photo credit: tarynskye

The hold the bushes in a better environment I am making very large paper pots (so that they can be planted pot and all without being disturbed) and planting the rose bushes in the pots. The pots will need to be about 2 foot in diameter and will be a bit heavy so until I plant them they will be in a mini portable greenhouse.

The mini portable greenhouse I picked up at an auction for One dollar. It’s 4foot by 8 foot. Its great for protecting new plants and transplants.

To make the paper pots I will use an old 10-gallon shrub pot I saved and wrap it with about 8 layers of newspaper and tape or tie in place. I will also fill the pot on a board, which I will leave underneath so I can pick the pot up with the board. I will probably place the board on a handcart to move the plant into place once the garden area is ready.

The pot will be heavy once filled with soil so the board and handcart will make moving the paper pot easier. I have used handmade pots for many years and they hold up quite well for a limited time and break down easily in the soil.

The rose bushes I have selected are hybrid tea roses, which are now for their long stemmed flowers. The varieties are Peace, Charisma, Blue Boy, Chrysler Imperial, Mr. Lincoln and St. Josephs Coat.

If you’re interested in creating your own rose garden, you may want to follow the rose garden project from start to finish at Backyard Oasis Projects.

Rose garden tips

1. Choose the right location
2. check the amount of sun available
3. prepare the soil
4. plant the roses in proper soil mix and with a planting hole that is big
5. water every 7 to 10 days
6. fertilize 3 times during the season
7. keep the roses cut or deadhead for more flowers

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Red poppies will easily re-seed themselves giving them the illusion of being a perennial. Just make sure at the end of the growing season you let a few blossoms develop a seed head. Once the seed head dries crush the pod to help distribute the seeds.

How to plant red corn poppy seeds

Prepare the soil where you are going to plant your poppy seeds by removing all grass, weeds and other materials. Work the soil so it is loose and remove the larger stones. Note: Sandy soil is excellent for growing red corn poppies in. In my clay based soil I add a lot of compost and a little sand to create a soil the poppies like.

Surface sow the red corn poppy seeds in early spring or in the fall after a frost. Red poppy seeds need light to germinate, so do not cover the seeds.

Once you weather has improved in the spring keep your area you planted the poppy seeds in moist but not soggy. Your seeds should germinate in 10-15 days. Once the seedling have started to grow and reach 2 inches tall you will want to thin them. Thin the plants to 6 to 8 inches apart.

I move the small transplants to another area of the yard and replant them. They will do well but after being moved they will blossom slower than the ones that were not moved.

Keep your red poppies watered and they will grow 18 to 24 inches tall. De-head the poppies as the flowers die off to keep a constant supply of flowers.

Red poppies are beautiful in the gardens but being such a delicate flower they do not last once cut. They simply don’t work in floral arrangements for this reason.

If you like the look of the poppy and want to have them indoors you may want to grow a few as indoor plants. For more information read  how to grow poppies indoors.

Technorati Tags: annual flowers, annual poppy, Backyard Flower Garden, growing poppies from seed, growing the red corn poppy, red corn poppy

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It started out very innocent with a visit to the bank where I saw a friend that has a nice perennial garden with an abundance of plants. So. I arranged a plant swap.

Then the next store had rose bushes on sale and my mother has wanted a rose garden. So I picked up 6 healthy looking plants. I have a place in the yard that would be the perfect rose garden. If I add a small fence, a trellis for the climbing rose and a bench the area will be perfect for reading or relaxing. A few decorative rocks and perennials would also add interest and color.

photo credit: Pw95

Of course I found a few plants in the garden center. With summer approaching new plants on the patio would be a nice touch. I picked up lucky bamboo, three shamrock plants, and two bonsai plants.

I also bought a few bulbs and seed packets. One bulb was the elephant ear. This will be perfect for a bog garden that I would like to put in near the creek area. Bog gardens can be beautiful.

And in the fall I dig the elephants ear bulb up and store until spring. ( I do have one elephants ear I grow in the sunroom in the winter.)

That’s what happens in the spring when the snow melts and the gardens and yards are just waking up. You want new and fresh plants to tend to and the selections at garden centers and stores are too tempting to pass up.

But I came home and the car was not full of plants and I had money left so I guess there might be hope for me.

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They look wonderful alone or as accents for other perennials and annuals. The Hosta is a perennial that can be divided to create more plants or started from seed.

