A Gardening Guide For The Beginners

Signs of Overwatering Indoor Plants

All plants need water to survive based on their watering needs, in an outdoor garden setting plants require water more often because of direct exposure to the sun and there may be the challenge of the wrong soil type (sandy soils) where high-maintenance plants may be involved. Because a plant’s natural habitat is outdoors bringing them indoors to a more controlled environment requires some know-how of how to care for them so it can grow just as healthy and thrive as if it was in an outdoor garden setting.

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Tips to get your Poinsettias to Rebloom

Poinsettias are a favorite at Christmas time because of their beautiful colors and soft texture, but what happens once the colder months have passed and your poinsettias begin to lose their luster and beautiful color? While it may be a challenge to help your poinsettias regain their colors it’s possible for your poinsettias to rebloom by following this method that has proven to give the results you’re

looking for.

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How Propagated Poinsettias from Cuttings

Poinsettias are beautiful plants with colorful showy bracts or leaves that can add much flavor to any indoor or outdoor living space, and while it’s true that care must go into these garden beauties for them to maintain their beauty there are several methods that’s been used to increase their numbers which will not cause you much except for your time. Below we will be discussing such methods that have proven to give much success, so let’s take a closer look at how poinsettia plants are propagated.

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The Right Way to Prune Poinsettias

One of the key components to growing healthy poinsettias is carrying out pruning procedures, for the beginner garden however this may seem to be a bit of a daunting task of fear of damaging or killing the plant. However, there is no need to fear because the knowledge we’re about to share will give you the confidence to prune your poinsettias to ensure that they stay healthy and vibrant.

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Poinsettias Insect Pests and Disease Management

Although the Christmas holidays come to an end and the warmer months arrive you can still keep your poinsettias growing healthy and thriving, one of the many challenges however is knowing how to continue to care for these garden beauties once the colder months have passed. Besides providing adequate moisture the proper lighting and the right amount of fertilizer there other maintenance practices that must be carried out which include insect pests and disease issues that may arise.

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How to Care for Poinsettias Indoors

A Plant that’s a favorite at Christmas time is poinsettias, these garden beauties have been a part of the Christmas tradition for centuries, in fact, history records that the tradition of poinsettias being used at Christmas time began ” in southern Mexico in the 1600s when Franciscan monks or priest used the colorful leaves and bracts to adorn extravagant nativity scenes”.

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South Florida Winter Garden Guide

The colder months of the year are not the time to hang up our garden gloves and put away the tools until the warmer season arrives, there is still much that can be done during this time of the year and even though nature is taking that long-awaited rest, nature will still lend a hand to those of us who see the many opportunities of working in our winter gardens.

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Snow Saftey Removal Tips

The colder months have finally arrived which means that much of our garden chores have basically come to a standstill even though there may be a few tasks that can still be carried out. However one of the challenges that we have to deal with is the removal of snow which can become a daunting and challenging task, many homeowners prefer to call a professional company but for the homeowner who may be thinking of DIY your yard ( do it yourself) here are a few helpful tips that will guarantee success on how to remove snow from your yard.

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Preparing your Fruits Trees for the Winter Months

The cooler months are finally here and as the temperatures continue to dip it’s not too late to winterize or prepare your fruit trees to survive the colder months as it sets in. Making preparations now will ensure that your fruit trees are healthy and in top shape, once the warmer seasons return. The steps that we are about to discuss have proven to be effective in fruit tree winter protection.  Let’s continue our discussion below as we take a closer look at winterizing fruit trees in South Florida.

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Brighten Up your Garden for Winter

For most of us, spending time in our gardens is a great way to unwind and relax as we connect with nature, allowing the creativity of our minds to come forth in our garden oasis that says home sweet home. The spring through the summer months and even autumn offer us the opportunity to plant our favorite veggies, fruits, herbs, ornamentals, and flowering plants that paints our gardens and landscapes with an array of beautiful colors.

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The Benefits of Mulching Your Vegetable Garden in the Fall

Mulches are natural organics that can benefit our gardens and landscapes in so many ways however although mulches are popular their use is limited by many homeowners simply because of not knowing how important mulches are to plant life, soil, and soil microbes. I have used mulches over the years both on outdoor garden projects as well as interior plantscape and have seen how these natural organics do not only transform (aesthetics) those garden projects but the nutrients that were added as mulches break down or decompose over time.

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Extending the Season with Your Indoor Edible Garden

Although we’re in the fall months now is not the time to stop gardening as the winter months approach, there is much more that can be done to extend the season for a fall and winter crop. We can continue to eat fresh through the fall and winter months by shifting our focus on gardening indoors, this time of the year presents us with so many opportunities to connect with nature indoors. The Aerogarden system can help us to achieve this goal.

