There is a whole ritual that most of us gardeners follow when we acquire seeds. You know the routine.

First, we get the seed catalogs. We look through them, read the descriptions, and dream of a garden at least ten times bigger than what we have.

Next, we make lists of the seeds we want to get.

Then we cut back the lists when we realize that we really shouldn't spend that much on seeds. For that kind of money, we could buy something like a new car or at least pay for a trip to Austin.

Finally we make our real selections and go online and order up our seeds.

I ordered my first batch of seeds a few weeks ago and they arrived last week.

Until I actually start sowing the seeds, I'll keep them in a cool, dry place.

And what's more cool than a new garden trug?

That's my new Sussex garden trug ordered from Walt Nicke's Garden Talk pictured above. It is one of two gifts that I bestowed upon myself for my recent birthday. It's handmade, and the craftsman even signed the bottom of it.
It's beautifully crafted and fits my criteria of a gift I'll have forever, to commemorate entering "my late forties".

Right now it holds my seeds, and has been put in a cool, dry place. But before I know it, it will hold my garden harvest. Tomatoes, beans, squash, peppers, corn and more. I can hardly wait.

Do you know what you call tree seedlings that come up all over the garden?

Tree-weeds.

Yes, they are weeds. But there are some gardeners who get all “funny” about pulling tree seedlings as weeds, especially if the ‘seedling’ gets big enough that it won’t pull out easily and it’s a nice tree like a redbud, Cercis canadensis.

They convince themselves that maybe where that tree seedling sprouted would be the perfect place for another tree. And wouldn’t it be fun to have a tree in the garden that grew right there from a tiny seed?

Or maybe they try to transplant those tree seedlings to someplace else in the garden, merely because Mother Nature has provided them with a free tree.

Either way, enough of that kind of thinking and pretty soon, it’s not a garden anymore. It’s a mess.

There are, of course, some tree seedlings, like mulberries and cottonwoods, that every gardener recognizes as weeds, no matter how big and tree-like those seedlings get.

I pull out a lot of mulberry and cottonwood seedlings in my garden. The seeds come a long way to get here because there are no mature trees nearby. But I still pull the seedlings out when I find them. I show no mercy. I don't blink. I don't hestitate.

The mulberry seeds, Morus sp., usually hitch a ride to my garden in the gut of a bird. The bird eats the mulberry seed, flies to my garden and then poos a few droppings with the seed still intact in them somewhere where I don't want a mulberry tree to grow. Those droppings, by the way, stain whatever they land on purple. Then wherever that dropping landed, that freshly scarified mulberry seed sprouts and grows, taking root in even the tiniest bit of dirt.

Somehow, the mulberry leaves tend to blend in to their surroundings until the little tree seedling is a big tree seedling and I’ve got to get a shovel or pick axe to dig it out. When I’m feeling lazy, I sometimes just cut those mulberry tree weeds down to the ground, but they always re-sprout. Always. There are some that I cut down weekly throughout the summer.

The cottonwoods, Populus deltoides, are just as weedy as mulberries. Those seeds ride in on the wind from who knows where, wrapped up in their fluffy cotton-y covering, fall gently to the ground, and then germinate. I have no idea where the nearest cottonwood tree is, but I bet on any given day I can find a cottonwood tree seedling somewhere in my garden.

I’m in a battle with these tree seedlings and what’s at stake is the very survival of my garden as a garden and not a wild space. They want to take over, and I won’t let them. I pull the little ones, dig out those that won’t pull out easily, and keep cutting back those that thought they were going to make it.

It’s my garden, my design (such as it is) and I’m only going to let the trees grow where I plant them!

(Why am I writing about these tree-weeds now? I was reminded of them when I saw all the seed pods hanging from the redbud tree, which I included in my Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day post for this month. Thank you to everyone who posted about their blooms on the 15th. I'm still working my way down the Mr. Linky list to visit and see what everyone has, or doesn't have, blooming. Eventually I hope to read all the bloom day posts!)

January 10th and winter continues. We are still about 9 weeks away from being able to sow any seeds in the garden.

But this has not kept me from getting six packets of seeds from Botancial Interests Seeds to try in my garden this year.

The first thing I noticed about their seed packets, in addition to the beautiful paintings of the flowers and vegetables on each of them, is the amount of information they have managed to get on one packet of seeds.

They put information on the front and back of the packet, as you might expect, and they also printed information on the inside of the packet.

