New to water gardening, and need advice on water lilies…?

A_Ash_A asks: New to water gardening, and need advice on water lilies…?
My husband and I have recently build a water garden in my back yard, which will have koi and water plants in it. I bought a water lily today(one that was potted and already had a flower on it), anyway…on my way home the flower broke off my plant. I want to know if it will grow another flower or if that will be it for the year. Oh, by the way…it’s a hardy native water lily, and I’m in Oklahoma(as far as climate goes). Any advice would be good. Thanks.

The answer voted best is:

Answer by ?
i think that would be it for the year.until next good luck with your water garden.

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Starting a veggie/fruit garden need help!?

cameron asks: Starting a veggie/fruit garden need help!?
I’ve decided to start a veggie and fruit garden indoors (in pots/containers) and have a couple questions. Every thing I have read as shown that you should get organic potting mix to fill up the container. I have already started a compost and it should be ready in 1-2 more weeks. When do I add the compost, in the beginning or every once and while? Also does compost take place of fertilizer or do i still need to fertilize? Do I need to change the soil when it becomes depleted of nutrients or just add/replace more compost/fertilizer? Any other advice would be welcomed and appreciated thanks in advanced!!! Oh yeah i’m thinking of growing, onions, bell peppers, tomatoes, potatoes, and maybe cucumber with berries and some herbs!!

The answer voted best is:

Answer by Mr.Waffle
Change the soil and water the plants.

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I’m starting a garden and need advice.?

This file deleted asks: I’m starting a garden and need advice.?
I live in NC and have red clay. So, I was advice to till the yard but, I don’t have the equipment and strength to break up the soil.

I wanted to put down cardboard and purchase a heep of blackgold(soil) from the county. I wanted to plant seeds of corn, squash and zucchini. Also, plant the live plants of sweet potato. I was going to pot mint leaves, basil and tomatoes.

I was advice that I should put sand in the area were I am planting sweet potatoes.

My backyard gets a lot of sun (8-10 hours in the summer.)

Should I put fertilizer down? I want to grow organic. How could I prevent bugs, rabbits, snakes? I don’t think I have a deer problem since I live in a subdivision. Should I put mulch down?
Can I use the same cardboard concept with my flower bed or should I use newspaper?
I tried a garden last year and wasted a lot money. So, I really need great advice. Thanks in advance.
I forgot to ask. When should I put the seeds and plants in the soil? I always thought april.

Should I let the cardboard sit in the ground for about 2 weeks before I place the seeds and plants down?
I forgot to ask. When should I put the seeds and plants in the soil? I always thought april.

Should I let the cardboard sit in the ground for about 2 weeks before I place the seeds and plants down?

The answer voted best is:

Answer by egan
Too much details to tell you. Just go to your local Library and borrow this book. “The all new Square Foot Gardening” by Mel Bartholomew. He’ll give you good advice and the easiest way to start a new garden. Even a beginner can easily follow his instructions. Believe me you will thank me in the end. All your questions and concerns are all there.

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Need gardening advice for a patio/balcony garden?

Sadbh asks: Need gardening advice for a patio/balcony garden?
Ive just moved into my new place and Ive never grow anything before but Id really like to grow some basic veg/fruit, in particular asparagus(i love it but its too expensive). the only thing is,I have a balcony garden thats about 10feet square. Id also like to put in some window baskets, any idea of some plants/flowers I could plant now…..

The answer voted best is:

Answer by donna d
tomatoes,strawberrys.

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I’m planting a park and need some gardening advice?

jackie asks: I’m planting a park and need some gardening advice?
The park is in an area prone to vandalism, and I’m looking to plant species that will deter the vandals (eg Holly or Hawthorn). Can anyone suggest some plants that are attractive, self-protecting and native to the uk.

The best list gets the 10 points and my everlasting gratitude.

The answer voted best is:

Answer by Spam
Here you go, if this is good enough for the Yorkshire police it should be good for you

http://www.shrubs.co.uk/police.htm

What do you think? Answer below!

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Formal Gardens – Everything You Need to Know

Formal Gardens – Everything You Need to Know

In strict terms, a formal garden is one that is entirely symmetrical, with one side mirrored by the other in a highly planned geometric pattern. Although there are many gardens of which this is true, formal gardens have now also come to signify a design that is laid out with a degree of geometry and regularity, and with stylised planting – not necessarily with mirror images.

From the simplicity of a lawn punctuated by a single island bed to the complexity of an intricate knot garden, many types of formal garden may be planned. However simple they may be, formal designs are typically ordered and elegant, well proportioned and balanced, and often strongly symmetrical or patterned.

