Plant Gardens 101

A is for Aloe, which is one of the most commonly known succulent genus, and which includes the burn healing Aloe vera.

B is for Black Rose, common name for Aeonium arboreum, whose clusters of dark leaves do have a rose like shape.

C is for Cactus, the prickly king of the succulent plants.

D is for Dracaena draco, also known as the Dragon Tree, which is very slow growing but also long lived.

E is for Euphorbia, a large genus of plants many of whom are succulents, and includes Euphorbia milii or the Crown of Thorns.

F is for Fire Sticks, or Euphorbia tirucalli, which many thin stems topped with red, making them look like sticks glowing with fire. (more…)

Birds, birds, birds. They come in all shapes and sizes. They range in type from carnivores to herbivores. Birds have been the stars of their own movies. Birds have taught children the importance of personality over looks. Some are even the leaders of nations. Is it any wonder that bird watching is one of the world’s most practiced hobbies.

People from all walks of life enjoy bird watching. Anyone can do it. All it requires is patience, a pair of binoculars and most importantly, a bird feeder. And there are many types. Depending what birds you want to attract will determine what kind of feeder to get.

Hummingbird feeders are the most popular and come in two styles; inverted and basin style. The feeder usually has a small receptacle in which a sugar solution is placed. It has an opening just big enough for the hummingbird to put its long beak. But the solution is really just an energy boost for the hummingbird. A hummingbird’s main diet is gnats and other small bugs. Here’s a hint when choosing a hummingbird feeder. Choose one that can be taken apart easily. Your feeder needs to be cleaned every three-to-four days due to the unfortunate clotting habit of the sugar and water solution. (more…)

Climbing plants are of many varieties. Good examples of climbing plants are grapevines and tomatoes. They all have weak stems in common and need support in order to grow tall and occupy less space in the home garden. Growing them next to a wall or a tree is or way of taking care of them as they climb. They do this to get sunlight. For climbing, they have developed features like tendrils and twisting leaves. They climb on fences, walls, trees etc. Unless they have man-made support like fences or natural support like trees, climbing plants will grow on the ground and will lack sunlight which is an essential aspect of growth. They will become weak and produce less fruit. They also tend to look messy in the garden.

Unless you do not like the idea, you may let these plants climb a wall or a fence that has ugly features in order to hide them. You may also plant these plants on your walls if you do not have space in your home or neighborhood. The blooms are attractive and beautify the home. The climbing plants give a natural look to a house.

The choice of a climbing plant is dependent on the desired effect. You will have to consider the growth characteristic of a plant. Look out for the species that thrive in your area before you make a decision on which to plant. Do not plant them in pots as this will hinder their growth. (more…)

Things were going great in the early stages. I had just recently started growing vegetables in my back yard and things were moving along very well. Certain vegetables were growing somewhat slowly, and I didn’t expect things to be so smooth forever, but I had faith things would turn out well no matter what obstacles I would have to face. It wasn’t long before I faced one of the first setbacks in cultivating a vegetable garden and discovered that I would have to put in garden fencing.

I had grown vegetables in the past but it was a communal garden and it was ages ago so when the rabbits started to ruin my garden, I was totally caught off guard. Luckily, because of my experience, I not only knew the answer was garden fencing but I also knew exactly what kind of garden fencing was required. (more…)

With the massive progress that many cities and towns are experiencing we see the declining of Natural Meadows. With the absence of real meadows, the territory for butterflies, birds and other animals are dwindling too. Luckily butterflies are easily enticed backs if you deposit a backyard where the caterpillar (chrysalis point) has plants to eat and the butterfly has plants to sip nectar. Butterfly gardens are unfussy to lodge and will give you and your family a venture to see butterflies in their ordinary locale.

