Perennials - Perennials should be cut back after blooming and reset this month (October). Perennials set now will be established and ready to grow in the spring. Some of the biennials tend to become perennials in our gardens, and occasionally a half-hardy annual lives on and on.

If you have not yet cleaned up all litter or garden trash, be sure it is done this fall. Do not provide a winter home for insect pests.

Chrysanthemums - October is the month of heaviest bloom for this queen of fall flowers. The most important thing to remember is to provide plenty of water for them. They are heavy feeders (which should have been taken care of in September) and heavy drinkers. Visit the fall shows and gardens of chrysanthemums and write down names of varieties you like and try them another year. The fall shows are wonderful places to see the best in the seasonal flowers. Keep a close check on the weather, and before killing frost lift clumps of chrysanthemums and put in the garage or basement for continued bloom. A few may even be potted and kept in the house. An additional month of flowers may be had in this way.

Soil Preparation - In open spaces in the garden, dig the soil deep, adding a little complete fertilizer. Or plant some type of cover crop and turn it under for a green manure. Soil preparation can go on all year in a garden. Just turning the soil will keep it in good tilth.

Miscellaneous - Take cuttings of herbaceous plants like the donkey ears plant and root them for next year’s garden. Many gardeners carry over plants of all kinds like the donkey ears plant simply as rooted cuttings taken during October. The cutting wood should be firm and seasoned, and not soft and succulent, for best results. Plant pansy seeds for transplanting next month. Pansies are the chief source of bloom in many winter gardens. Continue planting the garden lilies started last month.

Visit the countryside and gather seed pods, weeds and flowers for drying. Many interesting materials are available for winter bouquets, and October is the month for collecting and drying them. Divide and replant peonies, or plant new ones, this month.

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A yard full of delphiniums! How does that prospect strike you? I tried such a scheme 10 years on in my city lot, with only a 43-foot frontage, grew so many I literally sent a truckload of them to a trade show for decoration and still had so many left that it was almost impossible to tell any had been cut.

At first I thought my “yard full of delphiniums” idea was going to be a flop. The seedlings came along well enough and plants looked promising. But, by the first of June that year no more than a dozen had flowered. Then I went away for a week.

When I came back, I was flabbergasted. The yard had been transformed. I sat in the car and feasted my eyes on the most gorgeous sight I had even seen row upon row of magnificent bloom. Stalks were 4 to 6 feet high, some as tall as 7 feet, with 36 to 54 inches of bloom. There were blues, purples, mauves, lavenders, whites and bi-colors of every description.

I got out of my car and inspected them in detail. They were so brilliant that people passing by stopped and asked to come in to see them. Next to getting good stock, the important thing is care of it. My garden was thoroughly prepared for the seedlings as they came along. It was spaded and both compost and well rotted cow manure were put in.

Here is where you go to town on fertilizers It doesn’t matter what your soil is - loam, clay or sand - throw away the books and put in all the compost and manure your pocketbook will stand.

Mine was heavy clay soil. I trenched the bed two spades deep, put compost and manure in the trench and covered it with the next spade row of soil. Then, I raked it level and planted the delphiniums 18 inches apart in rows 2 feet apart.

Planting

To set the begonia plants and delphinium plants out, I opened up a hole by taking out a shovelful of topsoil. I next put in a 2-1/4-inch potful of some complete fertilizer such as Vigoro plus another 2-1/4-inch potful of bone meal and mixed this with the soil. Then I put the soil back and opened up a smaller hole for the seedling. Being careful not to break the root ball, I inserted the seedling in the hole and firmed the earth around it with my fingers. Each growing tip or crown was at soil level. Each newly set row of begonia plants and delphinium plants was thoroughly watered.

From then on, it was just ordinary garden culture. I watered when necessary and always in the morning so that foliage would be dry at night. This discourages mildew. I kept weeds hoed out by shallow cultivation. Since I had been careful in properly preparing the soil and planting, little additional care was necessary from then on.

In the beginning there were no roses, just the house set among oaks on a sloping hill. They were not interested in landscaping but something had to be done. So the couple called in an energetic nurseryman who planted the grounds with honeysuckle, Bridalwreath, lilacs, spirea and evergreens. In a few years his plants far outgrew their allotted space and the grounds were no more pleasant than before.

