Jewelry for Plant Lovers A living plant necklace, bracelet, or ring is a truly unique gift for someone on your list who loves plants. You can follow these guidelines and get creative, using your choice of plants and bases for stunning jewelry. The best choices for live plant jewelry are air plants and succulents. An air plant, of course, doesn’t need soil. To keep it alive, you’ll just need to spritz it with water....
DIY Halloween Craft Ideas Try these DIY Halloween craft ideas to make the most of your garden harvest: Pumpkin baskets: If you grow pumpkins, try this unique craft. Cut the top off and scoop out the seeds, but instead of carving, add a handle to turn it into a basket. Use twine, ribbon, or fall vines.Painted pumpkins: Another alternative to the messiness of carving pumpkins is to paint them. Use acrylic or spray paints for the best results....
About Spring Beds in the Fall It might seem odd to prepare spring beds in the fall, but it is actually the ideal time. While beds can be amended in the spring, prepping new beds in the fall allows the compost to really settle and begin to enliven the soil prior to spring planting. As you ready to prepare gardens in fall for spring, you may need to prep new beds and empty out existing beds or beds that are already filled with shrubs, bulbs, etc....
Forcing Shrubs to Bloom in Winter The first step to force branches during winter is collecting the stems. Choose branches with fat buds that indicate the shrub has broken dormancy. The branches will bloom no matter where you make the cuts, but you can help the shrub along by using good pruning practices when you cut them. This means selecting branches from crowded parts of the shrub and making the cuts about one-quarter inch (6 mm....
Are English and French Lavender Different? They are related, but different types of lavender. French lavender is Lavendula dentata and it is not actually that commonly cultivated, although we often think of France when picturing fields of lavender. English lavender is Lavendula angustifolia. This variety is much more commonly cultivated and is typical in gardens and containers. Here are some other important differences: Hardiness. A big difference between French and English lavender is that the latter is much hardier....
About the Gray Headed Coneflower Plant Gray headed coneflower (Ratibida pinnata) is a native perennial flower in much of the central U.S. and southeastern Canada. It grows naturally in meadows and prairies, along roads and railroads, and sometimes in open forests. It grows up to five feet (1.5 m.) tall with long, strong stems that produce one bloom each. The flowers have a grayish brown center. It is shaped like an elongated cylinder or cone, which is how the plant gets one of its common names: gray-headed Mexican hat....
Tips for Growing Basil Choose a location with great drainage. Whether you’re growing basil outdoors in the ground or in a container, the drainage needs to be excellent. Choose a location with good sun. Another important thing to remember for basil plant care is to choose a spot where the basil plants will get plenty of good sunlight. Choose growing basil seeds or plants. Will you start by growing basil seeds or basil plants?...
What are Maypops? “Maypops” is a short-cut term that is used to refer to maypop passion vines (Passiflora incarnata), rapid-growing, tendril-climbing vines, sometimes to the point of becoming weedy. Natives of the southeastern United States, these vines produce large, showy flowers followed by the maypop fruits. Maypop passion vines are attractive vines that can grow up to 25 feet (8 m.). They are best known for their unique, showy flowers that are followed by unusual fruit....
How to Grow Wedelia Wedelia (Wedelia trilobata) is an herbaceous perennial that’s hardy in USDA zones 8b through 11. It tends to grow to between 18 and 24 inches (45.5-61 cm.) high. It thrives in full shade, full sun, and everything in between, but it produces flowers most impressively in full sun. Its flowers are its most appealing feature: small, yellow, daisy-like, and very prolific. It can handle a wide range of pH levels and will perform well in virtually any soil....
When to Harvest Woad Leaves The color in dyer’s woad can be found in its leaves, so harvesting woad for dye is a matter of letting the leaves reach a certain size and picking them. Woad is a biennial plant, which means it lives for two years. In the first year, it focuses only on growing leaves, while in the second year it puts up a flower stalk and produces seeds....