Features typically include straight paths, closely mown lawns, borders defined by low hedges or edging plants, neatly clipped hedges or topiary, framed vistas and focal points, formal bedding in blocks of strong colour, and, on occasion, knot gardens and parterres.

Formal gardens require very regular and precise maintenance and are usually very labour-intensive. The more regular the design, the more any slight flaws will stand out.

The Principles of the Formal Garden Style

Many historic gardens were formal in design, and geometry has been used in garden styles from the very earliest times. Persian and Egyptian gardens relied on a formal structure of hard landscape, often within a courtyard, in which planting, pergolas and water features would be laid out in a symmetrical pattern. The great Moorish gardens were largely formal, as were the sumptuous gardens of Renaissance Italy.

These gardens echoed the architectural styles of the day, and were designed to supply a strong visual connection between garden and house. In fact, any garden should do just that, but a formal style typically relies more heavily on the adjoining building for its inspiration. If the architecture of the house is classical, then formality in the garden should reflect this with features such as stone or gravel paths, parterres, stone paving, balustrading, formal pools, clipped hedging and framed views.

Of course, a building does not need to be classical to have an adjoining formal garden, but it does need to be a building with some character of its own. In this way, a formal garden could suit a Georgian house or a Victorian villa, but it could also suit a modern architect-designed building, reflecting the regularity of the house and providing a harmonious link between the inside and outside. However, a formal garden is less likely to work well with a pre-war semi or a developer’s house on a modern estate. These tend not to have a balanced facade or strong layout, so an asymmetrical design would probably look, and certainly feel, more comfortable in these cases.

A feeling of formality may be achieved by creating classicism and symmetry in simple ways: by planting two or a number of symmetrically placed trees; by placing pots or urns on either side of a gateway; or perhaps by positioning clipped shrubs to flank a front door.

Such a strictly architectural style requires that plants be used to emphasise and embellish rather than dominate. Hedging, which can be close clipped, is the often one of the most important features of the formal garden. Many hedges are made from clipped and severely restricted trees, for example, limes can be ‘pleached’ to make a narrow hedge on clear trunks or ‘stilts’. Fruit trees, carefully pruned for the purpose, can also be used to form linear barriers, and window-like holes can be even be carved into these hedges to create clairvoyees.

Formal gardens rely heavily on surfaces for much of their impact, and the lawn is important for this reason. Colours are often muted in the formal garden, with green predominating, and the lawn acts as a subtle foil to other shades of green, such as the black-green of yew.

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Strictly speaking, plants should not be allowed to spill over on to hedges and paths, or otherwise break up the strict architectural lines of the garden. However, some gardeners bend the rules and plant informally within the formal framework. This often involves planting drifts of flowers in the borders, and using a larger range of plant material than would be strictly appropriate for the traditional formal garden. This method of planting undoubtedly softens the impact of the formal lines, but that loss is often compensated by the splendour of the plants.

Classical Gardens

The formal gardens of ancient Rome and Greece were the inspiration for the impressive palatial and villa gardens of France and Italy in the 17th and 18th centuries. The essential qualities of these classical gardens are their strong symmetrical and architectural designs, which closely follow the scale and proportion of the building that they adjoin.

Italianate gardens are often set on elevated sites, with terraced gardens and flights of steps leading to long, shaded walks, cascades, fountains and canals. The cooling effects of water and avenues or canopies of trees are all part of the pleasures of these gardens, especially in the hot, Mediterranean climate.

The terraces might contain parterre designs with symmetrically positioned topiary pyramids or obelisks and box-lined scrolls of flowerbeds. Other typical features include balustrades, statuary, and well-proportioned vases or urns for ornamental plants.

Colour is generally limited to the dark green of the plants, the pale colours of the stone and gravel, and the white waters.

Many of these classical features may be integrated into contemporary garden designs to create a sense of grace, formality, and ordered tranquillity. Even in a relatively small area, the careful consideration to proportion, scale, balance, and harmony seen in classical gardens may be reproduced to create a simple, effective design.

Knot Gardens

Knot gardens were particularly popular in the 16th century, and took the form of abstract patterns and interlacing bands containing coloured plants, sands or gravels, marked out and framed by low hedges.

They were grown with a variety or aromatic plants and culinary herbs, such as Germander, marjoram, thyme, southernwood, lemon balm, hyssop, costmary, acanthus, mallow, chamomile, rosemary, Calendulas, Violas and Santolina. Most knot gardens had edges made from Box (Buxus sempervirens), whose foliage has a sweet smell when bruised.

