Your Questions About Gardening

GardenersCardiff answers:

(August is not a good time of year to start gardening in the USA except for states such as south Florida)

You are gonna love gardening, don’t try to do it all in one year. Get to know where the sun shines the most, and where the shaded areas are. Because you will need flowers for the sun areas, and flowers for the shaded areas.

Since you are a beginner, this year start your garden with plants that you get from a garden center or nursery. They are called bedding plants and come in a six pack. Look for a little tag sticking in the six pact showing directions on how to grow the plants. If the tag is not there, ask for one or buy something else. Directions are VERY important.

Seeds are not always easy to grow. And wildflowers are the hardest so don’t be disappointed if they don’t show up.

Two good things to do for yourself is to call your local County Extension Service and ask for all the information that they have about gardening in your area. They usually have a packet/kit of things for the home gardener.

And number two would be to pick up a couple of beginner books. You really do need to know about soil, compost, mulch and etc.

To keep from over watering or not watering enough, buy a water analyzer from a nursery or garden center. Be sure to read the directions. This will be one of your best tools.

Send for some free gardening catalogs and get use to the different types of plants, colors, and when to plant. They are filled with good informtion and pictures. And they will keep you company during the long winter months. Here is a list of just a very few. There are hundreds more:

http://www.waysidegardens.com
http://www.dutchbulbs.com
http://www.jacksonandperkins.com (Roses)
http://www.oakesdaylilies.com (Daylilies)
http://www.caladium.com (Caladiums)
http://www.parkseed.com
http://www.burpee.com

Other catalogs:
http://www.leevalley.com
http://www.gardeners.com
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Container/pots/window boxes needs:

All need holes in the bottem for water drainage,
Potting soil that comes in bags,
Slow release fertilizer for flowers (not for green plants), OR liquid fertilizer that will need to be used more often-read directions,
Water crystals to be mixed into the soil for holding water,
Bedding plants or full grown plants.

Here is an excellent link to check out for color combinations and plants that look good together:

http://www.fernlea.com/awesomeaccents/recipes.html

GardenersCardiff answers:

Yes, there is a difference.

Gardening has to do with growing living plants (flowering or not) – and the venue doesn’t much matter. Traditional (outside in the ground), in containers, terrace, indoor…it can all be called “gardening”.

Flower arrangement has to do with assembling cut flowers into pleasing displays. They are not growing – they’ve been cut.

GardenersCardiff answers:

If Square Foot Gardening is still available, it’s a great book for beginners! Not overwhelming at all. There was also a book called something like lasagna gardening……fun but if you don’t have access to the stuff, probably not practical. Gardening for Dummies………?? No offense, just they usually break it down into simple sections.

If you are in the US you can contact your Cooperative Extension Service in your county. They have gardening brochures that may be helpful. Also they have the Master Gardeners, trained volunteers to answer your (many) questions. That’s their job.