Butterfly Gardening

What is butterfly gardening? Simply put butterfly gardening is the art of growing flowers and plants that will attract these colorful and dainty creatures to your garden. Delight your family and visitors with beautiful butterflies, but be sure to create a safe habitat for them. If you own cats rethink your plans, because it would be a shame to attract these lovely insects to their death.The design your butterfly garden is a matter of personal preference. Typical points to consider are the size of your garden and the types of flowers and plants you want to grow. Pick a style of garden that appeals to you, but ensure it also contains the plants and flowers that appeal to the butterflies you wish to attract. It is important to find out which plants and flowers will attract the species of butterflies. that live in your area. This information can be found at the local library
To create the kind of environment that they find attractive, you will also need water of some kind. A birdbath will look attractive and keep the butterflies up off the ground, away from stray cats or mischievous puppies. A shallow dish on a post or hung in a tree will do just as well.When planting your butterfly garden be careful how you coordinate the colors you choose for your flowerbeds. Although butterflies do not care about your choice of color, you don't want your garden to be a hodgepodge of unrelated colors and textures. Butterflies are attracted to those flowers that have nectar rather than pollen, like honeysuckle, milkweed, summer lilac, Valerian, daisies, Purple Coneflower, Yellow Sage, day lilies and lavender.Some people find it helpful to draw and color a layout of their butterfly gardening plan to see what the finished product would look like. Keep in mind that warm colors like red and orange are flashy and showy. These colors have a greater impact against a strong green background. Cool colors such as blue and purple are soothing and toned down and would work better with a white contrast to create the look of freshness and brightness.

In Search of the Best Gardening Tools

Different kinds of gardens require different kinds of garden tools. Hardware stores mostly cater for a wide range of tools, but there are shops that specialize in the more expensive kind of garden tool that shouts quality. Wherever you decide to shop, here are a few pointers to advise you. Do you have small garden or a large one? A small garden will not require the same large equipment that would be of use in an extensive one. A ride-on mower is unnecessary if you only have a small strip of lawn. Another point to consider is who does most of the gardening? Some tools are too heavy for use by women.When you buy secateurs make sure the blade always stays sharp to avoid damaging the plant. Look for models that have blades that can be sharpened or replaced, models with tension control and with sizes that best fit your hands. Secateurs usually cost around $50 - $130.Hedge trimmers or shears are handy - but only if you have a hedge, or plan on growing one. Some hedge trimmers have curved blades to stop branches from sliding out when cut.Forks are used for turning and aerating compost and breaking up lumps of soil. The cheaper ones are often not strong enough for heavy soil, so go for sturdiness instead of price. Forks usually cost around $30 - $100.A shovel has a scoop blade and is best used to move around dirt and garden soil. A spade has a flat blade great for cutting edges, digging and dividing plants. The edge of a spade should be kept sharpened for clean and efficient cutting will cause the least amount of damage to plants. These are a basic garden necessity and usually cost from $30 - $50.A pruning saw is used for pruning trees and larger shrubs, while secateurs are for plants like roses. Pruning saws have a narrow curved blade that fits between stems or branches and easily and cuts them as you pull the saw backwards. They are approximately $27- $55.A chipping hoe is a handy tool for getting rid of small weeds. The Dutch or push-hoe is slightly more user-friendly as the action required to use it does not jar the neck and shoulder quite so much.A rake is also a basic requirement for the garden. The strong rake with the flat head and sharp metal prongs is used for smoothing a garden bed and getting out the last of the bumps and weeds. The plastic rake is used to gather leaves and grass clippings only.
Gardening tools don't have to be expensive. Flea markets and garage sales can be excellent places to pick up great tool bargain.