These have got to be the most informative seed packets I’ve ever seen, and yes, I have seen a lot of seed packets in my gardening days.

And, every packet, even the vegetable seeds, includes the botanical name! Even the vegetable seeds.

In a comment on my recent post about Temporary Botanical Names, MSS from Zanthan Gardens asked why we don’t use botanical names for vegetables. My short answer is probably because most people don’t know them. But with seeds from Botanical Interests, we can learn them!

Using this wonderful botanical name information on the seed packets, let me just say that I’m excited about the Lactuca sativa seeds that I’ll be sowing in early spring, the Lycopersicon lycopersicum seeds that will hopefully be the beginning of a new adventure in tomato growing and the Zea mays var rugosa seeds that may give me bragging rights for the earliest sweet corn.

(For what it's worth, I don't generally think it is a good idea to use botanical names when talking or writing about common vegetables, I just think it's fun to know what those names are.)

They also included on the outside of the seed packet other information you would hope would be there, including common name and variety, weight, price, whether or not the seeds are organic, description of the variety, when to sow outside (or inside or both), how to sow, days to emerge, depth to sow, spacing within a row, and spacing of rows.

They seem to have thought of everything in the design of these packets because there is also the unexpected feature of a section of the packet that you can cut out to make a label.

And did I mention they also put the name of the artist for the botanical illustration on the packet?

Even though it’s going to be awhile before I can sow seeds outside, I opened up the Lactuca sativa seed packet to take a look at the additional information inside.

Wow… they've packed the inside with several paragraphs of good information and stuff that is helpful and just plain fun to know. Stuff like plant family, where native, hardiness info, more descriptions and general information about the plant, special sowing and germination instructions, optimal growing conditions, and when and how to harvest (for vegetables).

There is also a drawing of what the seedling looks like and a place to record the date you sowed the seeds, that ends up on the back of the cut out label, along with biographical information about the artist who painted the illustration on the front of the packet.

I’ve gotten seed packets before that literally included a one line instruction like “sow outside 3 – 4 weeks before last frost”. Because I’ve sown seeds since I was a kid, and most of the time I know how to sow them, I've gotten by on this little bit of information.

But someone new to gardening or seed sowing might need or like a bit more information. They’ll find all the information they’d ever need, and then some, on packets of Botanical Interest Seeds.

Oh, and by the way, Lactuca sativa is Lettuce. The packet I got from Botanical Interests is Mesclun, Gourmet Baby Greens. According to the packet it contains 18% Black Seeded Simpson, 16% Buttercrunch, 17% Green Salad Bowl, 17% Lola Rossa, 17% Red Oakleaf, and 17% Rough d’Haver.

I’m going to sow some of this lettuce mix in a container near the back door just as soon as it starts to warm up around here, or March 17th, whichever comes first.

In just two months, give or take, I’ll be out in the garden planting ‘Green Arrow’* peas and lettuce and onions.

It will be a beautiful early spring day when I get the wheelbarrow out of the garage, load it up with a rake, seeds, onion sets and row markers.

Then I’ll look over all the hoes, and pick out one, maybe two, to make nice straight furrows in whatever raised bed I choose for these early crops.

It will be just warm enough to wear a lightweight jacket as I kneel down and shake those pale green shriveled up pea seeds out of the seed packet into the palm of my hand…

Yes, it’s January and thoughts of planting this spring may be more of a dream right now, but there are just two more months before I’ll really be out in the garden, the currently frozen garden, planting seeds.

While I wait two more months to get out into the garden, there is plenty of winter gardening to do inside. I’ve got all kinds of stuff to do to prepare for spring. I’m going to be busy doing it all, too. This winter gardening can really wear a gardener out. And it is mentally challenging.

The most obvious and taxing winter gardening chore, the one staring me in the face saying “do it now” is the task of browsing through seed catalogs and ordering seeds.

Even though I’ll only order from two or three (or four, maybe five tops) seed companies, I look at all the catalogs I get, just in case there is something New! Unique! Horticultural Breakthrough! that I must have.

Then I get down to the serious business of listing all the seeds I want, followed by pruning the list back, then standing back and looking at it, then pruning it again. This first round of list pruning is based on how much space I have, or think I have, in the garden.

The second round of pruning the seed list is more like thinning out seedlings, as I work to get the list down to a reasonable amount to spend, or at least to an amount that I’m willing to spend. Whether that is really a reasonable amount or not probably depends on if you are a gardener or not.

