Dogs are creatures of habit; they prefer to urinate in favourite spots in the garden. Although pet spots can occur with just one urination, they often result from repeated visits in the same area. Pet spots occur as a result of a high concentration of nitrogen in urine. Whilst nitrogen, in low concentrations, acts as a fertiliser, in high concentrations it actually burns the grass.

One often sees pet spots in the lawn as a result of female dogs who tend to urinate in one spot, leaving high concentration of nitrogen in one spot. Male dogs, on the other hand, tend to cause damage to shrubs and flowers by ‘marking’ favourite areas repeatedly. This causes nitrogen overload and lawns, shrubs, young trees and vines may die off as a result.

Some grass blends are more resistant to urine nitrogen content than others. Fescue and perennial ryegrass have been shown to be the most resistant to urine burn, while Kentucky bluegrass and Bermuda grass are very sensitive. Even with this in mind, it’s simply not practical to reseed one’s lawn with a more resistant grass blends. There are, however, several easy solutions that will please both dog and owner.

Problem Area Solutions

There are times when the damage you see in your front lawn is not your pet’s doing. Well-intentioned neighbours walking along may allow their own pets to urinate in your lawn. The most effective means of prevention in this case is to install some type of barrier: a low stone wall, a picket fence or a rock garden should do the trick.

The issue is more pervasive when addressing the needs of one’s own pet. Dogs are relatively easy to train and retrain. Many owners I have worked with design a special area in their garden to address their pet’s needs. For male dogs, creating a rock garden with several marking spots (boulders, large rocks or a post ) is often enough to satisfy their dog’s need to mark. For female dogs, artificial turf might be a better answer to those pesky brown spots. Artificial turf is cleanable and urine drains through into the soil without damage. In either case, training your pets to urinate in designated areas of the yard is relatively easy and requires only a leash, persistence and a bit of patience.

By far the easiest and cleanest method of preventing pet spots is simply to water the area after your pet has urinated to dilute the nitrogen content. One study carried out by dog expert A. W. Allard showed that watering the area with three times the volume of the urine was enough to prevent nitrogen burn. The study also showed that the watering can occur anytime within eight hours after urination with good effect; in fact, the dilution created a fertiliser effect. But leaving the area for 12 hours or more without watering allowed the burn to occur.

Having pets needn’t mean resigning yourself to a patchy lawn. With little effort, you can have your verdant jewel and keep your dogs happy at the same time.

Allard, AW. Lawn burn and dog urine, Canine Practice, March/April 1981;8;(2);26-32.

Baby rubber plant, cast iron plant, and Chinese evergreen all grow well with limited light and infrequent watering. These three plants do better in cooler or air-conditioned rooms, but can also survive in warmer room temperatures.

Corn plant needs a lot of diffuse sunlight to thrive, but will die in direct sunlight during the summer time. It doesn’t need a lot of water or any fertiliser if potted in good soil. It can grow rather large, however, so you will want a large pot and plenty of room for it to grow. Devil’s ivy grows well from cuttings and needs indirect sunlight. Like the corn plant, Devil’s ivy will die if exposed to full sunlight.

Other popular houseplants for you to consider include: heart-leaf philodendron (by far the easiest plan to care for and propagate), jade plant, ponytail palm (for those who often forget to water), snake plant, spider plant, stripped dracaena, Zamioculcas zamiifolia, African violet, aloe, amaryllis, asparagus fern, begonias, cactus and succulents, Christmas cactus, chrysanthemum, coleus, croton, cycads, cyclamen, dumb cane, dwarf schefflera, Episcia, Ficus benjmina, fiddle leaf fig, fushia, gardenia, geraniums, German ivy, gloxinia, hoya, hydrangeas, kalanchoe, kentia palm, lady palms, maidenhair fern, orchids, peace lily, pepper face, prayer plant, Schefflera actinophylla, Sedum morganianum, velvet plant, yuccas, and zebra plant. Try something unique that you don’t see every day in other people’s homes.

