The Helleborus niger is commonly known as the Christmas Rose and if you are looking for a plant to enjoy during the winter months, then this is the plant for you.  Not only does it bloom in Winter but it also loves to be covered in snow.  In fact, it is often recommended that you mulch this plant with an airy mulch if your area doesn’t receive a lot of snow.  A heavy mulch will only destroy it so keep that mulch light if you need to use it.

The Helleborus niger is a plant that can be a bit difficult to nurture.  Although it is hardy, it does not take transplanting very well and will go into shock if it is moved. Instead, it is better if you choose a spot for your Helleborus niger, preferably one that is in partial shade with a mildly acidic soil. It does well in soils that also have a fair amount of alkaline.  When you plant a Helleborus niger, you should make sure that you are planting it so the roots will go down and not spread out across the top layers of the soil. The root can go very deep, so also make sure that you have the depth to encourage proper growth. The last point about planting that you should take into account is the fact that the core of the plant should be about an inch under the soil for the best results.

When it comes to climate, as I mentioned, Helleborus niger is called the Christmas Rose. This means that it can thrive in wintry conditions and you can have this plant in your garden if you reside in the zones 4a to 8b.  They can survive in areas where the weather is not quite as cold but they do much better in containers in those areas and you will need to provide a light mulch for them.

The plant itself is a beautiful plant with full smooth leaves that are a blue-green in appearance. The plant blooms in the mid to late winter and may also bloom up until early spring.  The blooms themselves are a white to pink in color and they have a star-shaped petal arrangement similar to a climbing rose.

One point that must be made about the Helleborus niger is the fact that these plants are highly poisonous.  You should not use this plant in your garden if you have small children or pets that may eat a flower or leaf.  Also make sure that you never place this plant in an area where you have vegetable plants.  Care is important in ensuring that you can safely enjoy these beautiful plants.

Sirena Van Schaik

Related posts:

1. Growing roses is easy with these simple tips No other flower can evoke romance in the garden like...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

For new gardeners, those hanging baskets can be a little overwhelming.  On one hand, everyone would love to have a hanging basket or two, or three, but for many, that is a big investment to make on a basket.  of course, anyone can make a hanging basket for a lower price but as a new gardener, it can be a little daunting and most are left with the certainty that they would never be able to produce the same effects as the garden center.

But that is not true and even new gardener’s can create a beautiful hanging basket. All they need to do is follow this step by step how to guide.

What you need:

• Large bucket
• Wire Basket:  You can pick these up at craft and garden stores.  They don’t have a solid bottom but instead have a wire frame instead.
• Peat Moss:  If you don’t want to use peat moss, you can use black plastic instead.
• Potting Soil
• Plants
• Watering Can
• Gardening Gloves:  This is important if you are using peat moss but using gardening gloves will protect your hands for all your gardening projects.

Directions:

1. Place the hanging basket frame into the large bucket so it is resting on the top. This is to provide you with a workspace so the basket doesn’t shift as you work.
2. Take the peat moss and line the bottom and sides of the frame.  If you are using the black plastic, simply line the basket with the plastic.  Do not trim the excess plastic until later.
3. Using the potting soil, fill half of the hanging basket.  Make sure that you fix the plastic so it is not bunching at the sides and the bottom.  You will want as clean a surface as possible.
4. At this point, you can either fill the basket with flowers or you can have planting holes in the sides of your basket.  To do the latter, simply cut a small hole in the peat moss or plastic and carefully insert the roots of a plant through the holes.  Make sure you pack the soil around the roots to prevent slipping and to ensure the best growth for the plant.
5. Once you are done with the side plantings, fill the top of the basket with your plants.  You do not need to dig down into the soil to do this, simply arrange the plants and that is it.
6. After the plants are in place, take more potting soil and fill in around the plants.
7. Pack the potting soil down and bring the level of potting soil to just below the rim of the hanging basket.
8. Trim away the excess black plastic so it is even with the rim.
9. Repack any of the soil that may have come lose when you were trimming and make sure that the soil is firm around the plants.  Add more potting soil if you need to to ensure that the plants are in firm soil.
10. Water the hanging basket and then hang it in the place where you would like it to go.

