Are you looking for some easy ways to get your garden looking good in autumn? This guide to the best fall plants and fall flowers for pots is packed with autumn plant inspiration.
13.07.2024 - 01:45 / thespruce.com / Nishaa Sharma
Confession time: my green thumb is completely nonexistent. I struggle to keep the beautiful flower bouquets I bring home alive for as long as I can remember.
So, when I stumbled upon a video with not one, but three different viral methods to keep flowers fresh, I was immediately interested in trying them out.
As someone who spends countless hours scrolling for work, I know some TikTok home hacks don't go to plan and some are absolutely game-changing— and decided to put these to the test to see if any would work in real life.
I found the three methods to keep flowers fresh in a video by @thekwendyhome, where she documents each method side-by-side in a time-lapse: Sprite and bleach, a penny, and a pin-prick hack.
Wendy found the pin-prick method to work best on her tulips, so I was excited to see if the results would be the same with my roses.
The Spruce/ Nishaa Sharma
I wanted to keep everything as consistent as possible in each vase, so I bought two bouquets of supermarket flowers and divided them evenly between four clear vases.
Next, I labeled each vase with which hack I would be using and filled them up with water, taking care to keep water levels even.
Finally, I cleared a windowsill to make enough room for all four vases so they would also all be getting the same amount of sunlight. I added a bit of flower food to my control vase and got to work setting up each hack.
The first hack I tried was the most eyebrow-raising: putting a capful of Sprite and a capful of bleach into the vase. This is meant to give the plants sugar with the soda (similarly to flower food) and prevent microbes from growing in the water with the bleach.
The Spruce / Nishaa Sharma
The second was the pin-prick method, which was the winner
Are you looking for some easy ways to get your garden looking good in autumn? This guide to the best fall plants and fall flowers for pots is packed with autumn plant inspiration.
As the summer months arrive, temperatures rise, and gardens dry out more quickly. To ensure your garden remains fresh and healthy, a few smart watering tips are crucial. In this article, we share practical summer watering advice to help you care for your plants, even during the hottest days.
Three weeks ago I posted an ‘Armful For Julie’ on IAVOM, blooms scheduled for my retiring Pilates teacher but, thwarted by her illness, not given. After battling a nasty bout of Covid, her third and worst, she will be calling into our class tomorrow to say a belated goodbye to those who have known her a long time, so I am trying again and have created a slightly smaller armful of blooms to go with the vase that is wrapped and ready for her.
Movies and TV shows have inspired interior design choices for a long time. Who doesn’t want their home to look like a Nancy Meyers film come to life? Wes Anderson’s playful and colorful film sets have inspired people to bring that iconic, quirky look home. And I’m sure purple living rooms have become more commonplace thanks to Friends.
Collaborative post
Hey GPODers! Today we’re getting a summertime update from Lee Miller’s garden in Long Island (check out her first submission: Long Island Garden Tour). She sent over lots of photos and great information, so I’ll let her take it away:
Happy Friday GPODers!
As we enter the dog days of summer, many of us are buzzing about with trips to the beach, firing up the old grill, and celebrating our country’s independence. In between our attempts to pack as much into the warmer months of the year as we can, consider growing a plant that symbolizes the peak of the season like no other, the sunflower (Helianthusannuus, annual). Though considered in some circles a somewhat pedestrian plant that befits only the beginner gardener, there are many reasons why growing sunflowers are a boon to your garden. Learn all about how and why to grow annual sunflowers below.