There are a wide variety of houseplants that are available and can meet the needs of any décor and taste. Each flower, scent and colour brings its own unique flare to a home. Houseplants are also great to use as teaching tools and experiments because they are not as expensive as garden plants, nor do they need as much attention. Give your child or grandchild a practice plant to work on during the winter so that when spring comes, he/she will be more than capable of helping you in the garden. You can also use houseplants to test out new potting mixes or fertilisers, grafting and cutting techniques or even foliage colour combinations. Whatever you choose, houseplants will keep your mood bright during drear winter months.

The best time to move large shrubs is in the late winter or early spring – before blooms begin to appear. Transplanting shrubs is relatively the same across species. As long as shrubs are in their period of dormancy, no harm should come.

There are many reasons for choosing to transplant. Over the years, older shrubbery can outgrow its original planting location and need more space to avoid crowding out your other plants. You may also choose to transplant when planning to add a new garden to your landscape. Transplanting older, fuller shrubs can help make your new garden look more established at the outset, fitting into the entire landscape plan much better than simply filling it with new plantings. A newly added garden can sometimes look newly added unless we mix and match new with old, which makes the new garden look out of place. Finally, we might simply wish to revitalise an old space with a new shrub come springtime. Whatever the reason, transplanting a shrub – even a large one – is relatively simple.

The first step is to dig out the new hole where your shrub is to be moved. Make sure this hole is larger and deeper than the root ball that will be transplanted. You will need to break up the soil in the bottom and add a good amount of organic matter to nourish the shrub over the next few months and make it easier for the root system to re-establish itself in the new location.

Next, dig a trench around the shrub sufficient to accommodate the main root system without damage. Sixty centimetres should be adequate for most shrubs. Cut in underneath the shrub with a goal of obtaining as large a root ball as possible. If your shrub has thick or knotty roots, you may need to cut or saw through the largest of these in order to free the shrub from the ground. After the shrub is clear, place it gently onto a square of hessian, tying the ends around the root ball to keep roots and soil together as you move it.

Do not hold over your shrub for days – move it directly to its new location. Be sure you’ve used only biodegradable hessian and twine to tie up your shrub’s root ball. Synthetic hessian will not rot and the roots will not be able to penetrate the material. Ease your shrub into the new hole and backfill with a good mix of soil and compost or leaf mould. Mound the soil slightly higher than the ground, as watering will settle the soil. Water well and add more soil around the plant if necessary. Over the next few months, regular deep watering are necessary in order for your shrub to re-establish its root system in its new home. Water deeply at least once a week, more often if it is particularly dry weather. Allow the soil to dry out between watering, but not for too long. The biggest danger to transplanted shrubs is loss of water uptake by severed root systems. This is why watering is so essential to transplant success.

Once your shrub is established in its new home, it will be ready to bloom come springtime. You should not have to do anything more to care for your shrub in the coming year other than making sure it gets enough water to recover from the decreased root support.

Garden art can be a wide variety of things and comes in all different shapes and sizes. Garden art can be a large tree, a metal statue, patio furniture or a seating structure; but regardless of the form it takes, garden art is always the foundation of a beautiful landscape. Designers often use these features as the basis of a good design plan and build the landscape around these focal areas. Garden art tends to be large and serves as the focal point of the garden, so everything else needs to compliment or go along with it.

There are different pricing levels to consider when looking for garden art. High-end consumers look for custom creations build to their exacting and specific standards. This is a great option for someone who has a large budget with a very distinct and specific idea of what they are looking for. Custom garden art allows you to put your own personal touch on your garden more than any other type of garden art.

Specialty contractors are fabulous at taking the ideas in your mind and bringing them to life. With the winter lull, many designers are willing to do the work in the off-season at a reduced price. For those with more modest budgets, you might just find a discounted piece that did not quite match the specifications of the original buyer, or a piece that was not claimed. These are always wonderful treasures to find.

