How to line flower beds

Learn to create, build, line and prepare your own raised flower bed.

Flower beds add great visual interest to gardens and yards. Often filled with combinations of bright, colorful annuals and hardy perennials that help to add structure to the plantings, flower beds provide an ever-changing and continually interesting design element to the outdoors. The plantings can be as formal or as informal as one’s own garden and personality dictate; both sprawling and neatly trimmed flowering displays can be beautiful. Creating a flower bed that will last practically forever is also reasonably easy. Whether your design calls for a raised bed or one on the same level with the rest of the plantings, a well-lined and weed-free starting point will help your flowers get the best start and perform beautifully throughout the season.
Raised flower beds are a great choice for a number of reasons. Gardeners with back problems or sore knees often find that the added height of the bed alleviates some of the pain of bending. Those working with poor or nutrient-deficient soils can also create ideal growing conditions in their newly created raised beds. Poorly draining, clay-like dirt also becomes a non-issue in raised flower beds; run-off happens more easily, and the sun heats raised beds more effectively to help the soil warm and dry more evenly. Bed borders can be made of practically any material. Rock, concrete, brick and wood all make for attractive edging.
When creating the flower bed itself, you will need not only enough of the desired edging material to surround the bed (as well as posts, if needed for wooden beds), but also a plastic liner. Home and garden supply stores and depots will have a variety of plastic drop cloths: thin (2 mm) and clear tarps are used for painting cleanup, but thicker (4-6 mm), black plastic sheeting can be used in the garden. In order to give the desired plantings in the flower bed the best chances for growing and blooming, they should not have to compete with weeds or grasses at the bottom of the flower bed that are either trying to grow or in the process of decomposing. Choose a black plastic drop cloth that is large enough to cover the bottom of the flower bed with about a foot on each side overlapping. If making a wooden flower bed, make sure that the plastic can reach up the sides to at least the point where the dirt level will be; the plastic liner will help prevent the wood from rotting as rapidly. Put the plastic drop cloth and the edging for the flower bed in place, but do not yet fill the bed with compost and dirt. Use bricks, stones or flower pots to hold the plastic in place.
Leave the plastic and edging in place without adding dirt for at least a week or two. The length of time that the plastic liner needs to be left in place will vary depending on the weather and its effect on humidity and temperature. You will want to wait for the weeds and grasses underneath the plastic to wither and begin decomposing before beginning further work on the flower beds. Once the plants below the plastic are dealt with, cut holes in the liner. The holes will allow for proper drainage, but the remainder of the plastic cloth will still help to make sure that the weeds do not return and that the soil in the planter will not wash away. Try to cut a 1 inch hole in the plastic about every 8 to 12 inches through the material for adequate drainage.
At this point, you can fill the planting bed with rotted and aged compost, topsoil and water it well. When planting, mix annuals and perennials to help lengthen the interest of the bed; do not be afraid to experiment and try new combinations in your new garden feature.

+ Garden flower care: how to grow african violet from seed

Give African violet seeds the correct environment and you will have success.

