Nicholas Tan asked:

When it comes to gardening plants, there are too many to name. Gardening plants can refer to flowers, shrubs, herbs, vegetables, fruits, and many more. There are also gardening plants that are in season at different times of the year, some in fall and winter, others in spring and summer. Whatever type of gardening you decide is your forte; there are plenty of gardening plants available to suit your preferences.

If you want gardening plants that you can actually use instead of just look at, vegetables, herbs, and fruits are all very satisfying. Edible plants add an excitement to gardening because of the produce available at harvest time. The main vegetables grown in smaller, home gardens as well as larger ones include corn, peas, cucumbers, potatoes, squash, peppers, onions, carrots, spinach, lettuce, and beets. Popular fruits are pears, plums, tomatoes, blueberries, apricots, cherries, and strawberries. Herbs are used for their wonderful fragrances, to spice up a salad, and in cooking. Herbs that are often home grown include thyme, sage, dill, mint, lavender, and chives.

It is fairly easy to have a colorful garden in the spring and summer months, but it is a whole different ball-game during the cold, winter months. Even though it is difficult, with planning and a little more care you can have a colorful garden year round. One gardening plant that thrives in the fall and winter months is the Rudbeckia, a beautiful yellow perennial. Others include the Christmas rose, the Japanese Anemone, and Cosmos.

When you think of flowers you automatically think of a spring garden full of many different, beautiful colors. Spring and summer gardening plants are some of the prettiest things on earth and give inspiration to all who grow them. Some of the most grown spring plants are tulips, daffodils, and violets. Favorites of the warmer months of summer are lilies, dahlias, and roses.

When gardening, many people will opt for decorative grasses or shrubs. Monkey grass is an all time favorite, especially for a sidewalk. These will gardening plants can be for looks, can act as a border or fence, and can be used for privacy. Shrubs are easy to take care of and add a defining look to any yard or garden.

There are so many different kinds of gardening plants available. Many gardening plants actually have a purpose and can be used, whereas many of them are just for looks. The kind of gardening plant you choose to have in your garden is completely up to you, but remember, no matter what kind it is, it will require some maintenance and without proper care you will end up with a garden full of just dirt.

Jules Smith asked:

It’s winter. It’s cold outside. Everything is covered in snow. Good News! Now is the perfect time to start thinking about — and preparing for — your spring garden.

While your activities outside may be limited, there’s much you can do inside to make the coming months more fruitful.

For starters, grab a pencil and paper and sketch out any changes you’d like to make to your garden once the snow clears.

Where will you put the new arbor you’ve been thinking about? Is it time for a new and artistic pruning of the hedges? What about a new walkway of flagstones interspersed with thyme? Will you be moving any flower or herb beds? Will you need new annuals or perennials? Would you like a new herb garden? Some, like basil and parsley make tasty additions to your pantry. Others, like sweet woodruff are more decorative and can be a subtle but significant facet of your landscaping plans. Still others, like anise-hyssop and sage attract butterflies, and bergamot may attract hummingbirds.

When you put all your gardening tools away at the end of autumn, you made sure to clean and oil them, right? If not, now would be a good time to do so, along with sharpening any dull blades and fixing or replacing anything that’s broken.

Your inside houseplants still need plenty of attention. Perhaps, because of the shorter winter days, they need more light and should be moved. Over time the soil of potted plants loses nutrients and may suffer from a mineral build-up from hard water. Now would be a good time to re-pot them.

While you’re inside taking care of your houseplants, consider starting seedlings to be planted outside in the spring. Besides being fun and educational, it can save you the expense of purchasing plants in the spring. Thyme can take three to four weeks to germinate and shouldn’t be transplanted until two sets of true leaves appear. Then the plant still needs to be acclimatized over a period of a week. Now would be a good time to prepare the soil, containers, and lighting you’ll need, as well as to purchase the seeds themselves.

Speaking of seeds, start perusing seed catalogues and gardening magazines. You’ll find excellent inspiration for your own garden designs, as well as news about new tools and techniques. Botanists and horticulturists are always producing new hybrids to tickle your senses.

