Fresh herbs will spice up any recipe and your own kitchen herb garden container will put them within arms reach. And by raising your won herbs you also have control over any pesticides on the plants.

Herbs are also a great alternative to salt and may also have crafting uses. Herbal soaps are one of my winter projects I like to create.

Decide which herbs you will use the most and buy either seeds or seedling plants. There are certain herbs I seem to be able to grow from seeds and other I struggle with. (Hint: In the fall you can find great prices on perennial herbs.)

Some popular cooking herbs are basil, dill, oregano, rosemary, cilantro, chives, parsley, sage and thyme. Rosemary is one of my favorite herbs for both seasoning and crafting but this is an herb I seem to need to grow from a plant.

To grow an outdoor herbal kitchen container garden you will need one to three containers. I prefer clay pots but ceramic and even plastic are fine. I also like handcrafted pots. Its just adds color and interest to your garden areas.

Choose a container that is big enough to hold all the herbs that you are planting. I find I like one larger container like an 18-inch container and two smaller containers.

Make sure your container is deep enough that you can go several days without watering. If your planting container doesn’t have holes in it, drill a couple of holes in the bottom to aid in proper drainage.

Place about an inch of pea gravel or broken pot shards in the bottom of the container for drainage. Fill the container with potting soil up to ½ from the top of the container and position your herbs. Make sure you give the plants room to grow and do not overcrowd them. Most seed packets or plants that are bought will give you spacing instructions. I fins 6 to 8 inches work well for most herbs.

Once you have your herbs in place pat the soil down and water the herbs. Take tender care of them for the first few weeks until the herbs are settled and start to grow. Often during this time I will cover the container with plastic at night to add more warmth and control the climate around the plants.

Enjoy your new kitchen herb container garden.

Herb Tips:
1.  Pinch the leaves back to encourage new growth.
2.  Do not let the herbs flower because it takes away from the flavor of the herbs.
3.  If you containers are large you can place them on a roller or moveable stand to bring them indoors during the fall if you have cold nights.

For a chance to win a Kitchen Herb Garden check out the Gardeners Rake herb contest.

Technorati Tags: Backyard Garden, container garden, herb contest, small sapce garden

While selecting hybrid tea roses for my new rose garden project I chose the Chrysler Imperial rose. It’s a beautiful hybrid tea rose that’s been around since the 1950′s. It’s known for its beauty and is perfect for a cutting garden.

photo credit: niall62

The bloom of this rose are a beautiful red color and has an exquisite rose fragrance that makes it stand out from most roses.

The buds are tapered and open into high-centered flowers up to 5 inches across, with a rich, deep, velvety red color. Add baby’s breath to this flower and place in a vase and it makes a statement.

The strongly scented flowers start blooming in late spring and will repeat throughout the summer with deadheading and cutting flowers. They will take a small break and produce another display of blooms in the fall.

The foliage is semi-glossy and deep green with thorny canes so care must be used when pruning and cutting flowers. The rose bush grows to 3-6 feet tall and about 3 feet wide. And as with most roses they will grow more in warmer climates.
Growing Information and How To Care For Imperial Chrysler roses

This rose plant will grow in an upright form, so it looks best if planted in groups of three or more.

The fragrant, long-stemmed rose make an excellent cut flower, so you might want to grow these roses in a cutting garden with a good sunny exposure. A sunny site is a must for this rose as it is not shade tolerant.

Planting location

Plant the rose plant in a spot with good air circulation and be prepared to spray if black spot and mildew is a problem in your area. This rose grows best in Zones 6-9.

Note:The Chrysler Imperial is not a cold hardy rose. Cold temperatures bring our rose diseases, such as black spot and mildew.

*This is why I decided not to grow this plant in my soon to be Rose garden. Instead I will plant it in a container and place it in the sunroom where it will get warm temperatures, plenty of sun and have a dry climate.

photo credit: Daniel M. Viero

Many rose do very well in containers so we will consider this an experiment. Its a beautiful rose so if it does well I might consider one more rose container plant for the sunroom next year.

Technorati Tags: Backyard Garden, Chrysler imperial rose, rose garden, roses, tea rose varieties

Here’s a unique and interesting form of self-watering using terra cotta!

Most people think of terra cotta as the popular planters that grace many gardens and businesses.

photo credit: Valerie Everett

But with the environment a major concern and using water more efficiently many other methods or watering and self-irrigation methods are appearing. This includes ancient watering methods such as the olla.

This you tube shows the use of an olla (unglazed clay pot) for watering. It’s an interesting method I have not seen before.

Growing up in an area that has abundant water made me a little careless with my water supply. But after a few dry seasons and sever droughts and watching other area suffer I have come to understand that water always needs a to be used wisely.

It is a resource that needs to be appreciated and not misused. So I now practice saving water. I use rain barrels, better watering methods for the yard and gardens and have replaced plants that use too much water.

The following you tube shows how to make an olla if you are a potter or want to try a new craft.

I used to create pottery so this video was enjoyable to watch. Also the idea of burying a pot in the ground for watering is an idea I will have to try.

