Gardening Basics
Flowers are the plants that give a garden most of its color and fragrance. Some can withstand the weather on their habitat. Gardeners must plan on how to plant during the months of planting, so as to avoid their growing state. Still, some plants live for many years, flowering every summer.
Some plants have flowers all summer but most bloom only for a short time. Some, like certain rosebushes, have flowers only once during the early summer, but others bloom several times.
Good gardeners learn how long after planting they can expect a flower to bloom. They can work out a timetable of flowers, so there will always be some in bloom. Sometimes, gardeners plant seed in pots indoors at a special time and replant them outdoors before the plants bloom.
Trees provide beauty and shade, and some supply fruits and nuts. Very few home gardeners grow trees from seeds because this method requires more care and time than they usually want to give. Instead, most gardeners buy trees from a nursery, where trees, shrubs, and plants are raised and sold.
A tree grows slowly when compared to a flower, but a tree may live for a hundred years. A tall, sturdy tree is a magnificent reward for gardeners who have spent many years taking care of it. They must fertilize and prune it properly, as well as fight off diseases and insects that attack it.
Many gardeners do not grow vegetables, although raising them is as much fun and no more trouble than growing flowers. Tomatoes, onions and peppers can be raised in a window box. Tomatoes may even grow in flower pot. Sometimes, when the weather is still cool, gardeners plant vegetable seeds in pots indoors. They later remove the plants from the pots and plant them in the ground.
A garden that is little larger than a classroom can provide all the vegetables a family of four will need for a year. After planting vegetables, the gardener must protect them from diseases, insect pests, birds and as well as other small animals.
