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How To Make Your Own Compost At Home

For gardeners, high-quality compost is worth its weight in gold. Learn how to make this valuable garden amendment from kitchen scraps and other waste material for healthier soil and a bigger, better harvest.

If you’re looking to turn trash into treasure, few methods are more effective than learning how to compost at home. Composting lets you transform yard waste and kitchen scraps into a “black gold” for the garden that makes it possible to improve your soil and grow healthier plants.

Learning how to make compost might feel intimidating, but the process is surprisingly straightforward. Here’s how to get started.

What is Compost?

Compost is nothing more than decomposed organic material. It’s what’s left behind after soil-based bacteria break down garbage and other natural materials, transforming it into a material that enriches the ground around it. Add this amendment to your garden beds, and plant roots can access its rich nutrient stores to promote better growth.

Nature makes compost whether you’re involved or not. The process happens naturally on every forest floor as leaf litter breaks down into a rich humus. However, it’s possible to speed decomposition along for your garden’s benefit by making compost in your own backyard. Once you get the process started, you’ll always have a space for your organic waste and a healthier garden to show for it.

Benefits of Homemade Compost

There’s a lot to like about making compost at home. Here are the top benefits.

Improves Garden Soil: Compost adds nutrients to the soil and improves its structure and aeration to promote plant growth.
Safe to Use: Some fertilizers burn plant roots and need to be used sparingly in the off season. Compost, in contrast, can go into the garden at any time of year.
Free Soil Nutrition: Homemade compost makes it possible to get a second use out of yard waste and kitchen scraps for the benefit of your garden—materials you might otherwise have to pay to throw away.
romotes Soil Microbial Content: Compost creates food and habitat space for soil microorganisms that are essential for a thriving garden.
Improves Soil Texture: Compost makes clay soil easier to work while improving the water retention rates for sandy soils.

How to Make Compost at Home

There are dozens of ways to make compost at home, but the basic process is straightforward. Essentially, you’ll make a pile with the right ratio of organic material to promote microbial life to break it down into dirt. Here’s an overview of the process.

The best places to make compost must have good airflow, easy water access, partial shade in the summer (to keep it from overheating) and full sun in the winter.

It’s possible to make compost in the open air, but you can speed the process significantly by making it in a closed in. This helps retain heat and keeps hungry animals from feasting on your food scraps. Plus, many compost bins rotate to make stirring the materials easier. If you prefer an outdoor pile, make it big enough to generate heat but small enough to turn by hand.

The right ratio and order of materials is the secret to good compost. All compost requires two types of material:

Every pile also needs enough water to keep things moist and intermixed. Ideally, you want an equal mix of browns and greens in alternating layers. You can add more material to your pile as you collect it, though it’s smart to save it up to add in large amounts to better promote microbial activity. Put the brown materials on bottom as a base with the wet green materials on top to trap heat.

The more surface area on a material, the faster it breaks down. Consider chopping or dicing your scraps first to speed up the composting.

Some materials that seem perfect for home composting shouldn’t be used.

Meat or animal products like bones, eggs, fat scraps, etc. break down slowly and could attract rodents
Weeds and weed seeds won’t break down in compost and could contaminate your garden beds
Clippings from lawns treated with synthetic chemicals may kill beneficial microbes in the soil
Dog droppings harbor bacteria that’s potentially dangerous for humans and won’t break down into quality soil
Diseased or insect ridden plants may reintroduce the problem to your garden bed.
Citrus peels, onions, and garlic may repel earthworms, which are vital for healthy soil.
“Compostable” plastics and other materials will only break down in the high-heat conditions of industrial compost facilities—not your backyard pile.

Now it’s time to let your pile sit and work its microbial magic. You’ll want to check it regularly to ensure it has all the requirements for good compost—heat, moisture, good airflow, and the right ratio of ingredients. Compost piles start to shrink as the materials within the break down. Use a compost aerator, pitchfork, or lever on the compost tumbler to remix the pile and add oxygen to the layers.

You can test the temperature by sticking your hand in the middle of the pile. If it feels warmer than the outside air, the microbes are hard at work. If not, consider remixing it and adding more materials.

Note: highly active compost piles may get hot enough to burn you!

A well-mixed compost smile won’t smell. You’ll know something is wrong if yours picks up the odor of rot or ammonia. This is typically the result of too little oxygen, as anaerobic bacteria have taken over and are creating that distinctive sulfurous smell. Turn the pile to restore its oxygen levels, and add more brown materials if the problem persists.

All compost moves at its own rate. In optimal conditions, you could have a quality soil amendment within four weeks, but the process can take twelve months or longer if the microbes are sluggish. Compost is ready to use once it’s odorless, crumbles within your fingers, and no longer has discernable components. In short, it should look like dark, rich dirt.

To use, sprinkle over your garden beds for a boost of nutrition, ideally two to four weeks before planting. Your plants will thank you for the effort.

What You Should Know About Mosaic Viruses

Mosaic viruses affect many different types of plants grown in your garden. These include tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers and fruits such as grapes, bananas and papayas. Find out how to identify this virus and what to do about it.

What Are Mosaic Viruses?

The term Mosaic Virus is a broad description of many plant viruses that can cause mottled and deformed foliage on at least 150 agricultural and ornamental crops. Home gardeners are most likely to encounter viral problems with a handful of plants that they grow, most likely tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, and beans in their gardens. Still, there are mosaic viruses that affect many other important plants such as fruit (grapes, papayas, and bananas), grains (such as corn, rice, and oats), and even certain houseplants (poinsettias, freesias, and orchids), to name a few.

With dozens of species-specific Mosaic Viruses found worldwide, there is one thing that they all share in common – there is no cure. That said, there are proven ways to eliminate the virus from one’s garden and ways to avoid an outbreak.

Garden Plants Most At Risk

Tomato

The Tomato Mosaic Virus (ToMV) – The Tomato Mosaic Virus (T0MV) is so closely related to the devastating Tobacco Mosaic Virus (TMV), that without submitting samples to a plant disease laboratory, identifying and diagnosing exactly which virus your plants may be suffering from can be nearly impossible. However, the symptoms of most Mosaic Viruses appear identical, their treatment is typically the same.

Look for these tell-tale symptoms and signs on tomato plants (as well as the other crops affected by ToMV and TMV, such as cucumber, pepper, petunia, tobacco and lettuce.).

