Description
Leaves usually alternate, ovalish, and stalked. Flowers violet-purple or white, in a showy terminal raceme. Petals 4, long-clawed.

How to Grow  
Easy to grow by sowing seeds outdoors in early spring. Where winters are mild, sow in fall. Rarely blooms the first season, but is quite winter-hardy and will live over to bloom in mid-spring. Plants die after blooming. Let a few plants set seeds for next year. The species below prefers cool weather.

Lunnaria annua
Honesty ; Moonwort ; Moneyplant ; Satin Pod ; Satinflower . 18-36 in. (45-90 cm) high. Flowers fragrant, purplish, to 1 in. (2.5 cm) long. S. Europe; naturalized in North America. Cultivar ‘Alba’ has white flowers; another has variegated leaves. Biennial grown as a hardy annual.

The Brown Recluse is a very interesting insect with a fearsome reputation. This spider gets its name from is brown color and its reclusive behavior. It is a small spider at only about 3/8 of an inch in length with a violin shaped dark mark on its body. It prefers to stay in areas that are seldom disturbed and that are protected. In nature you will find it in holes in trees, under logs and other undisturbed areas. In your home it will also seek areas that offer protection like corners of closets, inside clothing or even in bed sheets. The Brown Recluse lives primarily in the South and Midwest but they can venture out of this area when transported in furniture or packing boxes. Because of its reclusive nature it is not a very aggressive spider and will only bite when threatened. Unfortunately if it chooses a hiding place in clothing or in your bed it will feel threatened when you put the clothing on or roll over onto it. Once bitten the venom will cause the skin to slough off in the area of the bite. This leaves a wound that is hard to heal and will usually result in a scar. Most bites are not lethal but can be quite painful. If you think you have been bitten by a brown recluse you should consult a doctor. To identify an infestation you can look for several things. You can look for the spiders white irregular webs, egg sacs and of course the live spiders themselves.

Hopefully this article has given you some useful information on the Brown Recluse. If you believe you have an infestation contact a local pest control service. Find information on roach pest control at the authors website on pest control.

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A cement contractor built the foundation and walk for ours, and we did the rest ourselves.

Your first profit-making greenhouse can cost you as little as $200, or it can run into hundreds and even thousands.

You can build with inexpensive second-hand materials from an old dismantled greenhouse, buy all new material, build a plastic greenhouse or construct your house with completely or partially prefabricated sections.

What to Grow

Your very first year of under-glass gardening (a term that now means under-plastic, too) can show a profit, even if you are not an expert gardener. Indeed, the plants that are easiest to grow may be the very ones to click in your neighborhood.

Wax begonias, ivy, marigolds, philodendron, petunias, coleus, and cacti can be real profit-makers. Today every city has supermarkets, dime stores, and roadside markets, and these are all potential outlets for such plants. In Minneapolis, some of the drugstores carry small plants, and there are cafes where you can buy a pretty pink begonia as well as a blue-plate luncheon.

Many new home owners know little about gardening but welcome colorful plants if they don’t cost very much, say 49 or 98 cents each. These may or may not be profitable enough for local florists, but suit to a T your kind of business.

Mail Order & The Internet
Your choice of profit-making plants may be dictated somewhat by your indoor gardening experience and the time you have spent as a hobby gardener or collector. As you gain experience your horizons will widen.

Many amateurs have learned through round robins (correspondence groups) what collector friends through the country are buying—or trying to buy. If you plan to go into the mail-order business, it would be a good idea to join one or more of these groups.

They will give you some good leads. Some garden magazines and many of the plant societies sponsor round robins. Membership in plant society round robins is free with membership.

The addresses of various plant societies will usually be found at the back of any magazine which sponsors round-robin groups. But the most complete source of addresses of all kinds of plant and garden organizations is the “Directory of American Horticulture”.

If you enjoy growing uncommon or exotic plants—the so-called collectors’ items—and yours is a small community where sales for these would be limited, you can solve your dilemma by carrying on a mail-order business. Doing business through the mail is not difficult. Later I will tell you about shipping restrictions and packing and how to develop a customer list for this type of business.

Without Heat
Heat is not essential for all kinds of greenhouse gardening. Although gloxinias, for instance, usually are grown in a well-heated house, a Minneapolis man has found out how to make a tidy profit from them without heat. In late February, he starts seedlings in his kitchen windows and in his basement under fluorescent lights.

When the weather warms up in late April, he moves the seedlings to an unheated pit greenhouse. By August, when the local market is just right for selling gloxinias in flower, he has quantities—and florists clamor for them. Actually he could sell many more if he wanted to expand his little project. And this is carried on in a greenhouse, without heat, in Minnesota’s cold north country.

