A Pot Trellis

Transform a potted vine from a spill-over creeper into a reach-the-sky climber when you give your plant a vertical structure to latch on to.

 

The Basics

What You Need: Once you have the materials, this project will take less than an hour. 2 sets of wooden quilter's rings 14 inches in diameter, the stouter the better (1-1/2 inches wide is ideal). You can find these rings at a crafts, sewing, or notions shop. Six 4-foot strips of cedar 1/4 inch thick and 5/8 inch wide. These can be cut from bender board or screen molding. (Purchase at lumber store.) One 1-inch-diameter dowel or broom handle cut to about 3 inches. 1 hanger bolt (a double-ended lag screw) 3/16 x 1-1/2 inches. (Purchase at a hardware or lumber store.) 12 sets of brass bolts with nuts, size #8 by 1 inch. (Buy at a hardware or lumber store.) 2 (or 3 or 4) wood curtain rod rings. Standard size accommodates 1-3/4-inch pole. (Buy at a drapery shop.) 1 decorative finial. (Buy at lumber or specialty shop.) A 14- to 16-inch pot, soil, and plants. Making the Trellis Instructions: Steps 1-2. 1. Prepare the cedar. Soak the cedar strips for several hours to make them easy to bend. Glue the outer and inner quilter's rings together and tighten clamps firmly. 2. Assemble the finial. Drill the finial and the dowel at their centers and connect them with the hanger bolt to give the finial a 3-inch handle. 3. Attach the finial. Surround the dowel with the cedar strips, butting their ends up to the bottom of the finial. Slide the curtain rings up the bundle of strips to secure it to the finial. More rings are optional. Step 4. 4. Add the hoops. Here you might need an extra set of hands. Stand the finial and strips up, and slide the first hoop inside the strips, slowly working it up about 1-1/2 feet. One by one, feed the bottom of the strips into the second ring and slide it up about a foot. To repeat: The first hoop goes inside; the second, outside. 5. Secure the assembly. When you have achieved the desired flare and rigidity, drill all the cross-sections of strips and quilter's rings and secure with the brass bolts and nut. 6. Finish. Optional: After the wood strips dry, coat with a wood sealer to preserve for several seasons of use.   Planting the Pot Step 1. 1. Fill the pot. Place pot shards or stones at the bottom of the container, and then begin to fill with soil and a bit of slow-release fertilizer. Place the vine in the center of the pot and add soil. 2. Attach the trellis. Lift the trellis over the plant and insert its cedar strip deep enough into the soil to steady it. Add three or five other plants around the perimeter. Step 3. 3. Add the vine. Give the central vine a helping hand if necessary, weaving it up and through the trellis for support. Tamp the soil, and then water thoroughly. Technorati Tags : container+gardening, trellis+garden, gardening

 

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Two Styles, Many Gardens

 

Gardening by Better Homes and Gardens

Regardless of outward appearances, gardens fall into two style camps: formal and informal. Here are prime examples of both styles in action.
Cottage gardens can be formal or informal, but this one is decidedly informal. Curving beds, the asymmetrically placed arbor, the winding flagstone path -- all are casual.

 

