What are the best flowers to grow on a screened in balcony in Orlando, Florida?

My balcony faces South, doesn't get direct sunlight but the sun does hit it for most of the day. I would like bright colors and fresh smells to make it more inviting. I don't want a vegetable garden. Also, tips on how to hang boxes so they aren't just on the ground would be helpful as well!

Answer: 1.
I would use anthurium for a bright red flower. You could put it in a pretty container on the floor. Impatiens does well in Orlando and stays in bloom nearly all the time. It would be happy in a hanging basket by itself or with pothos or nephritis hanging down.
Dracena can be a spiky purple color in the middle of a container with 3 yellow coleus around it and spider plant hanging down.
You can hang baskets over the sides of your balcony rails. Boston Fern would be great there. You can buy baskets that are ready to hang at most any garden center.
Scented geraniums are great for most any
For even more interest you could put your containers on platforms or columns to make different heights.
Answer: 2.
There are always good local nurseries in any city. Just stay away from the big box stores.
Answer: 3.
Honey Suckle and Clematis.
Answer: 4.
Impatiens and nasturtium are nice.

Check this out on window boxes:
http://www.hooksandlattice.com/

what to do with my lilies?

Last may I planted various types of lilies in a garden in front of my house. I have since realized that the area was not the best place to put them (poor drainage) but they are there. Anyway, they seemed to by fine last year, blooming throughout most of the summer. I clipped the dead flowers and left the greenery in the fall. Now they are still brown and just slumped over in the garden. Are they going to come back or do I need to trim away all the brown? If they are going to come back, when should I expect them? (I live in zone 5). Thanks for the help!!!

Answer: 1.
i have day lilies and asiatic lilies and i always clean out all the dead leaves and stalks in the late winter.
in fact, i just did this two weeks ago. it looks as if there is nothing there in the beds, but the bulbs are still there.
they will all start growing new leaves when it warms up in your area. so, go on and clean out all the brown. it is dead vegetation from last years' growth.
Answer: 2.
they will come back, but from the ground not the stem. cut the dead palnt back, and once the weather hits the 70s and 80s around mid june, it should start to come up
Answer: 3.
Trim off the brown parts. They should begin to grow soon depending on the amount of sunlight in the area. I live in Pennsylvania and my daylilies are just starting to peak their tips up in the sunniest places. I won't expect my asaitic lilies until June.

Day lilies will grow in most places and are very adaptable. If that is what you planted, they will probably be fine.

Good luck!
Smwoody

Leaves on my bell pepper plants curling and completely limp!?

I planted two plants (red and yellow sweet) bell peppers this spring in my garden with good mulch and drainage, and I don't over water them. I also make sure they get good sun exposure- but what could possibly cause the leaves to go limp? They are not falling off, just getting slightly curled and limp and a little yellower near the bottom of the plant. My yellow bell pepper plant has two small fruits, and the red one hasn't even flowered yet. The daytime temperature is around 82 f, and the nighttime temp is near 55f. Any help? Thanks!

Answer: 1.
Iron defiency and lack of nitrogen..However even though it is spring, bell peppers do not like to be planted untill the nightime temperature reaches at least 65 or 70 degrees..It is still a little bit cool at nights for them to reach photosynthesis correctly....Read about the 5th or 6th paragraph here..

http://www.monsterguide.net/how-to-grow-...
Answer: 2.
Could be getting sprayed (peed on) by animals. Figuring out how to repel the guilty party depends on what kind of animal.
Answer: 3.
Sounds like not enough water or too much sun.

Why is composting so hard? (gardening)?

We have tons of kitchen scraps and I'm going nuts looking at everything from turning to bokashi to tumblers to holes. Does this really have to be so complicated? Then I read blogs online of failures, too much work, smell, etc. What really is the right way to do this in a smallish but not miniscule home flower/veggies organic garden?

