The Perfect Garden FREE CONTENT

[Fun4TheMoney 0]

Attention Webmasters: The following free article is yours to copy and paste on your website. Please leave the authors link in placeits the only payment shell get for her efforts. If you use this piece, please email the author (suzmolthop@aol.com) for a link back to your site, or just so shell know where her words have landed. Thank you.

~*~

The Perfect Garden:
Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, and Something Blue
By Susan Molthop, http://forums.xisto.com/no_longer_exists/

The concept of old, new, borrowed, and blue applies just as well to gardening as it does to that other tradition. Heres what the Internet has to offer for creating the perfect garden:

Something Old

Old Roses

Why would anyone want old roses instead of new ones? The two main reasons are durability and fragrancethe new hybrids offer too little of each. Old roses are strong, hardy, require very little care, and really smell like, well, roses.

Other considerations are versatility and muted colors. Old roses dont have to hog the spotlight. They can blend in and be perfectly happy in the background (where they can concentrate on smelling like, you know, roses).

Vintage Gardens has a great online catalog of antique rosesalmost 2000 varieties to choose from. http://forums.xisto.com/no_longer_exists/.

Old Veggies

Why would anyone want old-fashioned vegetables instead of the newer, stronger, hybrid varieties? Theres only one reasonflavor. The hybrids look better, grow faster, produce more, and are more resistant to weather, pests, and disease, but the ornery, sometimes ugly old heirlooms have the three most important qualitiesin my mouth, at leasttaste, Taste, and TASTE.

Heirloom Seeds offers an excellent variety of backyard-garden-tested old-fashioned vegetable seeds. http://www.heirloomseeds.com/index.html

Old Flowers

Again, the question, Why bother? The answer, this time, is variety. Most garden centers offer the same old stuff, year after year after year. That means your yard will look pretty much like your neighbors, no matter how hard you work, unless you get creative. This year, why not plant some antiques?

Select Seeds specializes in these open-pollinated varieties. http://forums.xisto.com/no_longer_exists/

Old Herbs

Is there any other kind? One reason to grow herbs is that they dont need a lot of space. Apartment-dwellers with a sunny windowsill can grow a terrific herb garden. Herbs thrive on neglect and tight spaces. If you dont have a green thumb, start with herbs.

Richters has a huge Website, with seminars, free catalogues, and a great selection of seeds to order online. https://www.richters.com/

Something New

New Flowers

The word new answers its own why questionyou need them just because theyre new! Most new varieties have something really great going for themotherwise thered be no point in bringing them to market. If youre looking for something spectacular, either in size, color, or just being able to grow something that couldnt be grown before in your hardiness zone, look for the new stuff.

You can count on Burpee to come up with something new every year. http://www.burpee.com/

New Veggies

The first reason for trying new vegetables is that theyre practical. These seeds or plants will have something going for them that makes sense. They produce more, earlier, or theyre more drought, heat, or cold-tolerant. If youve had problems growing the old standards, try something new.

The other reason is that some new veggies are exotic. If youre tired of carrots and beans, heres a small sample of alternatives from the stir fry section at Ani Direct. http://forums.xisto.com/no_longer_exists/

Something Borrowed

Seed Swaps

The main reason for swapping seeds is that its FUN. Its also FREE (except for postage, which is almost nothing), it gives you an excuse to make friends with other gardeners (not that you need an excuse), and it provides an opportunity to experiment with plants you may never get any other way. Why let the big seed companies dictate what you grow?

Heres a whole page of seed swaps from Blossom Swap. http://forums.xisto.com/no_longer_exists/

Cuttings

Why nottheyre free. Expand your garden with cuttings of your favorite perennials, or go shopping in your neighbors backyard. One good reason to borrow plants or cuttings from your neighbors is that you know that variety will grow in your area. The secret is in knowing when, how, and how much to take.

Heres the how-to from Rebeccas Garden. http://www.rebeccasgarden.com/articles/In_lowers/255.html

Something Blue

Blue Flowers

Why blue flowers? Because theyre a real challenge for growers. Most are sort of purplish, and many are very hard to find. Blue wildflowers are common in certain areas, but they can be finicky about growing outside their neighborhood. Here are some blue flowers and berries from Park Seeds. http://forums.xisto.com/no_longer_exists/

Blueberries

Why blueberries? Because theyre good for you. Current research shows that blueberries have better antioxidant properties than grapesby a wide margin. Theyre low in calories and fat, but high in fiber. Blueberries are native to North America. They grow in Washington, Oregon, California, Georgia, North Carolina, West Virginia, Michigan, New Jersey, and Canada. The season starts in April in the South and moves north through September. They like moist, well-drained, acidic soil.

The Finch Blueberries site contains lots of information and pictures. They send plants all over the world. http://danfinch.com/berrys.htm

Old, new, borrowed, or blue, the Internet hosts over 18,000,000 pages on gardening. If you dont have time to surf during the long gardening days of summer, keep it in mind for those long winter nights. Enjoy!

~The End~

[Amezis 0]

I don't think the admin would like that post... But I don't know...