In many cultures, gardening is seen as a sacred duty, but other cultures have turned plant cultivation into a kind of meditation. The most well-known art of this sort is bonsai.

Bonsai’s Origin
Bonsai is the Japanese art of pruning and caring for small, potted trees. The art actually began in China, where it was called penjing. It was used as a way to enhance focus and bring about relaxation.  Buddhist monks have practiced this living art since 800 AD.

Species Matters
When choosing the type of tree you want, take into account the type of tree you’d like. If you’d like a flowering tree, cherry and azalea are great choices. Pines and maples are popular non-flowering species.  Ideal trees for bonsai all include the following features:

-The ability to grow new buds on old wood

-Minimal distances between root nodes

-Leaves which can be produced in smaller sizes

-Ability to survive root disturbance

Growing Pointers
Once you choose your species, do a little research on it. If the species is from an area that has hard winters, it needs cooler temperatures for part of the year. If it’s a tropical variety, prolonged higher temperatures are in order.

Sunlight
Most species need a fair amount of sunlight. To make sure the plant is getting enough, turn it for the inside facing side to get enough light about twice a month. It’s a good idea to let it have some time outside once in a while, too.

Pruning
The trick to proper pruning is to only cut when new growth matures. The idea is to keep new growth balanced with old growth.

Nourishment
Since the small pot holds little soil, it’s best to re-pot the tree about twice a year. When you do so, trim about one third of the roots and add a slow release fertilizer to encourage maximum nutrient absorption without much growth.

Water
It’s vital not to over water your tree. If the top of the soil is dry, but the underlying layer is slightly damp, it’s at the right balance. If the air is too dry, mist the leaves occasionally.

A bonsai adds interest to your unique garden, whether it’s indoor or outdoor.

If you’re dreaming of gardening, springtime can seem like it’s ages away. Luckily, late winter is the best time to start tomato seeds inside.  Since well-established plants are available in abundance at garden centers and nurseries once the weather is warm enough to transplant, you might wonder if it’s worth the effort to start your own.  If you’re still uncertain as to why to go through the process, consider these points.

Variety:   Nurseries usually carry hardier tomatoes, due to short growing seasons. If your garden center doesn’t offer your preferred species, you can start it from seed instead.

Healthier:  Plants – especially tomatoes –  can catch diseases easily, so you don’t know what bugs you may be bringing home with your plant. At home, you control what the plants are exposed to.

Grow Your Favorites:   When you find a tomato that fits perfectly in your garden, you can save the seeds for next year.

All you need to do is:  Remove and rinse the seeds; dry them; seal in a labeled envelope; keep them in a dark, cool place.

Starting Tomato Plants From Seed Is Easy

To start your seeds, you’ll need the following:

Soil
Spray bottle
Containers
Seeds
Plastic wrap

Instructions:

Container Prep:   Clean the containers first, especially if they have been used for planting before.  A rinse in a weak bleach solution will kill any harmful bacteria.  Fill the containers to an inch from the rim with damp soil.

Seed planting:  Poke two or three holes in each container with your little finger. Once you drop a seed in each hole, pat the soil gently over it, and label the containers.

Mini-Greenhouse:  To turn each container into a greenhouse, cover it with lightly with the plastic wrap and set them in the sun. Once your seedlings peek out, remove the plastic.

Nurture:   Keep the soil damp and rotate the seedlings if they start bending. Once the second set of leaves appear, add half-strength liquid fertilizer once a week.

Repot:   When the plants are three inches in height and have their second set of true leaves, replant each one into their own pot.

Ready Them For the Garden:  To harden the plants, blow a fan on them for an hour every day. If it’s over 50 degrees outside, set them out for an hour instead.

Move Them Outside:  Once frost is passed and temperatures are over 50 degrees at night, move them into your garden. When you plant them up to the first set of leaves, they’ll grow more roots and have a sturdier base.  From there, watch your plants flourish and enjoy the fruits of your labor!

Whether your garden consists of edibles, flowers, foliage plants, or a mix of all of these, your landscape can be transformed with the right design. 

It may be too early to start your produce garden outdoors, and you may just be starting to plan out your plots, but it’s not too early to do some serious planting – indoors, that is.  While we usually think of vegetable gardens as being located outdoors, there are many varieties which can be successfully grown indoors ni containers.  Add to that the many herbs you can cultivate on your kitchen windowsill, and you have the availability of an entire fresh produce selection right in your own kitchen!  Here are some suggestions and tips for successful indoor veggie gardening.

Herbs:  Most herbs are relatively compact, and you can keep them small by frequently harvesting and pinching back.  They need sunshine, so keep the pots on a sunny windowsill.