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10 Best Garden Tools to Buy on Amazon 2022

Working outdoors Whether planting a vegetable, flower, or herb garden or installing or maintaining your lawn, weekend warriors and garden enthusiasts alike are connecting with nature seeking to reap a good harvest from their time spent working outdoors during the spring and summer months.

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Tips to Grow Duranta from Cuttings

Durants are beautiful shrubs that can bring that need color into your landscapes and gardens, you can populate your gardens with as many as you want that will not cause you a dime.

The question has been asked, can you grow Duranta from cuttings? the answer to that question is Yes. The golden Duranta or golden Dewdrop is a tropical to sub-tropical plant or ornamental shrub which includes about 30 species.

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Hibiscus Indoor Care Guide

Hibiscus is a tropical shrub that is grown on a wide scale because of its beauty, ease of growth, and its low maintenance. I have worked with many species on garden and landscape project and have seen the flavor these plants brings once use as a part of your garden design. Although hibiscus is popular for being grown outdoors the question is can hibiscus be grown indoors or as a house plant?

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Common Fall Plants that Cause Allergies

Fall allergies are common in the U S, in fact, it’s estimated that “50 thousand people have fall allergies”, it’s said that” one in five” has allergies issues. It’s believed that “allergies are the 6th leading cause of chronic illness”. There are many culprits that are responsible for allergies some of which include dust, mold, dust mites, certain foods such as peanuts, milk, eggs, shellfish, some fruits and vegetables, soy, wheat, etc...

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Lawn Care Tips for Fall

A part of our fall garden maintenance care does not only involve our edible and ornamental gardens but taking care of our lawns as well, in the previous discussion we have touched a bit on fall garden maintenance care but in this guide, we will be going more in-depth into taking care of our lawns during the fall months and the reason for this is to prepare and to keep our lawns healthy during this time of the year as the winter months approach.

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Tips for a Fall Garden Planner

As the temperature begins to dip it’s a sign from nature that the winter months are fast approaching, but despite this time of the year for those who haven’t started as yet there is still time to work in your gardens. Yes even during the fall months we can get busy in our gardens, just a few days ago I was busy in my yard and garden doing my fall cleanup.

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Extending your Edible Crops in the Fall and Winter

The use of cold frame gardens popularity is widespread, this type of gardening is not a new concept but has been around for some time now, and based on the rise in popularity this method of gardening is not going away anytime soon. But the question many may be asking is what is cold frame gardening? simply put cool frame gardening or a cold frame garden is a bottomless box that is set out in the garden over plants to protect them from the Cold weather.

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Fall Gardening Beginners Guide

The Spring and Summer months presented us with the opportunity to work the soil as we grew some of our favorite edible and ornamental plants, now that we’re in the fall months there are still a lot of opportunities that we can take advantage of as the winter months approach. However, for the beginner gardener the question may be asked how do I take advantage of this time of the year?

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Keep Your Garden Colorful During the Colder Months

The warmer (Spring through Summer) season is not the only time to display an array of colors from our gardens and landscapes, the fall season as well as the early winter months can give us a beautiful show of colors provided we choose the right plants. A great way to add a rainbow of colors is the use of annuals, annuals are some of my favorites.

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Common Fall Garden Pests and How to Bring Control

Garden insect pests can be a real nuisance as they invade our gardens making a meal out of our garden plants and what makes matters worse is that many of them have been known to carry and spread diseases. These garden pests can turn a dream garden into a nightmare causing healthy beautiful plants to become an eyesore if action is not taken immediately.

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Amazing Colors for the Fall Months

The fall months are depicted as a time when plants are preparing to take their long-awaited winter nap as leaves (deciduous plants) begin to fall from the trees along with the slow growth of garden plants. And while this is true for many plants there are so many that continue to grow (every green plant) throughout the year. Deciduous plants lose their leaves at a certain time of the year but will produce fresh beautiful leaves when the growing season or warmer months returns. Evergreen plants are plants that retain their leaves throughout the year and into the following growing season. However, in our discussion, we will be turning our attention to orchids.

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Best Herbs to Plant in South Florida

In our previous articles, we discussed flowers to plant in the fall in South Florida and also vegetables to plant in the fall in South Florida but we will be turning our attention to some of the best herbs that can be grown during the fall months. Garden herbs have their place in our gardens and really do deserves our attention, the aromas and the flavors that herbs produce are just simply amazing.

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Brighten Your Fall Garden with these Flowering Plants

Why limit the beauty of our South Florida gardens to the summer and spring months when we can extend the season to ensure that our gardens are in full bloom even during the fall months? While we can agree that the fall months present the opportunity to do a bit of spring cleaning the opportunity is also there to include flowering plants that can beautify and brighten our gardens during the fall months.

