Plant Gardens 101

The three things that all plants need to survive are food, water, and dirt. The food for plants is created when enough light is provided. The water and dirt part of the equation are pretty straight forward as long as you follow the recommended care instructions and don’t forget to water your plants. But how do you ensure that your indoor plants are getting enough light? Finding the right location in your home may require some trial and error before you find the perfect spot.

Before deciding on what type of plants you will have in your house, look into the light requirements. The four categories that describe the different light requirement for plants are low, medium, high, and very high. If you have a sunroom or skylights in your home and can position your plants in or under them you can purchase plants that need high or very high light exposure. Be aware that some plants can get too much sun, in which case the light that comes in from a regular window should suffice. (more…)

Knowing the proper way to care for your flower garden can be the difference between a beautiful swath of flowers that everyone makes glowing comments on or a so-so garden that seems on the verge of dying all the time. As with all things learning the how to care for your garden can take time , but if you follow some of these basic tips you will be well on your way to having beautiful blooms all summer long.

1. Do you have the essentials covered? Just like any other plant, flowers are living growing organisms and without the proper necessities they will wither and die. They need a consistent water supply, varying amounts of sunlight depending on the plant, and rich fertile soil. The more pampered and cared for they are the better they will respond. During times of intense heat and little rain be sure to water more often. (more…)

Spider plants, like the Philodendron is an excellent house plant to have. This particular plant will thrive in nearly any condition, it is easy to care for and make beautiful hanging basket plants as they grow and the baby spider plants hang down.

Spider plants love rich well draining potting soil, but not “wet” soil and when fertilize every two to four weeks they will grow exceptionally well in a low light condition. They do however benefit from a sunny window twice a week or so but the like most other plants do not like drafts or the cold. (more…)

A lot of people stick a fake tree in a corner, dust the leaves off every week, and call it indoor gardening, but indoor gardening has grown into much more than that lately. There are also a lot of people that thinks plants belong and should stay inside, but there are many reasons for starting an indoor garden. For instance, plants don’t only remove carbon dioxide from the air, they also remove many poisonous toxins and pollutants as well. Indoor gardening will result in beautiful decoration in your house as well as cleaner air.

When picking out plants for indoor gardening, make sure the plants are adaptable and will be able to thrive in the conditions and setting in your house. Consider how much time you will be able to spend caring for the plants, how much light your house offers, and also how much money you want to spend on your indoor garden. If you are on a low budget, start with seeds or cuttings. If you have a little more money to dish out you can buy a plant that is already grown. Another thing to consider is if you want a plant that can be displayed all year or just for a season. Herb gardens are a good thing for indoor gardening; they are both attractive and edible. They will grow pretty quick and you won’t have to wait a long time to see results. Some popular herbs, especially for cooking, are chives, dill, sage, thyme, and oregano.

When indoor gardening, consider the amount of experience you have before choosing a plant. There are some plants that are stronger and harder to kill and therefore better for a novice gardener. Examples are Fatsia, Cyperus, Scandens, Popular Succulents, Coleus, and Bromeliads. (more…)

UFO led lighting is a fairly recent development in indoor gardening lighting. It takes the power of tiny LED lights and combines and configures them in such a way as to produce indoor light perfectly suited for growing plants. There are many types of indoor gardening applications where the ufo led grow light can be beneficial.

Seed Starting and the UFO LED Light
Many different types of seeds benefit from the application of appropriate light during the seed germination process. Seeds such as lettuce, mullein and evening primrose achieve germination only when light is applied. If they are outside in the garden, they rely on natural sunlight, but if indoors, it is up to the gardener to apply the light they need. The UFO LED light is suited to this purpose, because it not only offers the bright light needed for germination, but in the case of lettuce, which requires cooler soil and air temperatures for germination to occur, the LED UFO grow light produces no heat. This allows you to more easily control the air and soil temperatures so you can achieve the best germination rate for your seed. You can do this without the added expense of fans and vents, which are typically used with other types of lighting. (more…)

First, the uneatable flora. In Bahasa Malaysia, plants on tyres does not mean the cute part of a workshop enveloped by delicate petals. When a passage police officer warns you that there are “no plants” on your tyres, he is actually adage the tyres are so gravely worn that he himself cannot see the tread patterns anymore. Oh, oh! You are in problem with the Malaysian transfer law.

