Use plants for backyard privacy

Get your potted plants from around the garden to create a living screen. Experiment with tall varieties, such as ornamental grasses, and flowering plants, such as bacopa and begonia. You’ll be rewarded with privacy, shelter from wind, and the beautiful aroma of blooms and foliage around you.

Make your flowers last longer

Watering and weeding is a given, but you may not know just how important deadheading is to keep your flowers blooming. Serious gardeners, will always deadhead which means removing the dead or faded flowers from the plant, this encourages most perennials and annuals to grow much fuller and flower for longer.

Here’s how to do it:

Removing the flower

Most plants have spent flowers or new buds or leaves on the same stem, these plants will be delphinium, daisy, certain rose trees etc.

Use your pruners to cut off dead flower stems above the first new flower or bud. If there is no bud then snip just above the highest leaf.

Removing the stem

This is best when you have a single flower stem, e.g bleeding heart, peony etc.

When all their flowering is finished, make sure to cut the stalk off as close to the ground as possible. If you want to thin the regrowth of wider growing plants then carefully pull out the stems by the root.

There was a time in the not so distant past, when gazebos were only purchased by people who could afford to spend a considerable amount of money. Nowadays, you do not need to be rich in order to have the beauty of a gazebo in your garden, now widely available in various styles and sizes, at very affordable prices. Whatever size area you have you can now find the right style and fit to dedicate your gazebo building project, to suit your personal and landscape needs.

Before you choose to buy your gazebo you need to be clear what its main purpose will be e.g. for a bbq area, a shelter or a hot tub or spa. You need to know the gazebo will be big enough but not too big for the job you need it for.

Gazebos come in many different materials now and you can choose a gazebo in wood, aluminum, concrete and brick. All of these types of material will hold up well in really harsh weather. If you choose to have the lighter material of either wooden or aluminum, then be sure that it has a sturdy top and base and that it has been weather proof treated. The best design of these would be one with a completely closed top.

Gazebos make a plain garden turn into something spectacular with a stunningly lavish gazebo centre piece. Whether you use your gazebo for a quiet place to sit and relax with a cup of tea or for entertaining purposes. For many years, gazebos have been used for summerhouses and kiosks.

If you are using the gazebo for outdoor entertaining and cooking, you may need to install a fire pit or brick barbeque. If you want your gazebo to be placed close to a pond area, then it may be a good idea to add special lighting. You can add doors and windows to a gazebo, if it is near a pool it can be turned into a guest changing area or pool house.

For considering the positioning of your garden gazebo, keep in mind whether you have high winds in that particular area. If you are planning on placing plants close to your gazebo would the location be appropriate? One possibility to consider when choosing the position of your garden gazebo may be the need to add electricity or plumbing.

You can purchase a gazebo that is already erected. Or, due to the increasing popularity of gazebos, many people can have their own design made. If you do choose your own design, make plans and pictures so you get exactly what you want. The choices are endless you can have your favorite roof design, lighting, floor and steps if you wish to have a raised gazebo even steps, railings and gates.

One important thing to consider before building a gazebo is that, it may be necessary for certain properties to get either planning permission or a building permit. So do your homework before you start your project.

Making your garden beautiful is worth it in the long run. Some maintenance is required but you can choose how much time you wish to dedicate to your garden by the plants and lawn you choose.
There are two main basic types of lawn.

Hard wearing
The harder wearing utility lawns are made of much coarser grasses which will grow quickly and stand up well to constant family use and can stand being walked on well.

Fine Lawns
Fine lawns are much narrower leaved grasses which are soft and velvety by texture but require a lot of care and attention. Fine lawns do not stand up to much wear and tear and have been traditionally used for people’s front gardens.

Families with smaller gardens are as likely to have hard wearing lawns, for ease of maintenance and low cost. It is the more garden enthusiastic of us, particularly older people whose families have left home who prefer fine lawns front and back for their beautiful green lush finish.

In the summer, fine lawns also look better when entertaining when outdoors in the summer. It also compliments beautiful oak wooden garden furniture and is an attractive feature.

For plants to become strong and healthy, you should first clear the garden area of debris and carefully work the soil. The most effective way to improve the quality of your soil is to treat it with organic material, such as compost. Compost is, in most cases, made up of garden waste and kitchen scraps. Using compost will add nutrients to the soil and helps the soil retain those nutrients, whilst keeping it well aerated.

Adding organic material will significantly improve any soil type’s overall condition.

Adding some love and care to your garden can make a difference to your home.

