Showing posts with label bulbs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label bulbs. Show all posts

Wednesday, October 18, 2017

Halloween Garden Cleanup and Planting Time Too! Let's Review How to Get This Done

Summer's Heat has given way to Autumn cooler temperatures, let's review ways to get your garden ready for the oncoming cold that is sure to happen.


Autumn is that wonderful time of year when the weather gets a little cooler and the days start to have a little bite in them.  Leaves are turning those beautiful shades of yellow, gold, orange, and red. Everywhere the eye goes, it's a myriad of beautiful colors to keep us all in Awe!  What a wonderful mystical, beautiful time of year.  The Maker's  paintbrush is never still and our picture changes daily.

fall trees
Everyday,  I look out over my balcony and the trees are changing colors from one day to the next.  Yesterday the leaves were all green and today it seems that they are turning shades of gold, red, browns and oranges.  One day makes such a difference.


fall leaf
It's also time to get cracking on the Autumn garden chores! 


If you are not sure what to do with all those leaves,  give that link(Autumn garden chores) a quick review, your garden will love you for it.  It doesn't hurt to organize our chores for the best outcomes in our gardens. 


Cooler Days and changing colors are a shock to the system after all of summer's warm days.  Time moves on and these changes are a gardener's Alarm Clock, because the next thing is garden cleanup before the winds of winter come.

clock in the grass


Don't fret!  Garden cleanup is easier than you think.  You just need the right tools and the right attitude and your job will be done lickety split!


Because Autumn is also the time for Halloween, we can do two things at once!  By using our leaves in funky Halloween decorator bags, we now have our glorious pumpkin display all done.  Or if you prefer you can also make crazy spiders and pumpkins to give all the kids a good chuckle.   Packing those bags will be child's play after raking them all together and then using our monster hands to stuff the bags. Now after all the festivities are over, don't throw all those beautiful leaves away. Use a chipper/grinder to make the world's easiest and best mulch for your garden beds. The extras can go into the composter along with the worms and everyone will be happy! You won't believe the work that those worms will do in the composter.  Even in the winter months, those worms are working away.  The beauty of a compost heap is that it will remain warm all winter long.  The worms will be happy and so will you when you see what they accomplish while you are inside staying toasty warm.

Autumn is also a great time to buy yourself a new pair of gloves, because I'm sure the ones you started out with in the spring have seen better days, and they just might be on sale at this time of year. You know you will always use them.

spring flowers


Once the gardens are all cleaned-up, it will be easy to see where to plant all the tulips and daffodils, crocus and snowbells, grape hyacinths and some irises too!  The time to do that is now!   Fall Bulbs are available in just about every garden store around.  If you want that gorgeous Spring Garden you do have to plant those bulbs in the fall.  Spring will be just bursting forth sooner than you think and those bulbs will be so happy to grow in your well mulched beds. It's a little bit of heaven in just a few short months and something to pin your hopes on while the cold winds blow. The Leaves you have mulched added under the bulbs will give those bulbs an extra boost of good compost right under their roots, so they will grow big and strong! You won't be disappointed. Good gardeners and great gardens all give so much credit to the mulch that is brought right down into the soil. Best of all, it's free fertilizer and no chemicals! All natural, Mother Nature will thank you and so will all your family when they are enjoying the fruits of your labor. Such a pretty sight, a well tended garden can bring a smile to you and everyone else too!

I hope you take the time to enjoy the changing of the seasons and preparing your gardens for the Spring of 2018!  In planting for the spring, you give everyone a reason to hope for the future and the brightness of your fabulous garden to come.
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All pictures are courtesy of Pixabay.  




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Wednesday, September 14, 2016

Garden Review: Outstanding Spring Gardens are Planned Out in the Fall

spring flowers collage

Outstanding Gardens don't just happen, they are planned out by gardeners who know what to plant and how to plant it!  Now is the Time!  Spring Planting must be done in the Fall, for beauty next year when the snow has melted.


Here is the List of Bulbs that I plan on planting this fall, for a radiant, colorful garden.  I love to have flowers blooming all the time.  So I plan these bulbs accordingly.  There are many bulbs that will grow in early spring, mid-spring and late-spring almost summer. 

