Plant Gardens 101

If you’re a homeowner, you probably can’t resist having your own garden where kids can enjoy themselves and you can spend some time resting. This is because a garden allows us to be close to nature. But without potted plants and flowers, a home garden is incomplete. If you need to find inspiration on what kinds of plans will look good, take a tour of your neighborhood and check out what types of plants are being planted. That’ll give you an idea of what grows in your area.

You can visit your local nursery and ask for their advice, which will help you pick out the type of plants you will grow in your home garden. The most common plants are flowering ones, such as roses. Sunflower looks bright and lends a cheerful look to your home garden. Flowering houseplants, like Clivia or Kaffir Lily add vibrancy and a touch of the exotic. The most popular exotic house plant and garden favorite, Sambac, brings the most wonderful aroma into your home garden. If you want a plant that requires minimal care, the cactus is your best bet. It can grow in any weather and is easy to grow. (more…)

No digging is one of the best things about lasagna gardening is how easy it is. The first layer of your lasagna garden consists of either brown corrugated cardboard or three layers of newspaper laid directly on top of the grass or weeds in the area you’ve selected for your garden. Anything you’d put in a compost pile, you can put into a lasagna garden. The following materials are all perfect for lasagna gardens. Peat moss just as with an edible lasagna, there is some importance to the methods you use to build your lasagna garden. Just layer browns and greens, and a lasagna garden will result. You can make a lasagna garden at any time of year. You can let the lasagna garden sit and break down all winter. Also, fall rains and winter snow will keep the materials in your lasagna garden moist, which will help them break down faster. If you choose to make a lasagna garden in spring or summer, you will need to consider adding more soil-like amendments to the bed, such as peat or topsoil, so that you can plant in the garden right away. If someone told me years ago that he or she had found a way to do an end run around the sweat equity of traditional gardening, a way around digging, weeding, and rot tilling, a way to produce more regardless of time constraints, physical limitations, or power-tool ineptness well, I would have checked that person for a head injury. (more…)

A good gardening tip is that you can make more plants from your existing house and garden plants. This will cut out the expense of buying new house and garden plants. Look around for healthy plants to take the stem cuttings from to plant in a peat moss mixture using rooting hormone. This is what is called the mother plant. Make sure the mother plant has enough stems so the cutting will not kill the mother plant.

If you start your house and garden plants from stem cuttings instead of seeds it will take half the time to root. There a just a few things you will need : a mother plant, a flat for potting with a peat moss mixture, a sharp knife or razor blade, rooting hormone, containers for holding water and rooting hormone, alcohol, pencil or a stick, and a plastic bag.

Common sense tells you that you should take a stem cutting from the plant’s thickest green non flowering stems. The spot where the leaf attaches to the stem, known as the node, are the best place for you to take the stem cutting. The plants growth rooting hormones are concentrated there. Choose green, non-woody stems for taking the stem cuttings from the mother plant. Newer growth is easier to root than woody stems. (more…)

Most Japanese Maple seeds ripen in the fall. Watch the tree and wait for the seeds to turn brown. The seeds are ready to be harvested when they are brown and can be easily removed from the tree. The seeds are attached to a wing, it’s best to break the wing off before storing or planting the seeds. Japanese Maple seeds have a very hard outer coating as do many ornamental plants. Under natural conditions the seeds would have to be on the ground for almost two years before they would germinate. All that happens the first winter is the moisture softens the hard outer shell, and the second winter germination is beginning to take place.

In order for all of this to happen in the proper sequence so the seedlings actually sprout at a time of the year when freezing temperatures or hot summer sun doesn’t kill them, takes a tremendous amount of luck.

You can improve the odds by controlling some of these conditions, and shorten the cycle. Once you have picked the seeds and removed the wing just place them in a paper bag and store them in a cool dry place until you are ready for them. You don’t want to plant your seeds out in the spring until the danger of frost has past. Here in the north May 15th is a safe bet. (more…)

When food deficits occur, those who have planned ahead with edible survival garden using survival seeds will really benefit. People regularly landscape around their homes with beautiful flowers, for the benefit of the birds and butterflieswhy not provide advantage to you personally as well?

