You’ve probably heard the phrase: every rose has its thorn.  Too many, thorns symbolize the danger that lurks behind the beauty of the roses, and all sorts of myths try to explain the presence of these dangerous little daggers on rose stems.  Greek myth suggests that Cupid shot arrows into the roses accidentally after being stung by a bee and it was the sting from his arrow that caused the thorns to take root.

Don’t despair if these little daggers are a thorn in your side.  With a little care and some patience, you can remove those pesky thorns for a nice smooth stem on your rose.

Thorns do actually help the plant drink water, so it is important that you remove them properly and do not inflict excessive damage on the stem.  You need to take your time and practice a proper dethorning technique – otherwise you and the rose will be injured in the process.

Carelessly removing thorns will damage your roses in the long run.  They will not last as long as they should and any peeled or torn skin will hinder the amount of water that makes its way up to the petals.  Proper dethorning takes practice and patience.

You can remove thorns right on the plant, or you can wait until the stem is cut and do it then.  It is best to try and remove thorns on the cane when it is quite young and before the rose blooms if you know that the stem will be cut at some point in the future for display or for the creation of a bouquet.  You can remove thorns by applying slight pressure to the sides to simply push them off the stem.  You can use this same procedure with cut stems.

Removing thorns by hand is a tedious task, and with some roses, the thorns grow so close together that it is almost impossible to push one off without stabbing yourself on another one.  That’s where a dethorning tool can come in handy.

You can purchase a specialty product like a thorn stripper.  This type of tool strips the stem of leaves and thorns. You can also fashion your own with some metal strapping from your local hardware store.  If you do make your own, be sure to file the edges that touch the flower so the stem is not torn excessively in the dethorning process.

To use a dethroning tool, you simply hold it just below the flower and close the jaws together around the stem. Be sure that you don’t use too much pressure when closing the jaws of the stripper because you could damage or even severe the stem.  Lightly drag the dethorner down the stem.  The thorns should pop right off.  It may take a bit of practice to get the hand of a thorn stripper, but after a few tries you should have a good idea of how much pressure is needed to remove the thorns.

You can also remove thorns with a knife.  All you need to do is scrape the stem of the rose with a sharp floral or small pairing knife.  If you are removing thorns from the cut stem, then you might consider only removing the thorns and leaves that lie below the water level.

You want to think carefully about whether or not you need to remove all the thorns from your roses.  It is important to remove rose thorns when the flowers will be in a hand held bouquet or worn on the lapel.  When placing cut stems in a vase for display, you should remove the thorns that will be below the surface of the water, but you don’t need to take off those that will be above water level.  Removing thorns can shorten the life of your roses so be sure that you aren’t over dethorning your blooms.

An important time to do some dethorning, though, is when you are preparing plant litter for your compost pile.  After pruning off any dead or decaying canes from your rose bush, you should consider removing the thorns before tossing the old stems into your compost pile.  Removing the thorns will make it safer for you to work and exposing the stem in this way will also help sped up the decomposition process.

Like nearly everything else, it is possible to pay someone else to trim your landscape plants. However, it is much more economical to learn how to properly prune your trees and shrubs yourself. Additionally, the exercise gives some people great enjoyment, as it is an excuse to be outside and enjoy fine weather and fresh air. There are different techniques to pruning, and different times of the year when such pruning is appropriate. By keeping a careful watch on your yard and paying attention to when your trees bloom, you can make sure to keep your landscape in the best shape through careful pruning.

Deciduous trees and bushy plants. These woody trees and plants are best pruned in early spring while they are still dormant. Some plants, however, go through a process of “bleeding,” when sap runs out of the cuts. While this does not actually harm the plant or tree, it can cause homeowners distress and worry. Therefore, when pruning plants that tend to bleed (such as maple, box elder, black walnut, elm, birch, and honeylocust), it is also acceptable to wait until they are fully leafed out.

Woody bushes like lilac, spirea, mock orange, viburnum, and forsythia should be pruned immediately after blooming. These plants have flowering buds that are produced every previous growing season. And, by pruning such plants directly after they bloom, you will be able to decorate your house with the sweet smelling blossoms on the pruned branches. These small branches, and the thin, small branches of a tree, may be cut with ease all the way through with only a single cut.

When removing a large branch on a tree, however, you will need to make three cuts. This will help you avoid tearing the bark. The first cut is placed on the under side of the branch, and should be located about 12 inches from where the branch meets the trunk. This cut is not very deep — only one-fourth to one-third of the way through the branch. Next, a cut should be made on the topside of the branch, and should be about two inches farther from the trunk than the first cut. Saw completely through the branch on the second cut. The last cut on the branch should be just beyond the branch collar. Leaving a stub encourages disease, and cutting the main trunk produces a wound that heals slower.