Hosta seeds are actually very easy to start from seed and an advantage to this is that you can harvest a variety of seeds from many locations. If you see a Hosta plant you like in the fall and it has the long seed stem ask the property owner if it’s ok if you collect some seeds.

To collect seeds wait until the seedpod is turning brown or quite brown. Pick the seed pods and place them on paper towels to dry. Once dry split the pod and collect the seed.

Perennial seeds benefit from a cooling spell. It’s the seeds way of knowing its time to sprout. In nature this occurs with the seasons. If you collect seeds you need to give them a cold treatment in the refrigerator of freezer to create this seasonal change.

When I collect seeds I mark the variety or description of the seeds and place in envelopes once they are dry. Then I place in the refrigerator until I am ready to plant.

Planting Hosta seeds.

I use plastic trays and fill with a potting soil. Place the seeds on top of the soil. If you cover the seeds, just dust the top of the seeds lightly. (I often use peat moss for this.) A Hosta seed does not seem to need to be covered to germinate.

Lightly moisten the soil, place in a semi dark area with moderate heat and ignore. I usually see seedling in a week. Then the seedling start to sprout I move the tray to sunlight. You water these by lightly misting the tray.

In about one month I will transplant the seedling into small peat pots that will dissolve when planted into the ground.

Often times when a plant is this small I will place the plant in a holding bed for a year until it has more size and will not be taken over by small plants and weeds. (A holding bed is a raised bed that is made to hold small or weak plants so that they are protected from animals, weeds, plants, and the lawnmower.)

When your plants are bigger, its time to select their new garden location and get them planted. Or if you have a lot of plants you may want to trade them with friends for other plant varieties.

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One of my favorite gardens is the cutting garden. Cutting flowers are easy to grow, require less work than most flowers and seem to have less insect and pest problems.

They also have the added benefit of being hardy flowers that last long and do well in floral arrangements.

photo credit: tiarescott

A new garden always brings new variety of flowers. It is what keeps gardening new and exciting. Whether it be a new annual, perennial or even a sunflower, new varieties add interest and creative fresh ideas for floral arrangements.

Growing flowers will give you an unlimited amount of fresh bouquets you can arrange for your home or give to friends.

This you tube is about floral arranging. There are some really great ideas here.

When arranging flowers I like to mix herbs, wild flowers and even twigs or grasses to the arrangements. It adds to the fun and the interest of the floral display.

I also like to find unique vases or pots for my arrangements. Small cups, an old punch bowl, tin cups, basically anything that will hold water. These pots and vases can set a theme or feel to a room or party.

And if you have small children or pets that may break nice vases, these different pots for flowers will save a collector vase.

Flowers are meant to add color and atmosphere to a room or event so why not try new ways of containing them?

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One rose I have always wanted is a rose that grew at the farm where I grew up. It’s been there so long no one know what variety it is but it is an old fashioned heirloom rose. It’s so delicate and the fragrance is unbelievable!

So I have taken a few cutting from the bush and plan to start a few of my own bushes.

There is a small trick to growing roses from cuttings that will give you a successful cutting and plant every time.

The trick is in when to take the rose cutting.

With your thumb, gently push sideways against the green thorns on the shoot you are considering cutting.

·  If the thorn bends over and doesn’t easily come away from the shoot,
the cutting is too green. It will not root easily.
·  If the cutting resists and doesn’t release easily, it is too woody. At this stage the thorn may even stick you.  Again this cutting will not root well.
·  However, if the thorn will not bend and will suddenly release from the shoot with a little pop with a medium amount of pressure, the cutting is at the perfect stage for a successful cutting to be made.

This time is roughly when the flower buds start to open up on the first flush of blossoms.

Rose Tips:

Spraying rose cuttings with an anti-desiccant works very well to assist in the rooting process. Why? Because it stops the cutting from losing moisture.

Growing roses from cuttings taken in the morning are more successful than those clipped later in the day. There is less plant stress or water stress early in the morning.

I use a liquid rooting hormone and a sandy soil mixture that will allow the roots to grow easily. A clay soil or rocky soil will not work well. Many people mix peat into a potting soil mix.

Bottom heat is almost a necessity for fast healthy rose clipping roots. I used a heat mat with a temperature of 72F to keep the shoots warm. I also use warm water when watering and misting any plant. Cold water gives a plant shock and that is bad for any plant. Room temperature water is always the best.

