Katie Jensen

Garden Guides Editorial Policies

Garden Guides uses a knowledgeable team of editors, writers, and experts to create all our content. We dive deep into the ever-evolving conversations surrounding gardening and landscaping, striving to deliver the most current and helpful tips, strengthened by expert insight and tutorials from our talented team.

As we cover many fields of expertise, we make it a priority to ensure every beat remains fresh and comprehensive. Additional information on our editorial process available here.

Stories By Katie Jensen

  • ...
    Produce
    Produce By Katie Jensen November 4th, 2022

    How To Soak Corn Seed Before Planting

    How to Soak Corn Seed Before Planting. Corn seed germination requires water and warmth. The hard shell of the seed is hydrated by soaking so the embryonic plant can send out a tiny root and sprout. All seeds need their outer shells to be hydrated before they will sprout. Other seeds with hard shells such as beans, peas, squash and eggplant benefit from soaking as well. Try your hand at sprouting corn seed from an organic whole foods store selling dried corn and corn for popping. Another alternative is to buy sweet corn on the cob at a farmer's market, dry the corn on the husk and then remove it for germinating and planting. Corn seed is available through seed catalogs and nurseries.

    By Katie Jensen November 4th, 2022 Read More
  • ...
    Flowers
    Flowers By Katie Jensen November 4th, 2022

    Types Of Flowers That Close At Night

    Types of Flowers That Close at Night. Flowers open and close in reaction to temperature and light. Many, such as roses, snapdragons, daisies and geraniums, stay open once they bloom, whether it's daytime or nighttime. Others, such as four o'clocks, open in the late afternoon in reaction to cooler temperatures. And still others, such as angels trumpets, bloom at night.

    By Katie Jensen November 4th, 2022 Read More
  • ...
    Flowers
    Flowers By Katie Jensen November 4th, 2022

    The Best Flowers For Pots In Phoenix, AZ

    The Best Flowers for Pots in Phoenix, AZ. Growing flowers in pots in Phoenix is one way to add a lush colorful look to the landscape without wasting water. The pots add color to the garden as well as through the pot's different glazes, ceramic finishes and paints. Pots on patios, pools, decks and balconies bring the flowers up close. It's easy to move the pots around, change out the flowers and protect them from the hot summer sun.

    By Katie Jensen November 4th, 2022 Read More
  • Produce
    Produce By Katie Jensen November 4th, 2022

    How To Plant In Front Of Hedges

    How to Plant in Front of Hedges. Whether short or tall, formal or informal, free form or clipped, hedges look more attractive with plants in front of them. The plants add depth and interest to what otherwise would be a plain row of tall bushes. Hedges direct a pathway, lead to a focal point, provide privacy, or hide a fence. Finish your hedge with a border of flowers or other plants. It's not difficult if you plan ahead and work carefully. When finished, your hedge will look as if it was professionally landscaped.

    By Katie Jensen November 4th, 2022 Read More
  • ...
    Flowers
    Flowers By Katie Jensen November 4th, 2022

    How To Identify Flower Bulbs By Foliage

    How to Identify Flower Bulbs by Foliage. Give bulbs sunshine, good soil and water and they'll reward you by returning year after year. The problem is that bulbs only bloom for a short while during the season and then go dormant. It's easy to forget where you planted what bulbs. It is possible to narrow down what types of flower bulbs have been planted by their foliage.

    By Katie Jensen November 4th, 2022 Read More
  • Flowers
    Flowers By Katie Jensen November 4th, 2022

    How To Use Dried Flowers With Scrapbooking

    How to Use Dried Flowers with Scrapbooking. Scrapbooking has become a full-fledged industry with special scissors, papers, stencils and accessories. Scrapbook pages have become works of art. Dry flowers to commemorate a special occasion and incorporate them into your scrapbooking repertoire.