There’s a lot of math involved in this part. Not just adding up prices and seeing dollar signs, but calculating space requirements and doing advanced computations to see if it will all fit in the garden.

Sometimes this part even involves a calculator and the use of Excel spreadsheets.

In the end, I also tap into my past experience and just guess and hope it will all work out.

It usually does.

There are other winter gardening chores I could be, should be, doing, but right now all my energy is focused on seeds and ordering what I need.

After all, in just two months, give or take, I’ll be planting peas!

*I only plant ‘Green Arrow’ peas. No other pea variety will do. I must have ‘Green Arrow’.

Thanks to the generous people at Botanical Interests, you have a chance to win six packets of seeds!

Just leave a comment on this post before 5:00 PM EST on Thursday, January 29th and then sometime after 5:00 PM EST on January 29th, I’ll generate a random number, count down that many comments, and that person will be the lucky winner!

You can either choose to get the seeds shown above, or spend some time over the next few days browsing their website and picking six packets you’d like to have. They’ll ship the seeds to the winner on Monday, February 2, so have your choices ready in case you are the lucky once.

One comment per person, and please provide a link back to your blog where I can find contact info or leave contact info in your comment. (I suppose I ought to say 'void where prohibited', just in case.)

*****

I’ve already received six packets of Botanical Interest seeds to sow this spring and opened one packet of seeds because every packet says “much more information inside this packet”. How could I resist? I opened a packet of Gourmet Baby Greens Mesclun seeds and was very impressed by all the information.

It really is the most information I’ve ever seen on a seed packet.

Now I’m trying to hold off opening the other packets until I’m ready to sow the seeds. Here’s what I’ve got:

Tomato Bush Ace (Lycopersicon lycopersicum) – I have always grown indeterminate tomato varieties that I train up stakes. I never cage tomatoes! But then I saw these determine, bush type tomatoes and thought, “why not try one, just to see how the other half grows”. The packet says “yields are exceptional for such a large tomato”. I can hardly wait to try them.

Sweet Corn Spring Treat (Zea mays var rugusa) – Who could resist trying a sweet corn that will be ready two weeks earlier than most other sweet corn? Apparently I can’t resist the idea of it. I'm sowing these in the garden just as soon as I think the last frost has occurred.

Sweet Pea ‘Fairytale Blend’ and Sweet Pea ‘High Scent’ (Lathyrus odoratus)– I love sweet peas and even though they do just okay in my garden, I keep growing them because whatever bloom I get is worth giving them a little bit of room and a small trellis to grow on. With these two varieties, I hope to get some nicely scented blooms and some good blooms for cutting.

Sunflower ‘Elves Blend’ (Helianthus annuus) – I think I’m attracted to flower varieties that include the words ‘fairy’, ‘elf’, or ‘sprite’ as part of the name. It implies to me that the plant will be smaller, but have some spunk to it. These sunflowers should top out at 16 – 24 inches tall but I’m not sure what size the flowers will be. I bet they noted that on the inside of the packet.

*****
Remember, leave a comment to enter to win six packets of seeds from Botanical Interests! The seeds pictured above include:

- Sunflower Goldy Honeybear
- Poppy Peony Double Blend
- Calendula Zeolights
- Basil Dolce Vita Blend
- Carrot Carnival Blend
- Lettuce Valentine Mix

(Addendum: Seeds can only be shipped in the United States. My apologies for not noting this from the beginning.)

What would you call the love of buying and sowing seeds?

I would call it sporosphilia, using the Greek word “sporos” for seed and “philia” for love. Conversely, I would call the fear of seeds, sporosphobia. (which should not to be confused with kipourikosphobia, the fear of gardening.)

I love sowing seeds, so I guess that makes me part of that subclass of gardeners that could be referred to as sporosphiliacs.

To date, I have purchased 69 packets of seeds. That’s one more packet than last year when I purchased 68 packets, and a lot more than the year before when I stopped at 52. Add the six packets of seeds that Botanical Interests graciously sent me to review, and I’m up to 75 packets of seeds.

Like many gardeners, I get a lot of seed catalogs in the winter time, beginning in late October and continuing through to today when I got another catalog in the mail from a seed company, although I think this new catalog is mostly for plants.

Would you like to know a secret about me and these seed catalogs?

I don’t read most of them.