Growing African Violets from seed
African violets or sinnigia speciosa are very popular and beautiful plants. They are not usually grown from seed because only a few species will come true. It is possible to grow them from seed and there are many different ways to do it. Some people go to elaborate means to find better ways to grow them from seed. There have been studies to find out which ways work the best.
When you acquire some African violet seeds you will need to decide on which way you want to try to grow them. Do you want to use those little peat pots? Some say they work just fine. Or do you want to create the perfect environment for these seeds in order to get the best and biggest crop of African violets? Either way can be as successful as the other.
The primary thing to remember is to provide a temperature of about sixty five to seventy five degrees Fahrenheit. The soil will need to be very light, so perlite or vermiculite will need to be added to the soil. Sometimes a mix of perlite with about ten percent vermiculite is a good mix to use. You can purchase regular African violet potting mix but the perlite andvermiculite should be added to anyway. Also, it is good to cover the seeds with a very fine sifted mix of this perlite and vermiculite mix. Just cover the seeds by half centimeter. The mix can be sifted ahead of time using a window screen. This will give you a very fine sifted mix.
Peat is also used to germinate seeds, and with great success. Canadian peat is one of the best to use. If peat is used you should add some vermiculite, perlite, Epsom salt and green sand. This keeps the soil light and gives it good drainage. The Epsom salt will aid in germination. It should dissolve slowly as the seeds are being watered. Don’t use too much or it may burn the plant. Peat and the other ingredients can be added to a good African violet potting soil.
A good and cost effective way to propagate a lot of seeds is by using clear plastic drinking cups. The three ounce SOLO brand of cup is good because it will hold up to the added moisture. Add the potting mixture of your choice and lightly cover with your choice of mix. You can then put the cup under a light or in a very sunny window. If you put it under an artificial light, the distance should be about eight inches. The warmth will aide in germination also. Be sure to use a low light so the temperature won’t get too hot.
You can expect germination in about eight days. Sometimes it will take up to fourteen days for germination. Do not disturb the seeds when you water. An effective way to water your seed cups is to use a synthetic yarn wick. Put one end of the wick in a glass of water and the other end into the soil of the seed pot. Wet the wick beforehand with water and two drops of dish detergent. This will keep down plant disease.
Watch for little green dots of new African violet seedlings. To keep moisture on new seedlings you can invert another cup over the seed pot and it will act like a little greenhouse. The seedlings must stay moist because they are very fragile at this time.

+ Home gardening: grow your own sunflower seeds

When designing your own wildflower garden, the objective is to evoke an impression of at least one of the three main types of natural wildflower gardens: woodland, meadow, or prairie. To achieve this, try to use plants that are native to your state or local area. You will also need to choose the location with which to place your wildflower garden. Depending on the type of garden you choose, almost any spot is ideal for growing wildflowers. Create a lovely meadow or prairie in an open field. Use an existing woodline as a backdrop for a natural woodland garden. Perhaps your ideal location is too small to accommodate all of your favorite wildflowers. If this is the case, you may want to consider trying a container garden. Whatever the choice, keep in mind that there are numerous books available to help get you started.
Woodland gardens are mostly composed of flowering plants, grasses, shrubs, and trees. Woodland wildflowers, such as the crested iris and creeping phlox, usually grow and bloom in early spring; while other late-blooming plants like asters and goldenrods provide abundant foliage early in the year. When designing a woodland garden, include layers of plants as they would be found in their natural setting. Woodland plants like moist, humus-rich soil that is usually found in shady areas. These plants develop sturdy, evergreen leaves in order to survive the continuous shade. The native wildflowers become accustomed to and adapt well to the low-light levels year-round. You can easily create a woodland wildflower garden by planting smaller trees, shrubs, hostas, native ferns, and wildflowers such as mountain anemone; bleeding heart; wild ginger; and hepatica underneath a large shade tree in your yard.
In a meadow garden, wildflowers bloom sporadically throughout the season filling them with brilliant colors and astounding fragrances. Native meadow wildflowers produce flowers mainly during the summer and fall seasons. Most meadows contain both grasses and wildflowers. Generally, meadow wildflowers can survive in thin, poor-to-average soil. Commonly found wildflowers may include the following: black-eyed Susans, butterfly weed, lilies, asters, coneflowers, liatris, blanket flowers, and joe-pye weed. When planting a meadow wildflower garden, you will need to decide how closely you want to imitate nature by studying the surrounding natural meadows in your area. The meadow garden is reasonably easy to care for once established. Giving your garden an annual mowing to keep woody plants at bay should suffice.
Prairie wildflower gardens tend to mix vivid flower colors with the overwhelming greens and golds of native prairie grasses. A natural prairie is nothing more than open grassland. Throughout the growing season wildflowers will bloom and add beauty to this low, cushion-like environment while the numerous grasses provide an abundance of foliage. Prairie plants need deep, loamy soil. You can convert a treeless area of lawn into a prairie by planting an array of grasses such as prairie dropseed, switch grass, or Indian grass along with wildflowers that may include prairie clover; goldenrod; bluebells; butterfly weed; and prairie onion. Keeping this area clear of woody growth is essential in order for these prairie grasses and wildflowers to thrive.
Another easy way to grow wildflowers is in containers. There are a wide variety of containers available to choose from. The only factor to consider when growing wildflowers by this method is good drainage. You will also want to bear in mind that choosing pots that are porous, such as those made of clay, will require frequent watering. Some good choices for container growing are sweet alyssum, baby’s breath, coreopsis, poppies, purple coneflowers, and black-eyed Susan’s.
Wildflowers can also adapt easily to rock garden environments. These can be created for sun or partial shade and for dry or moist conditions. Prairie phlox, blue-eyed grass, bottle gentian, and wild columbine are just some of the many varieties that work well with rock gardens.
Wildflowers spread naturally and are normally more trouble-free and easier to maintain than other garden flowers. They are self-sufficient and can basically get by on their own. Wildflower gardens are also usually less expensive and generally easier to prepare. All that is actually required is the removal of non-essential, existing growth. However; to succeed with wildflower gardening, you should learn about the native environments of plants you want to grow as well as those indigenous to your local area. You will certainly want to avoid any aggressive wildflowers with which will overtake your garden. Before starting your wildflower garden, you should take into account the native plants with which may already be located on your property. The availability of light is also important. This can determine the difference between a meadow and prairie garden verses a woodland garden. Different plants require or tolerate different degrees of shade or light. There are numerous gardening books available that provide guidelines for various species. When creating designs with wildflowers, be sure to use plants that bloom at various intervals. This will create a longer flowering season. Mix a number of different heights, shapes, and textures to give your wildflower garden depth. Include plants with attractive and colorful foliage, such as ferns and ornamental grasses, to keep your garden looking charming during particular times of the year when there may not be a great deal of flowers in bloom.

