Roses are renowned for their stunning blooms and gorgeous fragrance, and they’re one of the most cherished parts of my garden. But to truly flourish, roses need more than sunshine and water — fertilizing roses regularly is essential for giving them the nutrients they need to grow strong and stay healthy. Without fertilizer, roses would not give you the mass of spectacular flowers that we all love! I have many roses in my garden — some inherited when we moved in, others planted over the … [Read more...]
Controlling Oxalis Weeds in the Garden
I find weeding the garden can be quite therapeutic, getting down on your hands and knees amongst the plants you can forget about life’s troubles and just concentrate on pulling up those pesky weeds while you burn some calories! If you are vigilant and ensure that the weeds are removed before they can have a chance to flower and spread their seeds then most weeds will not return either! One weed that is not so easy to get rid of is my arch enemy oxalis pes-caprae, also known as soursob and … [Read more...]
Diosmas: A Very Hardy Plant for Your Garden
Diosmas are a very hardy plant that can provide a stunning feature in any garden and which also seem to tolerate climate extremes very well. Diosma is the common name for the Coleonema Pulchrum plant. Diosmas are not often talked about but I believe the diosma plant was very fashionable in the 1980’s. However, in recent years it has lost its appeal somewhat. I am surprised that the diosma plant is not used more often because it is an evergreen shrub that provides colour and texture to the … [Read more...]
Testing Soil pH To Get The Most Out Of Your Garden
We all enjoy planting an array of plants in our garden so that we can have lots of colour and variety but we don’t always think about the various needs of the plants. One example is the soil pH requirement of a plant. Generally most plants do best in soils that have a pH close to neutral but there are some exceptions. This is why checking and adjusting the pH of your garden soil is one task that should be done to ensure that your garden plants are given optimum growing conditions so they can … [Read more...]
How To Use Compost To Make Your Own Potting Mix
A trip to the hardware or garden centre is not complete without picking up a couple of bags of potting mix. We go through heaps of it at my house because we have lots of plants in pots! We are often planting seeds, transplanting seedlings or simply transferring established plants to larger pots so it is not hard to use up quite a bit of potting mix. Buying all this potting mix ends up being quite expensive too. The cheaper brands don’t tend to have the quality required to produce … [Read more...]
Great Links:Learn About Bonsai Care Fast
I really love the look of bonsai trees and have always wanted one of my own but I've always worried that they would be too hard to care for and that if I bought one it would eventually die. I have never been quite brave enough to get one - until now that is! I have now taken the plunge and I can admit that despite being nervous about caring for a bonsai I am now the proud owner of not one but two bonsai trees! The first bonsai tree that I bought was a Trident Maple which is fairly … [Read more...]
Getting Started With Compost: Great Information And Links When Learning About How To Compost
If you are like me and love gardening then you will put out lots of mulch around your plants to combat weeds and conserve moisture and you will also go through lots of potting mix as you pot up new plants. This can prove to be quite expensive though when you have a large garden and lots of potted plants. One way that you can cut down on your reliance on purchasing these garden products is to make your own compost which can then be used directly as mulch or as an ingredient in potting … [Read more...]
Hydrangea Plant Care: Hints and Tips for Success
When I was growing up there were always hydrangea plants growing in the garden but I have never really appreciated the beauty of this plant’s large blooms until now. When out shopping recently I came across a ‘Lace Cap’ hydrangea and instantly fell in love with the beautiful flowers. Until then I was not even aware of this variety and it looked so pretty I just had to buy it! After searching online for more information about the variety I realised that there was so much more to learn … [Read more...]
Hi, I'm Kaylene, and I'm a keen gardener,budding baker and wannabe DIYer!