7 Tips How to Improve Your Garden Style - DIY

This year you probably will feel like spending more time outside than inside of your home. And even if you haven’t planned too many changes in your garden, let me share with you some easy ideas that will make your garden looking best in your neighbourhood.

# 1 Plan Magnificent Entrance to Your Garden

This is the moment when your guests get first impression. Let them be in awe. Plant two same variety trees on both sides of the entrance. Decide for slow growing conifers to make it attractive all year round.  They will embrace the path to the garden.
Before you decide where to lay the entry path to the garden, have a look from the distance of approx. 10 meters and see what is the view behind between two embracing plants. Why is that important? Two embracing plants will naturally focus yours and your guests view exactly between them, so plan excellence accordingly.
This entrance will say “Hello” before you will make it.

# 2 Make your Fence More Attractive by Adding Flowering Fragrant Vines.

Any fence will be more attractive, especially at the entrance, or wherever you decide if you plan for a living fence. This is also adding purpose to your plants.
Make sure this are not annual vines, because you don’t want add yourself unnecessary work. Pick vines that don’t grow fast – they may easily grow out of control and you will not like it in few years.

# 3 You Don’t Have a Terrace or Patio? I am Sure you Want a Stylish One.

Adding a patio/terrace or styling the existing one makes huge difference to overall impression of the garden. You may do it by yourself, or you may let others do it for you. Cost of laying a patio is less than you might expect, but the difference it makes in the garden and your leisure experience in the garden is outstanding.
Can you imagine more romantic light than string lights hanging above that create the cosy  atmosphere as it gets slowly darker outside.

# 4 Don’t Forget Patio Containers

Few fabulous outdoor containers will style your garden and patio. You may buy them or make them yourself – doesn’t matter, just remember to keep them all in similar style or  when you group them in the garden let them be grouping in similar style.

# 5 Plant Trees and Shrubs in the Containers

When you think about planting in containers, forget annuals or if you can’t live without them, mix them with other kind of plants: shrubs and small trees. Look what they can offer, bright foliage in early spring or subtle textures.  Then tuck in some violas or nasturtiums, that later in the summer you could toss in your salad.

# 6 Grow Fragrant Herbs

On the kitchen window or close to your porch plant some fragrant herbs, so it will be easy to snip and tuck them into your grilled dishes, soups or salads. They will be eye candy as  well as heaven for your taste buds.

# 7 Why Not Inviting Self-seeding Annuals

Amazing red poppies, intricate ferns become easily friends in the scattered sunlight of a meadow. Then poppies will be self-seeding and stay as perennials, but you may add also annuals and get similar natural effect.

Dracaenas roots. Is this normal?

No wonder dracaenas were called female dragon (from greek). Look what a surprise and how strong that plant is. Recently I had noticed that the pot is standing somehow not straight. I took a closer look and see what I have discovered. This amazingly strong and persistent root is trying to conquer the world! I need to learn from it…
I assure you , I was watering and feeding it well. Why does it come out like that? Isn’t it scary? At least a bit?

Recommended reading Exotic Planting for Adventurous Gardeners

Repurpose Brilliant Urban Garden Idea Spotted in Portugal

Repurposed. Surprising. Drought resistant. Funny idea, but otherwise the wall would be boring and blank. Love the creativity behind, do you?

Freedom From The Grid: The Essential Guide to Self-Reliance & Financial Freedom

Recycled garden idea spotted in Italy

Recently in Italy I have spotted this lovely recycled garden idea. It looks groovy, enjoable and excellent. Don't you think so?

Made by Clark Lawrence at Corte Eremo, Italy.

Hyacinths forcing easier than I thought, but I need to master the art of forcing

Forcing hyacints at home is easier than I thought.
If you want to do it, start it 2-3 months before you'd like to get the flowers.

You can start them from mid-September to December. Bulbs need the cold treatment 10 to 13 weeks before planting. So, it sums up to approx. 3-4 months you should start the procedure before expected blooms.

For flowering in late December, you should start planting mid-September, for February flowering, mid-October, and for March and April, mid-November.

