The activity of gardening is gaining in popularity since it is being
viewed as an extremely rewarding pastime that provides plenty of fresh
air, exercise, and "beautiful" results. But most people are not content
with just a garden full of ordinary plants, but wish to create a
landscape of extraordinary flowers! And so the entry of "flower
gardening"!
But wait a minute! There should be no mistaken belief
that creating a garden full of flowers is an easy task. It involves
tough physical labor and demands dedication. Only then will you be able
to produce a "work of art".
Any outdoor activity should be
acceptable to the surrounding ecosystem; so also flower gardening. The
suggestions listed below should help you to grow healthy plants--
(1)
It is important to know the "hardiness zone" of the area you are
located in. The USA and lower Canada have been divided into various
hardiness zones by the USDA, according to a 10-degree Fahrenheit
difference in the average minimum temperature. This division will allow
you to note which plants can survive in which zones (seed packets or
flower guides carry this information), and you can purchase the
appropriate flowers for your garden.
(2) You have a vast range of
flowering plants to choose from, including butterfly bush, butterfly
weed, foxtail lily, African lily or the lily of the Nile, lantana and
delphiniums. Nice insects like butterflies and bees will feel like
visiting your garden!
(3) If you are unsure about the type of
plants you need to pick for your flower gardening, take the help of
garden guides and catalogs. They can provide you with all the
information you want, including useful tips.
(4) Some of the tips
given concern having a mix-and-match garden that displays flowers and
plenty of colors all year round! There are early bloomers, late
bloomers and mid-season bloomers to choose from. The "early" ones and
"late" ones can grow in side-by-side rows, to exhibit alternate blooming
times. So also perennials and bulbs. Many more combinations can be
tried out, depending on your creativity!
(5) Though most plants
have green leaves, there are some with silvery-colored leaves. Some
exhibit burgundy-colored leaves. These can become "space fillers", to
make up for those flowers which have not yet blossomed/finished
blooming.
(6) Before actually starting on your flower gardening
project, keep aside a book as a gardening journal. This is what
seasoned veterans do, and recording their earlier mistakes have helped
them to do better the next time round.
Start off by preparing a
sketch or plan of your new garden. Fill in all the details like--the
location of your garden, its proposed shape, the flowering plants that
you wish to have, a rough arrangement of the plants, and so on. Place
pictures too, as you go along. Record your successes and failures.
Over a period of time, this journal becomes a "chronicle" of your flower
gardening efforts!
(7) Are you planning to have a container
garden or a purely outdoor garden? If it is containers that are going
to hold your plants, then ensure that the soil conditions are just right
inside them. Also, you have to get only those plants that can tolerate
temperature changes and exposure to sunlight, because all plants cannot
face environmental changes. Again, all plants cannot be grown inside
containers.
(8) If it is going to be an outdoor garden, the soil
has to be tested first with the help of a soil testing kit. Many local
gardening supply stores stock it; in case they are not able to supply
one, they can always refer you to a place where the kit is available.
Even
without a kit, you should be able to judge the quality of the soil in
your yard with the help of your hands. Take some soil in your hand, and
rub it back and forth. If the soil comes apart, it indicates the
presence of too much of sand. So it cannot store nutrients. Sticking
together, indicates that there is too much of clay in the soil. This
type of soil does not drain well, and does not allow roots to penetrate
easily.
Loam soil (equal amounts of clay and sand) is the best for flower gardening.
(9)
Now that you chosen the spot for your garden, start digging. When you
have gone about 8 inches to 1 foot in depth, extract the rocks and
other unwanted debris that you can find there. Use a rake to split up
clods of earth and level the area.
(10) The next step is tilling.
About one inch or more of manure or compost is to be added to the
dug-up soil. Add even more if it is of poor quality. Grass cuttings or
peat moss help to increase water retention capacity if the soil has too
much of sand in it. For acidic type of soil, add lime.
When you
mix the soil and all the organic components that you have added to it,
turning the whole thing over and over a few times, you have "tilled" the
soil.
(11) Use the rake again to level the new bed. Some more
amendments have to be added to the soil. Compost goes into the top soil
(about 6 inches), along with a general-purpose fertilizer (10-20-10).
(12) Do not start planting your flowers as soon as you have
finished adding amendments. Give them time to enter the soil and spread
all across the plot designated for your garden. A few weeks of waiting
is necessary. Meanwhile, you can browse the books again so that you
are thoroughly prepared when it is actual planting time, with the plants
as well as all their requirements.
