Plan Your Containers in the WinterUse the long winter months and the Picasa editor tool to plan your color combinations for your containers.
Team Annual, or Team Perennial?It's ordering season- let's talk about which you will have more of in your garden. Are you Team Annual or Team Perennial?
Feeding BirdsWhen I toast a bagel for me, I eat the top half and donate the bottom to my backyard feathered friends. I toast that half too, smother it in plain or crunchy peanut butter, sprinkle bird seed over the top and gently pat it into the peanut butter with my finger, then hang the bagel on a tree branch. The birds love it! I sometimes add raisins to the seed and peanut butter mixture too.
Newspaper as MulchInexpensive weed block: I use newspapers as a free source of material to block weeds once my tomato plants are in the ground. Over the growing season the newspaper is converted to wonderful compost by a combination of water, soil contact, and worms.
How To Turn an Aquarium into a TerrariumThere seems to be a lot of mystery involving terrariums. Mention one and people run away in fear. I don't know why, it's really quite simple. Let me show you.
Night-Time Fragrance!The absolutely best vine for your deck or porch, or near an open window, is the Moonvine (Ipomoea alba), not to be confused with Moonflower. Grown on a trellis or deck railing, its night-blooming 6” pure white flowers offer a fragrance to behold. Pull up a chair in the evening and watch the flowers unfold before your very eyes!
Twine for GardenersTwine is a good thing to keep handy in the garden or on the potting bench. A terracotta pot turned upside down will hold the twine and a pair of scissors or knife.
Storage for Soil AmendmentsCharcoal bins with handles make great hoppers to keep soil amendments handy.
What's Blooming in JanuaryIn a more normal winter, our gardens here in Iowa would be nestled under a blanket of snow. Catching sight of even a flake or two has been a rare event so far this winter. As I write this, I'm itching to get outside, because it is sunny and 61 degrees! The average high in January for our state is 32 degrees. If this keeps up, I may have some early spring flowering bulbs to show you in February instead of in April! In the meantime, let's pay a cyber visit to folks who really do have plants blooming now, and also to our Mystery Blossom Contest winner, Paul Anguiano.
Don't Clog the Drain HoleWhen planting in a pot, always make sure to cover the drain hole loosely with gravel or (my favorite) pot shards. This stops the drain hole from becoming clogged.
Easy Fingernail CleanupIf you're opposed to wearing gloves for light tasks and don't want to harm your manicure, draw your fingernails across a bar of soap, filling the nails so they can't get dirt into them.
Team Garden Designed, or Team Go with the Flow?Some people are born planners, some like to experiment and see what happens. Come tell us what kind of gardener you are.
Share with a NeighborTalk to your neighbors and see which vegetables they will be planting. You can then plan to grow different plants, and all of the neighbors can share the bounty of their harvests with each other.
Use Coffee Grounds for Acid-Loving PlantsCoffee Grounds: Mix into the soil of acid-loving plants like gardenias, azaleas, etc.
Keep a Gardening CalendarJanuary is a good time to start keeping a personal gardening calendar. Use any type of calendar you like, but a wall calendar that already has large, empty blocks of space allotted for each day is ideal to hang where it can easily be seen daily. Hang a pen along with it to jot down notes, garden observations, and reminders for future reference.
Time to Winter Sow Your SeedsHave you tried winter sowing vegetable and ornamental plant seeds? If not, give it a try this winter. Many seeds, including tomato seeds and your favorite perennial seeds, do unbelievably well using this method.
Homes for Solitary BeesAll bees are very important for pollination. To keep solitary bees in your garden, build them a house. My husband made a simple one from a 4x4 cut about 15" inches long, with one end cut on a slant. He then drilled several rows of holes about 2 inches deep with varying sizes from 1/6 to 3/8 of an inch. Lastly, he cut a board somewhat larger than the first and nailed it to the slanted end as a roof. Attach the new bee house to a fence or tree for happy bees!!
How To Repot a CactusTo repot a cactus or other spiky plant, wrap it carefully in a washcloth or towel to minimize breakage to the spines and injury to your hands! You will be able to handle it easily this way. You may need to use some tape to hold the cloth in place.
Double Check Plant Labels for Best ResultsWhen researching plants to grow in your yard, look up their requirements for sun exposure and water needs for maximum success!
Opinion: A Few Good TreesIt's a good time to take a look at the bare bones of trees now that winter is upon most of us. That's about all we can see anyway since they aren't dressed in their leafy finery at the moment. Look out your window. How many trees can you see?
Don't Let the Soil Fall out of Your PotA used dryer sheet in the bottom of a pot will help keep the soil from falling out of the drainage holes.
Weeding in the Sidewalk CracksI don't like to see grass or weeds growing in the cracks of my sidewalk and I don't use chemicals in my yard. I found this weeding tool at Walmart for less than $4.00 and it pulls them out by their roots and if you use it after a rainfall it is even easier to get them out.
Which Team: Team Order Now, or Team NOT YetCatalogs are beginning to show up in our mailboxes. Have you started your spring ordering yet?
A Birdbath Just for the WaspsPaper wasps need water. To keep them from bugging you too much, have 2 bird baths available with water. One should be low on the ground & yucky looking, the other can be in the traditional bird bath. Paper wasps seem to prefer yucky water to clean water.
Trash Bags for Plant TiesCut a large heavy duty green trash/garbage bag into strips while still folded to use as inexpensive garden ties, open the strips and cut to desired length.