Evergreens. Evergreens have a slightly different consideration that the deciduous woody plants. They can be pruned in the early spring, but you should ensure that the new growth has hardened. Evergreens can be pruned practically any time between mid-April and mid-August. It is important to have them trimmed before mid-August because if you wait any longer, they may not recover from their wounds in time to withstand the winter.

Pruning of evergreens should be based upon the presence of their branch foliage. Do not cut beyond the green foliage portion. If you continue to prune, lightly, evergreens such as arborvitaes, yews, and junipers, each summer, they will eventually be a thicker and fuller plant. Failure to prune will result in scraggly-looking trees. Larger junipers and other plants may need a size reduction. In order to do this, follow the branches to be cut until you find new small growth that parallels the branch. Make your cut, diagonally, just beyond the reach of this smaller, parallel branch.

In some evergreens, you will find that the top has been lost due to injury. In such cases, you need to “build” a new top. This can be done by selecting the largest of the whorls nearest the top and by gently bending it up. Tie the branch to an attached brace, using a non-girdling material such as cloth. Then cut back the other lateral branches so that they cannot compete with the branch chosen as the new top. As with deciduous trees, it is important to cut back to a side branch or bud, and to leave no stubs.

No matter what type of tree you are pruning, the practices of topping, hat-racking, and heading are not recommended. These methods of trimming are not true pruning techniques, and they result in small shoots, called suckers, to form near the cut surface. These suckers are weak and rarely attractive, and they can distort the shape of the tree. And once improperly pruned, a tree may never return to its characteristic form.

Flower gardening is becoming more and more popular every day.  Flowers can brighten everyone’s day, they smell nice, and are a great hobby.  Flower gardening is simple, inexpensive, and loads of fun.  Flower gardening can be done for yard decoration, simply as a hobby, or even professionally.
There are some decisions that have to be made before even flower gardening can be started.  You must decide if you want annuals that live for one season and must be replanted every year, or perennials that survive the winter and return again in the summer.  When buying and planting, pay attention to what kind of flowers thrive in your climate as well ass the sun requirements.
When flower gardening, you must decide what type of look you want before planting.  For instance, mixing different heights, colors, and varieties of flowers together in a “wild-plant style” will give your garden a meadow look and can be very charming.  If short flowers are planted in the front of your garden and work up to the tallest flowers in the back you will have a “stepping stone style”.
You can order seeds for flower gardening from catalogues or buy them from a nursery.  Most people will go to the nursery and buy actual flowers and then transplant them.  After you have prepared your garden area and bought flowers, it is a good idea to lay the flowers out in the bed to make sure you like the arrangement and that they will be spaced properly.
One of the easiest processes in flower gardening is the planting/ if you have seeds just sprinkle them around in the flower bed.  For planting transplants dig a hole just bigger than the flower, pull the container off, and set the flower in the hole right side up.  Cover it with the loose soil and press down firmly, then water.

Maintaining a flower garden is even easier than planting one.  Although they might make it on their own, a bag of fertilizer applied in the early spring is a good idea.  Pinch back any blooms after they start to fade and keep them good and watered.  To save yourself work during the next season of flower gardening, rid your garden of all debris and spread out organic nutrients like peat moss or compost.  Don’t forget to turn over the soil to properly mix in the fertilizer and rake smooth when finished.  If you have perennials planted be careful not to disturb their roots in this process.

Flower gardening is as easy as 1, 2, and 3: simply decide what to plant; plant it, and water, water, water!  Flower gardening is undoubtedly gaining in popularity and gives anyone excellent reason to spend some outdoors and test out their green thumb.

When cutting your lawn, there are some different steps that can be taken with your lawnmower in order to allow the proper maintenance and care. This will help your lawnmower to stay new for a longer time. It will also help your grass to look better, as the cut from the mower will be more even and won’t rip.

The first thing to consider with the proper lawn mower for your lawn is what type of mower will be best for your grass. This can be determined by whether your lawn is on a slope or flat ground, what type of machine would have the easiest type of maintenance, and what type of environment you are in.

If you have to cut grass on a slope, the best type of lawn mower is one with high wheels. This will make it easier to push up a hill, or to move back down the hill with. The second type of lawn mower that is available is a cordless or electric mulching lawn mower. This doesn’t have gas, making it less messy to mow with. It also helps with mulching on your lawn. The third type of lawn mower that can be used is a reel lawn mower. These are said to be more environmental friendly, not contributing to pollution and are easier to mow with.