The patterns often took their inspiration from the knots and strapwork patterns of English Elizabethan and Tudor plaster ceiling decorations and needlework. So that this intricate detail can be truly appreciated, knot gardens are often best viewed from above, and they should be designed so that can be seen easily from a house window or raised terrace.

Given the right setting and a well-drained, level site, knot gardens are not difficult to create and are straightforward to maintain. The patterns should be kept simple; this will ensure a pleasing design, and ensure that maintenance will not be too time-consuming.

Some suitable plants for the hedges include cotton lavender (Santolina chamaecyparissus) and dwarf box (Teucrium chamaedrys). If you decide to use plants rather than coloured sand or gravel to fill in the areas between the hedges, choose those that are in keeping with the character and scale of the design; as a rule, low-growing plants are suitable, although more unusual plantings, for example, succulents such as houseleeks (Sempervivum), may also he considered.

Do bear in mind that any weeds that appear on the gravel surfaces should be removed by hand, as weedkillers could damage the shallow-rooting hedges.

Parterres

A parterre is a formal garden construction on a level surface consisting of planting beds edged in stone or tightly clipped hedging and gravel paths, arranged to form a pleasing pattern. Often confused with knot gardens, parterres are larger in scale, and consist of ambitious and complicated designs, with flowering, scroll-like patterns or symbolic themes.

The pattern outlines are typically formed from low hedges of box, with the area in between the hedges filled with dense, colourful bedding plants, gravels of different hues or plants with muted pastel shades. There may also be evergreen shrubs trimmed into precise globes or pyramids, and other clipped, formal shapes in box or yew. A parterre should always be in scale with the size of the house or adjacent terrace.

Parterres became very popular in the Victorian and Edwardian periods, especially in public gardens and parks, where they were transformed into extravagant bedding schemes and complex floral displays.

Topiary

Topiary is the art of creating sculptures in the medium of clipped shrubs and sub-shrubs. The word derives from the Latin word for an ornamental landscape gardener: topiarius. For over 2,000 years, the art and craft of topiary has been practised in gardens; with time, patience, and suitable plants, “living sculptures” can be produced.

Topiary is often used in formal gardens to add shape, height, and sculptural interest; well-clipped pyramids, columns or spirals are used to emphasise the proportion and symmetry of a design. A single piece of topiary can provide a strong focal point, whilst several clipped trees or shrubs can supply the garden with a design cornerstone.

Simple, geometric shapes such as cones or spheres are usually the best forms of topiary for a formal or classical garden, although more whimsical styles such as animals, birds, or objects (such as chess pieces) can add a lively and witty touch. These more elaborate forms may be suitable in both formal and informal gardens, depending on the style, but would be out of place in a wild or naturalistic garden setting.

Slow-growing, dense evergreen plants are the best sources for topiary, such as cultivars of box (Buxus sempervirens), bay laurel (Laurus nobilis), yew (Taxus spp.), myrtle (Eugenia spp., Myrtus spp.), holly (Ilex spp.) and privet (Ligustrum spp.). Ivies (Hedera) may also be clipped and trained over frames to form various shapes.

In our Topiary section, we look at how you can create your own simple or complex topiary pieces, and offer you step-by-step guides to clipping and maintenance.

Sunken Gardens

Changes of level, even relatively small ones, can provide interesting features in a garden. A well-planned sunken garden can add a feeling of adventure and space, as well as bringing another dimension to the design.

Traditional sunken gardens were usually rectangular or square, enclosed by walls, and bordered by paved paths or raised grass so that they could be seen from above. The layout was typically simple and geometrical, with flowerbeds divided by a symmetrical framework of walkways and paths, perhaps with a central sculptural feature, such as a sundial or fountain.

As they are lower than the rest of the garden, sunken gardens are often secluded and sheltered, with a secret, sanctuary-like quality that is particularly restful and appealing. Formal bedding, herbs, and roses lend themselves particularly well for use in sunken gardens.

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I need to write a report on anything having to do with organic gardening.any suggestions?