(13) Now that the time has
finally arrived, start sowing the seeds, or planting the seedlings.
Smaller ones should take the front seats, while the bigger ones should
be placed at the back. Ensure a distance of 3 feet between the plants
and any buildings/fences. Also, there should be at least 20 feet of
space between your flowers and large trees. Large bushes should
maintain a distance of 5 feet from your plants. Other trouble spots to
look out for are--steep slopes, places where water tends to stagnate and
shallow and rocky soil.
(14) Now that you have come this far in
your flower gardening project, it is time to put down a layer of mulch
(indicates compost that has not completely decayed) over the garden. A
word of caution--ensure that it does not come in contact with the stems
of the plants. A layer of 2 to 3 inches of mulch should remain around
the plants all the time, especially during the growing seasons.
Weeds can prove detrimental to your garden. As an added precaution, keep layers of wet/damp newspapers under the mulch.
Why
mulch? The benefits it provides to the soil include--stabilization of
temperature, increase in water retention capacity, addition of nutrients
and prevention of excessive growth of weeds.
(15) Do not go in
for synthetic substances or chemical pesticides, despite advice from
some professional gardeners. You have been "organic" so far; no point
in going back to "inorganic"! All that you need to do to make a success
of your flower gardening project is to keep the soil quality in top
condition. Try to combine plants so that one acts like a "pesticide"
for the other. For example, plants like rose and garlic are beneficial
to their companions in the garden.
(16) If you are in a hurry to
start growing your flowers, there is another option available. Get some
jiffy pots that are made from compressed peat moss. Put in potting
soil or starting mix. Sow the seeds. Place the pots inside the house
in an area where they can can get sufficient sunlight.
Once the
plants have attained a height of 4 inches, place the jiffy pots outside
in a pre-designated location. The pots rot away and the plants get
"attached" to the natural soil by their roots.
In addition, you
can look for tips and information about seeds on the backs of seed
packages, such as--when and how to sow the seeds, distance to be
maintained between plants, etc. Seedlings of course, should be planted
as soon as possible.
(17) Like many others, you may not really
have an idea about compost or how it is prepared. So, here is some
information about this "organic manure".
How is organic matter
different from inorganic materials? When there is decaying of the dead
remains of animals and plants (remains of any living things, in fact),
the decomposed material returns to the soil. The soil therefore gets
enriched with vitamins and other nutrients. Its fertility is enhanced,
enabling plants to grow healthy.
Thus, when soil is of poor
quality, it can be "amended" with the addition of natural manure or
compost. Being totally organic in nature, it causes no harm to your
garden or the surrounding environment.
Since compost is easy to
make on your own, you save on costs as you do not have to pay for
readymade manure purchased from the local gardening supply store. You
save on time too. The environment will be thankful to you as you are
taking care of the large amount of material collecting in landfills!
If
your garden soil contains too much of sand, compost will help to retain
water. If there is too much of clay, the compost enhances the soil's
capacity to drain well. And of course, plenty of nutrients get into the
soil with the help of this organic manure.
(18) Finally, how do you prepare your own compost for your flower gardening project?
Dig a pit. Fill it with whatever organic wastes that you can
get--lettuce leaves, tea leaves, coffee grounds, banana peels, grass
clippings, shredded branches, hay, chopped leaves, garden plants that
are free of disease and have finished their season, straw, weeds,
shredded papers and newspaper. No bones or meat are to be put in.
Whatever is put in, should be small in size--so use a lawn mower or a
shredder to reduce the size of some materials.
Once the pile has
attained 6 inches in height, use finished compost or soil or manure to
cover it. The covering layer should be about 3 to 6 inches thick.
Repeat the process of alternate layers of organic materials and finished
compost/soil/manure. The final height of the entire pile should be 3
feet.
The compost pile should be started in a shady location.
Whenever it seems to go dry, sprinkle water on it; enough to keep it
damp, not to make it soggy. There is heat generated that helps to
sterilize the forming compost. Keep turning the pile to ensure
circulation of oxygen.
When there is no more heat being produced,
the pile is ready for use. This compost has to be mixed with soil
before planting flowers. It can actually be used in any way
possible--as mulch, soil amendment or potting soil. But use it as
quickly as possible since the nutrients in it tend to get dissipated.
Thus, your flower gardening project has been entirely "organic" in nature!