Welcome to My Garden!

Spring Has Sprung

2010-03-23T19:19:00.000-07:00

Well spring has definately sprung here in Southern California. The hillsides are literally covered in the most beautiful assortment of wildflowers! Everwhere you look, you see orange, yellow, purple, gold and a plethora (yes, I said plethora!) of colors! It's absolutely beautiful and so uplifting from the winter we had. For some reason this year winter really got to me; brought me down. It usually doesn't do that, but I am getting older and so much about me has changed as the years have flown by. Maybe winter is just one more thing.

So I have much to do in my garden (still) and apparantly alot more time now to do it in. Last Friday I received one of those phone calls that no employed person wants to get; "your position has been eliminated". That's right. Laid off. I'm lucky though; this is only my 2nd layoff in a 30 year career. Alot of folks have had many layoff's. Unfortunately (here we go with the age thing again), because I am older it is going to be much more difficult to find someone that will hire me. AND with the lousy economy and job losses that are still occuring daily, it may take a while to find something. So...I gaze into my backyard and see where I can spend most of my free time.

So why haven't I gone out there and gotten started? Maybe it's because I feel like I'm just on a short little vacation and will be going back to work soon so I don't want to get any large project going just yet. Hm. Maybe. Or, maybe it's because I'm lazy. Well, we know that but I doubt that's the problem this time. Maybe it's a little overwhelming. I can somewhat believe that. With all the rain we had this past winter, the weeds grew like....well....WEEDS! They are everywhere! And I can't really do any planting until I get rid of them. Of course, weeding really irks my allergies....and I can just find all kinds of excuses not to do it! But I know I have to so this week (sometime) I will get back there and get the project going. Weeding and planting and feeding (which I've already started). The weeding shouldn't be too bad because the ground is still soft with traces of moisture so most of the weeds should come right up. Thank goodness. Alot of my container plants have already come back and have had their first bloom. So pretty. I think most of those will be going in the ground this year.

So I have my work cut out for this week. Between that and job hunting I should be plenty busy.

Wherever you are, enjoy the waking of spring! (if it ever stops snowing and/or raining where you are!)

Corn Gluten in your Garden

2010-03-12T09:41:00.001-08:00

Corn gluten can be an excellent way to surpress weeds in your lawn and garden at the start of the season. What is corn gluten you ask? It is a by-product of the corn milling process. It's a yellow, grainy powder that looks alot like corn meal. There are no additives and no chemicals; it's pure corn product. It makes a great weed pre-emergent and stops the roots in the weeds from growing. The good part is that it focuses on the weeds and not your yard plantings. You can put a pre-emergent such as corn gluten in your lawn and it won't hurt the lawn but it will help get rid of the weeds. If you use the gluten at just the right time, weeds such as crabgrass and dandelions can be stopped before they take root.

There are a couple of downsides to using corn gluten. One is that timing is everything. If you are using it as a pre-emergent weed control, you've got to use it BEFORE weeds appear in your lawn or garden. Once the weeds come up, the corn gluten won't do much for you. The key is to stop the weed growth before it starts, which is what the gluten will do for you. You can also use it if you have weeded the yard well, then put down the gluten. It worked for me last year doing it that way.

The other downside is...well....let me share a story with you. I had a couple of bags of corn gluten in my shed in the backyard. One bag was on the floor, the other on a shelf. I hadn't been in the shed for quite a while being that we had just gone thru winter. Now that it was spring (last year), it was time to get in the shed, get the tools and get busy. And guess what I found when I opened the shed door? There was corn gluten everywhere! All over the floor, in a pile in the corner and all over the shelf. Seems the little mice that frequent our yard found a way into the shed and discovered the corn gluten. That's right....they feasted for apparently the whole winter! Little piglets munched quite a bit after tearing open the bags and believe me when I say they left a nasty, stinky mess in my shed! Moral if the story....if you're going to use corn gluten, store it in something the mice can't get into! I now have mine in a closed plastic bucket, safe and sound.

Anyway...corn gluten is a good product to use before your weeds start to sprout. It will really help to keep those nasty buggers at bay! (the weeds, not the mice!)

I'm looking forward to a beautiful sunshiney weekend so that after I get my taxes done Saturday I can spend the day playing in the dirt. Ok, it's still mud, but I can still play in it!

Time Flies....

2010-03-09T09:25:00.000-08:00

Well, here we are in 2010. When I was young I thought that by now we would have Jetson style cars and robots that work around the house. Boy was I fooled!

Spring is on it's way in San Diego and it is beginning to show. Little buds are appearing on the trees, bulbs have grown into leafy spikes, just waiting to burst open with color and fragrance and the bunnies across the street now have little bunnies. It's been a long winter for some. We've had alot more rain than we usually get (it is an El Nino year after all) and I have loved every minute of it. Truth be told, I would like more! But...I will be glad when the sun finally comes out for a while. I think my moods need it. My husband, I'm sure, would agree.

I did let my backyard lawn go. Right now, because of all the rain, it's a weedpatch. Not sure what it's going to be once it dries out enough for me to do something with it.

I look around my backyard and I see all of my container plants in various stages. Some are long dead, never to return to their once glorious blooms. Some are dormant, waiting for that sunshine to warm them and help them grow once again. But all are waiting to be fed. Yep, time to feed everything! Looks like we will have a dry weekend this weekend (first one in a while) so I will be spending some time out in the garden taking care of my container plants and feeding the ones that need it.

I'm considering a raised food garden this year. Still haven't decided if I want to do that or not and if I do, where in the world I would plant it. Because I have a pool, the plantable area of my backyard isn't as big as it could be. We'll see if I get around to that or not.

I would love to grow some heirloom tomatos. They have to be the best tasting tomatos on the planet! I've looked a little bit into how they are grown and not sure I want to go that far (seeds, temperatures, all kinds of stuff).

So there are alot of "unsures" in my garden right now. Since this will be the first nice weekend in some time, I'm not going to stress about it. I'm just going to continue to look and think about what I want to do out there. Like a painter looking at a blank canvas, I will plan my beautiful garden for 2010 from the ugly, overgrown yard that it is today.

RIP to My Backyard Lawn

2009-08-17T12:46:00.000-07:00

This year I decided to let my lawn go. We are in a heavy drought and have been put on a watering “schedule” by the city. I decided that I would rather have my beautiful flower gardens in containers instead of a green lawn in my backyard. So that water that I would have used on my lawn now goes to all my container plants and my pool.

As you can probably guess, the area where the lawn was looks just awful. Soon it will be dirt and dead weeds. Now it’s just dead weeds. My thought is to create some type of xeriscape landscape instead of a lawn. This will help to reduce watering while still keeping my yard looking good. A few things to consider though;

1) I don’t want dirt that is showing. I have a pool and the breezes would just blow the dust into the pool, making a big mess.
2) I have a dog. I thought about putting small pebbles down, but feel that it would be hard to pick up his “messes” and it would be rough on his feet. Plus he loves to roll in the weeds and dirt. Of course, that could be a benefit to putting down pebbles! No more dusty dog!
3) I want color! Flowers! Beautiful displays! Ok, maybe that’s asking a bit much for a xeriscape, but I at least want color.

I am in a quandary and truthfully, really don’t know how to approach this. I’ve never done xeriscaping or even planted much of a drought tolerant garden. But I bet you have! So I thought that I would ask for your help. A few questions I’ve asked myself:

1) What plants can I put in that will give me color, yet be drought tolerant?
2) What can I use for mulch that would be attractive, practical and easy on my dogs’ feet and won’t blow into the pool in a good wind?
3) How will I blend it into my tropical (“tiki”) décor in the other half of the yard?

Help! I’m not sure which way to go at this point. Any suggestions?

Inspiration at Quail Botanical Gardens

2009-08-13T10:12:00.001-07:00

Quail Botanical Gardens in Encinitas, CA is a gardener’s paradise. It is over 35 acres of exhibits and plantings of bamboo groves, desert gardens, tropical rainforest, California native plants, and my very favorite, the Underwater Succulent Garden. And that’s just for starters! One could spend all day strolling through the different gardens letting your imaginations run wild. Can you see yourself strolling through the Australian outback, viewing the native plantings or sitting at the base of a waterfall in a tropical rainforest, surrounded by beautiful shrubs, flowers, trees, etc? Better yet walk along the Undersea Succulent Garden where planting’s of various succulents literally makes it look like you are underwater! The colors are beautiful and there are sea creatures scattered about here and there. There are also quite a few trees and plants that inspired the illustrations of Theodor Seuss Geisel, non other than Dr. Seuss! If you’ve ever read Dr. Seuss, you will know the trees and shrubs when you see them. You can’t miss them!

The Gardens have many educational programs for both kids and adults. Check out their website at http://www.qbgardens.com/ for a list of events.

Admission into the Gardens is $12.00 for adults, $8.00 for seniors, students and active military, $6.00 for kids 3-12 and kids under 3 are free. Not a bad price for a days’ worth of entertainment! The kids love walking around the gardens and getting dirty on the dirt paths and in the educational programs that are hosted. Adults will fall in love with the various gardens; there’s one for any gardening taste!

I have received a lot of inspiration from visiting these gardens. In fact, one of these days I am going to attempt my own “undersea garden”. I’m collection succulents and various plants for it now. But I don’t want to rush my inspiration! So one of these seasons I’ll get it done. In the meantime, I’ve got some really cool succulents to enjoy.

August Gardening Tips

2009-08-11T15:50:00.001-07:00

The heat of August can be really rough on your garden. Here I’ve offered some tips to help your plants survive this hot month and get ready for the temperature challenges of September!

- Watering is one of your main tasks this month, especially for plants in containers. It’s not unusual to have to water your container plants more than once a day; once in the morning and once at night. How much to water depends on how dry your soil gets.

- Water non-container plants deeply. This will help to get the water down to the roots and below, so that the roots will grow down and not up as they search for water. Deep roots lead to strong, healthy plants.

- If an annual appears sickly or is just not doing well, go ahead and pull it up and get rid of it. It’s too late in the season to worry about it.

- If a perennial looks like it’s not doing well, you could cut it back to a few inches. It will come back next year with healthier growth. However, please check with your local nursery or on-line resources before you cut your plant back. How much and how late in the year to cut it depends on the type of plant.

- Add mulch to your garden if needed. A thick (2 to 3”) layer of mulch will help your soil to stay moist in between watering and will help keep some of the direct sun off the roots so they stay a bit cooler.

- A moderate summer pruning of your roses might be in store. If your roses seem to be struggling, go ahead and prune them back 25 – 30%. You will be rewarded with lovely blooms again in the fall.

- Keep working on your composting! Add a little moisture to your compost pile if you haven’t done so in a while.

Most of all, continue to enjoy your garden in the cool evenings of San Diego. It won’t be long and they will be gone for this year, waiting to surprise you in the spring once again.

What To Do In Your Garden In March

2009-03-03T08:55:00.000-08:00

Well it’s been a while since I’ve blogged. I was busy enjoying February (yeah, that sounds like a good excuse!). Here it is March already and I haven’t posted a thing about what should be happening in your garden this month! So here goes….

What do to in your garden in March

SPRING IS COMING! SPRING IS COMING! GET READY! March is a great time of year for gardeners. The anticipation of spring, the tease of sunny days emerging and the rain that keeps out soil moist and helping our gardens to come out of their deep sleep are all things that gardeners look forward to this month. Since the first day of Spring is March 20, it’s time to hurry and get ready! Here’s what you should be taking care of in your garden this month:

First and foremost, get rid of those weeds while the ground is still soft and moist! This should be your first job in the garden this month. It’s extremely important you get those weeds out of your flower beds, lawns and food gardens, otherwise you’ll be fighting them all summer long. So get out there on a nice sunny and cool day and pull ‘em out.

You only need to water this month as needed. Fortunately for us in Southern California, we have had rain on and off for the last several weeks and it has really helped to keep our soil moist. However, as a lot of you know, I have a lot of plants in containers and I must continue to water them in between the rain. Plants in containers dry out quickly.

This is also the month to switch out your cool season plants to warm season plants. Plants such as annuals (pansies, etc) that love the cooler weather should be changed out for plants that like the warmer weather. Sunflowers, marigolds, petunias, etc. can be planted this month or started from seed. Keep an eye on your local nursery. They are usually good about putting out only seasonal plants, in other words plants that are for a particular season. I usually go by the idea that if they’re in the nursery, they’re ok to plant and if I have any doubts, I simply ask. This includes edible plants you are growing; switch out from the cool weather crops to the warm weather crops (corn, beans, peppers, tomatoes, etc).

