Gardening Blog

If you live in a dry and arid climate then your desert landscaping is going to take a little more planning than some other parts of the country. Desert landscaping will have to work with a plan that includes only plants and trees that can survive with much less water than some other plants. There is no point in planting something if it can not sustain itself afterwards. So take some time with your desert landscaping plan and make sure that you have done everything suited to the climate.

You could spend the money to get better irrigation put in but the money will be great and the time will be all consuming. It is much simpler for your desert landscaping plan to just include plants that will thrive even in the hot sun all day.

What makes using desert landscaping friendly plants so great is that not only will these plants do well even in the hot sun they will also be able to thrive in poor quality soil. This is a much needed quality because places that have so much sun tend to have poor soil as well. So in essence you are killing two birds with one stone as they say.

Here are some wonderful plants that you can use in your desert landscaping:

Longwood Blue bluebeard

This is a shrub, it is deciduous and it will grow back each and every spring. It will always come back healthy and happy and this makes it perfect for desert landscaping. It is not a tiny shrub, it will grow to be anywhere between 3 and 4 feet high with a width of about 2 feet. This is a lovely plant to use in your desert landscaping as it is not only beautiful with its pretty blue flower clusters and silver foliage, it is also very fragrant.

Autumn Joy

This is a wonderful perennial that you can plant for your desert landscaping. With this choice you will have great leaves in pretty whorls. These leaves can be any number of different colors and can be bought to go with any desert landscaping design. This plant is the ultimate for desert landscaping because it can grow in rock gardens with ease. This lovely desert landscaping plant also has a unique and interesting flower unlike any other I have ever seen. These small flowers grow in clusters and they can be a few different colors and shades. The most common are yellow, orange and red and pink. If you plant these in your garden you will have butterflies around all of the time and they make for lovely entertainment on their own.

Who hasn’t heard of the most popular flowering plant of all time, the rose? The rose plant can spark a quick conversation amongst even the shyest of persons. Almost anyone can tell you of someone they know who has grown beautiful roses or of someone who couldn’t. Almost anyone can tell you of someone who got or sent roses, especially around the holidays. Even little children know what the rose plant is.

The local florist most likely has dozens of colors, types, and sizes of rose plants. It would seem to be the best selling flower of all time. The local discount store and even the local grocer carries some sort of rose plant these days.

In my opinion, the best rose is one that has a strong scent. A rose has a most distinct smell, and a scent welcome to most anyone. The fragrance is like no other and has been reproduced in perfumes and air fresheners for years. There are rose-scented oils and lotions, bath products. There are rose colors and rose images galore. You can find rose parades and people named Rose. You can even coming out “smelling like a rose”. All because of a mere plant that reached enormous proportions of popularity.

The rose plant is available in a wide variety of colors, sizes, and types. It is known worldwide. The prices vary depending on where you buy or what type and size you want.

Do you want a rose plant already started in a pot? You may have to repot it. Make sure you do your homework before you buy one.

When you decide what type of rose plant you’d like, think of placement. There is a plant called the thornless rose plant that will grow in the shade. But most rose plants are known to have thorns, so you wouldn’t want your small child or grandchild or frequent tiny visitors to happen upon something that is so pretty that they can’t resist grabbing and end up with an unwelcome handful of thorns. It may even sour them on the enjoyment of the rose plant for life because of a tearful memory. And roses are too beautiful to allow such a thing!

There are climbing rose plants which you most certainly wouldn’t want trailing across the ground to be stomped by animals or other foot traffic. Some roses are delicate and unfiltered light would cook their leaves to an unwelcome brown. If your rose plant is the type that grows into a bush, you would want to place it in a spot that allows for it to spread.

Rose plants carry so many different names, it’s probably enough to fill a small book! Some of the names include Rose Blaze, Rose Red Eden, Rose New Dawn, Rose Neptune, Rose Zephirine, just to name a very few. If you want a rose that sounds like it belongs in a class all its own, you could buy a Rose Paris D’Yves St. Laurent! That’s a mouthful! Happy Hunting!

Get Your FREE ebook “Rose Types and Care of Roses” by going to: http://GardeningWebGuide.com

Check out this video for some beautiful roses:

Many times we buy plants on impulse then find there is nowhere in the garden that really suits them. Before buying plants carefully examine your garden to see how much sun and shade it gets, whether the soil is well drained or waterlogged and whether your aspect is sheltered or windswept. You’ll then be equipped to go and buy the best plants for your situation; shade-loving plants for the sheltered areas, sun-lovers for the warm spots, drought-resistant plants for the parched areas which may be either sunny or shaded, and swamp plants for the poorly-drained parts.

But wait! Test your soil first, to determine the pH level of your soil and what kind of nutrients you need to add, if any. Is the soil acid or alkaline? Most plants prefer soil that is slightly acidic, but there are some that must have alkaline soil to grow. You can alter the soil’s pH level, but it’s much easier to simply plant for the soil you have.

Now you are ready to plant. Well - almost. Will you plant in groups or singly? If you buy ‘one of everything’ your garden may seem rather spotty. Group plantings are organised, harmonious and you can vary the color for interest.

