Winter injury in herbaceous and woody perennials may be caused by a number of things. One factor is that many of the plants go into winter in a “green” or immature condition. This is caused when plants receive too much moisture during the late part of the season. If it is due to too much rainfall, not much can be done about it, but if artificial watering is practiced, it should be reduced at this season. Hence it is good advice not to overwater perennials too much at this time of the year, so that maturity is encouraged.

This applies as well to deciduous shrubs and trees, and evergreens. The drier period during the fall starts certain chemical changes in the plant so that they are better prepared to stand cold weather when winter sets in. This does not mean that the plants should go into the winter in a very dry condition. At about the time light frosts occur, a thorough watering of all perennial plants will help to put them in better condition for winter survival.

Fall is a good planting season for many herbaceous perennials and a must for the planting of spring flowering bulbs. In the West area, fall planting is questionable for a great number of our deciduous shrubs and trees. If fall planting is done, it should be started as soon as the plants show signs of dormancy. Unless the job is urgent, the average gardener will find it best to wait until spring to do most of his tree and shrub planting. Survival is likely to be much better. Successful fall planting depends on a long fall season, so that plants may establish a good root system before winter sets in.

A number of perennials can be divided and transplanted at this time of the year. Peonies, Oriental poppies, bleeding heart, asparagus and rhubarb are such plants that will benefit from fall transplanting aside from corn plant, especially if the clumps have become crowded, overgrown or weed-ridden. Normally, they do not need frequent dividing unless such conditions exist like in corn plant care.

Although irises are best transplanted around midsummer, this job can be done in the fall. Shasta daisies may also be divided and reset at this time of year.

In this “entrance” area, the aim is to create a pleasant setting for the house and a welcoming entrance to it. Since the house dominates the picture, particularly on a small property, plants should be arranged to bring out its good points and mask poor ones. A common mistake is to make the planting so elaborate and colorful that it distracts rather than complements.

On most properties the approach area needs to be defined on the sides by fences, hedges or shrub borders. The converging lines of these boundaries lead the eye to the house.

Frame the House with Foliage

The first step in planning the view of your property from the road is to frame the house with masses of foliage. If you have enough room, place trees or large groups of shrubs to the front and sides of the house. On a narrow lot you will probably have only enough space for one or two shrubs or trees.

These masses of foliage should be in scale with the house and property. They should be dark or mid green, and of average texture and habit of growth. Plants of outstanding character, such as golden-leaved mock orange or Koster’s spruce, are too showy to use here; save them to use where you want emphasis.

To soften the corners and set off some of the attractive features of the house, arrange a few shrubs near the base of the wall. In most cases a very few plants are better than the masses of foundation planting so common around houses on high concrete foundations.

Choose shrubs for their proper height, habit of growth and foliage texture. It is a mistake to choose them for their bloom as it is usually only present for a few days each summer.

Native trees and different zone 10 trees, such as pines, spruce and cedar, do not belong near the walls of a house. Instead, choose plants that, when full-grown, will not hide the desirable lines of the house or shut out light from the windows unless such shade is needed. The height and form of the plants at maturity determine the way in which the eye will travel.

Herbaceous plants are sometimes used at the base of a building but their form changes from season to season. They give no feeling of performance because they have no constant mass effect. Though colorful and attractive, neither they nor spring-flowering bulbs and annual flowers can take the place of permanent woody plants.

The bloom is not the only attractive part. Few perennials are so colorful in May and June and then retain such fine, abundant foliage throughout the growing season as do the peonies. In the flower border, peony foliage provides a bold mass of rich green as a background for later flowers.

Peonies are one of the backbone perennials for the hardy flower border. Large plantings achieve a glorious panorama of beauty. Hedges of peonies may be very effective. They are also good when used as borders in the vegetable garden. Because of their splendid summer foliage they are frequently used in foundation plantings around the house.

Planting Time

September and October are usually considered the best months of the year for planting new peonies or dividing and replanting old ones and also guzmania bromeliad plant. If roots have been dug in the fall and properly stored during the winter, they can be planted in the spring with good results, but are not so likely to bloom the first year as are those which were planted early enough in fall to make considerable new root growth before cold weather. Guzmania bromeliad plant and other plants do best in full sun but will tolerate a little shade. Poor results may be expected where peonies are planted near selfish trees or shrubs which crowd the plants and take for themselves the moisture and plant food rightfully belonging to the helpless peonies.