You should also do some deadheading of your flowering plants and pinching back of plants such as fuchsias. Deadheading is where you simply remove the dead flower at the tip of the stem. This encourages more flowering. Pinching back plants such as fuchsias does the same thing; encouraging more flowers.

You may already have some bulbs you planted that year that are done with their bloom this month. Leave them in the ground and let the green foliage die back and turn brown. Once that happens, remove the brown foliage and leave the bulb in the ground for next year. If you have bulbs such as tulips, it’s best to dig up the bulbs and store for next year. In Southern California is does not get cold enough to support tulips until next year as they require a lot of cold weather to get themselves ready for the next blooming season.

Fertilize where needed. Plants that produce flowers or food will need fertilizer this month as will plants that are showing signs of stress (yellow leaves, spots, leaves falling off, etc). If your shrubs, trees and other ornamentals are showing signs of being healthy, you probably don’t need to fertilize this month. If in doubt about whether or not to fertilize, look up the plant type on the internet; you’ll find lots of information about when to fertilize, watering needs, etc.
And just a reminder for us folks here in San Diego, and all Californians; water is a tight commodity this year. This is the perfect time to adjust your sprinklers, check them for broken sprinkler heads and/or leaks, and make sure the watering area is appropriate and only covers the plants, not the sidewalk. For container plants, put a 5 gallon bucket in your shower next time you shower, and while the water is getting hot let it fill the bucket instead of just running down the drain. You can use that water to water your containers and any other plant.

And don’t forget; once you’re done with your work for the day, sit back, relax and take time to enjoy your garden and celebrate spring!

Happy Gardening!

Lauri
Independent Garden Consultant
The Happy Gardener
http://www.thehappygardener.info/

What To Do In Your Garden in February

2009-01-23T09:39:00.000-08:00

February is a tough time for gardeners in Southern California. It’s the dead of winter, with visions of spring just around the corner. We can’t wait for the cold weather to be over so we can plant, plant, plant! If a nice, sunny day comes along, we go nuts and head for the nursery to find and plant whatever we can, forgetting that it’s still the dead of winter. But alas…even though planting is not the greatest idea for flowers and ornamentals, it’s a great time to plant veggies, herbs, bare root roses and some fruit trees.

It’s also a great time to pay a little attention to some garden “housekeeping”. When was the last time you cleaned your garden tools? Or washed your dirty gardening gloves? Have you swept out your gardening shed in the last year or so? February is a perfect time in Southern California to accomplish these things. While you never know from one day to the next what the weather will be like in February, there is plenty to do to get your garden ready for that glorious spring day when your bulbs begin to flower and ornamentals can start going in the ground.

Mulching is a big one. Mulching now will save you a lot of weeding come spring. In Southern Cal, we’ve had a few days of rain and in November, we actually had some pretty decent rain. So in my garden, and most likely in many gardens around So Cal, weeds are popping up like…well…weeds! The best time to pull weeds is when the ground is nice and soft so you get the roots. If you’ve had a nice rain, head out the next day and pull some of those nasty weeds. Once you’ve done that, mulching is the next most important thing to do. Not sure how to mulch? Easy! All you do is clear all the weeds away and rake up all around to get any dead leaves, etc. Spread some pre-emergent weed control (available from The Happy Gardener-see below) all around the beds, following the manufacturer’s instructions. This will help to stop any weeds from growing before they can get started. Top that with single sheets of newspaper, being careful to overlap at the seams so no dirt is showing through. This will help to keep water and air from getting to the ground which would nourish any weeds that might be ready to pop up (and you don’t want that!). Mist the newspaper with a little water, but do not soak. Then put your mulch down…any kind will do; pine needles, bark nuggets, rocks, etc. Make it thick…2 – 3 “ is a good amount. Make sure to mulch around your existing plants and leave a little room around the plant free from mulch. This makes an excellent “bowl” for the water you give your plant.

So if you’re itching to get out in the garden and “play”, here’s your list for Feb:

Clean your garden tools
Clean your garden shed
Buy new containers if needed
Clean old containers
Pull weeds
Mulch

And finally….don’t forget our fine feathered friends. Keep putting bird food out to keep em coming back!

Organic pre-emergent weed control is available from The Happy Gardener, www.thehappygardener.info. Please email me if you’d like further information!

Happy Gardening!

Lauri
Independent Garden Consultant
The Happy Gardener
www.thehappygardener.info

I've Made a Decision

2009-01-16T08:59:00.001-08:00

I have finally made a decision about my backyard garden. Let me explain:

The Mayor of our fine city has told us that our water situation is bleak and we must conserve. We have been under a “water shortage emergency” since July of 2008 and to be honest, I haven’t really seen anyone paying much attention. I still see people watering their lawns; I still see people washing their cars at home; I still see water running down the gutters; I still see pools of water lying in the streets for no apparent reason and I still see lots and lots and lots of green grass around the city. Anyone that was conserving should have at least a hint of brown in their lawn, especially since our temperatures have been in the high 70’s low 80’s for the last week. While green is a lovely color and the sign of a healthy lawn, it does not indicate much conservation going on. I would rather see that water going towards growing food than going towards having aesthetically pleasing lawns. If this city does not do better with water conservation, we will be forced to conserve in ways that could be rather unpleasant. Anyone remember the days when we were asked to flush our toilets once a day to help conserve water? Ugh.

My backyard garden consists of a lawn, a few permanent plantings and lots of plants in containers. Last year, I stopped watering the lawn to help with water conservation. Needless to say, my lawn was awful; brown and absolutely full of stickers and weeds. I was constantly pulling stickers out of my poor dog’s fur last summer. It will be the same this year, so I’m going to try to figure out a way to get rid of my lawn and still have a pleasing yard. I have no clue how I’m going to do that, but I am going to research.
My biggest decision though is about my container plants. I love my container plants. That’s where I grow my flowers and my strawberries and my tropical’s and all sorts of wonderful, beautiful plants. When spring comes, it’s all I can do to wait for the spring flowering plants to arrive in the local nursery so I can plant them in my containers. And as the growing season changes, it is so easy to change the plants I have. Unfortunately….container plants of these types are water hogs.

Did I say I love my container plants?

So I have made the decision to cut way back this year on my container plants. I have several that are well established and I will not be cutting back on them. For these I will be consistently using SeaResults Micronutrient Solution from the Happy Gardener. It helps keep the plants healthy and helps build up a resistance to drought. But I will be limiting the new plantings this year. And that makes me sad. They bring me such joy. But we all have to make sacrifices in these tough times. While it makes me sad to know I will not be puttering in my garden as much this year, I can try to get satisfaction in knowing that I will be doing more to help keep the water flowing where it needs to; to the farmers and to the community.

Now, you are probably saying that that is not much of a contribution and it’s such a small thing it won’t make any difference anyway and that it is pretty stupid to be sad over such a thing. But that’s when I ask…..what are you doing to help?

Did I say I love my container plants?

Time to Start Thinking About Roses!

2008-12-31T11:27:00.000-08:00

Hard to believe that it’s already time to start thinking about your roses. January is the perfect time for pruning back your roses to ensure a nice bloom come spring time.

There is so much information on the internet about what to do, how to prune them, how to care for them, etc that I’m not even going to go there. What I am going to do is tell you what I do and I get some gorgeous roses with not much care every year.

There is one exception however; I have a couple of rose bushes that are in the shade most of the fall and winter due to the direction of the sun. I have found that over time, that definitely makes a difference in the amount of blooms I get in spring and summer and the overall health of the plant. Aphids and a variety of leaf-eating bugs seem to absolutely LOVE the roses that are in the shade as they get munched on the worst. So if you’re planning on putting new rose bushes in, look out for the shade because roses love the sun!

When I get ready to prune my roses, I use a pair of leather gloves so the thorn sticks into my hands are minimal. I definitely have fewer scratches on me when I’m done when I use leather vs. cloth gloves! I use a good pruner, one that is nice and sharp, and of course a trash bag or compost bin.

When I prune, I REALLY prune! I cut the stems way back, usually to about 6 inches above the bottom of the plant, or the top of the woody bump on the bottom of the plant (if there is one). A lot of folks would gasp at the horror of that much pruning, but hey, it works for me! I throw the stems away and any other material I usually put in the composter (old buds, etc). The stems don’t break down very well in the composter, so they go in the “green” garbage for recycle day.

There are many different ways to prune your roses and many different beliefs on the best way to do it (which way to cut the branch, at what point in the stem do you cut, etc). When I prune, I always try to cut the stem just above where there is a 5 leaf stem growing out of the branch. I’ve always read that is the “proper” place to trim and it seems to work to help ensure more blooms. The direction of the cut depends on how I want the bush to look. If I want it kind of leggy and woody, with the blooms growing out away from the plant, I will cut at a slant facing away from the plant. If I want the plant to appear fuller and less leggy, I cut in the opposite direction, facing into the plant.

Why would I want it to grow leggy and woody you ask? I have one particular rose bush that gets so many blooms on one branch, that I want them to spread out as far as possible to fill the space with flowers. I have a yellow rose bush that I cut inward; different kind of rose so it requires a different way to grow and these yellow roses look best when they are more compact.

It’s also important when you prune that you clear away any old leaves, etc that could be surrounding the base of your plant. I know, some of you probably like to leave the old leaves there thinking its good mulch. Unfortunately it’s also a great area to start growing some powdery mildew on your roses or a little rust or hide pests that love your roses as much as you do! You don’t want any of that around your roses! So keep the ground around the base of the bush clear.

Once your rose starts to sprout new leaves around March or April, it’s time to start feeding it. You don’t HAVE to feed your roses, but they will not be as beautiful as they could be and may not even be very pretty! Feeding your roses helps keep them strong to fight disease and pests. So feed and water well when the time comes! This season I will be using Happy Gardener products exclusively on my roses. I love the fact that the products are certified organic, so no harsh chemicals or poisons will be in my garden this year. If you’d like information about The Happy Gardener organic products for your garden, drop me an email and I’ll be happy to answer all of your questions!

Now…head out to the nursery, pick your rose bushes and get ready to plant, prune and grow!

Happy Gardening!

Lauri
Independent Garden Consultant
The Happy Gardener
http://www.thehappygardener.info/
loresgardens@yahoo.com

Caring For Your Poinsettia

2008-12-05T10:38:00.000-08:00

Caring for your poinsettia during the holiday season is as important as caring for your Christmas tree. No, your poinsettia won’t dry up and explode on you, but it will dry up, lose it’s leaves and die if not properly cared for. Here are some helpful tips to keep your poinsettia plant healthy and beautiful through the holiday season.

· Place your plant in indirect sunlight for at least 6 hours a day. Don’t let it get direct sunlight as this will dry out the leaves and they will drop from your plant.

· Poinsettias thrive in temperatures between 68 and 70 degrees Fahrenheit.

· Water your plant when the soil feels dry to the touch. When watering, remove it from the decorative plastic or foil wrap that it’s in to allow for drainage. Poinsettias don’t like being in standing water.

· Do NOT fertilize your plant during the blooming season (which is now). Fertilize after the season, once the flowers have fallen off and none grow back.

· Keep your plant away from cold drafts and high heat. Don’t place near fireplaces or heating vents.

· If outside, keep in mind they don’t like temperatures below 50 degrees Fahrenheit. They are sensitive to cold, so consider bringing them indoors at night if the temperatures are going to be too low.

If you are going to keep your plant year ‘round, the best poinsettias to buy are those that are not crunched up in plastic wrapping. Poinsettias like to spread out and being crowded in that plastic wrap can affect their future growth. When planting in the ground, make sure it’s in a roomy spot. Poinsettias can get rather large (I once planted one that grew to about 10’ high and was quite bushy).

Most of you are probably under the impression poinsettias are toxic. They really aren’t, but as with any plant it’s best not to let your pet, or your children, ingest them.
Most importantly, enjoy your poinsettia and it’s beautiful red flowers!

