DEMO: Hobbies Theme

There are many reasons why you might want to dry your roses. Some people just want to keep a memento of a special moment. Perhaps they are a part of a wedding that you went to; maybe they were a gift from a mate, friend, or family member. Whatever your reasons for doing it, this is the section where you will learn to dry your roses properly.

There two ways drying rose petal can happen and that are cheap and relatively easy.

Air Drying

Air drying is by far the easiest and cheapest method of drying flowers including roses. It is simple; all you have to do is follow these simple instructions.

Start with perfect and unflawed roses on their stems. If the roses are not in perfect condition, they will wither and the petals will fall off.

Remove any leaves that may be on the branches.

Bunch them up together in a manner that lets them fan out. Tie the bottom with string or a rubber band.

Hang them upside down in a dark, dry place for two to three weeks to be certain that they are completely dry.

Sand Drying

Before planting, the plants must be prepared. The following suggestions will help insure that your roses grow into healthy bushes, trees, etc.:

1.Your new roses have probably dried out during shipping or storage, therefore before planting, either bury the roots in wet saw dust or peat moss for several days or soak them overnight in water. Keep the roots wet when planting, do not let them dry out.

2.Prune damaged and broken roots.

3.Prune main roots just enough to reveal white healthy tissue. This will help more roots grow.

4.Prune the plant back to three or four healthy canes. Try to keep the center of the plant empty. Prune the healthy canes back to about six (6) inches using sharp pruning shears. Keep the cutting blade on the lower side. Cut at a 45 to 60 degree angle. Cut about one fourth inch above an outside bud union.

5.In order to prevent infection, treat the cuts with some type of sealent or sealing paint.

6.Make sure that you have removed any suckers that may have started growing during shipping or storage.

The following should be taken into consideration when selecting where to plant your roses.:

So, you have decided to plant rose bushes in your yard or on your patio, porch or balcony. Now all you have to do is go out and buy some bushes and plant them. Right? Wrong!!

There are several things that you have to decide before buying:

1. Where are you planning on planting?

2. Are you going to plant in the ground or in containers?

3. Do you want roses that are scented or unscented?

4. Do you want bushes, trees, climbers, vining or do you want them to grow into a hedge?

5. Do you want large, medium, small or miniature blooms?

6. Do you want roses for cutting?

7. What colors go best with your garden, patio, porch or balcony?

There are several types of roses, among them are:

Hybrid teas bloom frequently, are hardy, come in a wide range of colors, are well sented and are good for cutting for vases. The size of the blooms and the length of the stem depends on how they are pruned. They make the best long stem roses for cutting.

Wide circle driveways don’t happen much anymore, but when they do, what do you do with them? Clear out the grass, mound up some soil, and park a few boulders in strategic positions and you’ve got the perfect spot for an artistic rose garden. Plant some dark green Juniper and a few golden-tipped junipers for background color before adding your roses.

Invite people into your garden with planned paths, safe benches (protective distance from pokey thorns), and a shade providing arbor. A garden structure can be as formal or rustic as you please, make your choice, and design what suits your style. Personally, I prefer rustic structures, so mine sports rough hewn pine lodge poles and leather lashings.

Cedar chips and lava rock provides moisture retaining mulch for the area. Low growing juniper and an occasional spot of Shasta daisies around the edge of the drive provide additional color and flora. A gazing ball nestled near the path, and bird feeders, add life to the garden without intruding. A birdbath near the center offers a restful trickle of water for those quiet afternoon siestas on a bench nestled into a cove of tall growing juniper.

Set in a broad expanse of lush green lawn a length of split rail fence forms a corner. Carpeted with a thick layer of soil preserving and plant protecting cedar mulch, three tall Colorado blue spruce offset the right angles of the fence. Lush red roses climb and meander along the fence setting off the soft color of the spruce and livening up the grounds. A bench of rustic-cut native stone rests casually near the edge of the cedar chip mulch with views of sunset beyond the roses, and lush rose gardens toward the back of a rough hewn log cabin in the foreground.

This ruggedly natural setting implicates something of nature, blended with a cared for garden, a wealth of beauty with little cost. Whether the setting describes the corner of a yard, a cozy corner near the house, or a mirage near the center of a vast hillside, the bench lures the gardener with promise of miraculous sunsets, interesting coffee moments, and restful contentment at the end of a long hard day.