Another friend makes money from an unheated greenhouse by using it as a potting shed and starter room for potted roses, daylilies, and iris. She also has a heated greenhouse—a glassed-in extension of the south portion of the basement—which she uses for starting seeds of tender plants.

She has found that this is also the perfect place for a few potted orchid plants whose blooms are always in demand.
There are lots of types of greenhouse to choose from. There is the low-cost (often heatless) pit greenhouse; the lean-to; the attached-to-the-dwelling greenhouse; and the free-standing greenhouse which often has a handsome exterior.

The outside design, however, no matter how beautifully executed, is of minor significance when it comes to profits. In greenhouse growing, it’s the interior that counts.

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About Gerald Mason
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If you’re just looking for something to look nice in your yard, you’ll want a flower garden. These are usually filled with perennial flower. Perennial flowers are flowers which stay healthy year-round. They’re basically weeds because of their hardiness, only nice looking. Different areas and climates have different flowers which are considered perennials. If you do a quick internet search for your area, you can probably find a list of flowers that will bring your flower garden to life. These usually only require work in the planting stage - after that, the flower take care of themselves. The only downside to this is that you don’t have any product to show for it.

Another choice for your garden is to have a vegetable garden. These usually require a little more work and research than a flower garden, but can be much more rewarding. No matter what time of the year it is, you can usually find one vegetable that is still prospering. That way you can have your garden be giving you produce almost every day of the year! When starting a vegetable garden, you should build it with the thought in mind that you will be adding more types of veggies in later. This will help your expandability. Once all your current crops are out of season, you won’t be stuck with almost nowhere to put the new crops. A vegetable garden is ideal for someone who wants some produce, but doesn’t want to devote every waking hour to perfecting their garden (see below.)

One of the more difficult types of gardens to manage is a fruit garden. It’s definitely the most high-maintenance. When growing fruits, many more pests will be attracted due to the sweetness. You not only have to deal with having just the right dirt and fertilizer, you have to deal with choosing a pesticide that won’t kill whoever eats the fruits. Your fruit garden will probably not produce year-round. The soil needs to be just right for the plants to grow, and putting in another crop during its off-season could be disastrous to its growth process. If you’re willing to put lots of work into maintaining a garden, then a fruit garden could be a good choice for you.

So now that I’ve outlined some of the main garden types that people choose, I hope you can make a good decision. Basically, the garden type comes down to what kind of product you want, and how much work you want to put into it. If you’re looking for no product with no work, go with a flower garden. If you want lots of delicious product, but you are willing to spend hours in your garden each day, then go for a fruit garden. Just make sure you don’t get into something you can’t handle!

Information on how to grow tomatoes can be found at the How to Grow Things site.

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· Small leaves or needles.
· Short inter-nodes, or distances between leaves.
· Attractive bark or roots.
· Branching characteristics for good twig forms.

All parts of the ideal bonsai — trunk, branches, twigs, leaves, flowers, fruits, buds, roots — should be in perfect scale with the size of the tree. Plants used for bonsai should have small leaves, or leaves that become small under bonsai culture. Plants with overly large leaves will look out of proportion if chosen for bonsai. Sycamores and avocados develop leaves that are too large. Certain species of both maple and oak trees usually respond well to bonsai culture and develop leaves that are in proportion.

Plants with small leaves and needles are spruce, pine, zelkova, pomegranate, and certain oaks and maples. Plants chosen for bonsai should have attractive bark, and the trunk must give the illusion of maturity. The trunk must remain in proportion to the entire tree. The trunk should taper gradually toward the top of the tree. Sometimes one or two of the main branches must be shortened to emphasize the vertical line of the trunk and give the trunk a balanced appearance.

To give the appearance of age, the upper one-third of the root structure of a mature bonsai is often exposed. This is especially effective if the roots have good form. Twisted and tangled roots should be straightened before potting or re-potting a tree to achieve an aged appearance.

Plants have a “best profile” just as people do. Decide on the front of the tree at the very beginning, because planting and shaping are done with the front of the tree in mind. However, you may change your ideas about the plants ultimate shape as you clip and prune. The front of the bonsai should offer a good view of the main trunk, which must be clearly visible from the base to the first branch. The branches should look balanced and appear to be floating in space. A bonsai should not have unsightly gaps. Flaws can be spotted by looking down on a bonsai. Upper branches should not overshadow lower branches. Before deciding on the shape of your bonsai, study the tree carefully, and take into account the natural form of the species. You can look at how mature trees of the same kind grow in their natural setting to achieve and impression of age and reality. Decide on the final shape and size of your bonsai before starting. Make a rough sketch of what you wish to create and use it as a guide.

Please go to Essential Bonsai to view beautiful bonsai and where to buy these trees and accessories.