About this time the oak trees succumbed to a disease, one by one, and had to be removed. As if to save the situation, fate, disguised as an Etoile de Hollande rose flourishing in the shrubbery border, stepped in and inoculated the couple with a rose-growing virus.

Never since has Etoile de Hollande bloomed so luxuriantly, but no matter. The rose was responsible for the slowly rising fever that caused this husband wife teem to get eight more roses.

Despite neglect, the plants thrived. Maybe fate made them beautiful to inspire but more likely, it was good soil balance, lack of cultivation and a “green growing mulch” of portulaca or “moss roses” Which had crept into the bed.

Not much later fate took full charge. A broken arm in the fall and during the slow months it was mending, all the books in the house had been read and the only thing left was seed and flower catalogues.

The picture of roses brought the old fever back and now there was nothing to interfere with its course. Not even the persistent considering of golf as the only worthwhile diversion but the arm would not allow any play.

Due to the early training under a wonderful mother who loved growing things, the man of the house felt quite at home in this new world and as his vision broadened, he realized how easily a rose bed could replace a golf green.

Right off he knew growing roses on flat ground was as challenging as desert landscaping. It was a tame adventure compared to the thrill of hillside landscaping to develop really good ones on a hillside, such as his.

The property, on a slope facing south, was 168 feet long, 85 feet wide and rises approximately 50 feet above the street. The land climbs in a series of terraces from street to level ground and the house. The ascent continued, in smaller terraces behind the house, to level ground and the garage. It rises again to the rear lot line.

Such terrain is unconventional and presents obstacles. Some imagination, a strong determination-. to have lots of A bright roses and a free expression of our creative powers were needed to develop it.

Beauty and Utility

The highly decorative flowering crabapples are choice trees for the purpose in attracting flying wildlife. Those with the smaller fruits seem to be more favored by the birds. First to be eaten will be the abundant, beautiful scarlet fruits of the Sargent Crabapple (Malus sargenti), lowest growing of the family (up to 8 feet) but wide spreading. By winter the fruits of Malus floribunda will be taken, while those on Malus seiboldi will provide late-winter food.

The European Mountain Ash (Sorbus aucuparia), or Rowan Tree as it is known abroad, produces spectacular clusters of orange fruits that are as delectable to Waxwings, Robins, and other birds, as the foliage, unfortunately, is to Japanese beetles. The native Mountain Ash (S. americana) is equally interesting to the birds but poorer in form and more difficult to purchase.

The hawthorns, too, are widely used ornamentals which produce abundant, colorful food. English Hawthorn (Crataegus oxyacantha) is perhaps the best of half a dozen fine bird-attracting varieties. Cockspur Thorn (C. crus-galli), Washington Hawthorn (C. phaenopyrum), and Arnold Hawthorn (C. arnoldiana) are among the most widely planted for this purpose. All of these hawthorns require full sun, and well-drained soil.

Popular Dogwoods

Popular with man and bird alike is the lovely Flowering Dogwood, whose showy red fruits are eaten by no less than 93 species.

Of the shrub Dogwoods, we have found that the migrating Thrushes prefer the blue berries of the Silky Cornel (Cornus amomum). Generally they are all eaten by mid-October. Gray Dogwood (C. paniculata) and Redosier (C. stolonifera) also give excellent results.

Evergreens like the aglaonema chinese evergreen add much to the gardens year round beauty and to its success in attracting birds. Red Cedar (Juniperus virginiana) is among the best. Unfortunately it is an alternate host for the cedar-apple rust and should not be planted in the vicinity of apple orchards. Elsewhere it serves a triple purpose: excellent cover, fine nesting sites, and choice winter food. The blue-gray fruits are eaten by more than a score of birds. Both staminate and pistillate trees must be present to produce fruit. This is also necessary to produce berries on the showy American Holly (llex opaca), and Black Alder or Winterberry (I. verticillata), both favorites of many birds. Ordinarily, the latter holds its fruits into mid-winter, as its name suggests. This past year, though, we watched flocks of Robins and Bluebirds completely strip several heavily laden bushes by early November, though the majority of the plants such as chinese evergreen were untouched until later.

