Gardening tips and tricks to help any gardener.
If you ever wanted a beautiful garden out front and your first thought was "That is a lot of work". Well, you're right; but the payoff you get is well worth it! So I decided to share a couple of tips that might help and make life a bit easier and Gardening more enjoyable.
As you can see my tree in the front yard has just dropped about a zillion spinners. Thank god for mulch is all I can say. Because 1 out of 10 of those little hellions will try and sprout a new tree in my garden. The mulch helps keep my soil moist, so when a tree sprout pops up it doesn't take much effort to yank it up!
So when you hear gardeners talk about mulch like it is a time saver? It's because it is!
Most of the spinners will disappear in a few days with the help of a broom and Mother Nature too.
So now I can enjoy the gorgeous purple color of Alliums. Once these little purple balls bloom, the cars start stopping in front of my house to take a peek.
Every year! and I freely admit it. I love the attention.
Beaded irises. If you don't want to spend time in your yard, tending to a gorgeous flower every other day, then plant these.
You can't kill them, I promise. They can survive hot summers with very little water and they also survive gardener neglect. Plus they can be divided every year if they get too big, and you can spread them out to other parts of the yard.
So if you need 5, buy two and one year after you've planted them, dig them up, divide them and replant. I started out 4 or 5 years ago with 1. Now I have so many, I may have to start digging them up and selling them or giving them away at a free plant sale!
Here is just a quick list of some perennials in my yard that you can (and I have) dig up and divide:
Daylilies, Hostas, Cape /Shasta Daisies Ferns, Hydrangeas, Bearded Irises, Asters, Bachelor Buttons, Columbine Crocosmia, Sedums, Viburnum, Anemone Black Eyed Susan's
and that's just what is in my yard!
The Japanese Maple just got moved to the west side of the sidewalk a couple of days ago. So I will be watering her faithfully and crossing my fingers that she likes her new spot. My Hostas get so big in the shade bed on the east side of the sidewalk, that she gets overlooked.
I am hoping she loves her sunnier location because this tree, is definitely one I would replace if she went into shock and died from being moved.
But generally if you move plants in the spring they don't do too bad. There are some great gardening forums out there that you can google that will give you specific plant/flower lists that tell you when you can and can't move a plant.
But to be honest, when I want something moved, I move it and cross my fingers. I do baby it with more water if needed and so far a lot of my flowers and shrubs haven't died. I do see some yellowing from time to time but the following year, they thrive.
Amending the soil is expensive:
Not true!
I was lucky enough years ago to have some friends that owned horses and they gave me us a truck bed full of garden gold. Now if you don't know anyone that owns horses, check your area for places where you can ride. A lot of boarding or trail riding places need to get rid of the horse manure and some of them will even load your truck for free!
Now I know what you're thinking, horse manure stinks. Yes it does, but only for a day or two.
But they don't call it gardener's gold for nothing. This is Natures crack for flowers and it will get your yard off to a terrific start!
Plus, the better you amend your soil, the easier it is for weed control.
Didn't know that one did ya! ok you did... I know.
Mulch - this can be expensive but again do some research. Don't just go down to your local home improvement store and give them your money. A lot of cities are going green and are now giving mulch away at a huge discounts. Sometimes even free! So call your County Courthouse and ask.
How much of a discount? A fellow gardener I know (Kate) just filled up her truck bed of mulch from the city where she lives, for ten bucks.
a truck bed of mulch has to be equal to at least 50 bags of mulch. Ten bucks? Start the truck honey!
Still want some more tips? Ok, you got it.
Join a gardening club, gardeners always have plants they want to trade and share.
Check out Craigslist for free plants. (but be safe and never go pick them up alone, take a friend)
Start haunting your local nursery for discounted plants. Most of them might look pretty bad, but you will be amazed with a little water and some care, next year you will not know that plant was on its last leg.
And one last tip - Don't want to tend to a compost pile? Well neither do I. So I don't. I do what I call spot composting.
I take my egg shells, coffee grounds, veggie scraps and just dig a small hole in a different spot each month and drop in the goodies. No pitchfork needed!
I hope you have enjoyed this Spring tour through my front garden and have picked up a few tips to make gardening a little easier!
XO,
Christine