Informal Style

Informal gardens sometimes evolve into wild gardens. Here, a bench is becoming engulfed by its surroundings. A sunny front yard can be home to a wildflower meadow in miniature. Informal gardens have a lot of benefits, chief among them that they are forgiving. If you forget to weed and water for a while, they hide our sins much in the same way a patterned rug doesn't show a stain or two. And for the tree huggers among us, an informal garden better mimics what Mother Nature would come up with on her own. Informal gardens have few pretensions, making them an appropriate choice for small or rustic homes. Perhaps the least formal landscape is a wildflower meadow -- a sunny, open area in which wildflowers and grasses are grown together, allowed to go to seed, and cut or mowed once a year. Although it sounds romantic, the reality of a meadow garden is that it looks unkempt much of the time. But the idea of a meadow can be incorporated into a more traditional landscape by planting small "pocket meadows," essentially large flowerbeds planted with a mixture of wildflowers and native grasses. Wooded areas are another type of informal garden. A miniature woodland garden can be fashioned under a cluster of shade trees, even on a small lot. Underplant the trees with native shade-loving flowers and plants, add a a wood-chip walkway, and you have your own little forest of earthly delights. Perhaps the most popular informal garden is a wide (at least 4 feet), curving flowerbed planted without regard to a pattern. They are a delightful way to mix bulbs, annuals, perennials, and even small trees. The downside is that they can become too much of a good thing and look unstructured in negative way. Technorati Tags : informal+gardens, formal+gardens, gardening, design+a+garden

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How to create a wild-flower garden

When you think about wild-flower gardening, what do you think of first? Which aspects of wild-flower gardening are important, which are essential, and which ones can you take or leave? You be the judge.

A wild-flower garden has a most attractive sound. One thinks of long tramps in the woods, collecting material, and then of the fun in fixing up a real for sure wild garden.

Many people say they have no luck at all with such a garden. It is not a question of luck, but a question of understanding, for wild flowers are like people and each has its personality. What a plant has been accustomed to in Nature it desires always. In fact, when removed from its own sort of living conditions, it sickens and dies. That is enough to tell us that we should copy Nature herself. Suppose you are hunting wild flowers. As you choose certain flowers from the woods, notice the soil they are in, the place, conditions, the surroundings, and the neighbours.

Suppose you find dog-tooth violets and wind-flowers growing near together. Then place them so in your own new garden. Suppose you find a certain violet enjoying an open situation; then it should always have the same. You see the point, do you not? If you wish wild flowers to grow in a tame garden make them feel at home. Cheat them into almost believing that they are still in their native haunts.
Wild flowers ought to be transplanted after blossoming time is over. Take a trowel and a basket into the woods with you. As you take up a few, a columbine, or a hepatica, be sure to take with the roots some of the plant's own soil, which must be packed about it when replanted.

The bed into which these plants are to go should be prepared carefully before this trip of yours. Surely you do not wish to bring those plants back to wait over a day or night before planting. They should go into new quarters at once. The bed needs soil from the woods, deep and rich and full of leaf mold. The under drainage system should be excellent. Then plants are not to go into water-logged ground. Some people think that all wood plants should have a soil saturated with water. But the woods themselves are not water-logged. It may be that you will need to dig your garden up very deeply and put some stone in the bottom. Over this the top soil should go. And on top, where the top soil once was, put a new layer of the rich soil you brought from the woods.

Before planting water the soil well. Then as you make places for the plants put into each hole some of the soil which belongs to the plant which is to be put there.

I think it would be a rather nice plan to have a wild-flower garden giving a succession of bloom from early spring to late fall; so let us start off with March, the hepatica, spring beauty and saxifrage. Then comes April bearing in its arms the beautiful columbine, the tiny bluets and wild geranium. For May there are the dog-tooth violet and the wood anemone, false Solomon's seal, Jack-in-the-pulpit, wake robin, bloodroot and violets. June will give the bellflower, mullein, bee balm and foxglove. I would choose the gay butterfly weed for July. Let turtle head, aster, Joe Pye weed, and Queen Anne's lace make the rest of the season brilliant until frost.

Let us have a bit about the likes and dislikes of these plants. After you are once started you'll keep on adding to this wild-flower list.
The information about wild-flower gardening presented here will do one of two things: either it will reinforce what you know about wild-flower gardening or it will teach you something new. Both are good outcomes.

