Spring Cleaning Update

Flowers....Flowers........I am soooo ready for flowers everywhere!! I thought I would show and give you some tips you might want to think about this weekend.......like, thinking outside the box on different ways you can showcase or display your lovely blooms. I have 2 matching pair of the above little 'plant' stand. This is one side of an old dresser someone cut up, I think they had plans to make nightstands out of them. I bought both side pieces for 5.00 each ..brought home and clean and painted. Now all I need are some new knobs for the drawers. Mr. Brown Dirt cut out a circle using a hanging basket pot for a template...and it fits right down perfectly. I usually have HOT PINK WAVE PETUNIA plants in these for a cascading effect, but they are not ready yet.

Whoo Whee....cleaning this place out was a dusty dirty job. I discovered that Mr. Brown Dirt had used it to 'store' some of his manly 'farm' stuff in there over the winter......WELL, I quickly remedied that!!! You can see all of my pots ready and waiting to be filled to over flowing with beautiful plants and flowers. This little greenhouse we always kept at the house for growing and over flow for the greenhouse business we have downtown. I could just spend HOURS in here!! This is where I have been having my morning coffee!!

We need to remember our little feathered friends too! You gals need to get your bird baths all washed and cleaned out. After all, they will want to take a 'dip' while they are vacationing at your house.

Get your brooms out and sweep up all their little houses and places of 'refuge'...maybe add a fresh coat of paint.

This is one of my ALL time favorite planters. This old pedestal sink is great to just set a pot down in or I have actually filled with potting soil and just planted right into it. Hhhhm I see a quilt design in this photo! Speaking of POTTING SOIL.....it really pays off to purchase the better potting soils. CHEAP potting soil has nothing in it!! You will be happier in the long run with a better soil. We always sold FERTILOME brand and swear by it!! Miracle Grow is ok too!

SCAEVOLA or 'Fan Flower' gets its name from the shape of its flowers. They just flower out one side shaped like a fan. This AUSTRALIAN native is VERY HARDY to drought and heat. They make beautiful hanging baskets. I have just planted these and can't wait until this little basket over flows with greenery and blooms. TIP....DO NOT fertilize your freshly planted little plants for a couple of weeks. The roots are young and tender and the fertilizer will BURN these roots and harm or possible KILL your lovely flowers. So wait, give your plants time to get accustom to their new pots and surroundings.

Of course geraniums are also an excellent choice for hardiness, especially THE RED color. Pinks and Lavender colored geraniums ARE NOT as hardy, but work really well in the shade. White geraniums fall in behind the red for hardiness. Mr. Brown Dirt loves the red, but my favorites are the pinks and lavenders.

April is the best time to PRUNE your ROSES, or as soon as you know there will be no more frosts or freezes. I'm pretty ruthless when I'm pruning. See how I pruned in the above picture....most people don't want to but the more you prune the better. For ROSES try to prune really well in the middle of the bush...allows more sunlight in and around the roses and helps cut down on mold and disease. The same works when you prune your FRUIT trees. Now is the time to FEED your roses with a SYSTEMIC powder that you sprinkle around in the dirt at the base of your bush. This food goes down and gets into the root of your bush and prevents those 'nasty' little BUGS that attack your cute little rose buds before they can even bloom. FEED your roses about every 3 months. It's best to water your roses in the early part of the day and best NOT TO GET water or spray the whole bush with water. This helps keep the bush dry and help prevent those little round dark 'rust' spots you see forming on the leaves.

And last.....Iris from my Grandmothers flower garden. When she died I dug up several varieties and brought home to plant in my yard. She loved these soooo much.........."Look Munner.....aren't they beautiful?"

I hope some of my ideas and tips will be helpful. Mr. Brown Dirt and I have been involved with flowers and plants for years including professional greenhouses open to the public. If you have a plant problem or question just email....maybe I can help!