 

 

Grammie Olivia's List

  1.  Tulips (some of these will be early, mid-spring and late)
  2.  Daffodils or Narcissus
  3.  Crocus
  4.  Hyacinths (they smell incredible)
  5.  Anemones
  6.  Alliums 
  7.  Muscari or Grape Hyacinths
  8.  English Bluebells
  9.  Galanthus or Snow Drops
  10.  Iris

This is just the starters list.  From here I will go and pick out the Tulips that will grow at the different times in the spring and I will also decide on what colors I want.  I will plan to plant these in groups of 3 or 5 or 7.  Always, always plant in odd numbers!  Any master gardener that I have spoken to has reiterated that Rule!  Think about that when you are purchasing as well.  If you buy a dozen tulips, you will have 4 groups of 3 bulbs to plant.  That will also make a nice show in your garden.  Do the same thing with the Daffodils/Narcisus that you plan to purchase.  Figure out how many of each kind you will need to fill the spot in your garden and then try to make it an uneven number.   If you can't I would prefer to see 4 planted in the same spot as opposed to 3 in one spot and 1 all alone.  Even gardeners will make exceptions to the Rule!

a variety of beautiful spring flowers
Beautiful Spring Bulbs

Planting the bulbs is a little more tricky than just plopping them into a hole in the ground.  Although that might work with some bulbs, it is not an encouraged practice.  Once you have purchased your bulbs, make sure that you have the time and instructions for how deep these bulbs should go in the ground.  A rule of thumb is about 3 to 5 times the size of the bulb is how deep the hole should be!   Now that gives you some playing room too.  If you plant tulips 4 to 5 inches deep, then when back filling the hole, you could actually plant some smaller bulbs on top at the three inch level and then fill the hole right up.  Doing this will fill in your garden with color as these bulbs start to grow.  You can also use this trick if you are planning on using bulbs in containers.  Different sized bulbs get planted at different depths.  Just remember that 5 times(roughly) the size of the bulb, is how deep you want to plant it.


flower bulbs in pots
Picture courtesy of Pixabay.com
Bulbs generally are planted with the pointed side up and the more rounded side down into the ground.  This picture is just to show you that and not to be used as a guide to depth of planting.   These are grown in a greenhouse with totally different conditions than you will have. 


As you can see Tulips and Daffodils come in several different colors and combinations.  So many plants now are bred for their color and growing characteristics.   All of these are beautiful.  Planting bulbs is an activity that the children and grandchildren can easily help you with.


It's even easier if you are doing it in containers.  Here are some instructions for you to make it easier!   Make sure your planter has drainage holes, bulbs don't mind being cold over the winter months.   So plant a container full of bulbs to make your springtime even better.   Follow the depth planting chart found here so that you know your bulbs will be planted correctly.  Do plan your container in such a way that the bigger bulbs are at the bottom and the smaller ones towards the top.  Keep this container in a garden shed or garage in a cooler, or surrounded with a batt of insulation.  They don't mind getting really cold, but they don't want to be frozen and thawed and frozen and thawed again.  They need to stay dormant, until the days start warming up.  When it's the end of February or so, you can un-blanket your container give it a drink and move it into a sheltered spot in the garden.  In a few weeks time, you will be rewarded with green sprouts coming out of the planter.  



bulb planting chart 

This chart comes from Proflowers.com



It is a comprehensive guide to all kinds of bulbs that I have mentioned here in this post as  well as others that you might consider growing.

Planting bulbs is a joy for you and for all your family and friends that will enjoy the fruits of your labor.

If you look at the chart you will see that it is full of information about the differences between bulbs, corms, rhizomes and tubers.

There is a detailed zone map for  your particular zone.  Just look on the map and co-relate the color to your Hardiness Zone.

If you are in Florida, there will be plants that won't do as well as if you are in Colorado or elsewhere.

It also reiterates what I have told you earlier in how deep to plant all your bulbs.

This chart also takes you through bulbs and corms that can be planted in summer and fall as well as spring.

The only time of year when you do not want to plant anything is in the middle of the winter.  By then the ground is frozen and you really don't want to be outside for any length of time anyways.

If you forgot to plant bulbs in the fall and you  want to plant them, try planting them in a pot as large as possible and keep them in a garage or some sheltered area.  They may just surprise you and grow, or they will die.  If they manage to grow you are a winner and if not, you really haven't lost anything more than you would have by not trying.





Please feel free to join me on Pinterest where there is a host of information for gardeners of all levels of expertise. https://www.pinterest.com/haydnsgrammie/weekend-gardener/




Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate, Ebay (EPN) and/or Esty (Awin) Affiliate, I (we) earn from qualifying purchases.”


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