You can use garden forks to open up the earth to lift out plants and weeds. Garden forks, spading forks and digging forks are garden tools with a handle and usually four short sturdy tines. They are generally used for loosening, lifting and turning the soil in gardening.

They are similar to garden spades but for the most part are better because the tines will allow you to push the tool into the ground easier. They can rake out stones and weeds and easily break up clods of dirt. The stones will not stop them from penetrating the ground and they will not cut through the weed roots as does the garden spade.

Fall garden flowers should be incorporated in the landscape along with the shrubs and trees that will bear colorful fall leaves. Planting fall garden flowers makes a landscaping enthusiast stand out. He will plant some tender annuals such as marigolds in between some of the other fall flowers to bring color into the garden and landscaping during the fall months.

Planting fall flowers livens up the landscaping that is already being graced by the fall foliage of your shrubs and trees. If your landscaping only has evergreen trees and shrubs you can always add some of the non-living decorations such as carved pumpkins, gourds, scarecrows, or cornstalks. When do you begin fall flower plantings? You really do not want to wait until fall unless you are in a warm climate. Even if you live in the North it may still be too hot to plant in the first part of August. You almost have to play it by ear. Some summers, mid-to-late August will be rainy periods which would be the perfect time to plant your fall flowers. But sometimes August will give you excessive heat so it would be better to plant in early September.

Home aromatherapy in the garden can be accomplished by planting aromatic herbs and flowers. Home aromatherapy and the use of herbs are considered the spice of life, they are very useful plants, and their fragrant aromas perk up our senses. Many of them will add substantial flavor to whatever you are cooking. A wonderful way to grow these aromatic flowers and herbs is in good-size containers that can be lifted to eye and nose level. This will make them easy to tend to, appreciate their aromas, and to harvest when we need them. Besides the herbs for cooking, you may like to grow some herbs that are traditionally valued and used for medicinal purposes.

Most of the herbs like plenty of sun and moderate watering, but the mints like to have moist soil and will tolerate some shade. So for best results choose a sunny spot and fill a sturdy wood planter with drainage holes with well-drained sandy loam and you are ready to plant. In order to maintain the taste and aroma of your herbs you want to keep mulching and fertilizing to a minimum. It is better to give up a lush growth than aroma and taste. Growing herbs in containers helps to foil the weeds and it takes less water over ground planting. When you fill those pots, always leave room for watering about an inch from the soil surface and the rim of the container. You also want to check the planter regularly for dryness; most plants will need about an inch of water a week.

Fall crocus, autumn crocus, meadow saffron, and naked boys are the common names for these beautiful flowers. The fall crocus botanical name is colchicum species, hybrids, and cultivars. The bloom time for these flowers is late summer and into fall.

You want to plant the irregular shaped colchicum bulbs in late summer as soon as they have been purchased. If you delay planting you might find that the flowers have already started blooming inside the package, this can cause some stress to the corms. You need to plant them 4 to 5 inches deep in well-drained, fertile soil in the sun or light shade. Colchicums will tolerate drought quite well throughout the summer but could rot if the soil remains too wet. If you plant them in your lawn, delay your spring mowing until the foliage from the bulbs has ripened - in rough grass you will seldom have a problem. If landscape planting under a specimen tree or shrub, you want to mass the colchicums so they will bloom after you remove your summer annuals, being careful so you do not disturb the corms when planting the annuals. Remember the foliage should fit into all your spring plans. You also want to protect the blossoms from slugs because they like to feed on them.

Compost Tools come in very handy now that composting has become the newest trend in home gardening. Acquiring the right compost tools to manage organic material at home will lessen the amount of waste that gets sent to the landfills and creates an asset to your landscaping and gardens.

Compost Pails - These containers are very handy for collecting your kitchen scraps. They are usually small pails made of chrome or ceramic that can hold a gallon or more of kitchen scraps that sit on your counter top. These containers are air tight and will contain a replaceable carbon filter to combat any odors. These handy compost pails give you the opportunity to stockpile the scraps for several days before making a trip out to the compost bin.

Pond flowers are a variety of fascinating plants that will grow in a water garden. Most of the pond flowers will not grow anywhere else except for that type of environment.

The most colorful of the garden pond flowers are the water lilies including the hardy and tropical ones. Your hardy water lilies can live outdoors all year round especially if the roots are sufficiently covered with water or soil that will prevent them from freezing. The flowers and leaves of these plants will float on the waters surface. During sunny days the flowers will open during the morning and close up in the middle part of afternoon. They can be purchased in all colors except for blue. Both day and night blooming tropical lilies will remain hardy only in frost-free climates. In the colder climates they will grow as annuals and need to be replaced every year. The leaves of the tropical lilies will float but their flowers have stout stems that keep them well above the surface of the water.

Vacation watering is necessary in order to enjoy your time away from home. There are vacation watering solutions for both indoor plants and your outside flower garden, and vegetable garden. Let's start off with some indoor suggestions:

If you are only going to be gone for a couple of days just more houseplants away from the direct sunlight. This will slow down their growth and help them to retain some moisture but be sure to water them thoroughly just before you leave. The containers your houseplants are in should have the capability of retaining water. The containers made of glazed ceramic, fiberglass, and plastic retain water but those planted in wood, cement or terra cotta the water will evaporate more quickly. Dark colored pots will absorb heat and dry out the soil faster. Sometimes vacation watering spikes that insert right into the soil will work.

Upside down tomato plants will not get any weeds because you are not growing them in the ground. A garden with an upside down tomato plant will grow larger because the water will flow directly where they need it and they will become healthy and robust.

Growing an upside down tomato stays healthier if watered enough and is a great way to grow tomatoes in a limited space. A conventional garden of tomatoes needs to be tilled, weeded and worked on. The hard work is no longer there with these hanging planters; all you need to do is place the seedling in, add soil, hang and water and you are ready to go.

The health benefits of cucumbers are numerous but first let's talk a little bit about the cucumber itself. In order to receive the most health benefits of cucumbers it is best if they are eaten unpeeled because that is the best source of fiber and minerals. The majority of store bought cucumbers have a waxed coating or pesticide residues on the outer skin which can be hard to remove; therefore it is safer to purchase organic or to grow your own.

