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Archive for July, 2008

Gardening Gifts For The Gardener In Your Life

July 31, 2008 By: Anna Woodward Category: Gifts for the Gardener

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…)

Word of the Day: thin soil

July 31, 2008 By: Garden Dictionary Category: Garden Dictionary

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

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Create A Summer Gardens for Butterflies

July 30, 2008 By: Jon Simms Category: Create & Plan..., Gardens - Butterfly, Gardens - Summer

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…)

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Word of the day: Strelitzia

July 30, 2008 By: Garden Dictionary Category: Garden Dictionary

The botanical name for bird-of-paradise.

Who is: Robinson, William

July 29, 2008 By: Garden Dictionary Category: Garden Dictionary

(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.

Landscaping with Perennials

July 28, 2008 By: James Kronefield Category: Gardens - Flower

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…)

Word of the Day: growth retardant

July 28, 2008 By: Garden Dictionary Category: Uncategorized

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.

Word of the Day: Parthenocissus

July 27, 2008 By: Garden Dictionary Category: Garden Dictionary

The botanical name for Virginia creeper and Boston ivy.

Word of the Day: orientalis

July 26, 2008 By: Garden Dictionary Category: Garden Dictionary

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

How to Get Rid of Aphids

July 25, 2008 By: Organic Gardener Category: Pest Control

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…)

Word of the Day: Nicotiana

July 25, 2008 By: Garden Dictionary Category: Garden Dictionary

The botanical name for tobacco.
nicotiana

Creating Japanese Gardens

July 24, 2008 By: anonymous Category: Create & Plan..., Gardens - Japanese

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…)

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Word of the Day: Monet

July 24, 2008 By: Garden Dictionary Category: Garden Dictionary

See Giverny

Word of the Day: landscape timber

July 23, 2008 By: Garden Dictionary Category: Garden Dictionary

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.

How To Build A Small Greenhouse Just For Yourself

July 22, 2008 By: Jimmy Spier Category: Buildings 4 Gardens

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…)

Word of the Day: female

July 22, 2008 By: Garden Dictionary Category: Garden Dictionary

A plant having only pistillate flowers.

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Word of the Day: drip irrigation

July 21, 2008 By: Garden Dictionary Category: Garden Dictionary

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

Word of the day: alatus

July 20, 2008 By: Garden Dictionary Category: Garden Dictionary

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.

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Gardening the pure way with hydroponics

July 19, 2008 By: Susan Slobac Category: Gardens - Hydroponics

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…)

Word of the day: iron chelate

July 19, 2008 By: Garden Dictionary Category: Garden Dictionary, Uncategorized

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.