Flower Gardening

    We moved here in August 2004 and I brought plants with me. Some I had grown for many years and some had just been bought that summer. I also brought tubs full of seeds in anticipation of having acreage that I could garden on. Over the years I have watched the garden change …

    [HTML1] What a title for a post, right? It fits. People ask me all the time why I garden. It is a lot of work - especially when you garden on 2 ½ acres. There are weeds to pull, land to till, never enough mulch and it gets darn hot in the afternoon …

  Even though the sun is shining and spring is on it's way, the cold nip of the wind still hangs in the air. The garden beckons - and I obey. It is muddy - but drier today than a few days ago. The brisk breeze moves the wind chimes - sometimes ever so slightly, …

  It has been a long, snowy winter here in Indiana. The large amounts of snow and extreme cold temperatures prevented me from getting the greenhouse up and going in January as I usually do. I am glad the severe weather hit before the greenhouse was put up. I'm convinced that the amount of snow …

  January is the tale-end of the seed starting season for Pansy and Viola seeds. At least it is for me since I typically start them in November. I like to give the seeds of these two varieties plenty of time to germinate, grow and flower. Ideally I want mine in bloom and hardened off …

When it comes to seed starting, snapdragon seeds are one that many people choose because of its light frost tolerance and ability to be direct seeded into the garden. While many people consider snapdragon to be a spring flower, it also does well in the fall garden. Snapdragon seeds are ideal for winter sowing. If …

  Statice, botanically known as Limonium, is a wonderful flower to grow for fresh or dried floral arrangements, potpourri and other floral crafts. The flower heads are made up of numerous florets - which are tiny flowers. I prefer to start my statice seeds indoors in peat pellets because they are so small and need the extra …

Some people think of seed saving as a fall activity, but if you wait you will miss the opportunity to collect many seeds that your garden produces. The best way to know when the correct time to gather seeds is requires knowing when the plants you wish to save seeds from flower or fruit. Some …

  With fall and winter on our door steps you’re probably thinking you’re out of the woods when it comes to deer damage in your backyard landscapes. Wrong. Actually, fall and winter mark the beginning of the worst seasons for deer damage. Deer will eat just about anything in the winter -- their food supply …

It has been an interesting winter here in Indiana - much milder than normal. As usual, I had my winter lettuce bed that survived very nicely - and then there were the winter flowers - some of which bloomed on time, as expected - and some which bloomed much earlier than I had anticipated. Here …

Gardeners who start plants from seed know the best way to do it is to pre-germinate the seeds in some type of container such as a bowl, glass dish or test tube. Sometimes finding an elegant way to display those seed starting containers, especially if you have limited space, can be tricky. Using test tubes …

It is possible to have color in the garden in November, even if you live in a cold climate like Indiana, which depending on which edition of the USDA map you look at, we are either a zone 5 (older map) or a zone 6. Due to global warming, the part of Indiana we live …

This particular lily is one of the Orienpet hybrids which is a cross between an Oriental lily and a trumpet lily. The fragrant flowers open from the bottom to the top making it easy to snip off the faded blooms and keep this plant looking fresh for weeks. In fact, this particular lily produces blooms …

I planted these seeds on October 10, 2004. I put them in a coldframe outside. The seeds germinated on December 10, 2004.

As summer reaches its peak, the gardeners among us are bestowed with a magnificent gift: a vibrant array of flowers that can be carefully snipped and arranged into delightful bouquets. But even if you don't have a green thumb, fear not, for this season abounds with flowers readily available at reasonable prices.