Cold treatment is the key
After you are done with planting, water the pots thoroughly and place them in cold at 35⁰F/1⁰C to 45⁰F/4⁰C.
They should be kept moist throughout the rooting and cooling period. After 5 to 6 weeks, roots should grow out of the holes of the containers. The shoots will emerge from the bulbs.
Longer cold treatment will give you taller flowers, shorter will give smaller plants and sometimes no flowers at all.

Forcing
After bringing the bulbs home, place them in a 60⁰F/15⁰C temp., in direct sunlight. It will take 2 to 3 weeks to flower. After the flowers begin to open, take the plants out of direct sunlight to make the flowers lasting longer. There is no need fertilize it.

Spring flowering bulbs that have been forced indoors are usually of little value for outdoor plantings. After flowering forced hyacinths bulbs can be placed outdoors as soon as spring arrives. Many of them will flower in the garden. Maybe not next spring, but after 2 years.

Looking at my hyacints - conclusion is clear. White bulbs didn't get enough cold treatment.

This is how they looked 3 weeks ago.

Photo above is taken this morning, which is actually less than 2 months after planting.


ATTENTION: Hyacinths contain oxalic acid which can cause skin irritation. Before planting hyacinths, they advised to wet the bulbs and wear gloves.

Poinsettia saved after last Christmas

Poinsettia saved after last Xmas. A friend wanted to toss it to trash. I wanted to save it. It survived and gives nice color brackets already....
Save your poinsettia after Xmas - how to do it I wrote here.

My previous second year poinsettia looked different - more pinkish. It didn't survive for the third year. Possibly because I pruned it before it went completely dormant...

Lucky find - vintage glass

These 7 beautiful vintage glass plates was my lucky find last week for only few bucks. They are in perfect condition and perfect size to use under the clay pots.

I was not happy with clay plates under clay pots standing on my windowsill - it looks too rough.

Don't you think it looks much better? Rustic meets glamour....

Growing vegetables in pots - what is most challenging?

What I find most challenging in growing vegetables in pots? 

** First - watering and fertilizing **

Soil in pots dries up so quickly, much faster than in other places in the garden.

If I think seriously about growing vegetables in pots, I would invest in self- watering containers or self-watering kit. Unless you have time to water it in the summer even 2 x a day here in my zone 6B.

A friend of mine has installed a self-watering kit, that waters regularly containers standing on the sunny terrace. And guess what? Her plants are thriving!

I am trying to do my best with my watering can, but I can see it’s not the same.

 

** Second - I want my pot veggie garden looking at least well if not adorable **

When I started gardening and I was buying large pots I had this weird idea that containers different in style will look good together. Or maybe rather I should say I was not thinking about...
Today I know that choosing pots for veggie garden is very important and they should be either similar in shape, or material or color. Investing in beautiful pots might be whimsical today for you as well, but it will pay off in the future.

** Third - place **

How to choose the best place for the pots? If you have very sunny, south facing balcony or terrace, forget growing vegetables in pots! Unless you install automatic self-watering kit.
North facing spot might be also suitable for growing some of the types of vegetables. Shady place does not mean you can'r grow vegetables, it means you can't grow all types you wish. Choose the proper ones. For example it might be suitable to grow some lettuces. 

Happy Gardening!
xoxo
Ewa 

Amazing cactus flowers

Cactus flowers in our climate when is given enough light and sun, which means it shoud take proudly most sunny and hot spot in the garden.  

I think this is Echinopsis oxygona - what do you THINK?

Flat big pot makes it looking more natural. 

Hey! Don't throw away bottles! Plant something...

Are you looking for ideas for hanging pot? You love recycle? You will also love this idea.

I was thinking, do I need to make holes on the bottom?

My life with Poinsettia - second year

If you remember my Poinsettias from last year, you don't need to click here to see how it looked like last Christmas and after Christmas. I kept it since then, it got 1 month dormancy period end of March and here it is! Tadadam! No special tricks applied - it turns red free willingly. No cartons to put on it, no closet to stick it for the night. Nothing. Only water and sunlight in the day.
Isn't it beautiful? Isn't it wort to be kept and taken care after Christmas?

