Author: Katie G

Dried flowers, plants and herbs are another way to enjoy cut flowers. Whether those plants are from your garden, store bought or picked wild they are a longlasting keepsake of nature. Did you know that drying flowers is a craft you can do yourself?

Introduction to the Craft

Fortunately there are many flowers that dry well; so experiment with flowers that you like. Do not harvest growing plants until they are completely dry of any rain or dew. Pick them at the base of the stem for long lengths in arranging. Place cut flowers in a warm, dry area away from direct light. The simplist method of drying is air drying where the plants are hung from a wire to dry naturally.

Drying time varies considerably depending on air temperature and humidity. Once the drying is complete you should store them in a place that won’t require you to move them around frequently as they are delicate. Never store them in plastic containers or plastic bags as they will sweat and then rot. Keep them in a cardboard box with ventilation holes. If the flowers were preserved using silica gel, apply a thin layer of the gel to the bottom of the box.

Methods of Drying

For bulk drying large quantities air drying is the best method. Strip off unwanted leaves. Bunch the flowers together using an elastic band. Don’t bunch too many together or allow the flower heads to closely touch each other. Some very large heads are best dried individually.

If you tangle leaves and blooms together in the bunch they will stay in that position when dried. Hang them suspended from secure hooks in a place with air circulation. Drying time is anywhere from a few days to several weeks. You can tell they are ready when they feel quite crisp. Easy enough!

A very different process to get dried flowers involves using silica gel. It results in the flowers retaining spectacular color and appearing almost fresh. The silica gel (resembling rock salt) must be ground to fine granules. It can be reused countless times. This method works for flower heads. Once the flower head is totally dry you can begin. Egg cartons or small plastic flower pots are ideal as the holding area for the gel and flower head.

Tins can be used for a large quantity of flowers. The egg carton or pot must be filled 1/3 full of gel. Set in the flower head and start with the outer petals and work in. Gently spoon the gel between each petal. Do this until the head is fully covered.

Cover and check on them in 2 days. Remove flower heads when dry to avoid overdrying them. Large-headed flowers sometimes take 5 days. Be extremely gentle in removing the flower. Excess gel can be removed with a fine watercolor brush. To revive the flower’s color spray a bit of wax polish on it.

A suitable method for drying large flowers like sunflowers and peonies is to dry them flat. Lay them on a wire garden sieve and rest it on raised objects to create a space. Again, drying time can be 2 to 5 days. Another method for drying in emergencies uses an oven or microwave.

The trick is to set the temperature in a conventional oven at its very lowest setting. Drying will take 30 to 60 minutes. A microwave oven should be set very low. Check the plants very frequently. Try once each couple of minutes.

Glycerin is the perfect substance for preserving plants such as mimosa and gypsophila. Boil about 2 pints of water and add a large tablespoon of salt to dissolve in the water. After the water cools a little pour into a jar. Stand this jar in a bucket as support for the plant. Stand the stems in the hot water for 24 hours. Make a mixture of 1 part glycerin to 2 parts hot water.

Replace the old water with this new mixture and stand the plant in it up to 10 days. The leaves will look darker and feel slightly sticky when ready. During recent years dried floral arrangements have become popular and much loved. You can arrange your flowers in a container of your choosing. You could press flowers with a flower press instead of using previous drying methods explained in order to display your flowers flat.

About the Author:

Making”>http://www.zestbit.com/writerrighter/view/Making-Dried-Flowers.aspx”">Making Dried Flowers Written by writerrighter”>http://www.zestbit.com/members/writerrighter.aspx”">writerrighter. at Zestbit.com”>http://www.zestbit.com”">Zestbit.com | Questions and Answers

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/home-improvement-articles/making-dried-flowers-250281.html

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Author: Victor Epand

African violets can bloom any time of the year. They are indoor plants, and as such, are not under the constraints that other plants are to bloom seasonally. Some growers say their violets actually can bloom 12 months of the year; in other words, all the time. I, myself have found that after blooming for six to eight weeks my violets need to take a “rest” period of one to three months.

But, usually my violets are in bloom twice a year, sometimes three, and at six to eight weeks at a time that sums up to about five to six good months of blooms, not too shabby! They are especially lovely when blooming during the cold of winter, when their deep green foliage and bright colorful blooms are in contrast to the white snow or the gray landscape, outside the window. One thing that will contribute to violets’ potential to bloom year-round is to fertilize them every time they are watered. That, along with enough sunlight, humidity and warmth is the best recipe for African violets.

