Top 10 Gardening Tips from Melwood Garden Center

10. Why Gym When You Can Garden?
Gardening can be used as a excellent form of exercise. Gardening improves balance and strength as you are lifting, bending, stretching and twisting.

Most people don't realize how strenuous of an activity gardening can be. Just to give you an idea of the impact a day’s works can have on you physically here's a few of the typical gardening duties and the amount of calories you can burn.

• Raking Leaves = 395 calories per hour

• Weeding = 290 calories per hour

• Spading, Filling Garden, Composting = 340 calories per hour

• Planting Trees = 306 calories per hour

Tips from "Gardening Your Way to Health and Fitness", a book by Bunny Giunness and Jacqueline Knox:

• Pace yourself. It's easy to lose track of time while planting, weeding and raking leaves.

• Be sure to drink lots of water and take frequent breaks in order to promote healthy results.

• Remember to stretch before and after you garden.

9. Perennials vs. Annuals

Often times new gardeners become confused by the difference between a perennial and an annual plant. Here are a few tips that distinguish them:

Annuals

• Once planted, they don't survive the winter in this region.

• Annuals will bloom throughout the season.

Perennials

• Once planted they will survive the winter season and come back each year.

• Perennials have a shorter bloomtime.

8. Start Seeds Indoors for Summer Plants

Start seeds indoors for tomato, eggplants and peppers so they're ready to plant outdoors by Mother's Day weekend. That weekend is typically the frost free date around our nation's capital.

7. Don't Put Away Your Hanging Baskets in the Fall: Plant Mums!

Late August is the time to prepare your garden for the crisp days and cool nights that lay ahead. Consider incorporating mums into your Fall garden design plan.

Chrysanthemums, often called mums, are one of the oldest cultivated plants in existence. They are native to Asia and date back as far as the 15th century BC; mums have a long history in the Asian culture and are highly revered. Believed by the ancient Chinese to possess special medicinal powers, legend has it that mums will cleanse the body of spiritual impurities and provide eternal youth.

In Japan, mums are considered to be a sign of long life and happiness. The country celebrates the Chrysanthemum each year with a Festival of Happiness; where they display some of the most beautiful varieties of the plant, in various shapes and colors.

Mums were first introduced to the US during the late 1700s. Today, they are one of the most popular flowers in the world, next to the rose; they're a beautiful sign of the Fall and a great way to add color to any garden. Here's a few tips to get you started:

• Plant in the late Summer/early Fall season and be sure to use well drained soil

• Mulch is your friend! Mulch will help to keep the weeds down and aid in the plant's survival during the Winter season.

• Mums can be planted in the ground, hanging baskets or containers

• Mums are a perennial, but if the soil is well protected and the roots receive winter protection (ie. heat) they may come back

There are some great resources available for those of you interested in more information on including mums in your Fall garden. The National Chrysanthemum Society provides great information on the cultivation of the plant. And of course, visit the Melwood Garden Center to pick up your Mums in the fall!

(Psst: Want to know the best companion plant to mums? Skip to tip 4!)

6. Connecting with Nature Can Reduce Stress

Many Americans experience some level of stress each day. A recent survey of the most stressful people in the world ranked America 5th out of the 151 nations surveyed.

There are many ways to reduce stress. One that is becoming more popular is the holistic approach. It is a proven fact that connecting with nature can decrease stress levels and improve our overall well being. In 2007, a study from the University of Essex found that a walk in the countryside reduced depression in 71% of the total participants. They also found that one can improve mood, self esteem and motivation by spending as little as 5 minutes in a nature setting.

"Stress is one of the most important factors related to ill-health in modern times, and is a malady that includes psychological, physiological and behavioral components," said Kathleen Wolf, projects director at the University of Washington’s College of Forest Resources. "Exposure to nature in the form of trees, grass and flowers can effectively reduce stress and the response to the body can occure fairly quick."

For more information on reducing stress through nature I recommend a great book "Your Brain on Nature" by Eva M. Selhub, MD and Alan C. Logan, ND (a naturopathic doctor).

5. Generate Some "Black Gold": Compost!

Compost is like organic recycling. Composting cuts down on products at landfills and your garden will greatly benefit from the rich, organic composte materials; in fact many refer to the material as "black gold." This black gold will improve the ability for your soil to hold water and it will stimulate the production of healthy roots.

