Gardenig in county Garden. Tips & Guides

Wish your clothesline wasn’t an eyesore and didn’t steal away your plants’ attention? You need to take inspiration from these washing lines in garden ideas.

Happy Monday GPODers!

Hi GPODers!

Hi GPODers!

INCREASINGLY in recent years, my garden weeds include more and more tenacious opponents. And the landscape along the roadsides nearby and pretty much everywhere I drive is one of hedgerows formed of a tangle of non-native shrubs and vines. I’m talking about invasive species, of course (like those Oriental bittersweet, Celastrus orbiculatus, in the Wikimedia image above), and I got in touch with Daniel Weitoish of Cornell Botanic Gardens, to hear how to identify which plants to target as we try to manage our landscapes and how to tackle them most strategically.

Garden art and sculpture creates year-round atmosphere and interest in your garden.

4 Ways to Prep Your Spring Garden This Fall Do these 4 things this fall to get a head start on your garden next year! Take care of this fall garden prep for a better spring growing season

Hi GPODers!

Hi GPODers!

My cat has a felt taco cat toy that was scented with catnip a few years ago and she still goes squirrelly whenver I pull it out to give to her. If you have a cat that responds favorably to catnip (apparently not all do), it’s worthwhile to learn how to grow catnip. This perennial herb is incredibly easy to grow from seed and from cuttings. It’s also drought tolerant and not too fussy when it comes to nutrients. Even if you don’t have a cat, catnip is an attractive plant that can be used for its foliage and flowers in cut flower arrangements. Meet the catnip plant A member of the mint family, catnip (Nepeta cataria) originally came from Asia and Europe but is n

Happy Monday GPODers!

Garden art and sculpture creates year-round atmosphere and interest in your garden.

Mystery and romance are two words that come to mind when thinking of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. It’s mysterious in that its existence is only known through descriptions in ancient Roman and Greek documents; to date, no physical archeological evidence has been uncovered. In fact, the exact location of this fabled ancient feat of engineering is uncertain. It is believed to have been built by the Neo-Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar II for his wife, Queen Amytis, because she longed for the verdant, mountainous landscapes of her homeland—a romantic gesture indeed. The gardens were fabled to be lushly planted with species of her native landscape as well as trees and shrubs from faraway lands. Dripping vines were utilized to mask and soften the edges of the massive structural walls. In modern days, newly conceived landscapes often lack a sense of mystery, romance, and antiquity. Fast growing and adaptable in their functionality, evergreen vines can create gardens that feel mysterious, romantic, and mature beyond their age.

The Home and Garden Information Center (HGIC) team visited the Atlanta Botanical Garden in late August. The garden was full of blooms despite the sweltering heat. One plant that caught my eye was a vine called evergreen wisteria (Callerya reticulata, formerly Millettia reticulata). It was full of fragrant dark purple blooms. Its showy flowers were in clusters or racemes, like spring-blooming wisteria, but held outward instead of downward. Evergreen wisteria is native to Asia and is in the Fabaceae (legume) family with wisteria. Unlike Chinese (Wisteria sinensis) and Japanese (Wisteria floribunda) wisteria, it is not invasive.

African violets have stunning velvety blooms in an explosion of colors and patterns. More popular in the 60s, they are making a comeback as chic and vintage houseplants that thrive indoors!

Hi GPODers!

Deter Garden Pests with Thorny Rose Canes Do you deal with critters tracking through your winter garden? Try this smart reader tip that utilizes rose canes to keep them out. Use thorny rose canes to deter pests in the garden

Friday, October 4 2:00 PM-6:00 PM Friends of the Garden members Become a member today!

Happy Friday GPODers!

Chrysanthemums or mums are a must-have for autumn décor. They are perfect for pairing with pumpkins and gourds, and steal the spotlight with an explosion of blooms in fiery red, orange, and yellow hues that echo the autumn foliage. You’ll also find vibrant pink, lavender, and even white mums to dress up containers and gardens. Mums are easy to care for but require regular watering to keep them flowering for many weeks. How much water plants need and how often you should water mums varies depending on where the plant is growing. Follow these simple tips to determine when to water mums and keep them looking their best all season.

Long flowering plants mean that you can extend your summer colour right through to autumn. And even to the first frosts of winter.

Hi GPODers!

Happy Friday GPODers!

Some shade is essential in warmer zones, but even in the North, Virginia persicaria (P. virginiana) appreciates afternoon shade and wind protection.

Rock gardens are an attractive way of displaying a variety of small plants including alpines, dwarf shrubs and low-growing perennials. They can be adapted to suit any space – an alpine trough, old stone wall or sunny border can all be used to create a form of rock garden. One of the first rock gardens was built at the Chelsea Physic Garden in London in the late 1770s, and they became a popular feature in Victorian and Edwardian gardens, providing a way to display alpine plants from around the world.

You've likely heard that burying banana peels in your garden is a good way to add important nutrients to the soil to grow healthy plants. Banana peels do contain nutrients, but not as many as you may think. Plus, it's not as simple as placing them in the soil and skipping fertilizer or compost.

Hi GPODers!

“Uncontrollable changes in a garden are inevitable and wonderful opportunities,” says Donald Pell, a landscape designer in Chester County, Pennsylvania. To prove this is true, Donald and his associates created an incredible series ofnaturalistic gardens around their studio. This landscape has become an invaluable laboratory where Donald and his team learn from failures and from the many years of watching this landscape design evolve. “Establishing a garden based on an initial plan (perhaps one even scribbled on paper) is a great place to start, but as plants, the setting, conditions, our knowledge, and our tastes change, so should our designs,” Donald says.

Happy Monday GPODers!

There is no way to sugarcoat the challenges many of us in the Mid-Atlantic region have faced this summer. The inconsistency of rainfall and the extreme high temperatures have greatly impacted our efforts to garden successfully. Even with valiant efforts to apply supplemental irrigation, I have witnessed a wide range of plant material showing signs of drought stress that I have rarely witnessed in my 15-plus years of gardening in this region. To say it is cause for concern would be an understatement. As a result, in the last few months I have been repeatedly asked how we can prepare our beloved gardens to reduce heat and moisture stress for future growing seasons. One answer to this conundrum is to add organic matter to the soil in the form of compost.

Hi GPODers!

Hi GPODers!

Join us this summer as we explore some of the UK’s best 2-for-1 Gardens to visit in August, for fun days out with all the family. Whether it’s an adventure playground or woodland trail for the kids, or a rose garden or restored Elizabethan garden for the horticulturalists, there is plenty to enjoy at these gardens. Visit using your 2-for-1 Gardens card to save money on your trips to all these wonderful gardens.

I SUSPECT I’m not alone when I say that weather extremes in recent growing seasons have made me feel a bit like a stranger in a strange land in my own garden, wondering what will bloom when and when to do what. And most of all, wondering what madness is coming next.

Extreme heat waves are stressful for almost every type of plant in your garden, from flowers and vegetables to shrubs and trees—but especially for container-grown plants.

This small woody shrub belonging to the mint family is grown for its fragrant, edible, and medicinal leaves and flowers. Growing hyssop has a host of health benefits and is also useful in maintaining a thriving, pest-free garden. Let’s dig in!