For planting around the trees, the suburban gardener has a wide choice of shrubs, with barberries, blackberries and raspberries, blueberries and huckleberries, buckthorns, chokeberries, cotoneasters, dogwoods, honeysuckles, and viburnums all highly recommended.

Common Buckthorn (Rhamnus cathartica) and Alder-Buckthorn (R. frangula) reach a height of 15 to 18 feet, and are considered by some authorities to be the most effective of all shrubs in attracting birds. Buckthorn is not recommended, however, in areas where oats are grown because it harbors oat rust.

Perhaps the most popular plants, in the gardeners estimation, are the viburnums. The majority of them are noted for their brightly colored fruits, either at maturity or at some time during ripening. Some are notable, too, for their blossoms or their fall foliage, or both.

Most widely planted is the vigorous growing European Cranberrybush (V. opulus) which closely resembles the native High-bush Cranberry (V. trilobum). Unfortunately, its brilliant red fruits are much tarter than those of V. trilobum which are used in making preserves. The birds evidently find the berries unpalatable until they have frozen and thawed a number of times. In late winter they are greedily eaten, by flocks of wandering Waxwings and by Robins and Bluebirds migrating northward.

If you have ever spent any time at all in a garden (your own or another persons) then you know that flower gardens bring joy and tranquility. They are very soothing to be around. In fact, I would go so far to say that being in a garden is one of my very favorite spots to be in. Here are some steps in making your garden really pop!

Pick the right plants.

When you choose a perennial garden (meaning the plants come back every year) then you will need to make sure that the plants not only are suited to your climate or zone, but also bloom in succession, so that you always have something blooming in your garden.

This is not as difficult as it may sound. Shop at your local nursery for the best selection of perennial plants that will be cold hardy in your area. Then simply look at the tags on the plants you are buying to select staggered bloom times.

An alternative to this approach is to get a premade plan or garden map that is made for your zone, and to buy the plants listed. This is a great way to go if you want your garden to be as fuss free as possible.

Add hardscaping elements.

The plants in your garden are really important, but what makes your garden shine are the other elements that you add.

When you use garden fencing, garden statues, and pathways in your garden, you will really make your plants stand out more. For a simple cottage look just add a white picket edging a few stepping stones and a statue of children. Or you can achieve an Asian theme by selecting plants with clean lines, using polished rocks, and placing a Buddha garden statue front and center.

Water, water, water.

It is easy to kill a garden when it is not watered enough - or if you water too much. One of the easiest ways to get enough water to your garden is to use a soaker hose, and just leave it on for an hour or so every 2 to 3 days depending on your weather.

The problem with food and plants these days is that they are all too expensive with the economy as it is. A garden is a good alternative, but the start up costs of getting your garden going can be too much at once for you. Following some simple tips, you can lower the costs and have it running in no time.

Gardening costs that we don’t commonly think about would include reading material. After all, we have to learn somewhere! If you don’t have a knowledgeable friend around to teach you, you will end up paying possibly hundreds on learning material. The smart beginner will instead use the library for books, or use the Internet to find the gardening tips and advice necessary.

Going to a nursery is expensive- it’s probably the last place you want to look. That is, unless you have knowledge of how to buy plants and flowers off season. The only real problem here is that when buying like this, the plants or flowers will not bloom until the next growing period. Since they are in less demand, the price associated with them will drop.

Roadside shops that sell plants are the most cost effective for your money- the only problem is finding them. Going to a local farmer’s market is your best bet in finding discount plants and flowers. You can also barter at these locations, unlike nurseries, so you can truly find a good fit for your budget and what you want for your garden.

Don’t be afraid to make friends with other gardeners- you will find they are the most generous of the bunch. Gardeners will actively engage in garden swapping, or a term used to describe the process of trading seeds, bulbs, and other materials to grow a new type of plant in your garden. The trade will, of course, demand that you have something to give in return.

True need for food and the like should be solved through organizations in your area. Government and private organizations that help those in poverty will be glad to help start gardens, offer tools, and even provide food for families in extreme need. Don’t be too full of pride to make use of the services- they are, after all, made for those in your situation.

Closing Comments

Creativity is the key to all problems. When you are looking for money to go towards a garden, just think of how you can approach the situation with a frugal sense of mind. You will either come out ahead, and build the garden, or just keep trying harder and make progress.