So, I know what you're thinking, how do you get started? You will need these 4 essentials ingredients to get started composting:

1. Nitrogen - fresh cut grass clippings

2. Carbon - fallen leaves, dried grass or paper products

3. Water - you must keep your composte materials moist like a sponge

4. Oxygen - turn the pile to allow air to circulate

A few tips to make the compost process go smoothly:

• Keep your composte pile at least 3 feet high; no higher that 4 feet which would make it very hard to turn.

• Keep your pile in a shady location so the materials do not dry out

4. Pansies: Your Mums' Best Friend

It would be rude to give so much love to mums up in tip 7 without mentioning their perfect companion, pansies. The name pansy is from the French word pensée meaning "thought." There's a lot of folklore surrounding the beautiful flower, especially when it comes to love. Pansies were considered to be a "charmed" flower possessing telepathic (magic) for lovers. The original three colors - purple, white, and yellow - were believed to represent the memories, loving thoughts and souvenirs that ease the hearts of separated lovers.

Like Mums, pansies prefer the Fall weather; shorter days and cooler nights. Planting them together with mums can create the perfect color combination for your Fall garden. The pansy's deep blue, purple, yellow and burgundy colors are the perfect compliment to the rich color of the Fall mums.

The flowers range in size from 2 to 5 inches, and the center resembles a cheerful face smiling at you. Pansies are edible (be aware of possible food allergies) so, they're a great natural (and budget friendly) way to brighten up the display of a specialty cake or veggie/fruit plate. Its also a great pressed flower and works well with horticulture and arts-n-crafts projects.

The plant are winter hardy and can survive the frost and even a few inches (very few) of snow. 

3. Support the Butterfly Population

Butterlfies typically arrive at the Melwood Garden Center at the end of each summer, and we love when these winged wonders are everywhere! There are about 24,000 species of butterflies that can be found in every part of the world, except Antarctica and some of the very arid desert regions. This is due to the fact that there are simply no food sources for the butterfly and they definitely would not survive in the cold weather. But generally speaking, butterflies live in every single country!

Please take a moment to stop and appreciate one of mother nature's most beautiful insects as they flutter from flower to flower in their graceful dance. The iridescent colors and intricate patterns on their wings could only be found in nature and it can be very therapeutic to sit back and observe them.

The monarch and black swallowtail will be the more likely visitors to your garden as they are the most common butterflies in North America. Most butterflies are active mid to late Summer; during the daytime hours. They are typically on the hunt for the nector from your flowers or plants. This allows them to store up energy for their daily flights.

Please consider adding plants to your garden to support the butterfly population. The Farmer's Almanac has a great site that provides a list of the plants that butterflies love. This list is a great way to start the process of planning your garden to support the butterfly population.

2. Water is the Key to a Plant's Survival

I know this may sound like a no brainer but water truly is the key to a plant's longevity. Most importantly, we have to recognize when a plant may or may not have a sufficent amount of water. Inspite of all of the rain we've recently encountered in the greater Washington DC area there is an art to watering your plants.

All plants are unique. Depending on their exposure to the sun, soil conditions and the plant variety, their watering requirements will differ. So, here are a few key tips to keeping your plants healthy.

• Mulching your garden will help to keep the soil moist for longer periods of time.

1. Visit Your Local Farmers Market

If you've never paid a visit to your local farmers market we encourage you to give it a try this summer. There are several benefits to purchasing local produce:

1. Its a great way to support your local business community; and an important time to support your local farmers

2. The produce is in season and fresher

3. You'll reduce your carbon frootprint because the food doesn't travel

4. In most cases you can speak with the farmer who grew the produce you're purchasing to inquire about their process, ie do they use chemicals/pesticides, are they certified organic. etc.

You can also find some of the most delicious homemade baked goods, jams and jellies at a local farmers market. They even make herbal soaps and sachets. Its a great experience and we encourage you to give it a try if you haven't already done so. Before you head out the door Saturday morning here are a few shopping tips:

• Bring your own bags - most vendors will not provide bags so bring your own just in case

• Arrive early - the best produce will go fast so get there as early as possible to ensure that you get the best selection

• Comparison shopping - be sure to visit a few vendors and compare their prices before you settle on a purchase

• Try something new - undoubtedly, you will find something new at the farmers market. Give it a try...you'll never know until you try!

We have a lot of great farmers markets available in this area. Please click on one of the links below for a list of markets in your area.

Maryland Farmers Markets (Maryland Dept. of Agriculture)
Washington D.C. Farmers Markets (Washington Post)
Virginia Farmers Markets (Virginia Tourism)