Happy Gardening!
Lauri
Independent Garden Consultant
The Happy Gardener
http://www.thehappygardener.info/
loresgardens@yahoo.com

Keeping Your Christmas Tree Green

2008-11-26T13:38:00.001-08:00

A few days ago, someone asked me what they could do to keep their Christmas tree fresh and green this holiday season. Here is what I told her:

Picking the right Christmas tree depends alot on what type of tree you want. But what's most important in choosing a tree to last through the season is picking one that is healthy, green and doesn't have any brown or dry needles.

Once you've figured out the type of tree you want (douglas fir, noble fir, etc), look for a tree that is full and has a nice straight top branch (to put your tree topper on). You don't need to worry too much if the tree leans a little bit; the folks at the tree lot can cut an inch or so off the bottom to level it out. Look for one that doesn't have any "holes" in the branch volume. Make sure that when you touch the needles, they are soft. You don't want a tree with dry needles or needles that fall off when you touch them. Take a small branch between your thumb and forefinger and lightly pull; if brown needles are the result, or alot of needles fall off, look for a fresher tree.

Once you find your tree, have a lot worker take off at least an inch off the bottom. Doing this will expose fresh wood and will allow the tree to drink up water, helping it to stay fresh. Keep in mind however, that you need to get the tree in water as soon as possible after it's cut!

When you get your tree home, always put it in a container of some sort so you can keep it watered. A tree that has no water will dry out in about a week to 10 days and there you'll have a real fire hazard on your hands. A Christmas tree stand with a bowl is ideal. Put your tree in the stand, making sure it's steady. Now get ready to decorate!

Once you've decorated your tree, place it where it's going to stay for the season and fill the bowl with water. Do this AFTER you decorate so there is no danger when stringing the lights (remember, water and electricity don't get along together!) Keep it filled with water throughout the season. NEVER let the bowl dry out! It only takes about 6 hours of not having any water before the tree will form a thin layer of sap at the trunk bottom that will keep water from being absorbed. If that does happen, drill a few holes (at water level) into the trunk side to allow water absorbtion again. The first day or two your tree will drink aLOT of water, so check it frequently.

Here are a few other tips for keeping your tree fresh throughout the season;

Before putting the tree in the bowl, drill a few holes in the bottom of the tree trunk, about an inch or so deep. This will help the tree to continue to absorb water.

Keep the tree away from direct sunlight, and away from south and west facing windows and heat vents. These places will tend to try the tree out faster than if it is placed in other areas.

Use SeaResults Micronutrient Solution from The Happy Gardener in your tree water. This will help the tree receive nutrition during the season, thus helping to ensure it stays green and fresh.

There are many potions and gimmicks that people use to help keep their trees green, and some of them may actually work. But the bottom line is, if your tree is not watered or is allowed to dry out, it's a goner sooner rather than later.I hope these tips help. Happy gardening and Happy Holidays!

Lauri
Independent Garden Consultant
The Happy Gardener
www.thehappygardener.info
loresgardens@yahoo.com

Weather Confusion

2008-11-12T15:15:00.000-08:00

Well here we are again in November. For alot of folks, the 1st snow of the season has already fallen, there is a chill in the air all day, cool breezes blow the leaves and they are getting ready for winter.

Here in Southern California, it's a whole different story. Our weather changes day by day. For the past week, we've had some nice days, running in the upper 60's (at least in my area), a little cloudy and we even had a spat of rain one day. It kind of made me believe fall was really here. However, by tomorrow our weather will get back up into the 80's and 90's, with the Santa Ana winds a blowin'. That will last for a week or so, then we will be back to cooler and chilly at night. And so it goes throughout fall.

It seems like in fall, ol' mom nature can never make up her mind when it comes to weather in Southern California. "Expect the unexpected" is becoming the theme for fall because we never know what we're going to get. The rapid changes play havoc on allergies and as you walk down the street you constantly hear folks sneezing, wheezing and sniffling. They have a cold, you say? I doubt it. More like allergies due to with all the weather changes. And the poor migraine sufferers here have an awful time this time of year. The constant changes in the air pressure play havoc with their heads and it's a miserable time for most of them.

How strange it seems to have the weather changing like it does. Through most of the year we know what to expect...sunny and mild. Seriously! That's the normal weather forecast! Truthfully it does get a bit boring, but I'm not complaining! But when fall comes around, it just confuses us Californians and we walk around carrying umbrellas, wearing jeans over shorts and tying our coats around our waists over our tank tops just so that we are prepared for anything. Since we wear flip flops most of the time, shoes are never a problem unless it snows.

So today I am enjoying the last of the mild weather. Tomorrow the Santa Ana's will start to settle back in and the allergies will run for cover as the dust blows everywhere. Let's hope the fires stay away this time because we simply can't go through that again!

What To Do In Your Garden In November

2008-11-05T20:35:00.000-08:00

November is time for your plants to wind down and take a rest for the winter months. Many plants are going dormant for the season. There are, however, plants that do well in the winter months in the warmer areas of the country. Here in Southern California, pansies and sweet peas are wonderful additions to any winter garden and grow well in our climate.

There are a few things you should do this month:

1. Finish cleaning up your garden. Take out the annuals that have died and put them in your compost bin. They’ll return to your garden in a few months as nutritious mulch and your garden will thank you for it.
2. Keep your container gardens watered. Although the weather has cooled, that does not mean they don’t get very thirsty. Remember, being in containers means they dry out quicker. And just because it’s rained, don’t think you can ignore it for a week or so!
3. Keep your yard looking sharp by raking the leaves that are strewn across it. Put them in the compost bin..
4. If you haven’t already done so, fertilize your lawn and do it now! October is the perfect time to fertilize, so while in November it’s a bit late, it’s not too late. Wait much longer though and you won’t get the full benefit of fertilizing.
5. Identify any plants that a frost could harm and make a plan of action so that when the first frost comes, you’re ready. Be sure to cover them for warmth if need be.

Doing just a few things like this in your November garden will help you to have a healthy, beautiful garden come March and April.

Happy Gardening!

Lauri
Independent Garden Consultant
The Happy Gardener
www.thehappygardener.info
loresgardens@yahoo.com

Weed Control in Your Flower Beds

2008-10-28T16:16:00.001-07:00

I think that "pre emergent" weed control is the best type of weed control. What is pre emergent weed control? A pre emergent is a substance that is used to control weeds before they can germinate or grow. The Happy Gardener carries an awesome pre emergent weed control that is made exclusively of corn gluten and sea vegetables. While initially developed for use on lawns, (called Lawn Weed N Feed) it can also be used in flower beds to control weeds before they can get started. The NPK is approx 3-3-3.

Using the weed control is easy; you simply sprinkle it into the dirt in the flower bed, mix it in a bit in the dirt, water it down and plant your flowers and plants. If you are going to use a weed abatement fabric or other type of weed control along with the pre emergent, put the pre emergent on first, mix it in, water it into the soil, then cover with the fabric before planting. Watering it into the soil allows it to sink deep and catch any weeds that might be hiding down there.

The Lawn Weed N Feed pre emergent weed control from The Happy Gardener protects against crabgrass, dandelions, clover, foxtail, purslane, creeping bentgrass, smartweed, redroot pigweed, barnyard grass, Bermuda grass. So if you want to keep any of those, don’t use this product! Not sure why you would want to keep it, but there ya go. Also keep in mind that this product will not kill already established weeds, but will keep new ones from germinating and growing. So you'll have to pull up whatever weeds may currently be thriving in your plantings.

Also be careful and make sure you know what you are planting. Some plants that have beautiful flowers can actually be considered weeds, especially if you are planting native plants. So know your plants before using this product!

Happy Gardening!

Lauri
Independent Garden Consultant
The Happy Gardener
www.thehappygardener.info
loresgardens@yahoo.com

Why Organic Lawn Products Are Important

2008-10-23T20:24:00.000-07:00

Organic Lawn Feed N Weed
from The Happy Gardener

Did you know that seventy million pounds of pesticides are applied each year to lawns that are also home to beneficial species such as earthworms, which actually harms lawn health? And once you use pesticides, what happens to those beneficial species? Well of course they die off and chances are slim they will be back for some time once you’ve used chemicals. In order for your lawn to be healthy, some pests are necessary to create a happy balance in the soil. If you kill them all off, you essentially kill off your lawn too because eventually it will grow weak and die. Earthworms, as an example, do two great things for your lawn; they help to aerate the soil and their “castings” (their poop) are a healthy fertilizer for the soil.

The use of Happy Gardener organic lawn fertilizers can avoid the destruction of those beneficial species. Our Lawn Weed N Feed is made from 100% certified organic sea vegetables and corn gluten. That’s all. It is safe for all plants, wildlife, humans and the environment. You won’t find any other ingredient, and especially no chemicals, in our products. Best of all, used twice a year it will help the roots of your lawn grow strong, the color will be greener and the overall health will be so much better. It will also help your lawn to be a little more drought tolerant and will help to eliminate weeds before they can even begin to grow.

Did you know…

• Many common lawn pesticides are toxic to fish, frogs, and other aquatic organisms.
• Species that live or feed on turf, such as robins, raccoons, squirrels, and bees are highly exposed to lawn chemicals.
• An estimated 67 million birds are lost each year to pesticides on farmland alone.
• Chemical lawn and garden pesticides are a leading cause of bird mortality in New York.
• Domestic pesticide use now accounts for the majority of wildlife poisonings reported to the US Environmental Protection Agency.

Why would you want to use anything other than organic? Go to www.thehappygardener.info and check out our lawn products. Remember when you order, use my name, Lauri Brow, as your Garden Consultant. You’ll be glad you did.

Lauri
Independent Garden Consultant
The Happy Gardener
www.thehappygardener.info
loresgardens@yahoo.com

Horned Tomato Worms!

2008-10-20T10:41:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I took out my spent tomato plant. It had withered and dried up and it was past time to let it go. I decided to use the pot to grow Sweet Peas in. They were my mom’s favorite and I wanted to grow them for her.

After I took the old tomato plant out, I started digging into the dirt with my trowel to loosen it up and get it ready for seeds. I had been germinating the seeds for 12 hours in water with SeaResults Micronutrient Solution from the Happy Gardener. I dug and dug into that dirt, picking up clumps and breaking them up to be sure the soil was nice and soft for the new seeds. As I got to the bottom, an interesting little item came up with the dirt. It was a cocoon of some sort that had been buried at the bottom of the dirt. “What in the heck is this?” I thought to myself. I had no idea what could have cocooned itself in the dirt as I always thought butterflies, moths and the like were above ground cocoon creatures.

Since I had no idea what it was, I decided to get rid of it. I threw it out and went back to my dirt and planting my Sweet Pea seeds.

Today I did a little investigating via our friends at Google. It turns out this nasty creature was the larvae of a horned tomato worm! EWW! I remember these nasty things from when I was a kid. My dad grew tomatoes all the time and he was constantly on the watch for these things. When he found them, he’d go out to the garden with a pair of scissors and cut the darned things in half to be sure they died. Gross!! I still remember that to this day it grossed me out so much! Anyway, once I discovered what this was, I was all grossed out once again. These things can do big time damage to your tomato plants!

Tomato Hornworms feed on leaves and stems of tomato plants. Sometimes they will also eat the fruits in the late summer months. They also feed on peppers, eggplant and potatoes and can defoliate a plant in just a few days. There can be two generations of tomato hornworms every year. A bunch of them can spell disaster in your garden! Once these little buggers have grown up, they become a huge moth called the five-spotted hawkmoth. These guys can get as big as hummingbirds!

It’s important that if you find these guys on your tomato plants or the larvae in the dirt, you get rid of it immediately! They will absolutely eat your plants up.

I can say that while I was grossed out, I’m SO glad I found that thing before I planted my Sweet Peas! Not sure if it would have damaged them or not, but I don’t want to find out.

Happy Gardening!

Lauri
Independent Garden Consultant
The Happy Gardener
www.thehappygardener.info
loresgardens@yahoo.com

Trees - A Breath of Fresh Air!

2008-10-13T14:36:00.001-07:00

The ideal time to plant trees and shrubs is during the dormant season in the fall after leaf drop or early spring before budbreak. Weather conditions are cool and allow plants to establish roots in the new location before spring rains and summer heat stimulate new top growth.

