Sunday, January 30, 2011
For those of you in the warm states, right now is the time to cut you roses back. The idea is to trim them enough so that they stay full and the shape you want is always round.
If roses are not trimmed, most varieties tend to become leggy. Each rose can get three to four feet! After you trim them, they are going to need some organic foods to ease them back into spring (which is around the corner.)
Give each plant two to three heaping handfuls of coffee grounds, sprinkled around the drip line of the plant. Cover a 360 degree area around the plant's base. Also a couple of heaping cups of Epsom salt provides them with magnesium for a great growth and flowers.
Next, add generous amounts of Black Kow cow manure which is one of the best soil conditioners a plant can have. Apply that all around the base of the plant and hand water, no sprinklers!
If roses are not trimmed, most varieties tend to become leggy. Each rose can get three to four feet! After you trim them, they are going to need some organic foods to ease them back into spring (which is around the corner.)
Give each plant two to three heaping handfuls of coffee grounds, sprinkled around the drip line of the plant. Cover a 360 degree area around the plant's base. Also a couple of heaping cups of Epsom salt provides them with magnesium for a great growth and flowers.
Next, add generous amounts of Black Kow cow manure which is one of the best soil conditioners a plant can have. Apply that all around the base of the plant and hand water, no sprinklers!
Sunday, January 23, 2011
he backyard is often the spot for a meditation garden, First of all let me explain what a meditation garden is. It is an outdoor room of sorts that you can create to be your personalized, customized beauty garden.
The purpose of this space is for you to enjoy quiet time alone. You can choose to read a book, watch the birds in the birdbath, or you can choose to sit there with your eyes closed and do nothing. The ultimate goal is for you to always know there is this special space that you can go to, to become centered.
In all of our lives, there is the hustle and bustle of the world around us. There are work issues, family issues, and of course some drama going on with one of your friends so it makes sense for us to have a decompression chamber. It also makes sense that this decompression space is beautiful.
For example, you can get a beautiful ornate bench, you can add a gorgeous European style pot with a cascading firecracker plant, a bird bath, a select piece of driftwood and a variety of plants including palms, azaleas, fragrant jasmine, fragrant gardenias, and fragrant tea olives. Over a period of time it will grown in and be your sanctuary for years and years in the future.
The purpose of this space is for you to enjoy quiet time alone. You can choose to read a book, watch the birds in the birdbath, or you can choose to sit there with your eyes closed and do nothing. The ultimate goal is for you to always know there is this special space that you can go to, to become centered.
In all of our lives, there is the hustle and bustle of the world around us. There are work issues, family issues, and of course some drama going on with one of your friends so it makes sense for us to have a decompression chamber. It also makes sense that this decompression space is beautiful.
For example, you can get a beautiful ornate bench, you can add a gorgeous European style pot with a cascading firecracker plant, a bird bath, a select piece of driftwood and a variety of plants including palms, azaleas, fragrant jasmine, fragrant gardenias, and fragrant tea olives. Over a period of time it will grown in and be your sanctuary for years and years in the future.
Sunday, January 16, 2011
If you were to go and stand in the center of your yard and look at your planting beds what would you see? You might see some plants thriving and looking very well and you might find others that are partially sick and you even might find some that grew too quick for their spot.
The key to good looking landscaping is to understand balance and flow, simply put, taller in the back, medium in the middle and lower in the front. The other thing you need to know is that shrub placement should be in the form of groupings rather than one of this and one of that.
Large showy specimen plants should be strategically placed between windows and on corners so that they can stay in that spot for many years into the future. You may want to study some beautiful landscapes that appeal to you and this way you will be able to figure out what it is about it that you love too much.
I can tell you now, that there will be a rhythm to the landscape that you admire and this is only because time and thought has been put into it.
The key to good looking landscaping is to understand balance and flow, simply put, taller in the back, medium in the middle and lower in the front. The other thing you need to know is that shrub placement should be in the form of groupings rather than one of this and one of that.
Large showy specimen plants should be strategically placed between windows and on corners so that they can stay in that spot for many years into the future. You may want to study some beautiful landscapes that appeal to you and this way you will be able to figure out what it is about it that you love too much.
I can tell you now, that there will be a rhythm to the landscape that you admire and this is only because time and thought has been put into it.
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Before the Freeze:
Record cold temperatures are heading to Central Florida and your plants are at risk for damage and possibly death, but you can help them battle the freeze. Cover your plants with fabric like material and by doing it properly you can help them to survive.
For example, the proper way to cover a Robellini palm is to pony tail the fronds and to tie them in the middle with twine. It is important with palms that if you cannot cover the whole plant, make sure you at least cover the center area where the new growth comes from.
At this stage, you can now wrap them with your fabric material. The thicker you can make it, the better provided that it is not so thick that it breaks the fronds. Small plants can be covered with cardboard boxes with a brick or weight placed on top of the box so the wind doesn't blow it into the neighbor's yard.
Most vegetables should be covered. ALL TROPICAL plants must be covered in this freeze or they may be in danger of dying this freeze. Tropical plants in pots that are around the pool patio area should be brought into the house.
I consider this freeze to be so cold that I recommend you don't put them in the garage because it will be cold in there as well. Bring them into the house with the heat.
All tropical fruit trees should be covered and citruses under than 6 feet in height should be covered as well.
Also, if you have a favorite plant a trashcan act as a temporary green house, just make sure it is secure with the ground to take advantage of ground heat. Also, don't leave the can on the plant during the day because that trashcan can become an oven and will fry your plant.
After the Freeze:
After the freeze when it warms up to the 60's you can remove the blankets, fold them neatly and place them in card board boxes so that they are ready for the next freeze.
Now as you survey the damage, you may see some brown from the freeze, but even if they are brown, do not cut them back. This brown layer of leaves can actually protect the stems in future freezes. It is okay to leave the injured growth on until we clear the cold season.
Record cold temperatures are heading to Central Florida and your plants are at risk for damage and possibly death, but you can help them battle the freeze. Cover your plants with fabric like material and by doing it properly you can help them to survive.
For example, the proper way to cover a Robellini palm is to pony tail the fronds and to tie them in the middle with twine. It is important with palms that if you cannot cover the whole plant, make sure you at least cover the center area where the new growth comes from.
At this stage, you can now wrap them with your fabric material. The thicker you can make it, the better provided that it is not so thick that it breaks the fronds. Small plants can be covered with cardboard boxes with a brick or weight placed on top of the box so the wind doesn't blow it into the neighbor's yard.
Most vegetables should be covered. ALL TROPICAL plants must be covered in this freeze or they may be in danger of dying this freeze. Tropical plants in pots that are around the pool patio area should be brought into the house.
I consider this freeze to be so cold that I recommend you don't put them in the garage because it will be cold in there as well. Bring them into the house with the heat.
All tropical fruit trees should be covered and citruses under than 6 feet in height should be covered as well.
Also, if you have a favorite plant a trashcan act as a temporary green house, just make sure it is secure with the ground to take advantage of ground heat. Also, don't leave the can on the plant during the day because that trashcan can become an oven and will fry your plant.
After the Freeze:
After the freeze when it warms up to the 60's you can remove the blankets, fold them neatly and place them in card board boxes so that they are ready for the next freeze.
Now as you survey the damage, you may see some brown from the freeze, but even if they are brown, do not cut them back. This brown layer of leaves can actually protect the stems in future freezes. It is okay to leave the injured growth on until we clear the cold season.
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