Answer: 1.
Just pile your grass, leaves and other plant material in one place. Put a few branches around it. Don't add any meat or other items that might smell. Water whenever you feel like it.
Put fencing around it if you want. Even plant morning glories to grow over it. Just don't worry.
Answer: 2.
Thanks Deb! Good luck :)
Answer: 3.
Dig a hole about 2 ft deep and 4 ft across. Put wire around it.
Add your compost, every month or so add some dirt, water if needed, and grass clippings, leaves, manure. Turn with a shovel each month as well. It isn't hard, its easy. Only the time it takes to compost is hard to wait for.


edit* I don't add lime to my compost - the ground here where I live is alkali enough, and I've never had a problem with ph...
Answer: 4.
It's not really that hard.
To make your own compost:
Layer 1 part green materials( grass clippings,green leaves vegetable & fruit scraps) to 2 parts brown material(twigs, dried grass & leaves, shredded newspaper, coffee grounds). Add soil, then more green & browns. Wet down & turn often.
Never use animal fats or meats, weeds with seedheads, breads.

Video on composting with leaves:
http://www.technorati.com/videos/youtube...

Another home composter:using a three bin method:
http://www.technorati.com/videos/youtube...

Good luck!!! Hope this helps.
Answer: 5.
If you try Livn4the's advise (which does work very well), you will also want to add lime to the mix periodically to help speed up the process, add water to keep it a little moist when needed and cover it with a tarp. Also, have you looked into the manufactured composters (available at most Big Box stores). They work very well, come with instruction, are a sealed unit (helps eliminate odors) and produce usable compost quit fast.
Anywho....Happy Gardening!!
Answer: 6.
The most common problem with compost is that it is too wet. When it's too wet, there is no air in the compost and then the stinky kind of bacteria takes over and it smells awful.

If you really have A LOT of compost, then I'd recommend making a simple bin out of four wooden pallets wired together to make an upright box. Make two side by side so you can alternate years with which one you use. Besides working really well, you can't beat the price of materials--free.

The other thing that is important is you need bulkng agents. If the Nitrogen gets too high, you will also have a stink. I use bales of either potting soil or peat moss and alternate layers of compost with bulking agents at least every six inches. Adding a handful of lime pellets every other layer will keep the pH high enough to also hinder bad bacteria. You can get both of these add-ins at any garden store.

If you are doing this on a smaller scale, you can use five gallon plastic buckets or even milk crates. Drill a lot of 1/2" holes in the bottom of the buckets then start with two inches of peat moss. This will give the leachate(ooze) some place to go where it won't make a stink until it drains.

When I use to compost for a summer camp, I ran everything through a wood chipper first. It was a bit messy but chopping everything up increased the surface area and made it decompose faster. It is really the only way to get corn cobs to disappear in a reasonable time.
Answer: 7.
i am a lazy person. if i did the things listed here i would never compost. i have been doing it for 30 years. here is what i do. get 9 ft of wire fencing to make a circle 3ft in diameter. i dump all ny grass and leaves from the yard in it. plant debris goes in along with household stuff like egg shells and fruit peels. i cover these up with the grass and leaves so it doesnt look like a garbage bin. i water it once in awhile and stir it up now and then. thats it. nothing else. works great for me.
Answer: 8.
I have a half-acre, large maples, fruit trees, berry bushes, lots of lawn, numerous flower beds,a 32'x48' vegetable garden and compost everything, including all "clean" kitchen waste (clean waste contains no fat, no protein, no sugar, no starch).

I would suggest the most important aspect of creating good, totally organic compost is time. I live in a Zone 8 climate and keep on a three container, three year rotation. When each spring rolls around, one contains ready to use, fully-composted material from two seasons previous, the second contains all collected last year and the third is for this year's use.

For everything above I use three 4'x4'x4' home made bins with covers to keep the rain out when needed and these are located in an out of the way spot near the garden. Size of containers will obviously be determined by your needs.

Keep damp (not wet) in first two years. Sprinkle a small amount from year two container into the current one every now and again to replenish bacteria. These little workers need air to break down plant material so layering soggy kitchen waste with dryish lawn clippings, leaves etc. will keep things working and relatively odor free. Mix the top 6" of the current year compost a bit every now and again.

When you have emptied all of your "ready" compost, replace with all from last year's container. Aside from exposing material to more air, this "turning over" of your unfinished compost places whatever was least decomposed on top of the pile onto the bottom where more heat, a byproduct of decomposition is stored, ensuring it will be ready when you need it.

Finally, although holes are more than adequate for composting, I would suggest using slightly raised containers rather to lessen back strain.

Good Gardening!

What should I plant between Daffodils?