Cucumber

While cucumbers are also susceptible to Tomato and Tobacco Mosaic Viruses (they are all closely related), they also have their own Mosaic Virus. The Cucumber Mosaic Virus (CMV) affects most plants found in the squash and melon family (Cucurbitaceae). While cucumber crops, in particular, are affected by CMV, this special virus also attacks other crops, including lettuce, peppers, beans, celery, and spinach. It’s easy to see why identifying each Mosaic Virus can be challenging, but how you treat affected plants and solutions is relatively the same.

The cucumber Mosaic Virus manifests itself slightly differently from the tomato and tobacco viruses, but it still includes the typical deformed foliage and miscolored leaves. Affected plants typically start showing symptoms with immature or chlorotic foliage (extreme yellowing of the leaves) followed by curling and distorted young leaves that often appear thread-like. Flowers may abort before bearing fruit, and any fruit that does mature will usually exhibit roughly textured skin.

Pepper

Pepper Mosaic Virus (PMMoV). The pathogen that affects peppers often called the Pepper Mosaic Virus is also known as the Pepper Mild Mottle Virus (PMMoV). Its symptoms are similar to other TMV and are considered closely tied to the entire Tobacco Mosaic Virus family. The Pepper Mosaic Virus is unique to peppers (whereas the Tobacco Mosaic Virus affects all most plants in the tomato family (Solanaceae). Spread mainly by infected seed, it’s the single major pathogen affecting pepper crops worldwide.

How Do Mosaic Viruses Spread?

All of the mosaic viruses spread quickly. Most commonly, transmission occurs via humans as they handle infected plants. Cross-contamination can also occur from gloves, tools, and even clothing, so cleanliness is essential. The virus is also easily spread by contaminated seeds. Since the virus can live in soil for a few years, never re-plant the same crop where infected plants once grew a year or two earlier.

How to Prevent Mosaic Viruses

The best prevention is to remove and destroy infected plants, rotate crops, sanitize and disinfect any tool or material that came in contact with the disease.

While no plant is known to be 100% immune to any specific Mosaic Virus, many hybrid plants or selected ones can be relatively disease resistant. Look for disease-resistant varieties of tomato, bean, and cucumber in seed catalogs and on plant labels. The codes for disease resistance are usually listed at the end of a description. For example, some tomatoes highly resistant to ToTMV and TMV are ‘Sungold’, BHN-444, and ‘Big Beef.’

Tobacco is a significant vector in spreading many Mosaic Viruses. Avoid handling plants if you smoke cigarettes or use any tobacco product. The TMV virus particularly lives on dry tobacco and can easily be spread from fingertips to plants, even to houseplants.

How to Get Rid Of Mosaic Viruses

While you can eliminate the virus from their garden quickly, there is no guarantee that the virus will not return. There is no fungicide that will be effective because the problem is a virus, not a bacteria or fungus. While insects can introduce or spread the pathogen from a neighboring garden that has infected plants, use of pesticides is not effective nor recommended.

You can casually introduce the virus via infected seed as the virus can lay dormant on a dry seed coat for years. Look for seed that has been heat treated or hot water treated. Be cautious when saving your own garden seed or when purchasing seed from private sellers online who may not have sterilized their seed correctly.

More often than not, the virus will appear unexpectedly with no fault of the gardener, as an infected tomato or pepper plant often won’t show the tell-tale mottled or deformed foliage until the plant is nearly mature during the heat of summer. It’s rarely seen on young plants or during cold or wet weather. Remove any infected plants once discovered.

If a crop exhibited the virus in one season, rotate the bed or garden with crops that are not susceptible to the virus for at least two years, or allow the bed to lay fallow. Clean and sterilize anything that came in contact with the plants with a 10% bleach solution, including garden tools, gloves, and even staking material. Growing crops in sterilized potting soil and clean containers will also improve results. Never reuse old potting soil from a previous season.

Take care when cleaning the garden in the fall. Dispose of any affected debris properly (burn or trash, and never introduce it to the compost bin). Be sure to remove any roots and underground parts for plants like potatoes to ensure that none of the pathogens remain within decaying plant material.

How to Water Your Plants Correctly in the Garden?

Learning how to water is an essential step for gardening success. Discover why overhead sprinklers aren’t the best option and the ten watering strategies that will help ensure your garden plants stay healthy and hydrated.

If you want a successful garden, you need to know how to keep it irrigated. Fruits and vegetables are more than 90% water, and plants immediately start to suffer when they can’t get enough of it.

However, watering plants in the garden takes skill and knowledge if you want to do it right. The wrong techniques may lead to shallow roots, diseased plants, and even more wilting than before.

Here’s what you need to know to water plants in the garden for the best results.

How Much Water Do Plants Need?

Most garden plants will thrive with at least 2.5 centimeters of water per week, though many need more during hot, dry spells. This averages 225 liters per 30 square feet of garden space or about 90 minutes per week with a regular sprinkler.

You can install a rain gauge to monitor weekly rainfall and determine when you need to start watering.

Four Types of Garden Irrigation Systems

Here’s an overview of the most common ways to water plants in the garden.

Watering Can

Watering cans let you pour a slow stream of water directly at the base of your plant. They are portable and ideal for container gardens but can become cumbersome for watering large spaces.

Watering Wand

This hose attachment lets you direct water to hard-to-reach places like hanging baskets. They also allow you water directly at soil level without bending over, though you’ll need to walk through your garden rows to use it.

Overhead Sprinkler

Overhead sprinklers usually consist of a rotating sprinkler head attached to a pole, so the water projects out and covers a larger space. While an overhead sprinkler is one of the easiest ways to water a big garden, it also comes with the most downsides.

First, watering plants from the top down means less water reaches the roots before it evaporates. This means much of the water is wasted before the plants take it in. Likewise, overhead sprinkles make it hard to direct the water’s flow, which means you irrigate the paths and weeds in your garden as well as your plants. Finally, wetting plant leaves creates habitat space for bacterial pathogens and fungal spores, which increases the risk of disease.

Drip Irrigation

Drip irrigation can be expensive and time-consuming to install, but it provides the easiest, most efficient watering method. You’ll run the drip tape around the base of your plants, which contains small holes that allows water to leak out slowly. Water leaks through these holes, saturating the soil and reaching plant roots directly.

10 Tips for Successfully Watering Plants in the Garden

Here’s some helpful advice if you want to keep your garden plants well-hydrated.

