By Doug Green

Everybody asks about Easter lilies!  Can they go outside; can I plant them in my garden?  And to this I reply, "Why not?"  Like other bulbs, there are two options if you plant your leftover Easter lily bulbs - either they will live and flower for many years (it is perfectly hardy into zone 4) or they will immediately die.  If you don't plant the bulb, it will definitely die.  So you have nothing to lose by planting.

Once the Easter lily bloom has faded in the house, cut the stem back as far as you can.  Grow the plant in a sunny windowsill, keeping it moist (not sopping) and feed weekly with houseplant food.  After all danger of frost has passed wherever you live, you can plant it outdoors.  Planting outdoors is as easy as digging a hole and planting so that the top of the bulb will be three inches below the surface.

Add a shovel of compost and a shovel of peat moss to the planting hole and ensure the soil is well loosened.  Remember it is necessary to dig a large enough hole to spread the lily roots out and to ensure it is at least eighteen inches from another plant.  Place the bulb in the bottom of the planting hole and backfill the soil up to the neck of the bulb – do not cover the green leaves.  Covering the green leaves at this time could rot them.

Wait until the leaves have turned yellow and faded before totally filling in the hole.  After you've planted the bulb, water it thoroughly.  Carefully water and turn the area into a mudhole so no air spaces are left around the bulb.
The original foliage may die back immediately after planting.  If this happens, cut the foliage right back to the bulb and then backfill the hole.  Do not be surprised to see a new set of leaves emerge from the hole.   Water thoroughly after backfilling.

The key to success with growing Easter lilies is to give the tops full sun but to shade the roots. Hot tops and cold feet would describe this growing condition.  Also, excellent drainage is essential for bulb success.  Poor drainage or clay soils will rot the bulb over winter because of excessive moisture.

Remember the normal time for the lily to bloom is mid-summer. The first planting year you may see a bloom in mid-summer but the likelihood is that the bulb will wait for next year to bloom again.  Your job is to grow the bulb.  Do not cut off leaves until they are well faded and quite yellow.  Do not pin them up so other plants can grow next to the lily. You want those leaves to stretch out and absorb as much sunlight as possible because they are feeding the bulb and making next year's flower bud.

And next year's Easter lily bulb is what you're looking for, and the one after that, and the one after that too. If you're looking for  other bulb information, check out this website. 
To contact the author, use the email form at http://www.flower-garden-bulbs.com/gardeningtips.html

copright Doug Green 2005

Doug Green
Award winning garden author
http://www.flower-garden-bulbs.com
Blog:http://www.simplegiftsfarm.com/gardens-gardening-news.

by Dana Goldberg

So it's spring. The snow has melted away and it's started to
rain... a lot. Buds are sprouting on trees and the first signs
of green can be seen. You've been waiting all year for this
moment when you can once again return to your favorite stress
reducing hobby: gardening. As it is spring, there are some
things to remember to keep your garden looking fresh and well
manicured! Let the growing season begin!

It's time to clear out the garden. Rake any leaves and remove
the debris. Loosen up the soil and get ready to plant your
roses, shrubs, perennials, annuals and also get ready to prune
those early blooming shrubs! Your soil is important. Without
taking good care of your soil, having a garden is pointless.

Remember: perennials are your best friend. You won't need to
replant them every year and they'll help your garden look
beautiful and colorful in the spring and summer like you long
for. Try choosing perennials that don't require much maintenance
such as staking or division.

Flower bulbs also add flair to your garden. They can add color,
beauty and variety. Flower like tulips and daffodils look
wonderful randomly added throughout your garden. Lots of people
agree that tulips are the most beautiful flowers around! If you
didn't bother to plant any bulbs last spring, be sure to do it
in the coming autumn.

Spring is also the most important time to attack those weeds! As
they're just starting to grow and bloom, this is the best time
to attack because they have underdeveloped root systems and
haven't fully reproduced yet. Getting a grip on your garden's
weed problems in spring will be a savior in summer when
otherwise your garden would be covered with these horrible
things!

Enjoy and remember: color, variety and beauty!

About the author:
D. Goldberg is editor of  Gardening Design Pros. Get gardening design tips and advice, garden supplies,
gardening tools, ideas on composting, and a lot more.

by Linda Gray

Allow a small patch of your garden to grow daisies, nettles,
dandelions and even a bramble or two. The secret to containing
your weeds in a small patch is not to let them seed and spread
their wings! Pick them at the flower stage and they don't get a
chance to spread themselves over the rest of the garden.

 Why have a weed patch?: Well, it's always nice to see a
bit of 'wild' in an otherwise neat and tidy garden. But there
are other more practical reasons...

Flowering weeds will encourage bees to your garden and they in
turn will pollinate your other plants. Weeds are simply wild
flowers and they hold a huge range of medicinal and nutritional
properties just waiting to be taken advantage of...

Collect some of these regular garden weeds, in any combination
for a super bath tonic to relax with...

-lawn daisies ( flowers ) -dandelions ( flowers and leaves )
-nettles ( young leaves ) -blackberry / bramble ( leaves )

Crush the flowers and leaves together and place in a 20cm.
square of muslin. Bring up the edges to form a bag and tie
securely. Add a loop of string to hang over the hot tap /
fawcett and let the hot water run through the herb bag. Lie back
and enjoy!