Did you know:

Trees keep our air supply fresh by absorbing carbon dioxide and producing oxygen.
In one year, an acre of trees can absorb as much carbon as is produced by a car driven up to 8700 miles.
Trees provide shade and shelter, reducing yearly heating and cooling costs by 2.1 billion dollars.
Trees lower air temperature by evaporating water in their leaves.
The average tree in metropolitan area survives only about 8 years!
A tree does not reach its most productive stage of carbon storage for about 10 years.
Trees cut down noise pollution by acting as sound barriers.
Tree roots stabilize the soil and prevent erosion.
Trees improve water quality by slowing and filtering rain water as well as protecting aquifers and watersheds.
Trees provide protection from downward fall of rain, sleet, and hail as well as reduce storm run-off and the possibility of flooding.
Trees provide food and shelter for wildlife.
Trees located along streets act as a glare and reflection control.
The death of one 70-year old tree would return over three tons of carbon to the atmosphere.

Trees renew our air supply by absorbing carbon dioxide and producing oxygen. The amount of oxygen produced by an acre of trees per year equals the amount consumed by 18 people annually. One tree produces nearly 260 pounds of oxygen each year and one acre of trees removes up to 2.6 tons of carbon dioxide each year. Shade trees can make buildings up to 20 degrees cooler in the summer and trees lower air temperature by evaporating water in their leaves.

Tree roots stabilize soil and prevent erosion. Trees improve water quality by slowing and filtering rain water, as well as protecting aquifers and watersheds. The cottonwood tree seed is the seed that stays in flight the longest. The tiny seed is surrounded by ultra-light, white fluff hairs that can carry it on the air for several days.

Trees are the largest living organisms on earth. The record-setters are:

The General Sherman, one of the tallest soft wood trees , is a giant redwood sequoia of California. General Sherman is about 275 ft or 84 m high with a girth of 25 ft or 8 m.
The 236 ft or 72 m high Ada Tree of Australia has a 50 ft or 15.4 m girth and a root system that takes up more than an acre.
The world's tallest tree is a coast redwood in California, measuring more than 360 ft or 110 m.
The world's oldest trees are 4,600 year old Bristlecone pines in the USA.

No matter where you are, there can never be enough trees. So the next time you go to your local state fair and you see the display that gives away trees, pick one up, take it home and plant it! The more trees we have, the easier we can breathe!

Happy Gardening!

Lauri
Independent Garden Consultant
The Happy Gardener
www.thehappygardener.info
loresgardens@yahoo.com

Now is the Time to Start Your Compost Pile

2008-10-04T16:15:00.000-07:00

Spring is a wonderful time of year for gardeners. All of the hard work done in the late summer and early fall begins to pay off and flowers bloom, trees grow leaves, grass grows and all things beautiful are in the garden. But one of the most important things you can do for your spring garden now is to start a compost pile. Since it takes a few months for waste to become compost, now is the time to start your compost pile so it has time to breakdown and become some of the most nutritious additions to your soil.

Compost is made up of a variety of items, both from your kitchen as well as your yard. Kitchen scraps such as vegetable peelings, fruit waste, tea bags (remove the staples), egg shells, coffee grounds, etc make excellent compost waste, along with grass cuttings, tree trimmings, leaves and other organic materials from your yard. Be careful not to put tree branches in your compost pile unless you’ve really chopped or ground them up. Otherwise, they’ll stay tree branches. You can also put scrunched up newspaper or brown paper bags and cardboard egg boxes, but know that these things take a little longer to rot so it could delay the “readiness” of your compost a bit.

You DO NOT want to put the following in your compost pile; meat of any kind, oil of any kind, dairy products, animal (or human) waste (including cat litter), weeds (such as dandelions and thistle), and of course any type of plastic, metal, glass, etc.

Normally compost can take 6 to 9 months for before it is ready for the soil, but there are a few things you can do to speed up the process a bit.

. Put your compost pile in a sunny spot. This will help the waste break down more quickly.
. Keep paper and fallen leaves out of the compost pile. While good for compost, these take longer to break down; it will take your pile longer to be soil-ready.
. Turn the pile once a week or more. Turning allows the compost to “cook” faster by aerating it.
. Add a little misting of water once a week or more. Water will help the breakdown process. Water is also important to help cool off the pile. As the waste breaks down, it heats up. You don’t want it getting above about 140 degrees Fahrenheit.
. Add a little dirt once in a while, but not too much; just a shovel full will do.

The Happy Gardener has an excellent compost bin (shown above) that you can use instead of putting a pile in your yard unprotected (generally not a great idea if you have mice or small animals around). Our backyard compost bin is high quality and made from recycled plastic. Its 11.4 cubic foot capacity can serve a household of up to five people and it has a locking lid that helps keep animals out and the compost in. It also has dual slide up doors that allow for even compost removal and custom placement including into a corner. It measures 11.4 cubic feet, 28” x 28” x 32" high and assembles quite easily with no tools needed.

We also have an odorless kitchen compost caddy. Made from recycled plastic, it has a strong, molded handle and includes a carbon filter in the lit that reduces odors. The snap-lock lid opens with one hand and it has a wide opening for easy access and cleaning. Dishwasher safe, it also has holes in the back for mounting on a wall or cabinet if you prefer. It measures 8 ½” x 9” x 11” and holds 2.4 gallons of kitchen waste. I love this product for two reasons; the filter keeps the nasty odor in instead of stinking up the kitchen and I don’t have to go out to the compost pile every day to take waste out. The caddy can hold enough that I only have to take it out every few days, even once a week.

I can’t stress enough how beneficial compost can be for your garden, whether you plant all over your yard or in containers. Adding some of the rich, luscious (for your plants) compost to your soil, along with some SeaResults once a month, will do a world of good for your garden and help keep it healthy all season.

We also have a variety of items to help you with your compost once you’ve got it going. Take a look at http://www.thehappygardener.com/ and click on “Shop with us”. There you will find a section of composting and rain barrel kits, along with accessories.

Don’t forget, if you’d like to place an order, use my name (Lauri Brow) as the Garden Consultant so your order is processed appropriately.

Happy Gardening!

Lauri
Independent Garden Consultant
The Happy Gardener
www.thehappygardener.info
loresgardens@yahoo.com

The Street Fair

2008-10-01T20:18:00.001-07:00

The street fair went pretty well I think. It was a lot of work, but a lot of fun and it was great meeting so many fellow gardeners, all with stories to share. I had a lot of questions on how to treat trouble spots in the garden and most of the time, the answer was one of our Happy Naturals™ Products from The Happy Gardener.

I had several compliments on the booth itself and how nice it looked. That made me feel really good. A few days before, my husband and I had spent the day setting up, making sure everything went where we thought was best and then taking it all down. Kind of a “trial run” so it was great to know the work paid off.

The next project is the Scripps Ranch Farmers Market. I have every Saturday scheduled there for the next 6 weeks. I’m going to take a few of the things that I learned from the street fair and use them at the Farmers Market. I think they will definitely improve things. The first Saturday at the Market is their grand opening at their new location. There will be a lot of people and a lot of publicity there, which should be good for business. The 2nd Saturday will be fun; it’s their Halloween costume day and the kids can come in costume, get candy, play games, etc. From what I understand there will be Star Wars characters there too which should be fun.

So it’s going to be a busy several weeks. My husband has graciously offered to help me because it’s all too much for one person (especially my age! Lol). He’s a huge help and I’m so glad he’s there!

On another note, this is true fall weather. Last week we had wonderful 75 degrees with cool ocean breezes coming in. This week, it’s 95 degrees with no breeze and hot hot hot! By Saturday, it could be drizzly and will definitely be cool. So with all these weather changes, I have to keep a close eye on my garden so my plants don’t get weak and confused as to which season it is. That could bring on disease and I sure don’t want that!
I am off now to do a little watering.

Happy Gardening!

Lore
Independent Garden Consultant
The Happy Gardener
www.thehappygardener.info
loresgardens@yahoo.com

It's Garlic Planting Time!

2008-09-26T14:20:00.000-07:00

In Southern California, this is the perfect time of year to get your garlic started. And growing it is just as easy as starting it! Here are a few simple steps to wonderful, home grown, organic (hopefully) garlic!
Seeds – where do you get them?

You don’t use seeds. Get a head of garlic at the store, separate the cloves and you are ready to plant!

Planting – Take the cloves that you separated and plant them in the ground about 2 to 3” deep, with the hard side down. This is where the roots will sprout from. The pointed side should be up. Cover the clove back up with soil and water it well. Note – Garlic likes well drained soil and lots of organic material (mulch). The mulch will help keep it warm during the winter months.

Growing – your garlic will begin growing once the soil hits a temperature of around 60 degrees Fahrenheit. Water regularly, depending on your weather, but be careful not to drown it. They don’t like too much water during the winter months. I usually let mine dry out in between watering in the winter and they grow just fine.

Watering - Around May, you’ll want to water a little more frequently and a little deeper, especially as it gets hotter in your area. Water to about a 1” depth, maybe a little more depending on the type and size of garlic you are planting.

Harvesting – I usually harvest my garlic around August if I get it planted by November 1. You can usually tell when to harvest it because the lower leaves on the bulb will turn brown. Once that happens, dig one up, slice it in half and if the cloves are filling out the skins, they should be done. Notice I said DIG your garlic up. NEVER pull it out of the ground by it’s leaves. You’ll wind up with garlic still in the ground and a handful of useless leaves. Digging ensures you get your garlic.

Drying – Garlic must be dried some before consumption. That helps them to really taste good! You can put them outside in a bright shady spot or inside in a well ventilated room (unless you REALLY love the smell of garlic!). Let them dry for several days. You can tell they are ready when the top leaves are no longer green and the roots have dried out. This could take anywhere from a few days to a few weeks, depending on your weather. While you need warmth to dry them out, garlic really prefers the temperature to be a little on the cooler side for storage.

Once you’ve harvested your garlic, take a couple of your best heads and put them aside for next years’ crop!

Happy Gardening!

Lore

Independent Garden Consultant

The Happy Gardener

www.thehappygardener.info

Street Fair

2008-09-25T19:29:00.000-07:00

I'm pretty excited. This Saturday I will be taking The Happy Gardener to the Mira Mesa Street Fair here in San Diego. The Town Council puts this on every year and this will be my first year as a participant/vendor! While I'm a bit nervous since I've never done something like this before, I'm excited too knowing that I'm finally going to get some visibility and be able to show off my products and company to the town of Mira Mesa. I do hope the weather improves though. Remember when I said September was supposed to be the hottest month of the year? Well, I spoke too soon because it's been pretty warm these last few days. It's expected to cool off by Saturday, which I certainly hope it does because I do not function well when it's really hot. Regardless thought, I will be at the street fair will bells on my toes! Wish me luck!

Fall

2008-09-21T20:04:00.000-07:00

Fall seems to be arriving a bit early for my garden this year. My purple plum tree in the front has already lost about half its leaves. That usually doesn’t happen until about October. I know, October is only a couple of weeks away, but believe me…this is early in the season for that tree to lose its leaves.

My other plants, mostly in containers, seem to have given up on flowering with the exception of my Egyptian star cluster and my Bird of paradise. The Star Cluster still has gorgeous red star shaped flowers on it and my Bird of paradise actually had 3 blooms on it! (I’m still excited about that!)

So my garden is winding down a bit, although here in San Diego, you can pretty much garden all year long.

I was watching Paul James’ “Gardening by the Yard” a week or so ago (at 5am mind you!), and I saw this great product that I’ve asked my husband to build for me. It’s a "Knox Garden Box" (http://www.knoxgardenbox.com/) and I’d never seen anything like it before. It essentially is a raised garden container, big enough to grow veggies in and high enough to avoid stooping over to care for it. Since I have perennial back trouble, this was very attractive to me! So we are going to try to build something similar and I already have plans for what I will put in it. Food! Yep, I’m going to try growing food items other than tomatoes. I’ve grown carrots and green onions in the past along with garlic. The garlic and green onion did great, but the carrots not so great. And of course you know I’ll be using my products from The Happy Gardener! With the great quality of Happy Gardener products, I know I’ll have happy veggies that will make me very happy!

Today I am off to the Farmer’s Market to check out their fresh produce. Bye!

Happy Gardening!

Lore

Independent Garden Consultant

The Happy Gardener

www.thehappygardener.info

Fall Bulbs from The Happy Gardener!

