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The Weekend Gardener

- The Busy Person’s Guide To A Beautiful Backyard Garden

By Victor K. Pryles

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"The Weekend Gardener" by Victor K. Pryles

Copyright © 2003 Victor. K. Pryles

Page 2 of 155

Please Read This First

"The Weekend Gardener"

- The Busy Person’s Guide To A Beautiful Backyard Garden

By Victor K. Pryles

Copyright © 2003 Victor. K. Pryles

Additional material © 2003 John Williams and licensors

All rights are reserved, including sale, distribution and storage of the whole or any part of the book by any means that is currently available or developed in the future.

This book is based on the author's experience and research.

Because of the wide variation in conditions and circumstances that gardeners and plants are exposed to, the author, publisher and distributors do not accept any responsibility for the results that anyone may receive from their use of this book and its content.

This is NOT a free book.

This book must not be offered or distributed through any auction.

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The Weekend Gardener by Victor K. Pryles

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"The Weekend Gardener" by Victor K. Pryles

Copyright © 2003 Victor. K. Pryles

Page 3 of 155

Table of Contents

Please Read This First .................................................................................. 2

Introduction................................................................................................... 6

Chapter 1: The Weekend Garden ............................................................... 9

A Better Weekend Gardening Experience ............................................................... 11

Weekend Gardening Goals ........................................................................................ 12

Making Your Choices ................................................................................................. 13

Looking For Easy Solutions ....................................................................................... 14

Slow But Sure Does It!................................................................................................ 14

Chapter 2: Easy Lawns .............................................................................. 17

A New Vision Of Lawn Care...................................................................................... 17

Sloping Lawns ............................................................................................................. 18

What About Lawn in Shade?..................................................................................... 18

Let’s Line up Our Lawn............................................................................................. 19

Mass Planting Ground Covers................................................................................... 20

My Big Three Suggestions! ........................................................................................ 21

Oh! The Tangled Webs Of Deceitful Ground Cover! ............................................. 23

Handling Unruly Ground Covers.............................................................................. 23

Mowing And Lawn Care Freedom............................................................................ 24

Grass Choices .............................................................................................................. 24

Shaded Grass............................................................................................................... 25

Helping Grass In The Shade ...................................................................................... 25

Grass Vs. Tree Trunks & Roots ................................................................................ 26

A Mowing Strip To The Rescue! ............................................................................... 26

Conclusion: Easy Lawns! ........................................................................................... 27

Chapter 3: Fast Flowers ............................................................................. 28

The Perfect Weekend Flower Garden....................................................................... 28

Flowers: A Short Course ........................................................................................... 29

Three Cheers For Annuals!........................................................................................ 29

Easy Care Annuals...................................................................................................... 30

Those Bang-Up Biennials!.......................................................................................... 31

Keep ‘Em Comin’ Perennials .................................................................................... 32

Bang Up Bulbs! ........................................................................................................... 33

Roses, Oh! Roses ......................................................................................................... 33

The Season Long Bloom ............................................................................................. 35

Color In The Flower Garden ..................................................................................... 36

Taking The Outside Inside......................................................................................... 36

Enjoy the Loveliness Of Your Care Free Flower Garden....................................... 37

Chapter 4: Delicious Weekend Vegetable Gardens ................................ 38

Intensive Gardening.................................................................................................... 38

The Weekend Gardener by Victor K. Pryles

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"The Weekend Gardener" by Victor K. Pryles

Copyright © 2003 Victor. K. Pryles

Page 4 of 155

Step One- The Soil ...................................................................................................... 39

Yearly Chores.............................................................................................................. 39

Making The Bed.......................................................................................................... 39

Designing Your Bed .................................................................................................... 40

How To Select Vegetables .......................................................................................... 41

Harvesting Vegetable Plants ...................................................................................... 42

Weekend Vertical Gardening .................................................................................... 42

Spacing Crops For Weekenders ................................................................................ 43

Vegetable Roommates ................................................................................................ 44

Keep ‘Em Moving Crop Rotation ............................................................................. 44

Coming Back For Seconds And Thirds And ............................................................ 45

Those Everlasting Perennial Crops........................................................................... 45

Chapter 5: Fruits Made Easier.................................................................. 47

Blueberries: The Friendliest Of All........................................................................... 47

How To Care For Blueberries- The Basics............................................................... 48

Planting And Feeding Blueberries ............................................................................ 48

Pruning Blueberries.................................................................................................... 49

