Popular Descriptions With Plates

Be water-wise

If possible, water the lawn early in the morning on days when there is no wind. Water only when the lawn is dry. Do not over- water. If you are seeing runoff, the ground may be soaked. One of the more common over-watering problems is caused by not adjusting a sprinkler system for cooler weather or rain. We have all seen sprinklers going full spurt ahead when it's been raining all day. Drowned roots do not produce healthy lawns. It is also possible that the water pressure or amount is excessive, with more water being applied than the soil can absorb at one time, so it runs off. Underneath the top layer, the soil may be dry.

Before you decide that you're over-watering, check out whether the water is actually sinking in. If it's not, you'll need to try a more moderate approach to watering.

Under-watering can be a problem too. Grass roots will only survive with some moisture. If there isn't enough, the grass may be unable to withstand drought. Check your sprinkler system as the seasons change. The heat of summer is simply going to require more water for your lawn. Check how deeply the water has been absorbed with a spade, digging to about 15 centimeters. The soil should be damp. Check several spots, as absorption on slopes or in hollows will differ. If you don't like digging, buy a lawn-water measuring gadget.

• Grass roots soon show the signs of a lack of water If roots remain too close to the surface (top), it means they're just not getting enough moisture down in the soil where they need it. To ensure healthy roots (bottom) make sure that water is getting to a depth of at least 10 to 15 centimeters.

A simple Summary

Different grasses have different needs. Check out the strengths and weaknesses of the grasses you like so that you select the correct variety.

Do not over-water, and check to make certain water is soaking down into the soil rather than running off.

Fertilize your lawn regularly and in the recommended seasons. Lawns need lots of nutrients to be healthy

Be honest with yourself about how much time you actually have to spend on lawn care, and how willing you are to use that time for lawn work.

Be aware of any water limitations in your area, current or pending.

Make sure you choose the grass variety that is most suited to your area and to your site.

You can plant grass with seeds, turves, sprigs, or plugs.

Weeding wisely

Patience is most definitely a virtue when it comes to picking out weeds from pretty green lawns. Among the many perennial and annual weeds you may encounter are bindweed, black medic, clover, celandine, dandelion, and plantain. The most effective weed deterrent is a healthy, dense lawn that is well fertilized, watered, and has plenty of air circulation and the sunshine it needs. Always mow to the recommended height. If you mow too short, low-growing weeds have more space to thrive. Pull weeds out consistently so as not to let them get a foothold and just use herbicides on the areas where pulling just won't do the job. There are some organic weed sprays on the market, but you may have to look in specialist catalogues. Chapter 21 covers the use of herbicides in detail.

 You can visit this flower guide for more information about this article.

Flowering Plants - The First Track

Blue fescue

Often used in dry landscaping, the serene, blue-grey leaves of blue fescue (Festuca mina glauca) accent taller, brighter perennials. Only 17 to 25 centimeters high, blue fescue develops into a tufted, mounding plant that usually displays moderate growth, expanding from individual plants that may each get to 30 or more centimeters wide. During the summer months, brownish, rather bland flowers appear on little spikes. Blue fescue markedly prefers sun, but it will also tolerate light shade. To keep it looking its best, just water it occasionally.

Silver brocade artemisia

My 15 centimetre-high artemisia (Artemisia stelleriana) started when a dinner guest gave me a home-grown flower bouquet made up of stems in grey Out of curiosity, when the flowers faded I tucked the stems in a glass of water on a sunny bathroom windowsill and forgot about them. Three weeks later, the stems developed roots. The plant went into the sunny, dry spot where just about everything had refused to grow because of concrete-reflected heat. The artemisia thrived. I clipped a few stems, rooted them in water, and placed them into more tough, small areas, such as inside an ancient lorry type that has been transformed into a raised bed. To use artemisia as groundcover, you must place each plant about 25 centimeters apart. Expect artemisia to reach about 38 centimeters wide. This evergreen perennial has silvery-grey leaves about 5 to 10 centimeters long.

Beach covers

FORTUNATELY FOR THOSE AT THE SEASHORE, a good number of ground-cover plants work nicely in this environment. Try some of the following plants if your garden gets beach winds and salt sprays.

Cape weed

I use cape weed (Arctotheca calendula) in a really hot, dry side area where nothing else wants to tolerate the living conditions. The only problem is it keeps trying to escape into an area with soil less like hardened concrete. It's aggressive enough to require vigilance, but then, that's exactly what you may need. Cape weed can grow to about 20 centimeters tall, but will hug the ground in dry situations. It can tolerate temperatures as low as —4° C and is quite useful on neglected slopes and for erosion control. If you plant it in any form of shade, it will grow with great determination towards sunlight. Cape weed's flowers.

