Plant Gardens 101

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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Adult Chinch Bugs usually appear in your lawn in March, but their life cycle in the turf begins long before that as larvae. They have black bodies and legs, white wings with a black triangular spot on each wing. Also known as Blissus leucopterus leucopterus, and B. insularis, Lygaeidae, a Chinch Bug is a beetle that the size of a grain of rice, and the larvae can be as small as the head of a pin. But don’t let their small size fool you, the power of a Chinch Bug infestation to destroy your lawn should not be underestimated, especially if your grass is currently experiencing a drought or consistently dry conditions year round. These pests live deep in the thatch throughout the fall and winter and steadily eat away the root system of your grass and other plants.

But it gets worse. Much worse.

Chinch Bugs don’t just eat your grass, they actually inject poison into the plant as they eat, causing your grass to turn yellow and die in large patches. These patches are usually circular, with the center looking much worse than the outer perimeter. (more…)

The cap of a mushroom or toadstool.

I am a middle-aged man who has recently discovered a fantastic new hobby that I would love to share with the rest of the world. My new hobby is indoor hydroponics gardening. Let’s just say I always had a brown thumb, and I kind of ran into hydroponics by accident. Let’s just say I have come into a position where I no longer want to grow my plants outdoors, I decided I would much rather grow my plants indoors with hydroponics. The problem is I never really had much talent as a gardener. As a kid I never took care of plants or animals, and had little experience taking care of anything living. However I put all that behind me and now I now grow my own organic medicinal herbs and have chosen to do that with hydroponics for several reasons. (more…)

Asparagus is a tasty vegetable which also has a lot of vitamin value. However, it is a seasonal crop, meaning it is available only for a few months of the year. It takes quite some time to grow and therefore requires a lot of patience. If you are not willing to be around for some time to tend asparagus, then it is not the right vegetable for you to grow in your home garden. Your home garden needs to be relatively large to grow asparagus, and therefore it is not suitable for growing on a window sill garden. It does not do well in pots. It needs lot of sunlight to grow. Do not grow them too close together or they will not grow to a decent size. An asparagus plant can remain productive for quite some time and so it is a worthwhile investment. (more…)