There are just a couple that I opened up and looked through, including the beautiful, and much blogged/tweeted about Baker Creek Heirloom Seed catalog that was too full of Big Beautiful Vegetable pictures to ignore. I also looked through the Pinetree Garden Seeds catalog because I usually buy a lot of seeds from them. They have fewer seeds per packet, but it’s as many seeds as I usually need, and the price per packet is less.

Would you like to know another secret about how I decided what seeds to buy this year?

I bought from memory, from a sense of knowing what I needed.

You would think that I would mark, highlight, and circle all kinds of “must haves” in all the catalogs, list them all, decide that I can’t buy 200 packets of seeds, whittle the list down some more, then sleep on it, check the list again, compare prices, get a new seed catalog in the mail, so start the process all over again, or something like that.

I did none of that. After reading through the few catalogs that I thought had something to offer, I simply went to their websites, and ordered seeds.

I ordered based on what I knew I needed after years of ordering seeds. I was quite methodical about it, mentally going through all the vegetables and flowers I grow from seed and ordering the ones I knew I needed. I was “in the zone”, so to speak.

Tomatoes, peppers, squash, beans, peas, early spring vegetables, flowers, flowers, flowers, corn… one by one I just ordered up what I thought I needed. Then a few days later I went to the store and saw a big display of seeds and bought some more seeds.

Now that I have all the seeds I ordered and purchased, I’ve gone through them and decided I did a pretty good job picking out my seeds for 2009. In the next few days, I’ll list them out on a spreadsheet to double check that I have all that I need and get myself organized to make sure I start the seeds inside that need to be started inside. I want no seed to be left behind!

Even before I list all the seeds that I have, I know that I don’t have all the seeds that I want. I want to grow impatiens from seed, and I didn’t get any seeds for them. I would also like to grow Swiss chard again and actually harvest some of it to eat and not treat it as an ornamental. I forgot to buy those seeds. And I’m sure I’ll read on someone’s blog about something wonderful that they are growing from seed, and I’ll want to grow that, too.

Would you like to know one more secret about seed buying?

I think buying and sowing seeds is addictive.

It’s almost magical, somewhat mesmerizing, perhaps even a bit miraculous, to sow tiny seeds, some as tiny as little specks that you can hardly see, and then a few weeks later have a flat of tiny seedlings, which then grow into beautiful flowering and fruiting plants.

Early responses to the Garden Bloggers Seed Survey indicate that darn near every gardener sows a few seeds. In fact, just one respondent out of 21 so far doesn’t sow seeds. The reason given is because they buy the seeds and then forget about them, so they buy plants.

Yes, I agree, plants are bigger and easier to see than packets of seeds and aren’t usually tossed in a drawer and forgotten. But I know some gardeners who buy plants, set them behind some shrubs or off to one side, and then promptly forget about them and never get around to planting them.

Not me, of course, but I’ve heard of gardeners who have done that. Did you know it's cheaper to forget to sow a packet of seeds than to forget to plant an actual plant?

Another observation from the early returns on the survey (which you can still participate in, if you would like to do so) is that no one seems to have more than 50 packets of seeds… except me.

I would guess one reason is because seeing that many seed packets and knowing you are going to sow all those seeds, might be a bit overwhelming to some gardeners. But with a little bit of time spent organizing your seed sowing, anyone can manage this many seeds.

Here’s what I do to organize my seeds.

List all of the seed varieties on a spreadsheet. I usually note type, such as annual, perennial, vegetable; name; variety; whether to sow indoors or outdoors; and approximate date I’ll sow the seeds. I have spreadsheets going back to 1999, I think. It makes for a nice history of my garden.

Figure out how much room you have inside to sow seeds. I have two shelf units for my seed starting, with three shelves each and each shelf will hold a flat and a half. Each half flat has enough room for 25 pots. I usually use the Jiffy pots that come in strips. So I can grow 225 plants per shelf unit, or a total of 450 plants. Once I know that, I look at the seeds I want to sow inside and figure out how many of each variety I’ll grow in those pots.

By the way, some years, I sow seeds for that many plants, but many years, I don’t. I grow less.

Make up good plant labels for the seedlings, especially those you will sow inside. Trust me, it is hard to tell one tomato variety from another when you are just looking at the tomato plant. In fact, it's impossible. For my plant labels, I sometimes copy the seed name and varieties from the spreadsheet into a document, fix the spacing a bit, then print the page of names, cut them out into label size pieces, and use inexpensive clear laminate to cover the labels, which I then tape to a wooden ice cream spoon, the kind you can buy at craft stores. Got that?

