hints and tips | Ilona's Garden

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Growing vegetables: cultivation

Gardening is half science and half art. There is a huge knowledge base for growing plants well, especially food plants, but thankfully the knack can be developed with not too much trouble because plants basically just need the earth, the sun, and water and they are bent on growing and producing. We benefit. Yet, there is much we may do to encourage optimum results. This is a compilation of tips, and...

Frugal Gardening

As I write this it is late October, and one of the best times to find garden bargains if you hurry out to your local nursery or order from your favorite online catalog. If you don’t mind less than ideal weather for planting, you can get fine plants in an end of season clearance. (They will have just enough time to grow roots into the earth which remains unfrozen for yet another month or so). I have snagged...

Stretch The Bloom Season

Do you love daffodils? Tulips? All the flowers of spring? Or chrysanthemums? Daylilies? Which of these flowers makes your heart beat a little faster just looking at them? You can stretch the bloom season when keeping in mind that varieties of a type of plant may bloom at different times, and sequence it through a much longer time of blooming than if you had only one type. Many flowering plants will have this...

Mulch for Moisture

One of the best ways to conserve moisture in your garden is through the practice of mulching. There are many materials and methods and they each have their advantages and drawbacks. I thought I would write about my experiences with some of them, since this is turning out to be a drought-ridden gardening season. But truthfully, I use mulch for many reasons, including soil improvement and weed control, so the...

4 Foundation Planting Faux Pas

Don’t Commit These Planting Blunders Size matters. Planting something that will outgrow its spot and crowd windows or entries is a no-no. Ho-hum fashion choices. why be like every other house on the block? You don’t have to choose the same plants and the same evergreens that everyone else in your neighborhood does. Create something that suits you and your house and sets it off from the rest. Polka...

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