Osteospermum Care Over Winter

I mix half soil from my garden (that I have baked in the oven at 300 degrees or so for an hour) with compost that I have made here in the garden. Get them covered somehow.The bags you get comforters in work fine too..

Today we celebrate the Winter Solstice, the shortest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere, marking the first day of the winter season. Remnants of charred wood from the fires were saved to use for starting the fire the following year and ashes from...

There's usually no need to thin the seedlings after planting out the HOS. By fall, they'll have nice root systems, and I'll plant them out into the garden. However, my success rate seems better if I grow seedlings on for a while in pots before planting...

Once established, columbines don't require supplemental water in summer, so they do well in my unirrigated iris bed.and they repeat the purple, pink, magenta, yellow, and white palate of my iris bed for some wonderful color echoes.Columbine varieties...

With the great germination and survival rates of this method, you'll have gobs of seedlings to plant out for an explosion of color in your summer garden. Seedlings that have grown large enough to touch the sides and tops of their containers seem more...

If possible, provide shade by strategically placing other plants or structures on the south sides of thin barked trees and shrubs. Damage increases if ice storms are associated with heavy winds, and can result in additional breakage.

Obvious signs of disease and insect infestations should be removed and destroyed. It pays to choose carefully. Lycoris and other bulbs that have winter foliage, winter bedding plants like pansies and snapdragons, and winter vegetables should be fertilized...

This, without a doubt, was a solstice festival, but little is known about it, except as an aspect of the imperial cult; the emperor was often depicted as the sun at this period. In fact, we have very little direct information about the religious traditions...

Then I had to decide if I was going to arrange it by color or by value, by print size or by fiber. I started to write an article on the winter blues, but I got depressed. When finished, I stood back and looked at it all, and had to sit down quickly.

Learn about the metamorphosis of many world species such as the Blue Morpho, the Owl, the Zebra Longwing, and the Malachite; be introduced to butterfly farming for profit, which helps protect native rainforests.

While in this position you can feel any drafts, which may be affecting your chickens. Thehas a good tutorial for those that may want to try it. Chickens need more feed in the winter to keep their body heat up.

Little songbirds like warblers or finches may elude the Coops, but they fall onto the radar screen of the sharp-shins.Described in 1828 by a French biologist and ornithologist named Charles Lucien Bonaparte, a nephew of Napoleon Bonaparte, the bird was...

An old pot or a pan (red would be perfect) stands for its hat and a broom (or a stick) for its arm. The wonder on his face when he first saw a snowman was priceless! I made him a small one, as tall as he was at that time, so he could see it face to face...

Fifty-five years later, it became the first organic compound to be made synthetically when German chemist Friedrich Woeller produced it.Urea is used most popularly as a fertilizer due to its high levels of nitrogen.

Measure your distance by placing the maul where you wish to strike with arms fully extended, then step back a third or half step. Abruptly raise the maul overhead, extending arms high, straightening back and knees, and rising up on toes to gain maximum...

It gets dark at four-thirty and there is snow on the ground, but the happy little crocus pop through the cold to remind us that there is still life under the cold, sleepy ground. While a winter-flowering garden may not look as lush and colorful as the...

Grow lights are required for plants started this early in the year.These are just a few of my favorites, and may not work in every region at this time of year. Germination should occur within two weeks.

Leaves show yellow and red through gold, bronze, and a thousand shades of orange, andFrom about maple-sugaring time (when daytime temperatures first venture above freezing) until after the end of May is known as Mud Season in parts of New England and...

Under the best circumstances, many if not most of the bird species living or migrating through your neighborhood will visit your feeders. Feed just a few at a time...theyire pretty expensive and will be eaten quickly once the birds catch on.

The stark black of the scrollwork and leaves provides a lovely contrast to the brilliant, sparkling white, and giving the eye a nice break from the low, smooth surface of the yard beyond.

I'm going in the opposite direction down to the evergreens above the little creek. Up under the trees, there are looping trails where mice or voles have run out and back checking the weather or looking for seeds from the abundant cones.

Pine trees release sap naturally or in response to pruning, wounding or attack by insects or disease. The most important step when such symptoms arise is to identify the cause. The loss of some sap will not harm the tree.Remove branches that appear diseased...

Harvesting the compost before starting your winter compost heap will free up space for the new compost.is important if you live in an area that has harsh winter temperatures and strong winds.

A somewhat sheltered location that gets morning light is ideal. Since I tend to sow with a heavy hand, I often sow seeds in rows so they're easier to thin or transplant.Label your containers! Markers fade, and sticky labels fall off with winter weather.

They should be planted late in the fall at the same time you dig in the other spring-flowering bulbs.These small tubers need to be well-protected from harsh winter weather, so plant them about 5 inches deep from the base of the tuber to the surface of...

Place them along a pathway or near a window at the foundation so you can enjoy their scent when the clusters of tiny flowers appear.. The plant doesn't require cutting to enforce a nice compact shape, nor does it require pruning to control a wild growth...

It's also available in other colors, including dark green and silver.Now we're ready to install the arms. (As an alternative to the dowels, you can substitute small tree- or shrub branches, preferably ones with several small twigs at the tips to simulate...