But sometimes, I just write a number on the plant label/small wooden ice cream spoon and cross reference it to a number on my printed seed list. It just depends on the year and how much time and energy I want to put into the labels.

Stick to your seed sowing schedule. When it is time to sow seeds inside, do it! When it is time to sow seeds outside, do it! Then take care of your seedlings.

Share extra seeds with other gardeners. I’ll admit I’ve not done very well at sharing my extra seeds but this year I hope to find a few budding gardeners who would like to try to grow some plants from seeds, and give them some of my extras. I’ll also end up with a few extra tomato and pepper plants, so I’ll give those away, too, if I can find any takers.

This evening, I've been looking over all my seed packets, seeing what I have, getting ready to make up my spreadsheet.

I found the Impatien seeds that I thought I hadn't purchased, a lovely variety called ‘Midnight Blend’ from Botanical Interests. The packet is beautifully illustrated, of course.

I also thought I had purchased a bunch of nasturtium seeds because I liked how they looked last summer in the vegetable garden. But I only have three packets, ‘Alaska Mix’, ‘Jewel Mix’, and ‘Black Velvet’. I think I need a few more varieties of naturtiums.

I wonder what other seeds I have that I don’t remember ordering or what seeds I thought I ordered, but didn't? I’ll bet the garden fairies know. In fact, they might be responsible for a fair number of these seeds. I'm curious now. I better get on with making up that spreadsheet to answer the question, “just what seeds do I have”?

Magnolia stellata 'Waterlily'

Absolutely one of the the most beautiful trees on the garden scene, the Star Magnolia is another perfect flowering tree for small to medium size landscapes due to its slow growth habit and compact mature size of approximately 15 feet in height and 15 feet in width. Star Magnolia also fits equally well in larger landscape settings. The 'Waterlily' Star Magnolia bears slightly fragrant white flowers that blanket this compact tree in early to mid Spring before emergence of the deep green leaves.

The Star Magnolia is a deciduous shrub, or small ornamental tree that will provide years of visual enjoyment in your garden. Makes a great gift for new home-owners, especially those with a limited area for planting.

Magnolia 'Ann'

Part of "The Girl Magnolias" collection, the Ann Magnolia tree was bred by the USDA for a late Spring bloom to prevent frost damage to the delicate flowers . The deep purple, chalice-shaped flowers blanket the tree in late Spring, followed by dark green leaves that hold their color until late Autumn. The 'Ann' magnolia craves attention throughout the Summer months with sporadic blooms. With only a height of 8 - 10 feet and width of 10 feet, this magnolia is naturally a perfect fit for small landscapes and gardens .

Ann Magnolia requires little maintenance and is an easy to grow flowering tree. If you want a purple flowering magnolia that will fit practically any landscape, then Magnolia 'Ann' is the right tree for you.

Magnolia x loebneri 'Leonard Messel'

Of all the magnolias grown, Leonard Messel magnolia is one of the most desired magnolias. Slow growing to a height of about 15 - 20 feet with a similar spread. And talk about hardy. Leonard Messel is reported to grow successfully from Northern Minnesota, without winter protection, all the way down to Zone 9b. Combine this trait with the gorgeous star-like pink Spring blossoms, and excellent disease resistance, and you have yourself a near perfect landscape specimen.

Leonard Messel Magnolia will be on any serious magnolia lover's list of must-haves. Requires full sun for best flowering.

Acer Palmatum Atropurpureum

A strikingly popular plant, the elegant Red Japanese Maple has serrated and mildly lobed reddish purple leaves on cascading, somewhat contorted branches. Adding to it's many characteristics, the Red Japanese Maple's foliage flushes out of dormancy in Spring a deep burgundy and sometimes fades to a reddish green in the heat of the summer sun. Makes for a very entertaining specimen in the landscape. Japanese Maple has also been grown successfully in containers, and is a favorite for bonsai.

Red Japanese Maple tree matures to a height of 15'-25' with a spread up to 25'. Prefers a fertile, well drained site with neutral to slightly acidic soil (pH 6.5-7). Markedly disease and pest resistant, you'll spend your time enjoying this tree instead of maintaining it.

Magnolia x Soulangiana

Common names for the Saucer Magnolia include Tulip tree and Japanese magnolia. Saucer magnolia trees are deciduous flowering trees, their showy flowers are large and goblet shaped and may vary in color from light to deep pink. The size and shape of the blooms are what gave the Saucer Magnolia its common name. When fully opened into the "saucer" position the petals range from 5" to as much as 10" in diameter.