Before you start growing cucumbers, be sure you have plenty of room in your garden or you give them something they can climb on. Cucumber plants are vines and if they are grown on the ground can spread to over six feet in length. If your garden is not large enough to handle these long, trailing vines, you can train your cucumbers to climb on a trellis or up a fence. A trellis trained cucumber plant will usually produce cucumbers that are better formed.

Container growing apple trees can reduce the garden pests and apple disease as well as improve the apple crop. Container growing dwarf apples can be done in large garden tubs on your patio or deck. Container growing apple trees is possible in any size garden as long as you have a few guidelines to go by.

You can successfully grow an apple tree or any edible crop for that matter in containers. The apple container should be a half-barrel or large garden tub that is at least four to five feet in diameter. You want to choose the dwarf varieties of tree so they will not become too large for their containers. Malus domestica or apple varieties that grow in large garden containers will have the same initial growing pattern as one that is grown in your garden soil. To become established or bear fruit apple trees will need at least three years. To get started you want to fill the containers with a high-quality potting mix; regular garden soil will not drain well in containers. 

Learning how to grow watermelons is not very difficult, the plant itself does all the work. Learning to grow them in the south is easy because they enjoy the warmer seasons; if you live in the north you can grow watermelon indoors first and transplant the seedlings when the soil is ready to work.

There are some gardeners that are very leery about growing watermelons because they think they are difficult to grow or that they take up too much space in the garden. They can take up quite a bit of room in a garden if you let them because watermelons do grow on vines.

Garden trellises and cages are structures that are used to help support vegetables or plants; it is done by tying them onto the trellises or cages or by allowing climbing plants to secure themselves to the structure. Garden trellises can be constructed of vertical, horizontal, or diagonal bars that can be arranged to make a decorative form. These structures can be made of metal, plastic, or wood.

A garden trellis can be a decorative structure for a flower garden. It adds some vertical height as well as the feeling of something that is permanent in the garden. They are easy to maintain and at the same time inexpensive. You can purchase garden arches, wrought iron garden trellises or wooden garden trellises from a garden center and then choose the type of flowers you want. Remember to keep in mind that the vines and flowers will attach themselves tightly around the trellis making it hard to maintain the structure. If you decide on a wooden trellis be sure it is pressure treated. When you choose the flowers and vines make sure you know where your structure is going to be placed so your flowers will receive the proper amount of sunlight and moisture.

Composting in bins can be problem-free if we heed to a few simple rules. Composting is the breaking down of plant remains and other previously alive materials that make a dark, earthy substance that is added to enrich our garden soil. It is a way to recycle our kitchen and yard wastes, and in lowering the amount of debris that we send to landfills. It is not hard to learn how to compost.

We do not want to compost animal waste. Even though some gardeners enjoy using aged cow manure in the garden, dog waste and fresh cat litter contains pathogens. It is better to keep the animal waste out of compost piles. Our compost pile will probably get hot and cook most of the waste; it will not get hot enough to destroy the animal pathogens.

When choosing gardening seeds from the racks at your home and garden centers always read the fine print. No matter how decorative the gardening seeds packets are you want to check to see how much information they offer regarding the freshness, planting instructions, quantity, and the ability to survive.

As far as the freshness is concerned there needs to be a 'packed for' date on the vegetable gardening seeds packet. It will usually be a stamp placed in the area where you will probably tear open the envelope because you can not get the flap opened. Before you open the packet write the 'packed for' date in another area. The more detailed the planting instructions are the better off you will be and you will probably use that company again for other seeds. See if they tell you the quantity or do they make you feel the envelope instead? The ability to survive or viability can vary; Seeds from Europe or good mail order companies will give you a germination percentage and a testing date. Having this information implies that the company tested the seeds before hand and that is a good sign.

Citrus trees are very beautiful evergreen trees with glossy leaves that add warmth to any landscape besides giving us delicious fruit. Some citrus trees can grow up to 30 feet but by pruning can be kept smaller. They are also available in dwarf citrus trees and semi-dwarf size that can be grown in containers and others can be trained as shrubs. Citrus fruits are part of the Rutaceae family. Citrus trees produce fruits of different sizes and forms, from oblong to round, and are full of flavor and juice, plus a wonderful fragrance. 

The well known citrus trees include the grapefruit, lemon, lime, sweet orange, and tangerine or mandarin. There are several varieties of each type of citrus and there are some species that are strictly ornamental such as the trifoliate orange which is deciduous with inedible fruit. This ornamental citrus has been known to grow as far north as Washington, D.C. There are hybrids of grapefruits and tangerines which are also known as tangelos are a great dessert fruit. Citranges are hybrids of sweet oranges and trifoliate; they resist frost and have juicy orange-like fruits that are inedible and are mainly used as rootstocks.

The health benefits of cherries are many but one is the fact that they are very tasty and nutritious. Some of these health benefits are vitamins, minerals and compounds that help prevent diseases. Some studies say they are beneficial in the fight against some cancers.

Cherries contain antioxidants that help to "clean up" free radicals. What are free radicals? Free radicals are molecules that are unstable which will cause harm to cells as circulating molecules attack healthy cells. Damage to these cells that are caused by the free radicals has been noted to quicken the process of aging.

The health benefits of raspberries are numerous but raspberries are not considered a cure-all berry but they do have other attributes which many believe can prevent several diseases. We will look into some of their health benefits along with how to grow them.

Vitamin C in raspberries is believed to help develop an immune system and connective tissues to be able to ward an attack of micro-organisms. Raspberries and some of the other berries such as strawberries, blueberries, and cranberries contain large amounts of vitamin C in their structure. These berries also contain an attribute that is thought to prevent bladder infections. It does this by the prevention of bacteria from attaching itself to cells of the inner walls of the urinary tract. Raspberries also contain lutein, a substance that is very important to a healthy vision.

A blueberry orchard is a wonderful thing to have in the garden. Having an orchard of blueberries gives you the opportunity to pick them whenever you want them. Fresh blueberries are great for desserts and for making jam, I can almost smell a fresh baked blueberry pie.

For growing blueberry plants you need to have moisture-retentive, acid soil that has a pH level between 5 and 6. They will grow best in a sunny, open area of the garden or they can grow in an area with partial shade. In the northern regions of the United States the wild blueberry bushes should be protected from the cold winds. Blueberry bushes can be grown in containers if alkaline soil is the only thing available. You will need to fill your containers with an acid based or peat based compost without lime added to it.

