Plant Gardens 101

In keeping with our theme of features you can use in your landscaping other than plants, we’re now going to take a look at some more elements that aren’t generally thought of as garden decor or accents. Common and functional elements storage sheds can be accent or decorative additions to your landscape which can fill blank spots, create a sense of depth, and give your yard a more ‘complete’ and fulfilling appearance.

While objects such as sheds or lighting aren’t usually thought of as design elements, they can be. And many others not mentioned here can be hand-crafted or obtained inexpensively at yard sales and flea markets. Without further ado, here are a few more attractive and creative ways to make your yard and gardening areas more functional and inviting. (more…)

Daisy family
Compositae
Kat-a-nann’ke. Of the 5 known species of this genus, only the Cupid’s Dart is grown in the garden for its showy blue heads.

Description
Leaves mostly basal and narrow. Flowers in long-stalked heads, the rays flat and toothed.

How to Grow    (more…)

The language used to denote the scientific names of plants. In the 18th century, when Carolus Linnaeus invented the binomial system for plant classification, Latin was the universal language of scientists. In his system (still in use today) the first Latin word indicated the genus and the second pinpointed the species. Since that time, many new names for plants have been derived from other languages, especially Greek, or from the name of the place where a previously unknown plant was first found or the person who discovered or cultivated it. Whatever their origin, however, all scientific plant names are treated as Latin. Thus the redbud tree is Cercis (from the Greek) canadensis (from the place where it was first identified). The Siberian wallflower is Cheiranthus (from the Greek) allionii (after the Italian botanist Carlo Allioni).

One of the most rewarding parts of gardening is the frequent visitors combined with compliments. Visitors can be people like ourselves. The most appreciative visitors, however, are the “winged” kind…..Birds.

These feathered creatures add dimension to every part of your garden. There songs create a lovely atmosphere, and showy colors rival even your most elaborate blooms in beauty. Birds do not flock to just any garden, however, so you’ll need to know what kinds of factors birds look for in a habitat.

The relationship between the birds and your garden is a a symbiotic one.The birds give your garden a beautiful atmosphere, while the garden provides food, water, and shelter for the birds. Your garden may very well become a regular resting spot for many different species of birds if you take their needs into consideration in the creation of your garden. (more…)

A is for Alyssum, which makes a carpet of tiny blooms in whites, reds, and pinks.

B is for Begonia, which have dainty pink, red, or white flowers.

C is for Celosia, which have velvety red and orange plumes.

D is for Dahlia, which produce huge flowers in purple, red, pink, orange, or yellow.

E is for Everlasting, which annuals are not – they only bloom for one year. (more…)

Basic Styles
There are five basic styles for bonsai trees: formal upright, informal upright, slanting, cascade, and semi-cascade. These classifications are based on the overall shape of the tree and how much the trunk slants away from an imaginary vertical axis. The numerous Japanese bonsai styles are principally variations of these five basic styles. The single trunk style is the basic design that is simplest to shape because the one trunk determines the overall composition.
Formal Upright The formal upright style has classic proportions and is the basis of all bonsai. It is the easiest for a beginner bonsai to develop because it requires the least experimentation, avoids the problem of selective bonsai tree pruning, bonsai trimming and should almost immediately become a displayable bonsai plant. In this style, the form is sometimes rounded and the bonsai tree has an erect leader and horizontal branches. One of the branches is lower and extends a little farther from the trunk than the others .

Bonsai in the formal upright style look best in bonsai pottery that are oval or rectangular. Do not center the plant when placing it in the container. Plant it about a third of the distance from one end.

Informal Upright The informal upright bonsai style has much the same branch arrangement as the formal upright style, but the top — instead of being erect as in the formal upright style — bends slightly to the front. This bend makes the bonsai tree’s branches appear to be in motion and enhances the look of informality. (more…)

Loosestrife family
Lythraceae
Kew’fee-a. A large group of over 200 species of tropical American herbs or shrubs.

Description
Leaves opposite or crowded. Flowers irregular, the calyx tubular and corolla-like, often longer than the 6 unequal petals, sometimes swollen and pouchlike, or curved at the based. In the species below there are no petals. Stamens generally 11.

How to Grow   (more…)

Herb gardening Is one of the most rewarding pastimes you will begin. I say will begin because by the time you finish reading this you WILL begin! You will need some basic information and knowledge about the herbs you choose to use and grow, but after that the actual process is easy and fast. The best thing is that after you work out what you need to do, it becomes a passion that lasts forever and, even better, it’s a real money saving hobby.

What you Need to Know About Herb Gardening
Basically you need to work out your seasonal needs. Choose the herbs you like or use most often in your cooking. The easiest way is to go to your kitchen shelf and look at what you have accumulated over the past and decide which ones you really use. Then, look up the growing requirements. You can do this on the Internet or go to your local nursery for free tips. Most plants are easy to grow, but will need a little attention and need replanting in spring.

