Plant Gardens 101

Snapdragon family
Scrophulariaceae
Tor-ren’i-a. African and Asiatic perennial or annual herbs comprising over 40 species and related to Mimulus .

Description
Stems much-branched, prostrate or erect, 4-angled. Leaves opposite, ovalish, toothed, and stalked. Flowers in stout, stalked clusters in leaf axils, or few-flowered terminal racemes. Corolla 2-lipped, the upper lip faintly 2-lobed, the lower lip 3-lobed, the central lobe blotched yellow at base.

How to Grow  (more…)

Whatever type of garden you have – from a tiny city yard to sprawling landscaped acres – there’s a greenhouse for you, and finding the right greenhouse will add abundant benefits to your gardening experience. But how can you adapt your greenhouse plans to make sure that you create the right look – with the most practical outlook – for your garden?

When you draw up your greenhouse plans there are several things you need to consider. What are you hoping to grow in your greenhouse, and how much light will it need? If you need a lot of light, your greenhouse plans should take this into account – prioritize free standing structures and avoid heavy timber frames. Your greenhouse plans should also take account of the weather – does your greenhouse need to be sheltered from the wind? (more…)

The pH level is a scale that displays how acidic or alkaline something is. A pH level less than 7 means, whatever it is you are testing is dominantly acidic and a level over 7 means it is more alkaline. If you get a reading of 7 that means it is neutral which is normally water.

Simply just getting the pH reading is not enough. Once you have that reading you need to know how to make adjustments in your soil for optimum growth of the vegetables that you are planting.

Here is how you can raise and lower your soil’s pH level in your home vegetable garden.

Before you can do anything to your soil you have to know what the pH level is. The best way to obtain this reading is with a pH soil testing kit from your local home or garden center. They are as inexpensive as five bucks or as complicated and expensive as a hundred dollars. The choice of which one you get is up to you. (more…)

If you’re not the type of person that wants to spend their time managing an elaborate fruit or vegetable garden, you might consider planting and maintaining an herb garden. While the product might not seem as significant, you’ll still enjoy the constant availability of fresh, delicious herbs to flavor your meals with.

First you’ll want to choose the herbs that you’ll plant. You might have a hard time doing this because of the huge scope of herbs available. But the best way to choose is to do what I did; just look at what you have in your kitchen. By planting your own collection of these herbs, you can save money on buying them from the grocery store while having the added benefit of freshness. Some of the herbs you might start with include rosemary, sage, basil, dill, mint, chives, and parsley among others.

When choosing an area to put your herb garden, you should remember that the soil should have extremely good drainage. If the dirt gets watered and stays completely saturated, you have no chance of ever growing a healthy plant. One of the best ways to fix the drainage problem is to dig a foot deep in the soil, and put a layer of crushed rocks down before replacing all the soil. This will allow all that water to escape, thus saving your plants. (more…)

When considering starting a garden, thematic issues always arise. Is it better to grow a multitude of types of plants or is it better to explore the immense variety of species within a particular variety of plant? It is possible to do both, of course, but if you decide to specialize in a particular type of plant, there are a few things to consider before getting started.

First and foremost, there must be a tremendous interest in the plant type. You will be embarking on growing plants that will have a life time of no less than a year and in most cases many years. You not only have to consider what will hold your interest, but your location and how the plants that you choose to grow will interact with your specific environment. Your specialty plant choice may depend on whether you have access to a large outdoor planting area or a small indoor space. Some areas will have local resources for your specialty plants. If not, you will have to use mail order and internet sources to get the information and resources you need to make your garden a successful one. Starting your garden will involve choosing a propagation method, as well. You will need to decide between growing your plants from seed and purchasing young seedlings. For some plants, propagation by rooting cuttings may work best. Seasonal climates can also play a role in picking the specialty garden that is right for you. Harsher climates may require the use of greenhouses or relocating plants from time to time. (more…)

The botanical name for bald cypress.