There is nothing else more beautiful than May in Lithuania, when warm and wet weather finally arrives and all the plants sprout just in one night. Mother nature press a magic button, and all the greenery starts to change it`s garment into the eyes. It`s the time when I always keep something in my hands [...]
These are annual or perennial herbaceous plants. Their leaves are arranged in rosettes. The flower heads of species daisies are 1-2 cm in diameter, while those of the cultivars are 3-8 cm wide. They flower in April and May, but if lawn is regularly mown (which prevents plants from blooming in due time) the flowering [...]
Spring is the perfect time to divide and plant herbaceous perennials. After 2-5 years clumps of most perennials become overcrowded and their vigour deteriorates. As a result plants produce fewer flowers, and loose some of their ornamental value. As a general rule, spring is the best time to divide and plant summer- and autumn-flowering plants (starting with mid-June), and ornamental grasses (miscanthus, reed grass, feather grass).
Most bulbs are planted in autumn to flower next spring. Usually tulips are planted in early October, when soil temperature at the depth of 10-12 cm drops to +10C. If autumn is warm, tulips can be planted throughout October, even as late as early November. Experienced growers maintain that one can plant tulips even in midwinter, as long as the ground is not frozen over. Bear in mind that mulching with a 25cm layer of sawdust, peat or compost is absolutely necessary in such case. Bulbs root within three weeks – this is how long it should take before the ground completely freezes over. If planted too early, bulbs will break into growth too soon.
One of the most spectacular of autumn flowers – dahlia – unfortunately is not hardy enough to overwinter outside. However, be in no rush to lift them – many late-season blooms will still be produced during warm autumn days; while minor frosts cause little damage to dahlias, if their tubers are mounded. Start lifting dahlias, [...]
Insects fascinate us with their colours, variety and fragility. They are mostly beneficial to the garden, with only 2 percent out of 2000 species of butterflies, native to Lithuania, being harmful. The good news is that these useful insects can be attracted into the garden with some simple techniques. Most butterflies are pollinators, especially of [...]
Seedlings start flowering same year after sowing, in their fourth month. The growth of delphiniums halts, when seeds ripen, so inflorescences are best removed after the flowering is over. Delphiniums may flower repeatedly in autumn, if the spent blooms have been removed. Bear in mind that this wears the plant down, as it does not have time to set new buds, which may result in less than spectacular flowering next year.
May is brimming with warm weather, sun and the promise of summer. It is also the time when nasty blankets of green filamentous algae appear on ponds. The mere sight of these algae drives into desperation owners of water features, and especially of the smaller kind. The green algae are not all bad - they absorb quantities of water-soluble nitrates and phosphates before other aquatic plants spring into action.
The best time to plant rhododendrons is either in spring, from early April to mid-May, as soon as soil warms up, or in autumn, from early September to early October, so that plants would still have time to root the ground freezes over. Rhododendrons can be planted any other time, if need be, except when in flower or when new shoots are growing fast, which is usually after, and sometimes during, the flowering period.
Came March, and a keen gardener starts sowing vegetables with a long days to maturity period. These are vegetables which take 50 to 80 days from seed sowing to transplanting outside or into the greenhouse. The sowing time depends a lot on whether you have a heated greenhouse. And sure, on your country`s hardiness zone. [...]