At the end of a fiscal year, employees look forwards to “flora” from Malaysian bosses. Most doubtless, a more month’s bonus of salary is as wonderful as plants in their eyes. The same thought applies to “flora” given by the banks, in this suit, it is the fascinate. The blessed employee who receives “plants” from his boss and mound can allow to buy “flaming flora.” He ignites the fuse of a “heated flower” to propel it shooting high up into the sky where it blossoms into a large parade of fireworks.

As with other cultures, the female gender is considered a figurative flower in Bahasa Malaysia. A teenage lass is a “bud” who quickly matures into “a flower in the garden” sense she is specific and available to be chosen as a partner. If a man chooses her to be “the flower adorning” his fuzz, he marries her. By with beauty harvest flooding the Malaysian souk, a married lady doesn’t have to go out of influence after having children. She could still be “the flower” of a community gathering, that is, the fairest of them all. (more…)

For many people perennials are a great way to accomplish a certain look they want for their yard and garden. One area of the yard that many people have a hard time with is the shady areas. There are plants that thrive in such conditions and one form of these are the shade perennials. These types of perennials will grow from two to four years before they need to be replaced and grow well in shady areas of the yard. If they receive to much sunlight they will have a hard time growing and may even die.

Lavender is considered one of the most beautiful of the shade perennials. Lavender is known for its beautiful flowers that can be any color of the rainbow. It also grows lush green stems that make a striking backdrop for the flowers. As with all shade perennials, Lavender needs to be planted in rich and moist soil. It also needs regular attention and watering. In fact if kept constantly moist Lavender can be kept in the more sunny areas of the yard. At its mature height it will grow to 15 to 20 inches tall. (more…)

If you are a commercial plant grower or hydroponic gardener, you know that speed in getting your plants from seedlings to marketable size rapidly means the difference between making a profit and not. If you are a home gardening aficionado, you want to get your seedlings off to a great start in order to have your flower and vegetable starts ready to plant out when the weather warms up in spring. For all these uses, high output LED grow lights offer an indoor garden lighting solution that leads to healthy plants that grow rapidly.

Color Temperature and led grow lights for plants (more…)

Learning the art of perennial gardening is much like learning to do anything else. A certain amount of knowledge and skill is required to create a perennial garden but only by doing research into the types of perennial plants and actually making the attempt will this skill and knowledge grow blossom into that flower garden you always dreamed of. Learning the ins and outs of perennial gardening will take time but once you have the basics down your imagination is your only limit to creating a beautiful garden that blooms every year with a minimum amount of work.

The first thing to do before you even begin to dig in the dirt is do some research on perennial plants and gardening practices. Go to your local library or gardening center to find books related to this subject. You can also find a wealth of information on the internet about this type of gardening.

When it comes time to start selecting the plants for your garden the idea is to take the vision that you have in you head and transfer that to an actual living garden. By doing your research up front and selecting the flowers and plants that fit your vision you will see that vision come to life much quicker and easier. As such it is important that you make a list of those plants that you find most desirable during your research. This will help you not only arrange your perennial garden in a design that is most pleasing to you but it will also make it easy to find and purchase them at your local garden store. (more…)

To make sure that your prized roses remain in the best of health, simply follow these tips. (Page 3, Garden Designs)

1. Black Spots on Leaves

This disease is commonly known as black spot. Black spots appear as circular with fringed edges on leaves. They cause the leaves to yellow. Remove the infected foliage and pick up any fallen leaves around the rose. Artificial sprays may be used to prevent or treat this kind of rose disease.