On days when it’s not too cold, consider getting out and setting up a bird feeder. Different seeds attract different birds: Niger seed for goldfinches, house

and purple finches, and pine siskins; black oil sunflower seed for just about every other type of bird. It’s a good economical general feed. For a high energy feed for winter, give them suet or peanut butter. Also, think about a heated birdbath. Water is a necessity!

Be sure to shake excess snow off the branches of small trees, particularly evergreens. The excessive weight may break tender branches or even topple the tree. It’s still not too late to wrap vulnerable evergreens with burlap.

Once you’ve done everything you can inside and outside, it’s time to get away to a gardening show. Each year, Landscape Ontario and The Garden Club of Toronto produce Canada Blooms, a veritable oasis for eager gardeners where you’ll find hundreds of exhibits including lavish custom designed gardens, water falls, seminars, demonstrations, and workshops. Past Canada Blooms have even included real weddings with the public invited as guests.

No matter what the weather’s like, there’s always plenty to do for the serious professional and the amateur hobbyist alike. So prepare now for a springtime garden that will be a haven for both yourself and the friendly neighborhood wildlife.

Susan Foster asked:

Springtime is typically considered a period of fresh beginnings and revitalization. For plants it is a very active span as they arise from their winter sleep. For horticulturists this is a very spirited period for not only outdoor plants but our indoor plants too. Springtime is the ideal period for indoor plant maintenance.

Fertilizing plants in the spring and summer months will render the best results. A useful rule of thumb to keep in mind when fertilizing is that less is indeed more. Don’t fertilize a plant that has recently been re-potted for a few months or a new plant just brought home from the nursery. The fertilizer nutrients are already in a nursery plant and the fresh soil of a re-potted plant.

I also examine my plants in the spring to determine if they need re-potting. There are 3 standard methods to determine if your indoor plant needs re-potting:

1. If the roots are protruding out of the drainage hole.

2. If the roots have totally filled the pot and are growing around in circles.

3. If, after adding water, it quickly leaks out the bottom. This is a matter of either the soil altogether drying out, or the roots so totally filling the pot that they are self-strangling and can’t take up any water at all.

After re-potting, it is a perfect time to consider displaying your plant in a splendid, natural-looking macrame plant hanger.

Macrame plant hangers are also a good method to move that plant that needs more or less light into a superior spot to receive its needed light. Usually plants come with a guideline on the amount of light that works best for them. During the winter, less sun comes inside than in the spring and summer. It’s useful to know which windows have the less to more sunlight that comes through on any given sunny day. The north window has the least amount of light. The east window has the next brightest; the west window is the next brightest with the south window being the brightest of all.

Pruning a plant to improve its shape and cultivate more even flowering throughout the plant is also ideally completed in the early spring or late summer.

During this spring I am loving the blossoms of my many African Violets and the spring flowering of my Christmas Cacti. I also have numerous macrame plant hangers in my home so they can all have their individual showplace. It is fun pampering your plants…they love it!

James Kilkelly asked:

In the spring, a young man’s fancy lightly turns to thoughts of love. Whereas in autumn a gardeners fancy turns to spring.

No sooner has autumn set in than we gardeners begin to think of spring and spring bulb planting. There is a wide selection of bulbs available for planting now and blooming in spring, the following is just a small selection those available…

Allium (flowering garlic),

Anemone (wind flower),

Crocus,

Cyclamen,

Galanthus (Snowdrop),

Hyacinth,

Iris,

Narcissus (daffodil),

Scillia (bluebell),

Tulip,

Now, choosing the right bulbs involves more than just selecting colours and flowers you like. Bulb size and more importantly, bulb health are equally significant factors in selecting your spring garden bulbs. I suggest you carry out my personal quality test for bulbs before you go ahead and plant.

Healthy bulbs should be firm and heavy for their size. They should not feel overly dry or light. Certain bulbs (daffodils etc) will have loose and peeling skin, this is normal and nothing to worry about.

