Garden Flower Seeds and Junk Mail – What Do They Have in Common?

Did you know you can use your junk mail for your garden flower seeds? Yes, you can. Use your junk mail to start your garden flower seeds and help save the world! Or at least the landfills. Using your junk mail to start your garden flower seeds will also save on the amount of garbage you have. Less to haul out to the curb!

Here’s how:

Everyone gets junk mail and most of the time it goes right into the garbage can and out the door. Which is where is should go but using it to start your garden flower seeds puts it to good use while saving the landfills and makes wonderful fertilizer.

Many people think papers will biodegrade right away but it usually takes a couple of months to break down. Of course, using paper by itself will tear and fall apart but it won’t biodegrade for a while. Notice the papers on the street. It’s the perfect solutions for junk mail and your garden flower seeds.

Most manufactures of ink use a combination of vegetable oils to make their ink for printers. So the ink in the paper won’t hurt your garden or your plants. It also makes great mulch and helps hold water so you water less, thus saving on your water bill, too.

Most people get junk mail that consists of letters, envelopes, flyers and newspapers. Put them to good use. The only part you shouldn’t use is those little plastic windows in the envelopes but that’s a minor detail. You can always throw out the plastic and use the rest with your garden flower seeds starter soil.

And the best part – worms love junk mail and will help biodegrade it while leaving their mark on your garden flower seeds in the way of fertilizer.

Take the junk mail and tear it in strips or put it through a shredder and mix it in with the soil you use to start your garden flower seeds. Also you can mix it with your grass clippings for mulch or just use it as mulch. It will hold water and keep the soil moist while your garden flower seeds are starting to grow.

So, using your junk mail for your garden flower seeds gets rid of your junk mail, saves the landfill, saves water, put natural fertilizer into your garden and you help save the world. You can tell everyone you’re doing your part to by going Green. How cool is that!

Don’t forget to pass it on...

It’s Butterfly Season Again: Get Those Garden Flowers in the Ground!

While most of you still have snow on the ground and even colder nights, those of us in the southern parts of the world are starting our gardens. Sorry about the snow and cold but one of the best things about living in a temperate climate is growing garden flower seeds for our butterfly gardens. You can still think about your butterfly garden and start it indoors for when your spring does come out of hibernation.

Grow plants for butterflies is exciting and of course, watching the beautiful butterflies in your garden is a treat. But you need plants in your garden to attract butterflies. I recently visited Key West’s Butterfly Conservatory, oh so beautiful, and they had an excellent book on butterflies which I bought, to help me with my butterfly project for this years flower garden.

The Life Cycles of Butterflies: From Egg to Maturity, is a book loaded with great information on 23 common butterflies in North America. A visual guide with pictures of the full life cycle, from larval to butterfly--remarkable visual resource and guidebook for butterfly lovers. But the best part of the book is the plants section showing plants that attract butterflies to take them through their life cycle. So which garden flowers do you need in your garden?

Glad you asked cuz I have a list. To get butterflies to your garden they need certain flowers to devour. These garden flowers are like candy to a kid and butterflies will swoon when they notice them. Since butterflies will eat the plant it’s best to not treat them with anything (chemical) that will harm the butterflies. Try to use composting and organic fertilizers to protect the butterflies.

The Most Favorite Garden Flower Plants that Lure Butterflies to your Garden

Each type of butterfly has a favorite plant. Actually it’s the larva that likes the plant; the butterfly itself likes the nectar of the garden flower. They also are attracted by the color of the garden flower or maybe that’s just Mother Nature’s way of helping butterflies camouflages themselves from predators. Depending on the plant they will attract several types of butterflies. species Most are very easy to grow and don’t require any special attention. You can start them indoors if it’s still too cold in your area.

Dill (Antheum graveolens)

Dill pretty much grows all by itself. No help needed other than water and a little compost to keep it growing. You can also use it in the kitchen! Dill is great in soups, salads and especial when making pickles. It will host the Eastern Black Swallowtail butterfly larvae. Dill can grow up to four feet tall, so plant it in the back sunny part of your garden. Sometime it may need a support to keep it upright.

Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare)

Fennel is not only very good in soups and roasts but the Eastern Black Swallowtails also loves it. The leaves fennel smell like licorice. It will grow up to six feet tall! Think of all the butterfly larva that can host. The butterfly’s larva will feed on it so get your share before the larva hatches. You are almost guaranteed to have swallowtails if you plant fennel in your garden.

Asters (Aster spp)

Asters are perennials that need lots of sun light. They are easy to grow in average soil. No special handling or fertilizers. They come in a variety of blues, purples and several shades of pinks. Asters have a yellow center and a daisy-like look even though they are a member of the sunflower family. They grow to two feet and you will have lots of Crescent butterflies if you grow asters. Asters will seed themselves but you can also propagate them from division. They also make good cut flowers for vases and arrangements.

Milkweeds (Asclepias tuberosa)

Like bees make honey, milkweed is like a drug to Monarch butterflies. There are toxins in milkweed sap that makes them poisonous to birds. Which is one of the reasons birds stay away from Monarch butterflies. The Viceroy butterfly also likes milkweed and camouflages itself by looking like the Monarch. Birds don’t eat them, because they think the Viceroys are Monarchs, and poisonous. Milkweed is easy to grow but doesn’t like to be transplanted. So plant it where you want it to grow and let it seed and you will always have milkweed growing in your yard. (for the butterflies, of course)

Hollyhocks (Alcea rosea)

Painted Lady butterflies love hollyhocks. Hollyhocks will go indoors or outdoors, of course they’re better outdoors but they can be started indoors for a head start on summer. They are biennial, meaning they will only bloom in the second year so buy some potted plants at the nursery or get a cutting. The best thing about hollyhocks is once planted you seldom have to plant again. They bloom from July through September then seed for the next year. They thrive best in full sun but will do reasonably well in partial shade.

Hollyhocks are at their best when planted against an old wall or fence. Around the end of August you’ll see them disappear due, of course from the larva of the Painted Lady. Wait until the cocoons have opened before cutting down the stalks and seed pods. Of course, you can just let them go and they will seed for next year. You can save the seeds but they do need to be subjected to the cold to help them germinate.

These are just a few of the plants that will attract butterflies to your garden. There are many different types of butterflies and many, many types of garden flowers that will attract butterflies. The purple and yellow cone flower, Mexican sunflower, mmmm, my favorite garden flower, clover, any type of herbs and vegetables including mustard and Radishes. Also some butterfly favorites are violets, Dutchman's Pipe vine, nettles, thistles and sunflowers, just to name a few. Growing your own butterfly “host” plants to lure caterpillars to your organic garden will ensure that you have lots of butterflies to watch this summer! Good luck!

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Making Gorgeous Bouquets With Your Garden Flowers Seeds—Indoor Planting

A great time to use all those container you’ve been saving!

One of the best times of the year is when I get to start my garden flower seeds. I love to see the little starts coming up knowing the beautiful flowers they will produce in about 3 to 4 months. Growing your own garden flower seeds gives you the opportunity to grow flowers not available in your nursery shops. It’s also less expensive and you get more garden flowers than you can buy.

Growing garden flower seeds also means you can use organic methods from the start and that means a healthy plant without diseases and pests. Ohhh, it’s a good start for any garden flower.

Germination And Temperature For Garden Flower Seeds

These are the two most important conditions for starting your garden flower seeds. If the temperature is wrong then the seeds won’t start or they will start slow. What you want is for your garden flower seeds to germinate quickly and have the seedlings grow vigorously. Providing the right conditions is the key to growing your garden flowers.

If you buy your seeds the information will be found on the packet or in a gardening book. Most garden flower seeds germinate better in warmth but there are some that require cold in order to germinate (called stratify, I will explain this later). The best degree of warmth is a few degrees above what the garden flower seed packet says. If they suggest 70 degrees then the best temperature is about 73 to 75 degrees.

Unlike the garden flower seed packet I don’t agree they need light, just warmth to germinate. But if you want to put them in a window sill or under a grow light then go ahead, you have my permission (like you need it). Anyway, they only need light when they peak out of the soil with their little smiles on. Then they need strong light to grow up to be that gorgeous garden flower bouquet on your dining room table.

What is Stratification?

Some garden flower seeds need the cold to germinate. I sure you noticed how Mother Nature has different seasons. At the end of the growing season, usually the end of summer, your flowers have dropped seeds all through the season and they are waiting for spring and the warm weather to germinate and grow new flowers for your viewing pleasure.