Raised garden beds will add a new dimension to any gardening experience. Garden beds that are raised are quite useful for the gardener with a limited amount of space; they are also perfect for those who are disabled, suffer from arthritis, or the elderly. These raised garden beds can be built at a suitable level that will help reduce the aches and pains caused by bending over or kneeling at a plot on the ground.

Urban gardening has exploded in popularity recently due an awareness of food safety, the stresses of our financial economy, and a desire to be eco-friendly. Even if you only have a postage stamp sized backyard, you can set up small raised beds on your patio or backporch in order to grow vegetables, herbs, ornamental plants, or beautiful flowers.

Owning a compost tumbler can involve the entire household in learning how to do composting. The compost tumbler is built for easy use for all family members as compared to the standard compost bin. They are also great for mixing sand, soil, peat and loam or whatever you have that needs to be blended together.

A compost tumbler will be able to hold all your garden waste and kitchen scraps that will be turned into rich nutrient compost. The main difference between the tumbler and a compost bin is their function. Many of us live in an area where it is restricted to having an open compost pile; our neighbors do not like an uncontained compost pile, or if scavengers present a problem the compost tumbler can solve most of these areas. The compost tumbler will definitely keep the compost tidy and turning it will become much easier.

Growing organic fruit in the garden has advantages over store bought fruit. Growing organic fruit tastes much better and you are guaranteed that the fruit has not been sprayed with dangerous chemicals. The organic fruit that has been planted in your garden has been picked by you because it is the variety you want for its flavor. Some of the fruit may not look as picture perfect as the grocery store and that is because you planted it because you want to eat it and not show it off.

Probably many of the plants that are in your garden are annuals which means they will only produce fruit or flowers once and that is the same year that they were planted. The majority of your fruit trees will not produce any fruit for the first few years after planting. Once they have started producing fruit they will continue to do so every year for your enjoyment for generations to come. Container grown dwarf fruit trees will start producing fruit 1 - 2 seasons before the garden grown trees.

Growing berries in the garden is something many gardeners are passing on because they feel it is too difficult a task. Growing berries such as strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, loganberries, blackberries, boysenberries, and even grapes have a better taste, very healthful, more economical and are easy to grow.

Strawberries are the most productive of them all because they produce the largest amount in a small area. If you have never tried growing them this year would be a good time to start. You can plant them in the spring, summer, or fall. Planting them in the fall would be the best time for freezing cold winter climates but can be planted in winter in the warmer climates of the country. Planting at this time, the cooler months, helps to develop a healthy root system so they will start growing bushy in the spring. If you plant them in spring or summer you will need to disbud the plants as the flowers form and pinch the runners back to make certain you get vigorous growth the next season. If you plant them in the fall or winter you will not have to perform these procedures. When choosing your strawberry plants stay with the June-bearing varieties, the "everbearing" varieties do not always yield well.

One of summers flowering bulbs, the gladiolus, comes from the Latin word "gladius" which means sword or little sword and was named because of their long spiked leaves. The gladiolus, one of the flowering bulbs of summer, originated in South Africa and the Mediterranean areas; they belong to the Iridaceae family and the gladiolus colors are a wide variety with the exception of a true blue.

Gladiolus planting is a very popular project for any gardener. These summer flowering bulbs are very colorful and bring life to any garden. These colorful flowers not only look wonderful in the garden but also make a beautiful bouquet for your home or as a gift. You really do not want to leave gladiolus bulbs out of a summer garden. After one season of growing them you will see why so many home owners plant them in their gardens. They will thrive when the right conditions are met.  

The flowering bulbs of the iris come in many shapes, forms, sizes, and colors and is named after the Greek Goddess Iris. The flowering bulbs of the iris have sword-like leaves that are most attractive even when the plant is not blooming. The Greek Goddess Iris is regarded as the messenger of love and will use the rainbow for travel. The iris flower is considered to be the same and also come in a rainbow of colors.

Irises are categorized into two main groups, the rhizome irises and bulbous irises. The rhizomes group has thickened stems that will grow horizontally underground or partially underground. After they have been planted they will produce the sword-like leaves that will overlap and form fans of green foliage. Three of the most popular irises in the rhizome group are the Beardless, Bearded, and Crested. The bulbous iris grows from bulbs that will require a dormant period after blooming. They are generally smaller than the rhizome irises and produce smaller blooms.

Your outdoor landscape will look gorgeous with camellia shrubs. By using the camellia as part of your outdoor landscape you will have a difficult time finding a plant that is equal to this evergreen shrub in terms of beauty. They not only have lovely flowers but this evergreen shrub has shiny dark green foliage that makes them very attractive outdoor landscape features even if they are not blooming.

In the milder zones of the United States, January is the most advantageous time to shop for and plant camellias. Many of the plants that are in the nurseries are in bloom now, This way you will be able to see what the blooms will look like and it is best to plant them now before the new growth begins. The new growth will start after the blooming period ends.

The flowering bulbs for summer can add quite a bit of beauty to the garden landscape if planted accordingly. Many of these flowering bulbs for summer that have small flowers need to be grouped together in flower beds in order to show off their flowers. There are others that have large flowers and sometimes need to be staked for a proper display. Many of these summer flowering bulbs, rhizomes, corms, and tubers will add beautiful color and a sense of the tropics to any garden. In the warmer climates, a number of these flowering bulbs are left in the ground all year long. Gardeners in cooler climate zones can still enjoy these bulbs by growing as annuals or digging them up in the fall and storing for winter to replant them during the warmer weather of spring. These flowering bulbs of summer bring additional color to the garden just when the spring flowering bulbs have started to die down. Just about all these summer bulbs bloom from June all they way through fall are considered tender.

Tuberous Begonias
There are several types of tuberous begonias available, but usually we think of the large camellia flowered versions that have various color combinations. The magnitude of color that is offered by tuberous begonias will quickly brighten up a shady corner of the garden. The leaves of the begonias look almost succulent. The longevity of the blooming flowers makes these tubers wonderful for containers. Begonias vary in shape and size and the cluster flowers range from white to red or pink and give the home gardener many uses. Some gardeners will plant only the species that has an unusual foliage color. These plants are ideal for hanging baskets, containers, and flower borders.  