    By Katie Jensen November 4th, 2022 Read More
  • ...
    Structures
    Structures By Katie Jensen November 4th, 2022

    Ground Cover Ideas For Under A Gazebo

    Ground Cover Ideas for Under a Gazebo. Gazebos are open-sided rooms with a covered roof and floor. The roof may be solid to provide complete shade and protection from wind and rain, or it may be latticework to let in dappled sun light. The floor may be made of wood, ground cover, or flagstones and pavers. Remember to water living ground covers. The roof will block all or part of any rainfall. If the flooring is solid wood and elevated off the ground, the only thing you can grow for ground cover under a gazebo would probably be mushrooms.

    By Katie Jensen November 4th, 2022 Read More
  • Flowers
    Flowers By Katie Jensen November 4th, 2022

    How To Care For Funeral Flowers & Sprays

    How to Care for Funeral Flowers & Sprays. Saying goodbye is always hard, even if the deceased lived a long and full life. Giving flowers is one way to tell the family that you remember and care about them during their bereavement. Almost any flower type and color is appropriate for a funeral arrangement. Special funeral arrangements include sprays, casket blankets and wreaths. The circular shape of the wreath signifies everlasting life. The flowers may have to last a few days through a wake and memorial service. Keep them looking fresh with a few easy steps.

    By Katie Jensen November 4th, 2022 Read More
  • ...
    Trees
    Trees By Katie Jensen November 4th, 2022

    Lime Trees With Thorns

    Lime Trees With Thorns. Lime trees thrive in moist tropical regions. Most citrus trees have thorns and lime trees are no exception. Limes are egg-shaped and most varieties have a dimple at one end. The fruits are nearly seedless. Limes are green until they are fully mature, when they turn yellow. Limes are used in juices, commercial processed food products and to produce lime essential oils. Florida and California both grow limes commercially.

    By Katie Jensen November 4th, 2022 Read More
  • ...
    Produce
    Produce By Katie Jensen November 4th, 2022

    What Happens When You Plant Half A Seed?

    What Happens When You Plant Half a Seed?. Seeds are tiny miracles of life all wrapped up in a hard protective coating. That coating has to be hydrated, or exposed to water, to soften and encourage the seeds to produce the enzymes necessary for germination. The seed contains enough food to nourish the plant-to-be through the germination and sprouting process. After the seeds have sprouted, they need warmth and light to continue to thrive. Splitting a seed to produce two plants instead of one isn't a good idea.

    By Katie Jensen November 4th, 2022 Read More
  • Produce
    Produce By Katie Jensen November 4th, 2022

    How To Heat A Small Greenhouse

    How to Heat a Small Greenhouse. Keeping a greenhouse warm at night, or on very cold days, is a challenge. Install a thermometer so you don't have to guess at the temperature. How warm the greenhouse is depends on what you're growing. Tropical plants and warm-season vegetables like tomatoes and cucumbers have to be kept warmer than cool-season vegetables like spinach and lettuce. Spring bulbs may only need a few degrees above freezing to do well. If you live in a frigid area, space heaters may be your only heating option.

    By Katie Jensen November 4th, 2022 Read More
  • ...
    Flowers
    Flowers By Katie Jensen November 4th, 2022

    How To Make Lily Of The Valley Perfume

    How to Make Lily of the Valley Perfume. In aromatherapy, the essential oil of lily of the valley is thought to alleviate depression and bestow a sense of security and happiness. Whether it does or not, lily of valley does smell wonderful. Capturing that fragrance may be accomplished in two ways: perfumed oil made with essential oil or with the flowers themselves placed in alcohol. The second method requires gathering quite a few fresh flowers over a period of a week.

