Garden Tips 101-150

101. Redtwig dogwoods and other shrubs with colorful bark make an excellent addition to the winter garden.

102. Avoid allowing ivy to grow up into the limbs of your trees.

103. Healthy soil reduces the risk of pests and disease, thus reducing the need for harmful pesticides.

104. Compost improves soil texture, aeration, and increases the soil’s ability to hold moisture.

105. Mulch protects a tree’s or shrub’s roots from the heat in the summer and the cold in the winter.

106. Be sure to keep vegetables and herbs away from chemical fertilizers

107. Utilize local stone to give your garden a sense of place.

108. Occasionally cultivating you garden flower gardens will keep the soil aerated.

109. Pick and handle your vegetables carefully as nicks, cuts, or bruises result in a shorter shelf life.

110. Cultivating compacted garden soil allows water and nutrients to reach a plant‘s deep roots.

111. When starting seed in flats, keep the soil moist, not too wet, not too dry. Setting the tray on a water-filled bed of pebbles is effective.

112. When using cut flowers in your house, be sure strip the foliage. Leaves in the water will create bacteria and shorten the life of the arrangement.

113. Add a mix of green (grass clippings) and brown materials (dried leaves) to make a well balanced compost.

114. Try to buy plants that were grown in a zone similar to your own. They’ll be more hardy in your area.

115. A five percent increase in organic material quadruples the soil’s ability to store water.

116. Groundcovers, such as ivy or sweet woodruff, are incredibly low maintenance.

117. Test any old seed you have stored by germinating it between moist paper towels.

118. Deadhead rose flowers as they go by to encourage more blooms.

119. In colder climates, cover the base of roses with mulch during the winter.

120. Dry your herbs at the end of the summer by tying small bunches together and hanging them tips down in a dry place out of the sun.

121. If you have tomatoes still ripening on the vine and frost is forecast, pull the plants and bring them inside. The tomatoes will ripen on the vine.

122. Freezing is an great way to store herbs.

123. When planting clematis, remember their roots like shade but their foliage likes sun.

124. An old overgrown privet or forsythia hedge may be rejuvenated though cutting back to only a few inches.

125. Stake newly planted trees to protect them from wind; especially in open areas.

126. Separate your compost into two piles. One for twigs and one for more herbaceous materials, such as flower clippings.

127. For late season color consider planting hydrangea, summersweet and autumn blooming clematis.

128. Many evergreens, such as weeping hemlock, make great accent plants.

129. Over watering can be as harmful under watering.

130. Butterfly bush, as the name suggests, is a great way to attract butterflies to your garden. They’re also quite fragrant.

131. Dividing perennials is the best way to increase your plant stock and share your flowers with friends.

132. Daffodils, tulips and hyacinth are wonderful spring blooming additions to the perennial garden.

133. Plants with variegated foliage will help brighten up a garden space.

134. Attract ladybugs, which eat harmful insects, to your garden with nectar-producing plants such as dill, parsley, and fennel.

135. Know your insects; while some are harmful to your plants, most are actually beneficial to the garden.

136. Control powdery mildew with milk. Dilute 1 part milk in 9 parts water and spray on the plants.

137. Cleanliness is essential in gardens and greenhouses, especially when starting seeds.

139. Create vertical interest with tall evergreens, raised beds and containers.

140. Before using pesticides try pruning branches which exhibit symptoms of insects or disease.

141. Line your hanging pots with moss to preserve water.

142. Heat is required for compost piles to decompose. Putting a tarp over a compost pile will help raise the temperature and speed up decomposition.

143. For spring color, fall fruit and graceful form consider a crab apple.

144. Limb up trees with interesting bark to reveal more of their trunks.

145. Annual seeds are easy to save, simply allow the blossoms to dry on the plant, cut them off, store them over the winter and plant them in the spring.

146. Compost is a great soil additive but too much will make it difficult for roots to grow.

147. Add year-round variety to your garden with ornamental grasses, evergreens and berry producing shrubs.

148. If you have the space create a few compost piles. Each could be at a different stage of decomposition.

149. Ivy is a great addition to any container planting.

150. Ivy and vines can soften the hard lines of an ugly wall and add vertical color to the garden.

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Related Articles: Spring Gardening, Summer Gardening, Fall Gardening, Winter Gardening