No gardening expert is going to change a tiny cottage into a mansion by adding a garden, but a beautiful new garden that is developed for a modest home will improve the overall appearance of their property with gardening tips from experts. So dedicated homeowners equipped with advice from gardening experts can add the special touches in their garden to constantly improve their home.
The most sought after advice on gardening is on; weeds, disease and insects.

The most experienced gardeners will have questions about their gardens once in a while, and you know that beginners will be full of lots of questions. Gardening magazines are a great help with any questions that arise involving nearly all aspects of gardening, they also provide readers with the latest news in the world of gardening.

Gardening magazines will give you all of the latest information regarding things such as new gardening tools, pesticides and fertilizers that are introduced to the market. There are always new clubs for gardeners to join. When new tools are produced, such as new kinds of lawn mowers.

Get hints and tips on how to rid your garden of those insects and recognise and fight diseases that may overtake your plants. The information you may get from gardening magazines could end up saving your garden.

You will find gardening maintenance sections that will instruct readers on how to prune and which fertilizers would be better for your plants, including how much to water.

Gardening magazines will give you ideas on changing your garden completely from design to landscaping. Garden designs can be difficult at best but gardening magazines can supply people with inspiration and ideas on what will look good and suit their area.

Gardening magazines provide gardeners with answers and question sections for specific queries and provide a gardener with inspiration, ideas, instruction, and even entertainment, these magazines are a primary source for both beginners and more experienced gardeners in providing all the latest news and gardening traditions at the same time.

Cover the bare patches in your garden in an instant

Even if you strategically plan your garden, there will always be that empty stretch of time when there isn’t a flower in sight. Your peonies have come and gone and your black eyed Susans haven’t yet opened.  

Its not a problem because instant flowers are actually quick and possible without any divine intervention.

So here is what you should do: Pick up 4 to 6 plastic hanging baskets with bright but non-cascading perennials / annuals that are already in full bloom (generally speaking you should buy one to two per ten square feet of space).

Daisies and geraniums are good options and they are widely available throughout the season. Remove hangers and then nestle the flowers and baskets too, amongst the foliage of your bedding plants that are not yet in bloom (your plastic containers should be shallow enough to be hidden in the leafy, beds). Baskets can pinch the hit all summer so just move them about to fill in any other barren patches as required.

Outdoor water garden

Beyond question, water has a calming effect on people, you can create a water garden in literally minutes. Fill a metal bucket / bowl or washtub with floating candle and aquatic plants which are low maintenance e.g. water lettuce.

Most of us will buy our vegetables from supermarkets or grocery stores. Howe3ver, with a little planning it is possible to grow your own vegetables in your garden. There are so many vegetables that you can use, and some vegetable gardening tips that can also help you make the most out of your vegetables and garden area.

Firstly, decide where you want to plant your vegetable plot, make sure you choose a section in your garden that will receive a minimum of 6 hours sunlight. The more sunlight plants receive the more fertile and healthy they will be.

To achieve the maximum growth make sure that your soil is a rich and sandy loam type of soil. If your plot requires more nutrients, then add compost or manure. Place the compost underneath and around your vegetables too.

To grow good vegetables or herbs plant them in rows facing a north to south direction so that they get maximum sunlight. Your vegetable garden should be on level ground and there needs to be wide spacing between the rows. This spacing will means easier harvesting and less weeding.

Sew new and fresh seeds into the soil to make as the older sees will likely not germinate and your first crop will probably not be successful. Plant transplant too so you can get an early crop.
Select your baby plants and fresh seeds, as a first time vegetable gardener it is a good idea to get as many vegetable gardening tips as possible from the experts, get advice on how you plant your new vegetables in the garden.

Plant some of your vegetable in raised beds too. A good way to maximise your veg crop is to plant different plants next to each other to give you lots of different vegetables to harvest for your table.

Have one plot near your kitchen door so you can grab a handful of your favourite vegetables quickly for cooking. Plant a bigger vegetable plot a little further away. This is a vegetable gardening tip that means you have lots of vegetables to choose from for your kitchen table and also means you have the luxury of fresh vegetables on even the most rainy day.

Raspberries
If you find your berries are still ripe but they have with dried patches at the stalk, you probably have grubs or beetle larvae inside the raspberries. Think about growing late fruiting raspberries e.g. Joan Squire because beetle attacks happen less during late August onwards.
If you do have beetle larvae, apply either Bio Liquid Derris Plus or Vitax Derris Dust and follow the manufacturer’s instructions closely.

Grubs are caused by poor pollination and low temperature damage / lack of moisture.
If you see a brownish-/grey fluff on the ripening fruit this would indicate a grey mould infection. If this is the case, ensure you have good air circulation and quickly remove and dispose of the affected fruit before the mould spreads.
To protect ripening fruit from birds use netting.