In addition to the beauty of the fragrant blooms the Japanese Magnolia has showy, big and broad dark green leaves. This tree is great for any type of landscape and displays silvery-gray bark in winter. Flowering begins at an early age and provides a mass of color. This beautiful specimen is a 'Must Have' for all Magnolia-lovers! Saucer Magnolia makes an excellent gift for new homeowners!

The Pink Flowering Dogwood tree has a tiered branching habit that flaunts a wonderful display of color in late winter to early spring when covered in large pink "blooms". Fall brings red to maroon foliage with clusters of deep red berries that birds simply love. Widely popular throughout the United States, the Pink Flowering Dogwood Tree is a tree that will be cherished again and again.

The Pink Flowering Dogwood exhibits a medium growth rate that matures at 20-30 feet in height. Canopy of the dogwood tree is symmetrical and spreads to 20-25 feet. Native to North America.

This Red Flowering Dogwood tree is the 'Chief' of the dogwood family. It's showy display of blooms in Spring is a stunning deep rich red. Fall foliage is a bright crimson color that seems to last forever. 'Cherokee Chief' Dogwood grows to a height of 20'-25' and spreads 12'-15'. New foliage is reddish-bronze.

Red Flowering Dogwood may be used in a variety of landscapes and are excellent accent plantings around the terrace or patio. 'Cherokee Chief' Dogwood is considered by many to be the best red flowering dogwood on the market today.

Garden Reflections


As I walked through the Fall garden this morning, my mind wandered back to how the garden season commenced this year. A whiff of warm Spring breezes brought forth bright green leaves and plants full of vigor, only to be ambushed by the unmerciful late frosts that rolled across the region. Several plants were lost and those that weren't had to fight throughout the whole of Summer for any moisture they could find with their fragile roots. The last two rains gave what was left of the garden a will to finish its yearly cycle. To flower and set seed. To bring forth fruit. With all that mother nature dealt out this year, I am truly happy with what remains. It is more than I could have hoped for, notwithstanding. I can now only make plans for next year's garden. I can hope for overflowing baskets of produce and profuse displays of magnificent flowers. But in the end, I will always be happy with what my garden provides.

Organic gardening is the exact same as regular gardening except that no synthetical fertilizers or pesticides are used. This can make certain aspects difficult, like controlling disease, insects, and weeds. Organic gardening also demands more care to the soil and the many needs of plants.


Organic gardening starts with the soil. Gardeners must add organic matter to the soil on a regular basis in order to keep the soil productive. In fact, compost is necessary to the healthiness and well being of plants grown organically. Compost can be made from leaves, dead flowers, vegetable scraps, fruit rinds, grass clippings, manure, and a lot of other things. The ideal soil has a dark color, sweet smell, and is full of earthworms. Some soil might need more natural additives than regular compost can give, like bonemeal, rock phosphates, or greensand. A simple soil test will tell you the pH balance and which nutrients you will need to use.

One thing that makes even gardeners that are really serious about organic gardening reach for pesticides is insects on their plants. The best way to defend plants against insects is to take preventive measures. One thing that can be done is to make certain plants are healthy and not too wet or dry as insects typically attack unhealthy plants and if healthy, they can oftentimes outgrow modest insect damage. A assortment of plant types is a fine idea to keep pests of a special plant type from taking out the entire garden.

Possibly the best way to defend against insects is to make your garden alluring to insect predators, like ladybugs, birds, frogs, and lizards. You are able to do this by keeping a water source nearby or by growing plants that attract insects who feed on nectar. Additional ideas are sticky traps, barriers, and plant collars. There are a few household items that prevent against insects too, such as insecticidal soaps, garlic, and hot pepper.

To keep off plant disease in organic gardening, select disease immune plants and plant them in their prime conditions. A lot of diseases will spread because of steady moisture and bad air circulation, so the site of your garden and the way it is watered may assist ensure against diseases.

Weeds can be an bothering and frustrating part of organic gardening. Organic mulch can act as a weed barrier, but for even better protection put a bed of newspaper, construction paper or cardboard under the mulch. Corn meal gluten will slow the growth of weeds if spread early in the season before planting, as does solarization. There is also the old-fashioned art of hoeing and hand pulling that always works. Your best bet in weed prevention is persistence. Mulch well and pull and hoe what you are able to; after a couple of seasons you will be able to beat the weeds permanently.

