Steven A. Frowine - Gardening Basics For Dummies

10 Part 6: The Part of Tens Chapter 21: Ten Great Perennials for Northern Climate Gardeners Achillea Astilbe False Indigo (Baptisia) Bellflower (Campanula) Coneflower (Echinacea) Ox-Eye Sunflower (Heliopsis) Plantain Lily (Hosta) Rose Campion (Lychnis Coronaria) Catmint (Nepeta) Black-Eyed Susan (Rudbeckia Fulgida) Chapter 22: Ten Garden Projects for Children Create a Dinosaur Garden Grow a Sunflower Fort Make Sunprints Plant Mini-Pumpkins Write with Seeds Trap a Zucchini Make a Home-Grown Salad Grow Paperwhites Set Up a Birdbath Attract Butterflies to the Garden

11 Appendix A: Basic Gardening Resources Examining Gardening Information Online Turning to U.S. University Resources Referring to Gardening Organizations Canadian Gardening Frost Dates by Region

12 Appendix B: English-Metric Conversion Tables

13 Index

14 About the Author

15 Advertisement Page

16 Supplemental Images

17 Connect with Dummies

18 End User License Agreement

1 Chapter 4 TABLE 4-1 Plant Nutrients in the Air and Water TABLE 4-2 Differences between Natural and Chemical Fertilizers TABLE 4-3 Pounds of Limestone Needed to Raise pH (per 1,0000 Square Feet) TABLE 4-4 Pounds of Sulfur Needed to Lower pH (per 1,000 Square Feet) TABLE 4-5 Comparing Mulching Options

2 Chapter 6TABLE 6-1 Appearance and Habits of Annuals

3 Chapter 7TABLE 7-1 When Perennials Bloom

4 Chapter 11TABLE 11-1 Cool-Season, Northern GrassesTABLE 11-2 Warm-Season, Southern GrassesTABLE 11-3 Grass Seed Amounts and Time until Germination

5 Chapter 12TABLE 12-1 Common Needled Evergreens

6 Chapter 15TABLE 15-1 Ideal Seasons for Growing Vegetables

7 Chapter 16TABLE 16-1 Vegetarian Bugs, Grubs, Slugs, and Other Critters

8 Chapter 17TABLE 17-1 Pests and the Herbs They Dine On

9 Chapter 18TABLE 18-1 Chill Requirements of Fruit and Nut Plants

10 Appendix ATABLE A-1 Canadian Frost Dates

1 Chapter 1FIGURE 1-1: The basic parts of a perennial plant, above and below ground. FIGURE 1-2: Flowers come in a wide variety of sizes and shapes.

2 Chapter 2FIGURE 2-1: Annuals come in many different shapes and colors. FIGURE 2-2: A delightful, relaxing Japanese garden. FIGURE 2-3: Bold colors can create a festive, lush, sizzling, tropical feel. FIGURE 2-4: You can draft your garden plan, but here are some tools that can he...

3 Chapter 3FIGURE 3-1: A maximum-minimum thermometer gives you an idea of the outdoor temp...FIGURE 3-2: Putting a cold frame to efficient use.

4 Chapter 4FIGURE 4-1: A fertilizer label can tell you important information. FIGURE 4-2: Many gardeners find wooden compost bins attractive and easy to use....

5 Chapter 5FIGURE 5-1: You can see how the blades of a shovel (A) and spade (B) are constr...FIGURE 5-2: My favorite trowel is made of one-piece of solid stainless steel. FIGURE 5-3: Dibbles make transplanting into the garden easier. FIGURE 5-4: My two favorite hoes — half-moon (A) and colinear hoe (B). FIGURE 5-5: One of my favorite weeders — the single prong cultivator — routs ou...FIGURE 5-6: Common pruning tools (top to bottom) — pruning saw, lopper, and han...FIGURE 5-7: Smaller tillers are most suited for regular use for home gardeners....

6 Chapter 6FIGURE 6-1: Following an annual's life cycle, from seed germination to seed pro...FIGURE 6-2: This simple colorful garden for annuals includes large star-shaped ...FIGURE 6-3: You can add dimension to a flowerbed by planting short annuals in t...FIGURE 6-4: Packets of fresh seeds contain planting information, details about ...

7 Chapter 7FIGURE 7-1: A garden plan for a shade-filled area, such as one beneath a group ...FIGURE 7-2: An easy-to-grow perennial garden for a sunny spot. FIGURE 7-3: Dry gardens can still be beautiful with the right plants, like the ...FIGURE 7-4: Plant supports do more than support plants; they can also help them...FIGURE 7-5: Two different methods for dividing a perennial.