La Cicada asks: I need to write a report on anything having to do with organic gardening.any suggestions?
Not composting, toads orpesticides

The answer voted best is:

Answer by karen
“Organic gardening is most easily defined as a philosophy that stresses the use of naturally occurring substances and friendly predators and avoiding man-made chemical fertilizers and pesticides.” * This link has forums on tons of subjects relating to organic gardening:

http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/organic/

You can write about how something safe & non-toxic as milk can be use as both a fungicide & a pesticide.
Milk helps control powdery mildew: Why? Some researchers believe that it’s the potassium phosphate in milk that boosts the immune system of plants… making them strong enough to fight off the fungi.
The formula can be as weak as 1 part milk to 9 parts water or as strong as only milk. The weaker solution has to be used more frequently. A 1:1 dilution works for a week. But a 1:8 solution has to be sprayed on every 3 to 4 days.
It also cured a cyclamen plant of a fungi called Botrytis (a blight disease) just by getting rid of rotten leaves & applying leftover breakfast milk on the plant every morning. (1)

As a pesticide, I’ve used sour milk to kill insect eggs on my cabbage plants. If I didn’t have any sour milk on hand, I just added lemon juice to the milk & then poured it over the cabbage heads.
BTW, I also sprinkled white flour on the dampened leaves of the cabbage to get rid of the crawling critters that like to chomp on them. The flour sticks to them & they suffocate & fall off.

I’ve learned just about everything I know about organic gardening from these magazines; “Mother Earth News, ”
& “Organic Gardening” by Rodale Press whose web
site is :http://www.organicgardening.com/

Good luck!

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In organic gardening do you need to add anything besides compost and can you add to much compost?

Bill C asks: In organic gardening do you need to add anything besides compost and can you add to much compost?

The answer voted best is:

Answer by sciencegravy
Organic gardening is just like any other gardening – except that you choose not to use inorganic fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides.

All those things are available in organic forms. Compost is a great organic fertilizer, but there are also tons of commercially produced organic fertilizers you can purchase.

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i need gardening help! what can grow well in indirect sunlight, north central texas?

grae asks: i need gardening help! what can grow well in indirect sunlight, north central texas?
the north side of my house has a small garden area that used to have just hedge bushes…i dug them up and would like to have a cactus garden with indigenous texas plants…the main problem with this area is that it does not receive direct sunlight most of the year…will cactus grow there? is there something else attractive that will? do you have a link to a great beginner gardening website? thank you!

The answer voted best is:

Answer by patsy m
I live in Ft Worth I see cactus of all types but usually away from house. I would do mthe corner so it will get some sunlight a way out from wall. I found that Cannas doing well here most anyplace I put them. Just need water hot evenings and actually will come back again after winter and you can thin and start new spot. OURs got 6 ft tall with miracle grow, which we use for everything. Soak a little with roots then add to water for planting then about every 2 weeks , easy instructions on bag. Worth the cost. TEXAS A M has site under Texas gardens and lots others too.

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Why You Need To Know These Gardening Tips If You Want Your Garden To Succeed

Why You Need To Know These Gardening Tips If You Want Your Garden To Succeed  

Article by Giovanni Bean

Gardening should be a fun experience, not one that is full of difficulty and trouble. With some forethought and planning and the right tools, gardening can become a great way to relax and relieve stress. You’ll also be creating a lovely garden that can enhance the look of any home at the same time. So here are some simple gardening tips to help you get the most out of any yard.Any garden that is successful always begins with some preparatory work. Ideally, you won’t want to plan big areas that need constant weeding, watering or mowing. Work out where you want to put your lawns and where you want to place garden beds for flowers or vegetables in advance. The plants that you choose may require a lot of sunlight, or not too much, so it is up to you to find the optimal place to plant your garden. You need to use common sense when you are designing your garden as you must know what it looks like and where it will be. After all, you want to know you’ll have easy access to garden beds without stepping on other plants. Keep in mind that the more unusual the design of the garden more difficult it may be for you to mow around corners. Next, you should add some fertilizer to the soil to help boost its ability to grow your garden. If possible, getting slow release fertilizer is the best thing to use because it will not overfeed your plants or harm them or the roots as the garden begins to grow. Another thing that helps plants grow are elemental deposits made from previous crops grown in the same soil. So let’s say that you planted sweet peas in your garden 12 months ago; what you should do now is plant soybeans in the same location. It is well-known that peas will add nitrogen to the ground, and since beans and tomatoes need nitrogen to grow, it is a win-win scenario as long as you rotate your crops.Planting a garden begins with knowing what you want in your garden before it is planting season. The reason you want to know ahead of time is that the type of plants that you use will determine your schedule. If you are planning a garden, it is a good idea to make at least part of it edible so you can reap the rewards of your efforts. This is where you plant fruit trees or vegetable plants that will look attractive, but still be producing food for you and your family. Growing your own vegetables can be very satisfying and it’s much easier than most people expect. Gardening will take on a whole new sense of adventure as you plant different colored vegetables to highlight the entire location. Tending to your garden needn’t be a burden. If you plan your gardens around how much time you have to spare for maintenance and think about which plants will help you create the effect you want, it becomes much easier.

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