Container growing a dwarf peach tree has the advantage of being able to move it around to any part of your garden or patio. Container growing also gives you the ability to bring the dwarf peach tree indoors to protect it from a late freeze in the spring or a winter freeze in the Pacific Southwestern part of the United States. Peaches are very susceptible to an early bloom of flowers that produce the fruit; so early that the frost can harm them.

You can select a dwarf peach tree from your local garden nursery, home and garden center, on-line, or a garden catalog. If your desire is to grow a peach tree in a container for its entire life, the dwarf variety is the only way to go. A full-sized peach tree probably will never reach maturity in a container. Most of the dwarf peach tree varieties will have a varying height between 5 feet and 15 feet and a little smaller breadth than its height. The dwarf Red Haven peach trees produce delectable fruit and grow to about 15 feet high. Golden Glory dwarf peach trees will only grow to about 5 feet tall and still creates mouth-watering peaches.   

Container growing with fruit trees is a marvelous idea for gardens or yards that have poor soil plus the fact that you can move them around to protect them from freezing conditions. Container growing with fruit trees can be done with regular sized fruit trees but only for a couple of years and then they need to be planted into the ground.

Growing fruit trees in containers is more suited for the dwarf varieties and it makes caring for them much easier. You can find dwarf varieties of almost any common fruit tree, but citrus trees are the most commonly grown. Some of the most popular dwarf citrus trees to grow in containers are the Meyer lemon and Dwarf Kaffa lime.

A meadow of wildflowers would be a pleasant sight in any backyard garden. In nature a meadow of wildflowers is renewed every year. The seeds that are produced every fall will all be sprouting in the spring. Now is the time to plant those wildflower seeds in an area of your garden.

In the Rockies, Midwest, and Northeast, the hard winter sections of the country, calls for a dormant planting of wildflower seeds. This means that after a killing frost you plant your seeds the same way as if you were planting in the spring. Do this before the ground freezes and this planted seed will be in bloom around two weeks earlier than the same ones planted in spring.

The spring bulb and when during the fall and winter we should plant them. We live in a big country and the climates vary from coast to coast and from the northern areas to the Deep South. Most of the gardening literature is based on the Northeastern area and upper Midwest part of the country along with the marketing strategies. The reasoning behind this theory is because the ground has a tendency to freeze before any other part of the country.

The spring bulb planting time drives gardeners in other areas of the country crazy because some areas do not have problems with the ground freezing and they have to guess as to when to start planting. The West Coast, sometimes as far as Seattle, WA it is rare that the ground will freeze. Gardeners in the south, in the desert southwest, and up and down the California coast there is usually no frost at all.

The gardeners chores for winter are just as important as they are for the other seasons. Many gardeners choose to leave the ground inert and wait for spring to roll around but now is the time to prepare everything for the upcoming growing season. Winter is a good time put in cover crops to improve the soil and it is a good time to mix in some compost.

Some of the popular cover crops that will improve the soil are rye, clover, and vetch. These cover crops are also referred to as green manures since they render a natural fertilizer. Legumes such as lima beans and vetch take care of the nitrogen in the soil and all these crops should be planted in the later part of fall for best results.

One of winter's flowers, the witch hazel, is a pleasant surprise to see while walking in the woods in late autumn. This tall shrub is covered with star like yellow flowers and is native to North America. Witch hazel, one of winter's flowers, has developed this late blooming strategy and takes advantage of pollinators at a time when there is not much else for them.

Witch hazel hamamelis virginiana may begin blooming in the early days of October before their yellow leaves have made it to the ground. More often they will flower after the leaves have fallen and some of these shrubs may be flowering in December. Witch hazel usually grows in a forest or wooded area and is not normally seen unless you wander in.

Indoor gardening and growing flower bulbs lets us have the colors and aromas of spring in the dead of winter. For indoor gardening there are two types of to choose from, those that need to be chilled ahead of time and those that do not.

I am going to talk about the bulbs that do not need to be chilled. These bulbs are native to the warmer climates and consist of the amaryllis bulbs and paperwhite narcissus bulbs. These two bulbs can grow in a container with potting soil or in a shallow pot filled with marbles or small stones in order to hold the bulb in position. All you do is add water and blooming can start in about four weeks. In order to keep short sturdy stems start the bulbs out with indirect light and temperature of roughly 50 degrees F. for the first few weeks and then gradually increase the temperature and give them brighter light. If you are going to grow your bulbs without soil, you should cover the bulb about 1/4 to 1/3 of the bulb with water.

There are not many winter flowers but one comes to mind and that is the Christmas rose or Lenten rose as it is sometimes called. Winter flowers in very cold climates are a rare sight; when we do see them we enjoy them very much.

These winter flowers, the Christmas rose, have a legend behind it. It speaks of a poor young shepherd girl, by the name of Madelon, who wished to worship the new infant Christ Child. Once she saw all the gold, frankincense, and myrrh brought by the Wise Men, she became discouraged for she had no gift to bring. 

Using grow lights is a wonderful tool for starting a spring garden, or to keep a garden going year round in a greenhouse. There are a number of choices in grow lights and they can range from the high tech LED, the high intensity lights, traditional incandescent grow lights, and fluorescent grow lights. More and more people are using grow lights today and it seems that the fluorescent grow light has also become more popular.     

If your only source of light is going to be a grow light it is best if you use about 25 watts of light per square foot of garden. If you are also using sunlight you can probably get by with less wattage unless you want to promote more growth in your plants.

The greenhouse accessories you should consider depend on how you use your greenhouse and where it is located. For the gardener who loves to garden all year long a greenhouse is a perfect setting for cultivating vegetables, herbs, fruits and flowers. In a greenhouse the avid gardener can grow almost anything; the only thing is greenhouse accessories are a little different than standard garden accessories.

The main advantage to growing in a greenhouse is the ability to be control the environment so you can grow the plants of your choice no matter what the outdoor conditions are like. The elements that need to be controlled for the best growing conditions are air circulation, ventilation, temperature, moisture, and lighting. Another advantage to the greenhouse is the fact you have more gardening space because you will not be growing in the actual ground but on different levels of the greenhouse.