It is not uncommon for violets to “sport”. In other words, your white violet puts up a purple blossom, or pink blossom or some other color. When the hybridizer created your particular variety, they cross pollinated two violets, more than likely, one of them was purple. So your violet has reverted back to one of its parents. Will it go completely purple? That’s a good possibility. Why? Well some are just more “unstable” than others. I would guess the plant you bought was probably an Optimara violet.

Optimara violets are grown by a huge commercial grower in Nashville, Tenn. It was started by the Holtkamp family when they were in Germany. Eventually they came to this country and the family has carried on with violets for years and years. They are the biggest or at least one of the biggest commercial violet hybridizers and growers in the nation.

They produce plants for the home grower that uses window light. Folks like me that have ten lighted plant stands and a big room grow for show, I do grow Optimara violets, some of their plants make great show plants. However, when I do get one, I figure it has at least a 50% chance of sporting to a different color.

That makes it not blooming true so I couldn’t show it under the name that was given because the plant would not match the description they gave to the African Violet Society of America to register it. Complicated I know but that’s the rules and since I’m also an African Violet judge, I have to know those rules.

When a violet sports to a different color, it doesn’t mean you have done anything wrong. Although environment can be a factor, it is more likely that the plant is just not stable. Sometimes you get pretty interesting color combinations from the plant that sports. Sometimes it will change colors and never go back to the original color. In fact, all the plants that I have grown that sported never went back to the original color. You never know what you’ll wind up with sometimes.

As for repotting. If it has been over six months since you acquired the plant or since you have repotted, it would be a good idea to repot. But repotting into a pot that is too large will cause the roots to stay too soggy and your plant will not thrive. Violets like “tight feet” and they don’t like soggy roots. So overpotting and overwatering is a no,no. The general rule is the pot should be 1/3 the size of the plant. For example: If your plant is 12 inches across from leaf tip to leaf tip, then it should be in a four inch pot. The soil you use is important also.

Most of the soils labled for African Violets is junk! Way too heavy for violets. So I would try to find a very light soil. Sunshine makes a good one, Optimara makes a good one. You can use one labeled for violets but be sure to add at least 50% or more perlite to the mix. That makes it lighter. You can usually find everything you need at Wal-Mart or a good nursery might have what you need. Most good violet soils are 1/3 peat moss, 1/3 perlite and 1/3 vermiculite. But you should be able to find a “ready made” one.

The most important factor in getting African Violets to bloom is light-Insufficient light is probably the most common reason for failure of African violets to flower. They need at least six to eight hours per day in order to flower. South or west windows will give you the best light this time of the year. You can also use artificial lighting.

They do best in daytime temperatures of 70 to 90 and nighttime temps of 65-70. They also like high humidity, which you can offer by placing the pot into a pebble tray-fill a small tray with pebbles and place the pot into this tray. Keep filled with water, this will create humidity around the plant. Never mist an African Violet or any plant with ‘hairy’ leaves.

Allow the soil to become dry to the touch between waterings. Pour water until it is coming out of the drain holes. Try not to splash water onto the leaves. Add a 20-20-20 fertilizer at least once a month. I believe it is Miracle Grow that makes one just for African Violets.

About the Author:

Victor Epand is an expert consultant for http://www.SendFlowers4.info/. SendFlowers4.info is a great place to shop for flowers, gift baskets, and plants when you are looking for a special gift. Start here to search by “Special Occasion”: http://www.SendFlowers4.info/category/occasions.html.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/gardening-articles/african-violet-an-indoor-plant-162044.html

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Author: Lee Dobbins

There is nothing more wonderful than relaxing in your guarded and watching the jeweled flight of humming birds and butterflies as they go about their business in your garden. But if you don’t often see hummingbirds and butterflies in your garden, it’s not because they don’t like you, it’s probably because they don’t like your plants!

Hummingbirds and butterflies are attracted to certain types of plants because they drink the nectar from them. Therefore its chance to reason if you want to attract them to your garden and one of the types of plants that they like. Now this doesn’t mean that you have to limit yourself to just a few types of plants because there are many different shrubs and flowers that hummingbirds and butterflies love.

when choosing flowers for your garden, you need to keep in mind the zone that you live in and whether you are planting it in a shady or sunny spot and by plant that will thrive under those conditions. The Red Columbine, for example, will attract hummingbirds and can be grown in zones 2 through 8. The vibrant red color of the plant will look beautiful in your garden as it blooms early in the season and will attract the birds just returning home.

