The Garden Shedde

While you might think that it is easy to plant a tree there are a few things that you need to think about before you start. The first one is about the type of tree you would like to plant; is the tree a native tree to your area? If not, you will want to talk to a gardener at your local nursery to make sure the type of tree you have chosen will do well in the region or area you live in. The next thing is to find out how big the tree will be once it has reached its full growth potential and make sure the place you have chosen will accommodate the future growth. There’s nothing like having to cut down a tree that is now interfering with your house, shed or fence after a few years.

Once you have determined everything is good to go dig a hole that’s about a inch shallower than the distance from the bottom of the root ball to where the trunk starts to flare and about three to four times the width of the root ball. Place a water hose in the bottom of the hole and place the root ball on top of it in the hole. Make sure someone is there to tell you if the tree is straight or not and fill in the hole with good dirt. Turn the water on very low and watch for it to come back out of the hole (it could be a few minutes). Pull the hose out and you are done!

If you haven’t heard of vertical gardening, you will. It seems to be the new rage this year in gardening though it isn’t really anything new. People have been planting vine vegetables up walls, trellises and arbors for many years. They called it survival or planting food wherever you could and if that was by a wall where the plant grew up it; so be it.

It is us who seem to need all these fancy “vertical walls” and “hanging hooks and hammocks” in order to plant vertically. But before you run out and purchase the latest gizmo, look around your house and yard and see what you have that you could try this type of gardening with; a pergola, arbor, trellis, wall, fence, etc. Do a little research to find out what types of plants grow well vertically and try it. It’s great to save space for those things that cannot grow up so you should be able to grow more if part of your garden is dedicated to vertical.

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to realize that you can’t know everything. That is the conclusion I come to every year as I start to clean up and trim back trees, shrubs, vines and plants for the winter because every year I have new questions. I have tried to find answers on the internet but you get a lot of conflicting answers because we all live in such varied areas. What works in Texas doesn’t make since in Tennessee and so on and so forth. That’s why I turn to my friends at Teacup Gardener.

They are always open to design and consultation for gardens and landscape and I have yet to get bad advice. Of course they are local to the Nashville, Tennessee area where I live and have been in business here for over twenty years. This gives them the experience I can trust in and the staying power I need every year I go back to them for advice and help. It is rare to h=work with a company that you can consult with and do the work yourself or work with in any capacity. They realize that some people love to do what they can and when they can’t Teacup Gardener takes it from there. I also love that they are such believers in saving the earth through conservation and care. They just do it right.

Don’t be afraid to seek landscaping help when and if you need it. Many times it will be less expensive to have a professional crew come in and do certain things like build a deck, pour a patio or install a water feature hen it is for you to spend the time and money trying to get it all done. They have the manpower and the experience and can get it done, in many cases, quicker, cheaper and better.

What I have found to be a life saver is the time I save by hiring out professionals. In what I do, time is money so any time I save means I am usually either making more money or spending it with my family. The other huge plus for me is what I call “the frustration factor”. This is the frustration that I go through trying to figure out the best way to go about a job I am not familiar with by doing internet research or reading through magazines and books. This alone has taken up more time than some of the projects I have done! The bottom line is to get the help that you need before you create a disaster!

What most people miss about the lowly trellis is all of the benefits certain plants get from climbing up this wonderful piece of art.  Yes, the trellis is a full functioning work of art!  If you are smart, you can fully use the trellis as a climbing anchor point for both flowering vines and also with vegetables that vine as well like tomatoes, cucumbers and pole beans.  We forget that these wonderful veggies grow very well when trellises are used; sometimes even better than you ever expected!

Trellises are sometimes incorporated into other garden structures like arbors and pergolas as well and lend themselves too many decorative alcoves in a garden.  Because they are also wonderful against a wall, some tend to imprison their trellises next to their homes.  However, a trellis is best used wherever you have the need for one.  They can be found as stand alone features; used to build flowering walls of protection; and the small trellises can be found in flower pots!  There are many to choose from and all you have to do is look.

It’s a great time to start planning your spring garden and flowerbeds.  You can go to the library or get on the internet and do some research on what plants, flowers, herbs, fruits and vegetables do well in the area you live in.  You will have more to choose from the further south you live but that doesn’t mean you have to give up color all together.

I could list a bunch of my favorites but they may not work for your region. Instead, don’t forget to look at the large variety of grasses and shrubs that have some beautiful rich colors that can enhance your typical blooms from perennials and annuals.  Also do some research on climbing vines and roses and other great plants that can be used to accent walls or other areas like arbors, pergolas and decks.  Having a great garden is not being lucky; it’s learning what grows in your region and sticking to those indigenous species that are native to your area.  If you want to plant some other types, you will find having a greenhouse to be invaluable.

You wouldn’t think, growing up on a farm, that we would have greenhouse, much less two greenhouses.  After all, most of what my family grew was cotton, wheat and sunflowers; yes, I said sunflowers!  But none of these were grown in the greenhouses.  The mini greenhouse was what my grandmother called a “starter” greenhouse and was were she planted seeds and would start the plants whether she would plant them in her garden around back or move them into the larger greenhouse.

That sometimes was a hard call and other times easy.  But most of the time she would split the seedlings between the garden and the greenhouse and made sure if anything got to the garden plants she had backups in the greenhouse.  I often wondered why she didn’t call the larger greenhouse the “back-up” greenhouse.  Maybe it’s because what she really loved to do was grow orchids in that greenhouse and grow orchids she did.  But I learned the value of having a small greenhouse to start plants from seed and I am so glad I paid attention!

This is a great time to start planning your garden for 2009.  One of the best ways to start is to look up the plants that you would like to add to your existing garden and flowerbeds.  Make a list of everything you want to add along with a place to do a little research to make sure that they will do well in your area.  If you’re not sure what will work in your area, contact the nearest Universities Agriculture Department and get their input as to what is the best plants to use that are native to your area.

Another great thing to start thinking about is composting.  If you are not currently doing a compost pile or own a composter, now is the time to do it.  You can create a great nutrient rich compound for your garden and pots right at your own home with all the biodegradable scraps thrown out by your family.  This is good for you and good to keep these same scraps out of the landfills; a win-win situation.

One of the things we don’t often think about this time of year is what gardens we have available in our communities.  One of the best places to go and check to see what community gardens are available in your community is to go to the ACGA (American Community Garden Association) website.

You will be able to read about what a community garden is and, if you don’t have one, how to start one.  Once you see how community gardens work you will be won over at how wonderful they can be.  Please check out the ACGA and make plans to contact and visit the community garden in your area and if you can, please donate to this fantastic cause.

It is said that the Romans invented greenhouses in order to serve the freshest vegetables possible to Caesar.  Whether that is true or not, who knows?  What we do know for sure is that a greenhouse is the best way to get fresh food to your families table on a year round basis and right now, you’re family is far more important than Caesar’s is.

The best news is you won’t have to dig a pit and keep the rocks stocked throughout the winter to keep your greenhouse warm.  This can be done with the help of a greenhouse heater.  You also have advantage of some great greenhouse accessories to help you with your year round greenhouse gardening.

You also have the advantage of some great do-it-yourself greenhouse kits that allow you to easily build your own greenhouse in the backyard.  If you purchase these kits at the right time you can get some very handy accessories to go along with them that will give you a head start when it comes to gardening with a greenhouse.