There is no one who doesn't love the hepatica. Before the spring has really decided to come, this little flower pokes its head up and puts all else to shame. Tucked under a covering of dry leaves the blossoms wait for a ray of warm sunshine to bring them out. These embryo flowers are further protected by a fuzzy covering. This reminds one of a similar protective covering which new fern leaves have. In the spring a hepatica plant wastes no time on getting a new suit of leaves. It makes its old ones do until the blossom has had its day. Then the new leaves, started to be sure before this, have a chance. These delayed, are ready to help out next season. You will find hepaticas growing in clusters, sort of family groups. They are likely to be found in rather open places in the woods. The soil is found to be rich and loose. So these should go only in partly shaded places and under good soil conditions. If planted with other woods specimens give them the benefit of a rather exposed position, that they may catch the early spring sunshine. I should cover hepaticas over with a light litter of leaves in the fall. During the last days of February, unless the weather is extreme take this leaf covering away. You'll find the hepatica blossoms all ready to poke up their heads.

The spring beauty hardly allows the hepatica to get ahead of her. With a white flower which has dainty tracings of pink, a thin, wiry stem, and narrow, grass-like leaves, this spring flower cannot be mistaken. You will find spring beauties growing in great patches in rather open places. Plant a number of the roots and allow the sun good opportunity to get at them. For this plant loves the sun.

The other March flower mentioned is the saxifrage. This belongs in quite a different sort of environment. It is a plant which grows in dry and rocky places. Often one will find it in chinks of rock. There is an old tale to the effect that the saxifrage roots twine about rocks and work their way into them so that the rock itself splits. Anyway, it is a rock garden plant. I have found it in dry, sandy places right on the borders of a big rock. It has white flower clusters borne on hairy stems.

The columbine is another plant that is quite likely to be found in rocky places. Standing below a ledge and looking up, one sees nestled here and there in rocky crevices one plant or more of columbine. The nodding red heads bob on wiry, slender stems. The roots do not strike deeply into the soil; in fact, often the soil hardly covers them. Now, just because the columbine has little soil, it does not signify that it is indifferent to the soil conditions. For it always has lived, and always should live, under good drainage conditions. I wonder if it has struck you, how really hygienic plants are? Plenty of fresh air, proper drainage, and good food are fundamentals with plants.

It is evident from study of these plants how easy it is to find out what plants like. After studying their feelings, then do not make the mistake of huddling them all together under poor drainage conditions.

I always have a feeling of personal affection for the bluets. When they come I always feel that now things are beginning to settle down outdoors. They start with rich, lovely, little delicate blue blossoms. As June gets hotter and hotter their colour fades a bit, until at times they look quite worn and white. Some people call them Quaker ladies, others innocence. Under any name they are charming. They grow in colonies, sometimes in sunny fields, sometimes by the road-side. From this we learn that they are more particular about the open sunlight than about the soil.

If you desire a flower to pick and use for bouquets, then the wild geranium is not your flower. It droops very quickly after picking and almost immediately drops its petals. But the purplish flowers are showy, and the leaves, while rather coarse, are deeply cut. This latter effect gives a certain boldness to the plant that is rather attractive. The plant is found in rather moist, partly shaded portions of the woods. I like this plant in the garden. It adds good colour and permanent colour as long as blooming time lasts, since there is no object in picking it.

There are numbers and numbers of wild flowers I might have suggested. These I have mentioned were not given for the purpose of a flower guide, but with just one end in view your understanding of how to study soil conditions for the work of starting a wild-flower garden.

If you fear results, take but one or two flowers and study just what you select. Having mastered, or better, become acquainted with a few, add more another year to your garden. I think you will love your wild garden best of all before you are through with it. It is a real study, you see.

There's no doubt that the topic of wild-flower gardening can be fascinating. If you still have unanswered questions about wild-flower gardening, you may find what you're looking for in the next article.

5 Landscaping Lessons

From Better Homes and Gardens A deck need not compete with your garden for attention. Here's how to artfully blend the two in your landscape.