Grapes
If you see a white/grey powder coating the leaves of indoor or outdoor grapes you have fungus.
If your grapes are indoor, open windows and doors for ventilation. Fungus favours humid conditions so improving air movement around leaves is a good tip.
Ensure you pinch out shoot tips beyond the growing grapes. Shorten re-growth to one leaf pinching.
Make sure you thin unwanted shoots tying in new growth to achieve even spacing and to encourage good air circulation.
If you have outdoor grapes mulch the base when your soil is moist. With outdoor vines you will get less mildew but you have to watch for dry soil.
Dust foliage with Sulphur, you will need to repeat maybe up to 4 times throughout the season to keep the disease at bay.

Weed control
Other than being unsightly, weeds will rigorously compete for nutrients, water and the light and they harbour pests and diseases.
You really should not allow weeds to establish themselves at all. Make sure you hoe annual weeds at early seedling stage during a dry day to ensure the seedlings will wither and die.

In Britain, Fuschia are often seen in areas warmed by the Gulf Stream these will be slim red tubular flowers which are often seen in hedgerows and are known as F. magellanica.

F. magellanica are extremely hardy in well drained soil but will die back to the soil floor during the winter. The Hawkshead variety has smaller white flowers and the variety Sharpitor have pale pink flowers. After these latter two species are cut back at the end of each season, both will grow plants up to 3 feet tall and both species will grow in shade.

There are over one hundred species of wild fuchsia with more than four thousand hybrids / cultivars so there are bound to be some that appeal to you. So when we start to see the revival, be ahead of the pack.

Even hardy fuchsias can be killed by very cold weather or wet soil during the winter. So when planting keep the base of the stem just a few inches below the soil surface, this will help the plant survive. Planting them in the correct manner means that even if the plants are hit by frost they will still produce new shoots under the soil during spring.

Most of the fuchsia species grow very quickly and easily from seed. Make sure you squash the berries on to the surface of compost in autumn and cover lightly, keep in a cold greenhouse. The hybrids / cultivars can be grown from the cuttings taken during late summer, but they will need bottom heat to help them get through the winter months.

Fuchsias will start flowering in June but they are at their best during the slightly cooler weeks in September / October, which makes them ideal for late flowering perennials.

During the last ten years the popularity of several plants has notably started a revival. These are Dahlias, chrysanthemums and gladioli.

Fuchsias, have yet to make it back into our limelight as they are still seen as part of the world of tubs and back yards rather than elegant and chic urban patios and large colourful gardens.

The fact is Fuchsias are easy to grow they flower for a long time and are very colourful. There is little more we could ask for from a plant, yet for some gardeners it would appear that they are too colourful. The shape of the flower probably doesn’t help. The most provocative of fuchsia consist of dozens of scrunched up petals completely surrounded by sepals of extremely contrasting colour.

These types of fuchsias are bred for the summer bedding market and the show bench which is where we see that big and bold is the demand.

If the Fuchsia pirouetting ballerina flower does not suit your taste then look at the triphylla hybrids. These have long, narrow tubes in shades of orange, salmon and pink, salmon, they are more compact with darker foliage growing to 20in maximum in height. The most well known of these type is called Thalia, it’s a cultivar with red / orange flowers the other type is Koralle which has paler flowers but will also grow in shade.

Don’t look at gardening as a chore as it can be an enjoyable profitable hobby. Gardening is actually the world’s most favourite hobby, and with so much information at hand it’s getting easier.

Gardening has lots of positives going for it; growing your own fruit and vegetables will cut down the shopping trips and keep your food bills lower, organic gardening is good for your body and good for the planet, the exercise will keep you fit and your spirits will be lifted with your achievements.

There is no chance of getting bored with millions of plants to read about and loads to learn.

If you are starting from the beginning, stand in the middle of your garden and let your creative imagination run free, imagine what your garden could look like, everything you hoped for….

If you have a bog standard garden which is maybe a little boring think about adding a corner for wildflowers, a herb garden, a vegetable plot, a butterfly patch or maybe even a water feature for more relaxing nostalgic moments…..it will also encourage wildlife to your garden.

Maybe you need a shed for your tools.

After you have planned the garden space and plants think about garden furniture, maybe a bench would look nice.

Take notes, plan it and think about it for a while.

If your budget will stretch, the best idea is to pick your garden furniture and maybe some ornaments or structures and position them in your garden, building your planting ideas around them.

If you have a family get the kids involved with planting seeds that are quick-germination, kids love pumpkins!

Teach your children what can and can’t be eaten from the garden and why.