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Flower Gardening Tips For Beginners – Indiatimes.com

Popular Flower Types

There are thousands of different types of flowers to choose from, each with a name and color. With so many choices, it can be a challenge to choose the right blooms for your garden.

If you are looking for ideas to add some fresh color to your garden, we’ve put together a list of some of the most popular flower types!

Flower gardening is a beautiful and rewarding hobby that can bring colour and life to your outdoor space. Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced gardener, these tips will help you create a stunning flower garden:

1. Start small

If you’re new to flower gardening, start with a small plot or container garden. This will help you get a feel for the basics of gardening without becoming overwhelmed.

2. Choose the right location

Most flowers need plenty of sunlight to grow and thrive. Choose a location that receives at least six hours of direct sunlight each day.

Unsplash/Representational Image

3. Prepare the soil

Good soil is the foundation of a successful flower garden. Before planting, prepare the soil by removing weeds, rocks, and debris and adding organic matter like compost or aged manure.

4. Choose the right plants

Choose plants that are suited to your climate and soil type. This will help ensure that your plants thrive and produce an abundant bloom.

5. Plant at the right time

Different flowers have different planting times. Make sure to check the recommended planting time for each flower you want to grow.

6. Water wisely

Water your plants deeply and infrequently, rather than giving them a little bit of water every day. This will help encourage deeper root growth.

Unsplash/Representational Image

7. Fertilise regularly

Flowers need nutrients to grow and bloom. Use a good-quality fertiliser according to the package instructions.

8. Mulch your garden

Mulching your garden helps retain moisture, suppress weeds, and regulate soil temperature.

9. Deadhead regularly

Deadheading, or removing spent flowers, encourages plants to produce more blooms.

10. Provide support for tall plants

Tall plants like sunflowers and delphiniums need support to grow straight and tall. Use stakes or cages to provide support.

11. Protect your plants from pests

Pests like aphids and slugs can damage or kill your flowers. Use natural pest control methods like handpicking pests or using insecticidal soap.

Unsplash/Representational Image

12. Choose complementary colours

When choosing flowers for your garden, consider how their colours will work together. Choose colours that complement each other to create a harmonious and beautiful garden.

13. Create a focal point

A focal point, like a fountain or a statue, can add interest and beauty to your flower garden.

14. Enjoy the process

Flower gardening is a journey, not a destination. Enjoy the process of creating and maintaining your garden, and take time to appreciate the beauty of your flowers.

In conclusion, flower gardening can be a wonderful hobby that brings colour, beauty, and life to your outdoor space. By following these simple tips, you can create a stunning flower garden that will provide joy and inspiration for years to come.

Source: indiatimes.com

Discover the benefits of microgreens and vegetable gardening with Judith Taylor – Sentinel & Enterprise

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Starting A Vegetable Garden

At a time when many of us are facing food shortages, growing your own fresh vegetables is becoming more popular again.

Vegetable Varities

Whether you’re a beginner or seasoned grower, choosing the right varieties is key. Some offer improved disease resistance, heat or cold tolerance, and better yields.

TOWNSEND — Have you ever heard of microgreens, but wondered what all the fuss is about? Then Judith Taylor of Seeds2Plate has the class for you.

Taylor is set to host “Microgreens Hands-On and In Person” at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, March 22, at the Townsend Public Library. There, the gardener will explore the benefits of growing and eating the specialty vegetables.

“Microgreens are incredibly easy to grow and one of the most nutritious things you can add to your diet,” Taylor said. “They are packed with minerals and vitamins and are very inexpensive when you grow them yourself.”

“The best part is that you don’t need special equipment and can grow them all year round,” she added.

Those that attend the class will be shown how to grow microgreens and create their own micro-garden to take home.

Taylor, who has been gardening in Massachusetts for over 25 years, is a graduate of the UMass Green School and has attended The Seed Savers Exchange Seed School. She has hands-on experience with growing all sorts of perennials, fruits and vegetables as well as landscape design.

Taylor’s Seeds2Plate, soon to be located in Dunstable, is about “gardening for food, gardening for beauty, respecting Mother Nature and the pure joy of spending time outdoors,” Taylor said.

A second workshop, titled “Adventures in the Vegetable Garden – Tips and Tricks for Spring Planting,” will be held at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday, March 29, at the Groton Public Library’s Sibley Hall. The class will cover “how-to’s” for planning and planting a garden site, including tips and tricks for making your garden a success.

