Soil Ideas, Tips & Guides

Plants thrive in various conditions in their natural habitat. Some love the occasional misting and won’t mind having wet leaves for some time, as it recreates their native tropical habitat and helps them cope with the dry air indoors.

There's perhaps no flower that's inspired more poetry, art, and prose than a rose. From formal rose gardens surrounded by boxwood hedges to cottage gardens overflowing with roses, foxglove, and native flowers, these layered blooms are held up as the star of the garden. They're carefully pruned into formal arrangements and allowed to climb and cascade over charming trellises.

Few things are as satisfying to a gardener as picking a homegrown, sun-warmed berry right off the plant and tossing it straight into your waiting mouth. If you’ve never grown your own berries because you think you don’t have enough room—or you think it requires too much effort—boy, do we have some great news for you! Growing berries in containers is the easiest and most foolproof way to grow your own small-space fruit garden. Plus, it’s fun! Why grow berries in containers? Berry plants are great candidates for container gardening, especially if you pay careful attentio

Plants need a certain amount of specific nutrients to grow well. Most of the time, garden and houseplants do fine without any help from you. But fertilizing actually gives plants a boost that helps them flourish. “Photosynthesis is how plants make food,” says Stacey Hirvela, horticulturalist withSpring Meadow Nursery andProven Winners Color Choice Shrubs. “But fertilizer is like giving them vitamins.”

With everything you have to do on a daily basis, it's hard to remember when to water your plants, when the last time you watered them was, and how much you need to water each different plant.

Vines and climbers do wonders in sprucing up dull walls, empty fences, bare pathways, and barren entrances. Hence, we’ve curated a selection of plants that produce beautiful blooms and the sweetest scents while climbing up. Check out our list of the best fragrant vines for your garden!

Coffee wakes you up in the morning and might do the same for your plants! Well, not in the same way, but this quick homemade fertilizer does wonders and is the best way to put coffee dregs to good use!

Collaborative post

Without a doubt, there is one pot of flowers that is the most colorful on my patio right now. The surprising news is we just recently potted it despite the hot summer heat we're experiencing. I’m in steamy Alabama, with record humidity, so it’s a soupy, sticky, kind of hot here outdoors. Daily watering of many of my plants in the summer heat is simply is a must.

No matter what you’re growing, companion planting matters. From hydrangeas to hostas, roses to radicchio, setting your plants up for success starts with finding the appropriate garden fellows. While you might think sturdy broccoli is fine to go it alone, even this hardy veggie can benefit from some well-selected friends. Here two experts share the best plants for growing alongside broccoli, plus a few that are best to avoid.

Tips for Growing Cast-Iron Plants (Aspidistra) Outdoors

On the United States Department of Agriculture's Plant Hardiness Zone Map, Zone 6 is a band stretching in latitude from eastern Massachusetts to northern Virginia, spanning much of the nation's midsection until it crosses the Rockies and heads north to the interior of Oregon and Washington. Zone 6 has an average annual minimum temperature of -5 to 10 degrees F, so plants need to withstand a solid freeze.

Many varieties of fruit trees produce bountiful harvests even when grown on decks and balconies. Pick your favorite fruit tree for your patio from this list and get a supermarket-like yield with healthier, better taste.

Not all plants need fertile, moist, rich soil to grow in. There’s a whole world of flora that has adapted and thrives in dry, arid climes with sandy, rocky, gritty soils that barely hold any water. Perfect for xeriscapes and busy gardeners alike, check out these plants that prefer dry soil!

Sterling, Scotland, known for its rich historical significance and stunning landscapes, is now home to a blossoming community of novice gardeners embarking on their horticultural journey with the help of GardenAdvice’s MyGardenTeam service. Among these enthusiastic beginners are clients who have recently developed a new vegetable plot and installed a greenhouse, aiming to cultivate a variety of vegetables and fruits. The Dream Begins: A New Vegetable Plot and Greenhouse

Planting pole beans should be on the to-do list of every vegetable gardener. Not only are they a reliable crop, but the vining plants are serious space savers and produce a far larger harvest than bush beans when given the same square footage. In this article you’ll learn when and how to plant pole beans, the best site for the vines, and how to care for the plants to ensure the best possible harvest of tender snap beans. Why you should be planting pole beans in your garden I grow a wide selection of vegetables like tomatoes, peas, beets, lettuce, a

Cosmos are sun-loving plants with a long flowering season. They fill borders with a profusion of flowers, ranging in colour from white through to pink, red and orange, and they have masses of feathery foliage.

Rubbing alcohol can be an effective insecticide and herbicide, but it's indiscriminate in that it kills both weeds and any plants you want to keep alive.

Lavender is a Mediterranean evergreen shrub, grown for its fragrant leaves and bee-friendly flowers. There are hardy, half-hardy and tender species of lavender to choose from.

No matter if you’re a gardening novice or avid planter, we all make mistakes whether it’s neglecting our blooms while away on vacation or accidentally overwatering them. While flower beds and shrubs can be a bit more forgiving, container gardening takes a little more attention. We called on two plant pros to share container gardening mistakes that should be avoided, along with easy solutions to combat them.