A second form of garden art is the type you find at garden centers: pieces that are created in bulk and sold at retail prices. While these pieces may be less satisfying, they can serve several functional purposes. Bird houses, bird baths, bat houses and simple seating can be purchased at reasonable prices and don’t always require that special uniqueness that larger pieces deserve.

For the handy gardener, you might choose to make your own garden art out of new, used or recycled materials. This gives your garden a personal touch and a more relaxed feel than any other type of garden art. This is perfect for someone with a creative mind and imagination who likes to work with their hands. Projects that work well for this option are bird and bat houses, seating areas, wooden pedestals or simple archways, and wooden plant boxes.

Metal is a great non-traditional material to use in your garden; it’s inexpensive and can be used in so many different ways. From animal sculptures to a seating bench or even a gazebo, metal allows you to work with your hands and express yourself creatively.

Art can be interpreted in a multitude of ways. So no matter whether you choose custom garden art, non-traditional garden art, or decide to make your own, these pieces will set the tone for the rest of the landscape.

Dates to remember:

8-10 April 2011: RHS Spring Flower Show, Cardiff

While all RHS shows are fabulous, last year’s Cardiff winners were absolutely spectacular. The 2010 winners were:

Best Show Garden: Gaynor Witchard Gardens for Irene’s Garden

Silver-Gilt Flora: C. J. Garden Designs for Urban Sanctuary

Silver Flora: Cardiff Council for Cardiff: Capital of Shopping

Silver Flora: Cardiff Council – Ranger Service for Cardiff’s Foreshore

Bronze: Steve Mann Garden Designs for Spring Flowers

This year’s show should prove equally inspiring.

12-15 May 2011: Malvern Spring Garden & Country Show

Last year’s spring show was filled with colourful displays. This year’s show promises to be equally beautiful.

24-28 May 2011: RHS Chelsea Flower Show

The Chelsea Flower Show is the event to attend for the ultimate gardening experience. A few of this year’s 18 designers include:

The M&G Garden, designed by renowned landscape architect Bunny Guinness, is a modern take on a traditional kitchen garden.

The Daily Telegraph Garden, by designer Cleve West, explores timelessness and permanence through species plants and modern hybrids in a peaceful, relaxing sunken garden.

The Trailfinder’s Australian Garden, presented by Flemings Nurseries, is themed on the journey of the HMS Endeavour and the botanical discoveries that Joseph Banks made on his voyage between 1768 and 1771.

Gateshead Council’s Essence of a City Garden reflects Gateshead’s long-term vision to become a city. Evoking a civic garden, the design takes reference from squares, avenues, vistas, tree-lined boulevards, fountains, and sculptures.

The Green Poem Garden, by Kazuyki Ishihara, is based on the mountainscapes of Nagasaki in Japan and features water, rocks, wind and soft greens to create calmness.

The Laurent-Perrier Garden, by award-winning designer Luciano Giubbilei, brings together garden, art and architecture. Leading Japanese architect Kengo Kuma and British sculptor Peter Randell-Page will be contributing respectively with a sensory bamboo pavilion and three commissioned sculptures.

The Monaco Garden, by designer Sarah Eberle, illustrates the landscape and architecture of Monaco with Mediterranean plants and colour scheme.

The New Wild Garden, designed by Nigel Dunnett for The Landscape Agency takes its inspiration from The Wild Garden, a book by William Robinson, who popularised naturalistic gardening and virtually invented the herbaceous border, this garden celebrates beautiful, colourful and romantic plantings.

The Australian Garden, designed by Jim Fogarty for the Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne, charts the passage of water through Australia’s landscape.

The Skyshades Garden, by Marney Hall, illustrates how beautiful an office garden can be using eco-friendly materials and native plantings to encourage wildlife.

The Kew Eureka Garden, in partnership with Kew Gardens and The Times, showcases the significance of plants to science and society through design and planting. Plants have been chosen for their beauty and utility – some of which have a medicinal, industrial or commercial use.