They are calling for a dry growing season so if I can cut my watering time down and conserve water waste at the same time this would be nice.

Technorati Tags: Backyard Garden, garden tips, saving water in the garden, water conservation

I have a large beautiful strawberry terra cotta planter that I did not place away from the elements as well as I should have. So it has a small amount of damage. If I repair it now before out gardening season gets underway I may be able to save the planter.

photo credit: SuperFantastic

There are several ways to repair terra cotta. Depending on the pot and its sentiment you may wish to fix it. I myself think terra cotta is great and use these pots more than others.

My terra cotta strawberry pot is 3 foot tall. I have some of the terra cotta flaking off the one side. Here is one way to repair a terra coot pot.

Terra Cotta Repair for Glazed or Unglazed Garden Pots

• Clean off all dirt thoroughly. This means scrubbing and washing. If the pot is very dirty I use baking soda and a toothbrush. White vinegar will also clean pots. If the dirt is light regular dishwater will do the trick.
• Once the pot is clean and dry, pry open the crack slightly with a thin shim.
• Apply waterproof silicone caulk into the crack
• Next remove the shim and wrap a length of wire or cord around the pot to hold the crack closed.
• If you used wire twist the ends of the wires together with pliers until the crack is closed and held tight. Cord is a little trickier to get a tight close to the crack and enough pressure. It helps to have help so corner a family member!
• Let the silicone dry thoroughly. Instructions are on the tube for drying times.
• Remove the wire or cord when the pot is dry and set.
• Carefully scrape away any excess silicone.
• This will work on small to medium cracks

I will try this process if my terra cotta paste does not work.

Terra cotta paste

My problem is the terra cotta is flaking in a 3-inch spot on my pot. If its not fixed it will just get worse and the pot will be ruined. So I plan to take old terra cotta pieces I have from broken pots and grind it up into fine sand. Then I will add glue and make a thick paste I can smooth onto the pot.

I will smooth it into place and let dry for several days. If it works I will then sand it and add a sealer to this section to make sure the patch stays in place.

Hopefully it will work and save this wonderful pot. I’ll let you know how the project turns out.

PS: Terra cotta pots can be fun to decorate to match your patio, gardens or balcony. You can  create people and animals for garden art from them along with fountains and night lights.

Technorati Tags: Backyard Garden, backyard projects, garden pots, repair terra cotta planters, terra cotta pots

Perennial flowers have an advantage over annuals if you’re looking for low maintenance gardens. I often place perennials in tucked away areas of the yard or on hillsides. I also find a perennial garden work perfectly for a small space garden.

photo credit: DubyDub2009

But just because a flower is a perennial does not mean they take no care. I also add a few annuals to a perennial garden area to fill in holes and give you those bright splashed of continuous color annuals are known for.

Perennial planting tips:

1. Perennial flowers are best planted in mid to late spring. This gives them time to adjust to their new home and get a solid roothold before the heat of summer.
2. Perennials are generally in a root ball form. You will not see many roots unless the plant is root bound and this will create problems with the plant growing properly. You may have to divide the plant to loosen the roots.
3. Plan ahead and count how many plants you plan on putting into the ground. If there are more than 5 medium sized plants, you want an area about 7 1/2 feet to plant in. Measure out the area of your yard that gets good morning light and evening shade. Perennials thrive in this lighting situation.
4. Find the area in your yard that will accommodate the area needed for your number and size of plants. If your perennials were bought in a store, refer to the tag as to how much water and light each plant will need. You may want to research the perennial plant varieties more to aid you in plant placement.
5. When planning your garden area create the garden in an oval or flowing shape instead of square or rectangular, unless you are setting up a formal garden look. Flowing lines create a more natural look.
6. Plant you perennials varieties in groups of 3, 5 or 7. Odd planting numbers look more natural.
7. Group perennial varieties instead of spacing them out one by one have a richer fuller look in the garden.
8. A good rule is for small plants are to plant them 6 to 12 inches apart. For medium plants, space them 12 to 18 inches apart and for large or tall plants 1 1/2 to 3 foot apart. This will give the plants ample room for roots to expand and grow.
9. Remember that if you plant your perennials too close, you will have to divide them up later so the roots do not become overgrown.  If you must divide, do so in the late spring and early summer with plenty of water available. As a rule of thumb most perennial varieties will need divided every 3 to 5 years.
10. After you have divided the plants move them to a portion of the yard that has ample light and room for the plants to grow. If you have more plants than you want you can always trade them with neighbors for new perennial varieties you may not have.
11. If you are planting seeds and have no plant tag, read the instructions on the seed pack for the type of flower you are raising or research online.
12. When I plant perennial seeds I always add annuals to the garden area. Perennials grow slow form seeds and will not be as showy the first year so annuals will add color and a full look while the new plants take root.

Each perennial has different specifications for light and water. Check with a local greenhouse for more information on specific flowers, or use the Internet to search your perennial plants needs.

Technorati Tags: Backyard Garden, Perennial Garden, perennial gardening tips, perennial plant care, perennials, Small Space Garden