“Growing your own food is a rewarding and tasty way to spend a summer in your yard,” said Taylor. “It’s also a good way to reduce your grocery bills and provide food for your family in uncertain times.”

Both workshops are free and open to the public. However, registration is required; those interested in “Microgreens Hands-On and In Person” can call the Townsend Public Library at 978-597-1714 or visit townsendlibrary.org; those interested in “Adventures in the Vegetable Garden – Tips and Tricks for Spring Planting” can call the Groton Public Library at 978-448-1167 or visit gpl.org.

For more information on Judith Taylor, visit seeds2plate.com.

Source: sentinelandenterprise.com

Area family the focus of Homestead Rescue episode – Kenbridge … – Kenbridge Victoria Dispatch

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The benefits of Homesteading

A homestead is a lifestyle dedicated to self-sufficiency. This can include growing and preserving food, providing your own electricity with solar, wind or water, making fabric and clothing and even generating extra income by selling products made on your homestead.

Area family the focus of Homestead Rescue episode

Published 8:30 am Thursday, March 16, 2023

: Homesteaders Lucretia Jones and Khalid Thompson brought the Homestead Rescue crew in to help them.

Last fall, residents of Meherrin and the surrounding areas got a surprise, as Discovery Channel crews paid a visit. One local family was the spotlight for an episode of Homestead Rescue, which ran last week on tv. It’ll also be available soon on the Discovery+ app.

In light of the pandemic and everything that has followed, the idea of homesteading has become more popular as more people are interested in living independently. For one local family, their dream of homesteading became a reality.

WHAT IS HOMESTEAD RESCUE?

Homestead Rescue is a television show on Discovery that follows Marty, Matt and Misty Raney as they help families across the country with their homestead. They go all across the country to look for homesteaders who have a dream of becoming more self-reliant and see if they can help make it a reality.

Marty Raney is an expert survivalist and craftsman. He works on the series with his son Matt and daughter Misty. The show follows the family traveling to Alaska, Wyoming, Tennessee, Vermont and more. This fall they made a trip to Virginia as a family in Meherrin received some needed help for their homestead. This episode focused on the Jones-Thompson family who was living in a bus until the homestead was complete. Lucretia Jones and Khalid Thompson had sent their son to live with his grandmother until they could get on their feet and the Raneys wanted to reunite the family.

According to Marty Raney, this is common for folks to start homesteading on their land in mobile homes while they save up money to build a better home and then their dream home while getting their land together. It’s a long and hard process which is why the Raneys want to help where they can.

“Often they get on the property with big dreams and then when the money runs out it takes a while,” Marty said. “Living paycheck to paycheck to get enough to build a cabin can take a while and then they can save to build the dream house, but it’s more important than a big house. Homesteading brings peace of mind, freedom and fresh air which are all common threads to a heart of a homesteader.”

MEETING THE FAMILY

Pictured, from left, Marty Raney and his daughter Misty were part of the Homestead Rescue crew helping a Meherrin family get back on their feet.

Many things on television, especially reality-based television, are not as it seems on the camera. However, when the Raneys meet the family on the show for the first time it is real. According to Marty, there was no communication before they pulled into the Jones-Thompson’s driveway. They get to know the family and walk the land all the same time. He noted that this was a special couple which is why they were happy to help.

According to Marty, he has done many episodes, but he will not forget this one. He said it wasn’t just the couple that made an impact. The community came together to help and, according to Marty, this project would have failed if it wasn’t for the help from neighbors and strangers.

“Without the help of these strangers, the episode would have tanked or we could have left them in worse shape than before,” Marty said. “I don’t know if it was a South or Virginia thing, but the neighbors, they made it happen.

The episode “Bus, Sweat, and Tears” aired at 8 p.m. Tuesday, March 7, on Discovery. It’ll soon be available through the Discovery+ app.

Source: kenbridgevictoriadispatch.com

Grow Garden Pansy Flowers for Early Blooms

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Available in a variety of colors, cool-season garden pansy flowers are perfect in beds, containers and hanging baskets.

Is there a more cheerful flower than the garden pansy? With their big bold faces, brilliant colors ranging from bright yellow to deep purple with new varieties that even include splashes of pink, these flowers are a favorite in most cool-season gardens.

Check out our favorite early blooming spring flowers for your garden.

Pansy Flowers vs Viola: What’s the Difference?

Pansy flowers are in the same genus as violas.

Pansies (Viola x wittrockiana) are part of the Viola genus. They are hybrids of Viola tricolor (commonly known as Johnny-Jump-Ups, heartsease, or just violas), crossed with other Viola species like V. lutea and V. altaica.