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Best Vegetables to Plant in South Florida

With the passing of spring and the summer months and winter fast approaching there is still much that can be done during the fall months, among the many tasks that are undertaken in our fall gardens is extending the season by growing vegetables. Yes even during the fall months we can grow edible foods in our South Florida gardens before the temperature dips ( the winter months sets in).

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How to Prepare Garden Beds in the Fall

The spring and summer months were a busy time for all if not most of us, we worked in our gardens hoping to reap a good harvest from our food crops or to see our ornamental plants come to full bloom as they amaze us with their many shapes, sizes, and various colors. Now we’re in the fall months but we can’t throw up our feet just yet because during the fall months there is still much to do to prepare our garden beds before winter sets in.

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The Best Soil for Greenhouse Plants

What I love about greenhouses is the ability to extend the season with the plants of choice, these houses have become so popular because of the many advantages they offer which we will be discussing a bit later. Greenhouses can be any shape or size and based on your needs and the size of the area a greenhouse can be installed.

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How to Increase Flower Production

I read a story many years ago about a farmer’s wife who grew beautiful roses that she loved dearly, one day she was asked the question about pruning her rose bush and her reply was “before I prune my roses I would rather cut off one of my chicken’s head”. I believe when it comes to pruning our plants, especially for the beginner there is fear of making even one snip and I understand in part.

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Tips to Prune Houseplants

Growing and maintaining indoor plants may not require as much attention as outdoor plants but indoor plants still need to be maintained to control their height and natural form. A part of proper maintenance practice for houseplants is keeping them will prune.

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What to Plant in August Guide

Wow how time flies, just the other day it seems, we were all in high gear as the spring months approach with great anticipation to get outdoors in our gardens and work the soil connecting with nature. Then it was on to the summer months where in spite of the heat we were still determined to reach our goals of completing those garden projects and now we are in the month of August. As summer is about to come to a close we enter the fall months.

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4 Container Garden Ideas that’s Hot

Have a colorful season all summer long with these 4 container garden ideas that are sure to bring that much-need flavor and change, If you don’t have the space to install the garden you’ve always desired or you may have been planning to give your outdoor living space a facelift then look no further because with a container garden you can bring that much-needed change.

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5 Ideas for a Summer Garden Make Over

The summer months are finally here which gives us a chance to go outdoors and work in our gardens, although the heat may be a challenge, working in our gardens provides us the opportunity to connect with nature as we install beautiful plants that displays their own uniqueness with their varies sizes, shapes, colors, and fragrance.

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Controlling Insects With Plants

The insect world is so vast that they outnumbered the human race by far, the human population is”7.9 billion” whereas there are estimated to be “10 quintillion insects” on planet earth. I know, the word quintillion can twist your tongue or cause you to get tongue-tied, That’s a lot of insects, many of these insects can be found in our homes and gardens.

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8 Common House Plant Mistake To Avoid

It’s amazing how plants can bring such change to our environment, plants have many benefits including being grown for food. All of us depend on plants to help us in so many different ways even wildlife, and insects depend on plants for their survival. Plants play a major role on our planet, from our outdoor gardens to our indoor living spaces the presence of plants can make a huge difference.

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Sea Grape Not Bearing Fruits

The sea grape plant can be grown as a tree, hedge, or shrub, this tropical beauty is native to tropical America, the Bahamas, the Caribbean, Bermuda, and the Greater and Lesser Antilles. The sea grape or the Coccoloba uvifera is a species of flowering plant in the buckwheat family, sea grapes are grown in many coastal areas because of their high salt tolerance and also serve as a dune stabilizer and protective habitat for small animals.

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Aspirin For Healthy Vegetables

Aspirin is a common drug or medication that I think every home should have, these pills are used to treat mild to moderate aches and pains, such as muscle aches, toothaches, etc… the important component that’s found in aspirins is called salicylic acid. This active ingredient eliminates pain and swelling in humans but when given to garden plants aspirins help by boosting the plant’s immune system. When a plant’s immune system gets boosts it helps a plant fight against garden pest invasion, parasitic attacks, and pathogens or plant diseases.

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 Make Liquid Fertilizer From Kitchen Waste

Have you ever heard the saying that “one man’s junk is another man’s Treasure”? but what if I tell you that your junk can also become your treasure. This saying is so true even when it comes to taking care of our gardens, we can reuse kitchen scraps (Vegetables and Fruits) to grow and maintain healthy plants.

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Growing Healthy Plants With Oatmeal

Oatmeal is a popular breakfast cereal that’s high in fiber and other nutrients which is great for our bodies, according to history oats have been here for thousands of years. Its believed that oats have been around from “Egypt’s 12th Dynasty, around 2000B.C.” Its also believed that oats ” as far back as 7,000 B.C. was used by ancient Chinese”.