Scrumptious Strawberries.......................................................................................... 49

Whoa! Strawberry Stampede! ................................................................................... 50

Strawberry Planting & Feeding ................................................................................ 52

Big Show Brambles!.................................................................................................... 54

Which Brambles?........................................................................................................ 54

A Trellis and A Bramble ............................................................................................ 54

Brambles Basic Care................................................................................................... 55

Is your Bramble Sick? ................................................................................................ 56

Currants and Gooseberries........................................................................................ 56

Caring For Currants and Gooseberries.................................................................... 57

A Fruity Conclusion.................................................................................................... 57

Chapter 6: Natural Landscapes ................................................................ 59

A Few Basic Principles ............................................................................................... 59

Native Or Natural? ..................................................................................................... 60

Your Woodland Garden - A Shaded Paradise ......................................................... 61

Check The Soil pH And Other Considerations........................................................ 62

Shaded Areas............................................................................................................... 62

Choosing Your Site ..................................................................................................... 62

Let’s Spark Up The Soil ............................................................................................. 63

Let’s Get Some Woodland Plants.............................................................................. 63

A Word Of Caution .................................................................................................... 64

Let’s Place Our Plants Now ....................................................................................... 64

Ferns Are Lovely Here ............................................................................................... 65

House Keeping Is A Breeze!....................................................................................... 65

An Introduction To Meadow Gardening.................................................................. 65

What About Seed Mixes? ........................................................................................... 66

Weeds And Your Meadow ......................................................................................... 69

The Weekend Gardener by Victor K. Pryles

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"The Weekend Gardener" by Victor K. Pryles

Copyright © 2003 Victor. K. Pryles

Page 5 of 155

Chapter 7: Easy Care Plants for Weekenders ......................................... 70

Weekender Groundcover Recommendations........................................................... 71

Weekender Small, Medium & Tall Deciduous Tree Recommendations ............... 83

Weekender Evergreen Tree Recommendations....................................................... 93

Weekender Deciduous Shrub Recommendations .................................................... 97

Weekender Evergreen Shrub Recommendations .................................................. 103

Weekender Annuals Recommendations ................................................................. 107

Weekender Perennial Recommendations ............................................................... 114

Weekender Bulb Recommendations ....................................................................... 119

Chapter 8: Matching The Tool and Task In Your Weekend Garden . 124

Don’t Take Your Tools For Granted ...................................................................... 124

Dig In and Plant With These Tools ......................................................................... 124

Power Tillers.............................................................................................................. 126

Weekend Weeding & Cultivating Tools ................................................................. 126

Weekend Pruning Tools ........................................................................................... 127

Weekenders Raking And Blowing Tools ................................................................ 128

Weekenders Leaf Eating And Brush Chomping Tools ......................................... 128

Weekenders Edging Tools........................................................................................ 129

Weekenders Lawn Mowing Tools ........................................................................... 129

Weekenders Garden Hoses And Attachment Tools .............................................. 130

Weekenders Wheelbarrows, Carts, And Garden Cloths ...................................... 131

Weekenders Mulch ................................................................................................... 132

Weekenders Compost ............................................................................................... 133

Appendix A: Weekender’s Year Long Calendar Of Activities ............ 135

Happy New Year! January ...................................................................................... 137

February .................................................................................................................... 138

March ......................................................................................................................... 139

April ........................................................................................................................... 140

May............................................................................................................................. 141

June ............................................................................................................................ 142

July ............................................................................................................................. 143

August ........................................................................................................................ 144

September .................................................................................................................. 145

October....................................................................................................................... 146

November................................................................................................................... 147

December ................................................................................................................... 148

Appendix B: USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map.................................... 149

Appendix C: Weekend Gardeners’ Resources....................................... 151

Afterword................................................................................................... 153

About the Author ...................................................................................... 154

Other Books By The Author:................................................................... 155

The Weekend Gardener by Victor K. Pryles

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"The Weekend Gardener" by Victor K. Pryles

Copyright © 2003 Victor. K. Pryles

Page 6 of 155

Introduction

Too many demands, too little time for the joy of gardening? One of the hard facts of modern life is that crammed schedules and crushing workloads seem to conspire to make gardening a threatened pastime.

But everyone wants a lovely garden, a place where the landscape sparkles with

refreshment and the beauty of nature. A place where the dirt gets under your fingers; the earth a partner and friend. A setting where you can spend a few restful hours soaking up its beauty and letting it lift your spirit.

Pl