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Choosing the right bulbs involves more than just selecting colors and cultivars. Timing, bulb size, and most importantly, bulb health are equally significant factors in designing your spring garden.

Before purchasing any bulbs, know the differences in bulb types. Along with true bulbs, several types of flowers, sold as bulbs, grow from the underground stem growth of rhizomes, tubers, and corms.

• True bulbs are rounded, self-sufficient, underground storage organs. True bulbs are an incubator for a flower bud embryo already inside.
• Many perennial flowers grow from tubers, which are flat underground stems that store food and plant energy.
• Corms are thick underground stems that produce the new roots, leaves and flowers of their cultivars.
• Rhizomes are modified plant stems that grow horizontally under the surface of the soil. New growth emerges from several different points along each rhizome.

Bulb Health

Part four in a series

It’s hard to think about winter when our gardens are in full bloom and the vegetables are ripening on the vine! But we must keep winter in mind when we are planning our landscape. Afterall, we have to look at our landscape all year long, including winter. (Unless, of course, you are fortunate enough to be able to move to warmer climates in the winter or live in a climate that is tropical all year long!) But for most of us, we have to contend with four seasons and the life cycle of our landscape.

So when you are planning your landscape, keep in mind this life cycle of the plants you choose to add to your landscape design. Some plants, like flowering trees and shrubs look their best in Spring, others reach their full beauty in Summer, others still attain stunning and vibrant color in the Autumn, and yet, some evergreens look beautiful in the Winter, offset by a striking snow-covered landscape.

Part three in a series

In our last article, we helped you layout your new landscape. In this article we’ll explore which plants to put where and what makes an effective landscape.

If you think of your landscape as a stage, you can easily imagine the basics of layout. On a stage, you have a nice background or backdrop in the back. The backdrop is usually large and fills your entire view. In front of the backdrop, you have some smaller items that set the scene. These may be small pieces of furniture. And then in the very front you have your actors?your stars. They take the front and center to get the most attention. So, looking from back to front, you have your backdrop, your accent pieces, and finally your stars.

Laying out a good landscape uses the same principles: we start with a backdrop in the very back, then we add some accents, then finally, our stars!

The Backdrop

A property that has a well manicured lawn has one of the best chances at showing pride in ownership than any other outdoor technique.

For one thing, there is a large upswing in the priority that homeowners place in their outdoor living spaces.

Therefore, the landscaping of your front yard (especially) as well as that of your back yard should look its very best when it’s selling time. Your landscaping will make a huge contribution to the resale value of your home, so make sure that it’s doing its best to help you out.

In fact, studies have shown that when the landscaping of a home is in excellent condition, it can sell for about 4 to 5 percent higher, while homes with landscaping in very poor condition can sell for 8 to 10 percent less. That’s a huge difference in the overall selling price of your home.

You might be wondering exactly how much time you should dedicate to sprucing up the landscape of your property. How much time and money is worth it for your sale?

Shrubbery and other greenery that has an unkempt appearance can often be misconstrued as a sign of neglect, and gives a bad impression of your house overall. Prospective homebuyers who see shrubbery that has not been well maintained may not even be aware of their observation, but it will have an impact on the way they view your property as a whole.

If they do observe the unkempt shrubbery directly, they may make the assumption that the rest of the home has not been properly maintained.

Keep bushes and shrubs neat, and well-shaped, to give the overall impression that the entire property has been well cared for.

For that added touch, try to keep the shrubbery in line with the other greenery and outdoor decorations that you have on your property. This will be even more eye-pleasing from the street level, creating more interest.

Should the size of your shrubbery be such that it makes walking up to your home a challenge, you should consider taking them out. Shrubbery that is too large not only makes the home appear much smaller, but it also creates a hazard where safety is concerned.

There are many reasons why you might want to dry your roses. Some people just want to keep a memento of a special moment. Perhaps they are a part of a wedding that you went to; maybe they were a gift from a mate, friend, or family member. Whatever your reasons for doing it, this is the section where you will learn to dry your roses properly.