Bringing In Butterflies And Attracting Beneficial Insects

Lacewings

These insects are about 2 centimeters long, green or brown, and have lacy, long wings. Lacewing larvae, or young, can each devour 60 aphids per hour, and also feed on leafhoppers, mites, thrips, and other small pest insects. The adults feed on flower nectar and pollen. To encourage lacewings into your garden, plant:

• Archangel (Angelica archangelica)         • Goldenrod (Solidago)

• Butterfly bush (Buddleja davidii)            • Red cosmos (Cosmos)

• Campion (Lychnis)                                • Tickseed (Coreopsis)

• Common tansy (Tanacetum vulgare)      • Yarrow (Achillea)

 

Ladybirds

Most ladybirds are shiny red, orange, or yellow with black markings. Each adult ladybird is about 7 millimeters long. The wrinkled larvae, or young, are orange and black. Both adults and larvae feed on aphids, mites, whiteflies, and scale insects. Ladybirds emerge in spring, just as the aphids descend, and eat hundreds of these insects a day, making them a true gardener's friend. To encourage ladybirds, plant:

• Butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa)

• Marigold (Tagetes)

• Spindle tree (Euonymus)

• Yarrow (Achillea)

Archangel ecstasy

This tropical-looking biennial plant, sometimes called angelica, offers bright green, deeply divided leaves and fragrant greenish-white flowers in large clusters. A rapid grower, it does best in rich, damp, soil planted in partial shade. In medieval times, archangel was believed to be sent by angels. It provided a cooked vegetable for the dinner table, candied stalks for dessert, kept evil spirits from entering the body, and offered protection from the plague. Archangel (Angelica archangelica) can grow to 2.5 meters high. The seeds may self-sow for next year's garden.

Cosmos companions

Cosmos (C. bipinnatus), sometimes called Mexican aster, can be found in perennial and annual varieties. The annuals may be white, pink, lavender, crimson, or bicoloured, but it's the white cosmos that is most attractive to beneficial insects. Ranging in height from 1 to 2 meters, cosmos prefer full sun, average soil, and moderate water.

Find Out When To Buy Your Plant And Bulbs

Favorite figs

 • Angelique — medium, roundish fruit that are yellow with white specks. Flesh white with pink tinge. Good for pots, does well by walls in a greenhouse.

• Brown Turkey — the large, pear-shaped fruit are brown with occasional purple tinge. Sugary rich flesh at centre. Excellent by garden walls or in a greenhouse. Easy to force in pots.

• Castle Kennedy — very large fruit. Skin greenish- yellow. Tender white flesh stained red. Very early cropper.

• Fig d'Or — golden fruit with pink-tinged flesh. Very indented leaves. An old variety most suited to pots in a greenhouse. Strawberry flesh, rich, sweet, and good quality.

• Kadota — medium-sized fruit with yellowish green to white skin. Rich, sweet, amber flesh, very old variety

• Panachee — striped wood and striped sweet fruit. Delicious eating. The figs look like little hot air balloons! Vigorous habit, but easily controlled.

• Rouge de Bordeaux — medium-sized fruit. Purple skin with violet bloom and red flesh. Excellent rich flavor. One of the best figs for greenhouse culture, border, or pot.

A rig fitness programme Caring for your fig trees couldn't be simpler. When the weather gets hot and dap remember to give them plentu of water.

As with many plants, mature trees require much less water than young trees. Potted figs need regular watering at all times. A mulch will help to preserve moisture, since the fig roots grow close to the surface. Because of the shallow root system, don't plan on digging or cultivating around your fig trees.

Figs need little pruning, and most pruning should be done for size and shapeliness when the tree is young. If you are into pruning, be aware that some fig trees fruit mostly on new shoots, and others fruit on both old and new branches.

Some people advocate wrapping fig trees for the winter. A simple way is to tie the branches together to make a cylinder. Use a wire cage to enclose the branches and fill the empty spaces with dried leaves. Cover the cage with a waterproof fabric. Few insects or diseases annoy fig trees, except birds and wasps. Weeding must be thorough near trunks to prevent rodents nibbling the bark.

Fabulous figs

FIGS ARE AMONG THE OLDEST of cultivated fruits. Records show that people have been planting figs (Ficus carica) since at least 2500 BC, but their history pre-dates that time. According to the Old Testament, while Adam was strolling around the Garden of Eden, he ate the apple Eve had given him and then had to cover his nakedness with a nearby fig leaf.

Grow Your Own Delicious Vegetables, Fruits, And Herbs

Beach covers

FORTUNATELY FOR THOSE AT THE SEASHORE, a good number of ground-cover plants work nicely in this environment. Try some of the following plants if your garden gets beach winds and salt sprays:

Cape weed

I use cape weed (Arctotheca calendula) in a really hot, dry side area where nothing else wants to tolerate the living conditions. The only problem is it keeps trying to escape into an area with soil less like hardened concrete. It's aggressive enough to require vigilance, but then, that's exactly what you may need. Cape weed can grow to about 20 centimeters tall, but will hug the ground in dry situations. It can tolerate temperatures as low as —4° C and is quite useful on neglected slopes and for erosion control. If you plant it in any form of shade, it will grow with great determination towards sunlight. Cape weed's flowers

Hottentot fig

Hottentot figs (Ccupobrotus edulis) have thick leaves, and each stem can reach 2 meters long. In some hot, dry areas of America it is called "freeway ice plant". It helps stabilize beach sand, and tolerates coastal soil spray and some soil salt. The large flowers are yellow and pink. Hottentot figs tolerate temperatures as low as —4° C.

Hottentot fig does have its advantages, but I don't recommend it for ordinarti garden use because it has a bulky appearance and spreads rapid/q. lnitiallrj lqiny flat, it may mound gradually as long stems pile on top of one another.

Sage-leaf rock rose

There are many types of rock rose, all originating on dry, stony soil in warm climates. They are grown in parks as well as gardens, and if watered occasionally and given full sun, they'll reward you with lovely spring flowers in white, light pink, or rose pink.

More beach covers:

• Bergenia (Bergenia)                                            • Lilyturf (Liriope)

• Blue fescue (Festuca ovina glauca)                  • Mondo grass (Ophiopogon japonicus)

• Cotoneaster (Cotoneaster)                              •    Creeping coprosma (Coprosma)                • Shrub verbena (Lantana)

• Dwarf rosemary                                                   • Snow-in-summer

(Rosmarinus officinalis) (Cerastium tomentosum)

• Gold dust (Aurinia scocatalis)                         • Stonecrop (Sedum)

•             Heather (Calluna vulgaris)                    • Sun rose (Helianthemum)

•             Lavender cotton                                     • Trailing African daisy

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How To Plan And Maintain A Beautiful Garden

EXPLORING EDIBLES

FUN WITH FRUIT TREES

To help prevent the roots from developing crown rot fungus damage, don't plant too deeply Place the trees in the ground at the same soil level they were in when you brought them home from the nursery. To provide good air circulation, dwarf trees require at least 2.5 meters of growing space, and standard trees should have about 8 meters in which to stretch out.

Choosing cherries

Most sweet cherry trees require another sweet cherry tree as a pollinator. The pollinator tree doesn't have to be in your garden, but it certainly helps to have one nearby Acid cherry trees, producing the kind of fruit used in preserves and pies, are self-fertile. The varieties I've chosen to feature are all trees producing sweet eating cherries. Some can be found as dwarf trees, such as Compact Stella, which produces more fruiting spurs and a heavy crop for its smaller size. Dwarf cherry trees are self-fertile.

Good cherries for beginners

• Compact Stella — this has all of the basic properties of the most popular sweet cherry It readily forms spurs. The fruits are large, dark , red, and are ready for picking around late July.

• Early Rivers — a variety that was introduced over 100 years ago and is still popular. The fruits are sweet, very large, and nearly black. Cropping is heavy and regular and the cherries are ready for picking around mid-June.

• Governor Wood — this yellow-fleshed cherry has a good flavor. Its sweet, medium-sized fruit have dark red skins, flushed yellow. They ripen in early July

• Merchant — a newer variety of sweet cherry with large fruit and bacterial canker resistance. Ripens early July

• Merton Bigarreau — large, black cherry with dark red firm flesh and an outstanding flavor, a heavy cropper with high vigor, it ripens around mid-July

• Merton Glory — large, yellow cherry ripening in late June. It has firm, white flesh and heart-shaped, rather than round, fruit. Growth is distinctly upright.

• Napoleon Bigarreau — renowned for its firm, very sweet flesh, pale yellow fruits, flushed with dark red. It's a heavy cropper that's ready for picking in early August.

• Van — reliable cropper with sweet, large, dark red fruit and firm, dark red flesh. Not a good choice for a small garden. Is ready for picking in late July.

Easy - To - Grow Fragrant Herbs

Fertilization

Plants can be self-fertile or require a pollinator plant. Cross-fertilization occurs with plants that rely on a pollinator plant.

When planning a fruit tree purchase, it is important to know whether the plant is self-fertile or whether it requires a pollinator. If a plant is self-fertile you need only one tree of that kind to produce fruit. If a plant requires a pollinator, you will need two trees to get fruit.

Super simple plant anatomy

PLANTS, WHETHER TINY HERBS OR GIANT TREES, are basically made up of three parts: roots, stems, and leaves. Roots are the parts growing downwards into the ground. They take in part of the plant's nourishment, including water, from the soil, and they anchor the plant into the soil. Roots usually branch many times as they grow. The smaller branches are called rootlets.

Growing upwards from the roots is a stem. At certain places along the stem, according to plant type, there are leaves. Leaves, as a group, make up the plant's foliage. The stem acts as a conduit, carrying nourishment from the roots to the leaves. Leaves also take in food from the air. These nutrients, along with the nutrients transferred to the leaves from the root system, begin to change within the leaves. When exposed to sunlight, the nutrients change into a form that the plant can actually use for its health and growth. This process is called photosynthesis.

A healthy growing plant extends its roots and rootlets further and further out into the soil. Reaching out lets it have access to more soil nutrients and more water. Meanwhile, in a healthy plant, the stem becomes longer. It develops more leaves, or sends out more branches, which in turn develop more leaves. The many leaves obtain more light and air, aiding plant nutrition. Your job as a gardener is to help each of your plants meet its growth needs.

• Each male stamen consists of an anther and a filament, while the female pistil has three parts — a stigma, style, and ovary. When pollen lands on the stigma, pollination occurs.