Welcome to Every Garden!

From growing organic fruits and vegetables, to flowers for every season, to creating a comfortable and inviting outdoor living space and much more.

As each season brings it's own benefits and challenges for any gardener we'll provide a close-up and helpful look at the activities necessary to keep your landscape in top form throughout the year.

Also, every month as a special feature we will explore in detail a landscape design or style in an easy to follow step by step process that's sure to help any gardener create a garden or landscape to be proud of.

In this issue:

How to prepare your roses for winter

Protect your roses from the chill of winter with these time tested tips and techniques.

Planning the Home Landscape

Before you start you need to do a little planning. We'll start off our series on landscape styles with the proper way to plan for any landscape or garden design.

A Winter Rose - How to prepare your roses for winter

How to prepare any rose for winter always depends on temperature. In general, if in your area during winter the temperature drops to minus 10 degrees F or lower then any rose bush will need some protection.

Note: If you live in a area that has a mild winter then most of the following will not apply. However, the advice on fertilizing and watering in general does. (In mild winter areas a rose never really goes dormant though does require a season of rest).

Whether you have a hybrid tea, floribunda, tree rose, miniature or climber the goal is always the same... To protect the crown and roots of the plant from the worst of the winter cold and possible mid-winter thaws and re-freezings.

In the case of climbing roses and tree roses you will also need to protect the upper parts (long canes for climbers and top flowering crown for rose standards) as well.

Preparing a rose for winter will always start in spring ( yes, I did mean spring). Any rose that has had a long and well tended growing season will be better able to tolerate the worst any winter has to offer.

Throughout the growing season be sure to water a rose deeply (allow the soil to dry to a depth of 2 inches or so before watering again, the root system needs air too) and fertilize regularly which will encourage a deep and healthy root system as well as healthy canes and flowers.

Roses store nutrients in their woody canes and so the bigger the plant the healthier it will be. Maintain a routine of pest and disease prevention as well as careful pruning to remove spindly growth and damaged or diseased canes.

About mid to late August stop fertilizing though do continue to water deeply (never let the roots of a rose completely dry out).

About late September stop cutting blooms and allow a few rose hips to develop which will be a signal to the plant that it's dormant period is approaching.

Once you have had a few good frosts, leaves will start falling. Apply a dormant spray such as lime sulfur or a dormant oil spray. This will kill pests and fungal diseases that might try to over-winter on the plant or surrounding soil.

It can also help nudge those final leaves off. Rake leaves from around your plants and throughout your yard to prevent the spread of disease or a place for pests to hide.

Continue watering only as needed until the first hard frost and the ground is frozen. At this point cover the base (crown) of the plant and the surrounding soil (about 12 inches around the base of the plant) with a thick layer of straw, leaves or mulch and then cover with a few inches of soil.

Do not remove soil from around the plant to cover the crown, that soil is needed to insulate the rest of the surrounding roots. Instead, use soil from another part of the garden.

Climbing roses require the same protection listed above and in addition will need to have their long canes protected as well. Carefully remove the canes from the trellis, fence or wall they are tied to, lay them on the ground and cover with a thick layer of straw, leaves or mulch and a few inches of soil just like the base of the plant.

Tree roses are a special case in that not only do you need to protect the base and "trunk" of the plant but the top flowering crown as well.

There are 3 ways to over-winter a rose standard if it is planted in the ground. One, is to dig the plant up keeping a good sized root-ball and "heal" the plant into a large container then move it into a shed or garage for the winter. As spring approaches the plant is brought back outside and re-planted in the ground.

The second method is to carefully remove some soil from one side of the plant and bend it until it is laying on its side and then covering the entire plant with a thick layer of straw, leaves or mulch and 3 to 4 inches of soil. This method can be tricky for the novice gardener as there is a danger of cracking or breaking the plant at one of its grafting points.

The third method may be the easiest for a ground planted tree rose. First, wrap the entire plant in a thick layer of straw and burlap taking care to fully protect the plant from top to bottom. Secure everything with either clips, string, twine or wire and after taking a few measurements construct a ply-wood box (with an open bottom) to place around or over the plant.

Rose standards that are planted in containers are the easiest to care for. After following the advice for preparing a rose for winter listed above, simply move into a shed or garage where the temperature will be milder than the temperature outside.

Check the soil now and then to make sure the roots do not dry out (water lightly when needed) and move back outside once the danger of frost has past.

Late winter - early spring: When there is no longer a danger of a killing freeze uncover your roses and water deeply if needed.

Once new growth starts to appear is when you'll want to prune. Remove any damaged or spindly canes and prune back healthy canes by 1/3 to 1/2. Then fertilize and follow all the steps necessary to promote healthy vigorous plants for the entire growing season.

