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Buy Cool Flowers from St. Lynn's Press. |
If you thought your garden was pretty much over for all but the freezing, author Lisa Mason Ziegler guides us through some really great options. As a Midwest gardener in denial, I've always wanted to grow sweet peas, Godetia and Delphinium. But in the Midwest, we typically have a very short spring.
Ziegler shows how to prepare our soil now for planting in early spring. It makes a lot of sense to do it this way, because who knows what the weather will be like when we're ready to plant? In my world, it's usually too wet and the soil is either soggy or compacted from snow and rain.
With step by step instructions accompanied by photos, Ziegler shows how to dig a three-feet wide planting rows after removing this year's annual plants, roots and all. And she explains the use and benefits of a floating row cover, a lightweight fabric that can give from four to eight degrees of protection from cold, and protect from marauding birds and deer while allowing light through.
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Larkspur 'Giant Imperial' makes a great cut flower. |
Lisa Mason Ziegler grows cut flowers for a living, so it makes sense to have as big a variety of healthy flowers as possible, as early as possible. She tells us about how to support plants that need it, how to feed organically, keep weeds down, and take advantage of microclimates.
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Calendula is one of the flowers Ziegler covers in her book. |
Ziegler explains how plants that typically shrivel up when the weather gets hot can last much longer if they've been planted in the right spot and have had time to establish a good root system. It makes a lot of sense.
Now that I know Ziegler's secret to success, perhaps I can find uses for all of those seeds I've purchased over the years but, for fear of failure, never started.