This is Blooming Friday, so hop over to Katarina and have a look what's blooming today in different countries.
If you would like to overwinter your Poinsettia check here how to do it.

Blooming Friday - Indoor Flowers - Poinsettia 3 Months After Christmas

My poinsettia is still growing flowers instead of getting dormant.

Poinsettia we buy before Christmas have very small root system, so they need constant moist soil. Now, after 3 months I can see that even if the soil dries up sometimes, the plant is still fine - it survives even few days, without dropping leaves.

All my other blooms you may see in my last GBBD post.

Blooming Friday is organised by Katarina at Roses and Stuff.

Jump there to see more. You may also partcipate!

It just goes to sleep right now! How to take care about poinsettia now?

My sweet poinsettias are not looking ugly yet, however they do loose leaves one after another. In previous years I was thinking that I don't know how to take care of them and this is why its happening, but today I know that it falls slowly in dormancy period!

Maybe you also have poinsettia right now, that doesn't look that well as you would like. Maybe you also think that you don't know how to take care of it and put all blame on yourself?

Maybe you could consider to not throw it away to compost heap?

This is Nature of Poinsettia - after blooming (these yellow tiny flowers on the top) poinsettia needs rest.

It is falling to that state slowly - all healthy leaves are becoming yellow and they fall, until only the colored ones will remain on the top. This is the time, when you should cut the stems at about 15-20 cm from soil - fresh stems will grow there after the plant will wake up.

Reduce watering – soil can dry up this time, although plant prefers moist conditions.
You may offer this plant lower temperature about 10-14 degrees C, but this is not necessary. Just colder windowsill will be good. The plant need a lot of light still.

In March/April - when plant is about to start to slow wake-up, take it out of existing pot and shake off whole soil (or whatever they put there - I call it soil here, but probably you also have kind of subtratum).

Transplant your poinsettia to the same pot, but full with fresh soil. Transplanting to larger pot will cause plant's larger vegetative growth, but it harder will be to get coloured leaves at the top. Add fertilizer every 2 weeks.

As result, anyway, you will get the plant which will be larger from previous size and those available in the shop, because manufacturers use special repressing growth substances, so plant is more compact. If you want to make it also more compact, use this special technique of pruning, that will keep it more compact. On the beginning of July prune every new stem about 2 cm. In August, cut off all new growth about 1-2 cm.

Poinsettia neeeds "short day" (10 hours of light a day) in order to grow coloured leaves. The night has to last at least 14 hours – even the tiny bit of light during dark hours will cause lack of colour.
One and a half month before appointed deadline, when you want to have coloured plant you may start to artificially darken the plant. You may close it in a wardrobe, cover with cardboard box. Choose the easiest way, because you will be doing this for 6 weeks.
If it don't do it, your poinsettia will get naturally color mid of January. Practically whole December and whole January day lasts shorter than 10 hours, so mid of January the leaflets will start to change color.

How to take care of poinsettia?
1. Keep her safe from cold air.
2. Draughts is killing the plant.
3. In sunny place.
4. Provide moist to the soil constantly. Manufacturers usually use very quickly drying up basis unfortunately, therefore it is difficult to keep th eplant moist all the tome. Ponsettia also can not be standing in water, soil should be only moist.
5. Do not cut flowers (these tiny yellow on top), because they are necessary to get coloured leaves.
6. In period of blooming add fertilizer every weeks.

I saw poinsettia growing indoor in the summer - it looked so beautiful to me - this is why I decided to keep mine and properly take care if it entire year.

What about you? Do you still have poinsettia around? Will you give it a chance?

Odontonia Samourai - fragrant orchid

Do you think it is beautiful? I couldn't resist to buy it, because when I smelled it, I discovered it is fragrant! Just to make sure, I asked my friend that was shopping with me and after she confirmed, there was no other way - only to cashier!
After coming home, I was so happy, I sniffed the flowers and ...all the scent was gone!!
I suspected the shop tricked me or plant is in shock.
Kathryn on Twitter told me, that it could smell at certain hours of the day - and she was right! Thank you!!.
This orchid is NOT fragrant only in the evening. Scent is very delicate.