You have spent thousands of greenbacks and numerous hours making your backyard your own retreat. The two-story deck is finally finished, the bulbs of your flowers are beginning to bloom and you’re ready to drag out the terrace chairs and enjoy a nice cold iced tea. It would be wonderful if this scenario was flawless, but mostly it’s realistically not going to happen. Why, you ask? The straightforward answer is pests - and heaps of them.

If you do not take sensible precautions for preventing pests from entering your yard, you might be enrolling for years of mosquito Problems, ant farms, wasp nests and more. Luckily we have tips for preventing these sorts of insects from ever entering your garden.

* Nets. While mosquito nets aren’t always the most attractive yard accessories one could select, they are the most effective. If you do not want mosquitoes, wasps etc . To enter your garden then think about adding a net.

* Spearmint, Southern Wood, Tansy. Growing plants like spearmint, southern wood and tansy will help prevent insects like ants from infecting your garden and terrace area. If you already have an ant problem, consider splashing vinegar in random areas of your yard to help eliminate the problem.

* Mashed Potato Powder. We know that this appears highly weird, but if you want to make sure your garden does not get infected with rodents ( particularly mice ), we suggest you throw down some mashed potato powder and place two bowls of water in the surrounding area. Proven useful in junking mice, the small creatures can’t help but luxuriate in a break but the powder is so dry the mice end up drinking the complete bowls of water, ultimately leading to fatal distension.

* Citronella Candles and Bug Zappers. Citronella candles and bug zappers are the most standard forms of preventing and eliminating pests. While they don’t always stop insects from entering the area, they do kill them just about right away - finally stopping them from procreating in your yard. Citronella candles and bug zappers can be found at any local ironmongery shop and cost less than $20.

We are hoping our outdoor tips on pest control have helped. Now you’re one step nearer to a pest-free home!

There is in all probability no flower as lovely or as popular as a rose. They have been around for 1000s of years and are loved in almost every country. Growing rose bushes is reward full and easy. All you require is a slight bit of gardening know how to get started. Through understanding a little bit more about horticulture care, the more productive you will be with your rose bushes.

There are umpteen other varieties of rose bushes. There is literally a rose to accommodate every taste, orientation, color, shape and anything else you can think of or they can come up with. Rose bush care is pretty simple when you understand what roses need. Roses like to be planted in sunny spots. They need at least 6 hours of unfiltered, direct sunlight a day. Even those rose bushes that are said to do really well in the shade still need about four to six hours of direct sunlight a day. Roses also require great ground to grow in. You can always modify the soil in your garden with a little bit of compost.

Like any other plant you will sometimes have to deal with a pest problem. Rose bushes are inclined to being invaded by many different kinds of hurtful insects like rose midge larva, rose cane borer, thrips, Japanese beetles, stem girders, aphids, rose slugs, mites, caterpillars, scale insects, and rose chafers.

Nobody wants to have to deal with these pests but to support the lifetime of the plant, it is necessary to correct the problem. You have several choices of how you are planning to deal with the pest trouble after you have identified which type of bug you are contending with. If you only see 1 or 2 bugs you can try picking them off the roses and killing them yourself. Make sure to remove the entire leaf you find them on because they could have laid eggs that are still hidden on the leaf.

You always have the pick of utilizing synthetic or natural chemicals to help you get rid of the pests. Make sure to observe the directions on the packet of how to use these types of chemicals. Even natural or organic chemical substances can be harmful to people if they are used improperly. If you are adamant about not utilizing any type of chemicals on your rose bushes, you can always try utilizing the natural enemies of the pests. Not all bugs that you see in your garden are devastating to plants. Lady bugs and some types of wasps consume pests that can harm rose bushes. You can see your local garden center to see if this is an option for you with the type of pests that you have. Or you can check online.

Another section of rose bush care is deadheading. Deadheading is another word for cutting. This promotes more blooms. The rose will set seed and stop growing new flowering shoots if the bloom is left to fade. That is why deadheading is necessary. Trimming is also getting rid of dead twigs or training the bush to grow a certain way.

