Why plant a Wildflower Garden?

 

 There are several advantages to wildflower gardens:

• They have a delicate beauty and seem to fit into any landscape.
• Once established wildflowers are easy to maintain and use less water, a plus in areas that suffer from droughts.
• They seem to adapt to whatever weather conditions that you have even if your summer is cold, damp or too dry.
• Wildflowers are usually flowers native to the area and they grow strong with little insect or diseases.
  Bird love wildflowers and will provide entertainment with their activity.
• Planting wildflowers is also good for the environment and for wildlife. Wildflowers feed the birds naturally and will provide safe cover for rabbits and chipmunks.

Perennial wildflowers will come back year after year and provide an easy way to have a beautiful garden of flowers with less work and expense. Add rocks to the garden area or old root pieces and you have a rustic look that will add peace and tranquility to a section of your backyard oasis.  I like to tuck wildflowers in small corners that are usually overlooked.

When planting your wildflower garden, make sure all weeds are out of the garden area you have selected. This will give you wildflowers a better chance of establishing themselves.

You can purchase wildflower seeds at a gardening store or nursery. You might even be able to gather some yourself to use the following year or ask friends who collect seeds if they any extra wildflowers seeds.

I try to pick seeds that are perennial flowers. Your garden will take less work with perennial wildflowers and will save you money and time.

And make sure you buy enough seeds to cover the area of land you wish to use. The seed packets will give you this information or ask an employee for advice. And in many stores you can get the roll out mats with seeds embedded in the mat. I have used these and they work very well.

How to plant a wildflower garden
Prepare the soil by loosening it with a rake or shovel. I add compost to ensure it is rich soil that will help flowers to grow well for years to come. And make sure all weeds and weed roots have been removed for the soil.

Loosen the soil again on the day you plan to plant the flower seeds. Dig a small hole, and drop in one or two seeds for wildflowers. Continue this process until the area is planted. I like to sprinkle some seeds about the area and then use the rake to mix them into the soil. You get a more natural look using this method.

Water the seeds frequently. Keep the area lightly moist until seedlings appear. This is usually a week or 10 days. You may wish to add a protective border around the area where you have planted seeds to protect you newly planted wildflower garden from children and pets.

Wildflower gardens are beautiful and once they start to grow you will be able to enjoy their color and fragrance for many years to come.

Common Plant Problems for indoor or outdoor plants

 

Plants add color and purpose to the home and garden. They also add to the patio, balcony or any small space garden and will create an instant backyard oasis feel indoors or out.

And although many people think plants just need water, they do experience problems that will make them look pitiful.

Here’s how to identify common problems with plants. With care and observing you plants hopefully you will avoid the most common plant problems and diseases.

Check the moisture level in the dirt.

Both too much water and too little water will create plant problems. And many people are surprised to learn too much water creates more problems that too little.

Sticking your pinky finger in all the way to your hand can easily check soil moisture. This checks the depth of moisture further down into the soil. Check the soil over by the edge of the pot to make sure you dont hurt the plants roots.

To keep the soil from drying out on top add a light mulch to your plants soil. One quarter of an inch will be fine.

Check the look of the top of the soil. If it’s crusty, gently scrap the top of the soil off and replace it with fresh soil. If it looks moldy, scrap that off also.

Check the roots of the plant.

This can be done by gently pulling the plant out of the container if it’s in a pot. If the roots look brittle or discolored than the problem could be in your soil.

Change the soil and be sure that the excess water has a way to escape so that the roots aren’t drowning and can breath properly. Yes, too much water can choke a plants root.

If the plant is in the ground, dig gently by the plant to check its roots. You can try to add new soil by the sides of the plant, but if the plant is in very bad shape, its best to remove it from the garden.

If you plants are just looking tired and lack color it may be necessary for you to move the plants or flowers to a new location.  They may need more sun, shade or better drainage. If you notice white spores growing on the bottom of the leaves, this is a sign that the plant needs more light. 

Check for holes or missing buds. This is often an indication of insect or pest problems that are eating at your plants. Many insects are very small and you need to look carefully to see them. Am insect problem left untreated can kill a plant and spread to other plants.

Plant Tip: If I notice my plants seem to have a soil problem I will water them with a chamomile tea. Chamomile tea has a natural bacterial control that will control small bacteria on the soil. Chamomile tea has saved many plants.

Caring for your lawn along with your family

 

Do you want to get some work done along with play? Well, the ingenuous solution is to make lawn care a combined family activity. There are numerous benefits of doing this. 

You, as a family get to spend time together and that too in a productive way. When you involve your kids in lawn care along with you, it is a great way of establishing rapport with them.

Also, by giving them lessons on how to build a beautiful and clean lawn, you are instilling valuable lessons of responsibility in them. Kids anyways yearn to help parents with outdoor tasks as it makes them feel grown up. If you present lawn care as an exciting venture, you will have a devoted bunch to help you whenever you want them to.

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However, even though the idea seems great, is it as simple to put in operation as it sounds? Well, it could be if you put some thought in to it. Family lawn care can become a problem if you are always neck deep in your work and do not find the time to spend time together with your family.

To get rid of embarrassing situations later, the best idea would be to go in for some planning. Begin by delegating particular tasks to everyone and also fix schedules which you can follow with your work. This way, you won’t have to bear the stigma of broken promises later.

If you are wondering how to assign tasks to your children, make a decision based on their age.

With younger children, you could ask them to go to the garden store and get the seeds for grass planting.

On the other hand, if your children are older, they could lend a hand in sowing the grass seeds. You have to exercise great caution when it comes to handling fertilizers, especially the chemical ones irrespective of the age of your child.

It is better not to let kids deal with fertilizers even if they are older because of the possibility of dangerous consequences.

Similarly with lawnmowers, you need to be careful when kids are around. It would be advisable to keep kids away from lawnmowers. Since this equipment can be hazardous, do not let them even lay a hand on the lawnmower unless you are around to keep an eye on them.

If you have very small kids who are persistent about their desire to help you with the mower, you can indulge them by seating them on your shoulder and asking them for instructions to help you operate the lawnmower. After some time, you can take them to the house while you keep on with your lawn mowing work.