and with all of this information, a nursery professional should be able to help you come up with a landscaping plan for your garden.

The Internet has a wide variety of information about the different climatic zones in each country. Spend some time researching the zone you live in, both online and by talking to professionals in your area. You can even look at the labels on many plants to see what the sellers recommend, but the nursery professionals where you go in to buy plants will have a much more thorough set of recommendations for you than a label would.

The principles of keeping plants alive are simple, but they require work. You need to ensure that they get the right amount of light, that you give them enough water (but not too much), and that their soil is healthy. You have to pay attention to these details (especially the water) each day — there are no days off in gardening. The people who seem to have green thumbs know this; they just don’t talk about all of the hard work they do, instead pretending to seem like these amazing plants just grew out of nothing.

There are many plants that do quite well in shaded areas. Talk to a professional at your nursery to find plants that will thrive in the shade in your part of the world. Sometimes shade still means 80 to 90 degrees well into the night, particularly if you live in the American South or Southwest. However, shade can also mean that your plant always stays in cool areas, more likely to stay damp than to be brightly lit. Your nursery professional can find a match for you.

The tips in this article will help you get started with putting together a beautiful area around your house. Don’t be afraid of the challenges of gardening; instead, head to your nursery today to find out how to give your home a beautiful look.

Gardening for Seniors: Tips and Tricks to Make the Process Easier

Gardening is a very enjoyable hobby, but it can be quite tedious, particularly as you age. Luckily, there are a few tips of the trade that make the various tasks you need to engage in just a little easier on you. In particular, tasks like weeding and watering can make your back and knees ache. Feeling badly the next day often takes a lot of the joy out of gardening, so it is important to do all you can to minimize these negative effects. The following tips are important for any senior gardener to follow.

The tools you select are important, because if you have the right ones, they will do much of the work for you. Heavier is not better; get rid of anything you have that is difficult for you to lift and replace it with tools that are lightweight. When you are picking them out, seek out tools that have offset handles; this will make your job much simpler. Finally, don’t be shy about modifying the tools that you buy. Handles can be easily changed so that they are more comfortable. For example, purchase some foam tubing and wrap the handle of your shovel in it. You shouldn’t have any trouble putting it on your tool, and your hands will thank you after a long day out in the garden!

Don’t underestimate how much a sharp tool can help you. When a tool is sharp, it is able to perform its job much better. That means you won’t have as much trouble manipulating it to get it to do what you want it to do. In addition, research which tools should be used for which tasks. If you are using the wrong product to help you do something, you are probably investing extra effort into the process. Sometimes a simple switch is all you need to save your back from experiencing pain.

Invest in a good pair of handle extenders. You can put these on just about any tool you use in the garden, including your shovel. They will keep you from bending over as much, therefore saving your back from some of the routine tasks that you need to engage in. Reachers are also a good idea, particularly if you suffer from arthritis. This product can assist you in getting rid of the debris in your garden and can help you gather your tools at the end of the day.

Consider planting perennials instead of annuals. This will cut down on the amount of planting that you need to do and allow you to invest your energies elsewhere. Also, do your research when it comes to which varieties of plants you put down in your space. This will ensure that you have plants that will bloom in the spring, summer and fall.

Many seniors enjoy gardening, although the process can be hard on them. Take the information included in this article, and use it to make the tasks you need to accomplish just a little bit easier to do.

If you love gardening and you’ve done it for many years, you’ll likely notice some differences in what you can accomplish as you age. Use the suggestions below for implementing some easy changes that will allow you to continue gardening as you get older.

Don’t substitute gardening for your regular exercise routine because specific results achieved from exercise such as cardio benefits cannot be achieved with gardening. Instead, if you find you don’t have time or energy for both gardening and exercise as you get older, consider simplifying your gardening activities to those you enjoy and perhaps hiring someone to perform time-consuming tasks such as raking or clean-up that are less enjoyable but time consuming.

Make sure that none of the medications you take or supplements you consume warns against exposure to sunlight. You can check with your healthcare provider if you’re concerned about sun exposure while taking specific medication.