Roots should appear after four weeks. Do not jiggle the rose cutting – it disturbs the roots that are forming and will slow the process and perhaps even kill the root. Treat your rose cuttings like any other shrub or woody cutting

You’ll know you’ve been successful when the rose cutting starts growing new leaves.
photo credit: ripplestone garden

My grandmother could root roses in a glass of water, but I have never had luck doing this.

The difference between roses grown from cutting and roses that have been grafted is that grafted roses are hardier and will flower more. The tenderer a rose is the harder it is for them to be over-wintered.

But if you have an old heirloom rose that you cannot identify a cutting may be you only choice.

And if you decide to graft a rose this information should help you, grafting roses.

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I spent $10 today and came home with an entire car full of plants. I picked up 17 different varieties of annuals and several annuals can be over-wintered. I also have 6 varieties of perennials and 8 varieties of herbs.

Annual flowers are almost out of season so garden centers offer discount prices. The flowers may be stunted from being in a pot that have prohibited root growth but if the plant looks healthy you can pick up flowers to make new container gardens or add more color to your backyard or gardens areas.

I will take off any bad leaves or broken stems and re-pot the plants into containers. This way I can set the flowers up in an area that is protected form the colder weather I will soon have in my Zone 5 area. I can also move the containers indoors or onto the patio  in case of frost in late fall. This will extend my flowers.

One of my favorite annual plants to pick up at a reasonable price at this time of year is the Geranium. I will cut the plant down and start new plants from the cutting from the original plant. Geraniums can also be over-wintered using a brown bad technique or they can be grown indoors.
photo credit: byrdiegyrl

To grow a geranium indoors you need to make sure the plant has “dry feet”, plenty of sun and warmth and soil that is fungal free. I once had a geranium I kept for about 5 years. I would move it outdoors in the summer and back indoors for the winter.

Other plants I try to pick up late in the summer or fall are Dusty Millers, Calendula, Zinnias, Mums and any herb. I also look for perennials to plant for the following year.

Perennials that are bought late in the season may be small if they have been grown  in pots the entire season so I put them in a special raised bed garden for plants that need a little tender loving care. This bed is close to the house, has rich soil and a cover for shade or protection from wind or cold nights.

I find that fall container gardens are perfect for plants that are bought late in the season.  This about.com link will direct you to ideas for container gardening and plants that will grow well in cooler weather. Fall container gardening ideas and tips.

photo credit: kinez

By buying plants late in the season I have added to my perennial collection and have a beautiful colorful garden well into late fall.

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The original gladioli hybrids were developed from Mediterranean species. But today the African native gladioli are the popular varieties grown.

In the United States, the Gladiolus was an instant sensation on its first appearance that the American Gladiolus Society was formed in Boston. This was in 1910 and the popularity of the gladioli only continues to grow.

This flower is also called the Sword lily, corn lily or Glad. The Gladiolus symbolizes strength of character and is the flower for August.

The gladioli grow from corms, which is a bulb like root. Depending on your climate they may or may not be left in the ground over the winter. In my zone 5 climate they must be dug up and stored.

Check your climate to know if the corms need to be removed from the ground. But a rule of thumb is, if your winters offer heavy or hard frosts dig the corms up in the fall and replant them in the spring for late spring and summer blooms.

Glads look better if planted in groups of six or more. They also look more stylish if you plant the groupings in the same color.

Some of the taller glad varieties may require some staking as the flower heads are affected by winds and the weight of the flower blossoms when in full bloom. For safely sake I always stake taller glad varieties. I usually plant these flowers near fences or shrubs for a natural wind block protection.

Gladiolus will grow well in ordinary garden soil. They need average water and sunshine. The only requirement they have is good drainage.

I have found that a pinch of bone meal when planting time will give them a boost. And later in the spring I will give them a boost with fertilizer. I prefer compost tea.

The foliage will turn brown after flowering and die back until it pulls away from the corm easily. This is a necessary step to ensure the energy will drain down to create next year’s corm.

This is not a pretty stage of the flowers growing stage. One way for this to be less noticeable is to mix the plants among other plants.