Next you need to learn how to dry your herbs for storage and use during those times when fresh plants are unavailable. Here are my tips for drying herbs successfully:

• Cut off tops of the leafy varieties in midsummer.

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In a tree or shrub, the ring of wood developed during each growing season, as seen in a cross section of the trunk. When the trunk is cut, the rings can be counted to determine the age of the plant. Also called growth ring.

Flowers are available all year round with exotic and tropical flowers being grown under heat or imported from all corners of the world the choices are varied and affordable. There are so many different occasions when sending flowers can be apt, a thoughtful and special way to show someone you care about them or are thinking about them.

Spring flowers are epitomized by the arrival of scented narcissus, lily of the valley, Genista and lilac incorporated with daffodils, tulips and grape hyacinths creations of spring bouquets and basket arrangements brighten the senses and lift the spirits. A single spring flower variety interspersed with cherry blossoms or Viburnum opulus, also known as the snowball tree, look bright and fresh in any home. Arrangements of yellow, limes and white give a clean, sharp injection of colour to awaken the senses. (more…)

Building a garden shed is fun and will save you a shed load of money! Buying the right plan is, of course, essential but one aspect of shed building is not addressed by most plans and that is – where to build it?

Many people looking at garden shed blueprints to build their perfect shed will already have the spot picked out. If you’re short of space, you may not have much choice about where to build your shed but even so, think about the following points before beginning construction.

The most important consideration is access. If you need to paint the shed, perhaps do minor repairs to it or keep the ground around it clear, you’ll need 360 degree access to it. If you were thinking of positioning it right up against a wall or a fence, think about the implications of not being able to get to that side. (more…)

Homegrown Hydroponics Fantastic Customer Support

I recently purchased the Homegrown Hydroponics Mini Fridge Grow Box to use in my home. However I almost did not purchase it because it seems like there is some mixed reviews regarding the customer service and customer support of Homegrown Hydroponics. There have been some negative publicity for this company, and even though I have no affiliation whatsoever with Homegrown Hydroponics I wanted to post this article to show my gratitude towards this company for a job and a product well done. From my personal experience I have found that what some others have said Homegrown Hydroponics to be totally untrue and unwarranted, and since few others have spoken up, I thought that I would speak up by writing this article and give a honest review of their product and services.

My foray into hydroponics came a few months ago when I decided to purchase my first hydroponics growing machine. I did my due diligence and research to find companies that manufacture hydroponics grow boxes for home use, and after many weeks of research I narrowed my focus specifically down to Homegrown Hydroponics and their Mini Fridge Grow Box specifically. However I was also interested in one time and possibly considered their Living Room grow box which looked exactly like a piece of furniture but would allow me to grow plants inside with stealth as to not detract from my simple bedroom. I also briefly considered that PC grow box for growing my plants. However because I know because I have very little experience with hydroponics, I really needed a helping hand and some good insight on a grow box to purchase. (more…)

All good gardener has some type of gardening equipment. In fact, it’s nearly impossible to have a garden without using gardening tools. What kind of garden tools you use will obviously depend on the size and extent of your garden, what you are able to handle, if you want to spend a lot of time in your garden or get done quickly, and finally, how much money you are willing to spend.

While most organic gardeners do not have expensive or high-tech gardening tools, all of them have some type of gardening equipment for cultivating. Tools for cultivating can include both hand held tools and power tools. What kind you buy depends on how serious of a gardener you are. Hand tools include your everyday items like shovels, spading forks, rakes, trowels, and diggers. These can all be used to get a garden ready for planting and are relatively easy to use and do not require a great deal of strength. Other tools include a wheel cultivator, pickax, and mattock. (more…)

By definition, a cabinet is an upright, cupboard-like storage area with shelves, drawers, or compartments for the safekeeping or display of objects. It is an enclosure that has a front hinged door used for housing anything from clothes to appliances and other household stuffs. A grow cabinet on the other hand is just like a cabinet that functions as a storage space but with the absence of shelves, drawers, or compartments. It is only made to look like a cabinet on the outside but inside it’s a whole different thing.

With the word “grow,” we already have a slight idea of what grow cabinet is. Well, it is a grow box that looks like a cabinet that acts as a storage space and growing area for plants. The interior of grow cabinet is specifically customized and designed to create an artificial ecosystem for a plant to grow in. a grow cabinet comprises of a cabinet type of box, plant light, vents, hydroponics system, CO2 generator, odor eliminator, and a temperature monitor. All of these components are essential for grow cabinet to become an enclosed space that is suitable for plants to grow. The size of grow cabinet, which is usually small, makes it terrific for confined spaces. It can easily fit to any corners of the house. Ideally, grow cabinet is practical to use when you are trying to save some space in your place. (more…)

A home garden is a place, which can give identity to your home building in a neighborhood. You can use very little creativity to enhance to look and feel of your garden so that it stands out from the rest of the gardens in the neighborhood. Here is a list of probable elements you can add to your landscaping garden so that everybody loves it and you get the credit.