Organic gardening is an excellent way to assure that your plants will be free and clear of all pesticides and, if attended properly, will be as healthy as possible. Organic gardening may take a bit more time and care than regular gardening, but after gardeners master it and work out all the oddities of their garden, it is definitely worth the extra time.

Herb gardening is getting more and more popular day-after-day, and for a good reason. Herbs have practical value, serve a purpose, and with herb gardening you can really use your plants. When most people think of herb gardening they automatically think about cooking, but herbs are as well grown for their pleasant scent and their beauty.


One important part of herb gardening is drying the herbs for use during the winter months, particularly if you plan on cooking with them. First the tops of leafy herbs have to be cut, washed, and hung up for the water to evaporate. Then, tie stems together and hang up in a paper bag to dry. After two to three weeks they must be removed; tumble the leaves, dry them out in the oven, and store in a glass jar.
Among the most usual herbs grown in herb gardening is basil. "Dark Opal" and regular green basil are beautiful add-ons to any garden and oftentimes used for decoration. Dark Opal has light pink blossoms and dark red leaves. Basil is not only used for its looks; it is also used for special flavor in tomato juices and pastes.


Chives are very tiny looking and resemble a blade of grass. They are much stronger than they look, however, and will grow good through a drought and a drought. Their toughness and sturdiness makes Chives a perfect plant for herb gardening, especially if the gardener does not want plants that require a lot of hassle. Chives are good used in salads, egg dishes, and a lot of different sauces.

Mint is also very easy to grow and is fine to use in mint jelly, mint juleps, lemonade, and any other sort of fruity beverage. Mint is also good in herb gardening for its unique minty aroma. Two herbs that come along in almost everyone’s herb garden are thyme and sage. Both of these herb gardening favorites are used for flavoring soups, chicken, turkey, pork, and other sausages. Sage is also grown sometimes for its beautiful blue spiked flowers.

Lavender is believably the best smelling herb in all of herb gardening and is oftentimes used in candles, as a perfume scent, and to improve the smell in linen chests. The light purple flowers smell absolutely lovely.

Other types of herbs often grown in herb gardening include borage (used in salads), chervil (used in egg dishes), sweet marjoram (flavors lamb, fish, salad, and soup), sesame (flavors crackers, cookies, and bread), and dill (flavors meats and used in pickles). Herb gardening allows gardeners to use herbs from their own garden for cooking, looks, and smell. Herb gardening will produce much fresher herbs with more flavor than store-bought herbs, and are a lot cheaper.

Garden advice is not that difficult to come by. As a matter of fact, you can get gardening advice from some other gardener, in a gardening catalogue, gardening books, gardening magazines, and even on the Internet. While you will have variants with every plant, there is some gardening advice that is general and that fancies any plant.


For instance, the gardening advice given for planting is pretty much consistent. You have to position plants where they will have room to grow so they don’t overcrowd one another. Good flow of air is a plus, and plants needs to be in a location where they will get enough amounts of sunlight. Advice will always tell you to add some kind of nutrients to the soil to lead to better plant development, like mulch or compost.

Gardening advice on irrigating plants is a bit more wide-ranging, since every type of plant requires different amounts of water. For example, you would not want to water a cactus near as much as you water a tomato plant. How often you water will apparently also hinge upon where you live, the climate, and how much rainfall your area receives.

Gardening advice from almost every source will tell you that your plants not only need fertilize when you first plant them, they will also required to be fertilized throughout their growing season. What type of fertilize applied will depend on the soil content and pH balance, but fertilize will unquestionably be requisite on almost all plants. Compost can be applied alternatively and it is easy to find advice on how to make a compost pile as well as when fertilize and compost must be used.

Gardening advice on weeds, insects, disease, and how to eliminate them is believably the most desired advice altogether of gardening. These pests invade all gardens and if you don’t abolish them, they will take over and destroy your garden. There are a lot of different chemicals and pesticides that can be used, and gardening advice will normally hint gardeners in on which chemicals are better, which are harmful, and which ones are easier to dispense.