Blend your deck and landscape artfully. This homeowner's deck was not always a restful spot in her garden. When she first purchased her 1926 English Tudor-style home in Tulsa, the deck overlooked a barren yard. But she transformed her yard into a vivid, colorful landscape, and utilized her deck as the perfect backdrop. Here are five suggestions for integrating a deck into your landscape. 1. Connect the deck and garden with patios and paths at garden level. The homeowner and her husband built paths that lead from the deck to prime garden spots. They used Hackett stone for the walkways as well as a water feature and retaining walls in their garden. The trails leading from the deck into the garden visually and physically link the two spaces, and repetition of the stone throughout the garden provides continuity. 2. Use vertical plantings to fill the space between the garden level and the deck level. If only low plants surround a deck, the structure can seem looming. The homeowner suggests three heights of plants and trees be incorporated in the design of a bed to please the eye. When tall plants are used around the perimeter of a deck, the deck becomes part of the garden area. 3. Select evergreens for year-round interest. The homeowner is a fan of evergreens. "I did not want to look out and see twigs and sticks," she says. Evergreens planted near the deck assure that even in winter the base of the structure will not look bare. 4. Install a water feature near the deck. She wanted a water feature near the house in a natural setting so she could hear the soothing sounds of the flowing water. Since the deck is her favorite perching post for enjoying the results of her work in the garden, placing the water feature nearby was a natural choice. Plants that frame the pond are also found elsewhere in the garden to provide continuity. Once the pond was installed, she added water plants -- including Japanese iris, pickerel weed, spider lily, and water hyacinth -- to complete the feature. 5. Bring the beauty of the garden onto the deck. The homeowner planted clematis vines near the face of her deck, allowing the vining plants to use the deck as a trellis. Container gardens fill the deck with colorful blooms.

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Ten Garden projects under ten dollars # 9

Mosaic Pot

Give that special person a colorful pot made with personal items.

The Basics Look for mosaic pieces almost everywhere: broken porcelain china, dime-store rejects, an old box in the attic, scraps from a tile manufacturer, flea markets, thrift stores, garage sales -- all have the potential to yield precious makings of a mosaic project. Look beyond porcelain to marbles, costume jewelry, pieces of colored glass, buttons, seashells, and coins as material for this project.

Sentimental items take on new forms on this pot. Before you start: If your mosaic-pieces-to-be remain in full plate form, put on protective eyewear and lay a cloth over the item. Tap the item firmly with a hammer to break it. The size of the shards you need depends on personal taste and the size of the project -- bigger surfaces require bigger pieces. In general, pieces should range from half-dollar to nickel size. For more control over the breaking process (for example, to preserve a particular design element), use tile nippers instead. Look for mosaic pieces almost everywhere: broken porcelain china, dime-store rejects, an old box in the attic, scraps from a tile manufacturer, flea markets, thrift stores, garage sales -- all have the potential to yield precious makings of a mosaic project. Look beyond porcelain to marbles, costume jewelry, pieces of colored glass, buttons, seashells, and coins as material for this project. The Project What You Need: Mosaic shards Several wooden crafts sticks Ceramic-tile metal file Coarse sandpaper Rubber gloves Bucket of water Terry-cloth towel or sponge Spray bottle of water Vinegar Ceramic mastic or Bondo Clean plastic bowls Unsanded grout Acrylic adhesive Grout pigments Dust mask Instructions: Step 1 1. Gather the materials. Make sure the surface has been sanded, if necessary, and is clean and dust-free. File or sand sharp edges off the mosaic shards. If you have a special piece to act as a central element for your design, start with it. Apply ceramic mastic (available at crafts supply and hardware stores) or Bondo (available at automotive parts stores) to the back of the shard with a wooden crafts stick. Step 2 2. Position the pieces on the surface, and press firmly. Continue this process, placing each shard as close as possible to the next. It takes as long as eight hours for the mastic to completely harden, so you can rearrange pieces as you go. When all the pieces are in place, let the project dry completely. Step 3 3. Add grout. Place about a cup of unsanded grout in a plastic container. You may need more for big projects. For color, add pigment to the dry grout. Then, using a crafts stick, stir in acrylic adhesive or water until the mixture resembles thick mud -- add grout or liquid as needed. Let it set for about 10 minutes. Wear rubber gloves. Apply the grout with your hands, pushing it into the crevices between the shards with your fingers. Gaps will allow moisture to seep in. You may periodically need to rinse the gloves in water or vinegar. Step 4 4. Wipe off excess grout with a paring knife, damp sponge, or towel, being careful not to remove any from between the pieces. Regrout any problem areas before the grout dries (which takes 2 to 3 hours). To extend the drying time, mist the grout with a spray bottle filled with water. Allow the grout to set. Put on a dust mask, then finish by filing any sharp edges with a Dremel or metal file. Regrout problem areas if needed. Polish the piece with a dry cloth. Technorati Tags : gardening Source: LHJ.com - Ladies’ Home Journal online