Blueberries are straightforward to plant around a home and with good care it’ll produce blueberries for muffins, drying, snacking, ice cream toppings and plenty of other goodies! Cherry trees can be decorative and productive and if you do not have room for trees there are also bush cherries available! In the right areas, tangerines, lime, lemon and orange trees offer fruit and shade. Coffee plants can be kept in containers on the corner of decks, and cranberries, currants and a host of other berries can be run along fence lines. (more…)

Raised gardens are a practical way to grow beautiful flower gardens or bountiful vegetable gardens.. There are many advantages that a raised garden has over conventional gardens such as they are solutions to size constraints, weeds are less prevalent and the quality of the soil is better. You can think of a raised beds as sandboxes for the big kid in you. (more…)

If your current planting goals involve plants that require good water drainage, I am sure you know how frustrating it is to have a yard that just won’t cooperate. Some plants can handle the excess water that comes about from being in an area that doesn’t drain properly. In fact, it might just cause them to bloom more lushly. However, other plants don’t cope as well, and it will cause them to die a gruesome, bloated death. You should always find out about the drainage required for every plant you buy, and make sure that it won’t conflict with any of the areas you are considering planting it in.

In order to test how much water your designated patch of soil will retain, dig a hole approximately ten inches deep. Fill it with water, and come back in a day when all the water had disappeared. Fill it back up again. If the 2nd hole full of water isn’t gone in 10 hours, your soil has a low saturation point. This means that when water soaks into it, it will stick around for a long time before dissipating. This is unacceptable for almost any plant, and you are going to have to do something to remedy it if you want your plants to survive.

The usual method for improving drainage in your garden is to create a raised bed. This involves creating a border for a small bed, and adding enough soil and compost to it to raise it above the rest of the yard by at least 5 inches. You’ll be amazed at how much your water drainage will be improved by this small modification. If you’re planning to build a raised bed, your prospective area is either on grass or on dirt. For each of these situations, you should build it slightly differently. (more…)

Saving money by growing your own vegetables, being able to eat healthier and feel better and preserving our environment from the harmful and toxic chemicals that seep no only into our vegetables but our soil, lakes and waterways not only harming our environment but wildlife as well.

Beginning and maintaining an Organic Vegetable Garden is simple and easy with a little know how.
I have to say it feels great to walk past the produce section in the store. I do stop and look at the prices, just out of curiosity. I cannot even believe the cost of vegetable these days. Maybe I’m just getting old and remembering the good ole days. OK so I’m not that old. $6.00 for a watermelon, $3.00 on sale! $2.00 for a pepper, $1.00 on sale! Tomatoes through the roof. (more…)

Have you ever wondered if what you understand Sunflowers And Your Garden is accurate? Consider the next paragraphs and associate what you know to the latest data on Sunflowers And Your Garden.

Sunflowers indeed stars of the gardening world. It is hard to neglect the beauty of sunflowers place tall, each on their own or stitching a bed of more traditional plants. Few who have seen these stunning beauties can deny their stunning beauty and attractiveness.

The family of sunflowers, known scientifically as group Helianthus, includes both yearly and perennial varieties of sunflowers. As their name implies, sunflowers normally wish thorough sunlight, so it is important for gardeners to take the sunniest part of their plot when planting these stunning plants.

It is also important to take the adult dimension of these plants into account when planting them, and to plot them accordingly. Most varieties of sunflowers are wholly large, so it is important to cosmos them normally so they will not crowd one another out and compete for nutrients. (more…)

Many gardeners wonder what exactly organic gardening means. The simple answer is that organic gardeners don’t use synthetic fertilizers or pesticides on their plants. But gardening organically is much more than what you don’t do.

When you garden organically, you think of your plants as part of a whole system within nature that starts in the soil and includes the water supply, people, wildlife and even insects. An organic gardener strives to work in harmony with natural systems and to minimize and continually replenish any resources the garden consumes.

Organic gardening operates on the concept of recycling. You use animal waste, kitchen scraps, and vegetable waste to mulch and compost. You will use common household items like vinegar and soap to prevent pests and weeds.