There are many gardeners who believe that no garden is complete without one or various rose bushes. A decently cared for rose bush can produce blooms from the month of June until it begins to frost. Rose bushes decorate the yard and adorn your home with elegance. With a little attention can turn your rose bushes into a perfect bush supplying an abundance of roses.

Roses are beautiful flowers but they require a lot of care. Especially when it comes to uprooting them and transferring them to a new place. You simply do not pull them out of the ground and go. This guide will teach you the proper way to do that so that your blooms maintain their beauty.

You want to fix up your new place making sure it is the appropriate site for your flowers. It is also a good idea to surround the roots of the plant with a wet cloth so as to keep it hydrated even when you are moving the plant under the scorching heat.

Lots of H2O is also essential especially on the eve of the transfer. This will keep the plant intact and will have a better chance of surviving the entire process.

Most likely you are going to lose some of the roots from transplanting the plant. The roots of a rose plant grow very deep into the soil past the point of a reasonable amount of soil that can be removed. But, with enough water absorbed by the rest of the plant, your roses have a greater chance of survival. When digging the plant out, take as much of the root ball as you can handle.

It is not necessary to prune healthy plant growth from the top structure in order for the plant to survive. The growth of the plant is important in the production of sugars. It only hurts the plant to cut its growth away. After the transplant if the plant starts to wilt at its tips it’s a sign that it is having trouble supporting its top structure. If this happens increase the amount that you water it and you can prune any tips that do not recover.

You should also line the new hole with compost such as bone meal and place it at an angle a bit more elevated than the old. It is okay for the bud union to be around two inches higher than the soil. Do not forget to remove the pockets of air on the soil after the entire relocation process.This can be done by patting the soil.

Most rose enthusiasts would agree not transplant roses in the growing season for several reasons. It is easier to transplant the roses while they are dormant because there is less of a risk of them going into shock since they are not growing. Plus, right after the annual pruning the plant will be smaller and easier to move around. But, with proper preparation and a lot of water, anyone can follow the steps listed here and anyone can have beautiful, flourishing roses after a transplant during any season.

No rose garden is truly complete without including climbing roses into the mixture of rose species. Climbing roses, also known as pillars, ramblers, trailing roses, and everblooming roses depending on how they grow are not considered true vines. They don’t grow their own support structures to hold onto surfaces. But they are the ideal decoration to grace any arch, fence or any other structure in and around any garden.

Because climbing roses do not have the capacities to hold onto structures like vines do, they need help from us. Grower can loosely attach the plant to a structure or wind it through the structure. Some types of structures you can grow climbing roses on are trellis , arbors, fences, sheds, pillars, walls or nearly any different large, solid structures. Climbing roses that are trained to grow laterally rather then vertically often develop more blossoms. Vertically trained climbing roses will develop little spurs along their main stem or canes which will develop flowers. Besides the direction they grow, growing climbing roses is not unlike growing different types of rose plants. Climbing roses call for about six to seven hours of direct unfiltered sunlight a day. Even climbing roses that are said to do well in the part shade still need about 4 to 5 hours of direct sunlight a day.

When projecting to grow climbing roses in your garden, take into consideration the elevation or distance that these types of roses will grow to. Some varieties of climbing roses can grow to be around 30 feet in height. Other species can grow to be seven feet in height. Can the structure that you are planning to grow them on support this type of plant? The height of the plant will also depend on the type of climate you get in your country. Another thing to deliberate is which type of climbing rose is going to suit your garden. Some varieties of climbing roses are everbloomers which means that they bloom all throughout the growing season. Other varieties are spring bloomers meaning they only bloom in the spring.

One great difference between climbing roses and different species of rose plants is that they ask very little pruning. There is no need to trim the plant for the first 2 years. If climbing roses are pruned each year like other rose plants, the opposite will happen to the climbers; they will develop less flowers. Owners can get away with pruning their climbing roses every three or four years. Even then, clipping comprises of removing small canes and old or less vigorous canes at the bottom of the plant. Vigorous young canes are encouraged to grow and to become long and flexible. Owners will get an easier time training these canes through and onto structures.

The thing to remember with climbing roses is that you must be patient. They may require a little while to get established and start flowering right after they are planted. But, when they do become established, the aroma and the beauty of their colors are well worth the wait.