Plant Gardens 101

Buying gardening gifts for the gardener in your life is a real treat. With so many fun and unique gift ideas, you’ll have a hard time choosing. Here are some items every gardener needs.

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If you are looking for a unique gift idea for the gardener in your life, there’s great news. Gardening has suddenly become very vogue, and so finding interesting gardening gifts is no longer a problem. In fact, consider a gift basket idea themed for the gardener. Here are just a few ideas to put a smile on the gardener’s face.

Plants Of course plants always make excellent gardening gifts. There are a few things to consider when purchasing plants. Things like where the gardener lives, what type of gardening they do, whether you are looking for a specific plant family, and a host of other questions need answering, and then you can find the perfect unique gift idea in the plant you buy. (more…)

A poor shallow soil deficient in humus or nutrients, or both.

There are many different reasons that different people decide to plant summer gardens. One common reason that is becoming more popular these days as people to seek to entertain their children through little things done closer to home is to attract butterflies. This is much easier done than one might think if you live in the right environment for these beautiful creatures to thrive and flourish.Butterflies are beautiful creatures with very short life spans. For this reason they seem to be attracted to beautiful things during their short lives. Brightly colored flowers attract butterflies in droves. This means that flowers such as aster, marigold, black-eyed Susans, and butterfly weed are well known to attract butterflies. (more…)

The botanical name for bird-of-paradise.

(1838–1935)

An Irishman often credited with revolutionizing the gardens of England. He was a superb plantsman who is remembered today for encouraging the gardeners of his adopted country to forsake the formality of the bedding-out garden, with its blobs of color and formal clipped hedges. His emphasis on informality and subtle color combinations shaped many of the ideas later made popular by his friend Gertrude Jekyll.

Adding some color to your landscaping is easy with perennials and biennials. These are flowering plants that come in a wide variety of colors and shapes.

Perennials are plants that come each year if given good care. The color is less brilliant than annuals, which have to be replanted each year, but they are still beautiful. Biennials are different in that they bloom every other year.

Perennials come in colors such as purples, oranges, yellows, pinks and blues. There are perennials plants that have large flowers, very tiny flowers, and no flowers. They all add variety to any garden. For instance, non-flowering perennials can be used among bright annuals to separate colors. The possibilities are endless.

Perennials include foxgloves, hostas, thyme, sage, irises and bougainvillea bushes. Each of these adds a different effect to your landscaping. (more…)

A chemical sprayed on plants to reduce their size. Growth retardants are commonly used by growers to dwarf potted plants such as chrysanthemums and poinsettias.

The botanical name for Virginia creeper and Boston ivy.

As a species name, means “from the Far East,” often China. For example, Oriental poppy, Papaver orientale, comes from southwestern Asia.

Got aphids?

Aphids are one of the most common destructive insects around. It would be safe to say that most gardeners have encountered aphids at one time or another. Aphids are small, soft-bodied insects that use their piercing mouth-parts to suck sap out of your plants. They reproduce quicker than rabbits, and can infest your entire garden and indoor plants before you are aware you have them.

If you notice curled or yellowing leaves, stunted growth or a shiny, sticky coating on the leaves of your plants (honey-dew), chances are, you’ve got aphids. Two other things to look for are ants and Sooty Mold. Ants love honey-dew, the shiny, sticky liquid that is excreted by the aphids. Keep the ants away though, as they are one of the culprits that helps spread the aphids from plant to plant. Honey-dew is also a great environment for Sooty Mold fungus to develop. If you have Sooty Mold, the leaves of your plants will look like they have been painted black or have black soot on them. (more…)

The botanical name for tobacco.

Japanese gardens create landscapes which resembles nature through the careful placement of trees, shrubs, rocks, sand, artificial hills, ponds, and water. Zen and Shinto traditions have greatly influenced Japanese gardening and as a result the gardens are contemplative and serene spaces. It is essential that all the elements work well together within the garden and that the relationship between rocks, plants and water is well thought out.  (more…)

See Giverny

A used railroad tie or similarly shaped piece of wood used to edge beds, make steps, or build retaining walls. It typically measures at least 4 inches by 4 inches in cross section and 8 feet or longer.

Building your own small greenhouse can be a very enjoyable and educational experience as well as economical especially when you are clever with tolls.

Select a well-drained and level lot or ground for your greenhouse. If you will be using it mainly during the summer for propagation of plants, then you can situate it in a partially shaded area to reduce heat buildup.

The “north side” of your yard, with a big deciduous tree is an ideal location. If there is no partly or moderately shaded area available, you can make use of a white plastic or shade cloth for cover so as to regulate the extent of sunlight that reaches your greenhouse interior. (more…)

A plant having only pistillate flowers.

A system similar to drip feed, except that it carries only water. Also called trickle irrigation.

As a species name, means “having winged parts.” For example, four thin woody “wings” or ridges run lengthwise along the stems of burning bush, Euonymus alatus.

People enjoy the beauty of plants in a garden, and everyone can appreciate the great food that is grown in backyard gardens. But what if you live in an apartment, and do not have any “land” in which to garden? Do you want to garden on a deck or patio perhaps? What if you would like to grow fresh produce indoors in the winter? Hydroponic gardening is a great way to grow pure food, even if you have no soil, or unusable soil, in which to grow plants. All you need are the lights combined with a digital ballast.

Hydroponics describes a type of gardening system in which you can grow plants without any soil at all. Instead, you use a nutrient solution that the plant’s roots capture. You will likely have healthier plants, because many plant pests live in the soil, which you will not be using for this gardening activity. Because there is no soil, happily there are no weeds for you to pull, either. You can produce more food in a smaller space because the roots of the plants are not in competition for nutrients like they are in soil, so you should get higher yields of produce from this fantastic gardening method. Increase your chance of productivity by using a hydroponic digital ballast. (more…)

A form of iron that can be absorbed by plants. Often added to alkaline soils, especially where gardeners want to grow rhododendrons, hollies, or other acid-loving plants.