My Mum was over this afternoon for a cup of tea and as we were looking at the Fuchsia basket she started taking off the pods that were left from the flowers that had dropped onto the deck. Evidently taking these green pods off helps the plant, making it stronger and aids in further flower development. Just thought I would pass this helpful hint along. Thanks Mum!
As a beginning gardener I find the tags that are on the plants I buy to be extremely useful so I am careful to keep them. If I don’t want to keep them by the plant itself I staple them to a paper and put it in a file or binder. This way I can always refer back to instructions as well as find a name of a plant I have forgotten (oooops!). I also really like doing this for annuals as I can pull it out next spring and see which plants I really liked and hope to find again. If you have a large garden you could categorize your pages into the parts of your garden and put the tags for that area on the same page. You could also leave space underneath the tag to write notes about the plant. I have been surprised at the number of times I have pulled out my folder. If anyone has any other tips to share please do so by adding a comment!