With Summer finally right around the corner, you’ve surely already started seeing some flowers bloom in your garden.
If you’re looking to get the most out of your blossoms, a garden expert has shared a simple hack for keeping them more vibrant and healthy for longer.
How to keep your plants flourishing
To extend the life of the roses, hydrangeas, camellias, and other summer-flowering plants in your garden, Carol, a gardening expert and founder of The Gardening Cook, has revealed her own top tip to keeping blossoms vibrant.
She recommends coffee grounds
One of the easiest ways you could feed your summer blossoms all the nutrients they need is using coffee grounds.
Carol explained, “Don’t throw out those used coffee grounds. There are lots of ways to put them to use in your garden. More to the point, there are certain plants, such as hydrangeas, camellias and roses that just love them!”
Why do coffee grounds work for this?
Coffee grounds provide nutrients for your summer blossoms as they’re a great source of nitrogen, a vital component for flower growth.
They also contain traces of other important nutrients like potassium, phosphorus, and magnesium, which contribute to the health of your plants.
Coffee grounds can also improve your soil
Nutrients for certain blossoms aren’t the only favor coffee grounds can do to your garden, the Express also reports that they can enhance soil quality.
They do this by promoting aeration and water retention, a process that is particularly crucial during the summer months when extreme heat can affect plants.
It’s also a good way to save money
Carol explained, “[Coffee grounds] work especially well camellias, hydrangeas, and roses. Not only will you have healthier plants, but you will also save money on garden fertilizer, and know that you are being ‘green’ as a gardener.”
“Using leftover coffee grounds for roses and other plants that like a boost in nitrogen is a natural way to add fertilizer to your garden plants without the use of harsh chemicals,” She added.
So how do you actually use the coffee grounds?
It’s as simple as this: apply the coffee grounds to the soil and water it generously to help mix the grounds with the soil.
It’s important to make sure you only feed flowers coffee grounds every four to six weeks because too much nitrogen in the soil could create a nutrient imbalance.
You can add other scraps from your kitchen too
Coffee grounds aren’t the only thing that could be your garden helper at home. You can also combine them with other food scraps like banana peels and egg shells which will serve as great sources of nutrients for the blossoms.
“Old coffee grounds combined with egg shells also makes a great compost tea when combined with rainwater. It can be used to fertilize your plants,” Carol said.
They can also work as a natural pesticide
The benefits don’t stop there, coffee grounds can also work as a natural pesticide which will work to keep slugs, ants, and mosquitos away.
“Coffee grounds are also known to deter slugs and snails, so sprinkle them around plants that these pests love, such as hostas broccoli and Brussels sprouts. They are the perfect organic DIY snail deterrents,” Carol said.