Beyond deciding which is the right type of lawn mower to use, is the maintenance which it receives. This will not only allow the mower to last longer, but will also give your grass a better cut. Every spring, the different parts of the lawnmower should be cleaned or repaired. The main thing that should be looked at is the wear and tear that is in the spark plugs. This also includes the nuts and bolts that are holding the mower together. They should be tight when they are fastened to the lawnmower. Besides checking or replacing this in the spring, you should check to make sure they don’t become loose throughout the duration of the season.

One part which should be cleaned at least twice throughout the season is the deck of the lawn mower. This helps the lawn mower to remain consistent while cutting and will help it to last longer. It will also help in preventing the spread of diseases in grass. In order to clean the deck of the lawnmower, you should first empty the gas tank and make sure that the spark plug is not connected. You can then stand the mower up on its side and spray the mower with water. You can then scrub off the rest of the dirt and grass that is stuck on the mower. Make sure to dry the mower after you have finished rinsing it off, to make sure that none of the parts rust.

Two other parts of the mower which should be maintained are the oil and the air filters. The air filters should be cleaned or replaced on a regular basis. Before removing the filter to replace, make sure that you know whether it is paper or foam. The oil that is maintained includes lubricating your mower by putting some oil into the fuel. This is only for two-cycle engine lawn mowers. The four-cycle engine lawn mower should always have oil filled before you mow.

One important part of maintenance, which will help your mower to last longer and will help your grass look better, is sharpening the blades every one to two months. This will allow a clean cut of the grass, rather than rips that may happen in the lawn. You can easily do this by removing the blade from the mower and sharpening it with a file.

When it is no longer necessary to mow your lawn, there are certain things that you can do for your lawnmower to make a better hibernating season. The first is to remove the gas from the gas tank. You should also remove the oil from the mower. If these are left in the mower over the winter, they get to old and get a bad texture to them.

With consistent and proper care of your lawnmower, you will be able to keep your lawn looking great through the seasons and years.

As the summer season approaches, many will be considering the care of their lawn. In deciding the maintenance for your lawn, you can also decide to allow your grass to become greener and healthier than what it has been in the past. The reason why some lawns are greener than others is mostly because of the amount of nutrients that the yard is receiving. The way that lawns are cared for adds onto the green that they are able to produce in return. This maintenance allows nutrients from the soil to be given to the grass. By watering your lawn properly, mowing and aerating your yard, you will be able to make a greener looking lawn.

One of the factors which may be adding to your grass not being as green is the location where it is at. If your lawn is shaded by trees, or other outside factors, it will be harder for it to receive the right amount of sunlight each day. This can eventually lead to the grass dimming out. If a tree is preventing sunlight from reaching the grass, you can trim the branches to allow more sunlight to come in.

Another thing to consider is how much traffic is moving through your lawn. By people moving over your grass, it causes the aeration that is needed through the soil to not move right. This causes the grass to have a lack of oxygen and may also add onto water moving into the soil as much as it should. You can solve this by aerating your lawn. If you notice that the soil is compact, or if there are flat places on the lawn, then you should aerate your lawn. Make sure not to do this in the middle of summer, as it will stress out the grass. In preparation for your yard to become green, it is best to aerate your lawn at least in the spring, and possibly in the fall.

Making your grass greener also includes watering the grass at the right times and with the right amount of water. When watering your lawn, it is best to do so in the early morning, as this will allow the water to move into the soil instead of evaporating by the heat of the sun. It is also important to make sure that you are watering it evenly throughout your yard, instead of in patches. An easy way to do this is to use an irrigation system for your yard. It is also important to make sure that the soil is not staying to wet, or becoming to dry between the days that you water. This will help in making sure that your grass becomes greener.

Another factor in making sure that your grass becomes greener is making sure that lawn thatch and debris aren’t taking over your yard. This may mean raking your lawn consistently and removing thatch that is over a half-inch in your yard. This will allow more aeration to move through your grass, as well as allow the water and nutrients to move freely through the grass and soil.

The soil that you are using for your yard is an important factor to consider in making sure that your lawn stays green. The soil should have the right pH balance, as well as the right texture with the grains. If it doesn’t, you can easily add compost or fertilizer to balance out the soil. This will help with giving the grass the right amount of nutrients, which will help it to stay greener. Depending on the type of soil, or the problems you see from the grass, as well as the time of year which you will be applying the fertilizer, will determine the type of fertilizer that you should get for the lawn.

Another important consideration in keeping your grass greener is when to mow your grass. You should remain aware of the mowing height and clippings that you should use. If you cut your grass too short, it may stress out your grass. If you don’t cut your grass enough, it may cause problems with water and sunlight moving into the soil.

Aeration, proper nutrients, the environment around the lawn, as well as mowing will all help your lawn to become green and stay greener. By keeping the maintenance in mind with your lawn, you will easily be able to produce a green lawn.