Do Plants Have Special Needs?
Chris Towland
Some gardeners treat their plants like people, and they have some good reasons to do that. Just as each of us is different in a certain way, plants have different needs in order to grow in good conditions. Of course, you can create a garden by randomly seeding this and that but the final result has little chances of being satisfactory. There are many factors that come into the gardening process: plant species, soil type, climate, humidity, temperature, shade etc.
Some plants, such as cucumbers or tomatoes, for example, need plenty of water in order to grow large and produce good harvests. Some flower species such as Candytuft, English Daisies or Roses need a good amount of humidity as well. When these water hungry flowers and vegetables are deprived of humidity, they remain small and their leaves are yellowish. Insufficient amounts of water also make these plants more vulnerable to pests and diseases.
Other plants, however, thrive in the exact places where one of the flowers and vegetables mentioned above would perish. Sweet Alyssum, for example, is one of those flowers that are extremely drought resistant. In fact, too much humidity is potentially dangerous for Alyssum. Baby's Breath is another flower that is very well adapted to hot and dry environments.
Protecting your plants from pests is another thing you should keep in mind when building your garden. Some plant diseases are contagious between species, so most expert gardeners try to protect their plants by a smart placement. Those plants that are likely to have the same parasites or diseases are planted further away from each other in order to diminish the risks.
You will often find gardeners that prefer to use container planted flowers and vegetables. This is an interesting approach to gardening, as the containers area easily moved, much like you would rearrange your furniture. When the weather gets too hot or too cold for some plants you can just take the container out of the garden and into a more suitable place. There are some problems related to container plants. The most difficult thing concerns the confinement of the roots, a factor that will limit plant growth to less than you would achieve if the same plant were in the soil. Containers also have different humidity and drainage elements that may prove to be negative for some plants.
Of course, you may also try to start things the easy way. There are many plants that are easy to grow. Beans are probably one of the fastest and easiest to grow vegetables. Carrots and onion are also easy to maintain and they require very little attention from the gardener. There are also different flower species that won’t waste too much of your time. Cleome flowers, for example, will manage on their own in the roughest of conditions. Other flowers that are easy to grow are the Coreopsis and the Gaillardia.
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