2008-09-17T13:10:00.000-07:00

Our website has been updated with all of the fall bulbs available. These beauties come straight from a grower in the Netherlands, from a family that has been providing these to The Happy Gardener for a few years now. The bulbs will only be available for a short time, so order them now! Go the http://www.thehappygardener.info/ and click on "shop with us". Remember, when you place your order, you must specify Lauri Brow as your Garden Consultant. Below is the list of available bulbs this year:

Anemone

Carlon Double Tulips

Double Narcissi

Dwarf Iris

Paperwhite Narcissi

Amaryllis

Hamilton Fringed

Hyacinthoide

Mambo Amaryllis

Monsella Tulips

Paperwhite Inhal

Paperwhite Ziva

Peacock Kaufmanniana Tulip

Purple and White Tulip Mix

Quebec Greigii Tulips

Red Riding Hood Greigii Tulips

Rembrandt Tulip Mix

Silverstream Tulips

Swan Wings Fringed Tulips

Other Tulip Mixes

We also are offering a bulb planter tool, bulb fertilizer, and a dibber (pictured here). The dibber is used to make your bulb planting easy!

So order soon before time runs out!

Happy Gardening!

Lore

Independent Garden Consultant

The Happy Gardener

www.thehappygardener.info

loresgardens@yahoo.com

Marvelous Mums

2008-09-17T12:57:00.000-07:00

Ahhh fall. What a wonderful time of year. The weather cools off, the leaves on the trees turn gorgeous colors before their timely demise, fall plantings are being done around the country and the marvelous Mum is one of the main focuses of the garden.

For those that don’t know, “mum” is short for Chrysanthemum. They come in many wonderful colors including a couple of my favorites, orange mums and purple mums. Yellow mums are fine and are beautiful in the garden, but the orange and purple shout out “it’s fall!” and have that comfy, homey feel.

Every year, I spend my hard earned dollars buying mums for my container garden. I’ve never planted them in the ground. That could explain why my mum’s always bite the dust before their time. This year however is going to be a little different. I’ll still have a few in containers, but I think I am going to plant a few in the ground and see how they do. And after some reading up on the subject, I’ve got a clue as to what I was doing wrong before. Here’s how to grow mums, unlike what I had done previously!

Mums prefer full sun and a well drained soil. So plant them somewhere that you get the most sun in the months of waning sunlight. They love good compost. If you don’t make your own, get some from the local nursery or home improvement store. You’ll definitely be rewarded for it! Spread the compost around the mums after you’ve planted them in the ground. But be careful…mum’s aren’t crazy about crowds so limit somewhat how many you plant together. The less crowded they are, the better circulation they get for disease prevention.

Did you know that mums bloom according to the length of sunlight they get? So as the days get shorter, mums adjust and bloom accordingly. So be sure not to plant them under a street light or your porch light. Seriously! It’ll just mess ‘em up and confuse them!

Don’t let them dry out between watering, but don’t overwater them either. They like to stay moist, not soaked.

If you want lots of blooms, be sure to pinch them back. This means you want to literally pinch off the head of the flower once it’s been spent. This encourages growth and you’ll be rewarded with more blooms each time!

Feeding is important to mums, especially considering what they go through. Let’s face it…it’s tough to go through months of cold weather without any food! Of course, I recommend Foliar Feed and SeaResults from the Happy Gardener. Foliar Feed will feed the plants, giving them the nutrients they need to get through the cooler months ahead and you only need use it monthly. The same with SeaResults. SeaResults give it a fertilizer “boost” to help overall plant growth and bloom . It will also increase your mum’s resistance to frost damage in the winter. Again, once a month is all that is needed. And SeaResults will get you 50 gallons of scrumptious (for your plants anyway) fertilizer!

So there you have it. I will heed my own advice this year and take better care of my mums. Maybe I can get them to bloom in spring this time.

Happy Gardening!

Lore
Independent Garden Consultant
The Happy Gardener
www.thehappygardener.info
loresgardens@yahoo.com
loresgardens.blogspot.com

Newspaper in my Garden

2008-09-11T15:22:00.000-07:00

A few years ago I decided to do a planting on a side of the house that was a bit neglected. The planter was full of weeds and I had done nothing with it since we purchased the house a few years before that. (This was about the time my gardening bug really hit) So I got down on hands and knees and worked my butt off to clear out the weeds and all the unwanted “stuff” I found in the weed bed. It was hard work and when I was done, my first thought was “I don’t want to have to do this again and again. Maybe I shouldn’t plant anything nice.” I didn’t want to have to weed every week in this area because I knew I wouldn’t do it and it would all grow over all the nice plants I was planning on planting. So I did a little research. Internet, here I come!

After searching and searching and reading and reading thanks to our friends at Google, I found what I was looking for and made a plan. But I had to hurry before the darn weeds started showing again! So one morning before it got too hot, I went out there with a bunch of newspaper in hand. I tilled the soil a bit by hand to level the ground some so it would look better. Then I planted some Star Jasmine and Azalea. I already had a blue potato tree out there that had such pretty purplish, bluish blossoms on it, I decided to keep it.

Once I had planted everything, I again smoothed the dirt out to level it out. Then I took the newspaper, a few pages at a time, and spread it out all over the dirt areas, keeping a small space open at the base of my plants and tree for watering purposes. After I had covered the area with newspaper, I gave it a mist of water just to weight it down a bit while I continued to work. I had purchased several bags of mulch and spread it all out over the top of the newspapers, a couple of inches thick, leveled it out, made it look pretty, watered my new plants and voila! A beautiful garden in under 2 hours! Believe it or not, it was 3 years before I ever had to worry about weeds in that area! So now, whenever I plant a large area, I first cover it with newspaper to help keep the weeds down. I no longer need to spend a bunch of money on weed control material from the local Home Depot. Newspaper accomplishes the same thing for much less money!

Sadly, while I wanted to post a picture of the area, I cannot. We had a big freeze last winter and I lost everything but the tree. The Star Jasmine is still struggling to come back and I think in the spring I will probably just replant.

There are 2 morals to this story: 1. Use newspaper under your mulch to help control weeds for quite some time. 2. If you want to keep your plants, cover them during a frost! (We Californians don’t know any better!)

Happy Gardening!

Lore

Independent Garden Consultant

The Happy Gardener

www.thehappygardener.info

loresgardens@yahoo.com

Awesome Plant Food!

2008-09-10T16:14:00.000-07:00

Today I’d like to talk about SeaResults Micronutrient Solution from The Happy Gardener. The ingredients in this amazing liquid come straight from the sea and is made from sea vegetables. What are “sea vegetables” you ask? Kelp, seaweed, algae, and a variety of other plants from the sea.

The benefits of sea vegetables include:
· Increased crop yields
· Provides higher chlorophyll levels
· Improved and faster seed germination
· Significant reduction in fungal, insect and nematode damage
· Resistance to frost damage
· Reduced plant stress due to drought and transplanting

SeaResults contains over 70 trace elements, 17 key amino acids and root growth hormones for healthy root development and lush plant growth. Your plants will love this stuff! I use it on my indoor and outdoor container plants. They are very healthy and quite resistant to drought (yes, my poor watering habits!).

Use SeaResults monthly as a fertilizer supplement on your houseplants, roses, vegetables, herbs, seedlings, flowers, shrubs and trees. And remember, its completely organic and won’t harm your kids, your pets or the environment!

One 8 oz bottle of concentrated solution makes 50 gallons of nutritious plant food! Used once a month and this bottle packs a powerhouse of plant nutrition and savings to you!

As an Independent Garden Consultant for The Happy Gardener, I will be happy to place your order for SeaResults Micronutrient Solution right away. Send me an email with your return email address and I will be happy to assist you!

Happy Gardening!

Lore

Independent Garden Consultant

The Happy Gardener

www.thehappygardener.info

loresgardens@yahoo.com

The Happy Gardener at the Mira Mesa Street Fair!

2008-09-08T18:56:00.000-07:00

The Mira Mesa Street Fair (in the Mira Mesa neighborhood of San Diego) will be held on Saturday, September 27 from 10am to 4:30 pm. I will be there representing the Happy Gardener with lots of information to read and products to view!

The fair runs along Camino Ruiz at Mira Mesa Bl. There will be many vendors and booths along with music, lots of food and tons of fun. Please stop by my booth and let me know you saw us on Blogspot!

See you there!

Lore
Independent Garden Consultant
The Happy Gardener
www.thehappygardener.info
loresgardens@yahoo.com

The Many Uses of Vinegar in Your Garden

2008-09-06T08:59:00.000-07:00

Believe it or not, vinegar is great to use in the garden and has many uses. Did you know what if you put vinegar on unwanted weeds or grasses; the vinegar will essentially burn up the root structure and kill the plant? That’s great for things such as grass growing in cracks in your driveway, hard to get at weeds coming up at the border of your garden and those big old dandelions that get in the way. But be careful! Whatever you spray will burn up and die. Be careful not to overspray on plants that you want to keep! Put the vinegar in a spray bottle and set the spray to “stream). That will give a steady stream to just the plant that you don’t want.

Vinegar is also great for azaleas believe it or not. If you put a cup of vinegar to a gallon of water and use it to water your azaleas occasionally, the azaleas will LOVE the acidic soil and will have gorgeous and prolific flowers. This also works with any acid loving plant; gardenias, rhododendrons, etc.

How many times have you gone into your garden, cut your beautiful blooms from the plant, taken them inside and put them in a vase, only to have them wilt away and die within days? Vinegar to the rescue! When you put them in the vase, make sure the water contains 2 tablespoons sugar and 2 tablespoons white vinegar and your flowers will last much longer! Be sure to change the water every so often and add the sugar and vinegar each time. This will ensure you can enjoy your blooms for some time. The length of time will depend on the type of flower.

These are just a few things you can do with plain old white vinegar. Next time you’re at the grocery store, pick up a gallon or two and use it to help kill weeds, keep your azaleas blooming and growing and keep your cut flowers fresher longer.

Happy Gardening!

Lore

Independent Garden Consultant

The Happy Gardener

www.thehappygardener.info

loresgardens@yahoo.com

What To Do In Your Garden In September

2008-09-01T10:28:00.001-07:00

In Southern California, September can be just as busy as any other month in the garden (ok, except for spring!). It’s time to start getting orders in for spring bulbs; time to figure out where you’re going to grow your garlic; time to start removing blooms from some of your perennials and many other jobs. Heres just a few things to do so you can still get your hands dirty. Be careful though! September is known in Southern California as the hottest month of the year. When you garden, garden early before it gets too hot!

1. Order your spring bulbs. You’ll want to start putting them in the ground towards the end of September and into October, so you have between now and October to get them in the ground.
2. Water!
3. Also by the end of September, you can start planting your garlic and onion. Nothing like garlic from your own garden to add wonderful flavoring to your cooking!
4. Water!
5. Get some coleus and plant it in containers. It makes for wonderful fall colors!
6. Now’s the time to divide your perennials. Replant the divisions right away, or give away to a friend as an exchange for something they have that you really want.
7. Feed your roses one last time before fall hits.
8. Water!
9. Replenish your mulch to help protect from the heat as well as the cold once winter settles in.
10. Did I say water? Your plants can’t get enough of it in hot, hot September.
11. Enjoy your garden!

Happy Gardening!

Lore
Independent Garden Consultant
The Happy Gardener
http://www.thehappygardener.info/
loresgardens@yahoo.com

My Garden

2008-08-31T21:14:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, while I was in my backyard, I took a good look around at my garden. I was so disappointed. My grass is all but dead…a casualty of trying to conserve water. My potted plants were just a tad droopy and some had weeds in them. My tree, normally full of beautiful purple blooms, was also droopy and had few blooms on it. My poor garden. It makes me sad.

This has been a tough year for me and my garden has suffered for it. During the first part of the year when my mom was sick, I spent most weekends either with her, or on the phone with her, or worrying about her. This was during a time when I would have normally been cutting my roses back, getting rid of (more) weeds, and getting my garden prepped for spring. My dirt never saw a trowel, my plants had no trims, my dirt remained only partially covered with mulch. As spring came on and mom became more ill, it was all I could do to water my potted plants. When she died, I withdrew and spent no time in my garden. I spent most of my time thinking over the last year; losing dad; the “dark summer”; my brother’s injury; my mom. Especially my mom. Depression got the best of me and my garden suffered for it. Then came my husband’s cancer, one month after mom passed. I went back to barely wanting to water my container plants again, but I did the best I could. Occasionally, I would ask my husband to water them only because it was hot, and they just really couldn’t go without water so he helped out while I was working.