Always bring a water bottle outside with you and make sure you drink from it. Staying hydrated is important at every age, and having a water bottle with you will encourage you to remember to drink water.

Always protect yourself from getting too much sunlight, which is important at every age but can result in more apparent impact as you get older, from the appearance of your skin to the appearance of your hair dye. If you’re losing your hair, make sure that your use of sunscreen extends to your scalp.

Buy a wheelbarrow for carrying plants and soil as well as other garden supplies from your garage or car to your garden. If the ground isn’t level enough in your garden to accommodate a wheelbarrow, look into smaller and lighter bags of supplies you need for gardening.

Don’t buy as many annuals or other plants that you’d like to include in your garden at one time as you used to when you were younger if you’re concerned that you won’t have the energy to plant everything at one time. You can save yourself the expense of having un-planted plants that are more susceptible to being knocked over or devoured by animals by purchasing fewer plants at one time.

Avoid digging into harder soil by using picks or shovels that can be high-impact threats to your joints. Determine whether there is another way to get through the hard soil that might take longer but will be kinder to your joints, or consider container planting in a spot with particularly hard soil.

If you’ve developed more sensitive skin or suffer from a condition such as diabetes, avoid plants with thorns or sharp edges in order to prevent injury and possible infection.

Break up or saw heavier branches that fall from trees rather than risking strain or injury by dragging them out of your garden. Be careful of the weight of anything you’re lifting as part of your gardening activities.

Gardening should remain a pleasant activity for you even as you get older. Use the suggestions above to make adjustments to your gardening style to accommodate your increasing age.

Managing a garden takes a good deal of work, but many people learn to love the activity and make gardening into an enjoyable hobby. There is a long list of problems that one might encounter when starting a garden. The problems they will experience with their first garden will be extremely similar to problems they encounter on later gardens. This means that simple solutions may often be applicable to a wide range of individuals and problems alike, regardless of experience. Try reading these tips if you also encounter problems and could use some friendly assistance.

If you are constantly in need of garden twine and have a spare pot to sacrifice, this idea will keep a steady supply of twine available where you need it. Find an unused clay pot and clear out the insde. Next, place a ball of twine inside the pot and pull a small length through the bottom via the hole meant for drainage. With the pot now feeding twine as you pull on it, it would work best hanging from an elevated surface at the garden.

When winter strikes, it can lead to unexpected deaths among your plant community, but vacant clay pots may provide the additional protection to make it through the night. If you are expecting a cold frost to appear in the coming days, find as many empty clay pots as you have available and keep them nearby. Before each night begins, cover your youngest or most-delicate plants with the empty pots and they will be less-likely to freeze over during the midnight hours. This may not work all of the time, but it is a great solution in a pinch and is worth the effort.

Dragging a hose across the garden may impact smaller, more delicate plant-life, but this hose guide protects the garden from such catastrophe. Begin by inserting a small rod along the corner of the outermost bed. The pole should be nearly one foot in length and thin enough to fit through the drainage hole at the bottom of a clay pot. This is because you will place two pots over the rod, one of these pots facing downwards while the second is facing up, forming a “V”-like crevice where the hose can slide against smoothly. This hose guide will keep your hose from being pulled across the actual bed itself, yet it won’t tie it up or restrict your movement.

Markers are a touchy subject for those with an artistic eye, but simple stone headers work well for all audiences. Take a marker and write the name of each plant on a single stone and place the rock near the top row of the titled plant. This technique for marking your rows is natural and efficient, doesn’t get in your way or the plant’s way, and can be easily removed when the next plan comes in.

Find your favorite pair of overalls and read through the tips given above once more. With this powerful set of advice at your side, you can overcome any obstacle during your next gardening experience.

Everything You Need To Know About Transplanting Trees The Right Way

A tree is a wonderful addition to any yard. It can provide shade in the summer and habitat for birds and other wildlife. Fruit trees can provide bounty for your table or food for the wild things. It can be difficult to get a transplanted shrub or tree to do well; however, there are a few specific steps you can follow that should ensure your success. In this article, we will discuss those steps.

