The Love of Keeping Home ~ Life in Seasons

Choosing the perfect theme for your garden

is important when determining plants, shrubs and trees. When you have a theme it helps designing the shape and texture of your garden(s). As you can see I favor English Cottage gardens.

When choosing perennials refer to what grows best according to your location. All flowers and plants have zones. Definition of Zones:

There are 11 planting zones, or "USDA Plant Hardiness Zones," in the contiguous United States and southern Canada. The USDA planting zones are regions defined by a 10 degree Fahrenheit difference in the average annual minimum temperature. To put the definition in layman's terms, the higher the numbers, the warmer the temperatures for gardening in those areas.

It is standard practice for seed dealers and nurseries to label their products according to their USDA Plant Hardiness Zones -- that is, the planting zones in which you'll be most successful at growing those particular plants.

Perennial often do not have blooms lasting through out the entire late spring and summer season. They bloom in specific times and specific length of time.

So, remember when placing your perennials, you will want to plant annuals as filler.

This is called Mixed Borders.

Annuals will bloom all summer long and maintain the color in your beds.

It seems as though today's trend is to garden by container/pot. But don't think that is necessarily the best or easiest way to go. Containers do not hold water or moisture. If you have one hot scorching day and forget to water until the next morning 9 times out of 10 it's too late and your plants are zapped.

Planters are great to a minimal.

They add beauty to your patio or deck.

They are a welcome palette

to any front porch/stoop and add

depth and contour when placed among

your perennial beds.

But if it's time and energy putting into the health and care of flowers you are worried about, than they aren't always the best option. Having to walk around with either the hose or watering can is a lot to manage.

When keeping a flower bed, having healthy rich soil is absolute key to your plants success.

You should be able to easily run your trowel through the soil.

If your soil is hard and clay-like use this extremely affordable soil mixture that will surely bring health and vitality to any bed to be.

Preferably in your wheelbarrow

add:

2 bags of cow manure

2 bags of top soil

1/2 a cubic foot of peat moss

Total estimate: $20.00

Water the current soil that is in your bed then with a medium sized shovel begin dispersing piles of soil mixture through out the entire bed. Next with a medium iron rake (not the metal or plastic one typically used for leaf pick-up) evenly spread a 3inch layer across.

With healthy ph-balanced, moisture rich soil, the likely hood of weeds is minimal.

So the fear of pulling weeds can be extinguished. If this is your first time at hand at gardening... start small. Perhaps the idea of perennials, annuals and shrubs is too much to juggle right now.

Herbs are a wonderful beginner course!

Using your herbs you grew yourself to cook with will make cooking more personable.

Seeing the hard work you've cultivated into your herb garden will actually excite you to try your hand at a flower bed. From that point on, you will be excited to try and experiment

with your little plot of land. :)