I was worried that the neglect my garden went thru during the first half of the year, would show itself as poorly grown plants, smaller plants, less healthy stems and just blah in general. But I should have known better. Even in neglect, my garden has continued to delight me in beautiful canna blooms, daisies, roses and a myriad of other flowers. My hibiscus did well, my hotbiscus not so well. As we all know, my Bird of Paradise did very well, getting its first flower. My garden held itself together while I fell apart and I think it was so I could find some comfort in my pretty little blossoms as I gazed out my windows or took a quick stroll around the yard.

My garden came through for me. And now that summer is wrapping up and the temperatures are going to go up even further for a bit, I will come through for it. I still have my bad days, but even in the worst times my garden never let me down. I didn’t lose a single plant despite little water sometimes and little food most of the time. I know now that my garden is where I should be when things are not going well and I should take solace in the knowledge that even as things die, there is always life.

I think next year I will have a gorgeous, well fed, well watered garden. That’s the least I can do for it.

Happy Gardening!

Lore
Independent Garden Consultant
The Happy Gardener
www.thehappygardener.info
loresgardens@yahoo.com

Lawn Care from The Happy Gardener

2008-08-28T10:19:00.000-07:00

Did you know that fall is the most important time of the year to feed your lawn in preparation of the upcoming winter season? The Happy Gardener offers an exclusive line of eco-friendly Lawn Feed n' Weed that is made from 100% certified organic ingredients. Our non-toxic and natural products are safe to use around children and pets and won't harm the environment.

Our Labor Day Lawn Care Special (available August 26- September 8th ) allows you to stock up on your fall lawn care and receive FREE organic, Top-Selling plant foods Drop n' Feed Packets and SeaResults Micronutrient Solution.

What sets our Lawn Care apart from what you can find currently on the market?

Conventional and manure-based products contain higher percentages of nitrogen which result in water contamination and marine/plant life oxygen deprivation.

THG's lawn care includes beneficial micronutrients for strong root growth establishment. This is essential for a healthy lawn with resistance to pest, disease and drought.

Visit us at http://www.thehappygardener.info/ to learn more about Organic Lawn Care and our Labor Day Lawn Care Special. If you're interested in ordering, email me and I'll be happy to help you!

Lore

Independent Garden Consultant

The Happy Gardener

www.thehappygardener.info

loresgardens@yahoo.com

O Christmas Tree

2008-08-25T19:11:00.001-07:00

A couple of years ago I bought one of those potted pine trees that get all dressed up for Christmas. It was, after all, “the holidays” and I wanted to deck the outside with lots of things to help it look more Christmasy. This little tree was one of those things.

As most of us know, once Christmas is done, we tend to forget about our holiday plants. I am certainly one of those people. I put this little guy out front in front of the brick where my fireplace was. Every once in a while I gave it a drink, but it was awful thirsty most of the time.

This past weekend I was doing a little yard work in the front and this little guy was calling my name once again “Lauri…..I’m thirsty…..please give me water!” But instead of giving him water, I decided it was time to call it quits! I was pretty certain the tree was dead from neglect, and I tried to pick it up to throw it away. But when I lifted it, it was attached to something. A root! Yes, there was a long root growing into the ground and it certainly was not dead! So I took it into the backyard and lovingly replanted it. Any tree that can grow a root in those conditions deserves a second chance. Once I replanted it, I watered it well and sprayed the needles and trunk with “Foliar Feed” from The Happy Gardener (http://www.thehappygardener.info/). I took a picture and have posted it here for you to see just how pathetic this poor little tree was. In a week or two, I will take another picture and if this little guy isn't too far gone, what you will see will amaze you. If the tree is still alive, you will see a much healthier version of what this picture shows.

Yes, I am an Independent Garden Consultant for The Happy Gardener, but what better way to advertise our product than to post a test here for all the world to see? I have used Foliar Feed on a few of my other plants and have gotten truly amazing results. I have seen plants grow and look healthy literally overnight! So if this tree has any life left in it and I can keep it properly watered, we should see some green in a week or so.

Happy Gardening!

Lore
Independent Garden Consultant
The Happy Gardener
http://www.thehappygardener.info/
loresgardens@yahoo.com

My Bird of Paradise

2008-08-23T19:21:00.001-07:00

I bought this Bird of Paradise plant at Costco about 3 years ago. Every summer I’d wait and wait for it to flower and it never did….until now! Isn’t it beautiful? I fed it with "Happy Naturals Foliar Feed" and within 1 week I got my first bud. I wish I had a better camera so you could all appreciate the beauty of this lovely flower. When I was younger, I never cared for the plant itself and every time I saw the flowers, they were old and wilted (kinda like me!). But now that I have learned to appreciate the beauty of plants, I can say that this Bird of Paradise plant is a beauty and I’m so happy to finally have a bloom!

A few facts on the Bird of Paradise:

The plant was named Bird of Paradise because of the resemblance of the flower to the head of a beautiful bird in flight.

The foliage resembles small banana leaves, a favorite in San Diego among landscapers and gardeners alike.

Pollination occurs when a bird lands on the flower, looking for a little nectar. The pollen from the “anther” comes off on the breast of the bird as it brushes up against it. The bird will eventually fly away and land on another Bird of Paradise and the pollen will fall off or get rubbed onto the new plant and pollinate the plant. Weird, huh?

The plant is a sun lover, but deep watering is in order when grown in a landscape.

The Bird of Paradise flower is also known as the Crane Flower (due to it’s resemblance to the head of a crane).

The plant is a native of South Africa and is closely related to the banana plant.

It could take up to 7 years for the first flower to appear on a Bird of Paradise (which is why I waited 3 years to get my first one!)

Anyway, I wanted to share my first flower with all of you so you could enjoy its beauty too! If you'd like to try Happy Naturals Foliar Feed from The Happy Gardener, send me an email and I can help you out!

Happy Gardening!

Lore
Independent Garden Consultant
www.thehappygardener.info
loresgardens@yahoo.com

Torrey Pines Finale

2008-08-21T19:47:00.000-07:00

This was pretty interesting. Do you see those black things hanging down from the dead tree? Those are beetle traps for the pine beetle. Those nasty creatures have been decimating pine trees in forests all throughout California, including our precious California Redwoods. They've even gone outside California to chew their way through other parts of the Pacific Northwest. These traps have some type of nectar in them that attracts the beetles to them. The beetles crawl inside the traps and they can't get out. These traps were put up because the beetles were destroying many of these rare Torrey Pine trees and the traps seem to be effective. You can see them in a few places throughout the park.

This tree could very well have been the victim of the pine beetle at some point. I thought it looked like a "halloween tree". You know; spooky and scarey.

California buckwheat.
Look closely and you will see a vine going across the picture with dried leaves on it running from the plant on the right to the cactus on the left. This vine is from a wild cucumber plant (aka the "manroot"). The wild cucumber plant has an enormous tuber root (a root that is tube shaped). From what I understand, the root is why it is called a "manroot"; simply because it is so large such as the size of a small person. I saw a couple of the roots (wish I'd taken pictures!) and they were huge and weighed more than I could move!

The beginnings of a Torrey Pine cone.

This grove of Torrey Pines stand on a bluff above the ocean. They get constant breezes and wind blowing in off the water which makes the tree grow towards the east, the way the wind is blowing.

This band of pines is barren on the west facing side where the wind is constantly hitting them. The east facing side is usually green and looks no worse for wear.

Our guide called this pretty little flower "three spots" because it has 3 purple spots on it's white leaves, one on each of 3 petals.

Sand Verbena

Wild aster. My favorite on this trip.

No, this isn't a felled tree. This is what the power of the wind over the years does to a healthy Torrey Pine. The wind has pushed it so that it now grows horizontally.

And finally, the view from Torrey Pines going past La Jolla.

Thank you for spending some time with me and sharing my trip to Torrey Pines State Reserve in Torrey Pines, CA.

Happy Gardening!

Lore

Independent Garden Consultant

The Happy Gardener

www.thehappygardener.info

loresgardens@yahoo.com

More from Torrey Pines Reserve

2008-08-19T20:06:00.000-07:00

As we continued on down the trail, we passed the bluff shown in this picture. The top, and darker, layer that you see is “Linda Vista” stone. This is the more “recent” dust and stone that has developed over the last million years. The layers below (lighter colored) are made of Torrey Pine Sandstone. Well over a million years old (and perhaps billions of years old), this sandstone is similar to the sandstone you find today in drink coasters, etc. It’s quite beautiful in person. I hope I was able to capture some of it’s beauty in this picture.

I love the plant in these next two pictures. First, the plant is quite pretty with it’s reddish/pink berries on it. These berries actually become little white flowers in the spring. Notice how the leaves are somewhat folded? This is why they call this a “Taco Plant”. That’s right…the leaves look like taco shells so it’s called the Taco Plant. Seriously! The “taco” leaves actually have a purpose; when it rains, the leaves guide rainwater down to the ground close to the base of the plant. It helps to keep it nice and watered even in drought conditions. Moisture from the fog in San Diego helps to keep this one watered as well, all by dripping down from the “taco” leaves. And the leaves are quite pretty as well!

This next picture is just a pretty view of the Pacific Ocean from the coast at Torrey Pines. Notice the dead tree in the middle of the picture? All the branches are gone and it’s just the dead trunk rising up from the ground. Pretty in it’s own way.

The following two pictures are of the oldest Torrey Pine in the Reserve. It is thought to be well over one hundred years old.

This is a picture of the sandstone that a lot of the bluffs along the San Diego coastline are made up of. Very fragile, the indents you see are the result of hundreds, perhaps thousands of years of rain and wind, especially wind, blowing up against the sandstone. At some point, the stone becomes so fragile it can withstand no more, and crumbles to the ground. In San Diego it’s not rare to hear of a bluff collapse since the bluffs are made of this fragile sandstone. You dare not sand too close to the edge of a cliff made up of this for fear it will crumble unexpectedly under your feet!

This is a lovely picture of our guide, Peggy. She was very nice and quite knowledgeable. We really enjoyed listening to her talk of the park.

Need I say anything besides “beautiful”?

Check back again for more beautiful pictures from Torrey Pines State Reserve in San Diego, CA.

Happy Gardening!

Lore

Independent Garden Consultant

http://www.thehappygardener.info/

loresgardens@yahoo.com

Torrey Pines State Reserve

2008-08-17T14:58:00.000-07:00

Yesterday my husband and I spent the morning at Torrey Pines State Reserve in San Diego, CA. What a wonderful place to be, even in the dead heat of summer! (of course, in San Diego, the “dead heat of summer” is 85 degrees!) The Reserve is one of only two places in the world that grow the Torrey Pines Tree. The other, Santa Rosa Island, is also located in California. It is believed at one time these trees were part of a large forest of Torrey Pines that grew along the southern California coast. Over time, for unknown reasons, the pines diminished in range and now only grow in these two places.

This grove of trees at one time served as a landmark for sailors navigating off the California coast. The were identified by Charles Parry in 1850 as a “unique species” and named after John Torrey, a leading botanist of the time. Parry returned to the grove in 1883 and was upset over the lack of protection of this grove and by 1885, a $100 bounty had been placed on the head of anyone caught vandalizing one of these majestic trees. In 1899 the San Diego City Council passed an ordinance that set aside 369 acres to be used as a public park.

Today, this wonderful Reserve contains approximately 300 endangered and protected species of native plants.

We took a nice long mile walk with a Docent who explained to us about the plants and trees along the path. While she had only been doing this 2 years, she was quite knowledgeable. Below is some of the information she gave us along with pictures.

This first picture is the view from atop the Reserve looking north towards Del Mar, CA. The marshy area you see is a Preserve for migratory birds. This area is along the pacific migration route and many birds stop here to rest along their migration path.

What a view, isn't it? This is one of the many places in San Diego the surfers love to come early each and every morning and catch the waves. Bicyclists are always riding along the street parallel to the waves. You can't see it in this picture, but there is a road down there running parallel to the waves, and quite a few parking spaces off the road. These parking spaces are never empty. Often times people pull over and wait for someone to leave just so they can have the pleasure of parking along the ocean.

This next picture with the brown at the top of the stems is California Buckwheat. My apologies for the picture quality...my camera is pretty old compared to today's newer 10 megapixel versions.

