Plant Gardens 101

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…)

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…)

Koi Pond Heating
There are many reasons for heating your koi pond,maybe you just want to see your enjoy your pond in all seasons.Whatever your reason we just want to give you some insight to make it easy to accomplish. There is now new technology,enery efficient heaters being developed for pond heating.Therefore we recommend electric koi pond heaters,submersible heaters,heat exchangers and floating pond heaters.Pond heating Considerations: First you must determine whether you want to de-ice or actually heat your pond to a specific temperature .Deicers melt the ice to provide an opening for harmful gas exchange only. Heating your pond to obtain a specific temperature can be a bit technical, so if your not sure about the heater sizing we recommend that you contact our koi pond heating specialists. The outside low temperature is the key to your kilowatt requirements and unfortunately it can vary. Your heater output kilowatts are calculated based on your low ambient temperature and if your geographical area drops far below that normal low temperature a safety factor should be included in the calculations.We recommend submersible pond heaters for small to medium size ponds and energy efficient heat exchangers for large ponds. (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…)

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…)

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…)

A beautiful rain garden design will enhance the pleasure that people feel in their homes. The family room with a big screen television might be a wonderful room, but a rain garden design in the yard will be a very special place. A yard established with this type of design will provide a great place for meeting with friends and family.  

A rain garden design in the backyard will be full of life and vibrant color. Your Yard will become the envy of all your friends who will probably want to know how you managed such a beautiful rain garden design. Most rain garden designs are the specialty of dedicated gardeners.   (more…)

In times of drought and famine, resources always had to be rationed appropriately for the sake of survival. Luckily, some of us are fortunate to not have to go through a dire situation to have to depend on rationed resources. However, with the planet in peril, personal rationing of resources doesn’t seem like that bad of an idea.

For example, if you happen to be a gardener like my parents and you’re familiar with the idea of water conservation but you really need to water your plants for their survival, then investing in a rain barrel is an ideal option for you. Rain barrels, or water barrels, are designed to save and store rain water for gardening purposes. Great for those who are concerned that water conservation is at an all time low, utilizing water saved from these great barrels reduces your city’s overall water consumption, which could be used for a greater, bigger purpose. Not only that, it’s also environmentally conscious, which is always a plus! (more…)

Transplanting seedlings is one of my favourite tasks in the garden. There are a few simple things to consider to give your young plants the best chance to flourish – you want them to thrive, rather than just survive.

Timing
Think about the time of year. Just because certain seedlings are available at your nursery, don’t assume it’s the right time to plant them out. If you’re not sure, read the label – most tell you the best time of year to plant. You could look in gardening books, research online or ask family or friends who are gardeners (they might even give you some seedlings if they’ve bought too many).

You can plant tender plants before the risk of late frosts has passed, provided you listen closely to weather forecasts and are prepared to cover your ‘babies’ with protection or enclose them in a cloche. (more…)

People love flower gardens. That’s not news to anybody. The way they can boost your spirits and relieve your stress has been well documented. Even more than simply enjoying them is the hobby of keeping one. As you sit down in the Earth with you spade and you box full of the first spring flowers the stresses of the day slip away and it’s just you and nature. Even more delightful for the little ones and the big ones alike is the joy of watching butterflies delicately sip nectar from your favorite flowers, or the awe of experiencing a hummingbird hovering in mid-air over your carefully placed feeders.

But gardening can be just as frustrating as it can be enjoyable. Gardens tend to attract insects that love to eat tender annuals. Deer and rabbits often devour your perfectly laid rows in a matter of days. And the bare earth, so pristine at the start of the season, weeds find irresistible and soon move in, permanently. Then there’s the part that mother nature herself plays. She is the ultimate judge of whether your gardens will live or die. Drought is devastating. Flood is devastating. Wind, hail, tornadoes, late spring freezes. These are all a players in the game. You can’t always rush out to cover those perfectly manicured rose bushes or set a pale over the petunias. (more…)

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For many gardeners, the garden actually begins in January when the first seed catalog arrives in the mailbox. While the cold wind howls outside, we retire to a cozy chair and leaf through the catalog, carefully notating which varieties of lettuce and tomatoes to try and wishing we had the space to plant each and every flower so artfully displayed on its pages.

But have you ever wondered where your great-grandparents acquired the seeds for their gardens, before there were seed catalogs and fancy garden centers? (more…)

You are welcome to use this article on your website or in your newsletter as long as you reprint it as is, including the contact information at the end. Website URLs must be active links. You are welcome to use this article with an affiliate link, http://www.freeplants.com/resellers.htm

Most gardeners, myself included, would much rather be outside working in the garden than inside doing housework. Gardening also requires some housekeeping, but plant lovers generally don’t mind being outside fussing with their plants.

Garden housekeeping is done for two reasons. Keeping the garden neat and clean is done to maintain the aesthetics of the garden, and also to maintain the health of the plants in the garden. (more…)