Container Garden 411

Should I start seeds (cheaper) or buy plants (more reliable) greets the gardener at the beginning. Both have their own benefits. If you plant seeds and care for them every day, you will find it is a much more rewarding experience when you have a full, healthy plant. Of course, this method is more open to failure. I can’t tell you how many seeds I’ve planted and never seen any trace of whatsoever.

If you choose to buy the plant from a nursery and install it in your garden, it reduces a lot of the work involved in making it healthy. However, I have found in the past that many incompetent nursery workers will absolutely ruin the future of the plant by putting certain chemicals or fertilizers in. I have adapted to this incompetence by learning to choose the healthiest plant of the bunch. Here I will discuss some of the techniques I use in my screening process for plants.

It may sound superficial, but the one thing you need to check for on your prospective plants is how nice they look. As far as plants go, you can truly judge a book by its cover. If a plant has been treated healthily and has no diseases or pests, you can almost always tell by how nice it looks. If a plant was raised in poor soil or is buggy, you should be able to tell by small holes in the leaves and soft stems.

If you’re browsing the nursery shelves looking for your dream plant, you want to exclude anything that currently has flowers. Plants are less traumatized by the transplant if they do not currently have any flowers. Look for one with just buds. However if all you have to choose from are flowering plants, then you should do the unthinkable and sever all of them. It will provide for the future health of your plant. A blooming plant will surely result in almost in a dead plant.

Don’t buy the plant prior to determining the condition of the roots. Root problems can be immediately evident if the plant doesn’t look healthy. But if the roots are just slightly out of shape, then you probably won’t be able to tell just by looking at it. Make a careful inspection of the roots and look for signs of rot or dead root material. The roots should always be a firm, perfectly well formed infrastructure that holds all the soil together. One can easily tell if the roots are before or past their prime, depending on the root to soil ratio. If there are a ridiculous amount of roots with little soil, or a bunch of soil with few roots, you should not buy that plant.

If you find any abnormalities with the plant, whether it be the shape of the roots or any irregular features with the leaves, you should ask the nursery employees. While usually these things can be the sign of an unhealthy plant, occasionally there will be a logical explanation for it. Always give the nursery a chance before writing them off as horrendous. Normally, the professionals you deal with are well-experienced with plants.

So if you decide to take the easy route and get a plant from a nursery, you just have to remember that the health of the plants has been left up to someone you don’t know. Usually they do a good job, but you should always check for yourself. Also take every precaution you can to avoid transplant shock in the plant (when it has trouble adjusting to its new location, and therefore has health problems in the future). Usually the process goes smoothly, but you can never be too sure.

Once you’ve chosen a spot for your container water garden – remember, 6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day, no overhanging trees, and a nearby water source (and power source if you’ll be using a circulating pump for a waterfall) – you get to the fun part. Most home and garden supply store chains carry all the materials you need to create small ponds, including plastic liners – but you’re only limited by your imagination and a few basic rules in choosing a container for your water garden.

It must be easy to drain.
It must be non-porous.
It must be deep enough to support the plants you want to grow.

I’ve seen water gardens that use everything from old bathtubs to an assortment of terracotta pots (with plastic liners) to large baskets (also with plastic liners).

For a container water garden, you won’t actually be planting the plants in the bottom of the ‘pond’. Instead, each plant will be planted in its own separate pot and submerged in the water.

Assemble your equipment
You’ll need your containers, plants, bricks or terracotta pots, gravel, heavy soil, aquatic plant fertilizer tablets and a garden hose.

Pot your plants
If they’re not already in suitable pots, you’ll need to pot your plants. Do not use potting soil, vermiculite or peat moss – all of which will wash out of the pots and foul the water. Instead, you want a very heavy, mud-clay like soil. Fill the pot 2/3 full with soil. Push a fertilizer tablet into the soil, then carefully spread the roots of the plant over the surface of the dirt. Add a few inches of dirt and lightly tamp it down, then cover with an inch or so of pea gravel. Repeat until all of your plants are potted.

Arrange your plants in the container
This is where the bricks come in. The tops of the plant pots should be no more than a few inches below the surface of the water. Stack bricks, upended terracotta pots or construction blocks in the container and place pots on top of them to vary the heights of the plants.
Add pump for fountain or waterfall if using one.

If you’re adding a fountain or a waterfall, situate the pump per the manufacturer’s directions.

Fill with water.
Using the garden hose, fill your container with water until the plant pots are submerged under a few inches of water. If you ‘fill from the bottom’ by dropping the hose into the bottom of the container and letting the water level rise, you’ll reduce the chance of disturbing the soil and gravel in your plants.
Enjoy.

Don’t forget that the point of the exercise was to have a lovely, cool water garden to enjoy. Make sure that you place a bench or comfortable sitting rock nearby where you can enjoy the beauty of your own miniature pond every day.

