…wild ginger,

…a camouflaged mailbox,

…mutant Queen Anne’s Lace? Genetically altered Joe Pye Weed? (My best guess - Giant Hogweed),

…how many shrubs I could fit in my car,

…a beautiful iron gate,

…a cluster of birdhouses,

and a seedhead at sunset.

If you massed your plantings in one large container, I found this cool tool at Gardener’s Supply Company that I think would work especially well for separating the individual plants for transplanting into their new outdoor homes.

The serrated edges allow you to easily cut through roots and the wide, curved, spoon-shaped scoop makes easy work of moving seedlings into their new individual homes.

Your seedlings have been transplanted into single pots for the last few weeks and have been hardened off slowly. Now you are ready to set them out into the garden. Handle them carefully being gentle with the tiny leaves and the stems. Tomatoes can be planted down as far as the first set of leaves. Firm the soil around and water with a transplanting solution if you wish. Little seedlings grow well when the temperatures are not too hot. Because it has been such a cool spring, however, you may need to provide protection. You can use good old-fashioned tomato cages wrapped with plastic for any seedlings until the weather warms, or you can check out some high-tech gardening accessories like Red Tomato Teepees or Kozy Coats.

I’ve always liked the looks of those Victorian cloches and even have a couple for fun, but they’re not very practical for a real garden. Long ago, we used old clay tiles - they protected seedlings from the wind and absorbed heat to warm them as well. They are a little hard to find nowadays.

More Reasons For Wearing Gardening Gloves

In a recent post I talked about the importance of wearing gardening gloves as protection against tetanus - a most compelling reason in itself. Just in case that wasn’t persuasive enough, I thought I’d give you a few more good reasons and tell you about my favorite gardening gloves.

PROTECTION

Gardening gloves offer protection against:

• slivers from wood mulch, shovels with wood handles, and other wooden-handled garden tools and implements such as rakes, cultivators and wheelbarrows
• thorns from roses or prickly shrubs such as barberry, hawthorn, firethorn, and some junipers
• dry skin from handling soil ( I find that soil sucks all the moisture out of my hands leaving them very dry and chapped)
• allergic reactions (contact with many coniferous trees and shrubs causes my skin to break out in a hot, itchy rash)

continue reading "Get a Grip on Gardening Gloves"

While some birds prefer to go the diy birdhouse route - tweaking their nests till they’re just right, most birds are more than happy to take advantage of the bird feeders or feeding stations we humans supply and set up for them.

In keeping with the modern theme started in an earlier post on modern birdhouses, here are some examples of modern bird feeders guaranteed to please the bird with a penchant for clean lines and minimalism.

1. Pip Pip Bird Feeder at FunctionAlley £66.00
2. Eva Solo Feeder Ball $56.00 USD
3. Bird Ball Peanut Feeder at Garden Boutique £34.95
4. Eva Solo Bird Table $154.99 USD
5. Lunchbox Birdfeeder at perch! $84.00 USD
6. Birdfeeder at perch! $84.00 USD
7. Egg Bird Feeder by J Schatz $135.00 USD
8. Nido Bird Feeder by Blomus $36.29 USD
9. Anidar Bird Feeder by Blomus $72.59 USD
10. Nido Covered Bird Feeder by Blomus $72.59 USD
11. Fuera Bird Feeder by Blomus $110.00 USD

Have you ever considered that maybe birds get tired of the same old barn board trend and would like to set up house in a more clean, contemporary space? I’ve come across a number of modern birdhouses that would be sure to satisfy the tastes of even the most discriminating of birds.

For people, sometimes a rustic birdhouse just doesn’t work with the overall aesthetic of your modern / contemporary house and yard design.
These modern birdhouses might make a few of you happy too!

1. Malcolm Leland 21L Bird Shelter by Vessel/Architectural Pottery $175.00 USD
2. Egg Birdhouse by J Schatz $135.00 USD
3. Round Stainless Steel Birdhouse by Tom Dukich $179.95 USD
4. Teardrop Stainless Steel Birdhouse by Tom Dukich $199.95 USD
5. Lantern Birdhouse by Jonathan Adler at haus modern living $150.00 USD
6. Ceramic Orb Modern Birdhouse at Olive Barn $19.00 USD
7. Ralph Modern Birdhouse from Modern Birdhouses $195.00 USD
8. Richard Modern Birdhouse from Modern Birdhouses $195.00 USD
9. J.R. Modern Birdhouse from Modern Birdhouses $195.00 USD
10. Roost Birdhouse from Hepper Home $125.00 USD
11. Architect Series Type a01 from NeoShed $200.00 USD
12. Nidusa Birdhouse - Art. Lebedev Studio $100.00 USD
13. Piep-Show-XXL from Radius Design €129.00

The methods we gardeners use for recording and keeping track of garden plans, plant successes and unfortunately at times, garden failures is varied. Some gardeners rely on simple spiral notebooks, scraps of paper or file boxes, while others prefer to use specially designed garden journals, online garden journals, garden journal software or their own computer spreadsheets. For those of you just getting started in this glorious pastime of gardening or those looking to improve upon their current system I thought I’d provide a few examples of some of the different options available for garden record keeping and the type of information you may want to record. Hope you find it helpful!

continue reading "Garden Record Keeping - Journal Options"

I recently received an email that included this picture.

It looks like some sort of weapon of mass destruction, however, after scrolling further down in my email message, I came to discover that it is more of a tool for mass relaxation. Well maybe not mass, but it will certainly seat a group of four.

continue reading "Weapon, Art or Patio Furniture?"

To keep things simple, I’ll present these Christmas gift ideas in list fashion. Each item is linked to pictures and a location where it can be purchased.

Garden Journal- to keep track of those important and noteworthy garden happenings

Wall Tattoos - for indoor garden enjoyment all year round

Shufflers- a new take on the old slipper standby

continue reading "32 Christmas Gift Ideas for the Gardener"

Do you have gardeners on your Christmas gift list? Put together a gift package with a garden theme!

Before all the gardening stuff disappears from the store shelves to make room for sleds and snow shovels, pick up a some special things to include in a gift package for your favorite gardener.

Here are some garden-themed items you can include:

continue reading "Christmas Gift Ideas - Make A Garden Gift Package"

It’s never too early to begin your Christmas shopping. Here are some fantastic ‘green’ gift ideas from Roots- one of my favorite environmentally-concious places to shop, :

Any woman would love a pair of these comfortable Bamboo Fold Over Pants- perfect for lounging at home or going out and about!
Topped with a Stretch Bamboo T Shirtand a cosy Bamboo Hoody- she’ll be good to go!

What about the FR300 Crank Radio? Batteries are not included, but the good news is, they’re not required! Wind it up to power the AM/FM Radio, light the LED flashlight, sound a siren or charge a cellphone.

Don’t forget about accessories!

Those fashion-minded individuals will definitely appreciate the funky style of a Plaid Hemp Che Cap.