Archive for Gardening
Creating the Perfect Garden Using Feng Shui
Posted by: | Commentswritten by Rebecca Rambal
Photo by Leonard John Matthews
When you think of Feng Shui, you mainly associate it with the home or the office, rearranging the furniture and surrounding yourself with objects that attract good luck. However it is not only indoors that can be designed using Feng Shui. You can also use it to create the perfect garden environment.
If a garden is part of your property, Feng Shui should be incorporated into it. That will really help to bring you the best results. We all like our gardens to look impressive and beautiful. It allows us to appreciate our environment a lot more and it helps to release positive energy that helps us flourish. Feng Shui gives us the tools needed to create the most positive outside environment and the best part is that you don’t need a huge garden to use Feng Shui arrangements.
Incorporating Feng Shui into the Garden
One of the main factors that you have to take into account when it comes to Feng Shui is that clutter is always a bad thing. This also applies to the garden. If you have a lot of clutter outside of your doorway you won’t attract good energy. Make sure that the entrance to your home looks welcoming and tidy. Also make sure you clean up once Winter is gone. The cold weather and the snow will cause leaves to stick to your lawn and in your flower beds. Once you have tidied everything away, you can truly start to incorporate Feng Shui into the garden.
If you want to plant trees in your garden, aim to plant them at the sides and around the back of your garden. Don’t plant them too close to your home as, although they are fantastic producers of positive energy, they can overshadow the home and look a little too imposing if placed too close. There should always be plenty of natural light shining into your home, so don’t place anything in the garden that will block out the light. Read More→
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Gardening Tips : How to Make a Butterfly Garden
Posted by: | CommentsI think this garden lady has some good information, and she does not beat around the bush-but gets right down to what you want to know!
–GartenGrl–
Making a butterfly garden involves growing leafy plants for caterpillars and planting fluffy blooms like leatrice, lavender and Black-Eyed-Susan. Create a butterfly-friendly garden with tips from a…
Originally posted 2009-06-08 07:00:58. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
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Caring For Orchids
Posted by: | Commentsby Jan Hartman
Orchids are beautiful, exotic plants that are temperamental, but can be successfully grown indoors as a decorative houseplant Orchids are not that complicated and if you understand caring for orchids and their needs you can grow these exotic and beautiful plants
Orchids are beautiful, exotic plants that are temperamental, but can be successfully grown indoors as a decorative houseplant. Orchids are not that complicated and if you understand caring for orchids and their needs you can grow these exotic and beautiful plants. Read More→
Originally posted 2010-01-26 14:46:55. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
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Gardening With Ferns
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by: Jena Luthovski
Homeowners with wooded backyards choose ferns for their attractive undergrowth. There are many assortments to choose from. Thousands of varieties of ferns can be found all over the globe. Sizes range from a few inches to as much as 60-feet-tall.
Fern plants thrive and grow in woodlands all over the United States. These eye-catching plants are just as comfortable in the shaded areas of the splendor in the yard. You can place them in areas of little or even no direct sunlight, where little else will cultivate and grow.
It’s mostly up to you when it comes to flower garden design. It’s definitely important to do your best job in soil preparation as you carefully match certain plants to the location. Ignoring these principles will only result in a disheartening, time-consuming experience.
The aesthetics are simply of a personal preference. A formal appearance, for example, with plants in orderly garden planting and straight edged beds of fern may be your cup of tea. Maybe you’d be more content with an even more natural appearance with uneven plant clumps and extensive curves.
Established fern plants are simple to cultivate. They are versatile, as well—you can plant them singly or in clusters. You can use them as border edgings, along wooded regions, alongside the front of your house and in rock gardens. You can even try them in containers and use them as indoor houseplants.
While there may be thousands of assortments of ferns, several are on their way to becoming endangered species.
Some ferns are poisonous, so unless you know the variety you have is absolutely safe, it’s advisable to keep children and pets away from these ferns.
Ferns, not unlike mushrooms, produce spores. Spores develop on the underside of the leaves, as millions are produced. Only a few successfully land in a place that’s suitable to nurture, take root and cultivate. Ferns also grow by scattering their underground roots.
Ferns plants grow rather slowly. Established plants live for years, as most people buy ferns from garden nurseries or even on the Internet.
You can select a location with partial to full shade. Ferns like soil that is fertile in organic matter. You can add plenty compost at time of planting. It’s suggested that you keep the soil moist at all times.
Established fern plants should bloom for years with little or no attention. It’s wise to mulch around the plants each spring season to help preserve moisture, and to reload organic matter around the plant. Finally, let the plant cultivate naturally, once you remove dead or wilted fronds.
