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Green Thumb

Gardening has been a lifelong passion for Wende and she’d like to share her passion with her readers. Follow her as she writes about her gardening adventures, lists tasks to do depending on the season, and gives easy to understand gardening advice.

Ideas for Container Gardening

annual, bloom, color, container gardening, design, fertilize, flower, garden, outdoor, perennial, planning, plant, spring, water

Now that Spring is here (almost) I'm sure the gardeners reading this are starting to dream of beautiful flowers blooming in their yards.  It's also the time for gardening catalogs showing up in mailboxes, sales flyers for Steins and coupons from smaller greenhouses.  I always treasure The Gardener's Idea Book from Proven Winners that comes in the mail.  I got on their email list a few years ago and they automatically mail it out.  http://www.provenwinners.com/ Proven Winners are particularly hardy annuals, perennials and shrubs and are available at several outlets. Their website will search for retailers near you.  If you are a beginning gardener, they have lists of the easiest plants to grow and will make you look like a star if you follow their advice and water and feed your plants correctly.

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Fall Gardening Tasks

bulb, care, dry, Fall, fertilize, grass, lawn, outdoor, perennial, pine, plant, protect, rose, shrub, tree, water, winter, yard, fertilize

There's still time to plant fall bulbs - the ground doesn't really freeze until about Thanksgiving.  Water them well and mulch after planting for great results in the spring.

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What Can I Plant Under Pine Trees?

flower, garden, perennial, plant, plants, planting bed, tree, water, wisconsin, yard, dry, pine, acidic

I've been asked this several times and last week I responded off the top of my head azaleas, rhododendrons, hydrangeas, and some types of berries.  But then I got to thinking.... it would be nice to be able to plant a bigger variety of things under pines, since that understory of empty space seems like such a wasteland.  I did some online research and came up with many choices and some that I will definitely try! 

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Lawn Care in the Hot Summer

lawn, water, weed, fertilize, care

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Healthy Roses

rose, garden, landscape, plants, prevention, water

"Roses are a favorite in so many gardens. But let's face it, those gorgeous flowers are sometimes accompanied by various rose diseases and pests. Is there an alternative to regular pesticide applications to keep these beauties producing the blossoms we so covet? Definitley, but it takes starting with the right rose and just a little attention throughout the season."  via www.rose.org

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Preparing a New Planting Bed

garden, landscape, outdoor activity, pest, plants, water, yard, planting bed, vegetable, prepare

I get asked often about how to start a new planting bed - for flowers, veggies, whatever.  We had a planting bed on the side of the house that got all day sun, and had very little growing there, so we decided to use it to grow tomatoes and peppers.  I documented the steps in pictures as we went through it. 

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Yard Problems To Look For

education, garden, home, landscape, yard, tree, water

There has been a few days in the last couple of weeks that were nice enough to get out into my yard.  I was itching to get out there!  I moved into my current home in late November, so I had no clue as to what types of perennials or bulbs or woody shrubs I had.  I'm anxious to assess the yard, see what is already there and determine what stays and what goes. There are a lot of things I want to change about it - and I was making mental notes as I did a thorough walk around.  There are many aesthetic things I want to change, but there are a few things that if not corrected quickly will result in bad things happening. Here's a few of the bad things I found:

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