Any backyard, patio or balcony will look more inviting with a few plants. And many plants will take little time, particularly if chosen wisely.

Perennial flowers are strong, local flowers that come back every year without having to replant or do any extra work. This is one reason they are as popular as they are. Perennials usually have a peak flowering season. During the plants off seasons, the flowers and stems die back and you can hardly even tell the plant is there (rather than just dying and looking like hideous brown clumps in your garden). When it’s time to bloom, entirely new flowers shoot up where the old ones were. Many people will intermix annual flowers in with perennials to keep a constant flow of color to their backyard or garden area.

Before deciding whether to put in perennials or not, you need to make sure that your soil has proper drainage. If the water stays saturated for long periods of time, you should build a raised bed. Raised beds help drainage and can be used in areas where the soil is not really acceptable for plants.

To test for water drainage, dig a hole and fill it with water. Wait a day, and then fill it with water again. All traces of water should be gone within 10 hours. If the hole isn’t completely dry, you will need to build a raised bed.

Picking your perennials can be a complicated process. The goal should be to have them flowering as much as possible during the year, so you should create an outline of the year. There are tow ways to go about selecting perennials.

Research the different types of flower you want, and create a timeline of flowering. If you plan it right, you can have a different type of flower blooming at any point in the year. You can research plants online or by selecting a good perennial book.

And one final step for a great perennial garden is using mulch. You should definitely use mulch when planting perennials. This will reduce the overall amount of work you have to do. It will reduce the amount of weeds and increase the water retention of the soil thus cutting back on extra garden maintenance. Bark or pine needles work great. In my area I can pick up bark and needles for free. (Check at tree companies and local township office for these items.)

Perennials are quite easy to care for once they adapt to their surrounds. Use fertilizer sparingly once your plants start to come to life. And add more mulch to the plants every two or three years

Note: Perennials will grow well in containers or patios or balconies. Either store them in the winter in a slightly warmer area or cover well with straw. How well they need protected from winter will depend on your climate.

Technorati Tags: flower gardens, perennial planting tips, perennials, selecting perennials

Spring is a time for adding new plants to your backyard and garden areas. By planting in the spring the plant will have time to adjust to its new home and start producing new roots before the blazing hot days cause the plants to dry and add additional stress to a new plant.

photo credit: Lights Out Photos

Many may not realize this but plant stress will cause the plant to be more susceptible to insects and disease.

Here are a few tips to consider before you buy a new plant

• Read the plant tag before you bring it home to see if it will grow in your climate zone and will fit into your backyard growing area. There is no sense in buying a shade loving plant if your backyard is all sunshine.
• Check the plant over well before you buy it. Are the soil and roots healthy? Is there a lot of stem or leaf damage? Are there any signs of insects or disease? If you see any of these problems, select another plant.
• Check the size it will grow and if it says, “spreads easily” This is a nice phrase for “invasive plant that will take over your yard.”

Tips to acclimate your plant to its new home

• Check the plant over when you get it home. Remove any damaged leaves.
• Water the plant if it needs it and then set it in a quiet place to rest. Plants suffer from stress to and you don’t know how the plant was treated before you bought it.
• Make sure your plants new home is ready by adding any soil and removing all the weeds.
• I let a plant set apart form other plants for a few days to make sure it does not have an insect problem that you did not notice. You don’t want to infect all your other plants.
• Slowly set the plant outdoors. The plant needs to adjust to sunshine so set out for a few hours then move into a shady place. I usually acclimate a perennial for about 5 days, then plant.
• Plant your perennial in the morning or late at night so that the plant has less sun just after being planted.
• I mulch the area around a new perennial plant to help hold in moisture and keep the roots cool.
• You may want to place a mini fence or plastic around the plant until family and any pets are used to the plant being there. I have lost several plants due to them being stepped on, mowed over or played with by a happy pet.

Perennials will add years of color to your backyard so give them time to adjust to their new home.

Technorati Tags: acclimating plants, new perennial plants, perennial tips, perennials, plant tips

Small spaces work perfectly for mini perennial gardens. I spent today moving some of my perennials and planning out my small space terraced gardens on graft paper, then on the computer.

photo credit: echoforsberg

My front yard is going to be small terraced gardens, seven mini gardens in all. One will only be two foot by 3 foot and the largest, a rose garden; will be 4 foot by 8 foot.

As I spent most of the day moving a perennial garden, my two areas for perennials will be the first areas I work on.

The one small space garden will have rock cress and a moss ground cover in the front. Behind that I will plant a few varieties of herbs and small variety hosta plants. The last section in the back will be red sedum on the sides, bee balm in the center and one other taller perennial flower. I haven’t decided which one yet.