Starting an herb garden is done in one of two ways: either with starter plants or with seeds. If you decided to start your herb garden with plants, you can start with basic herbs such as thyme, mint and rosemary. You can buy cuttings from younger plants at your local garden center, and some supermarkets even carry plants. Using cuttings or plants to start your herb garden is easier and faster than using seeds. You will have to transplant them into a proper soil mixture, either available at your local greenhouse premixed, or there will be directions that accompany the herb when you purchase the stock.

The second option you have when starting your indoor herb garden is to use seeds. There are a variety of starter packages available for easy care and growth. Since the herbs provide a lot of contrast and colour, it’s best to put your seeds in pots at least 15cm in diameter and make sure you label them well. Some of the budding seedlings will look the same, and you do not want to mix them up. When making your seed purchase, be sure to buy the ‘compact’ seed varieties, as these are designed to grow smaller and are cultivated specifically for indoor growing. If you choose to grow full-sized plants, keep in mind that they are bigger and need more sunlight than compact varieties.

You will need to leave your pots in a sunny window and make sure they get at least five hours of sun daily. You can easily monitor watering requirements by placing a plate underneath the pot to catch any excess water from regular waterings. Check your soil daily; it should be damp, but not soaked. It is especially important to check soil moistness if you keep a dry or hot home.

Once you begin seeing sprouts, lighten up on the watering. Too much water will cause the fledgling roots to rot and is the number one cause for unsuccessful herb gardening. After only a few weeks, your herb garden will start to flourish and you’ll be able to use fresh cuttings in your food preparation in about two months if starting with seeds, sooner with cuttings.

Your first task this time of year is to prune back winter-flowering shrubs and grasses that were left to overwinter in your garden. Make sure they are finished before you attempt this project, otherwise you can harm them.

Now is a good time to start any major landscape projects or renovations. Garden designers are less busy during February and you are likely to get a good deal if your project is finished by the end of March. Wait a month and you risk a wait. Designers and builders begin their busy season in March and the season doesn’t end until November. Think about scheduling projects such as paving, decking, fencing and other hardscaping projects. Any impact on your plants is lessened if done while they are still dormant.

Start cleaning. Remove any algae or mould from your walkways and structures and clear up any remaining leaves in the area. Get out your lawn furniture and give it a good scrubbing to get it ready to enjoy on the patio or deck. Check your furniture’s condition to make sure it is in good repair. Sand and repaint rusted areas on metal furniture. If your wooden features look dry, coat them with a good stain or clear sealant. For painted wood, check for flaking and peeling. On a warm, dry day, sand down damaged areas and put on a coat of primer and a coat of paint to seal out moisture and protect your wood.

If you have a greenhouse, it’s time to ventilate during warm days and start cleaning off any snow. Clean out the inside, as well, making sure to scrub down the corners with bleach water, taking care not to splash any solution on your plants. Rinse everything down with your hose nozzle set to high. Take a broom and sweep out any water and dirt left standing.

Generally speaking, February is a month for making repairs and doing maintenance on all of your garden structures and equipment in preparation for the busy months of March, April and May. You might want to start up your lawn mower to make sure it is in good working order, as well as the trimmers, edgers and clippers. You don’t want to find out at the last minute that your equipment isn’t as ready as you are for your spring work schedule.

Firstly, now is a good time to sit down and plan any new work or renovations. In just a few weeks, it will be too late to make any major changes to your plantings. Once plants start to bloom, moving them will likely cause damage. A simple piece of graph paper and a pencil will help you draw out your current landscape features. Grab your favourite gardening encyclopaedia and curl up with a cup of hot tea.

When planning out changes to your landscape, try adding a few new plants or grasses to your gardens to give your yard a bit of excitement. Planting new choices in small, obscure parts of your garden will let you try out the plant for a year to see how well it works with the other elements in your garden. If it works well, next year you can plan on increasing your usage or using the plant as a focal point.