    By Katie Jensen November 4th, 2022 Read More
  • ...
    Produce
    Produce By Katie Jensen November 4th, 2022

    Vegetables To Grow In Zone 13

    Vegetables to Grow in Zone 13. Hardiness zones refer to the average lowest temperature for a geographic area. Traditionally zone 1 is the coldest and zone 11 is the warmest. Plants have a threshold for cold and will not grow much outside that threshold zone. A popular gardening magazine has taken it one step further and added in factors for rainfall and high temperatures, expanding the zones. Zone 13 is frost free, has high summer temperatures and little rainfall. Without supplemental water vegetables will not grow in zone 13. However, with irrigation or hand watering many vegetables will grow.

    By Katie Jensen November 4th, 2022 Read More
  • Flowers
    Flowers By Katie Jensen November 4th, 2022

    How To Grow Gardenias In Arizona

    How to Grow Gardenias in Arizona. Gardenias are frost-tender evergreens, and they bloom in late spring to early summer. The bushes grow to 3 feet high with glossy green, oval-shaped leaves. While the bushes are attractive, flowers are the main attraction. The white flowers look like flattened roses from 2 to 3 inches across. They are highly fragrant. One gardenia will scent an entire room. They last about a week when cut. The stems are short, so use them in small arrangements, by themselves floating in a bowl or in corsages.

    By Katie Jensen November 4th, 2022 Read More
  • Produce
    Produce By Katie Jensen November 4th, 2022

    How To Transplant Hedges

    How to Transplant Hedges. A hedge has many uses in a landscape. It marks the division between garden rooms, provides privacy, blocks an unwanted view, and provides a backdrop for other plants and flowers. Sometimes a hedge outgrows its usefulness and needs to be moved or transplanted. A mature hedge may require equipment to dig the plants out, dig the new bed, and transport the plants. A bush 5 feet high with a 3-foot-deep root system is difficult to move without help or equipment.

    By Katie Jensen November 4th, 2022 Read More
  • ...
    Trees
    Trees By Katie Jensen November 4th, 2022

    Dwarf Citrus Trees & Arizona

    Dwarf Citrus Trees & Arizona. Arizona is known as the state based on four C's: copper, cotton, cattle and citrus. Commercial crops of citrus are still produced including several varieties of oranges, as well as limes, grapefruits and lemons. While housing developments have replaced many citrus groves, it's still an important crop; and, for that reason, citrus trees are not allowed to be imported to the state from out-of-state sources.

    By Katie Jensen November 4th, 2022 Read More
  • ...
    Flowers
    Flowers By Katie Jensen November 4th, 2022

    Tropical Plants In Arizona

    Tropical Plants in Arizona. Arizona has a climate nearly perfect for tropical plants with one exception: lack of rainfall. Address that shortcoming with supplemental water and you're well on your way to growing tropical plants. Temperatures are warm for most of the year in the desert regions. Winters are temperate with lots of sunny days. After all, metro Phoenix is known as the "Valley of the Sun."

    By Katie Jensen November 4th, 2022 Read More
  • Lawn Care
    Lawn Care By Katie Jensen November 4th, 2022

    How To Remove Grass & Replace It With Rocks

    How to Remove Grass & Replace it With Rocks. Lawns are lush and green, but they take a lot of water, fertilizing and maintenance to stay that way. If you live in a drought-prone area or just want to relax a bit more on the weekends instead of fussing over your lawn with weeding, feeding, trimming and mowing, consider taking out the lawn. Replace it with low-maintenance rock mulch.

    By Katie Jensen November 4th, 2022 Read More
  • ...
    Flowers
    Flowers By Katie Jensen November 4th, 2022

    Are All Plants Green?

    Are All Plants Green?. All plants which use the process of photosynthesis to produce energy have chlorophyll. The chlorophyll is what makes the plant look green. Other substances besides chlorophyll exist in the plant and help the process of photosynthesis. These substances reflect back other colors of light. Usually the color is masked from being visible by the green of the chlorophyll but not always, which is why not all plants are green.

