One of the most important things you can do when gathering soil for a soil analysis is to use a spoon or garden tool that is iron free. This will insure that if any trace amounts of iron show up in your soil analysis you will know it did not come from your tool. When you are taking a soil sample from your flower or vegetable garden soil, take soil that is from a depth of about four or five inches. If you are taking a sample from your lawn soil, you will need to get samples from a few different places in your lawn. Dig down about six inches in each spot and gather the soil samples. Mix these samples together and they will be a good representation of your lawn soil.

Flowering vines are very beautiful and they add a lot of character to whatever area they are planted in. The biggest decision you will have to make when it comes time to buy a flowering vine is whether to buy a perennial or annual vine.

An annual flowering vine will only produce for one year, or growing season. A perennial vine will grow season after season and get larger and larger. One way you can figure out whether a perennial or annual vine is the best purchase is to consider its function.

• Do you want it to be purely ornamental?
• Do you want it to help with soil erosion?
• Maybe you want a vine to hide an ugly fence or building?
• Are you willing to put in the time to train the vine and prune it?