Gardening Archives – Page 29 of 33 – Strength Of The Small

Upcycling & Recycling Flowers Shrubs & Trees Gardening High Desert

Flower Bed Garden Edging

By JM PerezApril 1, 20132 min read819 views

When it comes to garden edging the possibilities are endless to meet your needs. You can choose from Plastic, Bricks, Rocks, Boulders, Bamboo, Wrought Iron/Metal, Bottles, Wood, Plates to Concrete and so much more.

Those with limited to no budget can look around their property for garden edging ideas. Do you have scrap wood, dead branches, pine cones, rocks or decorative bricks lying around in your yard? If you do, by all means put them to use. Those of us with trees of all types around our properties know that Nature has a way of stressing them to the breaking point such as:

» The weight of ice and snow
» Strong winds
» Dead branches
» Lack of nutrients
» Old age
» Plant disease (fungal infections), … etc!

What can we do with a fallen branch or a broken tree? For one, we can safely remove the fallen branch and dispose of it and/or contact an arborist to remove the fallen tree. We can use the wood for your fireplace, fire pit, as borders in your garden, and so much more.

The 2008 winter storm was so severe that it split two of my mature trees in two.
After removing and disposing of most of the branches, I kept a few branches from my broken pine tree which I am now using as plant borders.

Our preferred garden edgings are the Plastic edging and Terrace Board Landscape edging.

*Terrace Board Landscape Edging as Plant border.*

I have used pine cones as plant borders for a few years now and I have placed a lot around my plants and garden beds to deter squirrel from digging. So far, it has worked for me.

Happy Gardening and wishing you a good start into the week.

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By JM Perez

Spring Flowers Shrubs & Trees Gardening High Desert

Beautiful Blooms

By JM PerezMarch 29, 20132 min read745 views

What a lovely day in the garden today! I spent part of my afternoon tending to my plant and preparing a location for an outdoor Dining Table we will be building soon. I love the way everything is coming together. I replaced a couple of plants in the backyard with some I bought from Lowe’s® and The Home Depot® (Shrubs, Succulents, Mini Roses, etc). I wasn’t the least surprised to find Curl Grubs beneath the roots of the plants.

My evergreen Grevillea ‘Noellii’ is thriving on the side of the house in a very large ceramic planter we received from a wonderful neighbor. We placed it a few feet away from one of our bedroom windows and it’s always a delight watching it every morning. The plant is blooming with tiny lovely pink & white flowers.

Rosemary! Had it not been for the stray cats I was trying to keep out from my property, I wouldn’t have fallen in love with this plant. I have always known of its culinary and medicinal uses, but I had never thought of using it as a decorative plant in my garden. I love its aroma and its delicate small blue flowers (they’ve always bloomed from Sprint to Fall). My next project will be to propagate as many as possible.

Above is my Purple Leaf Cherry Plum all in bloom and looking lovely. I picked it up at Lowe’s in 2010 at the discounted area, almost dead. I spent so much time and energy caring for it and I honestly wasn’t sure it would survive, but it did to my amazement and I am so grateful.

Back in 2008, my husband got me some California Poppies and for some reason they didn’t make it (I guess it probably had something to do with the fact that he brought them from a different location and the poor plants couldn’t handle our harsh weather). Last December, after helping one of my next door neighbors to complete a task, he agreed to give me a couple California Poppies growing in his yard. I transplanted them right away and they are now flowering. I love the bright silky yellow flowers. Click here to learn about its uses, side effects and interactions.

The Tulip bulbs I planted last Fall are starting to bloom. It was a pleasant surprise to wake up this morning and discover two gorgeous flowers staring back at us. My Daughter is so excited. She has a whole raised garden bed of her own which we planted last Fall as well and she is looking forward to seeing some beautiful blooms soon.

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By JM Perez

Plant Propagation Flowers Shrubs & Trees Gardening High Desert

‘Little Pete’ Rose Sucker

By JM PerezMarch 25, 20132 min read724 views

Today I finally pulled out what was left of my Snow White Tea Tree in my backyard. I have been suspecting for a while now that something wasn’t right with the plants and decided to give them a few more weeks. It turns out that some White Curl Grubs were happily and vigorously feeding on the roots of the plants which resulted in the plant’s death. I also pulled out what was left of my Crimson Rose Tea Tree which I was growing in a barrel in my front yard. They were beautiful drought-tolerant plants and a wonderful addition to my garden. I have had those plants for four years and every year, during this time, they would be covered in blooms.

It seems like every time I loose a plant in my garden, I get blessed with a new one from my garden. Just a few weeks ago, I discovered a Rose sucker around the base of one of my favorite Rosebush. Last year I gained two more Roses using the propagation by simple layering method. This year on the other hand, my ‘Little Pete’ Rose Tree has a Sucker which is rapidly growing just a small distance from the mother plant. I carefully removed it along with its roots and transplanted it in a pot to create a new Rosebush. My first thought was to just separate the sucker and the mother plant and allow both to grow along side, but I quickly realized that the space between both wasn’t enough to allow them to thrive. It’s such a beautiful Rose and I hope my new growth survives.

Click here, here and here to learn about Propagation by Simple and Tip Layering.

