Everything to do with your shak.
Small spaces can make great gardens. If you don’t think so then drop by As the Garden Grows and you will see what is possible.
Whether it is a balcony or backyard, just because it is small does not mean that it is not dynamic or the ideal get-away-from-it-all and never leave home space. You can do wonders with containers, fences, and trellises.
Gardening is a creative experiment and one place where you can let your imagination run free.
Spring and fall are the times to plant the majestic lily. The King or Queen of the perennial garden, the lily is a fairly easy plant to take care of and will reward you with an ongoing display.
The National Gardening Association has a lily planting guide that will provide you with all you need to add this gem to your garden.
If you have limited indoor gardening space, you may want to consider a terraium. Take at look at this one over at Shak in Style.
A terrarium is a transparent glass or plastic
container you add the soil and the plant. The top of the terrarium can be opened or closed. There is a wide variety of containers that you can use to create your terrarium.
A terrarium is a clear-sided container that has no drain holes and usually has a clear top. When a terrarium is
properly planted and located, it can be a source of enjoyment for
years, providing an interesting way to grow and display many plants
with relatively little care.
Almost any type of clear glass or plastic
container can be used for a terrarium: fish bowl, fish tank, glass jar,
jug or bottle. There are containers made especially for terrariums. The
container must be clear, however, as tinted or cloudy glass reduces
light and interferes with plant growth.
I looked out my front window this morning and realized that the leaves on one of the trees across the street had begun to turn yellow. Now I love the Autumn and this is a great place to go leaf peeping but the sight of that first hint of yellow always carries a sense of regret.
I love living where I do because the four seasons are distinct and all have some garden related tasks that you can do.
However, the coming of Autumn signals the end of the growing seson for almost nine months and that is a very long time.
What garden tasks to do you do during the Autumn?
Early spring or early fall is the ideal time to plant rhododendrons. Here on Canad’as east coast, fall is approaching, perhaps a little too fast, given the weather over the past few days.
But there is no point in worrying about that there is still time to plan and plant. If you decide to add this beauty to your garden, you will need to dig a hole about 3 times as wide as the root ball and just deep enough
to cover it.
Plant where it will be proected from drying winds or all-day sun in order to avoid scorched leaves. If it is very hot and dry where you live, then select a partially shaded spot.
To imporve the plant’s survial rate add organic material into the soil before
replacing it, and add mulch on top to control moisture and
temperature extremes.
Summer is slowly winding down. It is a lovely night here along the Restigouche but it was cold this morning, there are few days left when we will be able to enjoy eating or playing cards outside.
I was looking at this table which is on sale at Canadian Tire. I think it may be what we need to finish our outdoor living season and to get ready for next year.
Telescopic Table
Sale: $39.99
Reg: $54.99
Product #68-8001-0
Features
We had our first and early frost warning last night. I was ready for it but just. On my way home from grocery shopping, I was talking with the cab driver about tomatoes and the damage even a light frost could do. We both agreed that it would be sometime before we would have frost and even if we did as long as the tomatoes were covered, they’d be okay.
When I got home, I decided to get the cotton sheet that I use for covering the tomatoes out and put it in the stairwell. I was glad that I did and that I checked the evening’s weather before going to bed. There was no frost but it was cold, too cold for this time of the year.
While covering the tomatoes may not have been necessary, I felt better and the tomatoes were certainly warmer.
I’ll be picking a few very soon now.
Now you may not consider the caterpillar a garden friend, in fact, you may find some of them frightening to look at but when you consider that what may now be an ugly little or not so little beastie, can turn into a beautiful Monarch, then perhaps you can give the crawlies another chance.
If you want to attract butterflies to your garden and have them make it their home then you have to learn to love them in their pre-butterfly stage.
There are some great caterpillar pictures over at In MY Canadian Garden.
The garden is where human and nature meet. It is a place that is in-between and where human and Nature meet.
However, humans are not the world’s only gardeners. Nature does a pretty good job of creating spaces of beauty all by herself.
If we look at what we call weeds and see how they can take over a space that has been disturbed by human activity we can see much growing there that would look good in any garden, provided proper care was taken. Weeds can be dominate plants and will take over.
The beauty in the picture, is a morning glory, growing wild along a fence at the back of an unused property.
If humans took sometime to manage these wild, urban spaces, instead of either mowing them down or ignoring them, our cities and towns would take on a more appealing appearance as well as providing a haven for the birds, bees, and butterfiles that are essential to the success of any garden.