1. Apply Mulch

Mulching around the base of your plants offers many advantages. It moderates the soil temperature, prevents fungal spores in the soil from splashing onto plant leaves during rain, and slows down evaporation to hold moisture in the ground. For best results, apply a layer of organic material like wood chips at least three inches thick.

2. Test the Soil Before Watering

Watering whenever you feel like it won’t help your plants. Before pulling out the hose, check the soil’s dryness by sticking a wooden dowel six inches down. Wet soil will stick to it, but it will come up clean if the soil is dry and needs water. You may find that the top layer is dry from wind and evaporation, but the soil below is still wet so the area doesn’t require watering.

Prefer a higher-tech solution? Stick a moisture gauge into the soil for a real-time readout of whether you need to water.

3. Adjust Your Watering Strategy by the Season

The time of year affects plants’ water requirements, even when they are kept indoors. That’s because shorter days and chillier weather slow down photosynthesis and prevent plants from needing as much water. Adjust your watering habits accordingly so you don’t stress your plants.

4. Water Early in the Day (Never in the Evening)

Early morning is the most efficient time to water outdoor plants. You’ll lose less moisture to evaporation, and the soil will have a sufficient store of water to help plants withstand the midday heat. Plus, any water on the leaves will have time to evaporate before nightfall, which reduces the chance of fungal and disease problems.

5. Water Deeply (but Infrequently)

You’re doing your garden a disservice if you water it for ten minutes per day. Daily shallow waterings promote shallow roots because it keeps water near the soil surface, making plants less resilient and more susceptible to drying out.

Instead, water deeply a few times a week so the water permeates the soil and encourages root development so plants can better withstand drought conditions.

6. Avoid Overhead Watering on Windy Days

Watering the garden on windy days is a waste of effort, as most of the moisture will evaporate before it reaches the plant roots.

7. Be Aware Of Container Garden Water Needs

Potted plants are extra sensitive to water issues because their soil tends to heat up faster and dry out more quickly than those in the ground. This means you need to monitor the plants more often to prevent them from getting stressed. Generally, the smaller the container, the faster it will dry out.

8. Don’t Forget to Water Trees and Shrubs

While the vegetable garden rarely gets overlooked for watering, many gardeners forget their newly planted trees and shrubs also need a hydration boost. Make sure new plants are thoroughly soaked at least three times a week for the first month after planting and weekly throughout their first two growing seasons.

9. Don’t Overwater

One common gardening mistake is assuming that wilting plants always need more water. In fact, overwatering can cause the same kind of droopiness because too much water prevents plant roots from getting enough oxygen. If your plants look limp, check the soil moisture before assuming they need a drink.

Note: Disease and insect problems can also make plants wilt, so pay attention to other potential causes besides watering issues.

10. Avoid Misting

While a fine spray of water can revive a plant quickly, it’s one of the easiest ways to spread disease by transferring spores into the air, so they migrate to healthy plants.

Water is a crucial component for healthy plants, so perfecting your watering practices will lead to less waste and better results in the long run.

Plant Vegetables: Do the Planning First

The best gardeners put in plenty of work before planting season even begins. Learn what it takes to plan out your garden, from choosing the best seed varieties to deciding on a garden style and setting up a planting schedule.

When it comes to having a successful garden, much of the hard work needs to happen before the growing season even starts. If you don’t have a plan in place for what you want to grow, you might find yourself with the wrong kinds of plants and possibly overwhelmed with weeds in the middle of the summer.

Here’s a guide for planning out your vegetable garden to ensure you start the season out right.

How to Choose Seeds

Your first task when planning a vegetable garden is deciding what to grow.

Plant nurseries and seed catalogs contain more varieties than you could master in decades, so it’s important to practice restraint and make practical choices. In fact, the most common mistake beginning gardeners make is trying to grow too much at once. Every plant has different needs, so committing to more than you can maintain can ruin your enthusiasm before the season’s half over.

Keep yourself from getting overwhelmed by growing six or fewer varieties your first year and adding up to three more every growing season after.

What should you plant? That depends on what you want to eat. Tomatoes are a popular choice because they are relatively easy to grow, come in hundreds of varieties, and are versatile for canning and cooking. Besides, once you taste a home-grown tomato, you’ll never want to return to storebought.

Salad lovers should consider growing various greens, while those with more space may enjoy mastering melons and winter squash. Pay attention to the characteristics and growing requirements for every variety to make sure it fits your garden conditions.

This is also the time to calculate how many plants you need. Think through how much your family will eat over the summer, how much you would freeze or preserve, and how much you want to give away, and plan how much you plant accordingly.

How to Make a Garden Planting Plan

Next, it’s time to determine how you will set up your garden. Popular strategies include row cropping, planting in raised beds, and setting up a small-space container garden.

Row Cropping

The traditional method is to plant each vegetable in rows approximately four feet (1.2m) wide. This provides plenty of space for each plant while still making it possible to reach across the whole bed for weeding.

Raised Beds

Raised beds make it possible to start your garden from scratch. You build or buy a structure, add a quality growing mix, and plant directly into this new soil. Gardeners love raised beds because they make it possible to grow lots of plants in small spaces, and they raise the soil height so you aren’t bending over to nurture the plants.

Container Gardening

For those low on space or who need to keep their garden portable, growing plants in containers is a surprisingly productive way to produce food. Many plants like tomatoes thrive in containers, meaning you can maximize any unused corner of your yard for gardening.

How to Set Up a Summer Planting Guide

Now that you’ve decided on the varieties and gardening style, it’s time to plan where each plant will go. Again, this stage takes careful planning for the best results. Here are the steps to follow to determine what to plant where in your garden space.

1. Sketch Out Your Garden Area

First, make a blueprint of your total growing space, adding dimensions where you can. You can do this by hand on graph paper or a computer if you want a reusable template.

2. Pay Attention to Spacing Needs

Next, look at the spacing requirements for each plant variety and write those down. This gives you a sense of how much of each plant type would fit in each part of the garden so you can optimize it for what you most want to grow.

3. Add Your Top Priority Crops

It’s now time to add plants to your sketch. Start with the crops you care most about to ensure you have enough space for them. You’ll fill in the other varieties around these top priorities.

4. Give Space to Vertical and Vining Crops

Next, plan for the crops that have special requirements. For example, squash plants start small but quickly can take over a square meter or more in trailing vines, and cucumbers and pole beans do best with sturdy trellising. Factor these spacing elements into the garden to keep things organized.

