Plant Gardens 101

Borage family
Boraginaceae
Om-fa-lo’dez. Low herbs, comprising about 25 species, closely allied to Cynoglossum, which they resemble. Europe and Asia.

Description
Stems smooth or slightly hairy. Leaves basal, long-stalked, lance- or heart-shaped, the stem leaves smaller, fewer, and alternate. Flowers blue, sometimes pinkish, arranged in loose 1-sided racemes. Calyx joined halfway down. Corolla united to form a short tube, usually white with veinlike markings radiating from the center, giving it a starlike appearance. Stamens 5, not protruding.

How to Grow   (more…)

Building a garden pond is not just a matter of digging a hole, lining it with plastic and filling it with water. There are other considerations such as whether it should contain fish or just plants; how big or small it should be; its shape, and so on. Be prepared to dig a decent hole and spend many hours complaining about your aching back … but you’ll be very pleased with the results and you can happily stand around, beer in hand, praising your efforts after the fact. For those who have done it, building a garden pond can be a very satisfying project indeed.

Step 1 – Decide on where to build your pond.
Naturally, level ground would be best or else you’ll spend far more time and effort doing the levelling yourself. Building a garden pond under a tree is unwise as the roots will continue to grow and could encroach upon the pond’s territory in the future. The shade of the tree will also mean a lack of sunlight, which is essential to your pond’s survival. Since you will need electricity for the pump, proximity to an outlet is important. (more…)

There are many common orchid diseases that can cause serious harm to your beautiful plant. You should check your orchids once a week so that you will notice any problems early. Let’s take a look at some of the most common orchid diseases.

Black Rot
One of the first common orchid diseases is black rot. It is caused by fungi that can kill the plant rapidly. Black rot can cause any part of the plant to become watery and black. If the disease is only located on the leaf, you can remove it and treat the plant with fungicide. You should repeat this process until the disease stops spreading.

Petal Blight
One of the next common orchid diseases is petal blight. This condition is also caused by a fungus which will cause the plant’s flowers to develop spots. Petal blight occurs when water is allowed to collect on the surface of the flower. This disease is treated with fungicide, decreased humidity, and increased air movement. You should also remove the affected flowers so they don’t have a chance to spread the fungus. (more…)

Before buying an outdoor fireplace, there are several factors to consider. Always remember that the safety of your family and property is the most important factor.

1. Size matters
When comparing homes, look at the size of the fire area before the height. If the outbreak is small, buy wood and cut harder.

Asking specifically for the timber cut from your suppliers increase costs.

Try to find a large home, do not bother with the fireplace, tall and thin. A small fire bowl cost more down the road. You do not need a big fire because you have a large fireplace, just use less wood for a fire small.

A good chimney burns more cleanly and efficiently design a fire pit with no chimney. The chimney draws air into the fire and extinguished the neck for an efficient burn. Fire pit Designs tend to smoke and burn much more than a conventional fireplace design because of poor airflow. (more…)

The botanical name for meadowsweet.