In Northern United States and Canada

Now is the time to check out seed catalogs and online along with placing orders. Early in the month sow seeds of Clarkia, Godedia, Larkspur, Stocks and other annuals for Spring bloom in the greenhouse. Toward the end of January sow in the greenhouse Wax Begonias, Lobelias, Vinca roses, Delphiniums and Pansies for Summer bloom outdoors…

Remove pots of bulbs, such as Hyacinths, Daffodils and Tulips, that are to be forced for early bloom, a few at a time, from the cool basement or sand bed outdoors where they have been rooting, and bring them into the greenhouse or house. Shade them for the first few days and give them lots of water at all times. Keep them cool at first; increase the temperature gradually.

As soon as dormant potted Amaryllis bulbs show signs of life, remove a little of the old surface soil, replace with rich new soil, water thoroughly and place the pots in a warm, light location in the greenhouse or house. Pot new Amaryllis bulbs in well-drained pots of fertile sandy soil.

In order to plan your landscape accurately, you should have a drawing board, ruler, tape measure, paper, and patience.

A flowering shrub costs less than an evergreen, and in my opinion can achieve equally marvelous effects.

False Cost Estimates

Once you have studied the techniques of landscaping you will be able to guard against making false cost estimates. Here is a typical example of how many people go wrong: The novice would be “professional” home landscaper says to himself, “The distance across the front of my house is 40 feet - the ten plants to plant there cost me $75. Therefore, to go all around my property would cover 300 feet and this would cost approximately $550 plus dollars.” He shakes his head and resigns himself to a half-planted garden.

You will soon learn that such a method of estimating costs is inaccurate. In the first place you must try not to enclose the entire property; secondly, plants in the back yard will be given much more space in which to develop; finally, the plants in the back yard for the most part will be or should be deciduous.

When shopping for roses, you may notice that there are two different types to choose from. You will likely encounter “own root” roses and “grafted” roses. So what is the difference and which one is right for you?

Grafted roses are actually made up of two plants. It will have the stems and flowers of one plant and the root system of another. Horticulturists will typically create these hybrids to take advantage of a strong, weather tough root system of one plant and the beauty and delicateness of another.

You will usually be able to tell whether you have a grafted rose by looking for a bulge or knob low down on the stem of the plant. This is the location where the two type of plants were grafted together.

While the hardiness of the plant may be increased, there is the risk that suckers of the original plant will emerge during the growing process. Also, it is possible that harsh winter or other unfavorable condition will kill the top part of the plant, leaving you with only the underlying root structure of a different plant.

Orientation is the direction in which a house faces. If you are building or can choose among houses that face in several directions, you should always try for an orientation that takes maximum advantage of sunlight. Anyone who already owns their home can, of course, do nothing about its orientation.

Unfortunately, habit and tradition prevent most people who live in crowded urban and suburban areas from taking advantage of undoubtedly distress his more conventional neighbors. Nevertheless, such a rugged individualist would certainly make the interior of his home more comfortable and would also be able to use the garden area to better advantage. A few modern builders, however, have tried to improve orientation in a number of their large developments.

Rural

In rural areas, however, homes are farther apart and an owner need never think twice about orienting his house so as to take advantage of the surrounding elements.

Whether or not the house is parallel to the highway is hardly noticeable under such conditions, so the point should certainly be discussed with the architect or builder.

Ideal Orientation

Decorating your garden to reflect your personality is one of the more interesting and fun things about gardening. To do this you will want to create your garden in three steps.

1. Decide on your layout. A formal garden will have straight lines and very structured paths, while a cottage garden will have flowing lines and meandering paths.

2. Pick out your plants. Your plants should fit your space and reflect your personality. If you like modern, you may want to consider a Japanese Maple and Bamboo. If you like traditional, roses are the way to go. If you are have more of a country style you will want to choose perennials like Black Eyed Susan and Coneflower.

3. Decide on your accessories. This is where you really get to let your personality shine. You should always think about your accessories and plants together so they compliment each other.

Some of the accessories that most gardens have are decorative containers, garden gates and fences, and statuary. Each person will have his own view about these accessories. The following paragraphs explain each of the accessories in brief.