5. Plan for Crop Rotation and Succession

As your garden progresses over the growing season, you’ll start pulling out one-time producers like heads of lettuce and carrots as you eat them. This leaves space for new plants, so plan out what your next growing round will be, so you use the space efficiently all summer.

A Note on Plant Spacing

Many beginning gardeners make the mistake of attempting to cram too many plants in one garden bed. Plants start small, so it’s tempting to pack them in tight to maximize the harvest. However, this strategy only harms your garden in the long run.

As the plants grow, they will start competing with each other for soil nutrients and sunlight. The result may be a garden bed of mediocre plants rather than a few standout super-producers. In short, resist the urge to overcrowd and give each plant the space necessary to thrive.

Eager as you might be to start digging in the dirt immediately, a well-planned garden is the best way to get results. Take the time to plan your garden in advance, and you’ll reap the rewards all summer long.

17 Easy Annual Flowers that You Can Grow from Seeds

17 Easy Annual Flowers That You Can Grow From Seeds

What could be more natural than pushing a seed into the earth, or scattering a handful across the ground? And yet, we all know the disappointment that can come from planting seeds only to find nothing happening. Don’t let this turn you off from trying again! The species on this list are all known to do well when started from seed.

Pot marigold

The Pot marigold is a herbaceous perennial plant often recognized by its thick, orange-yellow blooms with numerous petals. Flowers of the Pot marigold have a long history of table use. They are often served in salads or as a decoration. The flowers can also be made into a similarly-colored dye for foods, textiles, or cosmetic products.

Cornflower

Centaurea cyanus is known by several names, like cornflower and bachelor’s button. This flower has a beautiful blue color that was a favorite of famed Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer. Today it is a Crayola crayon color as well as an HTML color name. The color is defined as a medium to light blue that contains very little green.

Garden cosmos

Garden cosmos (Cosmos bipinnatus) is a herbaceous annual plant often cultivated as an ornamental in temperate regions. Due to its self-sowing ability, Garden cosmos can grow on the same spot for several years, even though it is an annual. Not surprisingly, this quality also made it an invasive species in certain areas of the world.

Sulfur cosmos

Sulfur cosmos (Cosmos sulphureus) is an annual flowering plant native to Mexico, Central America, and South America. Though widely used as an ornamental plant, Sulfur cosmos is considered an invasive species in the United States. It attracts bees and butterflies, including the notable monarch butterfly.

Common sunflower

The Common sunflower is recognizable for its bright flower on a very tall stem. It is often grown in gardens. These flowers have been important in culture: they were worshipped by the ancient Inca people, and today, they represent eco-friendly movements. The artist Vincent Van Gogh made a famous series of paintings about Common sunflower s. Wild versions of the plant branch out to many flower heads, but domesticated plants typically only have one.

Impatiens

Impatiens (Impatiens walleriana) is flowering herbaceous plant native to Eastern Africa. Its vividly colored, elegant flowers have made it one of the most popular ornamental plants in the world. Impatiens is often used as a bedding plant in parks and gardens worldwide.

Common morning-glory

Common morning-glory natives in Mexico and Central America and is commonly planted as an ornamental plant prized for its colorful trumpet-shaped flowers. It is naturalized in temperate and subtropical areas globally and in many places, always grown weedy and is considered to be invasive in many parts of the world.

Hyacinth bean

Hyacinth bean (Lablab purpureus) is a bean plant native to the tropics of Africa. Its beans are consumed as a food and it is also referred to as the butter bean or the poor man’s bean. Young pods are consumed widely as a vegetable in Asia. If not properly cooked, Hyacinth bean is toxic.

Sweet pea

Sweet pea is a staple of flowering climbers and has been since the Victorian era. The Sweet pea, which uses tendrils to climb when correct supports are available, grows to a height of 40 in 80 in. The highly fragrant flowers are purple when found in the wild, but domesticated cultivars can be found in nearly every color.

Flax

Flax (Linum usitatissimum) is a slender, straight, and narrow-leafed annual that produces sky-blue flowers in June and July. After blooming, each flower produces a seed pod of 4 to 10 seeds. Flax is cultivated for its fiber, linseed oil, and edible seeds. It prefers full sun and cool weather and will grow from 2 to 3 feet tall.

Sweet alyssum

Lobularia maritima, commonly known as Sweet alyssum, is an annual flowering plant that grows very low and has a tendency to spread its branches over the soil, creating a mat. That is why this lovely ornamental is an excellent choice for a groundcover or a bedding plant.

Common poppy

The Common poppy (Papaver rhoeas) is an annual flower that carries great symbolism in many cultures. During World War One, the Common poppy could be found blooming between trenches in France and Belgium; afterwards, it became an international symbol of fallen soldiers. This poppy does not produce opium.

Mexican marigold

Mexican marigold is a common garden plant with bright orange or red flowers. Its use in decorative and ceremonial gardens dates back to ancient Aztec civilizations. Not only does Mexican marigold add bright colors, but it is also known to repel insects, rabbits, and deer thanks to its toxic latex.

Nasturtium

The Nasturtium is often associated with the “Elizabeth Linnaeus Phenomenon”, an optical illusion that makes the contrasting orange flowers and green foliage appear to flash brightly as it shakes in the wind. Nasturtium is cultivated as an ornamental plant. The disc-shaped leaves and seed pods are edible, usually getting used as garnishes and dressings.

Common zinnia

The Common zinnia is a popular garden plant. It thrives in relatively dry conditions with good airflow. Garden varieties come in many colors, usually having been hybridized from different wild varieties. Common zinnias are considered an allergy-safe pollen-producing flower.

Rocky mountain zinnia

Rocky mountain zinnia (Zinnia grandiflora) is a small subshrub that can grow to be 22 cm tall. Rocky mountain zinnia is native to the southwestern United States, the southern central United States, and Mexico. This species was traditionally used by the Zuni people in spiritual ceremonies.

Love-in-a-mist

Love-in-a-mist is a member of the buttercup family with leaves that resemble those of the dill plant. The flowers, which bloom in early summer, sport tiny black seeds at their centers. Love-in-a-mist seeds get added to bread in some Middle-Eastern countries with a flavor like oregano or nutmeg. But note that it could be toxic if ingested in quantities.

Time to Remove Weeds! What You Need to Know

Letting weeds get out of control is a common mistake for beginning gardeners. Learn why you need to remove them, the best time of year to weed your garden and the right tools to make the process easy.