+ Free flower garden design ideas: planning a wild flower garden

Growing wildflowers bring both natural color and beauty into your yard. Best of all, wildflower gardens are generally trouble-free and require little maintenance.

When designing your own wildflower garden, the objective is to evoke an impression of at least one of the three main types of natural wildflower gardens: woodland, meadow, or prairie. To achieve this, try to use plants that are native to your state or local area. You will also need to choose the location with which to place your wildflower garden. Depending on the type of garden you choose, almost any spot is ideal for growing wildflowers. Create a lovely meadow or prairie in an open field. Use an existing woodline as a backdrop for a natural woodland garden. Perhaps your ideal location is too small to accommodate all of your favorite wildflowers. If this is the case, you may want to consider trying a container garden. Whatever the choice, keep in mind that there are numerous books available to help get you started.
Woodland gardens are mostly composed of flowering plants, grasses, shrubs, and trees. Woodland wildflowers, such as the crested iris and creeping phlox, usually grow and bloom in early spring; while other late-blooming plants like asters and goldenrods provide abundant foliage early in the year. When designing a woodland garden, include layers of plants as they would be found in their natural setting. Woodland plants like moist, humus-rich soil that is usually found in shady areas. These plants develop sturdy, evergreen leaves in order to survive the continuous shade. The native wildflowers become accustomed to and adapt well to the low-light levels year-round. You can easily create a woodland wildflower garden by planting smaller trees, shrubs, hostas, native ferns, and wildflowers such as mountain anemone; bleeding heart; wild ginger; and hepatica underneath a large shade tree in your yard.
In a meadow garden, wildflowers bloom sporadically throughout the season filling them with brilliant colors and astounding fragrances. Native meadow wildflowers produce flowers mainly during the summer and fall seasons. Most meadows contain both grasses and wildflowers. Generally, meadow wildflowers can survive in thin, poor-to-average soil. Commonly found wildflowers may include the following: black-eyed Susans, butterfly weed, lilies, asters, coneflowers, liatris, blanket flowers, and joe-pye weed. When planting a meadow wildflower garden, you will need to decide how closely you want to imitate nature by studying the surrounding natural meadows in your area. The meadow garden is reasonably easy to care for once established. Giving your garden an annual mowing to keep woody plants at bay should suffice.
Prairie wildflower gardens tend to mix vivid flower colors with the overwhelming greens and golds of native prairie grasses. A natural prairie is nothing more than open grassland. Throughout the growing season wildflowers will bloom and add beauty to this low, cushion-like environment while the numerous grasses provide an abundance of foliage. Prairie plants need deep, loamy soil. You can convert a treeless area of lawn into a prairie by planting an array of grasses such as prairie dropseed, switch grass, or Indian grass along with wildflowers that may include prairie clover; goldenrod; bluebells; butterfly weed; and prairie onion. Keeping this area clear of woody growth is essential in order for these prairie grasses and wildflowers to thrive.
Another easy way to grow wildflowers is in containers. There are a wide variety of containers available to choose from. The only factor to consider when growing wildflowers by this method is good drainage. You will also want to bear in mind that choosing pots that are porous, such as those made of clay, will require frequent watering. Some good choices for container growing are sweet alyssum, baby’s breath, coreopsis, poppies, purple coneflowers, and black-eyed Susan’s.
Wildflowers can also adapt easily to rock garden environments. These can be created for sun or partial shade and for dry or moist conditions. Prairie phlox, blue-eyed grass, bottle gentian, and wild columbine are just some of the many varieties that work well with rock gardens.
Wildflowers spread naturally and are normally more trouble-free and easier to maintain than other garden flowers. They are self-sufficient and can basically get by on their own. Wildflower gardens are also usually less expensive and generally easier to prepare. All that is actually required is the removal of non-essential, existing growth. However; to succeed with wildflower gardening, you should learn about the native environments of plants you want to grow as well as those indigenous to your local area. You will certainly want to avoid any aggressive wildflowers with which will overtake your garden. Before starting your wildflower garden, you should take into account the native plants with which may already be located on your property. The availability of light is also important. This can determine the difference between a meadow and prairie garden verses a woodland garden. Different plants require or tolerate different degrees of shade or light. There are numerous gardening books available that provide guidelines for various species. When creating designs with wildflowers, be sure to use plants that bloom at various intervals. This will create a longer flowering season. Mix a number of different heights, shapes, and textures to give your wildflower garden depth. Include plants with attractive and colorful foliage, such as ferns and ornamental grasses, to keep your garden looking charming during particular times of the year when there may not be a great deal of flowers in bloom.

