New: Gardening Tips, Quotes & SIGNS

[LindaB671]

Do you have a gardening tip to share? Do you have a gardening question? Do you know a garden related quote? How about a garden SIGN?
This is the place to share!

Tip: “Plant what you love, not what you think you should grow. You are much more likely to have success tending to a crop that you actually like.” 🌱

”To plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow.” Audrey Hepburn 🌸

NEW: Garden SIGN: Free Weeds Pull Your Own ❗

[LindaB671]

Garden SIGN: Free Weeds Pull Your Own ❗Do you have a Gardening Tip, Quote or SIGN to share?

[LindaB671]

“April showers bring May flowers.” 🌸

[LindaB671]

“On man, on nature, and on human life, musing in solitude, I oft perceive fair trains of images before me rise, accompanied by feelings of delight, pure or with no unpleasing sadness mixed.” William Wordsworth. 🌸

[LindaB671]

“By plucking her petals, you do not gather the beauty of the flower.” 🌸

[cf19074171]

I am growing extra large sunflowers in the back of my garden this year.  Just because...I’ve always wanted to.  I started them from seeds and they are now about 4” tall in the temp containers.  Someone said, “rabbits love eating new plants and I should cage them until they are larger” (wire cages).  Is this true?  How soon should I replant them from temp pots to in-the-ground (N. Virginia, 22204)?  Height?  Temp?  Do they need temp sticks to hold them up for a bit after transplant?  Any other suggestions would be helpful, please.

[LindaB671]

@cf19074171  I love sunflowers! 🌻

According to The Old Farmer’s Almanac , on average, where you live, your last spring frost occurs on April 19th. A week before this start ‘hardening off’ to prepare for transplant. This is the process of gradually acclimating indoor-sown plants to outdoor conditions. Begin by watering your plants then place outside in a crate or container somewhere off the ground for two hours the first day, then two more hours the second day, etc.. 

“While rabbits tend to bypass sunflower blooms, they are fond of the leaves. You can sprinkle manure in the garden or plant rabbit resistant plants around them. These include alyssum, lantana, marigold, geranium, begonia, snapdragon, butterfly bush and lavender.” You can put wire mesh around your sunflowers for added protection. 🌱

[LindaB671]

Tip: Give breathing room.

”Resist the urge to cram as many plants as you possibly can. There’s as much root mass growing below as there is foliage above. Crowding plants leads to decreased growth and production, as well as problems from lack of airflow between branches and leaves.” Forkner. 🌱

[TheSuzyQ]

I always forget to give adequate spacing. Thank you for the tip! 🌱

[LindaB671]

“No winter lasts forever; no spring skips its turn.”  Borland. 🌸

[TheSuzyQ]

☀️ Our spring flowers survived the snow yesterday! 🌷 

"Come the Spring with all its splendor, all its birds and
all its blossoms, all its flowers and leaves and grasses."

~ William Wordsworth Longfellow

[LindaB671]

@TheSuzyQ  Your spring flowers are absolutely gorgeous! I’m glad they survived the snow. I love the quote too!

[TheSuzyQ]

Question: How do YOU pronounce PEONY? Do you say "pee'-uh-nee" (accent on the first syllable) or do you say "pee-oh'-nee" (accent on the second syllable). Please respond and indicate what part of the country you are from. I am conducting a survey on the correct pronunciation of one of my favorite flowers. This is a topic of heated conversation in our family at the moment lol 😆

FYI, I pronounce peony as "pee-oh'-nee". My daughter pronounces peony as  "pee'-uh-nee". We live in the wild west. 🙂 

[LindaB671]

Great idea @TheSuzyQ! It’s pee’-uh-nee for me in Upstate NY. 
I have one: dandelion

Is it dan’-duh-lai-uhn or dan-dee-lai-uhn for you? I say it the first way, my dad said it the 2nd way. He’s been gone 24 years and I can still hear him say it!

[TheSuzyQ]

Had to think about this one! I say it the first way: dan’-duh-lai-uhn. My husband says it the second way: dan-dee-lai-uhn. We have been saying dandelion for 5 minutes straight now and we have no idea why we say it the way we do lol.

🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻

“Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see the shadow.

It’s what sunflowers do.” – Helen Keller

🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻

[BarbaraG345880]

In Seattle it's pee'-uh-nee (first syllable accent) but I have also heard pee-nee. Out West we are always anxious to use our time wisely- weed rather than waste time with three syllable words!!

[TheSuzyQ]

‌

… I will go root away
The noisome weeds, which without profit suck
The soil’s fertility from wholesome flowers.

― William Shakespeare, Richard II

[LindaB671]

I’m in Upstate New York and pronounce PEONY pee’-uh-nee with the accent on the first syllable.

[MarkV847771]

Interesting. In Minnesota we pronounced it pee'-oh-NEE with the emphases on the last syllable.

-Mark

[TheSuzyQ]

Very interesting!  

[AARPRachelA]

If you're new to gardening, check out the upcoming AARP Gardening at Home virtual series 🌻 There's a great lineup from planning, to soil selection and maintaining your garden!

[LindaB671]

“‘Twas Easter Sunday. The blossomed trees filled all the air with fragrance and joy.”  Longfellow. 🐣🌸

[cp3324708]

I’ve been gardening for about 50 years. My mom taught me the secret to gardening, “You get a lot of plants and some of them grow!”. Bottom line is to not be afraid to experiment. The best place to get plants is a group or friends who alike to share or trade like a garden club. When I moved to Bryan/College Station, TX I had visions of growing blueberries plus all the plants I had been growing south of Houston that like acidic soil. I’ve had to learn that we have clay alkaline soil here and our water is salty. Summers are brutal with temps above 100 for days. It has been a big adjustment.

I agree with everyone who said add compost. Also mulch which breaks down into compost, helps prevent weeds, and helps hold moisture. I pick up bags of leaves and grass clippings that people put out by the street- free compost materials! Embarrasses my children, but who cares!

[LindaB671]

“Where flowers bloom so does hope.” 🌸

Lady Bird Johnson

[cn8777]

I have green onions growing, and it’s all year round. They Love water, singing and talking to them. I also planted Kale last September from seed and it’s giving me endless leaves and yes, I sing, touch, water and talk with it too. Plants need that touch and water, sunshine and singing, so talk awayyyyyyyyyyyy L

[TheSuzyQ]

🌷  “A garden to walk in and immensity to dream in--what more could he ask? A few flowers at his feet and above him the stars.” 🌟
― Victor Hugo, Les Misérables

[LindaB671]

Tip: Look for regionally adapted plant varieties.

”You’ll have better luck if you pick varieties that are meant for your region. Some are named after the locale in which they were bred. For example, ‘San Francisco Fog’ is a tomato that’s ideal for Bay Area summers. ‘King of the North’ is a red bell pepper bred in Maine and it grows well in cooler, shorter Northeast seasons. Utilize seed catalogs or pick up starter plants at your local farmer’s market.” Torpey 🌱

[WebWiseWoman]

Great tip @LindaB671 ! Also consider regional seasons; when I moved to Denver from KC, neighbor advised don't plant until after Memorial Day, and I shook my head... until that late snow storm froze my tomato seedlings on Memorial Day eve :}

[AARPRachelA]

"We might think we are nurturing our garden, but of course, it's our garden that is really nurturing us." 🌱

[2Papa]

Don’t let the bug, fungus, lack of rain, sun scorch, vermin, or critter damage discourage you!