It came labelled Cambria, but after comparing many sources and many pictures, I am sure it is misabelled. This is also mentioned in some sources, that producer labelled Odontonia by mistake as Cambria.

Odontonia is intergenera hybrid and easy to take care of - recommended for beginners (same level as Phalaenopsis).

Any other fragrant orchid kind you know and would like to recommend?

Crispy morning and container planting

Do you like this picture? Not bad at all - I think. Nice morning sun in Warsaw. I love these long shadows and misty air.
There is one thing that puzzles me, whenever I am seeing this - Do you see, on the other side of the street, those poor catalpas - planted in small containers? There is plenty of them on that street - more than hundred... I guess... Do u think they have chance to survive there?

*Do THEY (misterious they) do such things in your city?*

Beautiful, easy plants and carefree plants all year round...

I am always short of time when I go to garden - so many things to do and the day is so short. I look for reasonable solutions that will cut amount of work, without make my garden look dull or neglected.

During my last inspection in the garden I had closer look at each plant and as always in the spring I am amazed how sweet and beautiful is Sedum spectabile - this on on the picture is Autumn Joy that grows especially well.

Must have in every garden.

This little beauties is also sedum, but red one Vodoo (Sedum spurium).
Carefee, durable and giving stunning contrast.

They are also great for growing in containers on the hot spots :)

If you don't have too much time, thats great solution for you :)

They are carefree, beautiful, durable, fast growing and long lived. For zones 3-11, deer and drought proof :)

Click Here to learn How To Design, Build, Set Up, Grow With And Maintain A High Density Garden To Provide You And Your Family With Fresh, Wholesome And Tasty Vegetables.

Miniature olive tree and wild olive trees in Corfu

Maybe 'trees' is little bit exaggeration concerning the size... none of them is more than 30 cm :)
Olive tree in our zone can be a house plant only :( which I deeply regret, cos I am attracted by them like bee by some flowers. They are holy and magic.

My 'miniature olive trees are still in the garden, because it is good for them :) No I did not forget them outside. I placed them in a nice place against the warmest, sunny wall and let them chill enough.
I will keep them there until temperature is under -12 centigrades (10F), which is lowest they can take and they are still fine. Older trees can survive even -28 centigrades (-20F).

Why it is good for them?
I would like to get the fruits - olives :) And in order to make the tree happy to bear olives, first you need to have two kinds of them. Olives are semi-self pollinating and single tree will bear fruits, but it is better to have 2 varieties.
Second, they need 300 hours of chill in a year.
According to theory they should bear fruits after 3-4 years, which should be soon :)
OK - I will let you know if that happens.


We do not have the olive tree forests in Poland, so at least I can grow them in pots.
During my travels I saw one very special place.
Olive tree forests looks great the older they are. One of the oldest olive tree forests in Europe are on Greek island Corfu. They were planted by venetian merchants in 17th century, following the decision of Venetian Senate offering money for plantings - tens of thousands of trees were planted at that time. In 18th century the number of olive trees surpassed 4 million. It became the most important tree cultivation for local farmers. Today Corfu and surrounding islands are one endless olive grove.

What is special about olive trees in Corfu?

They are never pruned.
Olives are allowed to drop when ripen, so as a result the trees grow tall and create a unique sensational shapes of the trunks and branches. There are endless relief forms and odd figures which continue for long kilometers of forest. That's one of the most amazing and mysterious views.
Pictures below were taken in Corfu by me in 1999. Little boy on the tree is my son.

afternoon sun

Sempervivum in the pot - that's result of my search for low maintenance plants to grow in the pot...

Hedera helix in today's afternoon sun...

let's ignore the cold oustside

Yes. Let's don't see it!
Let's look at the pictures I have made in the last weeks instead.

Semervivum in the pot I have discovered after being tired of watering various blooming plants, or rather not being able to water them regularly. You know how it is. You water it everyday, or even twice a day, and then... suddenly... unexpectedly... there comes a day that you are busy with other parts of your life... and your plants are not able to recover from that one day. So I started to look for solutions. Sempervivum and other plants liking drought are first class solution.