Organic growers rely on developing a healthy, fertile soil and growing a mixture of crops. Genetically modified (GM) crops and ingredients are not allowed under organic standards. (more…)

Hay bale gardening technique is a low-cost and convenient way of growing flowers and vegetables. Growing vegetables in a hay bale garden is similar to the technique used to grow vegetables in a raised bed garden. If you are just getting your bales, give the bales a thorough soaking, and let them begin to break down before you plant your vegetables. Hay or straw bale gardening is another great way have your garden if you have limited space, terrible soil, a bad back or those who are confined to a wheel chair! So much time is saved by not having to weed or hoe or even water as often as well. This project was first researched by a Dr at the University of Minnesota Extension says, “Hay bales provide a well-aerated, disease free growing medium that is perfect for growing vegetables. The popular method of hay bale gardening is getting more popular in town, a friend told him how to get prosperous crops using nothing but wheat straw, potting soil, a little fertilizer and some tomato plants “Every fall I get some bales and let them sit out all winter to get good and soggy, I plant a few every year and I’ve had real good luck. Another friend who was in the landscaping business showed him how to use wheat straw to garden “He had all kinds of crops including cucumber, squash and green beans, you can raise almost anything except corn, because it’s too tall and the bale will fall over. Bales first should be situated in a full sun formation, with twine and wire ties kept in tact. Since bales may be used two seasons, synthetic twine can be used to provide the most durable binding. For optimum root penetration and plant growth throughout gardening months, bales should be placed with strings wrapped horizontally and straws set vertically. (more…)

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If you are preparing beds for landscaping around your house this article should simplify the process for you. I say that because of everything that is written about this subject, some of it is accurate, some of it is just plain wrong, and much of it is much more complicated than it needs to be. I like to think of myself as Simple Simon. I find the easiest, yet most effective way to do things, and they work.

Let’s assume that the area where you are planning your bed is now planted in grass. How do you get rid of the grass? Chemicals or no chemicals? Chemicals are easy, so we’ll look at the chemical method first. (more…)

Organic gardening is the exact same as regular gardening except that no synthetic fertilizers or pesticides are used. This can make certain aspects difficult, such as controlling disease, insects, and weeds. Organic gardening also requires more attention to the soil and the many needs of plants. Organic gardening starts with the soil. Gardeners must add organic matter to the soil regularly in order to keep the soil productive. In fact, compost is essential to the healthiness and well being of plants grown organically. Compost can be made from leaves, dead flowers, vegetable scraps, fruit rinds, grass clippings, manure, and many other things. The ideal soil has a dark color, sweet smell, and is full of earthworms. Some soil may need more natural additives than regular compost can give, such as bonemeal, rock phosphates, or greensand. A simple soil test will tell you the pH balance and which nutrients you will need to use.

One thing that makes even gardeners that are very serious about organic gardening reach for pesticides is insects on their plants. The best way to defend plants against insects is to take preventative measures. One thing that can be done is to make sure plants are healthy and not too wet or dry because insects usually attack unhealthy plants and if healthy, they can often outgrow minor insect damage. A variety of plant types is a good idea to keep pests of a particular plant type from taking out the entire garden. (more…)

As recent as 25 years ago, the idea of organic gardening was considered quite a radical concept. How in the world were gardeners expected to control the weeds, the bugs, and the animals that could threaten a thriving garden without the use of man-made chemicals?

When you think about it, organic gardening is a really simply theory. For years, people have been growing things without the use of chemicals. The early settlers of our country didn’t have Miracle-Gro or Sevin Dust and they made out just fine. It only makes sense that we should be able to apply the same techniques and get the same results as they did today. We should grow food using Mother Nature’s ingredients rather than concoctions born in a chemist’s laboratory for the good of all of us. But the interest in organic gardening goes beyond just the benefits for us and our families. There has been a rise in the interest of ecology and concern about the environment that has given new life to the renewed interest in this form of gardening. By using natural minerals and materials, by taking advantage of natural predators, and by recycling garden waste, the home gardener can maintain an organic garden quite successfully. (more…)

We have chemicals in our everyday lives everywhere. Shampoo, toothpaste, many foods, even our clothing all contain or are manufactured with the use of chemicals. Besides polluting the environment, the use of chemicals can be much more threatening. But we’re concentrating on gardening and the use of these chemicals on our food. One of the prominent ways chemicals are used in food production is through chemical fertilizers.

The soil must be regarded as a living organism. An acid fertilizer, because of its acids, dissolves the cementing material, made up of the dead bodies of soil organisms, which holds the rock particles together in the form of soil crumbs. This compact surface layer of rock particles encourages rain water to run off rather than enter the soil.

For example, a highly soluble fertilizer, such as 5-10-5, goes into solution in the soil water rapidly so that much of it may be leached away into our ground water without benefiting the plants at all. This chemical causes the soil to assume a cement-like hardness. When present in large concentrations, they seep into the subsoil where they interact with the clay to form impervious layers of precipitates called hardpan. (more…)

You’ve spent quite a bit time and effort to make sure your garden is laid out in the most promising way and considering how best to grow that garden organically. Now you need to take care of your plot.