California Buckwheet has narrow leaves that grow in bundles along the stems. In spring, they have small, white-pink flowers that grow in dense clusters at the end of the stems. They bloom from May to October, but we have had such strange weather this year, they are dying off a little earlier than normal. There are a few that still have blooms, but not many. The seed heads (which is what you see here) are dark brown.

This plant is native to California. It is a great plant to bring the "good bugs" around so the "bad bugs" don't take over and eat everything in sight.

Speaking of bugs, look closely at the picture below. Closer....closer even still......Do you see it?

Yes, there is a big fat spider in the middle of the picture! I'm not sure what kind it is (nor do I much care because it gave me the creeps!) but it was big and bad looking! It's web was quite large and while no dew was clinging to it, it was quite easy to see.

This picture shows what the tour guide thought was an egg sac. The green thing that appears to be floating in the air. It actually was attached by web to the cactus.

As we took off down the path, we stopped at this beautiful but shallow crevasse. Yes ladies and gentlemen, this is a genuine California faultline! Well...they THINK it's a fault line. The tour guide explained that geologists believe a faultline is what created the cliff and ensuing crevasse down below.

At last we come to the Torrey Pine.
This is the end of a branch of the pine tree. The needles are so soft you want to keep them in your hand and stroke them. And yes, they smell like a pine tree, although the fragrance is not as strong as most pine.

They do have cones, as you'll see in a bit. Cones can hold onto the tree for up to 5 years. They get pretty big on that time and I wouldn't want to stand under one when it falls!

Now this was quite interesting. Look closely in the middle of this Torrey Pine, and you will see a dark green cluster of pine needles. This is known as a "witches broom". Although it is a living part of the tree, it will never grow cones, never have sap flowing through it's veins, never have living things within it's branches. It's almost like it's dead , but in truth is living. Strange. It is believed that a witches broom is caused by disease or some type of parasite. The tour guide said no one knew for sure, but they were working on an answer.

Close up of the "witches broom".

More to come as I continue to share with you my trip to Torrey Pines State Reserve.

Happy Gardening!

Lore

Independent Garden Consultant

The Happy Gardener

http://www.thehappygardener.info/

Get your Crocus On!

2008-08-14T09:42:00.000-07:00

Time to Get Your Crocus On!

If you haven’t already, you will soon see bulbs appearing in your favorite nurseries and home centers. One of my favorites (of course, they are all my favorites!) is the crocus, especially the purple crocus. This bulb is so easy to grow and growers will start shipping to Southern California in quantity around September 1. Get them in the garden soon after receiving them and you will have gorgeous blooms by March! One year I planted a little early and had blooms in February, after an unseasonably warm winter. Strange.

I’ve only had success with Tulips once and boy were they beautiful. They were orange with yellow stripes and stood tall and proud. I loved looking out my patio door and seeing the tulips beckoning me to my garden. I was told once that the reason tulips never did well for me was that our winters in Southern California were too warm and tulips needed cold in the winter in order to bloom in the spring. This is one of the reasons it’s recommended you put tulips in the refrigerator for 6 weeks before planting them….they actually WANT to be cold!

My all time favorite however are lilies. And Stargazers top my list. Spring is the time to plant those, and I just love the time when they finally bloom….the fragrance is out of this world! They smell like candy and look like a dream. They are super easy to grow as well.

To grow bulbs you don’t need fancy tools to dig a certain depth. Get out your trowel, a ruler and dig away. Pay attention to the instructions for the bulbs as to depth to plant them, or you may have trouble with them over time. Depth for bulbs is important.

Check out your local garden shops for fall bulbs and get to planting beginning in September. Your efforts will be well worth the rewards!

Happy Gardening!

Lore
Independent Garden Consultant
The Happy Gardener
http://www.thehappygardener.info/

Fundraising with The Happy Gardener

2008-08-13T09:18:00.000-07:00

Do you have a favorite organization that needs some extra money? Would you like to do a fundraiser for them to help them out? The Happy Gardener offers a couple of great fundraiser programs.

The first is our annual bulb fundraiser. The Happy Gardener offers a large variety of bulbs shipped directly from growers in The Netherlands. An example of the bulb variety includes Crocus, Iris, Hyacinth, tulips and daffodils. Bulbs are sold in sets of 10 and your organization receives 40% of the retail price! Not bad! This fundraiser has two deadlines; All orders are due in by September 8 and/or October 15 in order to get the bulbs in time for planting. Orders can be submitted by either deadline.

Our 2nd fundraiser encompasses several different Happy Gardener products. Again, your organization will earn 40% of the retail price of all orders collected! This fundraiser has no deadline.

If you or your organization is interested in either fundraiser, please email me and I'll be happy to get you all set up and ready to go!

Happy Gardening!

Lore
Independent Garden Consultant
The Happy Gardener
www.thehappygardener.info

Gardening in the Weeds

2008-08-11T18:40:00.000-07:00

I had a particular area in my garden where I wanted to put a couple of Azaleas and a Star Jasmine. The only problem was this area was overgrown with weeds. I had pulled them time and time again to no avail…the little buggers kept coming back! So when I decided to plant in this area, I took a tip that I had read somewhere (I don’t remember where…it was a while ago) and put it to great use.

I weeded the entire area once again. I planted my two Azaleas and my Star Jasmine. Then I took newspaper…actually I think it was the Sunday paper…and spread it out on the ground. I misted the paper with the hose and took the damp paper and put it over the dirt around the area where I was going to plant and mulch, then misted it one more time. I then put some soil over it, leaving a circle around my plants where I put just a small amount of soil. That made a bit of a “cup” so to speak where the water would sit and soak into when I watered. Last, but certainly not least, I put mulch over everything and watered the plants.

That was about 3 years ago. I have had no weeds until about 3 months ago. Absolutely none. It’s been wonderful! Gardening and not having to pull weeds…who woulda thought?? Now however, it’s time to week again. But aha! It’s also time to put new mulch down so…..I am going to take up all the soil and mulch and do the same thing all over again. And I'll probably used the Sunday paper again. But this time I will mix the old soil and old mulch together before I put it back, and then cover it with new mulch. The old mulch will help to enrich the old soil a bit. I hope to get another few weed free years before I have to do this again. Weeding everything 2 or 3 years is ok by me since I don’t have to spend every weekend out there pulling them!

Of course, The Happy Gardener offers some great weed control products as well as food for the Azaleas that won’t grow (yes, I lost my Azaleas. Wish I’d had The Happy Gardener around then!). Take a look at http://www.thehappygardener.info/ and if you’d like to order something or have any questions, drop me an email!

Happy Gardening!

Lore
Independent Garden Consultant
The Happy Gardener
http://www.thehappygardener.info/

Happy Birthday Mom!

2008-08-10T15:21:00.001-07:00

This post is all about my mom. I lost her to lung cancer on April 4, 2008. My life hasn’t been the same since. Her birthday is Monday, August 11 and I so want her to be here to celebrate her life with her.

My mom was my best friend. I called her every day to see how she was doing. Somehow, every day, we’d find something to talk about. We never ran out of things to say.

She’d come to our house often for Christmas, something I always looked forward to despite just a hint of dread of having someone to entertain for two weeks. She was, after all, my mom and she owned a little piece of me. She even taught me how to make Christmas cookies when I was very young.

We lived together for about 10 years before she moved to Sacramento. It was a great time, and it was a rough time. By the time she was ready to move to Sacramento, we were both ready to be apart from each other. It makes sense that at some point, mother and daughter are not meant to live together. It also makes sense that at some point, it is time for them to be together again. This I learned from Mom.

Mom was an integral part of my daughter’s upbringing. It was like my daughter had two moms; the “cool” mom (which was me of course!) and the “grandma” mom. My mom helped raise my daughter for those 10 years we lived together and a fine job she did. My daughter is a wonderful person now that she’s grown and definitely the product of her mom (me) and grandmother. I know that my daughter has a little piece of herself missing now that “gammy” is gone.

When I told Mom I was going to marry my husband, she was so happy. I could hear it in her voice when she asked incredulously, “you are?”. She liked my husband…he made her laugh just like he does me.

Mom, I want to tell you that you were an incredible woman and mother. You did a great job with your kids and we hope that you had a happy and fulfilling life. Yes, sometimes it was hard, but that’s just life. We all know that, don’t we? I learned that from you too.

I miss you incredibly. I cry for you often despite being 50 years old. Hardly a day goes by when I don’t think “I need to call mom” before I realize I can’t. So I talk to you for just a minute anyway...in my head. But I can’t hear you talking back and that’s hard.

So mom, now that I’ve brought myself to tears once again, I want to wish you a Happy Birthday. My birthday wish for you is that you are happy where you are and that all of your questions have been answered and it is all good. Maybe once in a while you could come chat for a bit. I would really like that.

Happy Birthday Mom! I love you.

Hot August Gardens

2008-08-08T07:39:00.000-07:00

Here in Southern California, gardening is good most months of the year, especially in San Diego. But August is a hot month and most gardens really don’t enjoy the heat much unless you have a native plant, drought-tolerant garden. Our plants and flowers are just beginning to slow down and creep into their hibernation mode, slowly getting ready for fall, then winter. But not all is lost! Here are some tips for you Southern Californians of things you can do in your garden in August, so you can continue to enjoy your garden in fall and winter.

1. Seeds
Believe it or not, August is a good time to start seeds in pots. Hot weather germinates seeds quickly, so if you keep the seedlings nice and moist until they sprout, you should have success in cultivating some nice plants from seed regardless of the heat. Pay attention to the water and sun requirements on the seed packet and never let your seedlings dry out!

2. Sweet Peas
Those beautiful, aromatic, sweet smelling flowers that we all love so much! Sow seeds by Labor Day, and have deliciously fragrant flowers by Christmas!

3. Container Gardening
It is SO easy to do container gardening and keep your blooms blooming until their time is spent for the season. Pick your favorite flowers or plants, find the right spot outside according to their sunshine needs, keep watered and enjoy! I love container gardening and most of my “garden” is in containers. One of these days I'm going to do a post about container gardening.

What is especially important in August, because it is so hot in Southern California during this time, is to keep your plants watered and protected from the harsh heat unless they are heat lovers. Always follow nursery directions for your plants to ensure you get “the most bang for your buck” when buying plants.

The Happy Gardener has everything you’ll need in August to help keep your plants healthy and happy and keep you, your family and your pets from getting sick from the chemicals of other garden products. Our completely organic products will not harm you, the environment or your pets. And we have some great life-time guarantee gardening tools you should check out as well! http://www.thehappygardener.info/.

Happy Gardening!

Lore

Independent Garden Consultant

The Happy Gardener

http://www.thehappygardener.info/

Ladybugs - Queen of Organic Pest Control

2008-08-07T08:08:00.001-07:00

Ok, maybe not the QUEEN of organic pest control, but she sure helps!

When it comes to controlling aphids in the spring, nothing can beat the ladybug. Those little tiny black things that cover your new flowers are ferocious eaters of those tender, delicious flower buds. They will chomp away at anything that tastes good and before you know it, your flowers have been eaten away. Yikes!

Ladybugs to the rescue!! In the spring, when the weather has warmed a bit, the ladybug can be your best friend. Keep in mind though, that they do not like temperatues below 55F and won't fly in anything colder. They won't live too long either. That's why spring weather is perfect to release them in your garden. The weather is warming up (usually above 55F, at least in Southern California) and the ladybugs love the sun. The aphids on the other hand love anything.

I get my ladybugs at Home Depot believe it or not. They come in a little pack that probably has close to 100 ladybugs in it. I get a couple of packs; one for the front and one for the back. When I get them home, I cut the bag open and shake them up just a bit, then put them in a sunny warm place amongst my garden. That usually wakes them up because they have been sleeping inside that pack. You might think they are dead, but a little sunshine will wake them right up!

I put them among my rose bushes and on my hibiscus, the two places the aphids are the worst. They do a great job in getting rid of the heaviest infestations.

If you decide to do this at home next spring, keep in mind that the ladybug won't eat ALL the aphids, just a good portion of them. To get them all, use The Happy Gardeners Outdoor Foliar Feed Plus. It will help rid your garden of the rest of the aphids, along with Japanese Beetles, weevils, spider mites and masked chafers. Made with 100% organic ingredients, Folier Feed is sprayed right on the leaves of the plants to feed and help control pests. You only need use it once a month instead of daily or weekly like most plant foods and pest controls.