Glads range in size from the 12” tall dwarfs to the glad giants, which will reach 60”. These flowers bloom in almost every color so will fit into almost any landscaping color scheme.
photo credit: Mason2008

Glads also do well in containers so you may wish to start a few corms in the late fall and bring them in to add color to your home. I usually always have a few containers of glad growing on the patio or in the sun room.

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By using a trellis you can add beauty and color to an otherwise unusable area. You can also grow plants vertically to save space, add privacy and prevent plant insects and disease.

Another use for a garden trellis is that it gives you the opportunity to change the look and atmosphere of your garden in a matter of minutes depending on if you used potted plants or garden art for décor.

Garden trellises can be created from any object that can add privacy or be used for plants to grow or hang from. By shopping at garage sales or rooting through your attic you can design several unique trellises that will be a focal point in a garden, patio or balcony area.

Step Ladder Garden Trellis

An old stepladder that is no longer in use will make a great trellis or plant display area. You can leave the ladder as you found it and paint it to complement your landscape design.

You can plant vining flowers or vegetables around the base of the stepladder and allow them to climb the rungs of the ladder. This style of planting will create a flow and make the ladder part of the garden area and design. You can also add a few pots of the steps for more color but I would suggest anchoring them in place so that the wind does not blow them off.

The addition of a rectangular planted on the ground of first step also will add to this quick and easy trellis.

My favorite vine for a stepladder is the scarlet runner bean. It has such beautiful color.

Metal headboard frame trellis

Old metal headboards can be found along curbsides for free and at auctions for pennies. Choose a location for the headboard, usually along a wall or back of a garden and measure the distance between the metal posts.

Pound metal stakes into the ground and either slide the headboard over the posts if they are hollow or attach the post to the headboard with screws or plastic ties. If you want the headboard to be more sturdy, pound another metal post in between the tow other post and secure the headboard to the post.

Plants vining vegetables and flowers near the base and let them climb. In the front of the headboard add more flowers, vegetables or herbs for color and interest.

An old bedspring can also be used but I like the thicker look of an old headboard myself.

Old wrought iron fencing and posts that were popular in the later 50’s and 60’s will also work well as trellises and can often be found at junkyard and old metal scrap piles. They can be put together as trellises, gates or even arbors.
photo credit: apium

Whether you trellis is handmade or bought you can quickly change the look of your garden area by adding garden art to the trellis or placing hanging pots on the trellis that can be quickly changed for a new look in color or design.

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Another benefit of a tea garden is that it takes a very small amount of space. A 6-foot by 8-foot garden is actually quite big. If you have less space you can make it smaller. And if you only have indoor space available, a tea garden will adapt well to being indoors or on a balcony.

If you have more room you may want to set the tea garden up in a cottage garden tea garden design with a small fenced in area with a gate and trellis or arbor.

Many cottage herb garden designs plant honeysuckle, clematis, climbing rose bushes or wisteria on the trellis or arbor. It will not be long before these plants climb over the arbor and trellis and add astonishing color to you garden area.

Whatever size you select for an outdoor tea garden you will want to divide your entire garden down the middle by making a path. The path can be wide enough for a wheelbarrow or a slender path used for harvesting. Next create narrow paths within each planting bed on either side of the path.

Your goal is to make everything is within arm’s length for weeding and harvesting. This will keep you off the soil and allow more room for your herbs. I will often place a flat rock to stand on just off a path if I need to be able to reach into the garden bed further. This also adds a more natural look to the garden.

Choose herb plants that will thrive in your garden zone. A trip to you local nursery or garden center will help you with your plant selections. I also mix a few colorful fragrant flowers, fruits and vegetables in the herb garden just to add interest and color.

As with any garden, plant the garden based on what each plant needs for sunlight and spacing.

Herbs can be planted closer together than many plants and still thrive so fill the garden. If possible leave a very small section for a tiny bench or a very small table. This will give you a place to relax, enjoy the garden and have a cup of fresh tea.

I also try to add a rain barrel to my herb garden area so that water is easily within reach for watering the plants.
photo credit: chaz2b

And if your only available space is the patio or indoors, herbs grow very well in containers and hanging baskets. Just try to find a spot that get 6 to 8 hours of sunlight for the plants.

Herbs make wonderful container gardens because you have interesting color and texture in herbs and by selecting unique containers and planters you can create wonderful relaxing garden art that can be changed during the season and that also adds tea and seasonings to you home.

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