They should be given plenty of room in the flower border since they are happy to live in a good site for many years without being disturbed, and in a few seasons will attain a spread of from three to four feet.

Peonies choose a good, loamy garden soil, heavy enough to include plenty of food and on the alkaline side. Since the plants are deep-rooted and are to remain in the same location for years, it would seem fitting to prepare rather large, deep holes conditioned with ground limestone, wood ashes, bone meal and well-rotted cow manure. Three to five bud or eye divisions are considered the satisfactory size to purchase from the commercial grower.

Buying things for your garden and for your home is always exciting and it can sometimes be very easy to overspend. However, if you want to save a few pennies but you’re interested in improving your garden then you should consider mulch. Mulch bark is a great way to decorate your borders and it can actually help improve the growth of plants and stop the growth of weeds.

If you place this stuff properly, you will find that it’s helpful to your plants but it can also control the growth of weeds which is great. Most of the time, you’ll find this sort of material in parks and the park mulch that they use is normally surrounding the play area. This is because it’s easy to keep and it’s very low maintenance.

There are lots of options to choose from and you may find it difficult to make up your mind. Well, if that’s the case then you should read on to learn how to choose the right products for your needs. You will also need to set yourself a budget so that you don’t overspend.

Don’t rush into anything before you have had time to think things through. You don’t want to waste money you want to save money so take your time. It could be worth setting aside a few hours of your time to concentrate on finding a range of garden products to help you establish a low maintenance outside space.

You will then need to think about the mulch you’re looking for. There are a huge range of options available on the web but you will need to consider your specific needs. Take your time while you shop online and make sure that you don’t end up wasting money on a deal that’s not worth it.

You will easily find mulch on today’s market – you just have to know where to look. Have a browse on a few websites and see what you can find. If you perform some searches in Google you’ll more than likely be confronted with several offers and deals that are worthwhile.

If you’re wondering how exactly a solar shed differs from an ordinary shed then consider how a power ballad differs from a standard ballad. It’s a rotten analogy but the point is simple – the difference is that word “power” and, where our shed is concerned, solar power in particular.

A major problem is immediately obvious though in the name itself; garden sheds are, well, out in the garden. In other words not easy to connect to the main domestic power supply. This would traditionally entail laying an electrical cable out towards the shed.

This then entails digging up vast tracts of garden for a trench in which to safely bury and protect said cable from the next oaf with a shovel. And even if you get that far it’s all a terrible fire risk anyway – sheds being wooden buildings and all.

At this point you might want to ask yourself what it was you thought you needed 110 volts (or a more meaty 220v in Europe) for exactly? The answer to this question varies, of course, in direct proportion to the number of people asked.

You might want to over-winter tender plants, use it as a potting shed, or a simple workshop. Some folk just like to have a place they can go and read the newspaper or a book in peace, sheltered from the elements. More ambitious types might aim to setup a reasonably well equipped office or study complete with computers and basic heating.

However, there are certain elements you will need almost regardless of your specific plans for your shed. Chief amongst these has to be lighting – if you can’t see what you’re doing then you may as well call the whole thing off. Next comes any tools, appliances or other electrically powered devices. Finally you might want to give some thought to cooling/heating if it can get either very hot or cold where you are.

So now we’re back to the issue of power. Thankfully though, a characteristic feature of sheds is the huge area of wasted space called the roof which is helpfully divided into two planes angled just right to take a solar panel (or several).

Modern solar panels are remarkably effective and will relentlessly convert sunlight into electricity day after day, even when it’s not especially sunny. All that is required is to rig up some means of storing all this free electricity, and for that you may offer your thanks to Count Alessandro Giuseppe Antonio Anastasio Volta who thoughtfully invented the voltaic pile, otherwise known as the battery.

One of the many cute aspects of solar panels is that they invariably output 12 volts (thanks again Count Volta) DC which is coincidentally (or not) exactly what all “low-voltage” power packs, lighting and other appliances use as input. So when you’re using any of this kit during the day it’s automatically kept topped up on trickle charge, and the surplus can be diverted to a larger deep-cycle battery for use when the sun goes down.

And the next day the whole cycle repeats itself, costing precisely nothing and polluting precisely nothing. So if you want to setup a low-cost home office, write the greatest novel of the 21st century or just have a cosy, peaceful retreat to study or relax then consider a solar shed.