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Need some help with my flower garden. 2nd time planting. Easy question?

Hello :) So i have decided that i love gardening. I grew some flowers last year, and loved it. This time around, I wanted to have a bigger flower garden. (its on my balcony since i live in an apartment). I will be planting a wildflower mix, Forget-Me-Not's, Columbine, California Poppy, and Bachelor Button. (in different pots) With my Bachelor Button mix it says on the back of the package, "Thin seedlings when they are 2-3 inches in height..." What does "Thinning" mean? Also, last year, i had a few problems with bugs eating my flowers and leaves, What can i do to stop this? Also (dumb question) I had problems with bee's last year. They can be sort of a pest especially if i want to sit outside in my garden and relax. (im scared of bee's) Is there anything i can do to lower this to a minimum? i know bee's come with the territory of planting flowers, But is there anything i can do? Thank you :) What do you mean "Pull out half the sprouts" ? Sorry. Im new to this. Also, If there's anything i can do to help my garden become lush and beautiful, PLEASE let me know :) Any tips or advice is welcome :)

Public Comments

1. bug spray
2. thinning means pull out half the sprouts to give the remaining plants more room , there are powders like seven dust to keep bugs from eating your plants leaves , bees come with flowers and usually won't sting you if you leave them alone. be careful if you use poisonous bug stuff if you have kids or pets
3. There are safe, organic bug sprays that you can find in your local home and garden shop or online. Bees will be unavoidable if oyu have flowers in your garden. Though keeping them out is quite impossible unless you plan to transfer your garden indoors, then here are tips to avoid attracting them and getting stung. - avoid bright colors and floral perfume if you decide to lounge at your balcony. - if a bee comes near, remember not to shout, slowly move away and avoid shooing them. the noise and quick movements may agitate them and prompt them to sting you thinking that you are threatening. Additional gardening tips: - use good potting soil mix, not gardening soil - if your balcony is exposed to the sun longer then choose drought tolerant plants. fact: container gardens heat up much more quickly - because roots cnnot penetrate deeper and have no access to water aside from what yo uwater the plants with, check containers for water needs especially on summer Hope this helps. :)
4. Bees are very important in pollination. There would be no fruits without bees. No squash, pumpkins, or watermelons. You want to leave the bees alone. They won't sting you, they're interested in the blooms. There's a real serious environmental problem with hive collapse, everybody's bees are dieing, when we're out there hand-pollinating the apple trees and pear trees with q-tips, food prices are going to sky-rocket... Avoid all poison! It's ok to hand-pick the bad bugs, but it's very important to identify the bug first... there's a lot of good bugs out there... only a very small percentage of bugs actually eat your plants. http://www.brighthub.com/environment/science-environmental/articles/38554.aspx Your plants may not need thinning... It's pretty self-evident which plants are too close together... Most plants can be re-planted in another place after pulling them. Maybe you could use a little trowel or something to dig the plant out... Pulling them means that they'll generally have some shock and not look too good for a couple of days... but they generally spring back if watered after re-planting...