One Of My Jobs

Well, tomorrow is Halloween and I guess this garden season has come to an end. I am still working on my fall clean ups and planting bulbs. I've got my fingers crossed for a pretty exciting garden that I designed from nothing...but it has to get the go ahead.
My legs hurt and my hands hurt but at least I'm going into winter in pretty good shape. Can't say I'll be going into spring in good shape...ha ha.
It's a cycle.
Here is one of my favorite gardens this year...I did some more that are pretty great too, but I didn't get pics.
I'll be glad to put my tools away for a minute-
Happy Gardens,
Raquel

Choosing the Right Annual For The Right Spot

written by GartenGrl

Choosing the Right Annual For The Right Spot

Every year when it comes time to plant your annuals there a few things you need to consider. The location of where you are planting, is the danger of frost past, what kind of irrigation system you are dealing with, what kinds of annuals and what sort of feel you want your garden bed to have.

Before you can even make any decisions about the colors and flowers you want to use you need to consider the location of your garden. For example, if you live in Michigan you need to know that Michigan has hot and dry summers, and late spring frosts. In this case you would want to pick an annual that can handle a light frost, such as marigolds, or begonias and can also handle the very hot and dry summer weather. The annual should hold up in extreme heat, but remember that all annuals need to be watered regularly, not over watered or you will just have dead annuals.

Is the spot a dry shade, wet shade, dry sun, wet sun, somewhere in between?

You need to know how much sun this location gets. Is it morning sun which is cooler or is it afternoon sun which is more brutal?

Does the spot get 6 hours of sun or less…because if it gets less than 6 hours, a full sun plant will not thrive. You are better off with a partial sun/shade choice.

So the next thing you want to consider is what kind of irrigation system do you have. If you have one that is professionally installed and basically waters the whole bed, then just make sure you adjust it to water only about 3 or 4 days a week for about half an hour.

Plants do not need water every day! In fact their roots need to dry out just a little so that they are encouraged to grow and reach for the water. If you water a plant too much it will surely die as if you never watered it at all.

Perhaps you do not have an irrigation system and will be watering by hand. Well that is something to consider as well. You will need to choose an annual that can go a few days without water in an emergency…like if you go away for a day or two. Find out from your local nursery what kind of watering is recommended for your particular region. They are usually very helpful and knowledgable.

Once you have considered all these factors and are at the flower store reading all the labels about Sun, Partial Sun, Shade…you are ready to think about the ways you want to combine your annuals.

It is really up to you, but consider that you may want the taller ones in the back. And to pick something that fills in around the other plants nicely and quickly, like a potatoe vine or some such thing. This will ultimately help to shade the bottom of the plants and help with water retention which will be good for the root systems.

Some people like a monochromatic garden and other people like all different colors…it is really about what you personally prefer. Once you have this part figured out you can add some cool garden things. Have fun and plan a little first to save some money later!

Teenagers in the Garden

I have had my own garden maintenance biz for about 11 years now. Things are going pretty well. As I get older it does get more challenging. So naturally as my biz expands I am looking for ways to delegate some of the labor.Well, it so happens I also have a teenage daughter. Lovely, healthy and 13. Well, this summer she has decided she would like to earn some $$MONEY$$...of course I am excited that she understands she must earn money and appreciates the value of money-having the desire to do things and buy things like most teens. So we agreed that when she got out of school this summer she could come and work for me....

Today was her first day. She wore flip flops, shorts and was completely unprepared. I was not going to say anything, though. I can't tell her her business, but I did tell her that once she is on the job she has to wear a good attitude and follow directions...LOL...!

After 10 minutes she was done-I kid you not. Her feet were wet...she had to go to the bathroom(the woods was not an option I guess)...and she was tired. So she spent the next hour in the car. I did finally cajole her into weeding along a brick path while I pruned a hedge, dead headed 20 peonies and about 30 Iris and then swept, watered and blew off the decks. Sigh...She promised to have a better attitude and wear more appropriate clothes next time...

Me thinks it is going to be a long summer...I'll keep ya posted, though.

Lantana

Once again, I am still pretty much a novice, so bare with me in such things. Today I would like to talk about my second favorite plant: Lantana.

I don't know the latin name, which of course my father would totally berate me for, but I think I am a better gardener than him, so there ya go. He is of course a scientist and beats me in that department for sure. But it's not a competition, so where was I?

Ah, Lantana...I met this plant in Florida where I was not immediately impressed...But in Michigan where the summers are hot and alternating between humid and dry...I was suddenly looking at Lantana with brand new eyes.

This annual (in Michigan it is an annual) is a great plant for Michigan because it can handle all day sun, and partial sun. It can handle very hot weather and fairly cool weather. It can handle some neglect in the watering department and prefers to not be over watered-but to it's credit can handle too much water too. It blooms from spring all the way to fall and then has attractive-BUT HIGHLY POISONOUS-purple berries.

I prefer the non mounding forms as I feel they are more prolific bloomers...my favorite has been the red and purple varieties.

I like to combine the red and orange flowering lantana with purple potatoe vine and some blue salvia and maybe some fountain grass for a long blooming, low maintenance and classy garden combo. Add a gazing ball and all your friends will be having major garden envy.

Marigolds

I am fairly new to blogging. So I will keep this brief. I luv, luv, luv marigolds. They are a truly wonderful annual that often gets the old turned up nose from so called "flower" snobs.
In my opinion the marigold is like the flower of the people. It is inexpensive, bright, disease and pest resistant, can handle the heat and it smells like summer. You can mix and match it with other plants for excellent results. Throw in some potatoe vine and an ornamental grass and you have elevated it something worthy of the ritz.
I hope you check out my other attempts at blogging at Cool Garden Things
GartenGrl