Tag: garden tips

Quick Tip – Potted Plant Stabilizing/Grooming

On By TimelessladyIn Quick Tip10 Comments

I have a large potted palm that spends the winter months in my home. During the summer, the palm is ‘vacationing’ in my backyard beneath the pines. While it is outdoors I will take a pair of scissors and snip away the browned ends of the fronds.

Potted plants, large and small, tip over easily in the high winds and heavy rains we have been experiencing this week in my area. I tried weighting the surface of the palm’s pot with rocks, but during the first strong breezes the pot tipped over. To better stabilize the plant I ran a garden stake through the top of the pot, threaded it through the side (or bottom) drainage holes, and hammered it into the ground. I used four stakes for the large palm, smaller plants will stand firm using only one.

I’ve shared this tip in the past, but it is worth repeating for those who are new to gardening outdoors.

Quick Tip – Garden/Container Greenhouse Drainage

On By TimelessladyIn Quick Tip11 Comments

Here’s an easy way to create drainage holes in plastic disposable food containers. These containers come in all sizes and make perfect miniature greenhouses for stem cuttings and seed sowing, but creating drainage holes can be tricky. I’ve found that if I lay the container on the lawn to use as a stabilizer, an ice pick (screwdrivers and nails work great too) will easily pierce the plastic when hit with a hammer without tearing the bottom into shreds.

There you have it! Perfect drainage in less than five minutes with a minimum of fuss. Happy Gardening!

Quick Tips – Five Tips on Tuesday/In the Garden

On By TimelessladyIn Quick Tip21 Comments

Here are a few quick garden tips. I have probably mentioned a few of them in previous posts, but they are worth repeating.

1. Are your hands too dirty to even touch the doorknob to get into the house? A net bag, think onions, potatoes etc., can be a terrific outdoor soap receptacle. I used some of my favorite flexible garden ties for this tip, wrapping the bag and attaching it to the hose spigot with the same tie.

2. Are you having a problem with ants getting into your hummingbird feeder? Wrap tape sticky side out around the hook post.

3. Are your hummingbirds tired? Just kidding—had to show this sweet hummingbird swing my husband gave me for Mother’s Day. Yes, I was thrilled with the gift!

4. Have your gorgeous tea roses reverted back to a deep red flower? Your rootstock has lived and the grafted on hybrid rose is gone. Since I think these wild roses are pretty in their own way, I will allow them to grow until they begin to look scraggly. The hybrid rose will not regenerate on this root stock. The only solution you have if you dislike the wild rose is to dig it up and replant a new hybrid rosebush. I’ve decided I’m going to enjoy the wild rose this year.

“Grafted roses, commonly called budded plants, are plants where the desired rose is grafted or budded onto a rootstock of a different type. The point where the desired variety and the rootstock meet is called the bud union.” ~ Houzz.com


5. Are weedy plants growing in the cracked areas of your sidewalk and concrete? Boiling water will kill them just as quickly as chemical poison sprays and will keep our world safer for upcoming generations.