1) The compound wall of the home plot defines the boundary of the garden as well. Use paintings on the wall surface (inside), that will add excitement to your garden . You can go for a theme based paintings such as nature, waterfalls, sunsets etc..

2) Use stone sculptures of actual human size. These statues greatly add a uman touch to the garden and also defines a scale to the space. Everything we use in our daily lives such as clothes, kitchen utensils, office equipment, computer parts, are all always related to human measurements. If this is the case with all other objects, why exclude a garden from it. (more…)

A Victorian word for a rose garden.

When it comes to getting started with your garden, you have two choices; planting seeds, or buying entire plants. Both have their own benefits. If you plant seeds and care for them every day, you will find it is a much more rewarding experience when you have a full, healthy plant. However, this method is a lot more risky. I can’t tell you how many seeds I’ve planted and never seen any trace of whatsoever. If you choose to buy the plant from a nursery and install it in your garden, it reduces a lot of the work involved in making it healthy. However, I have found in the past that many incompetent nursery workers will absolutely ruin the future of the plant by putting certain chemicals or fertilizers in. I have adapted to this incompetence by learning to choose the healthiest plant of the bunch. Here I will discuss some of the techniques I use in my screening process for plants.

It may sound superficial, but the one thing you need to check for on your prospective plants is how nice they look. As far as plants go, you can truly judge a book by its cover. If a plant has been treated healthily and has no diseases or pests, you can almost always tell by how nice it looks. If a plant has grown up in improper soil, or has harmful bugs living in it, you can tell from the holey leaves and wilted stems. (more…)

Most everyone in the world who owns a house or has any land wants to have some type of landscaping. The problem that virtually everyone runs into when attempting to grow the plants that they that can be used for landscaping is that weather doesn’t always permit it.

Many people frequently wonder how they can get great plants and flowers even when the weather is either too hot or too cold. Many see the only viable option available is purchasing these plants from large chain stores or perhaps smaller plant stores.

While this is an option, and it does work, many people simply feel they can get a higher quality plant if they grow it themselves. For these people an Arrow greenhouse is an excellent option. (more…)

A herb or vegetable garden can make a very attractive addition to any landscape. Herb and vegetable gardens, be they stand alone or, incorporated into the overall landscape, can be just as attractive as many of the common annual and perennials found in most gardens. An added bonus, is the fact that you can eat most of them as well. This is called an “edible landscape”.

Stand alone herb and vegetable gardens, are just that. An area is set aside purely for the cultivation of these plants. In this article, we are talking about the landscaping aspects, where these plants have a specific role, mainly as an attractive feature – with the bonus of being edible. Stand alone herb and vegetable gardens can be made into any shape and or size. The important thing is to keep in mind how it fits in with the rest of the landscape. Generally speaking, if this is to be a show-piece, then nice lines and an overall neatness is to be desired. Certainly this can be achieved by bordering the garden with largish rocks, however, this can be a problem if the garden is laid in the middle of a lawn. The encroachment of the lawn (especially if it is couch, twitch or kikuyu), will grow under the rocks and you will have a constant battle to keep the lawn out of the vegetable garden. A better solution would be to border the garden with landscape logs, such as railway sleepers, or heavy treated planks. This way, at least you can trim or spray the edges periodically to address the encroachment problem. Yet another way would be to make the lawn of chammomile. Non-invasive and although a lot of work to get established, once it’s up and running, it’s just glorious. Smells wonderful and has a calming effect on most people. (more…)

The love story of the Japanese Garden is told by the elements which create its romance. These gardens represent a romantic philosophy that is unique and whole. It captures the soul by staying true to nature leaving out artificial elements.

To begin the story, the element of Space is essential to the Japanese gardener. Elegantly placed open spaces “define the elements around it …and it is defined by elements surrounding it”. The partnership of stone and plant life are beautifully expressed as the stone adds the magnificence of strength and represents the unchanging permanence of life. Trees, shrubs and perennials reflect the moods and changing seasons, with dramatic color.

Stones are particularly significant as they provide the very foundation of your garden and give you something to build upon. They are used as focal points, along the pathways symbolizing the important aspects to the journey of life. Stones are also frequently used in other forms such as gravel or sand and are groomed by rakes in fluid motions giving the illusion and representation of water.

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