When starting garden flower seeds indoors they need a bit of cold to break down the outer shell of the seed for water to get in and start the germination process. By putting them in the refrigerator or the freezer acts like Mother Nature and when you start your seedlings indoors you mimic Mother Nature and fool the seeds into thinking they have gone through the winter and now it’s time to start the germination process all over again.

All flower seeds need the rest of winter and the warmth of spring to germinate. Some garden flower seeds need it more than others. Such as lavender, heathers, apples, oranges, lily of the valley, and bluebells are just some of the seeds that need stratification. I usually use a wet paper towel and put the seeds in between then put them in a plastic bag. I write the name of the seed, date I put them in and when to take them out. I have started apples in August with this method. See the picture of my little apples seeds.

Once your garden flower seeds have germinated, they don’t need the high temperatures but they still need some heat plus they need the light. If your garden flower seeds become straggly and pale, they are reaching for the light and need to be moved closer to the light source. At this time your garden flower seedlings need to be protected against frosts and draughts.

Just don’t put your flower seedlings outside the minute they pop their little heads up in the soil. They need to be acclimated to outdoors a little bit at a time. I usually take two weeks to acclimate my garden flower seeds then transplant them to the garden where I want them. Keep them watered but not soggy and they will make beautiful flower arrangements for your house or they make wonderful gifts to cheer anybody’s soul.

A little bit a time and attention with your garden flower seeds will yield you some gorgeous flowers.

Container, Containers And More Containers For Your Garden Flower Seeds

If you’ve never start garden flower seeds before then it might seem complicated. But it’s not. You can start them indoors as early as January and as late as October. You can start garden flower seeds on a window sill, in that old fish tank sitting in your garage, or the buckets sitting in the closet. You can even start them in trash bags. All you need is a little soil, water, a container, and flower seeds.

Remember that seeds and seedlings are not quite the same. They require different conditions to succeed.

Seeds require warmth to germinate and seedlings require light and water to grow and bloom. There are tons of containers to use for to start you garden flower seeds. No need to buy anything, you already have hundreds of containers and seeds don’t really care what type of container they are started in. So, let’s go!

Let’s see what kind of container you have?

Well, there’s your milk and half and half carton, the yogurt container, cottage cheese container, Styrofoam dish your meat or vegetable came in and your egg carton (one of the best seed starters ever!), sour cream container, oatmeal container, butter, beer cans, soda cans, liter bottles, gallon jugs, the holder for the blank CDs you bought, the box of cereal, juice, even frozen juice concentrate containers, ice cream, pies, cakes, cookies, bread, coffee, tea, any type of box and ever box your take out food comes in.

And then there’s the cans your beans came in or any fruit or vegetable, even the glass jar the tomato paste came in can be used as a starter container for your garden flower seeds.

Phew, that’s a lot of different containers and that’s not even half of them. Every time you buy some food or product at the store it comes in some type of container. So don’t throw them away, keep them to start your garden flower seeds. Then throw them away.

These containers are one of the best little garden flower seeds starter you can save. Little greenhouses just waiting to be used to start seeds.

Ha! Start your seedlings in egg shells!

What? Egg shell? That’s right! Egg Shells...Did you know they are loaded with calcium? And are very good for your garden. Almost everyone uses eggs so you might as well use them for your garden. Even if you don’t start your garden flower seeds in them you can crush them up and put them in your garden for the added calcium you will get.

The easy way to start your garden flower seeds with egg shell is to save the egg shells and the container they come in. Break the eggs in half and wash them with water (sometimes they may have salmonella in them). Another way is to use a knife and cut to tops (on the pointy end) off and still wash them with water.

Put some soil in them and put the egg shell back into the carton. First though, fill the carton with wet sand then put the egg shells in them. Plant the garden flower seeds of choice and put into a plastic bag such as a zip lock, bread bag, or trash bag. Don’t put them in the light yet! Just keep them warm at about 70 degrees. Putting them in a bag will help keep the moisture until the seeds sprout.

After the garden flower seeds have sprouted then take them out of the bag or open up the bag so they get air flow. Put them in a place where they will receive at leas 4 hours of sunshine a day without being over heated. Check them everyday to keep the moisture level as even as possible.