The first thing to look for is the plant’s grade.

Nearly all bare root roses sold today are grown in the field and are approximetly two years old. They are sold in three main grades.

Grade 1 is the best and most expensive grade. In order to obtain this grade the plants are required to have at least three strong cains, two of which must be at least 18 inches in length for hybrid teas anf grandifloras. The canes should be at least 1/8 inch in diameter.

Grade 1 1/2 is the most popular grade due to it’s lesser price. In order to obtain this grade the plants are required to have at least two strong canes which must be at least 15 inches long for hybrid teas and grandifloras. The canes should be at least 1/8 inch in diameter.

Grade 2 is the least expensive grade. These plants are only required to have two canes 12 inches or longer. These plants can be a gamble as they may be stunted.

Note: Measurements are for plants when dug from the fields. Sometimes the plant sellers will shorten the length of the canes for easier handling. The number of canes remain the same and usually the thicker the diameter the better the plant.

Proper pruning of your backyard grapevines is essential to maintain vine size, shape, and yield of the grapes. If you don’t prune your vines, they will become unruly, tangled messes. Fruit ripeness will suffer. Overproduction of the vine may lead to premature death. It is also one of the harder things to visualize but one of the easier things to accomplish for the home gardener.

Pruning is performed in the early spring while the vine is still dormant. This is done in February, March, or early April depending upon when the grapevines generally come out of dormancy and bud out.

Pruning the grapevine and training the vine go hand-in-hand. You must decide the way you want to train the vine in order to prune it correctly. Vines that “droop” should be trained to a top wire of about 6 feet. Canes are then pruned and trained outward from the middle on each side of the trunk. As the new shoots grow, they droop on each side of this high pruned wire, naturally, taking in account of their habit of growth. Concord, and other native American varieties are typical of those varieties that droop downward naturally.

Solar lights are very popular for lighting yards and gardens. They are virtually maintenance free, easy to install, and cost almost nothing to run. Once you have bought solar lights, the only future maintenance costs are for replacement batteries.

The only drawback for solar lighting is that they must be placed in an area which receives a lot of sunlight during the day. If your garden or a pathway is shaded, solar lighting is not going to work very well.

If you are intent on having solar lighting for a shaded area, you can install a solar panel on your roof or other spot which receives a lot of sunlight. This is a bit more expensive than regular solar path lights or solar spotlights and you need to run a wire from the solar panel to the lights.

Depending on the amount of sunlight received during the day, solar garden lights can provide six to 12 hours of lighting in the evening. They have a built in photosensor which turns the lights on when it becomes dark. They remain lit until the battery is depleted or the sun rises — whichever comes first.

Fresh flowers should feel crisp or firm. Before you buy, run your hand under the flower heads from stem to petal tip. Proceed gently under the petals so as not to bruise them.

If the flower vendor objects, give them a withering look and enquire in a loud voice, “Are these flowers fresh?”

If the flowers feel soft, cool or damp, don’t buy them.

Keep testing the other bunches until you find a good one. Often there are only one or two bunches older than the others. Look and listen. Really fresh flowers will make a soft rustling sound as you stroke them.

As flowers age:

- the foliage will start to yellow from the bottom upwards

- the stems will discolor from the bottom up as bacteria spreads from the cut

- seeds or pollen on the flower head will open and shed spores

- the petals will fade in colour, lose moisture, dehydrate and eventually collapse

Remember: It’s your money and you want the best value for it. As a consumer you have a right to examine an item before you buy, and this is especially important for anything perishable.

Imagine it’s a special occasion and you’ve just received a glorious bunch of roses. You put them in your best vase and you stand back to admire them. You’d love to make them last as long as you possibly can, but other than keeping them out of direct sunlight, you’re not sure what to do.

Here are some tips on how to extend the shelf life of your roses:

1. Remove the roses from the vase and put them in a temporary container.

2. Clean the vase by washing it thoroughly in water with household bleach.

3. Fill the vase with fresh water and add a half teaspoon of household bleach for each litre (16 fluid ounces) of water.

4. Remove your roses from their temporary container and lay them flat on a counter top.

5. Remove any leaves which will show below the waterline in the vase.

6. Cut about 20 mm (3/4 inch) from the base of each stem immediately before placing it in the vase. This removes any air bubbles.

7. Don’t place roses in drafts or direct sunlight, or near fruit, heaters, TVs or refrigerators.