So this is my first year gardening and I have no clue what I'm doing. In the fall I planted Daffodil bulbs which are now coming up and flowering. When I planted them I followed the instructions and left a couple of inches between each one. I wasn't giving much thought to what it would look like. Now there is so much space between each one, and all my neighbors have beautiful bunches of flowers.http://i178.photobucket.com/albums/w249/caiti_2007/flowers.jpgSo any suggestions for what to plant in between? Can I put some pansies in?I should mention that I live in New Jersey and the temp is still getting into the 30s at night. I thought of pansies because thats the only kind of flower I've seen in peoples gardens so far, so I'm not sure what else can grow in my climate.

Answer: 1.
Congratulations, they are beautiful! You have a green thumb and don't know it.

As soon as the flowers die, cut ONLY the flower and its stem off the plant. Keep the leaves. They are feeding the bulb which needs food to return next year. The leaves will die off after a while and then you can cut them too.

Meanwhile, think of what you would like to plant in between the daffs that will bloom in the summer. I like annuals. Annuals have to be planted each summer. They do not come back on their own the way the daffs will. There are gobs and gobs of annuals that are bright and colorfull. Send for a couple of free gardening catalogs that will give you a description of each plant and how to grow them. Here are two that you can send for:

http://parkseed.com
http://burpee.com
*************************************
You are gonna love gardening, don't try to do it all in one year. Get to know where the sun shines the most, and where the shaded areas are. Because you will need flowers for the sun areas, and flowers for the shaded areas.


Since you are a beginner, this year start your garden with plants that you get from a garden center or nursery. They are called bedding plants and come in a six pack. Look for a little tag sticking in the six pact showing directions on how to grow the plants. If the tag is not there, ask for one or buy something else. Directions are VERY important.


Seeds are not always easy to grow. And wildflowers are the hardest so don't be disappointed if they don't show up.


Two good things to do for yourself is to call your local County Extension Service and ask for all the information that they have about gardening in your area. They usually have a packet/kit of things for the home gardener.


And number two would be to pick up a couple of beginner books. You really do need to know about soil, compost, mulch and etc.


To keep from over watering or not watering enough, buy a water analyzer from a nursery or garden center. Be sure to read the directions. This will be one of your best tools.


Send for some free gardening catalogs and get use to the different types of plants, colors, and when to plant. They are filled with good informtion and pictures. And they will keep you company during the long winter months. Here is a list of just a very few. There are hundreds more:


http://www.waysidegardens.com
http://www.dutchbulbs.com
http://www.jacksonandperkins.com (Roses)
http://www.parkseed.com
http://www.burpee.com

Other catalogs:
http://www.leevalley.com
http://www.gardeners.com
http://www.GardensAlive.com
http://www.deerbusters.com (all types of animal control)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Container/pots/window boxes needs:


All need holes in the bottem for water drainage,
Potting soil that comes in bags,
Slow release fertilizer for flowers (not for green plants), OR liquid fertilizer that will need to be used more often-read directions,
Water crystals to be mixed into the soil for holding water,
Bedding plants or full grown plants.


Here is an excellent link to check out for color combinations and plants that look good together:


http://www.fernlea.com/awesomeaccents/re...
Answer: 2.
Something tall and purple or blue. I wouldn't go pansies - I'd go for something taller.
Answer: 3.
Pansy's would work, in my opinion. At the zoo and gardens here, they had some tulips planted like you have your daffodils, and they had what looked like pansy's all over the area around them. It looked really good.
Answer: 4.
yeah u could grow pansies, but i would say crocuses. they are very beautiful and come in different colors. they are so hardy that they even grow through snow!
they usually grow up to 5-6 inches

this is a map of your hardiness zone: http://www.growit.com/bin/USDAZoneMaps.e...

you can purchase crocuses from walmart, nurseries, or go to brecks.com, springhillnursery.com, naturehills.com

theses r some pics:http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=h...

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=h...

http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&q=...
Answer: 5.
the space between your daffies will disappear as they grow older and have a chance to make new bulbs.... more flowers will show up every year!!..... so rather than plant something between them, plant something taller behind them or shorter, infront of them.... I like your pansy idea ..... gardening is a lot of planning, but it's also a lot of experimenting..... plant something... if you don't like it, change it.... if it don't grow, figger out why and adapt ..........mostly, have fun out there!....