Preserving Cut Flowers
There's nothing like fresh flowers around the house whether they come straight from your garden or from a florist. But when you take the time to put together an arrangement, you'd like it to last forever or at least for more than a few days! Here ... [... more]
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Shopper's Guide to Bark Mulch
The advantages of using organic mulch to blanket soil around trees, shrubs, and perennial plants are many: Mulch moderates soil temperature and makes a more favorable environment for roots. It reduces evaporation of moisture, helping to conserve ... [... more]
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Synthetic organics.
Compared to most fertilizers, controlled-release kinds are convenient and predictable Gardeners shopping for fertilizer face a bewildering array of choices. There is such a variety of liquids, powders, and granules, all promising fabulous ... [... more]
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Hybrid tea roses.
With their great beauty, tremendous variety, and luscious scent, it's easy to become passionate about those all-time favorites, roses. For many, roses are the symbol of a well-cared-for home, evoking images of that picket-fenced cottage awash ... [... more]
National Gardening Association |
Biofungicides
For years, gardeners have known of bacterial and fungal agents such as Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) that attack insects. The next wave in microbial pesticides is biofungicides, which use naturally occurring fungi and bacteria to protect plants ... [... more]
National Gardening Association |
Antique Roses for the South
Antique roses continue to be the rage across the United States. However, most information on the best varieties to grow is geared towards gardeners in cooler climates such as England. Gardeners in the South often have to learn by trial and error ... [... more]
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First season:
When you first see this country cottage with its handsome paving and rich mix of perennials, annuals, and shrubs, the words "low maintenance" are not what spring to mind. But when the people who created it -- Missy Stevenson and Tommy Simpson -- [... more]
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Colorful, Fragrant Roses
Is the hybrid tea dead? Some rose pundits have claimed so, but the new rose introductions in 2001 suggest that the hybrid tea still has a pulse, and plenty to offer gardeners who want well-formed roses on long stems that are just right for ... [... more]
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Deadheading Innovation
Deadheading roses is a common practice to stimulate new blossoms. The traditional recommendation is to deadhead spent flowers to just above a 5 leaflet leaf on the cane. The assumption is if you don't prune that low on the cane, it will regrow ... [... more]
National Gardening Association |
Adding Color to Our Lives
Adding color to our lives is often why we garden in the first place. Color is an intensely personal element. Think of how you choose your clothes. I happen to love orange lilies in my garden although I would never wear orange. A friend of mine ... [... more]
National Gardening Association |
English Farmer's Knife
I like a garden tool that has multiple uses. No dainty rose scissors used only to deadhead flowers for me. That's why I like the English Farmer's Knife (also known as an asparagus knife). The 11-inch, forged-steel blade is curved at the end and ... [... more]
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Dispelling Garden Remedy Myths
We've all heard, and probably tried, a few home remedies in our gardens with the hope that the spray or powder from the kitchen cabinet could provide a safe and effective way to kill pests. There's something appealing about using common household ... [... more]
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