Growing pumpkins in your own pumpkin patch can be a lot of fun. Your children and maybe the neighbors children can use them for carving their own jack-o-lanterns for Halloween and enjoying the healthy snack of pumpkin seeds coming from you own pumpkin patch..

A lot of gardeners will probably tell you it is easy to grow pumpkins. The hardest part is keeping the pumpkins fresh and not rotting before Halloween arrives that is hard. The mature pumpkin will quickly rot, so it is very important to be sure your pumpkins will be ripe right at Halloween. The variety of pumpkin and the climate where you live will indicate when you should plant your pumpkins. In the northern parts of the United States you should start planting your pumpkins in mid to late May. If you live in the southern sections, this is usually where they grow fast, you should be planting your pumpkins in June.

Some flowers of Christmas - the poinsettia are one of the most popular during the Christmas holiday. These plants are originally from Central America and Mexico. They are now native to the warmer climates of southwestern U.S. and Mexico and they are vulnerable to the cold and frost. So if you live in the cold areas of the country and are doing Christmas shopping and want to purchase those flowers of Christmas, the poinsettia, be sure you make that purchase your last stop so you can take it right home.

When you are ready to buy your poinsettia plants look for plants that have dark green leaves and brightly colored flowers. If the leaves or flowers are dry or they are turning brown around the edges find another plant. Poinsettia flowers are slow to open, but once they are open and in full bloom they will remain that way and be attractive for a number of weeks. If the weather is cold when you purchase your plant make sure they wrap it well for the trip home as a short exposure to the cold and wind can possibly damage the plant.

Some garden aficionados think that winter is the "off season", but we can have winter flowers in the garden all winter long. This is true for the gardener who enjoys flowers. A true flower gardener also knows that winter flowers in the garden are hardy and will bloom in our gardens periodically from October through March.

It is true that winter flowers are rare in very cold climates. There are only a few flowers that are hardy enough to find their way through frozen soil and snow. However there are many species of flower that can survive in cool conditions, and a just few can live in cold ones.

Asters are beautiful fall flowers that will take a dull, drab fall garden and turn it into a colorful, cheery oasis that reminds us of early summer. This perennial is easy to grow, and even the newest gardener can be successful at growing them. There are so many different varieties, that you will have no trouble finding that asters are beautiful fall flowers.

In the spring, check with your local garden centers for aster plants that are hardiest in your region. Before you start planting, keep these three things in mind: sun, moist soil, and space. To be sure that your asters will thrive, try planting them in full sun. Most of the varieties of aster like to soak up the rays of the sun all day long. Rich soils help these flowers flourish, so you will need to add compost to enrich the soil and it will act as mulch.

Gardeners can be somewhat particular when it comes to their garden tools and especially the types of garden pruners. A good pair of garden pruners is very essential to flower gardening.  Good quality hand garden pruners make the work go a lot easier and will take less time. This gardening tool is so much like a large pair of scissors that you could probably use that scissors to cut soft stems from bushes or flowers. The large woody stems and small tree branches will need a quality garden pruner. It is used to trim and prune woody stems, especially on roses. The one you choose should depend on its use and your own personal preference. The types of garden pruners are generally available in three different categories - the anvil, bypass, and ratchet.

Anvil pruners have but one blade and it closes down on a flat edge. This pruner is similar to chopping or slicing on your kitchen cutting board. They are probably the best type for removing any dead wood that is in your garden. They are somewhat bulky and hard to get into some tight spaces.

Should we be using a garden tool organizer or garden tool rack? Some of our tools, such as our shovels, rakes, hoes, or anything with a long handle, would be better in a garden tool rack that is free standing or even better on wheels. Our smaller tools, such as trowels, hand forks, and pruners, could use a garden tool organizer. So answering the question of garden tool organizer or garden tool rack could be very easy, we probably need one of each.

Garden tool organizers come in many different sizes and shapes; some of course are mobile and easy to move from one spot to another. Organizers can be a life saver if your space is limited and you need some organization. Having a lot of garden tools isn't necessarily a bad idea; it is just the fact that we need to know where to find them when needed. For the long handled tools that get don't get used very often we can get by with garden tool rack that is mounted to the wall. Those that get the most use should probably be in a garden tool rack that is free standing and on wheels. This way we can roll it around the garden to the spot where we will be working.

Garden tool supplies for the home gardener are vast. Those that last a lifetime are the tools that are versatile. Newer materials have made garden tool supplies for the home gardener lighter, longer-lasting, and stronger, and gardening has been made easier with ergonomic tools.

There are so many tool supplies available that the new gardener has to choose wisely, which is a tricky business. Everything looks useful and seems necessary that a gardener could get carried away. Basically most garden tool supplies are versatile, but only a few can be indispensable. Let's take the garden hoe for an example. It was specifically made to cultivate the soil and remove the weeds, but it can form rows, dig furrows and holes, and create ditches and many other things. You can also use its handle as a measuring stick.

If you're searching for wooden garden furniture, you probably discovered wood furniture is not nearly as popular as it used to be. For a number of years now outdoor furniture alternatives are cheaper than traditional wood. Metal and plastic can be machined and mass produced; this eliminates the individual craftsman expertise. To further attract the homeowners, they require less upkeep than wood furniture. With that being said, even though it is more expensive, hand-crafted wooden garden furniture is the best you can buy, plus it will probably last longer than the metal or plastic.

Just think your neighbors can't go down to the local home improvement center and purchase the same wood garden furniture. Your garden furniture will be your own. Plus, even though there are some reasonable look-a-likes of wood furniture, nothing can beat the real thing or deny the beauty of wood garden furniture.

When you start composting waste from your yard you are definitely reducing the volume of our landfills. Everyone's yard produces waste material from lawn mowing, pruning and other plant care routines. Composting waste from your yard is a way to reduce the amount of organic wastes and returns them to the soil.

Compost improves the aeration and drainage of clay soil. Organic matter is a separator for tightly packed clay particles and allows air and water to enter. Composting also helps sandy soil hold nutrients and water. Compost holds moisture similar to that of a sponge and slowly releases fertilizer nutrients. It will also increase earthworm activity and other soil organisms that are beneficial to the growth of plants. Compost is not a fertilizer; it is a soil amendment and doesn't contain many plant nutrients.