    By Katie Jensen November 4th, 2022 Read More
  • Produce
    Produce By Katie Jensen November 4th, 2022

    How To Make Hybrid Tomatoes

    How to Make Hybrid Tomatoes. Hybrid tomatoes are made by pollinating one true open-pollinated variety with a different open-pollinated variety. Open-pollinated tomatoes are pollinated by bees and insects. The offspring will be just like the parent tomatoes. New varieties of open-pollinated tomatoes are developed through selective breeding. Planting the seeds of hybrid tomatoes will not usually result in a new plant like either of the parents. Making your own hybrid tomatoes is time-consuming.

    By Katie Jensen November 4th, 2022 Read More
  • ...
    Trees
    Trees By Katie Jensen November 4th, 2022

    Information On Bonsai Trees In Phoenix, Arizona

    Information on Bonsai Trees in Phoenix, Arizona. Phoenix has a year-round growing season appropriate for a wide variety of plants if enough water and fertilizer are available. True bonsai trees are standard-sized trees that have been stunted by root pruning and adverse growing conditions. They are not dwarf trees that have been bred to be smaller. While any tree can be trained as a bonsai, some are more adaptable in Phoenix than others. Some bushes are grown in Phoenix to look like bonsai trees. Lantana is one example.

    By Katie Jensen November 4th, 2022 Read More
  • Flowers
    Flowers By Katie Jensen November 4th, 2022

    How To Grow Water Lilies With A Plant Light

    How to Grow Water Lilies With a Plant Light. Water lilies are hardy or tropical. The differences are not only whether they will survive cold weather and come back the next season, but in color choices, scents and blooming time. Tropical lilies bloom in pink, white, yellow, blue and purple, are highly scented, and some varieties bloom at night. Hardy water lilies bloom only during the day and aren't scented. They come in pink, white and yellow. It is possible to grow both types under lights.

    By Katie Jensen November 4th, 2022 Read More
  • ...
    Flowers
    Flowers By Katie Jensen November 4th, 2022

    Different Colors Of Angel Trumpet Flowers

    Different Colors of Angel Trumpet Flowers. Angel trumpet flowers bloom from dusk until sunrise. The flowers are up to 12 inches long and very fragrant. The blooms are pendulous which means they hang down from the branches rather being erect. The plant is propagated from cuttings or from seeds. The seeds have a high germination rate but are slow to sprout. A word of caution: angel trumpets are both beautiful and fragrant but very toxic. Don't plant them around children or pets.

    By Katie Jensen November 4th, 2022 Read More
  • Structures
    Structures By Katie Jensen November 4th, 2022

    How To Replace A Pond Liner

    How to Replace a Pond Liner. While most pond liners are sturdy and meant to last for a number of years, there are occasions when the liner has deteriorated or is punctured and must be replaced. Patching the liner is a messy job that doesn't always work. You also must replace a pond liner if you expand the pond, in order to accommodate the increased depth or bigger dimensions.

    By Katie Jensen November 4th, 2022 Read More
  • Trees
    Trees By Katie Jensen November 4th, 2022

    How To Grow Orange Trees In The Desert

    How to Grow Orange Trees in the Desert. Growing orange trees in the desert might seem to be a hopeless task. When you think of oranges you probably think of lush green California or tropical Florida. The desert around Phoenix, Arizona, has major citrus groves that include oranges. The mild winter temperatures are perfect for oranges. Almost all that's needed to add is water.

    By Katie Jensen November 4th, 2022 Read More
  • ...
    Flowers
    Flowers By Katie Jensen November 4th, 2022

    Tips On What To Do With Dead Flower Arrangements

    Tips on What to Do With Dead Flower Arrangements. Flowers don't last forever. You can prolong the life of cut flowers by changing the water daily, recutting the stems and adding a floral preservative. No matter what you do, eventually that stunning floral arrangement of roses, lilies or gerbera daisies will die. Instead of tossing the whole thing in the garbage, recycle what you can.

    By Katie Jensen November 4th, 2022 Read More