By the time the weather starts to warm, your plants should be growing great. Unfortunately, so will the weeds. Once the days get longer and the weather heats up, it’s time to get garden weeds under control so they don’t overwhelm your flower beds and choke out your plants.

Removing weeds may feel overwhelming when you begin. But, take the time to do this garden task well the first time, and you can keep the weeds in check and reap the rewards of your hard work for the rest of the summer.

Here’s what to know before getting started.

Why Remove Weeds from the Garden

Most plant lovers agree that weeds are a constant nuisance. Every square inch of garden space contains weed seeds lying in wait for the right conditions to sprout.

If you disturb the top few inches of soil, you’ll bring these weeds to the surface and spring them into action. Within a few weeks, they will sprout into an eruption of unwanted seedlings that crowd out your plants.

At first glance, these tiny weeds might not seem like a significant concern. They start small and barely take up space in your garden bed. But, give them time to get established, and they will outcompete everything you’ve planted. That’s because weeds have evolved to thrive in almost any growing condition and need very little to thrive.

So, if your garden is subject to cold, excess heat, drought conditions, or other growing complications, chances are your plants will suffer, but you will still grow a healthy crop of weeds.

When to Remove Weeds

The ideal time to get rid of weeds in the garden is when they are large enough to grasp but too small to hurt your plants. For most species, this is when they are between 1-6 inches tall (2.5-15 cm).

Don’t wait until the weeds tower over your plants, as they will shade them out and siphon away water and nutrients, so they end up stunted.

Strategies for Removing Weeds

The best way to remove weeds depends on the setup of your garden. Follow these instructions based on your growing conditions.

In Raised Beds

Raised beds tend to have fewer weeds than other gardening systems because the growing medium isn’t in direct contact with the ground where weed seeds dwell. Likewise, the potting soil typically used to fill them is usually sterile and weed seed free.

Remove weeds by hand whenever you see them to keep the bed clean. Take care to grab each weed by the base around the ground line and pull up slowly so that the roots come free of the soil without snapping off.

Consider using hand tools like a claw rake or hook neck weeder to make this easier. Digging knives like a hori-hori will help to dislodge stubborn roots.

In Garden Rows

While it’s possible to weed large garden rows on your hands and knees, you will save time and your back by using cultivation tools instead. Consider the following:

Garden hoe: This traditional tool has a long handle and angled metal blade for slicing weeds at soil level to shear them from their roots to stop them from sprouting.
Stirrup hoe (hula hoe): Stirrup hoes have an oscillating blade that shuffles through the soil when you use it along a garden bed, making it ideal for removing delicate weeds in loose soil.
Tine weeding rake: This tool has long tines that can fit around plants to remove weeds just as they emerge from the soil.
Flame Weeder: Similar to a blow torch, this tool lets you direct scorching heat at tiny weeds to kill them quickly.

In Mulched Beds

Weeds that sprout in mulched beds tend to have strong taproots because they needed to work harder to break through the woody material and reach the sunlight. Make sure you pull the entire root out of the ground by pushing the mulch temporarily aside, grabbing the weed by the base, and pulling upwards. If the root doesn’t budge, use a hand fork to loosen the soil around the stem.

You can save your knees by getting a foam gardening mat to kneel on.

11 Ways to Prevent Weeds for the Long Term

Removing garden weeds is a constant challenge, but taking these steps can reduce their spread so you can more easily stay on top of them.

Disturb the soil as little as possible to minimize bringing weed seeds to the surface.
Add two inches (5 centimeters) of mulch over the bare soil to deprive weed seeds of light and reduce the chance they germinate.
Use landscaping fabric when establishing new garden beds to “bury” weed seeds below it and prevent them from getting access to light. Cut a small hole in the material for every new plant you add.
Weed only after a rain or when the soil is wet as the roots will more easily come out of the ground.
Always weed before the plants have formed seed heads, so you don’t scatter the seeds through the soil as you remove them. If you’re pressed for time, cut off the weed’s flower heads as they form so the plant won’t produce seeds. You can then remove the roots and stem when convenient.
Weed each bed thoroughly so small weeds aren’t left behind.
Never use weeds in your compost, as you may accidentally introduce a new generation of weed seeds into your garden beds when you use it.
Avoid overfertilizing and only add fertilizer once the bed is weed-free, so you don’t nourish the weeds by mistake.
Plant a ground cover over your garden bed to cover bare soil and minimize space for weed seeds to sprout.
Use drip irrigation to target your watering and avoid watering weed seeds.
Keep the area surrounding your garden mowed and weed-free to prevent weed seeds from blowing over from neighboring plants.

If you want fast results without putting in manual labor, consider spraying a foliar herbicide over your garden bed to kill off weeds quickly. They should brown and die within a day or two. However, most of these sprays will kill every plant they touch, so use them carefully and only as a last resort.

How to Prune Spring Flowering Shrubs

Pruning your spring flowering shrubs will reward you with lush new growth and a lot more flowers next year. Many shrubs will only flower on new wood. It’s important to encourage this new growth.

Spring flowering shrubs kick off the gardening season with spectacular displays of flowers. Lilacs (Syringa sp.), mock orange (Philadelphus sp.), and forsythia are often considered beloved old-fashioned shrubs that can live for generations. Over time, however, the quality and quantity of bloom can decrease as plants grow too woody and mature. This guide will explain how to prune and maintain these beloved spring shrubs to ensure loads of flowers to enjoy for years.

Why Prune Your Flowering Shrubs?

Flowering shrubs, such as lilacs, mock orange, and forsythia, are all woody plants that bloom best on what horticulturists call ‘new wood.’ Generally, quick-growing shrubs will produce too much old wood or become over-run with suckers, and eventually will not bloom. Hard pruning is in order, but few gardeners will want to cut the shrub entirely to the ground.

Professional horticulturists practice a method called the ‘One-Third Rule,’ which involves removing one-third of the oldest branches every spring at ground level. This method ensures a continuous renewal of branches that will produce flowers in abundance.

When to Prune Flowering Shrubs.

Timing is everything, especially with spring-blooming shrubs. The window is small, between just after flowering and 2 or 3 weeks after. One should remember that the plant’s entire annual growth will happen in a month or two after flowering.

Never prune spring-flowering shrubs in mid to late summer, fall, or winter. Pruning must be done in early spring or immediately after they bloom to ensure that the shrub can produce flower buds for the following year. This applies to deciduous shrubs such as lilacs, mock orange, spirea, most woody roses (Rosa sp.), forsythia, deutzia, honeysuckle (Lonicera sp.), butterfly bush (Buddleja sp.), and weigela.

