Plant Gardens 101

Has your late summer garden seen better days? If your outdoor paradise is getting a little ragged, and you would like some easy and cheap gardening tips to get it back into shape in time for fall, keep reading!

Most gardens, no matter how well they are designed will have periods without a lot of bloom. But a late summer garden is more than just lack of bloom; it’s overgrown plants, ratty leaves, spindly annuals and brown spots in the lawn. Here’s how to fix these garden problems.

Cut back your blooming perennials by half. This will stimulate new growth, and create need for another flush of flowers in the fall for many varieties. It will also clean up the overgrown look of your flower beds.

If you still have brown foliage from spring bulbs showing, it is safe to cut them to the ground now. They have already stored all the energy they need for spring bloom, and the dead plant matter isn’t doing anything for the look of your garden. (more…)

Azaleas are a flowering plant with a lot of panache. They put off an impressive show, and if done right, will continue to do so for years to come. However, like any plant, you need to give them a good start for good results. Planting them in the proper spot, giving them the right amount of water and food and providing the appropriate maintenance will help you have perfect azaleas. Following is a guide to ensuring the success of this beautiful flowering shrub.

Most azaleas are store bought. When choosing the azalea in the store, be sure to choose a plant that has green leaves and lots of flower buds. If the plant is at all weepy or the leaves are limp, this plant will probably not do well and may be diseased. A good choice will produce a rewarding plant. (more…)

Even if “Bonzai” is the Japanese word, he is originally from the Chinese word “punsai”, which means “tree in a pot.” It may also include a shrub or a vine, not just trees. The cultivation of trees Bonzai was a Chinese practice has been toJapan about 5 years ago, where she was as an art form.

The West came to know them only in the early 1900s and since it was not only a popular hobby of many, but was also considered a serious art form in horticulture. Today, Bonzai tree exhibits and displays, Bonzai stores, auctions Bonzai all there is to the west.

Many people mistakenly believe that a Bonzai tree is a natural small plant or some sort of a special plant, if indeed a Bonzai tree is a tree or an average plant, was trained to its small size. (more…)

Weeds are a gardener’s nightmare and can really spoil your enjoyment of you garden. A gardener’s dream is to have a lush, green lawn and neat, colourful borders all free from weeds. It is said that prevention is better than cure, and this is certainly true for weeds. Let weeds take hold in your garden and you will always be fighting them, and it will always be a struggle. Weeding out established weeds can be a backbreaking task, prevention is definitely the key.

Follow the following tips to help prevent weeds invading and taking hold in your garden.

1. Tackle weeds or grass sprouting up between paving slabs immediately – Either use a good weedkiller to kill them or use an old knife to prise them out. Don’t let them spread. Re-point any gaps with cement to stop them growing through again. (more…)

To buy pest control products you will have to identify the offending insect and then match your product to your needs. It is also important to keep in mind considerations like any known allergies to such products, ill health among residents and appropriate safety gear to go with your task.

If you have an infestation in your garden and lining space or just want to keep your home spic and span, pest control is a key step. You will have to choose wisely from the wide array of pest control products you might see in the market and online. The benefits of choosing the most appropriate product are saving time as well as money. There is no rule saying that you cannot do effective pest control yourself, you can do pest control as well as the professionals and at a third of the cost too. (more…)

Container gardening solves many problems for the avid & novice gardener. It’s the ideal solution to challenges such as limited space and poor soil.

Container gardening also allows you to place your garden where you want and need it. Container gardening can also improve monitoring and control so that optimal growing conditions can be maintained.

But what is container gardening? Container gardening is the raising of plants in soil filled containers outside of the traditional garden. It affords many people the chance to garden who would otherwise not have the space for an open garden on the ground. Container gardening is ideal for city dwellers who have only a balcony or rooftop to garden on. But even if space is not a problem, container gardening can just make gardening easier and more convenient.

