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There has probably never been another period in the history of horticulture when the demand for the easy-to-care-for garden has been so great. On the West Coast, in particular, want a garden which will give good results with a minimum of time and expense. More and more my own garden is becoming one of easy-to-grow plants. On my hillside are plants from many lands that can take the Coast’s cool fog in summer, storms in winter. a soil that is little more than gravel and not much water during periods of drought. And I have year-round bloom!

If you have a lawn you are committed to weekly watering and mowing and to hours of spring weeding. But if you use labor-saving plants (in most West Coast climates, drought-enduring plants) near a lawn they will soon show their dislike of over-watering. Such plants. however. would not resent being placed close to one of the hardier lawn substitutes used on the West Coast. At the edge of such a tough ground cover you could use shrubs, bulbs, perennials and annuals which have similar requirements.

Southern California

Several Southern California nurseries now carry choice polyanthus primroses. Visit them as soon as possible and see these primulas in flower. They can be moved safely while in full bloom. so that you can easily create a ready-made garden picture. Put the plants where they will have a little morning sun and plenty of afternoon shade.

If the soil is sandy, enrich it with old manure; if it is heavy, add leaf mold, peat and sand. Fish meal or cottonseed meal helps to produce fine blossoms. Next year the plants will probably need dividing. This should be done just after they have flowered. This month is the time to take chrysanthemum cuttings. Use the tops of the suckers from last year’s plants. There should be three or four nodes on each cutting. Bury each cutting half its length in clean, sharp sand.

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Have you ever come home from work dog-tired on a cool evening and smelled fried potatoes and onions? In my book, they belong alongside freshly baked bread as a “welcome-homer.”

If you, too, are a confirmed onion eater, no matter what anyone says then you might like to know what varieties are best suited to the many. different uses of onion.

There are hundreds of varieties of onions, but we seldom use more than four or five.

Here are some facts that will help you “know your onions.”

“Bunch” onions are those which are used green. They may be used in salads and relishes.

There are many varieties of the “dry” onion type. Any of these can also be used green. Some are better winter keepers than others.

Some are excellent keepers and good for general use.

A small, mild variety is good for creaming and for glace onions. They are best when used before fully mature.

Spanish onions are a good all-around variety but cannot be kept too long. They are good fried or creamed.

Of course, if you are a real, honest-to-goodness onion eater, you’ll want to grow a few red ones. Now, there’s a real onion!

Leeks are a less-known member of the onion family. They are used mainly in Vichyssoise and are sometimes used in a casserole with a cheese sauce. Leeks may be stored like celery.

We should not fail to mention our old friends, the chives. There are few garden plants as adaptable and useful as chives. If your family doe knot care for an overpowering onion flavor, chives are for you. A very few seeds will give you all you can use for years plus a share for all your friends. An occasional trimming with the power mower will keep young, fresh, new tops at their flavorful best.

In the fall, you can bring a small clump into the house for your kitchen window. They will provide plenty for the winter.

Chives are excellent in potato salad and cottage cheese if added just before serving.

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One can’t help wondering occasionally why so many West Coast gardeners jam their deciduous shrubs into tightly wadded groups. Apparently the reason is that novice gardeners, not realizing the breadth their shrubs are going to attain and not knowing how fast they will grow, think they are giving each specimen enough room.

Besides bloom and foliage, a mature shrub has the alluring qualities of branch and bark, both of which are too seldom considered. You realize this when you view a muddled mass of shrubbery and then look at a single specimen which has had the advantage of intelligent pruning and plenty of room. Even if your shrubs have grown together it is not too late to prune them into attractive pictures again, though you will probably get much better results by thinning out an isolated bush here and there.

Suppose you are planning to light into that jungle of overgrown shrubs with chainsaw and machete. Stop first and study the outside branches of some which have had a chance to develop the lovely lines that characterize them.

Remove a few of these branches of their lower limbs and basal stems and see their potential beauty. Make clean cuts close to the main stem, and they will soon heal over. If it is a single, detached bush you are dealing with, see what you can do in the way of using the branches to frame a picture of one plant or a group of plants behind it. You will find trimming boughs for outlines a pleasant and rewarding pastime.

Old toyoni (Christmas-berry, Photinia arbutifolia) come out handsomely when treated this way; madrone (Arbutus menziesi) has a chance to show its bark of chestnut-red over copper-green; crepe myrtles (attention Big Valleyites!) have superbly smooth and glossy gray and cream trunks; and for Fog Belt gardeners there is the sprawling little manzanita (Arctostaphylos hookeri) with twisting red-brown outlines and with a natural propensity for embracing boulders and outlining miniature compositions. One large escallonia bough can set off many a June and July gardenscape. White escallonias and red ones also are useful, -but the pale pink one gives really delightful results.

