The GIANT Book on Growing Flowers

Table of Contents

Introduction
Choosing the Right Soil
Soil Color and Fertility
Humus
Preparation of the Soil
Best Time for Seed Sowing
The Thinning Process
Staking Your Annuals
Why Mulch?
Cultivation and Maintenance
Watering your Plants
List of Hardy annuals
Half Hardy Annuals
Annuals Suitable for Cutting Purposes –
Annuals for autumn blooming –
Half Hardy Annuals for Edging Your Border
Knowing More about Biennials
Sowing the seeds
Preparing the Ground
List of Popular Biennials
Choosing the Plants
Permanent Plants
Bougainvillea
Hibiscus
Cannas
Asters
The Jasmine Family and Plumeria
Lilies
Sowing Time
Summer Plants
Chrysanthemums
Winter Plants
Sweetpeas
Phlox
Hollyhocks
Sunflowers
Gladiolus
Perennial Plants
Dianthus
Cosmos
Periwinkles- Vinca
Petunias
Useful Gardening Tips
Appendix
Propagation through Buds
Preparing a bud
Grafting
Benefits
Wedge Grafting
Grafting Wax Solutions
Grafting Wax
Orchids
Collecting Orchids
Natural Conditions
Division of Species
Terrestrial orchids –
Epiphytic Orchids –
Cultivation of Orchids
Cultivation of Orchids at High Altitudes
Propagation of Orchids
Blossoming Orchids
Making an Orchid House
Types of Popular Orchids Varieties
Dendrobium
Epidendrum
Cattleya
Bletia
Vanda
Phalaenopsis
Vanilla
Odontoglossum
Cypripedium – Lady Slipper Orchid genus
Appendix
Why Re-Pot a Plant
Roses
How To Grow Roses
Types and Varieties of Roses
Preparation of the Soil
Planting
Why Stake Your Roses
Organic Manure for Roses
Pruning Your Roses
First pruning
Hard pruning.
Subsequent Pruning –
Other Types of Roses
Ramblers
Climbing HTs
Rose Standards
Weeping Standards
Floribundas
General Management of Rose Plants
Disbudding Roses
Rose Pests and Diseases
Appendix
How to Make Rose Water
How to Make a Rose Potpourri
Rhododendrons
Knowing More about Azaleas
Ghent Azaleas
Cultivation of Rhododendrons
Soil for Your Rhododendrons
Shade and Shelter for Your Rhododendrons
Effect of Wind and Sun
So How Do You Get the Best Shade for Your Rhododendrons?
Shade Plants to Avoid
Best Sheltering Plants
Pests and Diseases
Rhododendron Types and Hybrids
Flower Borders
Planning a Border
Preparing Your Border
Lime Application
Manuring
General Cultivation Tips
Planting of Shrubs
List of Different Color Plants
Multicolored Plants
Borders of Just One Color
Getting a Period Border
Narrow Borders
Aspect Borders
General Herbaceous Borders
Choosing the Right Background
Staking and Supports
Growing a Shrub Border
Using Bulbs in Your Border
Bulb Selection
Planting Your Bulbs
Border Bulbs – Hyacinth and Crocus
Management of your Borders
Traditional Control of Slugs
Author Bio
Publisher

Introduction

There are far too many people out there who are under the impression that you cannot have a beautiful garden without spending huge amounts of money. That is so not true. A little bit of planning and this fallacy is going to fall to pieces by the wayside. Those who are grown annuals for years are going to give this statement the lie gladly.

Their initial investment must have been just a packet of seeds. The next year, the plants were grown from the seeds collected from the previous years’ crop.

Do not forget that the life of an annual is limited to just 12 months and so you must not expect them to grow up and bloom again the next year, unless of course you allowed the seeds to lie in the bed without collecting them. That is when they are going to bloom up just like weeds with a little bit of rain, and with the coming of the spring.

One of the great advantages of annuals is that they are quite easy to grow and flourish in your garden over a long period. The most common are well known to even amateur gardeners who can recognize a cornflower, nasturtiums, Virginia stock and Candytuft. These are very beautiful in themselves, but every gardener is growing them in his garden.