Helpful Hints for your gardening -----

Planting Flowers                            (Flower Gardening 1-2-3)

1.  Dig the hole.  Generally make the hole a few inches wider and deeper than the plant's pot.  If you have clay soil, make the hole twice as deep as the pot to improve drainage.

2.  Amend the soil.  Even if you have previously improved the soil, work in a spadeful or two of compost or other soil amendment.  Then remove the plant from its pot.

3.  Loosen roots as needed.  If the roots are knotted or circling around the pot, loosen them with your fingers to stimulate them and encourage them to spread out in the soil.

4.  Set the plant in the ground.  The plant should be level with the surrounding soil.  Then make a small moat around the plant with your hands or a spade to help water puddle around the plant.

5.  Mulch, then water thoroughly.  When possible, soak the ground and not the plant, with with small plants it's almost impossible not to deouse the whole plant.  Keep soil especially moist for the next several weeks.

Slugs and Snails

Beware of the slugs and snails.  The rain that has fallen, whether great or small, has caused the snails and slugs to be on the move.  I have even noticed them on my BiColor Iris and Agapanthus.  They are even trailing up the sides of the house.  Get after them before they leave many eggs behind and you have an army of them.  I do the "toss and stomp" method - toss them to the ground and then stomp on them.  I also put out bait by Ortho called Bug Geta for snails and slugs.  This is available at The Front Yard.

What to Plant?

Remember to read the label.  Plants that are for full sun or for shade should be put in the proper place.  Check your yard for the best place for each. 

Check for the drainage.  Some areas stay damp longer or maybe even soggy.  Know which plants can take more and which need less watering.

Annuals have a single growing season - some may grow longer in warmer climate.

Perennials come back year after year - the foliage will die back but the plant returns the following year.

Biennial takes two years to flower and then they die.

Remember, some plants are not going to grow in our area, look around and see what does the best in this climate/soil, and go for that.

Get your color scheme and go with it.  Or, have some of all the colors available.

Every garden is up to the gardeners choice.  It will all be beautiful when planted properly and cared for. 

Remember how hot and dry it will be in July/August - get your soaker hoses ready so that you don't have to spend so much time watering.  Buy timers for the hoses so that they have a routine watering plan.  Don't work hard in the spring to let it all dry up and die due to the lack of water or the trememdous heat.  Plan ahead.

email address:  thefrontyard@cvtv.net