Check our website, http://www.thehappygardener.info/, for Foliar Feed Plus along with a few other varieties of Foliar Feed. Your plants with love you for it!

If you would like to order, send me an email and I'll be happy to help!

Happy Gardening!

Lore

Independent Garden Consultant

The Happy Gardener

http://www.thehappygardener.info/

What Does "Organic" Mean?

2008-08-06T07:40:00.001-07:00

Ok, so all this “blog talk” about “organic” gardening and I’ve never explained what it really is. So, from dictionary.com:

Or-gan-ic (adjective)
Pertaining to, involving, or grown with fertilizers or pesticides of animal or vegetable origin, as distinguished from manufactured chemicals: organic farming; organic fruits.
a substance, as a fertilizer or pesticide, of animal or vegetable origin.

So basically, organic gardening is like regular gardening, but instead of using chemicals to help grow your garden, you use animal or vegetable based products (such as sea vegetables, which are used in many of our Happy Gardener products).

When you buy “organic” fruits and vegetables in the store, they must be certified organic by the USDA. Getting organic certification is a pain staking process and one that is not taken lightly by farmers. When your produce says it is “certified organic”, it really is chemical-free when it is harvested.

Unfortunately organic farmers don’t receive all of the federal subsidies “regular” farmers do. There is a lot more labor involved in organic farming and typically organic farms are smaller than standard “non-organic” farms, so the organic farmer does not have the benefit of volume. All of these reasons are why sometimes organic food costs more than regular non-organic produce by the time it gets to the grocery store.

With economic times the way they are today, it is at times cost-prohibitive to buy organic products in the store. And this, in a nutshell, is why more and more families are starting their own “organic” food gardens. When working an organic garden, there is no worry about chemicals getting into your system when you spray them; no worries about the kids picking the tomatoes because there are no pesticides on them; no worries about the pets eating the grass because the fertilizer is strictly animal or vegetable based and won’t harm them. This is why “The Happy Gardener” is so successful.

We offer a complete line of “Happy Naturals” organic products. Made from sea vegetables, these products will not harm you, your family, pets or the environment. What are sea vegetables you ask? Sea vegetables are wild ocean plants, or marine algae, that receive nourishment from the water. They are non-toxic, non-polluting, products of nature rich in minerals and trace elements, including copper, iron, magnesium, manganese, zinc, and at levels much higher than those found in land vegetables. These are all healthy minerals that your body needs and can be found in any daily vitamin. And, most foods such as our Happy Naturals Foliar Feed only need be applied once a month rather than weekly like most plant foods. This food is applied directly to the leaves, making it super easy to feed your plants once a month!

Check out The Happy Gardener today at http://www.thehappygardener.info/. If you have questions on any of the available products, please email me. If you’d like to order, send me an email as well with your contact information. I’ll be happy to help you!

Happy Gardening!

Lore
http://www.thehappygardener.info/

What Got You Interested in Gardening?

2008-08-05T11:38:00.000-07:00

I saw this question asked in a gardening forum and thought it was a great question. I thought I'd share my thoughts on that here.

My grandfather was a wonderful gardener. He had at least 1/2 acre to garden on. He had the most beautiful green, lush lawn I'd ever seen or ever have seen. I remember as a child rolling down a small hill in the backyard, loving the way the soft grass felt against my skin. Grandpa planted many different types of flowers in his yard. He did vegetables in another section of the yard including artichokes. I remember the first time I saw those...I thought they were the ugliest plants possible. Imagine my surprise when I was told they had one of my favorite vegetables growing in it! He even had a Virgin Mary statue under a little wooden roof protecting his garden (yes, we were all Catholics!). But his pride and joy was in his greenhouse. Orchids. Hundreds of orchids of every type. He spent hours in the greenhouse, tending to them, caring and nurturing them simply so he could enjoy their beauty. He didn't sell them or give them to friends or neighbors. He kept most of them strictly to himself and my grandmother. Occasionally a family member would receive a beautiful orchid to put in a vase, but that was only once in a while. He loved his orchids so much, he simply could not part with them.

He toiled in his wonderful garden and greenhouse for as long as I can remember. Finally, when he got much older, the orchids proved to be too much for him after he had been hospitalized. He turned the greenhouse into an aviary, enjoying many various different types of birds. He hired a gardener to care for his yard and gardens, but it was never the same. Somehow, the gardens had lost their lustre. I think it was because his love of gardening and creating something of such beauty was just not there anymore. It was someone else's garden now, simply because he could not care for it any longer. It remained very pretty over the years as he aged, but it never regained it's true beauty.

These memories are what started me in gardening several years ago. I remember his love of plants and planting; something which spread to my own father in his later years. My father moved to Idaho and created a gorgeous garden, relying on everything his father had taught him all those years. I loved talking gardening with my dad. It seemed like one of the few things we had in common and made both of us feel good.

So I guess I came by my interest naturally or I inherited it. I figure it's one of those two things :) But when I go out to my garden to "play", I always remember my dad and grandpa and the beauty that came from their hands in their own gardens. And I try my best to be just like them.

What got YOU interested in gardening?

Happy Gardening!

Lore

Paul James - Master Gardener

2008-08-04T08:40:00.000-07:00

Most "TV" gardeners will know who Paul James is. I love this guy! He is funny, I have learned so much from him, and he is a "master gardener" so he knows his stuff. He's been on HGTV for some time, but unfortunately they've moved his show around so much I can only catch it once in a while now and usually in the early early morning. Most of what I learned about gardening I learned from him, along with a few other of the tv gardeners.

These days it's hard to find any real gardening shows on TV so we are left on our own to figure things out. But AHA! There is always the internet! A plethora of information! And my 2nd resource when I can't find Paul! But there is nothing like Paul James and his "Gardening by the Yard" to keep me totally interested in tv for 30 minutes. I wish they'd bring him back during the waking hours!

One of the most interesting things I learned from him a few years ago was making and using "compost tea". This is a water based mix made from compost that is SO nutritious for your garden! I've included a link to compost tea for you to look at and see how to make it.

If you're not into making compost tea (it is a little messy), The Happy Gardener has some wonderful products that are great for your plants. One of our best sellers is "Foliar Feed" for both indoors and outdoors. It's an excellent plant food that, rather than having to apply weekly like most plant foods, you only apply monthly. Some of the benefits of Foliar Feed include:

micronutrient foliar spray
increases photosynthesis
enhances plant color & vigor
for use with glossy leaves
available in 32 oz ready to use bottle

Spray directly on leaf. Apply monthly

This is what makes "Happy Naturals" products from The Happy Gardener an economical choice. You could spend a fortune buying products at your local nursery that require feeding daily or weekly. With Foliar Feed, since feeding is only once a month (even in the growing season), the food goes alot further than a weekly product.

So check it out when you have time. Go to http://www.thehappygardener.info and see what I'm talking about. If you'd like to place an order, just email me and I will be happy to help!

Happy Gardening!

Lore

Growing Your Own

2008-08-03T08:07:00.000-07:00

There was a great article today in the Homescape section of the San Diego Union Tribune about growing your own food. It talked about two organizations that would be worth looking into if you're interested in growing your own; the first is local, Food Not Lawns (http://www.sdfoodnotlawns.com/). This is a grass-roots organization dedicated to helping others learn how to grow their own food. The second is Kitchen Gardeners International (http://www.kitchengardeners.org/). This one has a large website full of valuable information about growing your own food. If you are looking into growing your own , whether you are starting small with one tomato plant, or going whole hog, give these sites a look see. You'll be glad you did.

And on that note, I must say that The Happy Gardener (http://www.thehappygardener.info/) has many wonderful organic products to help you grow your own food. The beauty of organic products is that you can use them directly on the plant and they will not harm you should you decide to pick a tomato off the vine and eat it right then and there. Now I certainly wouldn't recommend that because food should always be washed before being eaten, but there are no chemicals to ingest and nothing that will harm you should you wish to do so! So visit The Happy Gardener website today (http://www.thehappygardener.info/), take a look and email me if you would like to place an order or host a garden party.

Happy Gardening!

Lore
loresgardens@yahoo.com
www.thehappygardener.info

Drunken Snails

2008-08-02T05:19:00.000-07:00

EWWWWWWW!!!!!!!! SSNNAAIILLSS!!!

That's right, those nasty, slimey creatures will one day rule your garden! They will slime their way onto your most prized plant, gnawing and gnashing it's teeth, eating every leaf and flower in it's path! Run away! Run away!

Ok, don't run away, but definately do something about them. And of course, there are plenty of organic and natural ways to rid your garden of these nasty pests.

Most folks know this one; to get rid of your garden snails, put a shallow pan on the ground by the plants the snails are eating. Fill the inside with beer. That's right..beer. Now I don't think the snails have a preference to which type of beer, but if you have picky snails, stick with domestic. It's cheaper. Snails love the hops that is in beer. They will flock to that pan like New Year's revelers to the local bar. They will snail on up into the pan and will drown there. Yes, you'll have to collect them and get rid of their sad little carcasses, but you will be happy doing it! Be sure to change the beer every few days or the snails will start to avoid it.

Another, quite effective way to rid your garden of the common garden snail is to get a few "decollate snails". (see below) These little guys will feast on your garden snails.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The decollate snail (Rumina decollata) is a medium-sized predatory land snail, a species of terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusk which is native to the Mediterranean region. It has been introduced into North America and other areas as biological control agent against the brown garden snail.
The decollate snail is a voracious predator, and feeds readily upon common garden snails and slugs and their eggs. The snail eats plant matter as well, but the damage it causes to plants is considered minor when compared with the benefit of its predation on garden snails and other pest species of snails. Unfortunately it will also consume harmless local species of land gastropods and beneficial annelids.
The shell of the decollate snail is long and roughly cone-shaped. It grows to approximately 40 mm in length, and upon reaching mature size, grinds or chips off the end of its own shell by moving its body roughly against hard surfaces, so that the shell takes on a decollate shape, tapering to a blunt end.
Decollate snails are tolerant of dry and cold conditions, during which they burrow deep into the soil. They are most active during the night and during rainfall.

Cool, huh? Now if you don't want to kill the little buggers, follow a few of these tips:

Egg Shells - put crushed up egg shells around your plants. Snails hate the rough surface and will likely avoid the plant. Don't leave the shells too big though, or the snails will use them like stepping stones straight to your beloved plant! Sand or diatomaceous earth will do the same thing.

Curved Barriers - place a metal strip either around your plant, or around your entire garden. Make sure the top of the strip curves towards you so the snails can't climb over. They won't like the sharp edge of the metal.

Ducks - That's right...ducks! Ducks love snails and snails HATE ducks! Put a duck in your backyard and watch the snails disappear!

Well, that's all for today. It's early morning, the dew is out....and so are the snails. Time to go hunting!

Happy Gardening!

Lore

Hello!

2008-08-01T07:53:00.001-07:00

Hello and welcome to my garden! My name is Lauri (aka Lore) and gardening is my hobby. For a long time I wanted to learn how to garden more organically, without having to use those harsh and harmful chemicals on my beautiful flowers. I also have a cute little silky terrier dog that doesn't need the harsh chemicals either. This year, I decided to grow my own tomatoes. I've done it once previously and had good success with it. I didn't want to use chemicals on the tomatoes because I knew I would be eating them so I've just kind of left them to their own defenses. I'm not having as much luck as last time.

After researching organic gardening, I ran across a website for "The Happy Gardener" (http://www.thehappygardener.info/). This company sells organic products for your garden along with various garden tools and decor. I loved the organic products and was excited that I may have found someplace that I could get some good bug repellent and/or plant food that wouldn't have poison in them. Then I saw they had a business opportunity to become a "Garden Consultant". After much research on the company and it's products, I decided this is right for me and I am now a Happy Gardener Garden Consultant.

I'm so excited that I decided to start this blog and give some gardening pointers. Not just organically, but in general. Now I am no professional and definitely an amateur when it comes to gardening, but maybe I can give some good information to those of you just like me; you love your garden, do what you can with it and realize that you shouldn't take it too seriously but have fun with it. That's what it's about! Have fun with it! So I will be adding gardening info and tips over time and perhaps share some of my own gardening experiences with you all. I would love to hear of your gardening experiences!

Welcome to my garden!

Lore