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Ways To Make Your Patio Look Better

Most patio owners are looking for ways to make their patios look better. One of the ways to do that is to work on the garden around the patio instead of the patio itself. Even if you have a great looking patio, it won’t stand out like it should if the garden around it looks awful.

Likewise, if your patio is plain but the surrounding plants, flowers, and hedges look spectacular, the patio will look better than it should. By making sure that your backyard looks its best and goes well with the patio is the best way to show off your patio. If you don’t have the money to put in a new patio, you can always work on the surrounding area instead.

This coming summer, you will be glad if you take the time right now to think of all the ways you can make your patio more pleasing to the eye. This doesn’t mean that you have to spend a lot of money redoing and remodeling your whole patio. If you take the time to plan your garden you can make your whole patio environment much more enticing. By carefully blending your patio and the garden around it you can make it look like they are meant to fit together.

A lot of home now come with patios that are nothing more than an ugly slab of concrete. While this is enough for most people, those that have a big yard might want a little something more. If you are going to use your patio for entertaining, you will probably be interested in trying to find some ways to upgrade that patio. Anyone can have that slab of concrete at the back of their house but if you have a carefully thought out garden and patio, it will enhance your whole house and even raise it’s value.

If you use your patio a lot, you will probably want to make it as accommodating as possible and have it be a fun place to hang out. This means you might want to be creative in the furniture you pick and how you arrange the surroundings. The more work and thought you put into your patio and the surrounding area, the better your patio will look and the greater your satisfaction will be. You might look in garden and home improvement magazines for all sorts of ideas for your patio remodel.

August 29 2009 | Landscaping | No Comments »

Seed Planting Of Irises And Daylilies

Almost everyone who grows daylilies and irises for any period of time eventually tries their hand at hybridizing, one of the most fascinating phases of gardening. Most gardeners, especially those sowing seeds for the first time, have a tendency to sow too thickly. Properly handled seeds of daylilies and irises will germinate almost 100 per cent.

They should be spaced so that the seedlings will have room to grow. One seed every inch of row certainly is thick enough; early the following spring the seedlings should be lifted and transplanted to the growing beds. Seedlings grown too close together become spindly and weak, require an additional year to bloom and may never develop into strong, sturdy plants. It is far better to grow just a few seedlings and give them proper care than to grow many hundreds and neglect them.

In many cases germination is slow because the seed is not planted deep enough and dries out. Covering the seed with a 1/2 inch of equal parts of sand and garden soil is not too much; the bed should be covered with burlap to retain moisture until germination begins.

Chrysanthemums

Keep a watchful eye on the chrysanthemums which you expect will bloom in the fall. If the power leaves are yellowing, inspect the undersides for aphids and rust. Any good insecticide will check the aphids, but I especially like natural Neem oil or the old standby malathion. To control rust and leaf spot apply a preparation containing captan. Feed chrysanthemums (dahlias also will profit) frequently enough to keep them in continuous healthy growth; a little food every four to six weeks is sufficient.

Combating Mildew, Mites and Rust

This is the season when mildew shows up on a number of plants, especially the crape-myrtles, climbing roses and zinnias; and if there are occasional showers, mildew is worse than usual. Sulfur, the old remedy, will burn the foliage during extremely hot weather. Ask at your local garden center for one of the new preparations formulated especially for mildew.

If the weather is hot and dry, your azaleas, boxwood and conifers may be attacked by spider mites and if spring comes beware of those springtails bugs that can attack your plants. As a remedy use one of the reliable miticides available at your local nursery or garden center store.

Dig up the hollyhock plants that are infected with rust and destroy them. Then plant seed this month for new stock for next spring’s bloom.

Planting Bulbs

Billbergias, colchicums, various irises, sprekelias and zephyrlilies (zephyranthes) can be planted during the month of August.

Sowing annuals

It is not too late to make another planting of summer annuals for late fall bloom. The plants will not grow as large as those started in the spring and beware of springtails bugs, but they should give a good crop of bloom before the frost gets them.

Starting Pansies and English Daisies

Many Southern gardeners sow English daisies and pansies in late August or early September in order to have strong plants for late winter bloom. These early plantings should give you some bloom for the Christmas holiday season. If you have not tried them before, grow some of the solid colored pansies instead of those with bicolored blooms. Yellow and orange flowered pansies and those of blue and purple make a striking combination. You had better locate your bed in a partially shaded spot unless you can provide protection from sun.

August 26 2009 | Gardening | No Comments »