Overwintering Tender Plants

Whether you set your house plants out last spring, for a summer vacation, or you got carried away with container gardening until pots competed with the cat for every sunny nook of patio space, the cool night temperatures mean it's time to think about bringing tender plants back indoors. Chances are you have even less sunny nooks inside, so you will have to decide what's worth keeping and how to care for them. Keep only healthy plants. If something has been struggling all summer under the best of conditions, it is not going to improve indoors. Never bring in a plant with pests or disease. Don't convince yourself that you'll quarantine the plant until it's been treated. Problems spread more quickly among indoor plants than in the garden. Give dibs to your favorite plants, the ones you've been coddling for years, like a bay tree, anything you've trained into a standard and sentimental favorites. If the plant would look good as a house plant, bring it in and use it as one. Many people have the light to successfully winter geraniums and begonias in full bloom. Some tender perennials like a period of dormancy in winter. You can winter over potted lavender and rosemary in your garage. If the temperature doesn't go below 20 degrees F. or above 40 degrees F. they won't freeze, but will stay dormant. Just don't let the pots dry out. If you have the room, consider bringing in some small pepper or tomato plants. These are actually tropical perennials and given enough light, will continue to produce fruits all winter. Tomatoes need a large pot. You'll have more success growing a compact, patio variety. Cherry tomatoes and small-fruited peppers like chilies or cherry varieties will fruit easiest and give you a higher yield. Be realistic about space and available light. You can always start cuttings. Cuttings take up much less space.

Give your outdoor plants time to acclimate to being house plants. Bring them indoors while the windows are still open. They'll adjust to the change in temperature and humidity more easily if the change is gradual, rather than waiting until a frost is expected and then bringing the plants into a dry, heated home.

Plants for a Small Garden

Garden Size: Obviously the smaller the garden space, the less plants you can have in it. This is especially true if you choose to use a large, focal point plant. A small space will look cluttered fast if there is too much diversity. Just think of how your home feels when toys and clothes are strewn all over the place.

Color Preferences: Limit your plant choices to 2-3 colors., maybe even only 2-3 different types of plants. If you start by selecting only 3 different plants. You’ll probably want at least 3 of each, so that’s already 9 plants. Play with positioning them in the space and take it from there. You can always add more.

Quantity: How many of each plant depends upon the size of the space and the width or spread of the plant. There are two schools of thought about how densely to plant a new garden. If you want your garden to look mature and full its first year, you will need to space young plants more closely or buy larger plants. You will get an immediate impact, but you will also need to begin dividing sooner. If you have the patience to allow your garden to fill in slowly, you can leave room for the plants to grow into their new home and fill in temporarily with annuals.

Average Spacing Guidelines 6- 12" spread - 2 plants per sq. ft. 12 - 24" spread - 1 plant per sq. ft. Larger than 24" spread - 1 plant per 2 sq. feet

Texture & Form: Unlike color, you will want some variety in texture and form, to give the garden depth. And with only a handful of plants, look for plants with long lasting appeal. Great foliage, perhaps variegated, colored or lacy, and a long season of bloom. You may be able to get away with a sequence of bloom if you include spring bulbs.

There really is no final choice, since gardens are never finished, but try to be as realistic as you can. Sketching it out on graph paper first, can help you to visualize how your garden will look. This may be the best route to go, but many gardens would never get planted if we waited until we felt things were perfect and it can be hard for a new gardener to equate what's on paper with reality. Sometimes you just have to get started. You'll learn as you go.

Just make sure that most of your plant choices fit of the criteria you've outlined and the growing conditions you have to offer. Try not to squeeze in too many different plants and you're small space garden should look and grow just fine.

Rose Companion Plants

A monoculture of roses, while pretty, is an invitation for pests.

Jason Riedy, Flickr Creative Commons Attribution License

The best companion plants for roses are those that share the same care requirements (in terms of light, moisture, and fertility) and also help the roses grow better. In some cases, companion plants may deter insect pests or make them less vulnerable to diseases. In others, they attract beneficial insects that will eat insect pests. Here are the most common rose companion plants.

Great Companion Plants for Roses - Members of the Allium Family

All members of the onion family are useful companions for roses. They deter aphids and other pests by confusing them with their strong scent. They also help roses combat black spot. While garlic and chives are most commonly recommended, ornamental alliums can also be used, and you get the bonus of beautiful flowers in addition to pest and disease deterrence.

GarlicChivesOrnamental AlliumsLeeks

Herbal Companions for Roses

Much like alliums, above, certain herbs help roses deter pests (most notably, aphids). The herbs below are the ones that work best with roses. There are several varieties of scented geranium, and they seem to all work equally well as companion plants for roses.

Flower Companions for Roses

Many flowers make attractive additions to a rose garden, and, if they have the same light, moisture, and fertility requirements, can be planted quite successfully near roses. The flowering plants listed below, however, also provide protection against pests and diseases.

Lavender - helps deter rabbits.Yarrow - attracts ladybugs, which will then eat any nearby aphids.Marigolds - deter pests, help encourage strong plant growth.

Garlic Companion Plants

In general, garlic is one of those plants that you should plant throughout your garden to help naturally deter pests. It actually accumulates sulfur, which is a naturally-occurring fungicide that will help protect your plants from diseases. Garlic also helps repel insects such as aphids. Below are the best and worst companion plants for garlic.

Best Companion Plants for Garlic

Garlic helps the plants listed below grow better. Because garlic isn't overly picky about where it is planted (as long as it is in full sun), it works in a variety of situations.

Fruit trees (all)TomatoesPeppersEggplantPotatoesCabbageBroccoliCauliflowerKaleKohlrabiCarrots

Worst Companion Plants for Garlic

Garlic and its allium relatives seem to stunt the growth of certain crops. Avoid planting garlic near the vegetables listed below.