If you want a tall a plant that you could stick at the back of the garden you might consider the Delphinium which grows in zones 2 to 9 and can reach up to 5 feet in height. This is a great flowering plant for any garden scheme as you can get it in a variety of colors.

If you want flocks of butterflies in the fall then you will want to plant a butterfly bush but beware these can grow very, very tall. These also attract hummingbirds and if you add a verbena bush alongside hanging fuchsia you’ll have an area that is very attractive to these beautiful winged creatures.

Marigolds are a common plan but they do produce nectar that butterflies love in a rather inexpensive so you can feel free to fill up your garden with these colorful flowers. Sunflowers are fun to have in the fall and also attract butterflies plus the seeds from the sunflowers make great food for your garden birds.

One thing to consider when attracting butterflies to your garden is the type of butterfly that you want. Certain flowers attract certain types of butterfly’s. The Rabbit Brush and Canada Thistle will attract monarch butterflies while the Geraniums and Lilacs will attract Swallowtails. Queen butterflies like daisies and the Gray Hairstreak plant is a good one to attract all different kinds of butterflies. Of course, you can’t attract butterflies if they’re not native to the area so you might want to research what types of butterflies are native to your area as well as which plants and native plants according.

In addition to planting flowers that hummingbirds and butterflies like, you might want to add a source of water which will be useful for all kinds of birds as well as butterflies. Getting a nice birdbath, or just put out water set out in dishes will provide for your little winged friends. Of course, you want to be sure that you provide a healthy environment for them too, so be sure that you clean out the birdbath or water dish frequently and also be careful when adding bug sprays or insecticides as some of these can be harmful to birds and butterflies.

About the Author:
Lee Dobbins writes for Backyard Garden where you can learn more about gardening and choosing garden flowers.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/gardening-articles/garden-plants-that-attract-hummingbirds-and-butterflies-97522.html

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Author: Patrick Cash

Perennials, by definition, are plants that live for three or more years. This would stretch from dandelions to redwoods and many species in between. When refers to perennials, they are talking about flowering garden plants with herbaceous stems. These plants die down to the soil’s surface in winters while the root remains alive and ready to send fresh growth in the spring. The durability of the roots sets them apart. They come back unprompted year after year and set the garden ablaze with color from April to November. Perennials flower abundantly and multiply without being coaxed. They are easy to grow and tolerate considerable neglect. Perennials include delphiniums, columbines, daisies and peonies.

Annuals sprout from seed, bear fruit, seeds and flowers and die - all in a single year.
Biennials spend their first years growing, produce flowers and seeds in the second year- and then die. Sweet William, foxglove, Canterbury bell and wallflower are some of the common biennials.

Flowering perennials are noticeably long lived. The first recorded appearance of peonies dates back to 1864. Delphiniums thrive for seven to eight years where summers and winters are moderate. Day lilies, coreopsis, acanthus, lavender cotton and false indigo grow beautifully in a warm and humid climate. The dry and windy places do not lack for perennials. Oriental poppies, garden phlox, bearded irises, day lilies, chrysanthemum and many others flourish there.

The first challenge while growing perennials is to obtain continuity of color by planting various varieties to flower at different times. The aim is to present a charming array of color from early spring to late fall. However, a rare perennial flowers all of the growing season.
Another problem is to keep the assorted perennials from overgrowing one another in the beds and creating a mess. Some perennials like chrysanthemums spread so fast that they require drastic control methods like annual digging up and division of the roots. Others never outgrow their allotted space. Therefore, the planting has to be planned well in advance taking the characteristics of the various plants into consideration.

The third challenge while growing perennials is to obtain maximum results with minimum work. Good perennial gardens require plenty of air circulation. Stagnant air encourages plant diseases especially in humid places. They require abundant sunshine. Day lilies, columbine and leopards bane will tolerate shade whereas some like Japanese anemone, plantain lilies, yellow corydalis, western bleeding heart and Siberian bugloss will thrive in it. However, the majority will sprout spindly stems with few flowers without ample sun.

Finally, good perennial gardens require well-prepared soil. The soil should be moisture retentive as well as well drained. It should be rich enough to sustain the plants for many years and should be loose enough to permit air and water to reach the roots.
Not all gardens have all the characteristics. Given the air circulation and the sunshine, the rest can be prepared. Once the garden area has been finalized, you can move onto planning the type and location of the various plants.

About the Author:
If you would like to find out more about starting a lawn care service and running your own sucessful lawn care business be sure and check out our site at http://www.lawncare-business.com.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/gardening-articles/growing-perennials-33777.html

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