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Post by queenbee on Apr 16, 2008 10:11:24 GMT -4
Bluebird House Bluebirds are one of the most sought-after backyard feathered friend. They have strict requirements when it comes to birdhouses, though. We’ll show you how to make a house that they will love. www.birdsandblooms.com/Bluebird-House/detail.aspx |
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Post by queenbee on Apr 16, 2008 10:15:28 GMT -4
APRIL GARDENING
APRIL
Enjoy all the beautiful blooming flowers—dogwoods, redbuds, crabapples, Halesia, Viburnum (a bunch of varieties kick in now), azaleas and Rhododendron. Around here, the 'Pinxter' piedmont azalea lights up the woods. While you're in the woods (or in your natural garden area), step lightly and keep an eye out for bloodroot, bleeding heart, Jack-in-the-pulpit and, if you are lucky, Trillium. April is truly a month that's both busy and delightful in the garden.
Remember Your Row Covers. Don't put away those season extenders yet. Spread them over plants like laying down a blanket in case the cold returns. You must, however, remember to remove them on hot days.
For Amazing Annuals. Prepare new annual (vegetable and flower) beds by turning compost or other organic material blended with a slow-release fertilizer into the soil. You may also add lime at this time, based on a soil test.
Seed Starting. During the first week or two of April, you can still start warm weather flowers and vegetables indoors, like zinnias, asters, marigolds, sage, tomatoes and peppers. If I don't get them started by then, I just wait and direct seed the flowers in early May.
Temperature Tip. After mid-month, once danger of frost is past, nighttime temperatures are above 10 degrees C (50 degrees F), and soil temperatures are above 15 degrees C (60 degrees F), it's time for tomato and annual flower transplants, and for direct seeding beans, cantaloupe, corn, cucumbers, pumpkin, squash and watermelon. (I wait until May to sow okra, and to transplant peppers, eggplant and sweet potatoes). The 'magic date' around here is April 15.
Tomatoes. Do not plant your tomatoes in the same place year after year Diseases can easily built up in the soil, so make sure to rotate your crops, even on a small scale.
What's Growing? In the vegetable garden this month, you'll have cool season crops (like sugar peas, lettuce and greens) growing strong, even as you sow your Summer crops. Try integrating edibles into 'ornamental' parts of your yard, wherever you have sufficient sun. Remember, the peas make a great 'green manure' for the next crop.
Spring Flower Tip. After spring-flowering bulbs like daffodils have finished blooming, don't cut those leaves! Keep the foliage until it begins to turn yellow. They need those leaves to make new bulbs for next year's flowers. I plant daylilies and other plants with my bulbs, so that the fading leaves are hidden a bit when the succeeding plant begins growing.
Healthy Herbs. Plant herbs after the danger of frost has passed. You can plant herbs directly into the ground or in containers. Basil, an annual, I handle a bit differently—I plant it beside or right in my tomato beds. Purchase clean seed, though— since basil seed has been linked to transmission of soil-born pathogens.
Support Your Perennials. If you have tall perennials, like hollyhocks and peonies, it's time to think of giving them a helping hand with a stake or support. Small tomato cages work for peonies, if you don't mind populist garden art (the leaves hide the wire, anyway).
Feed Your Fruit Trees. It is time to feed your fruit and nut trees, vines and bushes, such as blackberries, grapes, raspberries and blueberries (careful! Blueberries are very shallow rooted). Figs, maybe the easiest fruit crop to grow organically, do not need fertilizing or special care.
Hybrid Roses. If you have hybrid roses, cut canes back to just above a strong new shoot when bud growth starts, on strong growing plants. For weaker growers, go easier, just remove diseased wood and pinch back on top.
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Post by queenbee on Apr 16, 2008 10:16:40 GMT -4
Who says herbs have to be just plain green? Many herbs can hold their own in any flower garden with bright blooms and beautiful foliage. As an added bonus, you can harvest your handsome herbs for cooking or crafts, so they're practical as well as pretty. Many of these attract beneficial insects, too.
A flowering herbal border is a great compromise for gardeners with limited space because it does double-duty as an herb garden and a perennial border. The herbs described below are some of the most beautiful and easy plants you can grow for flowers and foliage. The colors are mostly in the pink, lavender and blue range, with silver, bronze or green leaves. White and yellow blooms add splashes of color off and on through the growing season.
