Gardening wit and wisdom
Tips
EPSOM SALTS.
Epsom salt (hydrated magnesium sulfate) is known for its home remedy uses, but the garden might be the place that it shines the most. Like store-bought fertilizers, Epsom salt contains magnesium, which aids in seed germination, chlorophyll production and absorption of vital nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus.
Most plants grow better with a ratio of two teaspoons to one gallon of water per month. You can also dilute the Epsom salt with water in a bottle and apply as a foliar spray. Misting the plant greatly increases its growth. This works especially well on vegetables and roses.
MOSQUITOES
It's that time of year when mosquitos can be annoying, especially if you live near water.
There are a number of common herbs which naturally repel them, including catnip, lemon grass, and more.
Put them in a pot and grow them on your patio or deck and you can keep mosquitoes away from the areas where you like to spend time. As a bonus, these herbs are all useful for other purposes, so you can harvest them for food and more.
EGGSHELLS
Eggshells contain a high amount of calcium, a natural nutrient many plants need. You can start seeds in eggshells and then plant the eggshell.
Or just add eggshells to your plants. Simply smashing eggshells and adding the bits to the soil will make nutrient rich pots or plant beds. Among the plants that benefit from eggshells include tomatoes, broccoli, cauliflower and peppers.
ADD INTRIGUE WITH A CURVED PATH
Even a suburban backyard can easily take on the appearance of a large country estate with the help of serpentine garden edging and dense plantings that obscure the line of sight. Position a focal point toward the end of the garden path, just in view, to entice visitors to explore further into your oasis.
SPRING BLOMING BULBS
Plant spring-blooming bulbs, such as tulips, fritillarias, ornamental alliums, and crocuses, in Autumn before the ground freezes. In general, place the bulb in a hole that's two to three times the depth of the bulb. Most hardy bulbs you only need to plant once, and they'll keep coming up year after year, but hybrid tulips are an exception. It's best to pull them up when they are done blooming, replant new tulip bulbs each fall, or choose species of tulips that become perennial.
Quotes
“My passion for gardening may strike some as selfish, or merely an act of resignation in the face of overwhelming problems that beset the world. It is neither. I have found that each garden is just what Voltaire proposed in Candide: a microcosm of a just and beautiful society.” – Andrew Weil
“Flowers are restful to look at. They have neither emotions nor conflicts.“ — Sigmund Freud
“A weed is a plant that has mastered every survival skill except for learning how to grow in rows.” Doug Larson
“A garden requires patient labor and attention. Plants do not grow merely to satisfy ambitions or to fulfill good intentions. They thrive because someone expended effort on them. ” Liberty Hyde Bailey
“Money can’t buy happiness. But it can buy plants, and that’s the same thing.” – Unknown
Planting native species in our gardens and communities is increasingly important, because indigenous insects, birds and wildlife rely on them. Over thousands, and sometimes millions, of years they have co-evolved to live in local climate and soil conditions.