According to nurseryman and writer Frederick McGourty, “a wonderful word conceived and propagated by rock gardeners.” Generally, an iffy plant is one that may or may not survive in your own garden (while maddeningly flourishing for someone else).
An old, usually pre-Linnaean book containing lists and descriptions of herbs. Although the herbalists who wrote these volumes made many quaint mistakes about plants and their “virtues,” the great value of these mostly 16th-century German and British books is that they contain a complete description of what was cultivated at the time.
Have a tropical paradise inside the house. When raising orchids, care must be practiced at home. However, they are no harder to grow than many other houseplants if the particular growth requirements are used. Actually, many orchids are easy as cacti to grow.
Since there are more than 20,000 kinds being grown in environmental conditions from the arctic plain to the tropical rain forest, the orchids most elegant are species from tropical climates. Orchids are normally classified by cool, moderate, and warm temperature needs, that are created on the plants night needs that are 45 to 50 degrees F, 55 to 65 degrees F and more than 65 degrees F in the order given.
The new gardner ought to look at starting with tried plants which should flower the first year. Plants from seed are not as expensive but may not bloom for at least five years. Natural assortments may be raised, but the hybrids are often more vigorous and not as difficult to satisfy its needs. (more…)
The home and garden of the French artist Claude Monet. The garden was an inspiration for some of Monet’s most memorable paintings.
When it comes to grow lights and other electronic devices, a ballast is mechanism that acts as a type of resistor. Similar to the “power pack” used with electric trains, its purpose is to regulate the amount of electrical current flowing through a circuit.
If grow lights – such as metal halide, high pressure sodium grow lights or even fluorescent lights – were connected directly to a power outlet, they would continue to draw greater and greater amounts of electric current until they burned up, exploded, or destroyed the power source. This is why a ballast is necessary. The ballast provides positive resistance which limits the flow of electricity to the lamp. Today there are two options for a grow light ballast, either an electronic or a digital ballast. (more…)
As a species, cultivar, or variety name, means “having double flowers.” For example, Sanguinaria canadensis ‘Flore Pleno’ is a rare form of bloodroot with large, double flowers.
Growing vegetables in your garden can save you money. During harvest time, your own produce becomes part of your meals. Home gardeners feel deep satisfaction in preparing salad or seasoning the casserole with freshly picked plants from their own vegetable gardens. Their feeling of the taste is incomparable. Fresh surplus are distributed to friends and love ones while some are keep frozen.
It doesn’t require much space to grow vegetables. Even a container pot or a window box will do the trick. Where space is limited, you can grow a mini-garden indoor or outdoor. If you have a good sun, access to water and enough containers, growing a garden’s worth of fruits and vegetables in a limited space is a no-brainer. You can even harvest more than one crop if your choice of plants and planting schemes are all well planned and executed. Windowsills, balconies and doorstep areas can be used, as well as empty packs of milks, pails, plastic buckets and cans. (more…)
As part of a species name, means “red.” For example, new fronds of the Japanese autumn fern, Dryopteris erythrosora, have a reddish tint.
A botanic garden comprising 40 distinct gardens, located just a few miles from the city’s downtown skyscrapers. Notable are the Rock Alpine Garden, with more than 3,000 different plants, and the Xeriscape and Plains Gardens, which feature plants native only to Colorado.
Choosing a Pond or Fountain Light: LED or Halogen?
Basically, there are two kinds of lights available for ponds, halogen lights (which have been around for quite a while), and LED, which are more recent developments. Here are some differences between the two. Note that here we are addressing 12volt systems only.
Some advantages of LED:
Focused light, solidly built and hard to break, durable Last twice as long as best fluorescent bulbs and 20 times longer than incandescent bulbs LEDs also are more efficient per watt, produce greater lumens per watt than incandescents or halogen bulbs. LED fountain lights can be built in a number of colors so do not require a filter, which greatly reduces efficiency of light. Finally, LEDs run cooler and are less likely to warm the pond or for their seals to get damaged because of the cooler running temperatures. (more…)
A mass planting of low, mostly foliage plants in patterns that resemble the designs in Oriental carpets. It was a popular style of planting in Victorian public gardens but is rarely seen today. See also bedding out.
The common abbreviation for balled-and-burlapped.
Would you like to try growing your own fresh fruits year round, but live in an area where, due to cold temperatures, snow or poor soil, you are unable to do so outdoors? Instead, why not try hydroponics, a form of gardening in which you can grow plants without any soil at all. There are several different types of fruits you could consider growing in a hydroponic manner.
One aspect of plant culture that is wise to keep in mind is to pay attention to the growing conditions a particular plant needs to survive and thrive. Poor choices for hydroponic-style gardening are succulents, because they will only thrive in dry conditions, and you are attempting to grow plants in the medium of water. Water-loving plants make a good choice for Hydroponic gardening, because the plants will be growing in water. Melons are a good example of a fruit that grows well in this circumstance. Watermelons and cantaloupe can both be grown successfully hydroponically because both are water loving plants and can thrive in this sort of growing medium. (more…)
Male, having stamens. Can refer to male plants, which bear only male flowers, or to the flowers themselves.
As a butt kicker of all things that stand in his way, Chuck Norris needs a bit of rest and relaxation time every now and then. How does he relax, you ask? He composts – bad guys? No, he composts for his garden. Though it’s not uncommon to find a villainous evil doer in his compost heap or spinning around in his compost tumbler!
Back when Chuck was enjoying his temporary hiatus from Walker, Texas Ranger (it’ll be back, just you wait and see!), Chukie decided to spend some quality time getting back with his green self. He achieved this by tending to his mother’s rose pansy gardens. Well, the Season 6 villains from Walker caught wind of his environmentally friendly activities and decided it was time to end it with him by feeding him into a chipper shredder. Since nothing gets past Chuck Norris, he was well aware of the Season 6 villains’ plans. (more…)
A substance that reduces the surface tension of a liquid, causing the liquid to spread across or penetrate more easily the surface of a solid.
Are you seriously thinking about getting into a greenhouse business? If so, there are several things you should consider.
Using greenhouse for production purposes is a very intensive and highly specialized form of agriculture. If this is something you want to get into you need to make sure you have all kinds of information.
When people farm agriculturally the production costs are based on a per acre calculation structure. For those who are planning to use a greenhouse for production the costs will be based on a per plant basis or a per square foot of growing area basis.
Find out all you can about soil management, plant nutrition, propagation, greenhouse structures, environmental control systems, pest management, marketing and business management. If other people will be employed you will also need to know about employee relations, payroll and other things that are related to this subject. (more…)
A bud that contains a leaf or a shoot but not a flower.
A map issued by the U.S. Department of Agriculture showing the minimum temperature ranges in the United States and Canada. See also hardiness zones.
Note: The Canadians are planing to re-write their zones in 2009
Ruth Stout, who passed on in 2006 at a grand old age, left behind a rich legacy for gardeners. Ruth’s study highlighted aspects found in the world of nature, like the presence of a layer of mulch, as well as leaving the ground unbroken (in effect, letting the inhabitants of the soil do the “turning” – earthworms, microbes, and such). Through her observation of various natural settings, followed by strategic implementation of these features, gardening was shown to become more productive, while reducing the work load.
Application of organic plant waste material directly onto the soil to a depth of an inch or more generates the following results:
