Plant Gardens 101

As part of a species name, means “large.” For example, Chinese trumpet creeper, Campsis grandiflora, has large flowers. The giant fir, Abies grandis, can grow over 200 feet tall.

As a species name, means “fragrant or sweet-scented.” For example, sweet olive, Osmanthus fragrans, has tiny flowers with a delightful aroma.

With proper planning there are several advantages that greenhouse enthusiasts have for seed germinating and getting their plants off to agreat start.

Jump Start the Growing Season – Just as greenhouse gardeners are able to extend the growing season they can get a head start as well. Many desirable plant varieties cannot be sowed until after the last freeze of the season and in some cases it takes even longer for the ground to warm to an appropriate temperature for optimum seed germination. In the greenhouse, seed germination can start three to four weeks before the estimated last freeze of the season giving greenhouse gardeners a head start on their open air counterparts. This is particularly important for success with long season vegetables (those that require 70 or more days to produce) e.g., melons, tomatoes, eggplants, peppers, corn, carrots and parsnips among others. (more…)

Organic gardening is the way of growing vegetables and fruits with the use of things only found in nature.

Why would one want to indulge in organic gardening?

1. One can easily make compost from garden and kitchen waste. Though this is a bit more time-consuming than buying prepared chemical pesticides and fertilizers, it certainly helps to put garbage to good use and so saves the environment. (more…)

A plant that retains its leaves for more than one annual cycle of growth.

Ever since I was young, growing vegetables from seeds has been one of my favorite hobbies. I would love to help my mom growing vegetable gardens on Sundays, and stroll around them with my dad on weekday afternoons. I love the smell of a growing vegetable, the feel of its skin as it ripens, and the way its vines entwine. Most of all, however, I love the taste of a homegrown vegetable for my dinner. Though it is not difficult to have a great garden, there are some things that you have to do and watch out for.
Some of these things can be very unexpected. My husband is the last person I would have thought would dream of a growing vegetable plants, but he surprises me all of the time. We lived in the city the first time he tried it. We had a nice backyard with trees and plenty of grass. He planted a few small items. I think he was growing vegetable plants that are pretty common. There were some cucumber plants, some tomatoes, and a few pumpkin plants. There was not a lot of space, but he didn’t care, he just wanted to grow something. (more…)

Collectively, the sepals of a flower.

An area of soft, naturally waterlogged land characterized by extreme acidity.

A society dedicated to balanced forest use, founded in 1875. It sponsors tree-planting and educational programs.

More information:
American Forestry Association – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Organic matter derived from partially decomposed plant and animal remains. It is an important constituent of garden soil.

Flower gardens can grow wild or can be in a specified spot in your backyard, like a flower bed. You can mix and match flowers and have a different colors to improve your scenery. You can choose from annuals that will last a whole year, perennials plants that live more than 2 years, and biennials plants that take 2 years to complete their life cycle.

I would recommend you to plant a rose garden. There is something almost spiritual about rose gardens. From their heady fragrance to their delicate blooms, walking through a rose garden is a peaceful experience. Growing a rose garden isn’t difficult, yet many gardeners complain that their roses are never as beautiful as they would like them to be. If you struggle to grow roses, follow these easy steps and your rose gardens will be the envy of your neighborhood. (more…)

Irrigation system is certainly one of the most significant innovations of our time. With the development of an irrigation system, people do not need to wait for rain to water the crops, ensuring crop production right on harvest schedule.

The convenience of irrigation system has been brought right on our households, thanks to automated irrigation system designed for the home. The good news is, you don’t need a professional landscaper to install your very own automated irrigation system in your gardens or lawns. Get all the practical help you need, and so much more, right here at the site www.automatedirrigationsystem.com. (more…)

An airtight enclosed glass case, invented in 1833 by Dr. Nathanial Ward, a plant collector, who was the first to succeed in transporting live plants over great distances (in his case, between Australia and England). The Wardian case revolutionized plant collecting and became a popular feature in Victorian living rooms. The terrarium, or bottle garden, is a modern version.

Any plant, whether woody or herbaceous, with slender climbing or trailing stems. It may climb by tendrils, twining, or holdfasts or simply run along the ground.

There are many flowers that mix with our roses. To begin with the dwarfs, for spring we can have Snowdrops, Muscari or Grape Hyacinths, winter Aconite, small Narcissus, and Scilla, or the dainty blue and white Chionodoxa. All these are short enough to do well under the branches of the rose trees.

For planting in the spaces between the trees (and for the first year or two these will be fairly large) such flowers as Forget-me-nots, spring Anemones, young Wallflowers, Aubrietia, and Violets can be used. Both the Violets and the Wallflowers must be taken up as soon as they have finished flowering, or their roots, particularly those of the Violet, will be inextricably entangled with those of the roses. They need not be thrown away, but can be divided or cuttings may be taken, and put out in a shady place until the autumn comes round, when they will return to their beds. (more…)

In pruning, a cut made at the base of a branch or stem to remove it entirely and thus thin the plant.

A method of measuring the pH of and the nutrients in the soil.

Growing plants indoors can be a huge benefit to you and your family in terms of producing even some of your own food, such as salad greens and tomatoes. But inefficient growing systems can be expensive to run. Here’s how to use more efficient grow light systems in order to save money.

The heart of the system is based on the type of grow lamp you choose. There are several hydroponic grow lights available. Incandescent lamps are not a good choice for growing plants indoors because they burn hot and can burn the plants if placed too close and they also have a short life span. Fluorescent grow lights work well if you want to start seeds indoors, and will work nicely for growing the little plant seedlings on inside. They also are appropriate for growing salad greens indoors. The bulbs need to be placed close to the plants in order for the plants to receive the best benefit from the light, typically no more than four inches from the plants. You can save money by using appropriate light, because if you do not, you have wasted the seed, growing medium and nutrients, because the plants will not thrive without adequate light. (more…)

A landscape created with rocks and alpine plants (small plants native to mountainous regions).

If you’re like most gardeners, you probably can’t wait for the weather to warm up so you can get outside and start planting. Particularly in the case of vegetable gardening, most plants can’t go in the ground until the weather warms up significantly and the danger of frost has passed. But have you considered planting some cool weather vegetable crops that can be sown as early as several weeks before the last expected frost date? Cool weather vegetables are a great way to get a head start on the season’s plantings. Not only do cool weather veggies keep your planting areas productive for more months of the year, they also allow you to get out in the garden earlier in the spring. In this article, we’ll explore a few varieties of cool weather vegetables that you might want to try growing in your garden this spring. (more…)