The other perennial garden is located near a tree so I will need to set up a shade garden in this area.

I dug up close to 150 perennials today. I put them in my transplant garden area overnight until I fix their new home or repot them for sale or trading for other new plant varieties.

You don’t want your plants you moved to have the opportunity to get dry roots so you need to make sure the roots are wet and that they are placed in soil as fast as possible.  That’s were a transplant garden can come in handy if you cannot plant them on the same day.

My terraces areas are set up on a hillside with a 30-degree slope. The area is being terraced to help redirect and prevent any runoff flooding from across the road. The road drains are all clogged and they said they would not replace them for 15 years so prevention is the best step to take. I say this after the downstairs of the house was ruined last year.

I am also place a mini mound garden area with shrubs and very hard perennials up by the road to help redirect any water if I have this problem again.

I am planning hardscape stairs in two places and laying them out in such a way that if I have any rain problems the rain will be carried away from the house and any gardens areas.  I think think the look of stairways curving through gardens will also add interest to the gardens and landscape.

The other small space gardens will be an herb garden, a flower garden and two veggie/flower garden mixes. The vegetable gardens are being planned for near the patio area and near the kitchen area. This will be a perfect location to run outdoors and select a few fresh vegetables to add to a meal.

These garden areas should be easy to maintain. They will make a problem yard less work and they will also help control any future water problems.  And above all they will add color and interest to a rather ordinary yard.

Technorati Tags: garden planning, hardscape, herbs, landscaping, mini terraced gardens, perennial garden ideas, perennials, rose garden, small space perennial garden, terraced gardens

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

Most people have a backyard project that can look messy when work is in progress. For these reasons a secret garden or garden workroom can be a benefit.
photo credit: Or Hiltch

My garden workroom area is located behind a shrub hedge. The backyard looks tidy, but watch out when you enter the garden workroom!

Right now the workroom has two compost bins, an area for plants I salvaged from my flooded side yard and a holding area for new shrubs I purchased. I am also setting up a temporary moving greenhouse for the shrub cutting I am starting. I plan to start close to 500 shrubs. Some I will use in the new garden areas, other I will swap for different perennials.

My backyard is large so I can fit a 20-foot by 12-foot work area in easily. You can also plan wisely and use a small area of six foot. Any spare area in the backyard will do.

To set up a garden workroom decide on the area of space that is available to you. Will you need a compost area? Small portable greenhouse? Large amount of sunlight?

It’s also important to have a source of water and possibly electricity if you need lighting or will be using hand tools.

The next concern is how to partition off your work area. You could use a row of hedges like I have. Or you could put up a fence or a temporary partition wall made of latticework or wood.

My one friend created a temporary garden room by using tall sunflowers and flowering vines. The flowers lasted long enough to create a secret garden room for her messy backyard project and added color and fun to the side of the backyard.

Temporary plant holder.

I have about 200 perennials that need moved this weekend to clean up my one flooded part of the yard. It’s a mess and everything has to be moved.

I could have used some beams I had from tearing down a fence but I wanted a project that was as easy as possible and could be moved or taken apart in no time at all. So I chose old dresser drawers. I pick up dresser drawers along the curb or buy dressers that are falling apart for $1. I keep the dresser hardware for mosaic projects and stack the drawers until I need them.

To set up a temporary plant holder, drill or punch a few holes in the bottom of the drawers for drainage. If you have a lot of compost you can mix compost and soil and plant the plants quickly, water and set in shade for a day so they will suffer less from transplants shock.

If you are lacking in soil you can either head to the garden center or mix some of your own, after all this is a temporary holding area for plants.

These dresser planters can actually be made to look very cute in a theme garden or hillside garden area. Plant the front or add fake brick or cemented pebbles and they will accent most garden areas.

Mixing a fast soil for the holding beds

Place 4 inches of straw, leaf mold or compost in the bottom of the drawer. Top with 4 inches of soil from your yard. Add 3 or 4 inches of straw or grass clipping. Add more soil (at this time of year when hanging baskets are finishing up I use the soil from them for many projects.)

Place the plants in the drawer and water well. Top off the soil with grass clipping to help hold in moisture. I often will use a weak compost tea or fertilizer to help with plant shock.  I usually cut the perennials tops down at this time. Winter is almost here and the tops will die back anyways. Let the growth go into the soil not the tops, which die in a month or so anyways.

If you don’t have dresser drawers and wood box or even a cardboard box will work for a week or two.

Fall is a great time for moving and dividing perennials. If you need to make a temporary home for them the dresser drawers may be a perfect solution. Just remember to plant the perennials in the ground before the frost starts.

Technorati Tags: backyard design, perennials, planting perennials, secret garden workroom