If you have bought a new home, you may have some landscaping, but you will probably want to add some of your own. A trip to your local nursery will help you select the best and healthiest trees for your area. While it is possible to gather seed from local trees and grow your own, it’s important to understand that this is a very slow process. Another alternative is to dig up seedlings that sprout from native and naturalized trees. These types of trees grow fast and should be successful with minimal care.

An alternative to visiting a local nursery is a visit to a tree plantation. Here you will find trees of many different kinds and sizes. You may purchase a small tree that you can carry home yourself in the back of your car or in a pick up truck. You may want to go all out and buy a fairly mature tree that a plantation manager will scoop up with a specialized truck and deliver to your home. You’ll need a backhoe to dig the hole to accommodate the root ball. A good tree plantation will make all of these arrangements for you and should provide you with good instructions for care or perhaps even a tree care service.

Moving and transplanting trees is stressful to them, and it can result in illness or death. That’s why it’s best to transplant trees during a time of year when they are not actively growing and producing fruit or nuts. Trees usually become dormant in the fall, and that’s the best time for transplanting. The tree will have plenty of time to put down good roots through the late fall and winter months and should be ready to grow well in the spring.

Think about the best place for planting your new tree. You should choose an area that will allow you to enjoy the shade of the tree, but it should not be so near the house as to endanger the house with falling or scraping branches. It’s a good idea to place your tree on the side of the house that does not suffer a lot of strong, cold wind. This could kill a young tree during its first winter. Follow the directions that come with your tree or that are provided by your nursery or tree plantation.

Before you plant your tree, fill the hole you plan to place it in with water. Once all the water has soaked into the ground, plant your tree and then water it again. The hole should allow about a foot of space all around the root ball of the tree. Water your tree amply during its first year so that its roots can grow and absorb plenty of nourishment. Be sure to keep a good layer of mulch around your tree to help the soil retain moisture.

It may seem like a lot of work to plant a tree; however, if you follow the tips presented here, you can be sure of having a beautiful tree to enjoy for many decades to come.

Your plants may all be doing well and yet your garden is missing the aesthetically appealing look you’d hoped to achieve. Before you undertake work-intensive moving and replanting of your garden’s plants, use the tips below to establish order with borders throughout your garden.

Make a list of different options for more clearly delineating sections of your garden such as the use of stone borders, metal fencing, or natural borders in the form of boxwoods or low-growing grasses. Price out what each type of border would cost you for the spot you envision using to avoid unnecessary expense.

Avoid making one or two plants a section when you’re considering a border since bordering every plant can be just as confusing and chaotic as having too few borders in your garden. Think more in terms of beds you’d like to border or a grouping of plants that you’d like to border rather than individual plants.

Use paths as a guide for borders. You don’t have to border an entire bed if that bed has a side that touches a path in your garden. Instead, consider adding framing for your path with the use of natural borders that can be inexpensively planted along the entire path such as lariope grass which grows quickly and easily and can provide natural guidance for where your path leads.

If you’re considering adding a gravel pathway to a section of your garden, choose a spot that is relatively flat and free of flooding during wet seasons to avoid washing away gravel. You’ll also want to make sure that you do not choose white gravel if the path is in the shade in order to avoid green mossy growths on the white gravel stones that can make them look old and unkempt.

Remove borders that aren’t working in your garden such as plastic fencing that falls down or comes undone frequently, and consider using that border treatment elsewhere. Replace those borders with a new type of border that you believe will better delineate the space.

If your garden has lost plants during the year, remove the dead plants and adjust borders. You can still use mulch or soil to freshen up the appearance of a specific spot in the garden even after you’ve removed a dead plant.

Consider adding inexpensive containers to establish borders and to mark off sections of your garden. One bush can be changed into a garden feature through the use of several containers that have different plants.

Consider adding annuals as a border during specific months to add color and depth to your garden. Whether you choose to add pansies in cooler weather or petunias in warmer weather, you can brighten your garden bed and add seasonal variation for a fairly reasonable price.

Replacing, adding and maintaining garden borders along pathways or around different sections of your garden can provide your garden with an aesthetic boost that requires minimal work and maintenance. Use the suggestions above to incorporate new border ideas into your gardening efforts.