The breaking down of kitchen scraps, plant remains and any other once living remains is called composting, but let's talk about composting our food scraps. Where do we get all the food scraps for composting, you ask? Well, we all have such items in our kitchen. They can be fruit and vegetable waste, the leftovers from our meals, tea bags, coffee grounds, any stale bread or grains. One item that most of us have occasionally is anything that has spoiled in the refrigerator. Composting our food scraps is a much better idea than sending it all down the waste disposal.

Our gardens, and most importantly, our landfills will thank us for composting. Some cities object to home composting due to the fact that they attract vermin. They will only attract these critters if the compost containers are not secured. If your garden compost bins are covered and locked you shouldn't have problems.

The best time to start our spring flowers is during our fall bulb planting project. We all enjoy seeing those flowers popping through the ground in the early spring and they are all coming from those bulbs we planted. In sunny Southern California, the fall bulb planting season runs from late September into early December.

The problem with living in sunny Southern California is, if we don't purchase our fall bulbs early enough in September we may not have the selection we are looking for in November. Our fall bulb planting season is a fairly long one, but we need to purchase those spring flowering bulbs early as soon as they appear in the garden nurseries or home improvement centers.

Soil Tools
Some soil tools are a basic necessity when you are ready to turn your ever so humble plot of land into a garden. It is very important to have a sharp spade to be able to turn the soil, a garden fork to break it up, a shovel to be able to dig holes in it, and a level-head rake to crumble the surface of the soil. You will also need a trowel for small-scale digging, a garden hoe and a scuffle hoe to keep the weeds down, also a long handled and a short handled cultivator in order to keep the surface loose and friable. Another necessary soil tool would be a good long garden hose, which is equipped with an adjustable nozzle.

A rotary tiller would be a good investment if your garden plot is larger than a few square yards. This makes deep cultivation a quick and relatively easy job. A wheelbarrow is handy, as well as a light roller, are good gardening equipment for working the soil. Other supplies for working the soil that may come in handy would be a crowbar for lifting heavy rocks, a soil auger for digging holes and taking test samples, and a pick for breaking up all the hard-packed surfaces.

When we have enough knowledge about the soil we use the easier our gardening will be. The soil is a unique mixture of assorted ingredients that contains all the nutrients that can sustain life on earth. Plants are so unique that they can extract these nutrients of the soil through their roots and transform them to forms usable by the plant, other animals and by mankind. With this knowledge about the soil, we the gardeners, have the job of keeping soil in the best possible order and to replace the nutrients that the plants have used up.

The soil has five main components: inorganic bits and pieces of rocks and minerals; dead and decaying organic matter, more commonly called humus; air; water; and a prolific community of living things, ranging from earthworms, insects, and fungi to microscopic bacteria, viruses and protozoa. The nature of any soil is usually defined by the proportions and quality of all these components.

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Chrysanthemums, which some of you know, are native to China but they are also revered by the Japanese. They are probably considered as one of the most popular plants in temperate climate zones around the globe. They are beyond compare in the garden for their late-summer and fall blossoms. Most chrysanthemums will flower anywhere from three to eight weeks with the flowers ranging from small buttons to extensive globes that can measure up to 8 or more inches across.

They are not only beautiful in the garden, but hobbyists delight in chrysanthemums because they can be grown not only outdoors but also in the greenhouse. There are some hybridists that have developed many varieties that can be induced to bloom at any time, particularly in the greenhouse. These varieties can vary tremendously from their common ancestors. There are many greenhouse gardeners that grow mums specifically to enter in flower shows.

Garden tools are an important necessity for any type of gardening. We have tools for composting, digging, container gardening, vegetable gardening, and flower gardening, most of which are interchangeable. For instance you can use a digging tool for vegetable or flower gardening and a composting tool for digging. It is not necessary to purchase identical tools for all your different garden areas, some of the same garden tools will work quite well in many different areas.

Composting is a combination of yard, garden and landscape scraps; which is considered as the brown waste, and kitchen scraps; considered as green waste. Composting is the end result of a feeding pattern which includes hundreds of different organism, such as bacteria, fungi, worms and insects. In order to keep this process going there are a few things we need to do. One of the garden tools that is needed is called a turning post or turning tool and it is mainly for aerating the compost pile, which is an important step.

From the first snowdrop in spring to the last fall-flowering crocus, bulbs, corms and tubers provide color throughout the year, and most need little attention. The wide range of bulbs, corms and tubers available from catalogs, garden centers and online is a great aid to a colorful garden.

In this article, the group as a whole will be referred to as bulbs or bulbous plants, unless it is necessary to identify the plants specifically as corms or tubers.

The vivid displays produced by rhododendrons and azaleas can last from spring into summer. There are plants to fit any size garden, but the soil must be right. The value of this group of plants for the home landscape can hardly be overestimated. Ranging from matlike dwarf shrubs only a few inches high to trees more than 40 feet tall, rhododendrons and azaleas offer a remarkable variety of sizes and shapes.

Most rhododendrons have magnificent foliage, and the flowers of many varieties are among the most beautiful in the world of shrubs. The flowers' colors are white, lavender, violet, purple, pink, crimson, scarlet, orange and yellow. Their shapes are tubular, starry, funnel- or bowl-shaped, and bell-like, varying in size from 3/4 to 6 inches wide and from 3/4 to 4 inches long. The flowers are usually produced in rounded trusses with as many as 15 individual blossoms on each one.

Composting at home is a means of returning to the soil as humus a great amount of organic material that would otherwise be thrown away. The best way to make a compost pile is to sandwich vegetable matter between layers of nitrogen-enriched soil. Composting at home is simple and easy to do; we just have to remember to do it.

Given adequate air and water, a well made compost pile will reduce such potential garbage as leaves, lawn clippings, raw kitchen wastes, coffee grounds, even vacuum-cleaner lint, sawdust and well-soaked newspaper to usable humus in a matter of months. There are limits however.

A Greenhouse garden gives a gardener more time to spend cultivating his garden without the perils of nature. Even a small greenhouse affords many new possibilities, from early vegetables to orchids. Available automatic equipment can give complete control of the environment. Growing vegetables in winter, in the cold and frigid areas, is a popular trend for a greenhouse garden.

In a greenhouse, a gardener can raise plants that would suffer from cold, heavy rain, wind, and disease if they were grown in the open. For cold-climate gardeners there is the enjoyment of having plants in full bloom in the dead of winter when the outside landscape is covered with a blanket of snow.