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Tip #1. Select the herbs you want to grow. Choose from basil, oregano, rosemary, sage, thyme, parsley, mints and dill. All are easy to grow in containers, require very little maintenance, and are adaptable for a wide variety of dishes. Plants such as lavender and yarrow spread quickly and can take up all your space, so these are ideal for container herb gardening in small batches.

You will want to grow herbs that you will actually cook with. Because your fresh herbs are full of flavor and not diluted, you only need to use half the amount of fresh herbs as store bought herbs in recipes. In fact, when substituting dried herbs for fresh herbs, one tablespoon of fresh herbs equals about one teaspoon of dried herbs. You might even consider growing a container full of organically grown herbs. It’s safer for you and less expensive because you aren’t using pesticides. Organic pest control is a comprehensive approach instead of a chemical approach.

Tip #2. Seeds or budding plantings’ are viable options. Growing herbs in a small garden is quite affordable especially if you start from seeds. Don’t skimp on seeds of good quality, go ahead and spend a little more. Remember seeds can spoil just like other natural food products. I typically don’t get my seeds from plants, but it’s your choice. In doing that, you just need to understand how to properly dry out and store the seeds. Remember to check the dates on the package, to ensure your seeds are fresh.

If you are using plants to start your container garden, plant the plants at the same height. If you plant them too shallow, some hair roots may be exposed. If you plant them too deep, they may choke or suffocate due the all the soil overhead. Also, check to see if your plants have become root bound. If roots start coming out of the drainage holes, replant them in a larger container. Roots have feelings too. Have you ever worn a pair of pants and have gotten a wedge. Ouch. !

Tip #3. Where are you placing the containers (pots, etc.)? Mother Nature will not provide the right amount of water and sunshine. Container herb gardening provides the mobility necessary to protect your herbs from bad weather and seasonal conditions, as well as hungry animals and insects. Inside, you can place your containers in the right location for the herbs they contain. Most herb plants require similar growing conditions: a minimum of six hours of sunlight per day. Plants may need full sun, partial sun or partial shade. For example, parsley and thyme like to be in a sunny spot. Plants will only receive what you give them; therefore, you will be able to regulate the pH, nutrients, nutrient strength, water amount, and light amount. This makes it important that you research the plants you will be growing so you know what they need to survive.

Now that your vision has been expanded a little, you can see that the possibility of creating that special herb container garden that can happen now. You will be able to incorporate all of your 5 senses; touch, taste, smell, feel. What you will hear is everyone applauding the wonderful flavor or smell you create. Using these 3 tips for a successful container herb garden will have you well on your way to herb heaven.

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About Theresa Goodman

I enjoy gardening, specifically container gardening,so you can learn from my mistakes. I was a remedial gardener gone pro. That’s my final answer. The site is regularly updated. Be my guest and stop by! http://www.containergarden411.com/blog

The most famous orchid in the world is the vanilla orchid (planifolia). Coca Cola is the largest customer of vanilla as they use the seed for flavouring. Madagascar is the world’s largest producer. Orchids are very beautiful plants and that is why so much time and care is put into growing them. Vanilla on the other hand is grown for its commercial value rather than for its appearance but it is labour intensive. The vanilla crop is the main source of income for many independent farmers in less developed countries.

Reproduction
One of the ways in which the orchid is so diverse is its ability to reproduce. Some orchids rely on flying insects, others rely on crawling insects and finally there are orchids that rely on the wind for pollination.

The Bee Orchid attracts bees to its flower by its appearance. It looks like a receptive bee which entices the male bee towards its pollinia. Other orchids have long stems which look as they are butterflies when dancing in the wind.

Some orchids have evolved so that they act as a good platform which attracts a weary insect to land. The nectar brought by the visiting insect brushes against the pollinia. Orchids sometimes have very slippery flowers which often results in the visiting insect falling into the interior of the flower leaving only one exit point. This escape route forces the welcome intruder into brushing nectar against the pollina.

Darwin
Charles Darwin wrote about orchids when demonstrating his theory of evolution by natural selection. He made a prediction about the pollination method of one particular orchid, the Angreacum Sesquipidales. He predicted that given this particular species emitted a strong scent at night and was white, the insect that pollinated it would be a moth. Darwin was proved right and it is in fact a moth that pollinates the Angreacum Sesquipidales.

Popularity of Orchids
Orchids have become immensely popular recently but they have been written about and cultivated for a very long time. Orchids were first written about in 700 B.C. by the Chinese and Japanese. They weren’t, however, first cultivated until around 300 years ago when seeds were bought by traders from around the globe. It was only the wealthy that could cultivate them initially but luckily this pleasure is available to many more people these days. Even with our 300 year cultivating experience, many a gardener has been frustrated by the care needed to grow beautiful orchids but this only adds to their popularity.

Nigel owns OrchidCareExpert, a website which contains lots of useful information if you wish to know more about orchid care

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