Some types of gras goes well in the pots too. This one I bought one year ago. It was growing in one of the beds and actually disappearing among other plants.

I was surprised to see its beauty after moving to pot! It shines!

Unfortunately I don't remember the name - for that I have to wait until next year...

Hemerocallis I have got from mama, when my garden was still empty. So it was one of the first plants here. What is the name of it?

Do you also have a feeling, that on the pictures everything looks better? Or rather on the pictures - you see it in objective way, because you do not see: empty places to be filled, plants to be moved (and until you do it, they simply make your eyes aching), plants to be treated, because of the spots on the leafs etc. I vote for second version! Ooops, voting is very popular word since we have election on Sunday and there is big campaign to encourage us to take part in it. Anyway.

In this section most bothering for me is Perovskia atriplicifolia, which does not look well in this place and has to be moved. I am walking around and thinking how to compose it and where to plant it. I have some ideas already.

Biggest surprise for me is this Euphorbia characias Humpty Dumpty. I am very fond of english gardens and when I was sweeping through magazines (The English Garden - my favourite) I was amazed by biiiig euphorbias I could see sometimes on the pictures. Looking so breathtaking and ornamental. I was not aware that some of them are hardy enough to grow in zone 6. What I also didn't know, that they are evergreen! and they look marvelous in the winter.

Very beautiful, little bluish-green perennial for gardens - Euphorbia characias Humpty Dumpty

Lonicera periclymenum Serotina has everything: beautiful scent and is blooming entire summer until October

Hellenium autumnale yellow-red-brown in colour. I do not know the name of it - if you know please let me know :)

It looks great, but it is blooming pretty short, or I do something wrong? Any tips?

In this pot there is wisteria growing. It ill be trained as 'tree' and probably will grow in soil after I finally decide the place for her.

Aralia elata will hide street view and neighbour's house - one day. Today it is just 1m tall.

Unexpectedly... this year... the ugliest part of the garden became the nicest. Parthenocissus covered fence and is hiding street, pines and taxus grew. Taxus media Hicksii will be dense and dark green hedge one day - a great background to display other plants on the bed in front. Pines will be a northern windshield after they grow.

So for the first time, this year I felt like this part became real garden :) REAL :)

But actuallytoday... when I take closer look, I am getting little nervous, because most of the plants which are growing there, are NOT in their final spots. And it will be me who will move them.

Colchicum autumnale is flowering here end of August and in September. I was so surprised with that, that I had to have it in my garden. Today I have a feeling that it is a rather oddity in the garden, cos its colour does not suit the season...

Dahlia - like a little sun. The fly u see was very stabborn - I was trying to scare it, so it goes away from my picture frame, but NO. I tried several times. It definately wanted to be pictured.

Streptocarpus also received from mama :) who is a great fan of them.

Maybe this clematis is not most beautiful one, but it has to be appreciated for it's low requirements and unstoppable vigour. If you have any problems with growing clematis take Clematis x jackmanii - one of the most pest resistant. It flowers entire summer as well.

OOh, here it comes one of my favourite group of plants, which is hydrangeas. This one is Hydrangea paniculata Tardiva. Beautiful shrub flowering in the season, when most flowers are gone, so it is more than welcomed in he garden. It opens it's beautiful white flowers in August and blooms for 2 months. If you want to have hydrangea paniculata blooming also in October look for 'Limelight' - hydrangea that blooms latest in autumn. It is still blooming in my garden. At the beginnig flowers are in little limon colour, then they transform to cream white.

Cuninghamia lanceolata - evergreen conifer native in China. Not typical for Poland, because not fully hardy in zone 6. Mine is 3 years old. For first winters I was covering it, but this year I will not do it - it grew out of his child's years, I guess.

It has unique ability, to get read of frost damaged branches by itself - I read it somewhere, did not see it. Do you have any experience?

Raspberry Polana is still having fruits that I eat straight from the shrub. It gets fruits rom July until october, on this year's branches, so it is easier to maintain - doesn't need staking.

Tired? maybe cup of hot tea, coffee or milk? Yes. I go to get some... green tea I guess...