There two ways drying rose petal can happen and that are cheap and relatively easy.

Air Drying

Air drying is by far the easiest and cheapest method of drying flowers including roses. It is simple; all you have to do is follow these simple instructions.

Start with perfect and unflawed roses on their stems. If the roses are not in perfect condition, they will wither and the petals will fall off.

Remove any leaves that may be on the branches.

Bunch them up together in a manner that lets them fan out. Tie the bottom with string or a rubber band.

Hang them upside down in a dark, dry place for two to three weeks to be certain that they are completely dry.

Sand Drying

Before planting, the plants must be prepared. The following suggestions will help insure that your roses grow into healthy bushes, trees, etc.:

1.Your new roses have probably dried out during shipping or storage, therefore before planting, either bury the roots in wet saw dust or peat moss for several days or soak them overnight in water. Keep the roots wet when planting, do not let them dry out.

2.Prune damaged and broken roots.

3.Prune main roots just enough to reveal white healthy tissue. This will help more roots grow.

4.Prune the plant back to three or four healthy canes. Try to keep the center of the plant empty. Prune the healthy canes back to about six (6) inches using sharp pruning shears. Keep the cutting blade on the lower side. Cut at a 45 to 60 degree angle. Cut about one fourth inch above an outside bud union.

5.In order to prevent infection, treat the cuts with some type of sealent or sealing paint.

6.Make sure that you have removed any suckers that may have started growing during shipping or storage.

The following should be taken into consideration when selecting where to plant your roses.:

So, you have decided to plant rose bushes in your yard or on your patio, porch or balcony. Now all you have to do is go out and buy some bushes and plant them. Right? Wrong!!

There are several things that you have to decide before buying:

1. Where are you planning on planting?

2. Are you going to plant in the ground or in containers?

3. Do you want roses that are scented or unscented?

4. Do you want bushes, trees, climbers, vining or do you want them to grow into a hedge?

5. Do you want large, medium, small or miniature blooms?

6. Do you want roses for cutting?

7. What colors go best with your garden, patio, porch or balcony?

There are several types of roses, among them are:

Hybrid teas bloom frequently, are hardy, come in a wide range of colors, are well sented and are good for cutting for vases. The size of the blooms and the length of the stem depends on how they are pruned. They make the best long stem roses for cutting.

Wide circle driveways don’t happen much anymore, but when they do, what do you do with them? Clear out the grass, mound up some soil, and park a few boulders in strategic positions and you’ve got the perfect spot for an artistic rose garden. Plant some dark green Juniper and a few golden-tipped junipers for background color before adding your roses.

Invite people into your garden with planned paths, safe benches (protective distance from pokey thorns), and a shade providing arbor. A garden structure can be as formal or rustic as you please, make your choice, and design what suits your style. Personally, I prefer rustic structures, so mine sports rough hewn pine lodge poles and leather lashings.

Cedar chips and lava rock provides moisture retaining mulch for the area. Low growing juniper and an occasional spot of Shasta daisies around the edge of the drive provide additional color and flora. A gazing ball nestled near the path, and bird feeders, add life to the garden without intruding. A birdbath near the center offers a restful trickle of water for those quiet afternoon siestas on a bench nestled into a cove of tall growing juniper.

Set in a broad expanse of lush green lawn a length of split rail fence forms a corner. Carpeted with a thick layer of soil preserving and plant protecting cedar mulch, three tall Colorado blue spruce offset the right angles of the fence. Lush red roses climb and meander along the fence setting off the soft color of the spruce and livening up the grounds. A bench of rustic-cut native stone rests casually near the edge of the cedar chip mulch with views of sunset beyond the roses, and lush rose gardens toward the back of a rough hewn log cabin in the foreground.

This ruggedly natural setting implicates something of nature, blended with a cared for garden, a wealth of beauty with little cost. Whether the setting describes the corner of a yard, a cozy corner near the house, or a mirage near the center of a vast hillside, the bench lures the gardener with promise of miraculous sunsets, interesting coffee moments, and restful contentment at the end of a long hard day.