Pruning is very beneficial to some hydrangeas, though not all (see below). Furthermore, pruning should be avoided on evergreen shrubs such as rhododendron, camellia, and even deciduous azaleas as they will not benefit from such treatment.

How to Prune Flowering Shrubs.

There are multiple goals when it comes to pruning deciduous blooming shrubs. First, remove any dead or damaged wood. This could include branches that cross over each other or simply branches that have died or look too old. Second, pruning should allow air and light to reach through the entire shrub while being aesthetically pleasing. A common mistake is to try and shape such shrubs into a topiary, a standard, or a ball. Most blooming shrubs don’t comply, given their natural upright or vase-shaped habit, which one should encourage.

Remove one-third of the oldest branches to near ground level and any suckers. Avoid reducing the rest of the shrubs’ established stems that may impact future flower buds. Younger shrubs may benefit from just reducing the current years’ growth (such as with lilacs). In this case, cut just above a pair of leaves, as this is where flower buds will form and eventually stems next year.

What About Hydrangeas?

The trick to pruning hydrangeas is demystify them first. Common names and groups abound, if you don’t know the difference between a smooth hydrangea and a bigleaf hydrangea, a few tips will help.

First, research the species if you know what it is. Hydrangea macrophylla (commonly referred to as a ‘bigleaf hydrangea’) blooms on old wood and should only be carefully pruned to remove dead growth every spring. If you live in a mild climate and your hydrangea has colorful flowers, blue mop heads, or bright pink flowers, you probably have H. macrophylla. These hydrangeas often suffer in severe winter conditions.

On the other hand, if your hydrangea has large white flowers with big leaves, it’s probably H. arborescens. The names are familiar: ‘Incrediball’, ‘Annabelle’, ‘Little Lime’. These flowers don’t blush to pink but usually turn lime green through late summer and eventually buff-colored in fall. All H. arborescens must be pruned hard every spring to 6 inches above the ground. This will stimulate the strongest and most robust branches and the largest flowers. If you skip pruning them for a year, the flower will be smaller but still abundant.

The third group of common hydrangeas is often called tree hydrangeas: H. paniculata. The leaves are pointed at the tips, and the cone-shaped flower heads generally emerge completely white but age with a blush of pink or mauve tint. These can be trained to a tree form (a standard) or as a shrub. The cultivar names too are familiar (‘Pinky Winky,’ ‘Pee Gee,’ or ‘Limelight’). All H. paniculata bloom on new wood, so pruning is encouraged. Hard pruning will result in longer stems with flowers great for cutting. Light pruning (or none at all) will result in shorter stems and smaller flower heads.

Other hydrangeas, such as oakleaf and lacecap, require slightly different care. Oakleaf hydrangea (H. quercifolia) blooms only on old wood, so prune carefully just after bloom and only if needed. Lacecap types can be either H. macrophylla or H. arborescens, so you may need to do some research to identify what species you have. Hydrangea macrophylla ssp. serrata tends to be slightly more hardy in the north, blooming from previous buds in pink and blue. Flowering may be sporadic in cold climates, so prune only when winter-kill is present.

However, some cultivars of H. arborescens produce lacecap flowers, which should be pruned hard every spring before their buds break. This includes the summer blooming cultivar ‘Haas Halo,’ which can produce lace-cap flowers up to 14″ in diameter after a hard pruning nearly to the ground every late winter.

Best Tools for Pruning Flowering Shrubs

Hand Pruners- Hand-held pruning sheers or secateurs are best for the cleanest cuts. Look for brands that cut with a blade (known as bi-pass pruners) as they will produce the cleanest cut. Clean cuts are easier to make and reduce stress and damage to the shrub.

Loppers – Long-handled loppers (the kind that requires two hands to use) are essential for larger branches.

Saw – A shard pruning saw is often necessary for old or dead branches with a diameter of 2″ or more. Dead wood is often more challenging to cut with lopper or pruners.

15 Perennial Plants That Bloom in Early Springtime

After the long winter months, we all want a pop of color to liven up our outdoor spaces! As soon as spring shows its face, you can count on these spectacular and rather hardy plants to bloom and brighten up your garden.

Virginia bluebells

Virginia bluebells (Mertensia virginica) is native to eastern North America. However, it’s being increasingly threatened in its original environment by both destruction of habitat and the obstruction of natural river flooding. It has nearly hollow stems, so they’re fragile and break easily. Flowers start off pink, and then gradually turn light blue.

Smooth solomons-seal

Smooth solomons-seal (Polygonatum biflorum) has scars on its rhizome (an underground stem) that look like ancient Hebrew writing – thus the name that references the Hebrew King Solomon. It produces small white bell-shaped flowers in spring and blue-purple berries afterwards. Care must be taken since the berries are poisonous to human.

Common lungwort

Common lungwort is an evergreen perennial, and “Pulmoa” from its genus name means “lung” in Latin. If you look closely, you’ll see that the Common lungwort’s leaves have the appearance of a somewhat unhealthy lung. The unique flowers of Common lungwort are red at first and change to blue as the pH of the plant changes.

Moss phlox

Moss phlox (Phlox subulata) is a flowering plant native to the United States. The Latin name Phlox subulata means needle-shaped, which describes its leaves. Moss phlox is sometimes confused with marijuana due to its similar smell.

Lenten rose

The Lenten rose has been cultivated since the Germans began to do so in the mid-1800s, with varieties being created in the United Kingdom shortly after. Between the 1920s and 1960s, there was little interest in its cultivation until Helen Ballard bred new varieties. They blooming early in the year hence they get their name of Lenten rose.

Primrose

Primrose is a welcome sight in an early spring landscape. The vibrant colors of the flowers and a light, delicate scent make the Primrose a favorite. This plant provides vibrant color to any container or flowerbed, with hues available in yellow, pink, purple, blue, orange, red, white and bi-color.

Bleeding heart

Bleeding heart is a highly valued flowering plant belonging to the poppy family. The flowers are a conventional heart shape, which explains its name, with a small droplet that falls just beneath the flower. The seeds contain elaiosome, a popular food source for ants. They take the seeds to their anthills, aiding in seed dispersal.