Plants need light and water to grow. The light is already taken care of by Mother Nature; you have to take care of the water!

Watering the garden every evening after dinner can be good therapy for the gardener, but it’s not good for the plants. When the soil is often sprinkled on top but never deeply soaked, plant roots tend to remain in the damp, upper few inches of soil where they are vulnerable to searing mid-summer heat and drought. Vegetable plants need an average of 2-inches of water a week. Be sure to water thoroughly so the soil is soaked to a depth of 4 to 6-inches. This will encourage roots to grow deep.

Germinating seeds and seedlings need to be kept uniformly moist without being washed away, so water them with a gentle spray every day or two. Developing plants need to be watered deeply, but less often, to encourage deep root growth. Water to a depth of at least 6 inches and then let the surface inch or two completely dry out before watering again.

As a general guideline, garden plants that have been watered properly, and therefore have developed deep roots, need a thorough watering every 5 to 7 days in hot weather. (more…)

Do you have an area in your yard that you want to block from the prying eyes of a neighbor, a roadway, or public park? There is no better solution than to add a vertical garden. A vertical garden is a line of foliage and/or a barrier of flowers trained to grow up a vertical structure like a trellis. Vertical gardens add privacy to outdoor areas such as decks, patios, and porches.

The first step in creating a vertical garden is to measure out the area you want to block and to consider what you want the end result to be. Do you want your vertical garden to be a permanent property addition or something short lived for just one season? Considerations will be time to grow, desired height and width, and whether or not you need winter coverage. For something short lived, you may want to consider annual climbing vines such as morning glory or moonflower.

Morning glory is an annual flowering vine that can be planted from seed in the springtime, as soon as risk of frost has passed. Morning glory is a rapid grower that can climb to massive proportions by late summer and will continue to flourish into the fall. Morning glory is known for its showy flowers that come in a variety of colors. (more…)

By definition, the main element in a courtyard is that it is an enclosed space. The degree of enclosure will vary, but in a small courtyard we can expect it to be quite marked. How can we choose plantings that help to dispel any tendency to claustrophobia? In this example I will discuss a possible treatment for a city courtyard six feet wide by ten feet long.

The first thing we need to do is to emphasise the horizontal dimension, since the enclosing walls already strongly define the vertical. In such a tiny space, likely to have limited exposure to the sun because of the shading effect of the walls around it, we must avoid (as much as possible) dark tones and all clutter. Light and geometry will save us. We begin by defining a straight path of two foot width across the center of the yard. Whether it is ten feet long or six feet long will depend on the orientation of the yard to the sun, as we aim for the best fit to a north-south orientation that we can get. The path is paved in a lightly toned color, with materials chosen according to budget. We now have at our disposal two areas for development, each of twenty or twenty-four square feet (depending on the length of the path). (more…)

You can choose to buy plants that are already growing that can be found at most garden centers, but if you do this, you can’t be sure what pesticides have come in contact with these plants. Your goal, as an organic gardener, is to avoid these chemicals, so we recommend starting your garden from seed.

If you want to simply plant the seeds directly in the ground, that’s fine, just remember that growing from seed takes a little more time than growing from plants, so be patient!

Don’t get too over-anxious here! Many beginners will take a seed packet and dump its contents into the ground hoping a few plants will spring up. What they don’t realize is that with care, they will probably ALL come up – or at least most of them.

The problem here is that these plants will strive for air and light developing tall, weak stems and they will not thrive as they choke each other out.

There are some plants that can be seeded thickly. These include peas, parsnips, radishes and bush beans. It’s fine to block these together as they will grow fine in clumps. (more…)

A garden, even a small one, can accent and add beauty to a home. If you’ve avoided creating a garden because you think that you don’t have the space, you may want to rethink it. You can make a nice little garden in an unused corner or even an area as small as a table top and it doesn’t matter whether you are living in a condominium or an apartment. It simply takes a little creativity and focus on detail to make it happen.

Small gardens, whether a small vegetable garden or flower garden, obviously don’t require as much work compared to a larger plot. However, they do require the same degree of passion, interest, and like I said, a lot of attention to detail. If you’re not a master gardener or if you have little time to putter around with your plants, you can still condense a beautiful garden into a small space in the backyard or on the balcony of your condo. (more…)