To get the best results from your container gardens, be sure to learn about garden composting techniques which can help you grow more flowers much more quickly.

When creating a butterfly garden, the possibilities of what to include in your butterfly garden designs are endless. Below are some suggestions to help get you started when designing your butterfly garden plan. They are designed to spark the creative process of your mind and get you started on your way to creating a lovely and well-suited butterfly garden.

– First, before you even begin your butterfly garden, find out which species of butterflies are in your area. Consider taking an exploratory hike around your location with a butterfly identification book to find the butterflies that dwell close to your property. This may take a little extra time and some research on your part but the results will be worth the effort. After you have compiled your list of local butterfly species, be sure to write down in your butterfly garden plan what these particular species of butterflies use for nectar and food plants.

– Be sure that your butterfly garden plan includes a location that provides at least six hours of sunlight per day. Butterflies are cold-blooded creatures and therefore, do better where they are warm and sheltered.

– Wind can be a butterfly’s worst enemy so be sure to have plenty of wind protection in your butterfly garden design. You can plant tall shrubs and other plants in order to create a wind break. Know the direction of your area's prevailing winds. The first choice, however, is a nice ‘tucked away’ location that avoids heavy winds.

– Keeping the above points in mind, choose a suitable location to have your butterfly garden. The best of all worlds would be a butterfly garden placed on the south side of your home with windbreaks on both the west and east sides. You may also wish to be sure that you are able to view you butterfly garden from inside your home as well as provide seating outside from which to observe the antics of the butterflies.

– If your area permits, a possible suggestion for location of a butterfly garden is provided by Barbara Damrosch in her book Theme Garden She suggests the use of an old basement or home foundation if such is available around your home or the place you wish to have your butterfly garden. As an alternative, you can excavate an area and build a stone wall around the excavation to simulate an old construction foundation. Remember to covered the bottom of the excavation with several inches of gravel where you do not intend to plant your nectar and food plants for the butterflies. This will save you from a muddy walk through your butterfly garden after a rain.

There are many creative ways for constructing a butterfly garden. Take your time to design a garden that you will enjoy and be proud of later when all is said and done.

Everyone would agree that gardening can be fun and relaxing, but one must be prepared with first aid in any case. Gardening requires that one is out for long periods of time in the sun, using tools of all kinds, maybe using ladders, possibly dealing with poison ivy, not to mention bugs, bees, and allergies to mention the most common. Therefore it is prudent that anyone gardening know about the above and is able to handle them immediately. No one wants to have a bad experience and being prepared with first aid can make a bad moment a quick one so that you can get back to what you like to do. After all, gardening allows you to get fresh air, sunshine and to produce beautiful landscapes.

However, what to you do when something goes wrong. We have all heard about people falling from a ladder, breaking bones, suffering concussions, and twisting limbs. One must take precaution always when using a ladder. It is best if one has a spotter when on a ladder, but since this is not always the case, always make sure the ladder is anchored and does not wobble.

We all know about the horrors of accidents with tools, especially power tools and cutting off a digit or two. It is a simple matter of staying focus on the task at hand. Beware of distractions. Stop using the power tool if your attention is diverted for any reason. If possible, use simple tools and stay away from the power tools. Never use a tool you have not read the directions for.

As for bugs and bees. Most bugs you come in contact with will not be a problem. However, if you use pesticides, by all means follow the directions precisely. If at all, do not use them. If you do, make sure you know what to do if there is a possible poisoning or contact with skin, eyes, cuts, mouth, anywhere the pesticide could enter your body. Have the remedy readily available.

For the bees one encounters, be prepared. Bees love gardens, you will see them, they will be around. Should you be stung, the stinger will most likely be left behind. You will need to pull it out immediately. Do not just scrape it off, this will leave the tip in the skin and give you problems later.

Stop what you are doing and pull it out. No one wants to experience anaphylaxis shock.

One thing most people who garden do not pay much attention to is the exposure to the sun. People will put on sunscreen or wear a hat, but the amount of time they work in the sun, can still lead to a variety of ills. Sunburn on arms and face and legs is the main problem. There is also the possibility of sunstroke or heatstroke. One must be wary of this while working in the sun in very high temperatures and humidity. Drinking of water and taking salt tablets will ensure one does not succumb to this.

Again, use common sense.

Here are the tips one needs to know:

• Always have a first aid kit stock and on hand

• Do not stay in the sun for extended periods of time

• Handle pesticides carefully per instructions

• Be aware of any allergies and reactions

• Bug bites – avoid if possible, usually just need to wait for pain and itch to go away.

• Bees – avoid

• Snakes – avoid, bites will need medical attention, do not rely on drugstore kits

• Use ladders safely – enough said

• Use power tools carefully – no on likes to lose a finger or two.

• Avoid poisnous plants – you will save a lot of itching and discomfort if you do.

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