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Golden Larch Bonsai Guide

Pseudolarix amabilis commonly called golden larch although not considered to be a true larch is native to eastern China, it is said that “the wood of this tree is used in traditional Chinese medicine as a dermatologic antifungal remedy. The wood of the golden larch bonsai tree is also used in the manufacturing of boats, bridges, and furniture”.

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Tips to Watering Indoor Plants

When it comes to giving house plants the right amount of water there is a misconception and because of this misconception, many house plants are suffering at the hands of their owners. “I killed my houseplants or I don’t have a green thumb” I have heard these statements on many occasions from people who seem to have tried hard and as best as they could to keep their house plants alive but in the end they acknowledge defeat.

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Drying and Preserving Flowers

5 Methods to Dry Cut Flowers

Whether you’re growing flowers in your garden, from containers indoors, your porch or patio, or maybe a hanging basket one thing that we can all agree on is flowers can light up a garden or a room with their various colors, shape, sizes, textures, and fragrance. The presence of flowers has been known to change the atmosphere and moods of people from all walks of life. It’s no wonder why flowers have been used and are being used to brighten up that special someone’s day.

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Organic Garden In A Bag

Sack gardening is a great way to grow in small spaces, this method of gardening is not new but has been around for some time. In fact, sack gardening was first introduced in 2008 because of a crisis that took place in Mathare, Kiambu, and Kibera slums. Because of food insecurity, a plan was put in place where this garden technique was brought to 22,109 households which helped more than 110,000 people.

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Your BluePrint to Garden Success

Keeping written records of your garden is a great way to keep track of how your garden is performing, overtime a garden can become so cluttered that it can be disorganized and confusing. For example, you may sow seeds but not mark or indicate what you had sown and sow the seem seeds in another part of your garden when that was not your plan.

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Growing Vegetables and Herbs Indoors

Thinking outside the box is a great way to stay ahead of the game which can increase your knowledge while helping you to save a few dollars. This creative thinking has sparked an interest as many persons are seeing the need to grow their own foods or to start an indoor edible garden. With an indoor edible garden, you can extend the season as you eat fresh during the winter months.

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When to Prune a Golden Duranta

The golden Duranta or golden dewdrop is a perennial plant that’s cultivated in many tropical and sub-tropical gardens, there are some 30 species of this ornamental beauty, the golden Duranta is native to Central America, South America, and the Caribbean, this broadleaf evergreen shrub can be grown as a hedge or a specimen or stand-alone plant.

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Perennial Flowers Planting Guide

Creating a flower garden that is picture-perfect requires some know-how, there is just something about a beautiful flower garden design that gives a good restful feeling. It has been proven medically that exposing patience to a  flower garden scenery helped or sped up the healing process. It’s no wonder why many homeowners have taken on personal projects investing in a home garden. In this article, however, we will be discussing when to plant perennial flowers.

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 Permaculture Garden Design Ideas

Connecting with nature outdoors is a great way in helping to promote our ecosystem, gardening is a privilege that allows us to embark upon such ventures as we do our part in using many gardening methods not only to create the garden of choice but also to provide a home, food source and shelter for wildlife.

Among the many visitors that come to our gardens besides wildlife are pollinators and beneficial insects however, there are other visitors that are not welcome (garden insect pests) which can cause much damage turning a dream garden into a nightmare these uninvited guests must be dealt with right away to avoid their destruction.

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 Four Ideas to Grow Food in small spaces

Growing food in small spaces has sparked interest especially since the pandemic (Covid-19), many persons are now removing part of their flower gardens for this purpose and then there are those that are gardening for the first time making use of whatever available spot they can find to start a vegetable garden. Never has there been a time since 1800 that people are finding ways to sustain themselves by growing their own foods.

During 1800 in the old English days British peasants installed gardens around their homes planting fruits, vegetables, herbs along with flowering plants, beehives, and livestock that provided food for their families. This method of gardening was called cottage gardens, cottage gardens were crowded with plants. In other words, these peasants made the most out of the little space they had ensuring every bit was utilized because they knew their survival depended on it.

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Indoor Pineapple Plant Care

The earliest evidence of pineapple dates back as far as 1200 – 800 BC, it is believed that this fruit was cultivated by the Mayas and the Aztecs. There are also documents that report that pineapples were found growing in the West Indies by  Christopher Columbus, Sir Walter, Gonzalo, Fernández de Oviedo, Valdés and were used for food and making wine.

This world-famous fruit is enjoyed by so many and is used in many drinks and foods recipes, there are more than 37 types of pineapples that are grown worldwide. The ornamental pineapple is one species that is among this group this pineapple type is not edible but is grown for aesthetic purposes, we will be looking at however at how to grow an indoor pineapple plant.

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