Keith Markensen continues learn more about plants and enjoys sharing that knowledge providing resources, advice and tips on topics like care of pothos plant. Drop by for a visit at www.plant-care.com increase your education of houseplants, outdoor color, lawns and landscape.

Do you know what the pH of your soil is? Checking a soil’s pH has become so much easier today with new tools.

Above all, don’t guess at pH. Use an electric bridge device if possible. We tend to assume that all peat, oak leaf mold, etc., is acid. This is not true. The brown runoff from newly fallen oak leaves is acid, but once the soluble tannin has been leached away, the residue is alkaline. The same is true of certain peats. German, Swedish, and Canadian peats are usually acid, but domestic brands may be highly alkaline. Always check your peat for pH before using it. Use a soil test kit, or have the peat tested in a soil laboratory.

Note the comment on tannic acid. There are good and bad soil acids. Tannic acid is good, but aluminum acidity, from the commonly-used aluminum sulfate is bad. The stuff is often recommended because it is used commonly to acidify the soil in greenhouse plants. It works, but at the expense of roots, which are eventually killed by aluminum acidity. This is not important in finishing a hydrangea pot plant for Easter sales, but is fatal to rhododendrons after a year or two.

For acidifying, use sulfur, ammonium sulfate, ferrous ammonium sulfate (see above) or potassium sulfate. Very light doses of magnesium sulfate (Epsom salts) will supply the small amount of magnesium needed for good growth. However, don’t overdo this. Speaking of magnesium, its role in plant nutrition is only recently coming to light. Apparently chlorophyll is actually a magnesium chelate which keeps other elements in photosynthesis moving properly.

We never see calcium deficiencies in the Midwest. Our waters supply lime, often too much. Test the pH of the water as it comes out of the hose, and reduce the alkalinity as necessary.

Find out about more on the topic of short evergreen trees today!

Like hundreds of other plant lovers, spend many happy days in their flower garden. But, always when the last chrysanthemum had been cut down by killing frost there was the dreary time, between late fall and spring, when all growing things were withered and no flower bloomed.

After one of these ruthless frosts, which snuffed all color from the world and made it sad, Mrs. Preston decided to build a winter window garden in her home.

Since then she has had twelve months of color. A scarlet amaryllis, almost hidden by the foliage of an Easter lily, glows in the window. A novelty in gloxinias, called Lady Slipper, blooms year after year in the same pot with only a short rest period between flowering. Several potted geraniums bloom in their sea son and two of them (Nutmeg and Rose) have fragrant, spicy leaves which add greatly to their desirability and lend an interest even when the plants are no longer in bloom.

A Gloriosa lily, with strange flowers, has climbed 6 feet to the top of the window to crown it with its gold and crimson beauty. There are orchids, some of which bloom during the winter holidays to furnish corsages for friends.

“I used to grow gardenias in my window,” says Mrs. Preston. “Now I have something new. It’s called Fleur d’Amour. It looks like a gardenia, doesn’t it?” she said, pointing to a plant with shining leaves and white gardenia-like flowers. “It has a gardenia-like fragrance, too, that I find captivating.”

The most prized plants in Mrs. Preston’s winter garden, however, are her African violets. It would be difficult for anyone to find a more colorful collection. Some are the usual ones bought at nurseries but quite a number are those Mrs. Preston has raised from seed.

One of her seedlings, grown-up, was mentioned in a magazine that gave the plant special mention for being outstanding in foliage and bicolored blossoms. Many of the other violets were also grown from seed. On the second shelf, near the curtain, is one of several doubles. There are also a number of singles, red, pink and white.

The window garden faces the east and south. It affords abundant light all day. The rack on which the violet plants on the right are seen was constructed so as to give perfect drainage. Underneath the rack is a galvanized iron, water-tight pan filled with cinders. It absorbs any surplus water accidentally spilled in watering. This pan is always moist and so acts as a humidifier to offset the too dry atmosphere frequently found in our modern homes.

Keith Markensen has only scratched the surface on a variety of topics – backpack gas leaf blower is just one example. Become acquainted with www.plant-care.com it’s visited by 1,000′s each day because of quality content in the world of all about plants indoors and outside in the landscape.

Plants are commonly found in homes across North America and Europe. With an endless variety of types available on the market, there is a variety for everyone. Plants can provide a living touch to a home without a great deal of expense. As water, fertilizer and light are the only requirements for a plant’s life, it comes as no surprise that many people have tried to grow plants.

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