Pansies are differentiated from violas by their larger multi-colored flowers, though they are closely related.

Get instant spring color with the top 10 fast-growing annual flowers.

Pansy Flower History

Jill Staake

The garden pansy beloved today has only been around for about 200 years. In the early 1800s, Lady Mary Elizabeth Bennet of Surrey, England, began gathering different varieties of wild heartsease and bringing them back to her family’s estate, where she worked with the gardener to begin cross-breeding them to create a wide variety of colors.

At the same time (and not far away), James Gambier was doing much the same thing with his own gardener. Over time, hybridizing violas become popular, leading eventually to the familiar large-flowered blotch-faced garden pansy we know and love today.

Add annual vinca flower to gardens and containers.

Pansy Flower Care

Jill Staake

Pansies are a cool season plant, usually treated as annual flowers. Some varieties re-seed readily. Gardeners usually plant pansies in the spring in northern zones, and in fall and winter in warmer areas.

Pansies like the cold, and can actually handle light freezes and even some snow. They dislike hot, muggy weather and will quickly rot when the heat of a southern summer sets in. They love full sun but can take some shade. Water pansies regularly for the best flowering.

Find out why Wave Petunia plants blow other petunias out of the water.

Where to Plant Pansies

Cool Wave White Pansy is a great choice for baskets and containers.

Garden pansies are a low-growing plants, perfect for borders. I also love pansies in containers, where you can get up close and appreciate their subtle spring-like scent and cheery flower faces. Mix them with other cool season flowers, like sweet alyssum, snapdragons, and their close relatives, violas. Or simply plant a big bed with a variety of colors and patterns.

Psst—did you know that pansies are edible flowers?

American robin nesting in a pansy hanging basket

Pansy plants should be readily available at your local garden center when the right growing season arrives. Or you can order a packet of seeds to get an early start on the growing season. Try the Cool Wave series to attract early spring pollinators.

Next, learn why you should grow Beacon Impatiens in shade gardens.

Source: birdsandblooms.com

Starting your summer vegetable garden? Here’s why you might ask a Charlottesville High School student for help

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Wes Swanson adjusts a pair of plastic sunglasses on a scarecrow. The students wanted it to be more like them, so they dressed it in a hoodie and attached a phone to the arm.

The scarecrow’s name is Davis Peter.

“I don’t know where they got the name,” said Peter Davis, urban farming teacher at Charlottesville High School.

The students were tending to the high school’s community garden for their Urban Farming and Marketing I class in early March. In the class, the students go through all the steps needed to farm and garden produce. Learning happens in the school garden, greenhouse and Sigma Lab, an engineering computer lab in the library.

The students also learn ways to run a successful business, such as marketing and how to be ready to join a workplace. They practice their skills by selling the produce they grow throughout the year. Davis said his current class is hoping to sell their products outside the school one day.

The class started six years ago when the high school collaborated with the local nonprofit Cultivate Charlottesville. The organization’s City Schoolyard Garden initiative began when a group of parents wanted students to have hands-on, outdoor experiences with gardening. Cultivate Charlottesville built its first garden at Buford Middle School in 2010.

Inspired by the success of the garden, Rosa Atkins, who was superintendent from 2006 to 2021, invited the organization to plant a garden at each public school in Charlottesville.

So now, all schools have gardens, but Charlottesville High School and Buford Middle School are the only schools with urban farming classes. Students at Buford can take Urban Farming and Marketing I, and students at Charlottesville High can take both Urban Farming and Marketing I and II for one credit each.

Urban farming education is on the rise, especially among youth, according to Leonrd Githinji, professor of sustainable and urban agriculture at Virginia State University. There is a growing interest in local food systems across the state, especially in central and northern Virginia, he said.

“Urban agriculture education targeting the youth is very important considering the aging population of the U.S. farmers across the nation,” said Githinji. “It’s imperative to equip the youth and prepare them to be farmers and agricultural scientists of the future.”

Students in Charlottesville High Schools Urban Farming and Marketing courses learn to manage farms and gardens, and also sell what they grow. In early March, they are seeing what’s left from last year’s harvest. Gram Sellman holds one of the class chickens, while Ceres Shanks holds some of the eggs. At the end of the semester, urban farming teacher Peter Davis (not pictured) will raffle off the chickens to those who are capable of rehousing them. Kori Price/Charlottesville Tomorrow

And that work of training the next generation is happening in Charlottesville.

More about growing food in Charlottesville

More local news

Source: cvilletomorrow.org