Savvy Gardening

How to mulch with straw: A step-by-step guide

Are you wondering how to mulch with straw? Using an organic mulch in the garden is an easy way to reduce weeds and how often you need to water. Plus, straw is inexpensive, widely available, and enriches the soil as it breaks down. However it’s important to make sure you’re using the right amount of straw and applying it at the best time. Below I cover all the basics of how to mulch with straw and offer tips to ensure your success. Read on to learn how to put straw mulch to work in your garden.

When to cut back daylilies: 3 times to trim your plants

by Jessica WalliserComment (1)

Whether your plants produce pink, yellow, or orange flowers, knowing when to cut back daylilies can keep these perennials looking tidy and blooming well. Though each flower is only open for a single day, daylilies are a much-loved perennial around the world. In this article, you’ll learn about three different times to cut your daylily plants back to keep them in tip-top shape.
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Hardy begonia (Begonia grandis): A complete grow guide for this shade perennial

by Jessica WalliserComments (0)

Even when summer gardens wind down, the hardy begonia (Begonia grandis) is still going strong in most shade gardens where it’s planted. In fact, this herbaceous perennial generally blooms from about midsummer through October until the first frost. This long bloom time is just one of many reasons gardeners appreciate the hardy begonia so much. Because the hardy begonia thrives in part shade, it’s perfect as an understory plant. (That means you could include hardy begonias around the base of your trees and shrubs or even plant them in the shade of taller perennials next season.)
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Arugula flowers: Tips to delay bolting and what to do with the blooms

by Tara NolanComments (0)

Arugula seeds are always on my “to-plant” list. I enjoy the spicy, peppery flavor of the serrated leaves, harvesting them to add to salads and stir-fries, or to put on pizza. Arugula flowers are their own delicacy, adding a unique flavor to savory dishes. In this article, I’m going to share some tips on getting the most out of your arugula harvest, what to do with the flowers, and how to save the seeds to grow more.

Types of kale: 14 of the best kales to grow

by Niki JabbourComments (0)

Kale is a popular garden plant that is easy to grow, vigorous, and yields a generous crop of tender leaves for the table. However flip through any seed catalog and you’ll quickly see that there are many types of kale you can grow with a range of leaf colors, textures, and shapes. While they have some similarities various types of kale also have a lot of differences. Certain ones are more cold hardy which is ideal if you want to harvest kale into winter, and others have colorful, showy foliage which is a great way to jazz up a front yard vegetable garden. Keep reading to learn more about the different varieties of kale and my 14 favourites ones to grow.

Invasive garden plants: 10 shrubs, perennials, and vines to avoid

by Niki JabbourComments (0)

Many invasive garden plants find their way into our landscaping by accident, but there are others which we may inadvertently invite. It usually starts innocently enough with some exotic ornamental plant, imported to North America for its unusual blooms, striking foliage, or other specific use. But in no time flat our carefully selected new garden guests can go as rogue as kudzu. These invasive species may crowd out other cultivated plants or, worse, escape from our gardens altogether. Depending on their level of success in the wild, they can displace important native species and fundamentally alter environmentally sensitive natural habitat. Discover 10 invasive garden plants to avoid, and (if it’s too late) how to get rid of them.