GARDENING TIPS

TIP 1

Last year I experimented with buzzy lizzy’s and pot seizes.

I bought 3 white buzzy lizzy’s in the same shop, all in the same seize, one got a 20 cm pot, the second got a 40 cm pot and the 3rd got a 60 cm pot, they all got the same soil as well and the same amount of fertilizer, the difference was huge ! At first is was an odd sight, a small plant in a pot that was so much too big but after a month you could see the difference very well and after 2 month’s the difference was amazing ! Unfortunately I didn’t take pictures as I didn’ have a blog yet.

Ofcourse it is normal that the bigger the pot the more space the plant has to grow but I didn’t know the difference would be so enormeous, in the end the little plant in the 60 cm pot completely filled the 60 cm pot !

conclusion: give a plant enough space to grow and you won’t need as many plants as you think, to make the pot a bit fuller I use a few cuttings (unrooted) from a small leaved ivy so by the end of the season you have a lot of nice rooted ivy plants to use in your garden, pots or give away to friends and family, or swap for other plants.

TIP 2

Ivy. Many people have an ivy hedge, most people buy a large leafed ivy to have a nice full hedge as soon as possible to have a bit of privacy from their neighbours but as soon as the hedge is full and of height it needs a lot of pruning, so if you choose a small leafed ivy, it takes more time to become full and of height but once it is fully grown you don’t have to prune it so often. Here in Belgium we have to bring our clippings and prunings and cutted grass to a container park where we have to pay per kilo of the stuff we bring in and that is becoming very expensive.

TIP 3

I use a piece of old fashioned coffee filter paper at the bottom of my pots so the soil doesn’t get out while you water your plants.( see my blog called : an ordinary sanseviera )

TIP 4

Ticks are becoming a problem, even in the garden. You can easily remove them with liquid handsoap, cover them with handsoap and put some cottonwool on top, wait for 30 seconds and the tick will be in the liquid soap. But go to your doctor afterwards and tell him about the tick (take the tick with you if you can)as they can cause serious disease and even death !Inspect your children daily for ticks , especially when they play outside !