Before planting out, place your chosen plants around the garden bed in their pots to see how they will look. Re-arrange them until you are satisfied. Grouping plants in sets of threes or fives usually looks better than planting in groups of even numbers. Be sure that you have an interesting combination of colors and textures of plants. Tall plants should go to the back, or the centre if your garden will be viewed equally from all sides. Try to keep your plants away from trees. The roots of trees are fiercely competitive and will steal all the nutrients and moisture meant for your flowers.

The right color scheme is one way to maintain the harmony in your garden. Imagine the color of the flowers when they are in bloom. Some colors may clash with others, but can still be planted side-by-side if they have a different blooming season. Foliage color is also important. Many flower plants have silver, grey or purplish foliage that is just as attractive as the flower. This means that they are still attractive well past the blooming season and so have added value.

Plants for sunny, moist conditions include:

Bee Balm (Monarda)

Cardinal Flower (Lobelia cardinalis)

Globe Flower (Trollius)

Japanese Iris (Iris ensata)

Marsh Marigold (Caltha palustris)

Rose Mallow (Hibiscus)

Yellow Flag Iris (Iris pseudacorus)

Queen of the Prairie

Plants for sunny, dry conditions:

Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia)

Bearded Iris

Butterfly Bush

Butterfly Weed (Asclepias tuberosa)

Coneflower (Echinacea)

Cranesbill (Geranium)

Daylily

Dwarf Pampas Grass (Cortaderia selloana pumila)

False Indigo (Baptisia)

Fountain grass (Pennisetum species)

Gayfeather (Liatris spicata)

Goldenrod (Solidage)

Lamb’s Ears (Stachys)

Lavender

Lavender Cotton (Santolina)

Ornamental grasses (Miscanthus species)

Pinks (Dianthus)

Sage (Salvia)

Sea Thrift (Armeria)

Sunflower

Switch grass (Panicum species)

Tickseed (Coreopsis)

Wild Rye (Elymus)

Wormwood (Artemesia)

Yarrow (Achillea)

Yucca

Plants (Perennials) for shady areas:

Astilbe

Bergenia

Colombine

Coral Bells

Dicentra (Bleeding Heart)

Hellebores

Hosta

Ligularia

Lily of the Valley

Pulmonaria (Lungwort)

Spiderwort (Tradescantia)

Garden advice is not that hard to come by. In fact, you can get gardening advice from another gardener, in a gardening catalogue, gardening books, gardening magazines, and even on the Internet. Although you will have variations with every plant, there is some gardening advice that is universal and that goes for any plant.

For example, the gardening advice given for planting is pretty much uniform. You must place plants where they will have room to grow so they don’t overcrowd each other. Good air flow is a plus, and plants must be in a position where they will receive adequate amounts of sunlight. Advice will always tell you to add some type of nutrients to the soil to lead to better plant growth, such as mulch or compost.

Gardening advice on watering plants is a little more varied, because every type of plant needs different amounts of water. For example, you wouldn’t want to water a cactus near as much as you water a tomato plant. How much you water will obviously also depend on where you live, the climate, and how much rain your area receives.

Gardening advice from nearly every source will tell you that your plants not only need fertilize when you first plant them, they will also needed to be fertilized throughout their growing season. What type of fertilize used will depend on the soil content and pH balance, but fertilize will definitely be needed on most all plants. Compost can be used instead and it is easy to find advice on how to make a compost pile as well as when fertilize and compost needs to be used.

Gardening advice on weeds, insects, disease, and how to get rid of them is probably the most sought after advice in all of gardening. These pests invade all gardens and if you don’t get rid of them, they will take over and ruin your garden. There are many different chemicals and pesticides that can be used, and gardening advice will usually clue gardeners in on which chemicals are better, which are harmful, and which ones are easier to administer.

Gardening is not an easy task; you have to fight against many outside forces, such as weather, insects, disease, and weeds. Even the most seasoned of gardeners will seek out gardening advice once in a while. Who wouldn’t when there are so many forces that could take a garden out? There is a lot of general gardening advice on the market that goes for any plant, but if you look a little harder you will find specific advice for that one plant that is the only one giving you trouble. Gardening advice is relatively easy to find, and while you may come across the occasional bad apple, most of it is relatively sound and will help with any gardening question.

Here are the major reasons why one should consider getting a pair of trusty gardening gloves:

Gloves protect your hands from blisters, thorns and cuts while doing rough work like digging or pruning in the garden. Investing in one or more pairs of quality gloves is a good decision.

Here are some tips on how to choose the pair that will suit you best:
1. Look for quality leather gloves with a cloth back; this will let the gloves breathe and keep your hands dry, cool and comfortable.

2. If mud bothers you, select rubber gloves with cotton lining.

3. When spraying pesticides or chemicals choose gloves that are made from neoprene. Gloves made from latex or any type of plastic may not offer the best protection.

4. When pruning roses, use gloves that reach up to the arms.

5. If you usually operate large garden machinery, buy gloves in brown instead of red as the latter may dye your hands.

6. Light cotton or even fingerless gloves may be useful for transplanting seedlings. They will allow more dexterity and so help to prevent the tiny roots from being crushed.

7. And of course, make sure that the gloves you buy actually fit your hands. If you have small hands, try the children’s gardening section. there’s nothing worse than trying to garden is gloves that are too big.

Your gloves must be comfortable as well as give protection to best serve your gardening needs.

Get a gift of gardening gloves for yourself or a friend:
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