People Garden

 10 Tips on How to Care for Your Trees Overwhelmed by all the options at the garden center? Find the right tree for your landscape with these simple tips. One of the joys of living in the country is being surrounded by big, magnificent trees. Not only do they add shade and beauty, but they also greatly add value to your property. Replacing even a small tree can cost hundreds of dollars. If so, it only makes sense to protect your investment and grow trees so they can be appreciated for generations to come. Here are 10 tips to keep your trees healthy. 1. Back off   The good news is that, for the most part, trees can fend for themselves. After all, the centuries-old beauties you see in the countryside didn't get there with a lot of fuss and primping. 2. Be careful where you dig  Construction can be the biggest killer of mature trees, especially when heavy equipment is involved. Consider the case of a Missouri couple who designed their new home's driveway around ...

 8 Reasons to Grow Beautyberries in Your Backyard There is a beautiful park where I live. No, actually, it's something. My friends and I have a running joke that every time we go to the park, we'll bet to guess how many engagements, pregnancy, Christmas cards, and family photos we'll take. Stately willows trail their slender branches over the wide crystal-clear creek, and geese and ducks abound. You can peer down from the suspension bridge and see slender brook trout resting in the aquatic vegetation below. But every fall, one plant always stops park-goers in their tracks. Beautyberry bushes. With their long branches of bright green leaves and show-stopping clusters of tiny purple berries, it's no wonder people stop to take photos and 'ooh' and 'ah' over them. Beautyberry is a large shrub that has beautiful bright green leaves for most of the year. It is covered with tiny flowers that you probably won't even notice in summer. But the rea...

 Simple steps to prepare your garden for winter weather As temperatures drop in the fall , it's time to prepare your garden for winter. When the weather gets colder it can seem like there isn't much going on in your yard. However, there is a lot going on in the soil until it freezes. This is especially true for newly planted trees and shrubs , divisions of perennials, and hardy spring bulbs. All of these plants have profusely growing roots to anchor themselves to the ground. And earthworms and soil microbes are still at work, processing organic matter into nutrients that plants need. While nature has its own ways of coping with the colder months, there are a few things you can do to help prepare your plants for winter. 1. Mulch your perennials As long as they are hardy where you live, perennials will return year after year. Preparing hardy plants for winter does not require much effort from you. But watch out for freezing temperatures if your area gets frost and th...

 Good reasons not to trim your garden this fall At this time of year, your social media feed is probably filled with articles showing you how to shut down your garden for the winter. By now, I'm sure you and the garden are ready for a much-needed rest. But is it really necessary to clean everything every fall? When that first frost hits, our gardens go from lush greenery to a wasteland of dead and rotting plants. For most of us, this triggers the need to clean it immediately. We go there with garden loppers, a rake, and a wheelbarrow ready to remove the first snowflake before it falls. And at the end of the day, find a leaf or branch. It's all in the curb or compost pile. Unfortunately, our desire for order and neatness is causing great harm to our garden, local wildlife, and ourselves. Have a cup of tea and read this. By the time you take your last sip, I hope I've convinced you to relax this fall and let your garden do its own thing. Flowers -  begonia 1. Reb...

Are Begonias Perennials or Annuals? Begonias are a diverse group of plants. Like a great big family with all kinds of personalities and occupations, some begonias are right at home in sunny porch pots, others grow well in the ground as bedding plants, and still, others thrive indoors as long-term houseplants . Some members of the begonia family are demanding, and in particular—rex begonias are a good example; They grow best indoors, protected from wind and other harsh conditions—other begonias have a flowing growing style, like hybrid bedding types. The following tips will help you get the most from all the begonias in your garden beds and containers. Begonias vs. annuals Botanically speaking, an annual plant completes its life cycle (from seed to seed) in one growing season before dying naturally. Plants that survive the winter in the landscape , flower, and grow every year, are called perennials . Many plants native to tropical regions, such as most begonias, can live for...

 Succulents vs. Cacti: What's the Difference? Because low-maintenance, succulent, and indoor-suitable plants such as cacti tend to be tough, many people don't realize that the two actually belong to the same family. What is the difference between a cactus and a fleshy fruit? Yes, they may look very different, but given the fact that they both thrive in dry climates and don't need much water to survive, we shouldn't be surprised that they're related. But the two plants have more in common than their drought tolerance and heat-loving nature. Is a Cactus a Succulent? Succulents are not their own family but are found in about 60 families. Aloe vera, in the cactus family, is one of these families. So all cacti are succulents, but not all succulents are cacti. Cacti are a subsection of a group of plants collectively known as succulents. All succulents are defined as water-storing plants. The word "succulent" comes from the Latin succus, meaning sap ...