Gardening is not an easy job; you have to defend against a lot of outdoor forces, like weather, insects, disease, and weeds. Even the most veteran of gardeners will look for gardening advice once in a while. Who wouldn’t as there are numerous forces that could take a garden out? There is a lot of universal gardening advice on the market that goes for any plant, but if you look a bit harder you will find particular advice for that one plant that is the only one making you trouble. Gardening advice is comparatively easy to find, and while you may run across the casual bad apple, most of it is comparatively good and will assist on any gardening question.

One of the best things about gardening is feeling warm, moist dirt in your bare hands, but you will oftentimes end up with blistered, roughened, and scraped skin. The answer to this problem is gardening gloves. The more time you spend getting down and dirty in the garden, the more you require gardening gloves. Gardening gloves will be able to ease some of the pain you would otherwise be subject to, having you spend even more time working in the dirt.



There are hundreds of different types of gloves on the market, and the kind of gardening glove you purchase reckons on the technique you garden. A few gloves provide protection against particular substances or things, for example, leather gloves are not the best for working with chemicals or water. Many gardening gloves are specialized for pruning thorns, refilling gas tanks, or using a chainsaw, while others are for universal jobs such as raking, digging, and weeding.

Woman's Garden Classic Gloves-MediumAfter selecting the type of gardening glove you require, you must make sure and choose the perfect fit. Gloves that are too big have a tendency to slip off while gloves that are too small may cause aches and cramps. Any glove that does not fit could kill the whole aim of wearing gloves and cause blistering. To get a glove with the best fit imaginable, try the gloves on both hands, make a fist, and simulate the movements you make when gardening. If there is no pinching or slipping and the glove is comfortable then you have found your match.

Gardening gloves can be purchased in many places and are produced by many companies, causing them all to have a different quality and price. Most gloves can be washed in cold water and then air dried. There are a lot of different types of gloves you can buy to fulfill your changing needs, such as cotton and cotton-polyester for general-purpose jobs. These are one of the most popular gloves and are perfect for light chores in cold and dry weather. Leather gloves can also be used for universal chores but are heavier than cotton and polyester. Chemical resistant gloves will serve protect your hands against oils, acids, herbicides, pesticides, and many other chemicals. Grip enhancing gloves are designed with rubber dots for additional gripping ability. Cut and puncture resistant gloves are designed to provide special protection against sharp edges.

If you are the type person that just wears gloves as an optional luxury for several jobs, you should think seriously for using differentiated gardening gloves for a lot of the activities you will be doing outdoors. There is actually no reason not to wear gardening gloves; they protect your hands from the elements and don’t ever cost all that much.

Flower gardening is getting more and more popular every day. Flowers can light up everyone’s day, they smell nice, and are a great hobby. Flower gardening is simple, cheap, and loads of fun. Flower gardening can be done for yard decoration, just as a hobby, or even professionally.


There are a few decisions that have to be made before even flower gardening can be started. You must choose if you wish annuals that last for one season and must be replanted yearly, or perennials that come through the wintertime and come back again in summertime. When purchasing and planting, pay attention to what sort of flowers thrive in your climate as well as the sun requirements.

When flower gardening, you must choose what type of look you wish before planting. For example, mixing different heights, colors, and sorts of flowers together in a "wild-plant style" will give your garden a hayfield look and may be really catching. If short flowers are planted in the front of your garden and work up to the tallest flowers in the back you will have a "stepping stone style".

You are able to order seeds for flower gardening from catalogues or purchase them from a nursery. Most people will go to the nursery and purchase actual flowers and then transplant them. After you have prepared your garden area and purchased flowers, it is a fine thought to put the flowers down in the bed to be sure you like the arrangement and that they will be spaced properly.

One of the easiest procedures in flower gardening is the planting, if you have seeds just sprinkle them around in the bed of flowers. For planting transplants dig a hole hardly bigger than the flower, take out the container, and set the flower in the hole right side up. Cover it with the loose soil and press down firmly and then water.

Maintaining a flower garden is yet easier than planting one. Although they might come through on their own, a bag of fertilizer applied in the early spring is a good thought. Pinch back any blossoms after they start to fade and keep them good and irrigated. To save yourself work during the following season of flower gardening, free your garden of all junk and spread out organic fertilizer like peat moss or compost. Don’t forget to dig the soil to properly mix in the fertilizer and rake smooth when completed. If you have perennials planted be careful not to disturb their roots in that procedure.

Flower gardening is as easy as 1, 2, and 3: just select what to plant; plant it, and water, water, water! Flower gardening is beyond any doubt gaining in popularity and gives anyone excellent reason to spend some outdoors and test out their green thumb.