While any type of container will do, it’s best to use something that’s not too shallow and does not leak. Most Home and Garden stores and nurseries sell prefabricated containers for container gardening. Or you can simply build your own to fit the space. With a little imagination, almost anything can be used for your container gardening project. An old wheel barrow or large kettle for instance. Even an old computer case! The container you select for container gardening doesn’t just have to be functional. It can also be a design element. (more…)

It doesn’t matter if you are a seasoned professional or the most novice of gardeners, you will quickly realize there are many people out there who will offer you their tips on how to plant and care for your garden. No matter what gardening problem you are facing, the solution to that problem is out there. You may even find that there is more than one suitable solution. Of the many gardening tips that you will find, there are a few in particular that stand out.

How to rid household Plants of Pests

A very common problem that many gardeners face is how to deal with pests and insects on their houseplants. You need to take caution here and choose a solution that will get rid of the pest but not harm the plants.

You will need to find a solution that will allow you to deal with the pests safely. One of your first steps should be to remove the insects from the plants. Daily cleaning of the plant will allow you to take physical control of the pests and also give you a chance to monitor the health of your plants to see how well any of your other efforts are working. (more…)

Thousands of individuals ranging in all different age groups are enjoying the satisfaction and the accomplishments that can be found in home gardening. It can be both relaxing, as well as being very rewarding, when you make the selection of choosing home gardening as your favorite hobby of interest. It can certainly bring many hours of very satisfying rewards for all of your efforts you have put forth into your garden. The time that you have placed in the care and the beauty of your garden will be noticed by everyone you know, your friends, as well as your entire family. Many individuals choose it as a means of adding fresh and delicious food to their pantry or refrigerator, or to show off the fruits of their labor that are both beautiful to the sight, and pleasing to the nose with a variety of aromas. A pretty container or pot of your beautiful, refreshing scented flowers that you have grown yourself, are sure to catch the eye of anyone who enters your home. If you think you might need loads of money to bring your garden to life then thats not true.

Here are three helpful gardening tips you can follow, which will result in a beautiful and healthy garden, sure to bring you lots of enjoyment and satisfaction.

First you will want to decide on where you would like to plant your particular garden. Some choose indoors, as in using containers, and some of course prefer the outdoors, in their own backyards. (more…)

Your garden is your own little oasis. Your retreat from the rest of the world. Naturally, you’ll want to add your own touches to your garden, to set it apart from everyone else’s. You’ll want to add your own accents to make your garden truly your own. Here are 7 ideas for little touches that you can add to your garden, to make it your own personal space.

1. Wind-Chimes – You can find wind chimes in many styles and materials. You can find copper and metal chimes, clay and ceramic. They may feature random shapes of metal or ceramic, or they may be tubes, tuned to certain pitches. So, chances are, you’ll be able to find a set of wind chimes that suit your style and your budget. If not, you can easily create your own. Just look around at some of the wind chimes that are available, to give yourself an idea on how they are made. (more…)

Most of us are ready to invest huge amount for landscaping and gardening to give face lift for our home. But we failed to prune when the plants needed it, and then your highly invested landscape looks terrible than ever. So this is a high time to know about the gardening tips for better maintenance of your lawn. Do follow the following gardening tips for better life of your garden: – Gardening tips for pruning As we discussed in the introduction, pruning plays an important role in the garden maintenance. If you commit any mistake while pruning, don’t lose your heart because it’s like a bad haircut, it is going to grow again. Avoid watering in the evening During summer, you may experience high humidity, which might result in lot of problems in your garden. To get your plants nice and dry, tuck them in for night. In addition to this watering in the evening may be avoided to prevent damage to the plants. Get rid of Powdery mildew Powdery mildew is the common fungus mostly affects your ornamental plants. This will create white film on the leaves of the plants in your garden. Even other ornamental plants such as Sand cherry and Dogwoods are also getting affected with this fungus. Efficient gardening is necessary to curtail the growth of this fungus. You can easily prevent this by spraying general fungicide in the garden centre. (more…)

A rose garden is an ideal getaway for you any time of the day. Relaxing in a well planned rose garden can help you to relieve the stresses of the day with its beauty. You can plant a beautiful and relaxing rose garden if you follow some easy steps in planning and in raising the rose bushes.