Choosing the Best Plants for your Garden

Many times we buy plants on impulse then find there is nowhere in the garden that really suits them. Before buying plants carefully examine your garden to see how much sun and shade it gets, whether the soil is well drained or waterlogged and whether your aspect is sheltered or windswept. You'll then be equipped to go and buy the best plants for your situation; shade-loving plants for the sheltered areas, sun-lovers for the warm spots, drought-resistant plants for the parched areas which may be either sunny or shaded, and swamp plants for the poorly-drained parts.But wait! Test your soil first, to determine the pH level of your soil and what kind of nutrients you need to add, if any. Is the soil acid or alkaline? Most plants prefer soil that is slightly acidic, but there are some that must have alkaline soil to grow. You can alter the soil's pH level, but it's much easier to simply plant for the soil you have.
Now you are ready to plant. Well - almost. Will you plant in groups or singly? If you buy 'one of everything' your garden may seem rather spotty. Group plantings are organised, harmonious and you can vary the color for interest. Before planting out, place your chosen plants around the garden bed in their pots to see how they will look. Re-arrange them until you are satisfied. Grouping plants in sets of threes or fives usually looks better than planting in groups of even numbers. Be sure that you have an interesting combination of colors and textures of plants. Tall plants should go to the back, or the centre if your garden will be viewed equally from all sides. Try to keep your plants away from trees. The roots of trees are fiercely competitive and will steal all the nutrients and moisture meant for your flowers.The right color scheme is one way to maintain the harmony in your garden. Imagine the color of the flowers when they are in bloom. Some colors may clash with others, but can still be planted side-by-side if they have a different blooming season. Foliage color is also important. Many flower plants have silver, grey or purplish foliage that is just as attractive as the flower. This means that they are still attractive well past the blooming season and so have added value.

Orchid Garden

Orchids are fascinating flowers that are fun to nurture but do need some special care. These slow growing plants are best grown indoors and will need to be repotted every other year. In addition to repotting, you will need to provide the plant with enough light, water and fertilization as well as prune it properly to keep it in the best of health.

Repotting

Orchids should be repotted in a pot that is larger then the current, but not too much larger - go just one size up. Don't make the mistake of thinking you can repot into a really huge pot and then not have to worry about it for the next 5 years! Fill the pot about 2/3rds of the way with soil that is formulated for orchids and set the plant with the growing tip in the center and it's roots spread out in the soil. Fill the pot with the rest of the soil and pack it gently around the plant. Water thoroughly.

Soil

Tropical orchids thrive in organic material. Fir bark and osumda fiber mixed with peat are great for growing orchids. You need soil that has good drainage but will also hold some moisture. You can buy special orchid mix soil to plant your orchids in.

Light

Orchids like light and your plant will do best in a bright sunny window. A south window, where the plant can get indirect light in the morning and afternoon is best. Make sure the window is not drafty. In the winter you must be sure that your plant is getting enough sunlight and you may want to use fluorescent lighting to supplement the natural sunlight. Fluorescent lights work quite well for growing orchids and you can use them in even the darkest corner and have wonderful plants.

Water

All plants need water but many people do not know how to provide it properly. Some water too much leaving standing water in the pot all day and contributing to root rot. Others don't water the plant for weeks and wonder why it can not survive. The first consideration is to make sure you use a pot with good drainage - either one of those with a hole in the bottom and a saucer or at least put pebbles under the soil. Water the plant thoroughly but not so much that a pool of water is sitting on the soil - water once a week or when you feel the soil has dried out. If your orchid is planted in bark, then it will probably need to be watered every 5 days or so.

You can also moisten your orchid with a spray bottle to give it a more humid environment. Some people like to gently wrap the plant in a floral paper or wax paper cone and spray inside. The cone helps to keep the moistness in. If you do spray your plant, use distilled water as tap and spring water can leave deposits on the leaves.

Temperature

Although orchids are tropical plants, they prefer cool temperatures at night. Most orchids will do best in temps that would be to cold for you in your house. When grown in professional greenhouses, they are kept between 55 and 65 degrees at night. The cool temperatures help to keep the soil more moist.

Fertilizer

Orchids growing in bark or peat and bark mixes do best with a liquid fertilizer that has a 20-20-20 analysis or, better yet, a specialized orchid fertilizer (30-10-10). Try using a water soluble urea free fertilizer for best results. When fertilizing, simply add it in your regular watering schedule following the instructions on the fertilizer package.

Pruning

Pruning is important for orchids to remove dead parts and shape your plant. You can prune your orchids periodically throughout the year, or reserve the pruning for once a year typically in the fall or early winter. When the blooms have died and the stalk is dried up and yellow or brown, use sharp shears to cut it back to an inch from where it comes out of the soil. A new bloom will appear during the next blooming season.

In some cases, you may want to just remove the end of the bloom stalk which may cause it to bloom again. If you do this, you may find a new shoot or baby plant to spring up. If this does happen, you can remove the baby and plant it in a separate pot for an additional orchid plant to enjoy!

Lee Dobbins writes for http://orchids.garden-corner.com where you can learn more about caring for orchids

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