When choosing new plants, it is important to write down light, water and soil requirements for your new treasures. As best you can, incorporate them in beds that have plants with similar requirements. This will make your seasonal care much easier. You will also need to take into account colour, height and spacing requirements. If you pay close attention to these factors in the planning stage, your planting and maintenance will go much more smoothly.

Take the opportunity to plant trees, shrubs, hedges and climbing plants during warm, dry days. Don’t try to do this if the ground is too wet or you will make more work for yourself than necessary. If you plan to add more roses to your gardens, you can start planting those as well.

Amaryllis is one of the most popular flowers to grow over winter and into spring. It has big, colourful flowers and generally blooms in late January or early February. Paper whites are also great bloomers for the indoors. They require little attention or care and produce the most magnificent blooms.

Orchids are a spectacular winter flower, but don’t last very long. Orchid growing is a popular hobby for gardeners during winter months and can be quite time consuming, depending on your level of expertise in the area. Phalaenopsis orchids last longer than traditional orchids. Boat orchids produce fantastically large blooms in a wonderful variety of colours. They are quite a showy flower and work well in a vase in the centre of your table.

Clivia, Christmas cactus, and kalanchoe are all seasonal bloomers and produce bold colours in the wintertime. It’s best to prime these plants in the fall in order to get the best results in the winter months.

More traditional houseplants are begonia and African violet, both of which do exceptionally well indoors during the winter months. Begonia has beautiful decorative foliage and comes in several shades of pink, red and white. African Violets are a collection of plants and come in a wide variety of shapes and colours; they do very well in a window sill. While many plants might shy away from a cool spot next to the window, African violets do well in slightly colder climes. They thrive at about 15°C, which tends to be a bit chilly for me.

It may not be the same as the outdoor gardening you enjoy and experience during the spring and summer, but growing and caring for indoor plants will give you something to occupy your time while you wait for the warm weather to come around again. In addition, houseplants don’t just have to be for the winter; you can grow houseplants year round and take the pots outside when spring comes around again. With care and indirect sunlight, many houseplants will do even better outdoors in the fresh air.

Ferns in general are great for the indoors because they don’t require a lot of light or a lot of attention, which makes them perfect for the beginner gardener or someone who wants to continue their gardening habits during the winter months. Indoor ferns come in a variety of sizes and leaf shapes; they make a bold statement in the room, compliment any décor, and can be used as a focal point or a background piece.

Ferns need little light, a lot of humidity and a regular light feeding schedule. Generally, the only difference between the types of indoor ferns that are available is the amount of water needed and the temperatures they can tolerate. Ferns largely survive off indirect sunlight, making them the ideal winter plant in your home. If you want to put your indoor fern in a window, be sure it’s a north-facing window so that it won’t get much direct sunlight. Windows with southern and western exposures should be avoided unless they have a heavy drapery that remains closed during times of intense sun exposure.

Ferns need high humidity to grow and prosper. If your home is not already humid, you can create humidity by placing the fern in a tray containing a small amount of water with pebbles. The pebbles are in place to keep the bottom of the pot from coming into direct contact with the water; you don’t want your fern to drown. If you’re not sure if your house is humid enough for your fern to survive, look for browning leaves, as this is a sign of low humidity. Many fern growers keep a mister handy and give their ferns a light mist daily to help maintain proper moisture levels in the leaves.

Ferns can live in regular living temperatures: from about 20 degrees to 22 degrees Celsius. Some ferns can live in lower temperatures at night, and some at higher temperatures during the day. If, like me, you take your potted ferns outdoors in the spring and summer, keep them in a shady spot and give them a regular watering and a misting to maintain proper plant health.

Feeding your indoor fern is easy. Simply fertilise once a month with a liquid fertiliser at one-half strength.

Indoor ferns do bring about scale, mealy bugs and mites. Instead of using a pesticide to get rid of the problem, try using a hard spray and a little water to dilute it. In addition, just picking them off your fern will eventually stop the problem.