+ Design tips: flower arrangements with carnations

Carnations are hardy and come in a variety of colors, good for creating fresh baskets, centerpieces, and vase arrangements.

Carnations, also called Dianthus, are a great staple in any flower arrangement. Whether it is the featured flower or filler, there are many reasons to use carnations in fresh flower displays. Carnations come in a variety of sizes and colors. Traditional carnations are usually white, pink, red or yellow. Variegated carnations are white or yellow with red tips along the edge. Various colors are created in carnations by dyeing. This is how florists achieve blue and green shades. There are two ways carnations are colored, they are stem dyed or sprayed. Stem dying involves cutting the stems on the carnation and placing them in a bucket of dye with the desired color. The white flowers drink the dye and the flower exudes the color. Occasionally carnations are sprayed with a floral dye as another coloring technique. Mini-carnations are also used in many arrangements. They come in the same color pallets, but are smaller and have multiple flowers sprouting from one main stem. There are many creative ways to incorporate these flowers in a variety of different arrangement styles.
Baskets are a great way to present carnations. While a basket filled with carnations is nice, spice it up a bit with a variety of flowers. Different sizes and textures of flowers make for an appealing bouquet. In the spring, create a basket filled with carnations, mini-carnations, baby’s breath and daisies. All of these flowers have a long shelf life, so this arrangement should last close to a week. For other seasons combine Spider Mums and carnations with an assortment of greens.
Carnations look great in a tall vase as well. Cut three to different heights and place in bud vase with some baby’s breath and a bow. Remember to put some greenery in the vase. Fern, which industry professionals call leather, is great for filling in the bare spots in an arrangement. The dark green background is a perfect backdrop for the carnations. For larger vases combine carnations and roses. Red roses and white variegated carnations are a beautiful combination. For color and texture include some flowers in the blue or purple family such as iris or eucalyptus. Statice is a multi-stemmed flower with a very unusual texture. It looks great with red or white carnations.
Centerpieces with carnations and mini-carnations are very common. Incorporate some mums, aster, or snapdragons to add some flair. Tulips look great with carnations in a centerpiece. For a formal table piece, place a tapered candle in the center of the arrangement. Be sure to keep the flame several inches away from the flowers. Centerpieces should be relatively low in height, so guests can view each other across the table.
Because of their hardiness and beauty, carnations are a wonderful treat to have in your home or office. To keep the bouquet at its best, remember to water it periodically. For longevity, be careful where you place the flowers. Keep it off of the television or any surface that radiates heat, and out of direct sunlight. Because carnations are so versatile, they mix well with a huge variety of flowers. Don’t be afraid to mix size, textures and multiple color flowers together when designing your floral piece.