2. Stunted or malformed young canes (more…)

For years people have been gardening in containers, mostly because they lacked space. For some it was because they lived in climates that wouldn’t allow them to grow year round. Container gardens afford you the option of planting outside until the cold forces the container inside, next to a sunny window.

Most container gardens were planted by people that lived in apartments but still wanted the addition of color and the feeling of accomplishment when seeing their plants grow. Big, beautiful showy flowers have a tranquil effect that soothes you at the end of a long day. Container gardening need not be limited to apartment gardening, everyone should have their own. Most certainly you don’t have to stick to flowers in containers. You can grow vegetables and herbs in pots. (more…)

Here are some tips for herb gardening indoors that will simulate the conditions in an outside garden. For Herb gardening indoors the growing climates need to be pretty much the same as the conditions outside.

Get your herb plants from a good garden center nursery who will have plenty of garden advice to help you with your inside garden. You will need some garden equipment like a small digging garden tool, garden gloves, organic fertilizer and some small gardening containers. You probably already have most of these garden supplies in your garden shed.

Soil is the most important aspect of growing herbs indoors. Use only top grade potting soil with an organic fertilizer mixed in. If you think it is too fine a soil, use a little perlite. Fertilize while potting the herbs and they should be happy until spring. If you have an herb that is not growing vigorously add a little organic liquid fertilizer to the water. (more…)

What would we do without ornamental gardens, especially the public ones designed and created for the purpose of aesthetic pleasure of civic society? Ornamental garden layout dates back to ancient times as is evident in the Hanging Gardens of Babylon listed in the seven wonders of the ancient world and other famous pleasure gardens mentioned throughout history.

It is recognized as an essential requirement in urban planning to include ornamental gardens into the architecture.

In today?s context, where there is a scarcity of land around dwellings, the setting up of ornamental gardens often laid around public buildings, churches, devotional centers, public parks, and other public places are both visually stimulating and an asset to the environment. Their functions are many and a pleasure to use. Some of these gardens have incorporated spaces for walking, sports, sitting and even areas for conducting cultural performances and events such as cocktail parties, weddings, and other social gatherings, which are vastly popular due to the visual appeal it presents. (more…)

Spring is creeping in, hallelujah, and it’s time for us to start digging in the dirt. For all of you frustrated gardeners that live in colder climes I bet you can’t wait to start planting your garden beds with flowers, herbs and vegetables. Over the long winter you forget how much you miss those showy blooms and the riot of color a beautiful garden can supply.

If you live up north, there are a variety of ways to cope with the short growing season. Frost, which can happen as late as May or June, delays your plans for planting seeds. With the many quick growing plants this does not pose a problem but with vegetables and ornamentals a little head start is very helpful for healthy lush plants.

Starting those plants indoors solves the problem of unwelcome frost. Getting an early start indoors will really make a difference for frost intolerant plants. Another benefit of starting seeds indoors is that as soon as the frost danger has passed, you can plant your seedlings into your garden giving you a good extra month of gorgeous blooming flowers. (more…)

Do you already miss those fresh garden vegetables that you grew in your outdoor garden over the summer? Would you like to grow those same vegetables indoors? Of course the rules for indoor gardening are a bit different from growing outdoors, but it can be done and with a lot of success.

Gardening inside requires you to consider the temperature, light sources and pollination and the type of vegetables you plan to grow. There are some vegetables that can be easily grown indoors even on windowsills. A room that gets southern exposure sunlight, slightly used will make a good place for an indoor garden.

An enclosed heated porch is also a good alternative since some plants require daytime temperatures in the mid to upper 60’s and 70’s and nighttime lows of upper30’s to lower 60’s. An ideal room is one that you can provide with supplemental lighting which will provide the needed heat and warm up well from the daytime sunlight. Your plants will need at least 6 to 8 hours of lighting so using cool white or warm florescent lighting will help keep the plants warm during the cold windy days in winter if you keep them near the light source. (more…)

Missing a Garden in the Home?