In the case of bulbs, “bigger is better”, big bulbs usually mean a large amount of stored food to produce brilliant blooms the following season. Smaller, bargain bulbs may take two years to produce blooms good enough for your garden.

The colour of the bulbs skin should be uniform with no dark or light patches. Any bulbs with weak or spongy areas should not be planted, this is often a tell tale sign of rot.

If the bulbs you select appear to tick all the above boxes then you are well on your way to a colourful return from this season’s bulb planting.

Weather permitting; you should try to plant your bulbs quite soon upon arriving home from the garden centre. Bulbs continually deteriorate the longer they are out of the soil. If you cannot plant them right away, store them in a cool place such as your garden shed or garage. Never store them in closed bags as they might rot. Bulbs need to breathe; this is why you will see garden centre displaying bulbs in perforated or net bags.

Chrystal Holman asked:

You have your garden tools in hand, you’re thinking about plant bulb in spring, and you’re wondering if you are going to waste time and money doing so. No, you’re not. You just need to consider these tips before embarking on spring bulb planting.

The main thing to know about bulbs is they need to go through a “winterized” period before planting.

The optimal time for planting bulbs is when the ground temperatures are still below 60 degrees Fahrenheit.

The tricky part is when temperatures have already risen, or you expect the spring ground temperatures to rise above the 60 degrees soon.

What do you do then?

You fool the bulbs into “believing” they have gone through winter.

Place the bulbs in the refrigerator crisper for between six to twelve weeks.

Keep them in well-ventilated bags, and keep them away from other vegetables. Those vegetables give off gases that can abort the germination of the bulbs.

If you have a lot of bulbs to plant, consider getting an old refrigerator specifically for this task. Your family will not be pleased if the refrigerator is full to the brim with your bulbs!

After the six to twelve week period, follow these easy steps to get the bulbs into the ground.

1. Make the holes large enough so that the developing roots will have enough soft soil around them to spread and not be crowded.

2. Thoroughly soak the soil that surrounds the hole and scrape ridges in the sides of the hole that will give the roots some form of purchase to penetrate the harder soil.

3. Position the bulb so that it is the same depth down the hole as it was from the top edge of the container. Place loose soil underneath the bulb to raise it if the hole is too deep.

4. Fill the hole and make sure it is well watered either through your efforts or nature’s efforts.

Your spring planted bulbs might bloom that same spring, if you planted them early enough.

If you planted them late in spring, you might have to wait till next year before you will enjoy their color and splendor.

Andrew Bicknell asked:

Learning how to plant a vegetable garden is not hard, but without careful planning and proper follow through, your garden may perform poorly.  If done correctly it pays off with big benefits in so many ways.  Before you know it you will be picking perfectly ripe, perfectly delicious tomatoes without having to wonder what chemicals went into growing them.

The most important part of successful gardening is to properly prepare the soil.  A routine soil test gives information on any lime requirement, phosphorous and potassium needs and estimated nitrogen requirements. A good soil mixture contains two parts loam, one parts and, and one part organic matter and many pre-mixed soil mixtures are available at garden centers.  When manure is added to the soil, it must be composted prior to planting, because fresh, hot manure will also burn your plants.  Vegetables need a lot of nutrition to grow well, so the better you prepare the soil before planting, the better chances you have of producing a bountiful crop. For information on soil testing, call your local county extension educator or the local university soil testing laboratory.

Planting a vegetable garden is not hard, but without careful planning and proper follow through, your garden may perform poorly.  Tilling the soil in late fall facilitates earlier spring planting.  Cool versus warm planting periods are determined by your choice of cool-season vegetables and warm-season vegetables.

Successful vegetable gardening involves far more than just popping a few seeds into the ground and waiting for a tomato to appear. When sowing your seeds stretch a string between the two stakes you set to mark the row, or use a straight piece of lumber, and use it as a guide to open a ‘V’ shaped furrow with the corner of your hoe.  Tear the corner of the seed package off and use your finger to tap the package lightly as you move down the row, carefully distributing the seeds evenly. Larger type seeds may be placed individually in the row.  You will want to plant extra seeds in each row to allow for failed germination, and for thinning.  Cover the seeds with fine soil (no clods or rocks).  After the seeds sprout, the weaker seedlings should be pinched off to give the rest enough room to grow.