+ Landscape tips and advice: flower bed border ideas

The majority of flower borders are generally planted along a fence or other boundary in a landscape. However, they can also edge the sides of walkways or driveways. The charming edges of a flower border set off by an area of plants, mulch, or other type of decorative edging not only is more pleasing to the eye, but it can also cut down on the amount of time spent with mundane yard maintenance such as mowing.
To budget both time and money, plant the bed in stages. Consider and plan ahead whether or not there is an adequate amount of lawn space, availability of structures, trees, or shrubs that can be used to incorporate a flower border. You will need to design borders in such a way that the size and shape will complement one another as well as the surrounding landscape. Make your border large enough to generate a pleasing visual impression, yet, small enough for easy maintenance. Keep the border in proportion with the length as well. The length of the border is normally determined by the overall size of the landscape. Making the border slightly wider will allow the opportunity to use tall, flamboyant flowers. Layering and variation of shape in a border will create a pleasant composition. Grouping taller plants with intense foliage can also screen unsightly areas and provide privacy. A border can have either a straight or curved edge. Curves tend to offer a more casual and informal effect. Straight beds can be made less daunting by arranging flowers in groups rather than in rows. You can also soften straight lines by permitting the bed to curve in the center or near one end. Whether or not to use a straight line or a gentle curve is up to you.
Asters, chrysanthemums, daylilies, irises, and ornamental grasses are good choices for use in flower borders. These can be highlighted with vines, shrubs, or attractive foliage plants. Choosing flowers with long-lasting blooms provide stronger emphasis throughout the changing seasons. For early blooms, peonies, geraniums, columbine, and miscellaneous spring-flowering bulbs can be utilized. Choose goldenrod, asters, mums, or phlox for late blooms. Annuals such as impatiens and dianthus are immediate choices to brighten up existing borders between seasons.
There are many different ways in which borders can be arranged. Double borders usually scamper along both sides of a path or down the sides of property. Most of the time, these borders have straight edges. Edging a double border with brick can make these straight edges more attractive. Formal borders that include roses look quite lovely when they are outlined with low, neatly pruned boxwood. Other formal beds can be placed against dark backgrounds or hedges and stand out nicely when edged with cobblestones. Perennial borders can be edged with a continuous planting of one type of edging plant such as sweet alyssum, hardy pinks, candytuft, or lavender. Depending on the width, borders along a walkway or path can be edged with plants in a straight row or in masses. An island bed is surrounded by lawn. Position an island bed with an irregular shape that will fit the contours of your lawn and border plantings. Place the tallest plants in the center with all other plant heights scaled down towards the outer edge. These can be edged with consistent placement of one plant, such as lamb’s ear, or groups of edging plants. You can also give the island bed an untamed appearance by allowing it to flow into the lawn to mimic a meadow. A mixed border consists of flowers which are placed in groups in and around shrubs and groundcover. Shrubs that are used with this type of border should complement the foliage and growth of the other plants. For further interest, an accent can be integrated. Herbaceous borders can be designed using hedges, walls, or fences as backdrops. These types of borders can provide height and substance to the landscape. Incorporate climbing vegetation such as clematis, climbing roses, or ivy into the background to supply additional beauty. For winter attraction, ornamental grasses can be used. They make natural companions for herbaceous plants like salvia and campanula. A raised bed can save space and can be enclosed with bricks, timbers, or anything that gives shape and holds soil in. Slope these beds to encourage water run off. You can also build up the soil into a mound without any retaining edges.
Flower borders placed around the outer edges of a landscape provide a cleaner and less muddled appearance than numerous, traditional small beds. They can be worked into nearly any property. With the use of low-growing plants that have interesting foliage texture and defined edges from stones or other types of edging your border should contrast well with and add character to the flowers and surrounding lawn.