Why Does My Wisteria Smell Bad? Flowering vines are much sought after for their ability to cover unsightly areas, provide privacy, give shade, and for their beauty. A commonly planted vine that encompasses all these attributes is the wisteria. Wisteria vines often have the bad reputation of monopolizing a garden space. This is true of Chinese and Japanese varieties, so many gardeners opt for ‘Amethyst Falls’ wisteria. This variety is more easily trained to a trellis or arbor and it blooms heavily a few times each growing season....
Can Peppers Be Damaged by Herbicides? Pepper plants can absolutely be damaged by herbicides. In fact, they are more sensitive to herbicides than many other vegetable plants. When herbicide is applied to control weeds, the vapors or small droplets can drift to parts of the garden where you did not intend to apply the chemical, such as onto your peppers. This is called herbicide drift, and it can cause herbicide drift injuries to healthy plants....
What is a Jonamac Apple? First introduced in 1944 by Roger D. Way of the New York State Agricultural Experiment Station, the Jonamac apple variety is a cross between Jonathan and McIntosh apples. It is extremely cold hardy, able to withstand temperatures as low as -50 degrees F. (-46 C.). It is because of this, it is a favorite among apple growers in the far north. The trees are medium in size and growth rate, usually reaching 12 to 25 feet (4-8 m....
Sorbaria False Spirea If you plant Sorbaria false spirea, don’t expect a prim and proper shrub that knows its place. The charm of false spirea is entirely different. Those who choose to grow Sorbaria shrubs must be ready for the plants’ unruly nature. These shrubs offer masses of overarching branches, with dark green, pinnate leaves. They also supply billowy sprays of summer flowers. Native to Eastern Siberia, China, Korea, and Japan, false spirea shrubs grow to 10 feet (3 m....
About Muhly Grass Muhly grass is a native grass that is popular as an ornamental. It grows in clumps that rise to between three and five feet (1 to 1.5 meters) and spread about two to three feet (0.6 to 1 meters) across. The grass blooms profusely with purple to pink flowers that are delicate and feathery. Muhly grass is native to beaches, dunes, and flatwoods and can be grown in zones 7 through 11....
Can You Grow Salvia from Cuttings? The great thing about salvia cutting propagation is that you are certain to get plants exactly like the parent plant. With seed propagation, this isn’t always the case. Anyone with sage plants can start propagating salvia from cuttings. It’s easy and virtually foolproof. When you are propagating salvia from cuttings, you’ll want to cut segments of the plant from stem tips. Some experts recommend that the cutting include one bud at the top of the stem and two leaf nodes....
About Inch Plants Inch plant is famed as one of the most popular houseplants, and not just because it’s so tough… although that helps. Even if you don’t have a green thumb, you can still grow this plant. Inch plant is equally popular for its pretty colors and foliage. The wandering, creeping growth pattern makes it perfect for any container, but especially hanging baskets. The foliage is green to purple and can also be striped....
Basic Inch Plant Care Inch plant care requires bright, indirect light. If the light is too dim, the distinctive leaf markings will fade. Keep the soil slightly moist, but don’t water directly into the crown as this will cause an unsightly rot. Care should be taken, particularly in winter, that the plant doesn’t become too dry. Mist inch plants frequently. Feed your plant monthly with a half-strength liquid fertilizer. An important part of growing inch plants is pinching back the long, vining tendrils....
What are Jamaican Bell Flower Plants? Also known as Glorious Flower of Cuba, Jamaican Bell Flower (Portlandia grandiflora) is a slow growing evergreen shrub native to Jamaica and Cuba. The plant starts out looking like a small tree, with one single stem, but fills out to be more shrub-like with age. Generally, you’ll find it growing only about 6 ft. tall but sometimes reaches a height of 15 ft. The flowers are trumpet shaped, 5-6” long and white or pink, smelling like rich creamy chocolate....
For many, raising backyard rabbits has been a viable option for efficiently using the available space. Can You Keep Rabbits Outdoors? There are many reasons to begin keeping backyard bunnies. Rabbits in the garden are an excellent way to get free manure fertilizer. While some may raise rabbits as pets, others may choose to raise them for meat. Regardless of the purpose, it’s important to become familiar with their specific needs....