The basics are an open universes with tons of sunshine and an armor from roll. Pick a location with loads of sunlight with a few rocks or shingle that can boil up on which the butterflies can relax in the morning sun. Try to place your patch near hedges or bushes that will help shelter them from the eager winds. If it is too stormy, the butterflies won’t vacation around for long. The barricade or shrub could become food for the caterpillar. You can find out what the caterpillar likes best from your Nursery Garden Center. Butterflies like mud puddles where they can draft the water and bathe up minerals. An insignia of damp soil will make them favorable. Most important of all is that the patch be pesticide open. Many people like to use pesticides to game away discarded mice, unfortunately it will track away your butterflies too. Put your butterfly backyard in a surround where there will be no chemical pesticides worn. Better still, ask your Garden Center about organic gardening. (more…)

Flowers By Season Copyright (c) 2007 Kelly Staller is site manager at StarReviews.com, a site dedicated to giving YOU, the consumer, the best product and service reviews around. If you like saving time and money by having someone else review leading sites and products, then Visit our site at StarReviews.com.
Whether you’re planning a September wedding, want to send flowers to your aunt in Hawaii or simply want to plant some flowers in your garden that won’t die, it’s important to know which flowers belong in which season. Some flowers are popular year-round, such as roses, and don’t have to be reserved for Valentine’s Day. Here’s a quick-reference-guide to flowers by season:

Great Summer Flowers:

• Sunflowers
• Lilies (more…)

Some gardeners hate it – other gardeners, like me, cannot get enough of it. What am I talking about? Moss. Moss is a simple little plant that does not have conventional roots, stems, or leaves. Moss is any species of the class ‘Bryopsida’ and is part of the division ‘Bryophyta’. ‘Bryophyta’ means the first green land plants to develop during the evolutionary process. Moss is thought to have evolved from very primitive vascular plants. Dinosaurs may have munched their way through tons of it and it has been used by gardeners in ancient cities to supply the backdrop to many beautiful gardens, perhaps even in the ‘Hanging Gardens of Babylon’.

It is interesting that moss has not given rise to any other kind of plant.

Because moss does not have the traditional vascular structures of true leaves, stems, and roots, its growth is limited to moist locations. Moss is very hardy and grows almost anywhere, all over the world except under the sea and in the desert sands. Moss normally grows vertically and of little use to humans’ apart from the use in gardening. (more…)

Austin residents can visit one of the most beautiful butterfly gardens in the world at the Zilker Botanical Garden. The Doug Blachly Butterfly Trail and Garden features native plants and special feeders that attract many species of butterflies, including Red Admiral, Hackberry, Silver Emperor, Eastern Black Swallowtail, Question Mark, and, of course, the familiar black and orange Monarch butterflies. Homeowners can recapture that natural beauty at home by creating a private butterfly garden. Austin is home to over eighty different species of butterflies, so a butterfly garden is a simple project that will provide hours of enjoyment for you and your family. A bit of research and a green thumb will allow you to provide a garden that will attract butterflies and caterpillars all summer long.
While each species of butterfly has specific preferences, generally milkweed, pipevine, dill, cabbage, fennel and parsley are good choices to start your butterfly garden, since a variety of butterfly species use these plants as sites for depositing their eggs and as food during their caterpillar stage. Certain trees are attractive to caterpillars as well, including sycamore, willow, aspen, and elm trees; incorporating these into your butterfly garden plan will attract a wider variety of species to your yard. (more…)

Setting up plot gardens is the surest way to call butterflies into your home. If you ensue to have a big interim at the back of your home, it would be a good idea for you and your family to birth forecast for your plot gardens. Buy some books and magazines about plot gardens to help you and your family to draft your gardens in such a way that it will look appealing to different species of butterflies.

Designing Your Backyard Gardens
There are many equipment that you want to deem when crafty your patch plot. First, you necessity to consider the organize order of your patch. If you patch already have free plants, you hardship to take a register of the plants and decide which ones you are available to keep and which ones have to go. (more…)

What do the terms grafting and budding mean?
Budding is a form of grafting. Grafting is the art of attaching a piece of one plant to another plant, creating a new plant. Grafting is usually done because the desired plant is extremely difficult if not impossible to propagate through other means. Dogwoods, for example, are easily grown from seed, however, it is next to impossible to grow a Pink Dogwood from seed. The seeds from a Pink Dogwood will produce seedlings that are likely to flower white.

