I have alot of gardening tips and ideas I'd like to share with you. I love to garden, it's one of my many hobbies.

Grab another cold glass of ice tea and lets take a walk down the garden path to the potting shed....

The garden is full of lantana, heather, pentas, 4 O'clocks, begonias, english ivy, porter weed, morning glorys, moon flowers, hybiscus, impatiens, tropical ginger, caladiums, trumptet vine, rose of sharon, hydrangias and beautiful verigated Tropicana canna lillies. All of these come back every year.

The camelias, confederate jasmine and azaleas have just finished blooming and they were lovely. I have started planting a few new perennials..I try to add some new specimens to my collection of perennials every year. I finally got smart and started planting only things that will come back every year. I do fill in with annuals such as, marigolds, zinnias, petunias and red salvia for added color. I like plants that attract butterfliesand hummingbirds. I try to plant varieties that are drought tolerant. We don't get much rain here and we always go on watering restrictions in the summer.

"The heart is a garden...That always has room...For the flowers of kindness...and friendships that bloom"

Always remove faded flowers to prevent the formation of seeds and to prolong the blooming period...Pinch the tips of transplants to get bushier plants and more blooms.Stake tall plants with bamboo poles and tie with narrow strips of old panty hose...Did you know that newspaper is a good weed barrier...when you are making your flowerbeds put a layer of newspaper 6 sheets deep over the ground then add your soil...Top with mulch to retain moisture.

Keep a garden journal...Make sketches of your flower beds... Write down planting dates and results...Include empty seed packets...Take pictures of your results...

Swap perennialcuttings (or seeds) with friends...This is a good way to get new varieties for free and share yours.

By the way, just a little tip this year...the gazing ball for your garden ornament seems to be in vogue... I have seen them available in tall bases or short...Something to consider adding to your garden. I found a new forum this summer at Garden Web called GardenJunk. I found directons to make a gazing ball out of old bowling balls. I covered my old ball with irridescent blue and clear 1/2 marbles. It now sits on the front porch. It came out really nice, and well worth the effort. The members make all kinds of unique Garden Art out old and disgarded items. Pay them a visit. They are very creative and alot of fun. Their addy is below.

Use your creative abilities and hand-paint some signs or pots, use stencils and acrylic paints...Be sure to varnish or use clear acrylic spray to water-proof the paint...Sponge-painting is another easy way to decorate your pots...Or take a pretty shape leaf or piece of fern and paint a light coat on paint on the back...press this on your terra-cotta pot and you get a pretty print...instantly

If you have a small yard or live in an apartment, container gardening is a great way to be able to be a country gardener...Try your hand at a strawberry jar...You know the clay pot with the holes in it!!...A little hint, take a 2 inch in diameter piece of PVC pipe, drill about 10 holes in, cut it to the height of your pot...Place this in the center section of the strawberry jar...Fill around pipe with your soil ...Water directly into this pipe...This way you can get water to all the sections of the pot...HINT..I saw this on TV but I have not tried it, you can do this very same thing usng a empty papertowel roll instead of the PVC pipe...Cover the cardboard roll with tin foil using a sharp tool make your holes, then follow above instructions...It will last all summer... Then next year replant...It sounds like a great idea...Herbs or strawberry plants work well.

For example, ladybugs control aphids, and praying mantises devour hosts of nasty bugs.

Some watering wisdom....Give your lawn a thorough watering and then be sure to allow enough time for the roots to dry before another deep soaking. This produces extended, robust roots because they're forced to grow downward to search for water..Don't go overboard...they do need oxygen too...and also don't be too stingy...light, frequent waterings result in shallow roots. The water may even evaporate before it reaches the roots.

A really neat little tip I just found about keeping rabbits out of your garden..If you have a cat, brush your cat regularly and scatter its fur around your plants. Replace periodically, especially after a rain. Cat scent protects your garden and leaves rabbits unharmed.

Always remember when planting flowers, vegetables, seeds...or transplanting seedlings.....DO IT IN THE EVENING...or on a cloudy day...and ALWAYS..water everyday for one week straight.(unless it rains) to insure that the roots take and the plant has a good start.

Try to keep up with the weeds...Don't let them get out of hand...Everytime you walk out and check the flowers...PULL those weeds..It's amazing how many more of them grow than flowers, right?? If you have chyrsanthemums

you must pinch them off all through the summer until July 1 (that's the cut off date)....if you don't...they will be very tall and wiry looking...You want them to be full and bushy.