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Backyard Habitats

 

Whether you live in a log cabin or a condo, you can make a place for wildlife right at your backdoor. It's easier than you think. There are three basic steps to creating a Backyard Wildlife Habitat.

Assess Your Yard or Garden Space

The first thing you need to do is identify the habitat elements that already exist in your yard or garden space. You may be surprised to find you're already providing some habitat for wildlife!

Native plants that provide food and cover are the backbone of every habitat. Make a list of all the plants in your yard, including everything from trees to wildflowers.

Try to determine which of your plants are native to your area and which are not. Which existing plants might provide food such as seeds, fruits, nuts, and nectar? Which plants might provide safe cover or nesting places?

Do you have any dead or dying trees? If so, don't reach for the chainsaw! Dying or dead trees are excellent habitat features. They are excavated and used by woodpeckers, flying squirrels, and a multitude of insects and cavity-nesting birds, such as owls, bluebirds, chickadees, and wrens.

Determine how your yard might already provide water for wildlife. This could be in the form of a pond, water garden, stream, vernal pool, or birdbath.

Make a list of any structures that provide habitat elements, such as bird feeders, nesting structures, rock walls, or log piles.

Finally, consider the physical features of your yard, such as sun and wind exposure and soil conditions.

Provide the Four Basic Elements

All species have four basic requirements for survival. These are food, water, cover, and places to raise young.

1. Food
   Select plants that provide natural foods such as fruits, seeds, nuts, and nectar. Choose your plants to provide food for backyard wildlife throughout the year.
   
   Native perennials and annuals provide nectar for both butterflies and hummingbirds. As one program participant says, "Hummingbirds like ice-cream cones and butterflies like pizza." This is because hummingbirds tend to visit tube-shaped red flowers, such as Bee Balm, Wild Columbine, and our native honeysuckles. Butterflies prefer flat or clustered flowers, such as Purple Coneflower, phlox, and zinnias.
   
   By choosing native plants suited to the site conditions, little maintenance, chemical fertilizers, herbicides, or additional watering will be necessary for the plants to thrive. This all adds up to time and cost savings as well as a healthier habitat for you, your family, and the wildlife that inhabit your yard.
   
   Supplemental feeders can provide nectar for hummingbirds in the summer months and a variety of seed (sunflower, niger, safflower, and millet) for other birds throughout the year. Keep in mind that bird feeders should only be used as a supplement to natural food provided by native plants.
   
   
2. Water
   Wildlife need water for drinking, bathing, and, in some cases, breeding.
   
   Water can be supplied in a birdbath, a small pond, a recirculating waterfall, or a shallow dish. If you're lucky enough to have a natural pond, stream, vernal pool, or other wetland on your property, make sure to preserve or restore it as these are excellent aquatic habitats.
   
