🎉 Fun Fact Friday 🎉

Gardening, the laying out and care of a plot of ground devoted partially or wholly to the growing of plants such as flowers, herbs, or vegetables.

10 Surprising Facts you didn't know about your Garden 

1. A sunflower is not just one flower.
Both the fuzzy brown center and the classic yellow petals are actually 1,000 – 2,000 individual flowers, held together on a single stalk.


2. There are more microorganisms in one teaspoon of soil than there are people on earth.

3. Plants really do respond to sound.
Talking to plants to help them grow is a well-known old wives' tale, but studies have shownvibration (like music, or perhaps even the sweet sound of your voice) can affect plant growth. Plus, the Myth Busters(in an admittedly not-so-scientific study), compared a silent greenhouse to one where they piped in a voice soundtrack, and found that plants in the latter grew more.

4. Butterflies might be more attracted to your weeds than your flowers.
Colorful blooms aren't the chief reason these insects love your garden – it's more about the fragrance and nectar. According to the Smithsonian Institute, new cultivars of popular flowers have been bred for enhanced color and size, but have often lost their fragrance in the process. So everyday weeds, like dandelions and clovers, might actually be the most appealing things in your yard to butterflies (they hate pesticides, too). Taking care to choose heirloom flower seeds can get them to also fly your way.

5. A little baking soda can help you grow sweeter tomatoes.
A regular sprinkling of this kitchen staple into your plant's soil can help reduce acidity, which sweetens up your crop.

6. Some of your favorite fruits are actually in the rose family.
Apples, pears, peaches, cherries, raspberries, strawberries, and more are rosaceae, making them cousins to the long-stemmed Valentine's Day variety.

7. The right orchid combination can smell like your favorite dessert.
Did you know that the vanilla bean comes from a orchid varietal? And it's not the only sweet-smelling kind: "An oncidum hyrbrid called Sharry Baby smells like chocolate," says George Hatfield, president of the Santa Barbara Orchid Show. "It's 'baking cookie' aroma has made it a winner." And that's not all: The cymbidium Golden Elf smells lemony, and the phalaenopsis violacea has a cinnamon scent. "Just like you'd combine Jelly Belly beans to create new flavors, you can combine orchids to create a garden that smells like a dessert buffet," says Hatfield.

8. You can change a hydrangea's color by altering the pH level of the soil.
A more alkaline soil will result in pinker blooms, while more acidity will produce blue blooms. To coax your plant to the blue side, add more organic matter to your soil, like egg shells and coffee grounds (though the acidity in used coffee grounds can vary greatly, so you might try a high-acid fertilizer, too). The change won't happen overnight, but eventually you should succeed in manipulating your soil's pH level.

9. Deer can jump eight feet high.
They might require a running start to reach such heights, but a tiny fence often isn't enough to keep these garden nibblers away. Try a taller one, plant thorny or pungent plants as a natural barrier, or scare them off with lights or wind chimes.

10. You don't need to be a dedicated composter to reap similar benefits.
Call it cheating, but applying used coffee grounds, eggshells, chopped-up banana peels, and other organic matter directly to your soil (no composting required) can offer plants nutrients as they decompose. For already-growing beds, scatter and bury the items within the first few inches of soil.

for more gardening information & fun facts check out goodhousekeeping.com 

INTRODUCTING:

The Garden Patch.....For Kids at Paradise Hill Ranch & Western Wear!!

Fill out this registration form to enter your "Green thumb - Gardener" into the Garden Patch! 

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

Kids of all ages are welcome to join.

We will be showcasing them and their garden all summer! 

We will be asking you to send us updates and pictures throughout the season that we will use to update the webpage.

In the fall we will host Market Gardens at the store out on the patio.

All Garden Patch Participants will be invited to come and offer for sale any of their garden produce.


Check out the Garden Patch - CLICK HERE

If you have any questions, contact Katherine Oster at phranchkatherine@sasktel.net or call / text 1-306-248-7297

We look forward to Growing with you!!!

Have a great weekend!
From all of us here at Paradise Hill Ranch & Western Wear

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