When you start to plan your rose garden, and begin planting the rose bushes, consider the color of the roses. If you plant roses of the same color next to each other, it will enhance the appearance of the rose garden. Too many varying colors mixed together will look like a random jumble of color, rather than a well thought out color scheme. So, plant roses of the same or similar colors next to each other, and then in another section of the garden, you can plant another color.

Roses love sunshine. You will want a full sun area to plant your roses, where you can be sure that they will receive at least six hours of sun every day. If the area that you’re planning for a rose garden is shaded, then you will need to reconsider. Making a sun map of your backyard will help you to find the areas that are in full sun. Simply go out into your yard early in the morning, around 6:00 AM. Note which areas are in the sun, and which areas are in the shade. Repeat this every hour throughout the day, noting where the sun and the shadows are. At the end of the day, take a look at your notes, and see what parts of your yard were in direct sunlight for 6 hours or more. These will be the places where you want to plant your roses. (more…)

Having a shed in the back yard just makes life so much easier. Being able to store and organize all the garden tools, power tools along with mulch, garden soil and fertilizers makes it so much more enjoyable when you are working in the garden. Not to mention the space saver you will be getting by moving all that stuff out of your garage.

Before you set out to build your shed here are some tips.

1. Do you need a permit? This should probably be your first step, after you have decided where to build the shed. Permits can take some time to get approved so get that done in a timely fashion. Could you build without a permit, just hoping no one will know? You could… but it can also get costly. Getting the permit is just the best plan. (more…)

Gardens need makeovers, too, for many reasons. These include changes in the soil conditions, change in seasons, change in lifestyle preferences and even just a change of mind! Whatever the reason, these top tips on giving a garden makeover will help you get the job complete to a high standard and in no time at all.

Plan Before Buying
Plants can be expensive and doubly so when they wither and die unexpectedly, in which case you would have to replace them. Therefore, it is always best to plan your garden according to your preferences such as; colours, seasonality and plant quality before purchasing from the nursery. (more…)

If you possess a bonsai plant, it’s important to keep in mind that caring for them is akin to caring for a infant. Loving and caring is needed but it’s not enough; you also must show certain “parenting” abilities to ensure that your bonsai plant will enjoy a long and healthy life.

The Chinese were the first to grow miniature-size trees in containers. They began doing so around 200 BC. That was the way medicinal plants were transported by herbal healers.

Japanese, Chinese and Korean practice this art of aesthetic miniaturization of trees that are grown in the containers.

For the Korean ?bunjae?, whereas for the Japanese, the term is ?bonsai.?

Bonsai is often found in the center of a garden when set alongside an urban or wild landscape. Bonsai collectors put great value on the bonsai because of the plant?s ability to exhibit age as they mature. (more…)

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If you think that creating the garden of your dreams with just a few hours of work is possible you are probably wrong since sooner or later it will become obvious that this is much more of a complex task that one could possibly foretell. There is a way you could get the garden of your dreams in just a few days but that would require landscape designers, a landscape crew and a lot of money. It is true that these designers do a wonderful job but the only drawback is that the finished product of these professionals will present their concepts, ideas and personality. It means you will have their dream garden on your property and not yours.

Planning and imagining is part of the work a gardener needs to perform in order to achieve the garden of his dreams. You are for sure wondering if having a garden requires much work? The answer is YES! BUT that work is enjoyable and each hour of effort you put in your garden will reward you with a great sense of accomplishment when you finally take a look at the end result. Just think about the moment when you will be able to stand back and enjoy the beautiful landscape that you were able to built with your own hands. (more…)

There are various species suitable to use for indoor bonsai trees. Some of these include Ficus, Serissa, Boxwood, and Gardenia. If you want to grow your own miniature tree indoors, you will need to know a few things beforehand. This article will give you a few tips on growing indoor bonsai trees.

