Tag: Gardening Products and Tips

Gardening – Getting Started Growing Our Own Grapes

Gardening – Getting Started Growing Our Own Grapes

Last year a friend of ours gave us their old grapevine that they no longer wanted. It’s a mature vine and was in perfect health. They dug it up, brought it to us and my husband transplanted it in one corner of our backyard. We 

Costoffs Raised Garden Bed Review

Costoffs Raised Garden Bed Review

We purchased our home 12 years ago and knew we wanted to become backyard gardeners. Our home only sits on a 1/2 acre so we need to utilize gardening space wisely. We currently have two small vegetable gardens, a raspberry bush patch, 3 blueberry bushes, 

How to Keep Roses Looking Fresh

How to Keep Roses Looking Fresh

How to Keep Roses Looking FreshRoses are one of the most popular and beloved flowers in the world. They’re often a part of romantic celebrations such as weddings, bridal showers, birthdays, Valentine’s Day, anniversaries, etc. These days you can purchase roses in any retail floral shop, at most local grocery stores or grow your own in the backyard. They’re beautiful and highly fragrant.

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By following the tips below you can keep your roses looking fresh for a longer period of time. Let’s face it, we want to enjoy their beauty for as long as we can.

How to Keep Roses Looking Fresh

1. Select the freshest looking flowers. Avoid ones that are blemished or starting to wilt.

2. Cut stems at a 45 degree angle. Remove leaves from the stem if they’re going to be submerged in water. Leaves that will be above the water line can remain.

3. Fill up a vase 3/4 of the way with cool tap water. Toss a cheap, low dose aspirin tablet into the water. Use a long spoon or stick to stir. If you have access to commercial fresh cut flower food, you can certainly use a packet of that instead of the aspirin.

4. Place flowers inside the vase. You need to be careful to not pack them in too tightly. They need a little room to breathe and you don’t want to crush the stems, leaves or petals.

5. Every day you need to change out the water and if possible, use an entirely new, clean vase. Bacteria, mold and fungus can kill your flowers. If you don’t have another vase to switch into…wash your current vase with hot, soapy water and then rinse clean.

6. Trim a little bit more off of each stem. Remember, cut at a 45 degree angle. Place flowers back into the vase. If any flowers are starting to look wilted or diseased, toss them.

7. Roses are sensitive to cold and heat. Display them in a cool are that doesn’t receive a lot of direct sunlight.

If you take the time to properly prepare and treat your flowers they will last longer. Often times they will last 3-7 days longer than just plopping them down in a vase. A little bit of effort will go a long way in preserving their beauty.

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Tips on How to Grow Aloe Vera

Tips on How to Grow Aloe Vera

Spring is in the air and gardening season is almost upon us! Every year when spring rolls around I get busy transplanting, trimming and fertilizing my indoor houseplants. I grow all kinds of things, but some of my favorites to grow are ferns, spider plants, 

Breathtaking Ways To Beautify Your Backyard

Breathtaking Ways To Beautify Your Backyard

A home is our sanctuary where we feel comfortable to be ourselves and unwind after long days of running around between responsibilities. That’s why homeowners always look for ways to make their homes more relaxing in a way that they can express their personal tastes 

How to Maintain a Healthy Garden

How to Maintain a Healthy Garden

How to Maintain a Healthy GardenMany homeowners are proud of showing off a beautiful garden, but it takes effort and time to keep it green and clean all year round. If you’re not careful, you might end up spending extra money trying to fix mistakes that could’ve been avoided from the beginning.

Lawn care requires specific knowledge and tools to make your life easier and allow you to enjoy your outdoor area with your family and friends during hot summer days. Here, we share tips and advice on how to maintain a healthy garden.

Choose Your Plants Wisely

Before growing any flower and bush you find pretty, you need to become more familiar with the weather conditions in your garden. Information like the sunlight levels or the type of soil in your property is crucial data that will determine what kind of plants you’ll be able to keep and grow. Planning ahead of your landscape will help you space out plants and avoid competition for sunlight, soil nutrients, and water.

In addition to this, learn how to keep the soil fertilized and filled with the right nutrients if you’re looking to have a green, healthy and beautiful landscape. Although you can buy fertilizers at the store, homemade compost can become your best ally if you start with poor-quality soil.  Remember that wild worms will move the dirt around so that roots can spread quickly, and if you’ve decided to compost at home, you may also have a few of them working hard in your compost bin! Research your options and experiment to see what yields the best results for you.

Use The Right Equipment For The Job

There’s no need to purchase more tools than you need; starting with a rake, some gardening gloves, a pair of secateurs, and a garden spade should be more than enough to get you started with this relaxing hobby. You will thank yourself in the future if you invest a bit extra in a good set of gardening tools from the start. For instance, trimming plants or bushes with sharp tools ensures clean cuts that will heal rapidly. Never forget that the only way to maintain a garden properly is to get yourself acquainted with each instrument and get your hands dirty on the ground.

Eventually, you may encounter some tasks where it’s best to call an expert to help you. The Manassas-based landscaping experts at https://genesistreeservice.net/manassas emphasize the importance of hiring a certified arborist working with liability insurance when you need to trim or remove trees from your landscape. Otherwise, you may risk the possibility of damaging your property or your neighbor’s home and having to cover the additional repair costs for it.

How to Maintain a Healthy Garden

Learn How To Identify Diseases On Time

Gardening requires a lot of patience, especially if you’re a newcomer to this hobby. If you don’t know the particular needs of the plants you’ve chosen, they may fall sick just like any other living creature. The best defense against most common diseases is precaution, and there are some things you can do to avoid mold, fungi, and bacteria from attacking. Always try to dampen the soil rather than the plants themselves, remove affected parts when detected, and apply homemade fungicide mixtures in healthy leaves.

Bugs are a natural element of your garden, and contrary to popular belief, some species will be your best ally. Just to give an example, ladybugs and soldier beetles will help you in keeping pests under control. It’s a good idea to research what beneficial native insects you can attract to your garden and plant them accordingly. Always try to use natural components while keeping your plants healthy since any foreign chemical can severely impact the entire ecosystem you’ve built in your landscape.

Even if maintaining a healthy garden may seem like an exhausting task, many people find great joy in gardening since it’s an excellent way to relax after a long, stressful day. Whether you decide to maintain a landscape filled with colorful flowers or embark on the thrilling challenge of growing your fruits and vegetables, gardening is an activity that anybody can do. There’s nothing more fulfilling than watching your plants grow from the soil and bloom right in front of your eyes, and the best part is that you and your loved ones can share beautiful moments surrounded by the beauty you’ve helped create. Don’t hesitate in diving deeper into this amazing hobby and try to create your ideal landscapes to impress everyone you know with your skills!

Tips for Picking and Drying Sunflowers

Tips for Picking and Drying Sunflowers

Every year we enjoy going to a local farm to pick sunflowers. It’s a great family-friendly activity and doesn’t cost a lot of money. You can dry out your sunflowers to use in your autumn home decor, in craft projects and yes…you can eat the 

Container and Backyard Gardening Ideas

Container and Backyard Gardening Ideas

For the past 8 years we’ve planted a backyard garden and every year it gets bigger. The first year that we started we only planted a few tomato and bell pepper plants. Over the years we’ve added more items. Some of them are in garden