8 Chapter 8FIGURE 8-1: A bulb is really a plant in a protective package. FIGURE 8-2: Lily bulbs are constructed slightly different than other bulbs. FIGURE 8-3: True bulbs form offsets that you can pull apart to for more plants....FIGURE 8-4: Corms resemble true bulbs in many ways; this corm has little cormel...FIGURE 8-5: Rhizomes grow sideways. FIGURE 8-6: Tubers roots look like swollen roots. FIGURE 8-7: Stages of flowering for crocus. FIGURE 8-8: Interplanting a variety of bulbs to extend your bulbs season from e...FIGURE 8-9: Spring bulb planting guide. FIGURE 8-10: Amaryllis provide a show-stopping display and are practically fail...FIGURE 8-11: Securely place the bulb’s basal plate against the bottom of the ho...FIGURE 8-12: A hardware cloth cage could save the day against bulb eating varmi...

9 Chapter 9FIGURE 9-1: A large, classic plan for a very elaborate rose garden. The blank s...FIGURE 9-2: Roses can be integrated nicely with other annuals and perennials. FIGURE 9-3: A bareroot rose plant, showing the various parts. FIGURE 9-4: Drip emitters are ideal for watering roses. FIGURE 9-5: A rosebush before and after pruning.

10 Chapter 10FIGURE 10-1: The basic components of most seeds. FIGURE 10-2: The wet towel technique. FIGURE 10-3: Starting larger seeds in pots made of compressed peatmoss makes th...FIGURE 10-4: Use a plastic container to plant smaller seeds. FIGURE 10-5: How seedlings develop. FIGURE 10-6: Cut with a sterile blade (A) and add sticks to support the plastic...FIGURE 10-7: Girdle the stem (A), wrap the stem with sphagnum moss (B), and cov...FIGURE 10-8: The two ways to reproduce lily bulbs: divide them (A) or snap off ...

11 Chapter 11FIGURE 11-1: Spreading seed with cyclone-type (A) and rotary spreaders (B). FIGURE 11-2: How to spread grass seed in a rectangular-shaped lawn. FIGURE 11-3: How to spread grass seed in an irregular-shaped lawn. FIGURE 11-4: Sod-laying equipment. FIGURE 11-5: A typical lawn fertilizer label. FIGURE 11-6: Setting mower height.

12 Chapter 12FIGURE 12-1: Tree shapes. FIGURE 12-2: Examining the root system for a typical tree. FIGURE 12-3: Balled-and-burlapped (A), containerized (B), and bareroot (C). FIGURE 12-4: Water bags give trees a long, slow drink. FIGURE 12-5: Removing a large limb in three steps. FIGURE 12-6: Pruning candle growth on evergreens. FIGURE 12-7: Two different ways to stake a tree.

13 Chapter 13FIGURE 13-1: Evergreen shrubs come in many shapes and sizes, so present a myria...FIGURE 13-2: A shrub border that offers interesting flowers, bark colors and te...FIGURE 13-3: Left is the bush before pruning, and right is the bush after pruni...

14 Chapter 14FIGURE 14-1: Star jasmine climbs by twining; grapes climb with tendrils; Boston...FIGURE 14-2: A stand-alone structure not attached to the house. FIGURE 14-3: Typical store-bought supports for vines: a fan trellis, an arbor, ...FIGURE 14-4: Install landscape fabric to prevent weed growth and cover with mul...

15 Chapter 15FIGURE 15-1: Cold frames can make gardening a year around affair. FIGURE 15-2: A water wall, consisting of plastic sleeves filled with water, off...FIGURE 15-3: An ideal and ornate garden plan for veggie lovers. FIGURE 15-4: Garden plan showing succession plantings. FIGURE 15-5: Garden plan showing interplanting. FIGURE 15-6: Making a raised bed. FIGURE 15-7: Using seed-starting trays.

16 Chapter 16FIGURE 16-1: Layers in a compost pile. FIGURE 16-2: Side-dressing fertilizers. FIGURE 16-3: Supporting melons. FIGURE 16-4: Two different types of tomato cages. FIGURE 16-5: Row covers. FIGURE 16-6: Garden tank sprayer.

17 Chapter 17FIGURE 17-1: Most common cooking herbs. FIGURE 17-2: A formal herb garden plan. FIGURE 17-3: Various herb combinations in pots.

18 Chapter 18FIGURE 18-1: Strawberry garden plan aligned for easy harvesting. FIGURE 18-2: Various rootstocks determine the ultimate size of the tree. FIGURE 18-3: Plan for a good-sized fruit garden. FIGURE 18-4: The correct way to plant a bareroot fruit tree. FIGURE 18-5: Examples of support systems for raspberries: Single row (A), doubl...FIGURE 18-6: Two common grape-training systems. FIGURE 18-7: Three common fruit-tree training methods: Open vase, or center (A)...FIGURE 18-8: Raspberries should be pruned so that they don’t grow together too ...FIGURE 18-9: A fruit tree or shrub covered with netting keeps the birds at bay....