Good Luck and Happy Gardening!

For more information on keeping your roses in top shape visit:

Everything Roses


Landscape Design

Planning the Home Landscape

A landscape which is designed properly is a source of enjoyment for the entire family, it enhances a community and adds to the resale value of your property.

Landscape design involves much more than placing trees, shrubs and other plants on the property. It is an art which deals with conscious arrangement or organization of outdoor space for human satisfaction and enjoyment.

Some of its major goals include:

• Organizing and developing the site for maximum use and pleasure.
• Creating a visual relationship between the house and the site.
• Reducing landscape maintenance to a practical level.

Americans spend tremendous amounts of money landscaping their businesses, homes, streets, parks, schools, etc. Much of this money is wasted, however, because of little or no planning. People cannot understand how to landscape until they know why they landscape.

There are several reasons why people landscape: some think it improves the appearance of their place; others like to grow plants; still others just want their place to look pretty. Too often these landscapes dominate rather than serve. Masses of plants or other materials in the landscape may take up a large portion of the space and leave little room for people.

So how does the designer arrange space so that people will find it useful, beautiful, meaningful and functional?

Her methods include:

• Observing and analyzing the habits of the people who will be using the space, including their needs, desires and how much space each of their activities requires.
• Studying past landscaping methods.
• Surveying available materials to solve design requirements.
• Analyzing the environment of the site including the view in and around the site.

The ecology of the site should be carefully analyzed since it is important in determining the design. Not all landscaping improves the appearance of a building. The work of an insensitive designer can subdue a building, conceal important features or contradict the architect's intent.

Good landscape design can significantly improve the building's appearance by adding warmth, live-ability and personality. It can also relate a building to its site and environment and give it the desired degree of dominance.

Growth and change separate landscape designs from other arts. Most works of art such as architecture, sculpture and painting look their best when new. Landscape designs, however, are at their worst when new and improve with age. A well-designed landscape will seldom look the same any two months of the year.

The urge to begin planting immediately is almost overwhelming. Whether you are landscaping a newly-built home or redesigning an existing landscape, the results will be much more satisfying if you plan first. If you follow the steps provided in this manual you can produce a plan that will result in a truly satisfying landscape.

The Base Plan

If a landscape is a picture, it must have a canvas. This canvas is the lawn. Upon the lawn, the artist paints with tree and bush and flower as the painter does upon his canvas with brush and pigments.

The opportunity for artistic composition and design is nowhere so great as in the landscape garden, because no other art has such a limitless field for the expression of its emotions.

The making of a good and spacious lawn, then, is the very first practical consideration in a landscape. The lawn provided, the gardener conceives what is the dominant and central feature in the place, and then throws the entire premises into subordination to this feature. In home grounds this central feature is the house.

To scatter trees and bushes over the area defeats the fundamental purpose of the place - the purpose to make every part of the grounds lead up to the home and to accentuate its home-likeness.

It is desirable to have a definite plan on paper for the location of the leading features of the place.

These features are the residence, the out buildings, the walks and drives, the service areas, the border planting, flower-garden, and vegetable-garden. It should not be expected that the map plan can be followed in every detail, but it will serve as a general guide.

- Every Garden -

Next month we'll take a closer look at how to draw a base plan for a garden or landscape design.

It's really not difficult and we'll provide you with some simple tools to help you get started.


Some helpful links to high quality products and resources for the gardener in all of us.


Your Garden is an amazing e-book, many of those must do jobs you've been putting off will seem much less daunting and will take far less time.

You'll refer back to it again and again as you build towards your perfect garden.

It's like having a professional gardener to help every time you venture outside.

It doesn't matter if you're an amateur gardener, a budding enthusiast or a gardening professional, I know you'll find lots of new ideas to create the garden of your dreams.

Your Garden by Pauline Hodgkinson normally sells for $24.95, However, now it's available to you for only $9.95!

Act now and take advantage of this special limited time offer! Immediate Download!

Follow this link to get your copy of this amazing gardening resource!

Buy Your Garden Now!

Your purchase will be made through PayPal and is completly secure.



How would you like to save a ton of money and increase the value of your home by as much as thirty percent!

You can discover the joy and beauty of having a wonderfully landscaped yard with the help of the Homeowners Guide To Landscaping.

If your homes landscape is designed properly it will be a source of enjoyment for your entire family.

A well landscaped home will enhance your community and add to the resale value of your property.

Order now and get started creating a landscape you will enjoy for many years to come!

This high quality e-book normally sells for $24.95, However, now it's available to you for only $9.95!

Take advantage of this special offer and save $15.00! Immediate download!

Home Owners Guide to Landscaping Buy Now!