And once you are done, you will see how easy it can be to create your very own hanging baskets.  The only problem you will probably have is making too many.

Sirena Van Schaik

Hanging Basket on Light Post Credit: © Tektite | Dreamstime.com

Hanging Basket Photo Credit: © Ulga | Dreamstime.com

Related posts:

1. Brighten your home with indoor gardening Do images of flowering trellises laden with yellow, pink, green...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Squirrels can be a pretty big pest when it comes to a backyard garden. They have been known to dig up flower beds, chew on wires and hoses and make nests in all the wrong places, including barbeques.  They create their fair share of damage and there are tons of products on the market that claim they can deal with squirrels.

Before I go into how to save your pots and flower boxes from your neighborhood squirrels, I would like to mention first that you shouldn’t waste your money on the number of deterrents out there.  Many companies will recommend noise emitters and smells, such as mothballs, that should deter the squirrels from digging in an area but the main problem with these is the fact that a squirrel will learn to work through them.  If you want an example of “If there’s a will, there’s a way,” you don’t have to look much farther than a squirrel.

Instead of wasting your money on an expensive spray or noise box, I would recommend driving down to your local home hardware store and picking up a roll of metal screening.  This is a metal screen that has a square grid pattern to it.  There are different grades but it is important to find one that does not have large holes.  If a squirrel can get its paws through the grid, then it is much to small.

Once you get it home, it will be time to start preparing your flower pots.  The first thing you will want to do is carefully measure each flower pot.  Once you have the measurements, take the wire and cut out a piece of screen that will cover the pot from rim to rim.

Mark on the screen where the plant stem is in the pot and then carefully cut out a whole in the center of the screen.  Fit it onto the flower pot.  If the plant is already in, simply cut the screen in half and then fit it around the plant so that there is about a half inch to an inch of space between the stem and the screen.

After you fit the screen into the flower pot, take a bit of soil and sprinkle it over the screen to cover it.  Make sure it is not too deep, about one inch only so the squirrel will hit the screen the moment he starts digging.  Around the edges of the pot and on the cut seam, sink a few rocks into the soil so it holds the screen in place and no amount of digging will move it.

You can screen small flower beds and flower boxes in the same way and when you are done, those squirrels won’t be able to dig in your garden and create a mess of your flower beds and pots.  Of course, knowing squirrels, once they can’t do something, they will find something else to entertain themselves with and you may be faced with a whole new problem.

Sirena Van Schaik

Photo Credit

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

To save your nerves and to create your own wonderful blend of rose fertilizer, we have provided you with an excellent rose fertilizer recipe that will make sure your roses are big and bold.

This recipe was actually developed by Morris Arboretum from the University of Pennsylvania

The Ingredients:

• 1 part fish meal
• 1 part alfalfa meal
• 1 part greensand
• 1 part gypsum
• 1/2 part bonemeal

Basically, when you are looking at portions, it depends on how much you are planning to make.  If you are using cups, you can make it 1 cup of fish meal, alfalfa meal, greensand, and gypsum and 1/2 cup of bonemeal.  If you are producing a large amount of rose fertilizer, you could use 10 cups of everything except bonemeal, which takes 5 cups.

Once you have the ingredients measureed out, combine them together and they are ready for use.  To use the fertilizer, simply sprinkle on the soil around the rose and gently rub it into the soil.

When it comes to rose gardening, you have probably heard the term, “Fertilize, fertilize, fertilize.”  In fact, fertilizing your roses is an important part of your rose care and properly fertilizing will ensure that you roses are big, tall and beautiful.

Related posts:

1. Growing roses is easy with these simple tips No other flower can evoke romance in the garden like...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Although I love snow and winter, I find that it can be a bit disheartening at times when I think of all the gardening that I am missing out on.  I can’t get out and plant, I can’t enjoy big blooms full of color.  I am stuck in a world covered in white and like the creatures of Narnia, I wait for the Ice Queen to be vanquished from the world so Spring can greet me.

Now that I have waxed poetic about how I miss Spring, I should mention that there are some wonderful elements that you can add to a winter and all it takes is a little bit of water and a touch of light.