Perennials - Perennials should be cut back after blooming and reset this month (October). Perennials set now will be established and ready to grow in the spring. Some of the biennials tend to become perennials in our gardens, and occasionally a half-hardy annual lives on and on.

If you have not yet cleaned up all litter or garden trash, be sure it is done this fall. Do not provide a winter home for insect pests.

Chrysanthemums - October is the month of heaviest bloom for this queen of fall flowers. The most important thing to remember is to provide plenty of water for them. They are heavy feeders (which should have been taken care of in September) and heavy drinkers. Visit the fall shows and gardens of chrysanthemums and write down names of varieties you like and try them another year. The fall shows are wonderful places to see the best in the seasonal flowers. Keep a close check on the weather, and before killing frost lift clumps of chrysanthemums and put in the garage or basement for continued bloom. A few may even be potted and kept in the house. An additional month of flowers may be had in this way.

Ancient paper lanterns find their roots in China and Japan. But presently, many people like them regardless of regional barriers and use them to decorate many events.

Various calming terms and sayings are used on lanterns such as peace, strength, love etc.Decorative paper lanterns normally come in five types, called “crystal magic”, “rolling paper”, “baby’s bottom”, “tomato lights” and “Buddha’s gastronomy”.

The first category is typically used to decorate festivals at shrines. Tomato lights are lanterns resembling huge balls. This type is generally coloured red, and rolling paper lamps are usually made in cylindrical shapes.Bars and restaurants use these types widely, while baby’s bottom lanterns are usually popular as decorative lights at Christmas. These are somewhat smaller compared to other illuminative paper lanterns.

Rolling paper lanterns are similar, with tall cylindrical forms. They are often used to decorate bars and restaurants. Finally, baby’s bottom lanterns are used widely as Christmas lights. They are considerably smaller than the other types of decorative lantern. Although Japanese paper lanterns are usually round in shape, other designs can be seen as well. Although red is also used, white is the traditional colour.

Before you start putting a plant in the ground to create your dream landscape you need to do some studying, you should begin to sharpen your critical eye. When passing a neighbor’s garden, look it over. Criticize it, get critical and decide how you would improve its landscape, you will soon shine new light of the design principles you learn from just looking with a critical eye and asking - how can I improve this.ed. (Do not rush in to tell the neighbor they might resent it. )

This is good exercise for the mind. While you do it, you will become familiar with the good and bad points of garden arrangements as they actually appear. In this way you will build a mental storehouse of gardening ideas on which you can call when designing your own property.

Plot Plan

Once you have pulled some ideas together it is time to begin putting together your plot plan. Now you will have to sit down and begin to draw a plan of your property.

If you like growing your own flowers, small vegetables, and herbs, a window greenhouse is a good alternative. You can have the benefits of fresh fruits and vegetable as well as blooming flowers all year long rather than needing to limit yourself to the summertime months. You can rapidly and easily make any window into a mini-greenhouse, however most individuals opt to use their kitchen window. In contrast to garden greenhouses, greenhouse windows need just a little bit of wall space and have the ability to let in lots of light while still leaving plenty of room for plants.

A greenhouse window is a boxy structure made to extend outwards from the house. It contains a top wall which slopes down from the back edge, in addition to side and front walls. You’ll almost certainly want to have a greenhouse window consisting of movable shelves. Furthermore, the choice between a vinyl or an aluminum greenhouse window is an important one.

Roof cleaning is the basic household activity that comes in the category of roof maintenance and should not be overlooked in order to prevent the growth of unwanted tiny organisms such as blue algae and moss on your roofs which makes it look unpleasant.

The slopes in your roof are deeply absorbed by these microbes. This is basically due to the absence of heat and sunlight in those areas. You can survive by this situation by employing roof shingles as they are known to restraint the spread of such organisms.

Roof cleaning is just a simple method that provides your roof a long life. Various ways by which you can effectively clean your roofs are mentioned below. The first is the brush and hose method in which you need to presoaks the affected area of roof for 7 days, this will remove moss the same day. Another method is to apply a recommended brush and make sure that your roof cleaning solution is wet at that time. After the moss leaves the roof just rinse it with water.