Dwarf Varieties:  Some plants come in a dwarf (also called miniature or midget) variety that will do well indoors, provided they have at least half a day of sunshine.  These include:  dwarf citrus, dwarf carrot, radishes, beets, baby bush cucumbers, and peppers which grow in compact form.  Check with your local nursery or garden center to see what they have available.   For a more complete list, visit this site.  One of the beautiful advantages of growing dwarf produce inside during the winter is that you can move the containers outdoors when the weather warms up.  Dwarf produce is also a great choice for a small yard.  You don’t need a full vegetable garden – just tuck a plant in here and there among your flowers or shrubs.

Hanging Baskets:  If you’re short on floor space, consider planting varieties that grow well in baskets.  These include tomatoes, beans, cucumbers, and even some potatoes.  Strawberries also do well in hanging baskets.  Planting in baskets is of two types:  traditional erect planting, and upside down.  There are special inverted baskets you can buy to hang plants such as tomatoes and potatoes upside down, but you can also drill a hole in the bottom of a plastic bucket and insert a transplant once its root system is well established.  When the weather is warm, you can move your baskets outdoors to hang near your patio or deck.  If you’ve got an outdoor kitchen, you may appreciate the convenience of a hanging salad garden right at your fingertips!

Hydroponics:  Tomatoes and cucumbers are among the most popular indoor hydroponic (water-growing) varieties.  Hydroponic plants require no soil.

Whatever you choose to plant, you may want to consider adding a grow light or two.  There are special fixtures available, or you can simply substitute a grow light bulb for one of your regular lightbulbs.  Grow lights can give your plants a boost if you don’t have much indoor sunshine.  But if you’ve got an area of your home with a lot of southern exposure, your plants should do just fine with the natural light.

Remember to avoid putting plant containers too near a heat source, and keep them away from drafts and cold window panes.  If your home tends to be on the dry side in the winter, a humidifier can help provide sufficient moisture.

You may find once you embark on an indoor produce growing project that you love having fresh veggies through the winter so much that your next home improvement project will be adding on a greenhouse!  Or you could keep it smaller and start with an outdoor cold frame to warm up your garden beds and get things going earlier outdoors. 

Although your garden goes into full hibernation over the winter months, you still have indoor plants to liven your space up all year. Even though your indoor plants aren’t exposed to the elements in the same way that your summer plants are, they still react to the change in light levels.  This means that you need to care for them a little differently when the days get shorter than in the warmer days.

Musical Windows:   If you keep your plants in one window over the summer, it may be a good idea to move them to a spot with a little more light in the winter.

Keep the Glass Clean:   Speaking of windows, cleaning them inside  and out before the snow flies is a great way to add light to the room for the plants to absorb.

Water and Feed Less:   Since they’re more dormant in the winter, your plants don’t need as much water. If the soil’s dry to the touch, it’s time to give them a good drink, but be careful not to over water.The fertilizer situation is the same, too. Instead of adding plant food as often as you do in the summer, cut back to once a week or so.

Dust Them Off:   Winter is an ideal time to give their leaves a gentle bath with a piece of cloth dipped in water. When you remove that thin layer of dust, you allow more sunlight to be absorbed by them.

Humidity:   The plants suffer as much as we do when it comes to dry air. When you mist the plants frequently, this is no longer a problem. If you have tropical species, they will do better on a tray filled with rocks and water.

The extra care you give your indoor plants will pay off by ensuring better health for the entire household and more enjoyment of your indoor “garden” while you’re waiting for your landscape plants to start blooming. 

For gardeners and landscapers, winter is often a “downtime” that is devoted to planning and reading gardening books and poring through nursery catalogs.  So this post is educational – learn the basics about those plants that make up your garden, as well as those you’re considering adding next spring.  A unique garden provides a soothing and sometimes stimulating environment in which to spend your time. Each of those plants shares the same parts which are needed to survive.

The Roots
This part of the plant anchors the plant in one place, and draws nutrients as well as water from the soil. Many veggies we’re familiar with, like carrots, potatoes and radishes, are all roots. Many of them have high antioxidant and nutrient levels. Some roots, like ginger, have been used through the centuries in a medicinal as well as culinary capacity.

Stem
The stem is what carries nutrients from the roots to the leaves. It also anchors the leaves in place, since they grow off of the stem. The places from which the leaves sprout are called nodes. The tubes through which nutrients are carried are called the phloem and the xylem. Examples of stems that we eat on a regular basis are asparagus and celery.

The Leaves
Leaves have a few different jobs in the plant. The most well-known is converting carbon dioxide to oxygen. However, they also create glucose, which is used to help the plant grow. Many plants, like aloe and cacti store water in their leaves. Generally, however, most leaves are extremely thin and wide. This is what allows the plant to collect enough sun to photosynthesize the energy it needs to survive. Because leaves have so many nutrients, herbivores and humans alike benefit from eating them.