What I am talking about, actually, are lighted pathways made with ice candle holders.  These candle holders can be placed on patios, stairways leading up to a front door or even lining a pathway through your garden. It can add an enchanted feel to a winter’s garden and is something that I love to do with candles and ice.  And I’m going to share with you, exactly how to make an ice candle holder.

What you will need:

• Water
• A large bucket
• A medium sized bucket
• large rocks
• duct tape
• candle

Directions:

1. Clean out the buckets so that you will be left with nice clear ice when you are finished.  You can actually use a variety of containers but the only thing you should keep in mind is that one should fit in the middle of the larger container so there is a space for your candle to rest.
2. Once the large container is cleaned, fill it with cold water until it is about 1/2 to 3/4 of the way full.
3. If you want to provide some decorations to the ice, you can place plants and flowers in the water or you can leave them free of any decoration for a clean, almost glass like finish.
4. After the water and decorations are in the water, carefully insert the smaller container into the water and press down until it is flush with the top.  The key is to have a space between the bottom and sides of the larger container and the bottom and sides of the smaller container.
5. Place the rocks into the bottom of the smaller container until the container no longer pops up in the water.
6. Tape the edges of the smaller container to the top of the larger container so that it stays in the middle of the water.
7. At this point, you should be able to freeze the water.  It is important that there is no water in the smaller container and only the larger container has water.  Freeze the container in the freezer or if your climate allows, place it outside overnight.
8. Depending on the size of the container, it can take one night or several nights for the water to freeze completely.  Once it does, set the large container in a bucket of hot water (or garbage can of hot water if it is too large) for a few minutes.
9. Carefully tip the ice candle holder from the large container.
10. Pour hot water into the smaller container and allow it to sit for a few moments before you slide the smaller container from out of the ice candle holder.

At this point, you should have an ice sculpture/candle holder that has a space for a candle, size depends on the size of a container that you used.  Insert a candle into the space once inhabited by the smaller container, set outside along your pathway and light in the evening for a beautiful winter garden.

Sirena Van Schaik

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

For some, they are lucky enough to have a Christmas tree pick up but for others, those Christmas trees are sent to the dump where they slowly decay.  for that reason alone, many people do not feel that Christmas trees are the green choice, but that is really a different subject all together.

The purpose of this article, isn’t in determining what is “greener,” real or fake, but it is about what you can do with those Christmas trees after the holidays are over.  Believe it or not, you can save your Christmas tree and use it out in your garden in a variety of ways.

Deck the Halls with Boughs of Christmas Tree:

Maybe you won’t be decking your halls but Christmas tree branches, and depending on the size of the plant, the whole Christmas tree can make an excellent shelter for perennials that are found in your garden. Simply bury one end of the tree branch and drape it over the garden. Snow will fall around and onto the branch but most of it will be kept off your slumbering perennials.

When spring arrives, all you will need to do is lift off the tree branches to let a little light and warmth shine down on your spring garden.

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow:

Oh, no one minds the snow when they don’t have anyplace to go and they can enjoy the warmth of their cozy home.  You may be wondering what this has to do with your Christmas tree but by placing it outside or in a stream, you can create a habitat for a variety of animals including fish and birds.  If you do decide to create a habitat, it is important to anchor the Christmas tree so that it doesn’t fall or float away creating a hazard to other but once you do that, birds, fish and other small animals will be overjoyed that you have provided them with such wonderful winter lodgings.

Oh, Give us some Figgy Pudding:

And some suet and some nuts and some fruit.  A discarded Christmas tree can be an excellent little bird and woodland creature feeder.  All you need to do is stick a variety of foods on it and the animals that visit your garden will do the rest.  It may not seem like a big addition to your garden but trust me, a garden just isn’t the same without all the little animals that come to visit it.

Mulching around the Christmas Tree:

The last tip that I will offer for that Christmas tree is to create a mulch from it. This can be stored and used the following fall when you are getting ready to winterize your garden or you can use it to create decorative ground cover in your flower beds.

Whatever you decide to use your Christmas tree for, one thing is certain, the joy that a Christmas tree brings, doesn’t have to end with Christmas.

Sirena Van Schaik

Photo Credit

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.