For battling those creepy crawly critters in your garden..(no...not the grandchildren)..I use Liquid Sevin....it's very good for all sorts of bugs, catapillars, slugs, beetles and the like....it also comes in powder form.

Have you had missing veggie plants. Visiting little bunnies are the culprits. Put some moth balls all around and in your garden...they don't like the smell...

Here's some more critter tips for deer and other 'nibbling predators'. "Deer don't go for spicy foods, so give them a taste to remember with a hot pepper spray. Mix 2 tablespoons of hot pepper sauce with 1 tablespoon of liquid dish soap, 1 teaspoon of garlic powder and 1 gallon of water. Spray on plants weekly or after it rains.

Do you want to attract more butterflies to your garden?Here's some ideas....plant a variety of perennials, annuals, and grasses of different height, color and season of bloom to provide nectar for butterflies throughout the growing season. Some favorites are, pentas, lantana, trumpetvine, hibiscus, petunias, marigolds. Small tubular flowers attract a variety of butterflies.

Don't overlook wildflowers and other native plants. Plant shrubs, vines and trees near the garden area of provide cover for butterflies. Also butterfliesneed moist soil from which to drink. A pot-saucer filled moist sand will serve a a water source for butterflies...

You can plant seeds indoors in the early spring and then move them to pots later on...Terra-cotta pots are inexpensive and pretty to use but remember they dry out fast in the hot weather...Be sure your pots have drainage holes...cover the holes with broken pot shards to keep the soil in...You can also use a paper coffee filter. I've tried it it works grat!

Choose a good potting mix, it needs to be light in texture...I've had good luck with mixing up my own...I use 1 part potting soil, 1 part peat, 1 part pearlite and 1 part com-posted cow manure...I keep it in a big plastic garbage can with a lid...Make yourself a scoup out of a empty milk jug.

Fertilize every 2 weeks with a solution you water in...I use Miracle Gro...Most plants come in miniature sizes now. Tomatoes, squash, even green bean plants and cucumbers...You can grow them in pots, right on the patio...

"Thyme Began In A Garden"

Bird-houses have become very popular in the last few years. I collect them inside my home as well as outside. They have that country feeling I love. My kitchen is decorated with birdhouses

watering cans and dried bunches of flowers. I have several outside that are a part of the decor and a few that are "For the Birds"...Don't forget to keep your bird feeders clean and full. Remember to feed them in the winter also...Bird-baths are great landscape ornaments and the birds love them...Put a large flat stone in the water for the butterfliesto land on... Keep a clay pot on its side in a cool shady place for a little frog house...

GARDEN CRAFT-BIRDBATH purchase a clay pot and saucer (it can be any size you like depending on where you are going to put it) trim the band around the top of the pot with artificial green moss, add tiny dried flowers, ivy leaves or what ever you have on hand in your craft supplies...Turn the pot upside down glue the saucer on the bottom of the pot to form a little birdbath...Trim it by gluing artificial birds on the edges of the saucer...I made a small one for my kitchen windowsill and a large one for the patio outside...The butterflies and lizzards love it...

"May all of your weeds be Wildflowers!"

LINKS

The best garden spots on the web

Spring-Bulbs...Spring Planting Guide for Bulbs


Gardening by the Yard-HGTV...Paul James a Gardening Guy!


Gardening Guides...Very informative for the beginning gardener


Gardening on the Web...Gardening Information from A-Z


Rebecca's Garden...Tips,How To's and Recipes


The Potting Shed...On line gardening magazine


Hummingbird Society...Complete information about how to attract and feed Hummers


White Flower Farms...Online garden catalogue or they will mail you one, lots of unusual plants...great for reference


Garden Net...Planting guide, zone map, plant encyclopdedia


GardenWeb Forums...Complete list of Forums on all aspects of gardening. AAA+ recomendation

"Herbs Make Good Scents"

~ MY GARDENING ANGEL ~

~ To Plant A Seed Is A Hopeful Deed ~

Well I hope you enjoy your visit to Nanny's Nook. There will be a lot more interesting things to come.

Please don't forget to sign my guest-book. This is my first homepage and I'd love to know who visits. Come back again, and we will take another walk down the garden path and see what's new ...at Nanny's Cozy Little Nook

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Since April 24,1999