Vegetables that are leaves or stems, such as cabbages and onions, can usually be harvested over a long period as they are needed.  Vegetables that are the fruit of the plant, such as peas, beans and tomatoes, should be picked every two or three days to get them when they are first ripe.  Any vegetable garden should receive a minimum of six hours of direct sunlight during the day and grow best on soil that is well drained. Vegetable gardens do not always have to be laid out in large plots in the backyard; you can grow them nearly anywhere as long as all their growing conditions are met and your choice of plants will be largely determined by the likes and dislikes of your family.  If the same garden plot is used for vegetables for many years, your crops should be rotated, so that each type of vegetable is in a different position during the following season. 

Planting a vegetable garden is hard work but for both the beginner and experienced gardener the rewards can be delicious.

Sarah Martin asked:

Some of the seeds come up in a few weeks; a few, in fact, in less than ten days, where conditions are favorable; others, as we have seen, require several months. It is well to group them, when planting, upon this basis, so that all those which will be ready for transplanting early may be removed together.

In one group, for instance, may be planted the following, which will usually germinate within three weeks and be ready for transplanting within three to six weeks more:

Alyssum, arabis, aubrietia, arenaria, armeria, achillea, anthemis, bellis, columbine (aquilegia), cerastium, delphinium, draba, erinus, forget-me-not (myosotis), gypsophila, linaria, linum, lichnis, lupine, pansies, poppies, potentilla, silene,

saponaria.

Those which are likely to take longer, some of them six to eight weeks, are as follows:

Aster, androsace, allium, asperula, campanula, clematis, coridalis, cutisis, erodium, eryngium, erigeron, genista, geranium, geum, helianthemum, heuchera, houstonia, hypericum, iberis, iris, oenothera, primula, saxifrage, sedum, thymus, thalictrum, viola.

The above, of course, are based on early spring planting. Time out, for seeds which stratify in the seed bed over winter, does not count. These over-winter seeds need no protection from snow-the more snow which piles up in the frames the better. The sash may be left on, but not closed tight, during November and December, to protect the seeds from the heavy rains which often occur at this season.

Bog Plants

Bog-plant seeds germinate best upon a surface not only moist but actually damp. A mixture of one-third each chopped sphagnum moss, peatmoss, and sand makes good compost in which to grow them. If this is placed in seed pans or azalea pots, and these are kept in deep saucers constantly filled with water and sheltered from direct sunshine, the seeds will have conditions to their liking. Also consider wall water falls (http://www.garden-fountains.com/Detail.bok?no=3408) that can provide constant moisture.

Transplanting

If the soil mixtures suggested above have been used, there will be few weeds to bother with, and unless the seed has been sown too thickly, little thinning will be necessary before the seedlings are big enough to transplant. If they come up too thickly, however, thin out immediately. This is most important.

For transplanting, make a bed in a well-drained spot, using a compost for the top four to six inches, or digging into the soil, if it is light, clean garden loam to start with, a layer equivalent to two to three inches of peat moss, an inch or so of sand or fine gravel, and a little very thoroughly decomposed manure. If the latter is not available, leaf mold and a light dressing of bone meal may be used as a substitute for it.

This amount of material added will somewhat raise the level of the bed, which is desirable. A six-inch board, bricks laid end to end, or small stones, will hold it neatly in place. Transfer the little seedlings carefully, placing them four to six inches apart each way, according to their size and the length of time they are likely to remain before being transferred to their permanent position in the rock garden or elsewhere amongst outdoor fountains (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4o1SuaQJsI).

Here, again, the lath screens for shading come into play; supported on a low framework a foot to a foot and a half above the surface, they will protect the little plants from too much sunshine and break the force of beating rains. For some of the plants, such as the thick, woolly-leaved alpines, which are particularly sensitive about coming into contact with moist soil, a little fine gravel can be worked about and between them, after transplanting.