The Flowers
Most people plant gardens for the colorful flowers. Although flowers are extremely pleasing to the eye, their primary use is for reproduction. Through the act of pollination, plants are able to produce seeds to grow the next year or during the same season, depending on species. Since most plants rely on insects for pollination, different flowers attract different insects.

This basic understanding of how plants work is a good knowledge for any gardener to have.  Knowing their structure and function can help you better care for your landscape.  If you have questions about caring for or adding to your garden, please give us a call. 

The temperature is dropping, and the leaves have begun to fall from the trees. Before you head in for the winter, your garden and yard may still need some attention. Winterizing your yard isn’t difficult when you remember these five tasks.

Guard Young Trees:  Although we can go to the grocery store to restock the kitchen, wildlife can’t say the same. To mice and rabbits, young trees are very appetizing. To prevent damage to your young plants, protect them with wire or plastic mesh. It needs to be high enough to compensate for snow accumulation, and adding a few extra inches is a good idea.

Keep Watering:  Trees need adequate water in the autumn to make it through the winter. Evergreens need extra moisture because they continue giving off water vapor through their leaves throughout the cold months. Keep watering your trees until the ground freezes It

Leaf Removal:  Raking leaves up every week instead of letting them build up can save your grass. Although grass starts going dormant as the weather cools, it still needs sunlight to generate a store of sugars for springtime growth.

However, the leaves don’t need to be thrown out. They can be shredded and used as compost on the garden over the winter or mixed with compost.

Perennial Care:  This is the perfect time to cut foliage back, if you choose to. Although some sources say it’s important to trim plant life before winter hits, some gardeners prefer to leave the foliage for unique scenery and as a snack for wildlife.  Make sure you’re familiar with the needs of your perennials; some such as hydrangeas bloom on old wood, so you’ll want to leave those alone.

Spring Bulbs:  Before the ground freezes, plant your spring bulbs. You need to make sure the soil is well drained to prevent any rot. Cages will prevent rodents from eating them, but if that option isn’t possible, sprinkling red pepper in the hole will work just as well.

Helpful Reminder:  While snow on the ground can help insulate plant life, it can still damage trees and bushes because of its weight. After heavy snow falls, remove snow from lower branches and work your way up as high as possible.

By taking these preventive measures early on, spring will arrive to bring your garden and yard back to its full glory without any problems.  If you have any questions about landscaping care in the Minneapolis area, give us a call. 

One thing Minnesota gardeners like to do in the winter is to pore through see catalogs and dream about spring planting, mentally planning their beds.  This is especially true for those who enjoy growing vegetables.  Although vegetable gardens are very popular, some veggies can be difficult to care for. Herbs, on the other hand, usually require little maintenance and save money on the grocery bill.  They can also be used through the growing season. Why pay for something you can grow on your own?  Also, any of these can be potted and grown indoors over the winter to add a fresh taste to your kitchen.

Some of the easiest to grow and most beneficial herbs are below:

Chives

This versatile herb works for quite a few dishes, from mashed potatoes to chicken salad. They’re tough enough to resist heat and cold, plus they naturally repel insects. Although chives are generally very low maintenance, they need to be divided every 3 years.

Basil

Although basil isn’t a fan of the cold, it’s a great option for any garden. It grows beautifully in the warmer months and can be used as soon as it’s a few inches tall. In fact, it does better when regularly trimmed back. Pesto enthusiasts would do well to grow this herb and make enough sauce to freeze for year round use. Since it suffers from the cold, cover it in early spring or fall with a bed sheet.

Oregano

Greek oregano is another cooking staple which goes very well with basil. This flavorful herb is an ideal choice for container gardening, too. All it needs is water, sun and bimonthly fertilizing. Best of all, you’ll always have fresh oregano in your kitchen.

Lemon Thyme

Great with roast turnips, chicken or marinades for different types of meat, lemon thyme is a perennial which comes back year after year. Though there are quite a few thyme species, lemon thyme is one of the easiest to grow.

Flat Leaf Parsley

Although parsley is inexpensive in the grocery store, commercial growers often spray it with harmful insecticides. Fortunately, parsley plants are also inexpensive and very easy to grow.

Lemon Balm

Lemon balm is part of the mint family, which means it grows like a weed, is tolerant to temperature extremes, and isn’t bothered by pests. This herb has also been used for centuries for its medicinal properties in soothing upset bellies and taking care of headaches.

If you’re potting indoors this winter or planning to incorporate herbs in your garden next spring, are a few which are almost guaranteed to grow well and yield great results in the kitchen.