The most common method for producing Pink Dogwood trees is to remove a single bud from a Pink Dogwood tree and slip it under the bark of a White Dogwood seedling. This process is known as budding, and the seedling is known as the rootstock. This is usually done during the late summer months when the bark of the White Dogwood seedling can be easily separated from the tree, and the seedling is about 1/4” in diameter. (more…)

Many years ago I bought a house in Wisconsin with a huge backyard. Large areas were devoted to fruit trees, vegetables, flowers and my special favorites like strawberries and raspberries. Growing raspberries has now become a must for any garden of mine. They taste great fresh or in desserts and are relatively easy to grow. My first experience really sold me. Got lucky I guess and after a few years had to invite friends over to pick them, just to keep up. Fresh raspberries in the grocery stores today cost an arm and a leg; so why not give them a try. Raspberries are a type of bramble, like blackberries and are also known as “Cane berries” Raspberries are different from blackberries in that the fruit has a hollow core that remains on the plant when you pick the raspberry. The most common way of growing raspberries is in rows spaced 6 to 12 feet apart. Raspberries are wonderful for jam, to eat fresh, or to use in a variety of desserts. Raspberries are a very healthy food; they are high in Vitamin C and naturally have no fat, cholesterol or sodium. (more…)

Hydrangeas are very popular for landscaping mainly because of their dazzling display of flowers and spectacular foliage. It also is an easy to care for shrub given the correct growing environment. And a magical occurrence is that the color of hydrangea flowers can be manipulated by just changing the soil pH-dependent mobilization and uptake of soil aluminium into the plants.

Hydrangea macrophylla is a species native to Japan and Korea. However, it is widely cultivated in many parts of the world in many climates, and a must have shrub for shade and partial shade being that is so showy. In this country we refer to it as a “French Hydrangea”. In landscaping design, Hydrangea macrophylla add a splash of springtime color to shady areas and woodland gardens. Once hydrangeas become established, they can grow quite vigorously. If they do become prolific, occasional summer pruning is recommended to keep them in bounds. The flowers are easily air-dried and are long lasting making terrific indoor décor displays. (more…)

Did you ever speculate how a being from another world might perceive Planet Earth? What would a stranger to our earth think if he saw a caterpillar right next to a butterfly? It is utterly a phenomenon.

A caterpillar has a long fat worm-like body sheltered in a furry banded coat. It slithers along the ground intake everything it can find. Eventually, it turns upside down and forms a protect. At this juncture, it looks nothing like the caterpillar or a butterfly.

In the shelter, the caterpillar just hangs out and transforms itself. All kinds of changes are winning place in the confines of that envelope. When the time is right, it eats its way out of the nest. It must do it with no help. Helping it can slaughter the butterfly. Then, miraculously, a stunning butterfly appears! (more…)

There are many species of this deciduous shrub to choose to grow in your landscape design. They have many positive aspects and are a pleasant showy splash of color in your garden. Most species of hydrangeas can be grown in either full sun or partial shade. They are resistant to most insects and diseases. They can be grown in a wide range of soil but prefer a rich, moist soil and make sure they are planted where watering will not be a problem. Their large, soft leaves lose water quickly, especially on hot, windy days, causing the foliage to wilt, so avoid dry windy sites. A list of some Hydrangea species you may want to consider follows.

Hydrangea macrophylla — Hortensia or Florist Hydrangea is a widely grown hydrangea with large globe-shaped flowers. The color of its blooms is dependent upon the pH of the soil in which it is grown: blue if acid; pink if alkaline (lime can be added to the soil to force this). There are also several white-flowered cultivars. Pruning can be accomplished at two different times: early spring and late summer (more desirable). Most hortensia types flower only from the end buds of upright or lateral shoots produced during late summer. Prune from the lower parts of the stems and crown as soon as the flowers have faded and strong shoots are developing. Pruning this species too late in the fall (after September) is harmful. Hydrangea macrophylla is a good seashore shrub; flowering is more profuse in an open, sunny location; however, hydrangeas are shade-tolerant. (more…)

Confused about which bedding plants to buy? Bedding plants can refer to flowers, shrubs, herbs, vegetables, fruits, and many more. There are also gardening plants that are in season at different times of the year, some in fall and winter, others in spring and summer. The type of garden you are planting will determine the bedding plant choice; there are plenty of gardening plants available to suit your preferences.

If you want garden plants that you can eventually eat instead of just look at, vegetables, herbs, and fruits are the clear choice. Edible plants add an excitement to gardening because of the produce available at harvest time. The main vegetables grown in smaller, home gardens as well as larger ones include corn, peas, cucumbers, potatoes, squash, peppers, onions, carrots, spinach, lettuce, and beets. Popular fruits are pears, plums, tomatoes, blueberries, apricots, cherries, and strawberries. Herbs are used for their wonderful fragrances, to spice up a salad, and in cooking. Herbs that are often home grown include thyme, sage, dill, mint, lavender, and chives. (more…)