Heartleaf bergenia

Heartleaf bergenia (Bergenia crassifolia) is a plant species that is tolerant to cold and warm climates. This species has leaves that change color and range from rust brown to brown-red. Heartleaf bergenia leaves are used to make tea in Siberia. Its latin name Bergenia crassifolia means thick-leaved.

Siberian bugloss

Siberian bugloss (Brunnera macrophylla) is a flowering plant native to the Caucasus. Siberian bugloss is also known as the forget-me-not. The latin name Brunnera macrophylla means large leaves.

Bloodroot

Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis) is a plant species native to eastern North America. In the wild its early spring blooms can be seen spreading across the forest floor or along riverbanks. Its common name comes from its reddish orange-sap, which can be made into a dye. Bloodroot seeds are often spread by ants who take them back to their nests.

Common periwinkle

Common periwinkle (Vinca minor) is a trailing evergreen subshrub that forms large, dense colonies. Because of this quality, Common periwinkle is commonly used in landscaping as a groundcover. It is a mildly toxic plant, but due to its pungent taste, it rarely gets ingested in amounts significant enough to cause toxic effects.

Snowdrop

A herald of spring, the Snowdrop grows up to around 7-15 cm tall. Sprouting from bulbs, the drooping bell-shaped white flowers are accompanied by two slender, erect leaves. These flowers have been noted throughout history, with references going as far back as the fourth century.

Wild daffodil

Wild daffodil (Narcissus pseudonarcissus) is a perennial flower that grows from bulbs. It is a common ornamental plant, famous for its pale-yellow flowers with a bright-yellow central trumpet. In the wild, Narcissus pseudonarcissus can be found in forests, grasslands, and rocky terrains. Its bulbs and leaves are poisonous when ingested.

Siberian squill

Siberian squill (Scilla siberica) belongs to the lily family. Its common name is a misnomer, since it’s not native to Siberia. Siberian squill originated in other parts of Russia. It’s a plant that’s been cultivated since 1796 and grows best in partial sunlight.

Dutch crocus

Dutch crocus (Crocus vernus) is an early spring blooming bulb with large flowers that range in color from yellow, white, and purple to striped or bronze. The plant grows 4 to 6 inches tall in full sun or partial shade. Makes a colorful display when planted under trees, in rock gardens, or in flower beds.

Why Pollinators Are Essential for Your Garden

Why Pollinators Are Essential For Your Garden

Did you know that without pollinators like bees in our garden, we would not have fruiting crops such as tomatoes, peppers, apples and pears? You see, these amazing little insects help to move pollen from flower to flower and this initiates fruiting. Find out how.

Did you know that without pollinators in your garden, many of the vegetables that you grow would not produce fruit or seeds that you can save and use for the next crop? This is because pollinators, such as bees, help to fertilize the flowers that will eventually produce the fruit.

We grow a large variety of vegetables in our home gardens that actually produce fruit that we can consume. These include tomatoes, eggplants, zucchinis or summer squash, cucumbers, sweet corn, peppers, pumpkins, peas and beans. Many fruits such as apples, pears, peaches and melons also require pollination.

In fact, there are many fruit trees that need to be pollinated by a different variety of the same fruit. For example, apples and avocados need to be cross-pollinated from flowers of a tree that produces a different variety of the same fruit.

But, for these plants to produce fruit, the flowers have to be fertilized. This involves transferring pollen from one flower to another. Or, it can mean just the transfer of pollen from the anthers to the stigma on the same flower. Each grain of pollen will produce a fine tendril that will grow down the style and into the ovary of the flower. This is where fertilization then occurs.

Therefore, without pollination, most fruit producing plants cannot be fertilized and, hence, they won’t produce any fruit.

What Are the Most Common Pollinators?

You guessed it! Bees are the most common and efficient pollinators that we all know. They fly from flower to flower to gather nectar to make honey. As they visit each flower, their tiny legs inadvertently collect the pollen. This pollen is then deposited on the next flower that the bee visits. Isn’t nature wonderful?

Besides bees, there are many other insects that help to pollinate our plants.

Hoverflies

Hoverflies are small flies with yellow bands on their black bodies. You may have noticed these hovering above your plants before quickly darting off to another flower.

Like bees, hoverflies collect the nectar from flowers and the pollen sticks to their bodies. This pollen is then deposited on the next flower that they visit.

Butterflies

Butterflies are also nectar feeders. Like bees and hoverflies, they collect the pollen on their bodies and then drop it onto another flower as they move around.

Moths

Some moths are also nectar gatherers and will spread pollen from one flower to an adjacent one.

Hummingbirds

As you may be aware, hummingbirds love nectar and they consume copious amounts of it on a daily basis. So, if you’re lucky enough to have hummingbirds visit your garden, you can be assured that they’re busy pollinating many of your plants.

How Pollination Works

Some plants have both male and female flowers. These include pumpkins and summer squash. To produce fruit, the pollen from the male flowers must be deposited onto the stigma on the female flower.

Once this occurs, fertilization begins. Generally, the ovary of the female flower will start to swell and eventually develop into a full grown fruit. This fruit contains the seeds that can be collected to plant the next crop.

Other plants have flowers that are self-fertile. This means that the anthers containing the pollen and the stigma are produced on the same flower. However, the pollen still needs to be moved from the anther to the stigma for fertilization to occur.

There are other factors that can contribute to pollination such as the wind or people and animals brushing past the plants which aids in the transfer of pollen. Additionally, bats and birds can also help with the pollinating process.

However, the most common method of pollination is through the aid of nectar-gathering insects.

How to Attract Pollinators to Your Garden

The best way to attract pollinators to your garden is to plant the flowers that commonly attract them. This is one of the reasons that many gardeners also plant flowers in their veggie patch.

So, what flowers are pollinators attracted to? Different pollinators are attracted to specific colors. But, most importantly, the flowers that you plant should be rich in nectar.

Here are a few suggestions.

Flowers to Attract Bees

Most bees are attracted to blue, white and yellow flowers. Therefore, you should consider planting lavender, daisies, calendulas, basil and mint. Allow some of the basil and mint plants to flower so that they will attract the bees.

Flowers to Attract Hoverflies

Hoverflies don’t have tongues to collect nectar with. Therefore, they need flowers that are open and easily accessible. Popular flowers to attract hoverflies include fennel, dahlias, autumn asters, marigolds, apple blossoms, calendulas and sweet alyssum.

Flowers to Attract Butterflies

Butterflies are attracted to many different nectar-rich flowers. These include marigolds, nasturtiums, calendulas, sage, daisies, oregano, phlox and buddleia (butterfly bush).