Light
Indoor trees usually require between four and six hours of light each day. It’s best to put them near a window that faces south. This will allow them to receive morning sun and shade in the afternoon. If a southern facing window isn’t an option, you can put them on a window fill that faces west or east.

Windows facing in either of these three directions are best. However, if you only have a window that faces north, you can put your tree there. You will need to use a grow light in this situation though.

Humidity
Indoor bonsai trees will suffer if you don’t provide them with enough humidity. The heating system in your home will reduce the amount of humidity available. You should put your tree in a small tray filled with water and gravel. There will be plenty of moisture available as the water evaporates. You can also mist the leaves with water a little bit.

Water
These trees usually don’t need to be watered everyday. Water requirements depend on the type of pot you’re using, the specific species you’re growing, and the type of soil in the pot. However, since they trees are in small pots, they will probably dry out very quickly. You should monitor this frequently by sticking your finger in the soil to see how moist it is. If the tree is receiving a lot of sun, it will require more water.

These are a few tips on caring for indoor bonsai trees. There are many more things that you need to learn about growing bonsai trees. So, click here now to learn everything you need to know about bonsai tree care.

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Butterflies are colorful creatures that are special and wonderful additions to your garden. A carefully planned garden can attract butterflies that sip nectar from many flowers and search for a place to lay their larvae. Butterfly gardens are basically organic gardens that use no chemicals. With this in mind, be sure to create a safety zone for your butterflies. Habitual zones and places where areas of the landscape meet with the tree lines are favorite safe places for them. It is also helpful to find out what kinds of butterflies are native to your area so you can find appropriate plants for them.

Fennel, parsley and dill are wonderful plants for attracting Anise Swallowtail and the Black Swallowtail butterfly. Lupine flowers are a favorite with Fritillary butterfly and Snapdragons are a great choice of attracting butterflies that are native to your own area. To attract butterflies in passing, early butterfly gardens are often sufficient; however, gardens that offer a safe haven for them will urge the butterflies to stay longer. Most butterflies are active in the mid to late summer, so it is important that you also have plants available to them during that time. You can also use a home made feeder as a supplement the garden’s flower nectar. To make a home made feeder from a small jar, drill a small hole in the middle of the lid and plug the hole with cotton. Next fill the jar with a solution of nine parts water and one part sugar, attach brightly colored fabric petals to the lid and hang your feeder in a tree near your garden. (more…)

Want to know how to start gardening? Confused where to start? Let Fran help you with easy to follow tips and advice. This article gives practical suggestions on how to minimise slug and snail damage in your garden!

One of the most common problems faced by gardeners is the one of slugs and snails. Even experienced gardeners tear their collective hair out at the destruction these creatures can cause. So I thought I would give you a few tried and tested tips, and some others perhaps not so well known, to help you deal with them – you won’t get rid of them all together, but at least you will be able to keep them under some sort of control!

They may not all work for you – a lot depends on just how bad the problem is where you live – but it is certainly worth trying some if not all of them. (more…)

A lot of people may have in silence and in secret thought dreamt of having their very own garden at home. Think of getting those organic greens or picking those freshest lush tomatoes straight from its stems or perhaps imagine opening your windows early morning and being greeted by flourishing blooms from your flower garden. However, for many people these things remain but a dream reasoning that a lot of factors have kept them from fulfilling this fantasy. Keeping a great home garden is not an easy feat.

Unless you have one of those gifted green thumbs, maintaining a well tended garden can entail a lot of hard work. Further, at this time and age when most of us are always on the go, a hectic lifestyle does not allow enough time for us to attend to and cultivate a home garden. Here are however a few tips that could help you in taking care of your garden with less effort and less time. (more…)