Tour of Our West Side Garden! 💚🌿// Garden Answer

At the end of the season, most perennials start to look tatty as the foliage begins to dir back. In early autumn cut back the foliage to near ground level with shears or pruners for thicker stems and consign them to the compost heap. Shred or chop up woody stems before adding to the compost heap to speed the decomposition process.

Many repeat flowering perennials can be persuaded to produce bigger and longer lasting displays by regular deadheading. For most perennials, simply nip the fading flowers off just above the first lead down the stem to encourage a second flush of blooms. For perennials such as hollyhocks, which throw up flower spikes, cut back to the first side shoot lower down on the stem when the last bloom on the original flower spike starts to fade.

A popular garden plant around the world, using annual poppy flower seeds to add life to a garden is easy to do. With a huge variety of species allowing for different colors, sizes and flower shapes to be incorporated into any garden, growing annual poppies is extremely rewarding.

The beauty of tubs and other large containers is that with the minimum of effort they will transform a patio, bringing the bright colors of the garden closer to the home. They can be filled with annuals or bulbs for a seasonal display, or planted with small ornamental trees or shrubs. It is important to choose a good quality compost soil mix if you want reliable results in your container.

Flower gardening is becoming increasingly popular each year.  Flowers will lighten up everyone’s garden, they look good, and are a good activity.  Flower gardening is very simple, inexpensive, and lots of fun.

Cracks between paving stones and at the edge of the patio, which often get colonized by weeds, can be used to grow a range of ground hugging, drought tolerant plants that are tough enough to be walked on occasionally. They will also prevent the weeds from returning. To prepare the crack, first remove any weeds. Perennial weeds are best killed with a translocated weed killer that will kill the whole plant, including the roots. Use a screwdriver to dig out the loose material between the paving slabs, reaching down as far as possible.

Do not restrict yourself to planting in containers to bring life to your patio because there are many attractive plants that are well adapted to growing in cracks, crevices and planting pockets in and around the patio. Planting large planting pockets large enough for a small shrub or climber can be created by lifting one or two adjacent slabs from part of the patio. Choose an area that is not used very often and away from points of access. Prize up the slab with a garden spade or use a cold chisel and club hammer if it is cemented into position.

This is a spring display, but it can be livened up at other times in various ways. As the spring flowers fade, there is no need to deadhead, but you can tidy away the dying foliage and make sure the plants are happy. Some, especially the auriculas, will develop seed capsules.

Whether you are trying to excel in sports, business, writing, life or love there is one main ingredient that separates the successful from the mediocre. Inspiration!

Growing orchids really is easier than you might expect, provided that you understand the four basic requirements that your orchid has. Water, light, food and air. Once you understand these four simple desires you’ll already be way ahead of most new orchid enthusiasts.

It’s the finishing touches that can really make the difference and displaying orchids is no exception. If you’ve potting your orchid then here’s a quick run down of the basic differences and benefits of the three main types of orchid pots. Ceramic planters, wooden planters or plain plastic pots.

Whatever brush cutter you have, if you want to keep it for a long time, you need to follow simple routine maintenance program. The first thing you have to do for the first use is to adjust the carburettor in order to save fuel and oil. Start the engine and let it warm up to normal operating temperature. On each brush cutter, there is an idle screw you can turn to the left or the right to get the correct setting. Turn it in the way that the engine noise sounds good.