11th Hour 11th Month Poppy Day Appeal

I found some time (and a blackbird-free window!) to spend in the garden yesterday afternoon. After pottering around looking after my seedlings, and repotting my salmonberry, I had to do some watering. April has been uncharacteristically dry, I don’t think we’ve had any rain to speak of this month. Everything in a raised bed is doing OK, but things in containers were starting to wilt.

I spent an hour or so in the garden yesterday. What I went outside to do was take care of my ‘Ruby Beauty’ dwarf raspberries, which were planted together in one container (which is OK, they’re designed for relatively close planting). In 2015 they looked fine; in 2016 not so much. I think I forgot to prune back the fruited canes. So yesterday I pruned out all of the dead wood, transplanted one into a container on its own and repotted the remaining two in the same container, so they’ve got more space and some fresh compost underneath to lift them out of their ‘slump’.

Celebrate the beauty of May Birth Month Flowers with their vibrant and enchanting meanings. Discover the blossoms that represent this special month and the significance they hold.

Today we celebrate Earth Day for the 46th time since U.S. senator Gaylord Nelson suggested the idea for a national day focusing on the environment. After its first celebration on April 22 1970 in the US, Earth Day has grown into a worldwide environmental movement raising awareness of serious issues such as pollution, global warming, deforestation and the detrimental effect of urbanised societies on the environment.

My name is Diane Porter, and I live in Nova Scotia, Canada. We are a Zone 5 area here, so I like pretty hardy plants. Daylilies (Hemerocallis, Zones 4–9 for most cultivars) fit my garden perfectly. I have always enjoyed gardening and  actually worked at a local garden center for a few seasons. The gardening bug hit hard!

Growing good roses is not difficult and plants are reasonable and long lasting. Plant them in good soil feed and care for them and they will reward you with magnificent blooms, scent, cut flowers and a great summer show. As a guide to growing roses there is a list on monthly tips and actions to help get the best from your plants.

Think before you allow poppies to proliferate. Poppies rob a lot of goodness from your soil.

The Royal Horticultural Society produce many books and this one, RHS Gardening Month by Month by Ian Spencer contains over 1,300 seasonal tasks. Covering tasks for every part of the garden, expert plant advice and lists of star plants from January to December it is a great confidence booster. When you have finished those tasks it will be time to start a new year!

Every dog may have it’s day but great plant species move in and out of fashion. Now March 2018 it is the turn of Gladioli to retake center stage. In the 1960’s and 70’s  Gladiolus were all the rage and for many gardeners they were top of the popularity stakes. In 2018 they are making a well deserved come back if the media are to be believed. (the media pick up from the trade who must have been undertaking some stock building activities to establish good quantities of corms for sale). I for one have been lead astray by newspaper and magazine articles, vivid coloured packaging of a vibrancy yellow Glad and some carefully targeted adverts. I get these annual urges to focus one plant or group of plants for the year and 2018 is the turn of the gladiolus.

Poppies are easy to grow, sometimes too easy  because they self sow all over my garden and despite the delicate petals I thought of them as weeds. So much so that I forgot to photograph any earlier this year but now have captured some pictures of perfectly purple poppies.

College move-in day can be almost as stressful as it is exciting. It doesn’t matter if it’s your first or your fourth—there are many things to consider and many ways to make your new temporary living place feel like home.

Britain is known for introducing us the best of the best — think Princess Diana, Harry Potter and fish and chips. Now we can thank the UK for bringing us a fantastic sun safety idea: the 3-hour-gardening rule.