Practices to Avoid

If you want to attract pollinators to your garden, and you should, avoid using insecticides. Most insecticides will not only kill the harmful insects but they’ll also kill beneficial ones.

It’s far better to attract beneficial insects to your garden and create an ecosystem where nature helps you to produce a lovely crop. Consider hoverflies, for instance. They’re not only useful pollinators but their larva also feeds on aphids.

Final Thoughts

Attracting pollinators to your garden is vitally important if you want your fruits and vegetables to produce a healthy harvest. Bees, butterflies, hoverflies and hummingbirds help to spread pollen from one flower to another to stimulate the fertilization process.

Without pollinators, your plants would not produce any fruits. Plus, as fruits also contain seeds, there will be no seeds to plant another crop. In fact, if there were no pollinators left on the planet, all the plants would eventually die out.

So, now you understand why it’s so important to attract and protect the pollinators that visit your garden. Most importantly, avoid using insecticides if you can, so that these beneficial insects are protected.

It’s also important to plant lots of nectar-rich flowers around your garden to attract these beneficial insects. You can plant flowers within your veggie patch or as a border around the edge.

This way, you’ll be assured of a bumper crop of deliciously fresh vegetables and fruits.

Transplanting Seedlings into the Garden

Transplanting Seedlings Into the Garden

Many home-grown plants get their starts in seedling modules or planters. They have to be carefully transplanted into the garden itself before they reach their full potential. Let’s have a look at how to do that!

Whether your seedlings were raised indoors, in a greenhouse, or outside, they will each eventually need to be moved to a flowerbed, container, or vegetable garden. While this isn’t a difficult task, taking the time to learn a few tips will always improve your results.

Prepare the Bed for the Seedlings

The hard work of preparing the vegetable bed should be completed before the delicate new plants arrive. Turn, till, or loosen the soil and mix in any necessary amendments such as limestone or compost. Lay down boards on which to walk to avoid compacting the soil, and make sure you have water and mulch ready. If you use plant labels, prepare them too, along with a pencil, markers, stakes, and twine. If your plants will need pest-protection measures such as floating row covers or a wire cloche, prepare those ahead of time as well.

Research

Knowing your plants’ root sensitivity will be important to your success. Roots on young plants are generally tender and break easily, but some are more sensitive than others. Most annual and perennial seedlings are resilient and can handle light root damage, but others are not so forgiving. Those with taproots like poppies, larkspurs, and carrots resent any root disturbance. If a seed packet description advises you to ‘direct sow then thin seedlings,’ there’s a good chance the species doesn’t like transplantation.

Spacing

Before removing the seedlings, lay your individual pots out where you intend to plant them. Measure out the spacing. Proper spacing often looks wider than you imagine, but the extra room will result in healthier plants. Space rows out in a similar manner.

Even cabbage and broccoli appreciate wide spacing and will reward you with bigger harvests. Flowers can often be planted closer together, but again, it depends on what you’re trying to achieve. In a flower border, larger groupings are often more effective, especially if you arrange dozens of individual plants.

Extract Your Seedlings

While direct-sow-only flowers can be carefully pre-started in modules and plug trays, it does take some skill and experience to master the transplanting technique. One or two seeds per pot will result in a single plant, and it’s critical to carefully extract the entire root ball without disturbing the roots. When in doubt, always tip a young plant out of its cell by tapping on the bottom or by using a butter knife or flat tool along the edge of the pot to help extract the soil ball in its entirety. It is much like trying to take a cake out of its pan. Many direct-sow-only plants can be transplanted into the garden using this method.

Seed modules are rather foolproof. Moving seedlings from a seedbed, however, can be trickier. Start by lifting small seedlings out carefully with a trowel or even a kitchen fork or teaspoon. Keep an empty seed tray nearby so you have a place to put them – it is easier to transport many seedlings laying on their sides. Separate plants carefully and try to do it as quickly as possible to limit the roots’ exposure to outside elements.

Tend Your Plants

In the case of most young flower plants, it’s good to pinch or prune them once they are set out in the garden. The likes of snapdragons, sweetpeas, or zinnias all benefit from pinching just as they form their third pair of leaves. Estate growers and flower farmers nearly always pinch the primary growing tip on their young seedlings if they want bushier plants and many blooms.

If, on the other hand, the goal is taller stems and longer stalks, seedlings should be set out in a grid and planted closer together. Even in a flower border, closer plants will achieve a completely different effect than those set further apart. A snapdragon left un-pinched may grow a single tall stalk of flowers, but that will come at the cost of future blooms. A pinched plant will produce shorter stalks but a bushier appearance with more flowers.

If possible, try to transplant either early in the morning, in the evening, or on overcast days. In this way, you will avoid the harshest of the sun’s heat and radiation, and it will reduce stress on your new plants.

Newly transplanted seedlings will need water right away. Keep a watering can ready even if it rained just the day before.

Plan for the End Goal

If your seedlings are intended for a cut flower garden, they can be placed closer together and set out in rows or grids to help produce long stems. Since you’ll be cutting stems in bulk, the garden’s visual effect isn’t as critical.

If planting flowers into a border or a flowerbed, design is more important. Spacing is key, especially if plants will be growing along with perennials or small shrubs and bulbs. Always consider the fully-grown size of neighboring plants, but also think about your final planting scheme. In a border, one can get much more imaginative as the flowers will need to deliver beauty over a longer time than those in a cut flower bed.

Plant intentionally, always visualizing the final effect. If integrating flower seedlings into a mixed border with perennials, grasses, and small shrubs like roses, be creative, keeping in mind your intended final result.

Some flowers naturally grow in a scattered arrangement, the way they might if their seeds were dispersed in the wild. Matrix plantings are in vogue and appear more natural to the eye. The cloud-like effect of tall wands of flowers scattered randomly among long grasses adds an ethereal quality to your garden, and often can only be achieved by growing many plants at once.

Another planting style is to group solid colors together to create a bulk effect – as if 30 plants are actually all one. Such large swaths make stunning borders, especially if two or three types are repeated within the space. A more traditional method might be to plant 3-5 flowers together in smaller clumps between perennials and grasses. No matter what direction you choose, always plan ahead to be sure you have the space for such exuberance.

Starting seedlings in your home and transplanting them into the garden is a highly efficient way to grow many plants at once, often for less money than a single mature plant at the garden center. Take your time, plan it out, and give a transplant garden a try!