Many of us enjoy attracting butterflies to our gardens. If all we ever do during the day is plant, weed, and deadhead and only have time to sit in the garden in the evening, we are missing something. It is the butterflies, they are most active during the day when the sun is out and the weather is warm. Attracting butterflies means we need to plant the right plants in our garden so more and more come around.

A wonderful place to plant a butterfly garden would be next to your deck or patio so you can watch them come in and enjoy the plants. While attracting these beautiful little insects, you just might see a hummingbird or two coming to see what is available. With the following plants in your garden; Anise hyssop, Verbena, Tall sedum, Butterfly weed and Butterfly bush, it will reach its peak in midsummer. This is when you will see the most butterflies.

A successful rose garden is fairly easy to accomplish. Most rose gardens will grow in a wide variety of soils and situations, and will survive with relatively little attention. The best rose garden is an open, sunny location that has a fairly rich, slightly acidy soil. Good drainage is essential, although roses need ample watering in the absence of rain. Once planted, a successful rose garden will survive in the same bed for many years if your ground is regularly mulched and fed.

Moisture retention in the soil is of the utmost importance. A month before planting, dig the ground to the depth of a spade. You will need to work in about one-third by volume of humus like material and gardening supplies such as compost, peat moss, leaf or well-rotted manure. Commercial fertilizer does not need to be added at this time. If you leave the topsoil untrampled so that it is loose the air can circulate. You can level the soil for the sake of appearance if you desire.

Mixing roses and other plants in our garden can be an interesting idea. They can be combined with other shrubs or herbaceous perennials by placing them individually in a particular position. A rose bush can be placed in a particular position or used to fill a corner, flank a doorway, or adorn a house wall. For instance, tall, arching, modern shrub roses look splendid behind a bank of low evergreens or other shrubs of moderate size or behind some of the lower-growing hybrid teas or floribunda roses.

If you are combining roses of different varieties, or growing them among other plants, keep in  mind the size and flowering seasons of all the plants. Also, be certain to allow at least 2 feet of space between the plants to provide air circulation. You always want to make sure that short varieties of hybrid teas and floribunda roses will not be hidden by tall grandiflora roses in your garden.

We can have our entire garden mapped out as one garden theme or have many different gardening areas with different garden themes for each one. Our home and garden centers should have a variety of plants to choose. Having more than one theme will make your garden stand out
among your neighbors. The following are a number of different garden themes:

Animal: This one could really be fun for your children or grandchildren by having them go with you to the nursery or garden supply store and help pick the plants with an animal name. Your plants could include for instance tiger lilies, pussy willow, happy kitten or catmint.

Want a fuller flower bed fast? All you have to do is transplant some hanging baskets or other larger pots of flowers in the ground. You'll need fewer plants and you won't have to wait for small ones to grow by doing this we are using our flower power.

Almost all nurseries and home and garden centers have a wide variety of hanging baskets. This method is a little more costly but if you plant seeds in the vacated baskets and leave them outside for the bees to pollinate you will have more flowers for your patio or deck in about a month.

Who doesn't enjoy watching butterflies winging around your yard or garden? They are the most beautiful creatures on Earth. Butterfly gardening is an easy way to bring us back to nature and to see more of them. Many butterfly habitats have been lost to mankind activities such as building homes and roads.

A butterfly garden can be any size - a window box, a section of your landscaped yard or an untended area of a large yard. The best way to start is to investigate how many different butterflies are native to your area. Of that composite choose the ones that you would like to see visit your garden and learn which flowers and plants that they both feed on and lay eggs on.

Whether you have a flower bed, landscaping, garden or a starter kit, you probably started out with some kind of container for holding your plants. Vegetable gardening can be done on the smallest patio, can have a vegetable garden, porch or inside garden can boost a crop of vegetables and flowers while still only in containers.

Container-gardening supplies come in many shapes and forms, some are purchased at your local home and garden center or they can be various containers found around your house. An old planter box or a mis-matched old coffee mug can be used for instance.

Blueberries are delicious and nutritious, not only that, they can help lower cholesterol and have more cancer-fighting and disease-fighting antioxidants than foods like spinach and salmon. Blueberries are not only good in pies, breakfast toppings or in muffins, but they are becoming a tasteful choice in the garden or landscape.

July is usually Blueberries Month because most are harvested in this country during July. There are a number of varieties now that you can harvest them anywhere from early to mid summer all they way into fall.

Quenching Their Thirst

Once your garden has been planted, nothing is more important to its ability to thrive than water. When provided with too little water, plants are unable to develop properly and become more susceptible to damage from pests. Too much water can of course be equally bad. In soil that is kept too moist plants become prone to rots and other diseases.

For Want of a Little Water

People wonder why their garden isn't working, nine times out ten is because of lack of water. It never ceases to amaze me how people can spend hundreds, or even thousands, of dollars on a landscape and then watch it gradually die for want of an occasional watering. Proper watering would probably save most of the plants that are lost in gardens each year. Even those plants that succumb to pests were usually first weakened by inconsistent watering.

Vegetables are easy to grow and are very rewarding at harvest time. The most important requirements are sunshine and watering. Other requirements are a loosened soil, some fertilizer, and a little bit of weeding. If you have an area in your yard that gets sunshine most of the day (6-8 hours in summer) then you can start your vegetable gardening. The first time you start a new garden requires the most amount of work, but don't get discouraged, the work you do in the beginning does not have to be done again each year.

The ground that the plants will grow in needs to be loosened up so that the roots of the tender vegetable plants can grow into your soil and make strong, healthy plants. The roots are the only way the plant takes up water and nutrients so you want to make their job easy. The best time to dig your garden is early spring when it is moist enough to dig easily but not so wet that the soil is muddy and heavy. The first step is to mark out your spot making sure there are no trees or large shrubs around it with roots that will spread into your garden. Then, remove the grass and create some type of border around the garden to keep it neat and weed free.

1. Keep records to allow for better planning

Seedstarting often has an overlooked aspect of plant propagation is the art of record keeping. Whether you are producing a few plants for your home flower and vegetable gardens or working at a larger-scale nursery, developing a propagation journal will prove indispensable. It is also a good idea to keep track of where you purchase your seeds, as their quality and reliability may vary by source.

