Plant Gardens 101

Potato family
Solanaceae
Near-em-berg’i-a or near-em-ber’ji-a. Cupflower . Tropical American herbs or subshrubs comprising about 30 species, 4 grown for their attractive tubular flowers.

Description
Leaves alternate, somewhat scattered, without marginal teeth. Flowers white or pale blue, mostly near the ends of twigs. Calyx more or less bell-shaped, 5-parted. Corolla long-tubed, the 5-lobed limb abruptly expanded, throat yellow. Stamens 5, protruding, one shorter than the others.

How to Grow   (more…)

Like many home vegetable gardeners, when I was younger I concentrated on the simple basics of having a home vegetable garden. The information I am about to share with you was never even a thought in my mind, but as I have come to learn, knowing it, has made me a better gardener and my harvest more productive.

You can keep your home vegetable garden at the current level of where it is now of planting some seeds, adding water, maybe a little fertilizer and waiting for the vegetables to come up, or you can follow the advice below and produce even more.

Sowing This term refers to the depth at which you plant a seed. It varies by plant variety and seed size. A typical rule of thumb is the smaller the seed to more shallow it has to be planted. The reason being is each seed as built into it the ability to push through the topsoil. Larger seeds can push through from deeper depths whereas smaller seeds need to be closer to the top. (more…)

After a long winter, gardeners are eager and anxious to get their landscaping up to par. Many gardeners go the extra mile to add personal flair to their backyard gardens. At first, it may sound like a lot of extra work, but by adding a few simple additions, you can transform your typical flower garden into a backyard retreat.

This will cost a bit extra, but should be very affordable. Many people do not consider their gardens usable outdoor space. This is a huge mistake! While you enjoy your own work in the yard, why not make it so others can enjoy it as well?

A fast and easy way to spruce things up is to add lighting. Small solar lights will add accent lighting and will provide a warm glow in the evening. These lights are great to use along walkways as well. They are inexpensive and can make a drastic difference in the appearance of your garden. (more…)

A wild-flower garden has a most attractive sound. One thinks of long tramps in the woods, collecting material, and then of the fun in fixing up a real for sure wild garden.

Many people say they have no luck at all with such a garden. It is not a question of luck, but a question of understanding, for wild flowers are like people and each has its personality. What a plant has been accustomed to in Nature it desires always. In fact, when removed from its own sort of living conditions, it sickens and dies. That is enough to tell us that we should copy Nature herself. Suppose you are hunting wild flowers. As you choose certain flowers from the woods, notice the soil they are in, the place, conditions, the surroundings, and the neighbours.

Suppose you find dog-tooth violets and wind-flowers growing near together. Then place them so in your own new garden. Suppose you find a certain violet enjoying an open situation; then it should always have the same. You see the point, do you not? If you wish wild flowers to grow in a tame garden make them feel at home. Cheat them into almost believing that they are still in their native haunts. (more…)

A method of deep cultivation by (1) digging out the top spade length (or “spit”) of soil, (2) forking over and amending the lower level of soil, and (3) returning the topsoil to the hole on top of the cultivated lower level.