And if you still have a few young nettles lurking, they are full
of vitamins and minerals and can be eaten in salads, steamed as
a green vegetable or drunk as a tisane. The whole plant can be
used to produce a greenish dye for wool.

Young brambles are high in vitamin C content and have natural
diuretic properties. Make a fragrant tisane for a great
alternative to regular tea. Bramble tea is also helpful in
fighting off colds and flu.

Dandelions: are very versatile and most of the plant can
be used in one form or another!

Young leaves are good in salads and the sap from the stalk is
reputed to cure warts and verucas. I have tried this on one of
my guinea pigs (children!) and it definately worked. Simply dab
on the sticky sap a couple of times a day when the veruca or
wart is just beginning to show.

Flowers: A traditional French country recipe is made every year
on the first day you see miles of dandelions in the open fields!
The idea is you collect 365 flowers only. Then you use the
dandelion flowers in place of fruit in your favourite jam
recipe. Add lemon and orange juice. If you want to make more,
make in batches of 365 flowers - don't try and double the
recipe. There doesn't seem to be a logical reason for this but I
have tried it doubling up and it doesn't work??!! The resulting
jam though is very good for you and absolutely delicious!

 ...So before you drag all those weeds out of the garden, STOP -
Can you think of a good use for them?

About the author:
Indulge in the healthiest hobby in the world - produce your own
food and feed your family well! Join Linda at
http://www.flower-and-garden-tips.com for the best gardening
tips, up-to-date garden bargains and her free monthly ezine. See
you there!

 by: Anita Johnston

Spring is in my opinion the most wonderful time of year for the gardener. You can shake of that winter weariness and get ready for a new gardening season.

The most difficult part of spring gardening is trying to manage your impatience. Don’t start digging around too early. The soil must be dry enough to have it fall apart when you pick it up. When it still sticks together like glue that’s definitely not the case.

Early spring is the best time of year to change (parts of) your garden design. You can transplant existing shrubs and perennial plants before they begin to leaf out. This also is the time to prune your trees and shrubs. Cut back the remaining dead foliage from last season and remove dead, damaged or diseased branches of trees and shrubs.

And then flowers! That’s really what spring is about isn’t it! There are many that are suitable for cool spring weather. Think of sweet alyssum, some snapdragons, stock and sweat peas. You can also start some perennials like hostas and daylilies.

Start some Violets, Marigolds, Carnations, Geraniums and Impatiens inside to transplant to your flower beds in early spring. Or if you have some space left in your garden you can set up a "Cold Frame". Ready-made cold frames are available in different sizes. A cold frame "captures" the spring sunlight and warms the soil it surrounds. That way it is ideal to "harden off" houseplants and transplants for your summer garden. You can use the cold frame for direct seeding as well.

If you have unplanted areas in your garden a great spring project is to lay out landscape cloth on that unplanted area. Landscape cloth is an excellent weed barrier. It comes in different weights, heights and fabric choices. This cloth can then also serve as a great map to precisely plant your transplants.

Weeds start to grow very early but still have shallow roots in spring so get them out when you spot them. Getting on top of the weeds now means a lot less work in summer, and I’m sure that digging out weeds in the burning sun in not your favorite pastime.

These two measures will definitely intimidate your perennial weeds to the extent that they will prefer your neighbor’s garden over yours.

And most of all enjoy your spring garden, watch it grow and blossom into summer!

About The Author
Anita Johnston is an enthusiast gardener and one of the authors of http://www.gardening-guides.com and http://www.lawnmower-guide.com/.

 by: Steve Boulden

In most parts of the country it's still dead of Winter. However, in a few spots like here in the Desert Southwest, the warming weather starts to play tricks on Spring budding trees and plants. They think it's time to wake up when it's really not quite safe to.

In my own garden, I have an old Peach Tree that produces the most wonderful almost softball size peaches. And up until a few years ago, I rarely got the opportunity to see one make it past the blossom stage.

As sure as the first warm days would wake the old tree up in a display of absolute pink, so surely would a Springtime freeze bring it to an end.

But then one day a few Springs back..... I had a great idea.

It was a little overdue but still quite fortunate that I picked those first warm Spring days to take down and put up the Christmas lights. Because as I held those lights in my hands and looked over at that beautiful pink tree just coming into its glory, a light bulb turned on in my head.

Hmmm....., are you thinking what I’m thinking? I'm sure you are and it does work.

From then on I've been able to get the majority of my blossoms to the point of battling birds and June bugs. However, battling the birds and June bugs will be another article altogether.

While I am more comfortable to grow more fruit trees now, I find that this method still works well for me because I do only have a few trees. I'm not sure how practical, cost effective, or easy it would be to string Christmas lights through more than a few trees.

If you do ever use this method, use the old fashioned base type bulbs and not the little twinkling lights. They put off more heat. Also, if you live in an area where the climate is harsher than here in the desert, it may be helpful to place a sheet of plastic or tarp over the trees in addition to the lights.

While there are other ways of protecting your trees and plants from a freeze, I just thought I would share this with you.

About The Author
Written by Steve Boulden. Steve is the creator of The Landscape Design Site which offers free professional landscaping advice, tips, plans, and ideas to do it yourselfers and homeowners. For more on garden design and landscaping, visit his site at http://www.the-landscape-design-site.com.