Plant Gardens 101

Many of us see trees as just wind breakers or leafy trouble during the fall season when we need to rake our gardens. While this is somewhat true there is another use which can be found for trees. You will find that landscaping timbers can be used to enhance the beauty of your garden when they are selected for this purpose. The various timber types will enable you to make a variety of choices which are suited for the garden look that you are trying to get.

Now as the variety of trees have different characteristics it is important that you understand how these trees will look during certain phases of the year. If you really don’t want to be cleaning up the leaves from your landscaping timbers it is best if you choose tree types which are not as prone to this tendency. To find these types of timbers you will need to do some research but this will be well worth your efforts. (more…)

Low-growing plants, shrubs, and saplings in a forest or woodland. Also called underbrush.

The growing fascination with Oriental culture has led many garden aficionados to consider creating a Japanese garden. These are just some of the key features to help you in selecting the right accessories, and how they create a look and ambience that is very different from the Western formal garden.

Both formal Western and Japanese gardens will use water features, like a pond. However, the Zen aesthetic and the belief that one must embrace “things as they are” dictates that the water must be pure, and natural. Fountains are forbidden, and the ponds shapes must not look contrived. Streams or waterfalls are preferred, but they must have an “organic” look: never place them in the center, and incorporate a few asymmetrical details and imperfections. Many Japanese ponds will have small islands in the center, or a miniature waterfall. These act as a focal point. Many times the ponds are edged with rough rocks or pebbles, rather than polished stone or tile. (more…)

Damaged by freezing temperatures.

The elongated part of a pistil between the stigma and the ovary.

Any reliable seed house can be depended upon for good seeds; but even so, there is a great risk in seeds. A seed may to all appearances be all right and yet not have within it vitality enough, or power, to produce a hardy plant.

If you save seed from your own plants you are able to choose carefully. Suppose you are saving seed of aster plants. What blossoms shall you decide upon? Now it is not the blossom only which you must consider, but the entire plant. Why? Because a weak, straggly plant may produce one fine blossom. Looking at that one blossom so really beautiful you think of the numberless equally lovely plants you are going to have from the seeds. But just as likely as not the seeds will produce plants like the parent plant. (more…)

The chemical process by which animals and plants release the energy that is stored in carbohydrates and other foodstuffs. In respiration, oxygen is taken up and carbon dioxide is given off.

Most folks love the fun process of composting in their home or backyard and even understand the science behind it all. But for the rest of us, composting is like another skill that we have to learn before we can even think about taking it head-on. If you’re thinking about taking on the challenge of composting, congratulations! Not only will you be reducing waste and cost by sending scraps to landfills, you’ll be giving back to the earth.

Generally, composting is an aerobic, or oxygen filled process that combines air, heat and moisture to break down matter, which is why you need to turn your compost heap every few days to maintain a good temperature. Composting is an effort shared by both you and by the many microbes, organisms and bacteria that are going to spring up in your compost pile. After you’ve added all the essential ingredients for composting (food scraps, vegetable stalks, fruit rinds, yard wastes free of diseases and seeds) into your compost bin, the billions of little microbes will take care of the rest. These little guys are responsible for the decomposition and temperature of your compost, which results in rich, ready to use compost. Temperature especially is vital to the composting process. (more…)

The botanical name for flax.

The botanical name for heather.

Filling your greenhouse with the right greenhouse supplies will make you as comfortable in your greenhouse as your plants. Depending on the size of your greenhouse, there are an abundance of options that can turn your greenhouse from your favorite spot on the grounds to the only spot you want to be.

Potting Benches The right potting bench can add comfort and personality to your greenhouse. Potting benches offer the benefit of having a place to get your hands dirty while you dig in to your gardening adventures, as well as a place to lay your many gardening tools, such as gardening gloves and growing aids. Potting benches come in wood or metal styles, most often cedar and aluminum. Finding the style that is the best fit is as easy as weighing your needs against the dollars in your pocket. (more…)

A genus of biological insecticides that are generally nontoxic (although they can harm some beneficial insects such as butterfly larvae). Varieties of Bacillus thuringiensis (also called Bt) control caterpillars, cabbage worms, and mosquito larvae. B. papilliae, milky spore disease, controls Japanese beetle grubs.

When you are considering appropriate grow lights for hydroponic gardening, there are several factors that will impact how much light you need. Grow lamps are used in lighting systems that come in different wattages, so how do you know how much wattage you need? There are a few guidelines you can follow to help you determine what size system will work best for you.

The area in which you garden will have an impact on your choice of hydroponic lights. If you garden in a room with no exposure to any other light besides the lighting system, you will need more light than if the room had any access to natural light. Conversely, if you practice hydroponic gardening in a greenhouse, your lighting needs will be lower due to the availability of sunlight.

The types of plants you grow hydroponically will also play a part in selecting an appropriate lighting system. Some plants require high intensity light and heat in order to grow well, while others thrive in a shadier growing condition, so it is best to determine this before purchasing a lighting system. (more…)

A dry one-seeded fruit that does not split. For example, what appear to be the seeds on the surface of a strawberry are actually the true fruits.

Strawberry “seeds” seen up close, are clearly achenes.

An outdoor space for dining and recreation that adjoins a building and is often paved; a roofless inner courtyard typically found in Spanish or Spanish-style dwellings.

The bird of paradise or Strelitzia Reginae is the most elegant and beautiful of flowers containing the colors green, orange, bright blue and pink. The flower resembles the head and beak of an exotic bird in shape, while the leaves are large and long on longer stems. It is truly a most striking plant.

If you think that such a beautiful plant must be rather temperamental to grow you would be wrong. The Strelitzia is quite hardy; its fleshy roots mean that it can tolerate drought conditions with ease. It will sail through light winter frosts without damage and is not particular as to the kind of soil it grows in. In fact it will grow quite well in soil that is rather impoverished. That doesn’t mean that it won’t respond to a good dose of fertilizer, though.

The plant will develop into a sturdy clump that can be divided if you possess the strength to cut down into the matted root system. It is just as happy growing in the lawn as a specimen, as it is in good garden loam with all the care and attention you can lavish on it. But in fact, you could possible kill it with kindness, as it doesn’t like too much water. (more…)

The botanical name for star-of-Bethlehem.

Buying or Building A Water Fountain: Things to Consider

A great deal about fountains has changed over the last decade. Now there are really high class ones made of copper, bronze, concrete, and stone, and some fairly nice ones made of resin and fiberglass. There are several things to consider, though. As a pump wholesaler, I speak with fountain owners all the time and also look at lots of samples of fountains at trade shows and in magazines. Before purchasing a fountain, there are quite a few questions to ask. What looks good in a store might not look good at your home or business. Or it might look good for the first month or year but then you’ll get tired of it. Fountains are usually around for a long time; in fact, concrete and stone ones last centuries and are hard to remove once they’re installed. Here are things to consider. Bronze Fountains These are at the high end of fountains, and can retail for ten to twenty thousand dollars. They are plain classy. But will one of these fit in where you want to put it? Do you have the right yard or business or location for such a classic kind of display? Also, do you like the aging process (the verdigris patina) that bronze undergoes. Can you afford one of these? If you answered yes to these questions, a bronze fountain might be right for you. (more…)

Unprotected by scales; lacking a perianth; without leaves.

Founded in 1831 in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the oldest and arguably the most beautiful garden cemetery in America, with 2,500 identified trees, many of them more than 100 years old, on its grounds. With its hilly terrain, three lakes, and thousands of shrubs and landscaped flower beds, the cemetery attracts both human and avian visitors.