Gardening Information

Many times we buy plants on impulse then find there is nowhere in the garden that really suits them. Before buying plants carefully examine your garden to see how much sun and shade it gets, whether the soil is well drained or waterlogged and whether your aspect is sheltered or windswept. You’ll then be equipped to go and buy the best plants for your situation; shade-loving plants for the sheltered areas, sun-lovers for the warm spots, drought-resistant plants for the parched areas which may be either sunny or shaded, and swamp plants for the poorly-drained parts.

But wait! Is the soil acid or alkaline? Most plants prefer soil that is slightly acidic, but there are some that must have alkaline soil to grow.  You can alter the soil’s pH level, but it’s much easier to simply plant for the soil you have.

Now you are ready to plant. Well – almost. Will you plant in groups or singly? If you buy ‘one of everything’ your garden may seem rather spotty. Group plantings are organised, harmonious and you can vary the color for interest.

Before planting out, place your chosen plants around the garden bed in their pots to see how they will look. Grouping plants in sets of threes or fives usually looks better than planting in groups of even numbers. Try to keep your plants away from trees.

The right color scheme is one way to maintain the harmony in your garden. Imagine the color of the flowers when they are in bloom. Some colors may clash with others, but can still be planted side-by-side if they have a different blooming season. Foliage color is also important. Many flower plants have silver, grey or purplish foliage that is just as attractive as the flower.

Human beings have ever depended on the trees and plants around them to provide food, clothing, shelter, medicine and above all oxygen. Now, various researches are increasingly revealing that plants and flowers can also contribute to better physical, mental and emotional health.

We can easily trace the fragility and beauty of life through flowers. They evoke and share the feelings of love, health, trust, age and the fleeting fragments of time. Flowers and people and flowers – they have been identified with each other through life’s greatest and darkest moments.

Over the time, flowers have gained much importance in our daily lives and it has become part of our daily lives and we use them for all purposes such as to express something to someone, to greet, to congratulate, to welcome and most importantly for rituals and weddings. We place them even on graves.

Gardening of flowers has become an important aspect of our lives. A small garden filled with various kinds of flowers in front of our house is a delight to everyone. Everyone admires and even dream of such a house. If we have a special love for any flower then we can make it an everlasting beauty of our garden with innovative cultivation and enjoy the beauty of the flower of our choice even though the climate and other conditions are not quite favorable. But then if we want to divide the flowers on the basis of their life cycle then there will be three divisions, namely, annuals, biennials, and perennials though we can certainly go out of our way and plant flowers according to our choice.

Annual flowers complete their life cycle in one season so it is easily changeable and it also gives a bright color to our garden. These flowers are quite comfortable in the summer season and they are sun-lovers. Some names of flowers that can be grown in March and April – ageratum, aster, balsam, celosia, cone flower, cosmos, crotalaria, cypress vine, dahlia, floss flower, globe amaranth, gourds, marigolds, morning glory, nasturtium, petunias, rose-moss, salvia, sunflower, torenia and zinnia. There are also bright shade loving flowers like impatiens and bedding begonias.

Biennial flower plant
Flowers grow more during the fall and spring. The life cycle of biennial plants begins during the fall continues all through the winter season and ends at spring. During the fall the biennial plants produce only leaves. Then the winter period passes and they bloom in the spring, produce seeds, and then die. Some popular biennial plants include foxglove, hollyhock, stocks, and sweet williams. The only disadvantage of biennial flowers is that it produces too much of leaves.

Perennials are considered to be ornamental plants that do not die after one season of growth. This does not mean they live forever. In fact many perennials are considered to be short-lived, lasting only 2-3 years. Rose campion is a short lived perennial, but because it self-seeds so readily, it appears to live much longer. Some important perennials are; Pink Astilbe, Blue Pincushion Flower, Blue Perennial Sage, Purple Coralbells, Threadleaf Tickseed, Russian Sage, Blue Speedwell
Purple Coneflower, Black-Eyed Susan and Purple-Leaved Beard-Tongue.

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