When the South begins to alight in tulips, you know spring is well on its way. But before those glorious blooms start to burst forth from the earth, there are a few things to keep in mind. From the best time to plant in the South to how to care for your bulbs once in ground, these are the tulip tips you need to know for springtime success.

Homegrown tomatoes taste heavenly when they are sweet with a hint of tart, acidic flavor. If you want to grow the same, there is a science behind it. And what is it, find out below!

Moss is a primitive green plant with threadlike stems and tiny leaves and can form a spongy, dense mat over the soil surface. While it’s pretty in certain settings, such as a shady forest trail, you may not like the looks of it in your lawn. But is it hurting your grass? And will it eventually take over your whole yard?

How to Grow and Care for Queen Palms Syagrus romanzoffiana

Tested by Jason Reeves

Let’s face it: Mulching isn’t a glamorous job. It’s dusty, dirty, and can be downright backbreaking. But despite all the effort involved in the task, mulching your vegetable garden properly at the start of the growing season pays big dividends as the weeks progress. With a 2- to 3-inch-thick layer of mulch in place, trips to the shed for a hoe, cultivator, or hand weeder become few and far between; the hose stays coiled on its reel; veggie roots remain insulated from temperature extremes; and soil-borne fungal spores stay far away from plant leaves. There’s no doubt that the benefits of mulch are many, but the truth is that not all mulches perform the same.

You can give your plant the best soil, container, fertilizer, and water to a tee, but without enough daylight, it will stubbornly wilt and perish, even if it’s a tolerant pothos or spider plant. You obviously can’t force the sun to shine on demand! So, here are the things you should do when growing plants in low light.

Whether you are renovating a weedy lawn or overseeding existing turf, timing is critical to establishing a healthy, robust lawn. Proper timing ensures good seed germination and allows grass seedlings time to establish a healthy root system before the environmental stresses of summer or winter arrive. In turn, a healthy grass stand is better able to compete against weeds and requires less maintenance. We visited with a lawn expert to learn more about the ideal time to reseed lawns, factors to consider, and techniques for achieving a lush and healthy lawn.

Crocuses, calla lilies, dahlias, irises, and tulips are some classic flowers that don't grow from seeds but from bulbs, an underground structure. Bulbs have short stems, and fleshy leaves and go through a period of dormancy. Growing bulbs requires planning because you don't plant them in the same season the flowers bloom. For example, if you want to enjoy beautiful tulips in the spring, you'll be planting them in the fall.

Many annuals and perennials need plenty of sunlight to thrive. Whether you have sunny areas in your front, side, or backyard or a porch, patio, or balcony and want to add more plants that will come back year after year, there are plenty of sun loving perennials to choose from. Many full-sun perennials provide important food sources for bees, butterflies, birds, bats, and moths. While you're enjoying the colorful hues and curious and cool looking blossoms, you'll also get a pollinator show with their frequent visits.

Companion planting is an age-old practice that pairs plants together in the garden to provide some benefit to one or both partners. Companion plants play various roles in the vegetable garden community. Onions produce strong odors in the form of volatile compounds that can confuse and deter plant pests. Planting onions with companion plants is a great way to manage insect pests on carrots, peppers, and other vegetable crops. Onion companion plants provide similar benefits to onions, helping to attract beneficial insects and reduce pest pressure. Some herbs are even rumored to improve the flavor of onions when grown in close proximity.

The best way to enjoy roses is up close and personal so you may fully relish their intricate patterns, fragrance, and brilliant hues, especially in smaller spaces or when you want to try something unique. Here are some straightforward tips for growing roses in hanging baskets and ensuring long-lasting blooms.

Sweet and juicy, freshly harvested watermelon is a delicious treat and tastes far superior to what you can buy in the shops. Part of the cucurbit family, watermelon plants look similar to courgette and squash plants, with flat, green and slightly furry leaves followed by yellow flowers and fruit. They can be left to scramble across the ground or trained to climb a frame, where they take up less space. Like other types of melon, watermelons need up to three months of sun and heat to produce ripe fruit, which means success relies on a long, hot summer.

It’s often challenging to get some seeds even to sprout, if not quickly. But with our list of plants that grow from softwood cuttings, you’ll have clones packing up your garden in no time!

Roses are some of the most beautiful and versatile garden plants. They come in a variety of forms, from patio roses to shrub roses, ramblers and climbers. Nearly all of them make an excellent cut flower. Single-flowered roses are great pollinator plants, while some species are used by leafcutter bees to make their nests. Most roses need sun and heavy soils to thrive, but some will grow well in partial shade and poorer soils. There really is a rose, or three, for every garden.

Humans, animals, and plants–we all need calcium for healthy growth. There are tell-tale signs that pinpoint the lack of this essential mineral. It could be a deficit in the soil or the plant’s inability to absorb calcium, both leading to a series of physical malfunctions. Whatever it is, it’s very important to identify and recognize the signs that your plants need calcium and that’s what is shared below!