   A small pond set into the ground provides water for drinking and bathing, as well as cover and reproductive areas for small fish, insects, amphibians, and reptiles.
   (Habitat Project: Build a pond)
   
   However you decide to provide water, make sure you do so year round. This can easily be done with a thermostatically controlled birdbath heater to provide water during subfreezing weather when the need for water is critical.
   
   
3. Cover
   When choosing your plants, make sure to include at least one good clump of evergreen trees and shrubs to provide year-round protective cover from weather and predators. Good choices are juniper, hollies, and live oaks, as they provide food as well as cover.
   
   You should also plant deciduous shrubs to offer effective summer cover for nesting and escape from predators.
   
   Rock, log, and mulch piles also offer good cover. Small mammals, reptiles, amphibians, and a great variety of insects and other small animals find homes in these structures, which are easily constructed.
   (Habitat Hint: Log pile)
   
   
4. Places to Raise Young
   Evergreen and deciduous trees and shrubs provide nesting areas for birds. Dead and dying trees (called "snags") provide nesting sites for owls, flying squirrels, and other cavity-nesters.
   
   Rabbits, shrews, mice, snakes, and salamanders lay their eggs or raise young under boughs of plants as well as in the rock, log, or mulch piles.
   
   Nest boxes for bluebirds, chickadees, wrens, and purple martins can be placed in your backyard.
   
   Aquatic animals, such as frogs, toads, newts, dragonflies, and other insects, deposit their eggs in ponds, vernal pools, and other wetlands.
   
   Butterflies require "host" plants that serve as food sources for butterflies during their larval (caterpillar) stage. Butterflies almost invariably lay their eggs on the host plant preferred by the caterpillar, so make sure to include some of the host plants in your habitat.
   
   For more details on attracting wildlife to your backyard, click here.

Practice Resource Conservation

Conserving resources will not only help the wildlife in your own yard but will help improve your community's environment.
Here are some ideas for practicing resource conservation in your backyard:

• Plant native plants suited to your region and do not plant any invasive exotics (non-native plants).
• Establish a backyard wetland or drainage buffer area to filter storm water and limit runoff.
• Capture roof rainwater for use in planted areas.
• Use mulch to conserve soil moisture and cut down on weeding time.
• Use a drip soaker hose instead of a sprinkler if watering is needed to help your plants become established.
• Eliminate chemical use in your yard.
• Control pests by organic means. Better yet, let nature take its course and encourage beneficial insects (e.g., ladybug, praying mantis), birds, bats, and other insect eaters.
• Reduce or eliminate your lawn area to cut down on mowing, watering, and general maintenance. For more information on resource conservation, click here.

Certify Your Habitat

Already meet the requirements for certification? Visit the National Wildlife Federation and learn more about certifying your yard online today!

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Ten Garden projects under ten dollars # 8

Plant Markers from Nature  These rustic plant markers are made from nature themselves.

Plant Markers from Nature Turn twigs and bits of wood or bark into distinctive plant markers.

What You Need: These markers will add a rustic touch to your garden bed. Willow twigs Weather-resistant, small nails Birch bark (or whatever you have on hand -- tin flashing, copper, cedar shake, scrap lumber, etc.) Acrylic or latex paint Polyurethane sealer or spray Instructions: Step 1. 1. Cut four pieces of slender (3/4-inch or so) willow or other twigs. Pieces should be long enough for a 3 x 5- or 4 x 4-inch plant marker. Nail together as shown. Copper nails are ideal but any weather-resistant small nails will work. Step 2. 2. Cut a piece of birch bark from a fallen tree to size. Or use whatever you have on hand -- tin flashing, copper, cedar shake, scrap lumber, etc. Nail to the back of frame. Step 3. 3. To make a stake for the sign, nail a 16-inch or so branch to the back of the frame, extending the top of the stake above the sign as shown. Step 4. 4. Paint the plant name on the sign. Use any acrylic or latex paint you have handy. Let dry, then coat entire label, including the ends of the stake, with a polyurethane sealer or spray.

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