Anise hyssop
Agastache foeniculum
This perennial herb grows in bushy clumps, with upright branching stems topped with spikes of lavender-blue flowers in mid to late summer. The flowers attract pollinating bees and other beneficial insects to your garden. Both the leaves and the flowers are fragrant when fresh or dried, so they're a great addition to potpourri. It will self-sow (or grow in new places from seed it drops), so pinch off most of the flowerheads before the small, black seeds mature and drop. Plants grow to 3 feet tall. Zones 4 to 9.
Bee balm
Monarda didyma
The summer flowers of this spreading herb are usually red, but you can also find cultivars with pink, purple or white blooms. 'Marshall's Delight' is a good pink variety that resists powdery mildew, a fungal disease that causes gray patches on the leaves. In mid to late spring, pinch out up to half of the stems at ground level to thin out crowded clumps. Plants grow to 3 feet tall. Zones 4 to 9.
Chives
Allium schoenoprasum
In June, this perennial herb produces pretty pink or lavender flowers that you can add to salads for both color and flavor. The clumps of thin, grasslike green leaves are attractive all season and they have a mild onion flavor. Clumps reach 12 to 14 inches tall in bloom, then arch over gracefully. Zones 3 to 9.
Feverfew
Tanacetum parthenium
Feverfew may look delicate, but it's a sturdy, easy-to-grow herb that blooms from early summer to early fall. The white-petaled, yellow-centered flowers look like tiny daisies. Pinching off the spent flowers can extend the bloom season, and it will reduce the number of self-sown seedlings. You can also cut the whole plant to the ground after bloom for a flush of new growth. Plants grow about 2 feet tall. Zones 4 to 9.
Joe-Pye weed
Eupatorium purpureum
Tall Joe-Pye is the glory of the late summer garden. Its domed clusters of rosy pink to light purple flowers tower over shorter herbs, with sturdy stalks in multistemmed clumps. The flowers attract butterflies as well as lots of attention from garden visitors. 'Atropurpureum' also offers deep purple stems. 'Album' has white flowers. Plants are slow to emerge in spring, so place markers by the clumps. Stems reach 6 to 8 feet tall in bloom. Zones 3 to 8.
Lavender
Lavandula angustifolia
Lavender is as pretty to look at as it is heavenly to smell, and it keeps its distinctive fragrance when dried. In midsummer, English lavender produces spikes of purple-blue flowers on slender stalks over shrubby clumps of narrow, silvery leaves. 'Munstead' and 'Hidcote' are more compact, growing only 12 to 18 inches tall, with dark purple flowers. Lavender is a good choice for the front of the border—it must have good drainage to stay healthy. Zones 5 to 8.
Marsh mallow
Althaea officinalis
Marsh mallow is a beautiful herb that produces attractive pink or white, hollyhock-like flowers for most of the summer. The broad, oval to heart-shaped, gray-green leaves are velvety soft. Plants grow 3 to 4 feet tall. Zones 3 to 8.
Meadowsweet
Filipendula ulmaria
Also known as queen-of-the-meadow, this graceful perennial herb produces frothy clusters of creamy white flowers in mid to late summer. The large, dark green leaves grow in creeping clumps; divide plants every two to three years to control their spread. Plants can reach 3 to 4 feet tall in bloom, although they may be shorter if the soil is dry. Zones 3 to 9.
Purple coneflower
Echinacea purpurea
Purple coneflower produces clumps of sturdy stems topped with large, rosy pink, daisylike flowers that have raised, orange-brown centers. Plants bloom from midsummer into fall, especially if you snip off the dead flowers in summer. The blooms of 'Crimson Star' are particularly deep rose-pink. You may also find cultivars with white flowers, such as 'White Swan'. Plants grow 3 to 4 feet tall. Zones 3 to 9.
Rue
Ruta graveolens
Even if it didn't bloom, rue would be worth growing for its foliage alone. The bright blue-green leaves are deeply divided, giving the whole plant a delicate, lacy look. In midsummer, the clumps are accented with clusters of bright yellow-green flowers. Good drainage is essential for healthy growth. Plants grow 2 feet tall. Zones 5 to 9.