'Little Pete' Rose. — *‘Little Pete’ Rose.*

On a much happier note, we are weed free! I will blog about it in a different post and let you know how we got rid of weeds on our half-acre property in less than two weeks (using just a hoe, rake and a hand shovel).

Happy gardening!

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By JM Perez

Spring Plant Propagation Gardening High Desert

Spring & Garden Pest Control

By JM PerezMarch 20, 20133 min read632 views

Spring, oh! dear Spring. The perfect time to garden for some of us and for those who planted early, it’s the perfect time to sit back and watch those flowers blossom. I hard pruned my Rosebushes three months ago and they are now looking healthy and vigorous. While we sit back and enjoy these beautiful little things, we have to keep in mind that Spring is also the perfect time for bugs and pests to slowly make their way into our Garden and settle. By the time we blink, our lovely plants will be hosting a variety of insects:

Aphids. These pests are a gardeners nightmare and their infestations spread quickly from one plant to the other. They are very destructive and cause damage in the garden by sucking sap from new growth. A natural way to control aphids is by introducing beneficial bugs such as Lacewings, Praying Mantis and Ladybugs. Adults and larvae alike feed on aphids and other soft-bodied insects. Aphids produce honeydew which ants feed on and those ants will fight for their food and its source. Click here and here for more information on getting rid of Aphids safely and click here for tips on keeping ants away from gardens.

Cutworms, which are moth larvae and hide under the soil during the day, coming out in the dark to feed on the first part of the plant it encounters, namely the stem or tender leaves. The easiest way to stop cutworms from eating the plants is to place a cardboard around the base of the plant (creating a barrier). Mowing and weeding the yard help expose the cutworms and destroy their habitat. Click here for other methods.

Curl Grubs, which are Scarab Beetle larvae that live in the soil and feed on plant roots. They are white or cream in color, brown headed with three pairs of legs and curved into a C shape when pulled out of the soil. They have a huge appetite and can cause major problems in the garden when they accumulate in large numbers. If you find them in your garden beds or pots, the best thing to do is pick them all out and feed them to the birds, chickens or ants. You can also use organic insecticide such as Eco-Grub®, Eco-Neem®, Yates Success®.

Slugs and Snails. These pests are considered ferocious eaters, leaving holes in leaves and slime trails on the path they have traveled. Pour Beer into a container such as ice cream or yogurt cup within an inch of the rim and place it next to your flower pot. Or bury it next to the plant being eaten by Slugs/Snails, which will be attracted by the smell of the beer. Once in, they drawn. Make sure to change the beer every few days. Sprinkle salt around the base of the plant affected. Once the Snails/Slugs climb over the salt, they will die of dehydration.

There are more Garden Pests out there, these are just the few I have to deal with, for now. It’s always a good idea to plant a variety of Flowers for their scents to attract beneficial bugs and deter unwanted pests. Plants such as Rue, Anise, Garlic, Catnip, Calendula, Marigolds, Dill, Daisy, Fennel, Mint, Coriander, Alyssum and Chives.

Click here for a list of Garden Pests and information on how to stop them.

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By JM Perez

Spring Weather Gardening High Desert

First Blooming Bulbs

By JM PerezMarch 15, 20132 min read598 views

Spring is in the air: do you feel the Love in your Garden? If you live in the High Desert like me, you’re probably not feeling too much love right now with all the unwanted and unattractive weeds popping up from nowhere. Most of my bulbs are flowering. My Gladiolus and Lilies are starting to sprout. As for me, I am starting to see new growth and beautiful colors all around my property which will be enchanted in just a few weeks. I am looking forward for the Trees to awaken and start growing their leaves while planning our outdoors activities. The outdoor furniture has been cleaned and will be ready to use as soon as I have a shaded area.

First Blooming Bulbs: 1&4. White & Yellow Daffodil. 2. Ice King Double Daffodil. 3. Purple Crocus. 4. Hyacinth. — *First Blooming Bulbs: 1. Grape Hyacinth. 2. Ice King Double Daffodil. 3-4. Crocus Vernus ‘Twilight’ & Stripes.*

The temperature has risen unexpectedly these past couple of days. Though a slightly warm weather is highly desirable at this time of the year, this is not what I was expecting. Even though it’s gotten so hot that I haven’t been able to achieve my gardening objectives, I refused to hold off on weeding, which to me is by far the most challenging, consuming part of gardening and let’s not forget how unattractive they are.

Weeds on my property are thriving in this weather and some have begun flowering and very soon others will begin seeding. Aside from the Tumbleweeds, the most common and invasive weeds here are Hawkweeds, Crabgrass and Redstem filaree (edible if picked young). The edible and invasive Common Purslane hasn’t made its appearance yet. I use mulch to control weeds in my gardens and I pull those present as soon as they emerge to prevent late Summer seedlings. Regardless of which method I use, weeding is simply an endless chore.
I find comfort in the end result and in knowing that Gardening Is Good for The Health.

Click here to access a list of the Most Common Weeds in the Garden and how to deal with them the organic way. Click here to access a list of some weeds you can eat and here for a list Healing Weeds in Your Yard.

Happy Gardening!

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By JM Perez