While a nice house with a picket fence looks nice, not everyone can get that. Many people live in apartments and condominiums that provide little to no space for having a garden. Unlike in suburban areas where gardens are present in almost any home, there are actually a lot of places that prevents people of having a garden. This is why there are many alternative to having plants inside the house. If you miss having a garden to come home to, then read along and see how you can manage your own personal indoor garden. (more…)

Cinnamon is actually more than a delicious addition to food. One of the oldest spices known and long used in traditional medicine, cinnamon is currently being studied for its beneficial effects on a variety of ailments. Indeed, recent findings on the power of cinnamon to promote health, in particular its benefits for people with type II diabetes, have elevated it to the status of a Super Spice.

Perhaps the most exciting discovery concerning cinnamon is its effect on blood glucose levels as well as on triglyceride and cholesterol levels, all of which could benefit people suffering from type II diabetes. In one study of 60 patients with type II diabetes, it was found that after only forty days of taking about half a teaspoon of cinnamon daily, fasting serum glucose levels were lowered by 18 to 29 percent, triglycerides by 23 to 30 percent, low-density lipoproteins (LDL) by 7 to 27 percent, and total cholesterol by 12 to 26 percent. (more…)

As the winter months progress I tend to feel less connected to the wonderful outdoor spaces that reach out to me like an old friend during the spring and summer months. Trapped inside all day as the cold wind blows, I yearn for the feel of fresh dirt in my hands and find myself counting the days until I once again have the pleasure of planting new flowers in my garden and tending to the perennials and bulbs that start peeking out in the spring.

Other gardeners have told me that they’ve been able to find enjoyment tending indoor plants during the winter months. I’ll admit that I do keep African Violets and Orchids indoors year-round, but growing indoors is a lot more challenging! Indoor plants, like all plants require the correct amount of light and proper watering and finding this balance indoors has been tricky for me. (more…)

Recent findings on the power of garlic to fight cancer and cardiovascular disease, as well as its anti-inflammatory and antiviral properties, give garlic the bona fide characteristics to elevate it to Superfood status.

Throughout the history of civilization, the medicinal properties of garlic have been prized, and it’s been used to treat an array of ailments, including atherosclerosis, stroke, cancer, immune disorders, cerebral aging, arthritis, and cataract formation. Garlic’s power as a heath promoter comes from its rich variety of sulfur containing compounds. Of the nearly one hundred nutrients in garlic, the most important in terms of health benefits seems to be the sulfur compound allicin-an amino acid. Allicin is not present in fresh garlic. It’s formed instantly when cloves are crushed, chewed, or cut. Allicin seems to be responsible for the super-biological activity of garlic as well as its odor. (more…)

Honey is much more than just a liquid sweetener. One of the oldest medicines known to man, honey has been used in the treatment of respiratory diseases, skin ulcers, wounds, urinary diseases, gastrointestinal diseases, eczema, psoriasis, and dandruff. Today, we know the validity of these timeless treatments, as research has demonstrated that honey can inhibit the growth of bacteria, yeast, fungi, and viruses.

The power of honey comes from the wide range of compounds present in the rich amber liquid. Honey contains at least 181 known substances, and its antioxidant activity stems from the phenolics, peptides, organic acids, and enzymes. Honey also contains salicylic acid, minerals, alpha-tocopherol, and oligosaccharides. Oligosaccharides increase the number of “good” bacteria in the colon, reduce levels of toxic metabolites in the intestine, help prevent constipation, and help lower cholesterol and blood pressure.

The key point to remember with honey is that its antioxidant ability can vary widely depending on the floral source of the honey and its processing. The phenolic content of the honey depends on the pollen that the bees have used as raw material. There’s a very simple way to determine the health benefits of any honey: its colour. In general, the darker the colour of the honey the higher the level of antioxidants. (more…)