Sage
Salvia officinalis
Common culinary sage grows in shrubby clumps, with oblong, gray-green leaves accented by spikes of purple-blue flowers in mid to late summer. 'Berggarten' has broader, more silvery leaves. If you'd like extra color, try planting 'Purpurea', with purple-green leaves; 'Icterina', with gold-banded green leaves; or 'Tricolor', with green leaves that are splashed with cream, pink, and purple. You can also find cultivars with white or pink flowers. Plants grow 1 to 2 feet tall. Zones 4 to 9.
Yarrow
Achillea millefolium
Common yarrow produces flattened clusters of red, pink or white flowers on slender stems clad in feathery green foliage. These summer flowers are great for fresh or dried arrangements. If you prefer yellow flowers, you could substitute another species or hybrid. Plants are usually around 2 feet tall. Zones 3 to 8.
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Post by summerose on Apr 16, 2008 10:29:00 GMT -4
Love this website!  |
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Post by queenbee on Apr 16, 2008 21:31:03 GMT -4
Guess What?  ?? I just came in from working in the flower beds. 9:00 pm. I Luv It!!!!! Dug up some violets growing wild in the yard, so that's frugal. Planted them in the spots where Boo decided to garden. Took all of the bulbs from my get well soon basket the neighbor gave me (the flowers have come and gone) and transplanted them. Put in some "organic dirt" for filler. Me and hubby and son put up a 3 strand electric fence in front of the flower bed pushing 9500 volts. Took Boo 2 visit's to decide he has given up gardening. Edge the grass from around my rock walkway and took my walkway back. Took the clumps of grass and put them in the bare spots we have in the yard to grow. Outside flower bed had a big bare spot where the little dogs were jumping in and out of the fence. Move some of my "abundant" daylilies, split a clump into 3 pieces and covered 3 bare spots. Watered everything and got my seeds out to plant them this week. 4 0'clocks, thanks Brainy. Morning Glories, my own harvested seeds and some other's I can't remember. I luv it, ya'll. Just luv it. |
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Post by summerose on Apr 17, 2008 9:20:04 GMT -4
I covered up my tulips last night and didn't need to. Glad it didn't get below freezing!
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Post by queenbee on Apr 17, 2008 9:54:00 GMT -4
Had to make an early trip to Murphy to get laying mash and chick starter.
Also got some horse wormer for my dogs. It is way better than traditional vet worm medicine. Not because he is big as a horse.
They had baby ducks for sale and they were so cute, but I didn't get any.
Instead I purchased a big Foxglove plant, they re-seed every year and a burgundy colored Columbine also a 6 pack of lettuce. The freeze got my last ones.
Making me a portable lettuce bed so it is smaller and easier to move around.
Strawberry blooms survived the freeze and are looking good.
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Post by bb on Apr 17, 2008 15:50:48 GMT -4
I was noticing that a lot of blooms made it through this last cold snap. I didn't cover my azaleas and they are still blooming pretty! We lucked out this time, yippeee!
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Post by summerose on Apr 17, 2008 15:55:21 GMT -4
What a absolutely gorgeous spring day! Couldn't ask for any better.
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Post by taylor on Apr 17, 2008 18:26:39 GMT -4
It's been pretty here as well.
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Post by tessa on Apr 17, 2008 20:34:51 GMT -4
Hey Bee, where did you buy your foxglove?
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Post by maddy on Apr 17, 2008 21:09:09 GMT -4
what's a "chickstarter"?!!!
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Post by summerose on Apr 18, 2008 9:26:23 GMT -4
Looks like another gorgeous day ahead!
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Post by queenbee on Apr 18, 2008 9:32:47 GMT -4
Got everything at Wayne's Feed Store in Murphy, the FoxGlove is huge.
They have a great selection of herbs, veggies and flowers.
Chick starter is what we feed our baby chickens to get them to grow up big and strong.
Hen n chicks is a succulent plant not to be mixed up with the critters.
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Post by queenbee on Apr 18, 2008 9:37:30 GMT -4
I have to say, even thought grumpy was doubtful, my walkway looks great. Just a little more work and it will be back to normal.
Saw a dent in the electric fence yesterday and believed either Boo or Tibbs decided to try again. All looks good this morning and they won't even get on that side of the yard.
The wild violets I transplanted have perked up and are looking really good. I may have to go wilding soon to look for more flowers to transplant.
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