2. Store seed properly to maintain viability

Seeds are a fragile commodity and their viability will sharply decline. While some seeds may survive for thousands of years under the proper conditions, others will not, even when properly stored. To maintain dormancy, keep seeds in a cool, dark location with low humidity, like a refrigerator. It is recommended that you label them (seed name, source, and year) and store them in a small reclosable bag or used film canister that is, in turn, kept in a larger plastic container. Once you are ready to sow, you can test the viability of many of the seeds, but not all of them, by soaking them in water for a few hours. The seeds that sink to the bottom are generally still alive, while the dead ones will float on top. This test generally works better for larger seeds.

If you're occasionally at a loss about how to keep your houseplants as beautiful as they were the day you bought them, you're not alone. Most gardeners find that growing tomatoes or a beautiful bed of flowers is much easier than keeping houseplants alive. It seems that one day they're fine and the next they're dropping leaves and are infested with something.

It's actually not that difficult to keep houseplants happy, but you do need to pay attention to their basic needs, and take care of any pest problems right away. Here are some helpful hints to help you with your houseplant solutions and have a green thumb indoors.

The benefits of growing under lights are hard to ignore. There is simply no better way to grow an abundance of stocky green seedlings. If you grow flowering plants indoors, such as orchids, African violets, citrus and hibiscus, lights will keep them blooming mostly year-round. If you want a wintertime harvest of vine-ripened tomatoes, herbs and salad greens, that also can be accomplished with lights.

By learning how plants use light and the many bulb and fixture options on the market, you can select an indoor lighting system that is perfectly suited to the types of plants you want to grow. Not all plants require the same color, intensity and duration of light.

Most gardeners would love to own a greenhouse. This appeal may be strongest in cold climates, but to be able to grow a large supply of sturdy seedlings is a pretty appealing no matter where you live. And what gardener doesn't relish the idea of having an environment filled with orchids, citrus and jasmine or have the opportunity to pick fresh salad greens and tomatoes on a cold winter day. There are now dozens of affordable, well-constructed greenhouses on the market, as well as a full range of accessories that make greenhouse gardening easier than ever.

This may seem like a simplistic question, but function is really the most important factor in determining the type and size of greenhouse you choose.

Step 1

Select a spading fork as your first tool. Before you plant anything, you will need to improve the soil. A spading fork looks like a pitchfork but has a shorter handle and wider tines. It is used to dig down into hard soil and break up the ground.

Step 2

Next, choose a hoe. A hoe is useful for weeding and cultivating the surface of the soil to allow for penetration of nutrients and water.

Pick a pest and you can usually find a natural control for it. Natural garden pest controls are less expensive and are safer for your garden, family, natural wildlife and the environment.

Prevention is the easiest way to discourage pests from coming in the first place. A healthy garden is the best defense and here are some tips:

Healthy organic soil. Natural composting, mulching and top-dressing your soil with compost are the best way to develop strong plants.

Pull out weak plants. The weak plants may already be infected. Pull and dispose of them away from the garden.

Seaweed mulch or spray. Seaweed fertilizer in mulch or spray will enhance growth and give plants strength. Seaweed mulco also repels slugs.

Interplant and rotate crops. When plantings are mixed, pests are less likely to spread throughout. Rotating crops each year is a common method to avoid re-infestation of pests.

Keep foliage dry. Water early in the day so foliage will be dry for most of the day. Wet foliage encourages insect and fungal damage.

Disinfect. To reduce the spread of invading insects, clean your tools after working with infested plants before moving on to other areas of your garden.

Minimuze habitat. Be sure to clear your garden area of debris and weeds as this is a breeding place for insects.

Shovel: If you'll be digging a hole or moving compost from a cart in your garden at any time, you'll need a shovel. The business end is thin, rounded and pointed and the top portion is flat with a flattened lip or step so you can use pressure to reach the tough spots.

Make sure to look at how the top portion or head of the shovel is connected to the handle. If and when a shovel breaks that is usually the place where it is going to happen. For a connection that is sturdy, the top of the head should wrap around the handle. The handle on some shovels can be waist-high or they can be long and stright and are usually made of wood. The newer synthetic handles are strong and lightweight.

A home flower garden is a great place to be creative and dream. It can also be a place to play, work and rest. Some of us have pools and have created a beautiful flower garden nearby. Our flower gardens can even bring many varieties of birds and butterflies and what a glorious way to bring us back to nature.

It doesn't matter the size of your garden plot, your time and budget or personality, you can design a flower garden that depicts your personality and creativity but it will get you closer to nature.

Your flower gardening plans and set up may seem like a large task but a few basics will get you going on the right path.

Composting is the breaking down of plant remains and other once-living remains such as leaves, kitchen scraps and so forth. Most of these materials will make a dark, earthy, crumbly substance that is wonderful for enriching your garden soil. It is the best way to recycle your yard and kitchen wastes, and is a critical step in reducing the garbage that we needlessly send to landfills for disposal. It's fairly easy to learn the process.

There are a tremendous number of options for containing your compost. Some people choose to, simply build a compost pile in a convenient spot on the ground. If you are the creative type you can build bin from materials such as pallets, or two-by-fours and plywood. And, of course, there are many commercial bins on the market to choose from.

Composting is the breaking down of plant remains and other once-living remains such as leaves, kitchen scraps and so forth. Most of these materials will make a dark, earthy, crumbly substance that is wonderful for enriching your garden soil. It is the best way to recycle your yard and kitchen wastes, and is a critical step in reducing the garbage that we needlessly send to landfills for disposal. It's fairly easy to learn the process.

There are a tremendous number of options for containing your compost. Some people choose to simply build a compost pile in a convenient spot on the ground. If you are the creative type you can build bin from materials such as pallets, or two-by-fours and plywood. And, of course, there are many commercial bins on the market to choose from.
 

A home flower garden is a great place to be creative and dream. It can also be a place to play, work and rest. Some of us have pools and have created a beautiful flower garden nearby. Our flower gardening can even bring many varieties of birds and butterflies and what a glorious way to bring us back to nature.

It doesn't matter the size of your garden plot, your time and budget or personality, you can design a flower garden that depicts your personality and creativity but it will get you closer to nature.