Weeding has got to be one of the most dreaded tasks in the garden.
Click here for an article with great ideas to prevent weeds in an established garden.
Showing posts with label garden. Show all posts
Showing posts with label garden. Show all posts
Sunday, June 2, 2019
Preventing weeds in an established garden
Weeding has got to be one of the most dreaded tasks in the garden.
Click here for an article with great ideas to prevent weeds in an established garden.
Wednesday, May 22, 2019
Inspiration for a Beautiful Back Yard
My once peaceful and beautiful back yard is still in shambles, mainly since the long recovery from Hurricane Irma. I could really relate to this article about starting over again.
Check out the article if you are in need of inspiration like me!
Friday, April 7, 2017
Redesigning Your Garden
Isn't that a beautiful garden?
I found an article that spans several years starting with a yard full of dirt. The transformation is amazing!
Click here to go to the article from the MiaFleur Blog that I promise will inspire you to redesign your garden, one step at a time. Hope you enjoy the blog as much as I have!
Saturday, October 24, 2015
Common Gardening Mistakes
Mistakes . . . we all make them! We are not aware of some mistakes.
I ran across an excellent article on common gardening mistakes that all gardeners should read. Some I was not aware of and through the years, I have done a ton of gardening research. You never stop learning!
Click here to go to the very informative article 15 Common Gardening Mistakes Everyone Makes.
Some things to keep in mind . . .
Through my years of gardening in moderate zone 9 climate, the "rules" for winter depend on the weather. It is not a bad idea to push the limits and experiment in certain climates. For example, my best success in propagating hibiscus was during the winter when the temperatures were consistently in the 70s. For one thing, I broke the cardinal rule of not hard pruning during the winter months.
The experiment was a monumental success and I had a record number of hibiscus ready to plant in the spring and had enough to give away to other gardeners who were happy to share cuttings and surpluses of their own. You never know unless you push the limits.
The photo is a version of my garden back in 2000.
Sunday, June 7, 2015
Need More Space in Your Garden?
It is also about pest and disease control and convenience.
No doubt about it, I tend to gravitate toward container gardening for ease of movement, seasonal gardening, herb and veggie gardening . . . it is so much easier for me even though we have more than enough space in our garden.
Want some ideas? Click here for an excellent article from Organic Daily Post.
Monday, July 9, 2012
Leaf Stepping Stones
Sunday, February 22, 2009
What's blooming in Paradise
They started in my dad's garden. As a child I remember the bright orange and red blooms against the colorful tropical crotons, thinking how beautiful the color combinations were.
He taught me how to multiply plants, baby them and have them give back with their beauty. There was a lady on one of the older HGTV gardening shows who described her show as the one who profiles gardeners who touch the earth and makes it bloom. That is one of the most beautiful gifts my dad ever gave me . . . he taught me how to touch the earth and be grateful for everything it gives back to me. Just as it did for my dad, I can touch the earth and make it bloom.
The kalanchoe in the photo come from the seeds of those plants that graced my dad's garden. They live on in my paradise and bloom for me year after year . . . and have thrived through neglect since my husband died. My desire to garden is slowly coming back to me . . . and my plants have waited for me.
Today as I sat outside in my carport jungle, I noticed some new plants of kalanchoe that came up in some of my containers that I sprinkled seeds in last year. The bold red blooms are predominant in a sea of green . . . they made it through the winter freezes and cold nights that refuse to go away. We are still in the 40's at night in Central Florida . . . unbelievable!
My next post will be a profile on these plants that thrive even with neglect and come up with bright and beautiful blooms to remind you that spring is around the corner.
Kalanchoe blossfeldiana
 | Kalanchoe blossfeldiana is a durable flowering succulent that requires little maintenance and can be grown either indoors or outdoors. |
Their fleshy, dark shiny green leaves will reach 3 inches (7.7 cm) long by up to 1.5 inches (3.8 cm) wide with lobed edges.
Floral colors range from the traditional red to yellows, oranges, salmon, to pink and almost any color in between.
They start blooming in December and last 6-8 weeks.
Kalanchoe blossfeldiana need full sun to high interior lighting, with a well drained soil mix.
The plants are well watered and allowed to dry somewhat in between waterings.
During the growing season (spring and summer), the plants are fertilized every month with a balanced fertilizer.
Beginning in the fall, the plants require 14 hours of continuous darkness every day to promote blooming. During this period, no fertilizer is used. I've never used this method and they always bloom like crazy for me . . . even the container plants that live in my carport where the light is never turned off.
After the plants have bloomed, they should be cut back to promote new growth and fertilized every 2 weeks. Keep plants trimmed to encourage compact and bushy growth.
Cut the blooms off the plant when the flowers start to fade . . . air dry to harvest the seeds. My method is to sprinkle seed where I want them to grow . . .
Kalanchoe blossfeldiana is easily propagated from cuttings in the spring. Cuttings should be 2-3" long with two pairs of leaves. Leaves are removed from the lower one or two nodes and inserted into the medium . . . no rooting hormone is needed. A good rooting medium consists of 1 part peat to 1 part perlite or sand . . . stick cuttings into final containers.
This is one of my favorite plants because of the brilliantly colored flowers, they are tolerant of neglect and so easy to propagate . . . I'd love to have a mass planting of this and will probably take lots of cuttings and throw out lots of seed this spring so I can.
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