Photo courtesy of Flickr and www.vitalygman.com
Originally posted 2009-05-20 07:15:13. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
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Garden Note to Self:
Posted by: | Comments
Well, it’s that time of year again and fall is upon us. Everyone keeps asking me if I’m done gardening yet and I reply that no in fact things are getting pretty busy in the garden business right now. Believe it or not, I’m so busy right now that I threw out my back yesterday and spent the evening eating ibuprofen…ugh. And spent the morning with my chiropractor! And yes, I’m back in action!
Originally posted 2009-10-27 13:25:28. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
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Invite Butterflies to Your Garden
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By: Mary Hanna
With the huge growth that many cities and towns are experiencing we see the dwindling of Natural Meadows. With the absence of natural meadows, the habitat for butterflies, birds and other wildlife are dwindling too. Luckily butterflies are easily enticed back if you plant a garden where the caterpillar (pupa stage) has plants to eat and the butterfly has flowers to sip nectar. Butterfly gardens are easy to plant and will give you and your family a chance to see butterflies in their natural habitat.
The basics are an open space with tons of sunshine and a shield from wind. Pick a site with lots of sunlight with a few rocks or stones that can heat up on which the butterflies can bask in the afternoon sun. Try to place your garden near hedges or shrubs that will help shield them from the strong winds. If it is too windy, the butterflies won’t stay around for long. The hedge or shrub could become food for the caterpillar. You can find out what the caterpillar likes best from your Nursery Garden Center. Butterflies love mud puddles where they can drink the water and soak up minerals. A patch of damp soil will make them happy. Most important of all is that the garden be pesticide free. Many people like to use pesticides to chase away unwanted pests, unfortunately it will chase away your butterflies too. Put your butterfly garden in a corner where there will be no chemical pesticides used. Better still, ask your Garden Center about organic gardening.
Flowers with nectar are a must for a butterfly garden. When planting these nectar sources try to put in plants that will provide flowers throughout the growing season since these are the source of food for the butterflies. Don’t forget shrubs and wildflowers. Roses, geraniums and lilies have no nectar so plant them somewhere else. Keep your garden diversified to attract the most number of butterflies. Another component for the garden is a source for larva food. The caterpillar needs food to grow into a butterfly. If there is no food supply they will die. Plant some herbs for both of you. They like dill, fennel, and parsley on the menu. What they don’t eat you can harvest for cooking with fresh herbs.
You could also plant a butterfly site in garden containers. Buy some pretty pots and plant them with flowers that have a wonderful scent as well as bright beautiful colors (available at your Garden Center). Petunias, daylilies or sweet alyssum will do the trick. Of course the butterfly bushes are a natural, or plant some hanging baskets with Impatients (you’ll need some shade here).
Some gardeners like to make there own feeder and solution. And it is simple to do. Put 4 parts water to 1 part sugar in a pot and boil it until the sugar dissolves. Let it cool. Get a shallow garden container, saturate a paper towel with the solution and place it the garden container. Put a stone in the garden container so the butterflies have a place to perch while they are feeding.
Get the kids interested. Have them keep a journal of each of the different species that visit your butterfly garden. Let them look up the butterflies on the computer to learn all about each particular butterfly and it becomes not only fun, but a learning experience also.
Since there are so many growing zones in the United States you will want to talk with your Nursery Center for suggestions of what plants to use for attracting butterflies in your particular zone.
There is an old American Indian Legend about butterflies: “To have a wish come true you must capture a butterfly. Whisper to the butterfly what your wish is and then set it free. This little messenger will take your wish to the Great Spirit and it will come true.” What a great legend.
Copyright 2005 By Mary Hanna
Photo:Butterfly Garden by Krazy Yak, on Flickr
Originally posted 2009-05-27 07:26:06. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
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Garden Room Boundaries…
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Garden Room Boundaries…
By Gordon Goh
The areas of your landscape can be divided into several sections and areas, which are also known as garden rooms. Garden rooms are spaces where you plant, grow, and display different ideas in gardening in various creative methods. One garden room could be a rose garden, while another could include the use of a water garden, while still another garden room in your landscape could include the use of just purple flowers. Garden rooms are your creation, and only limited to your imagination.
To create the rooms in your landscape where you can be both different and creative you need to actually create some type of walls in your gardens. The walls in your gardens are going to be grown from other larger types of plants. Living fences are one ‘way’ that you can create garden rooms.
Originally posted 2009-07-31 08:49:54. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
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The Right Plant in the Right Place
Posted by: | CommentsI always hear people say they don’t have a green thumb. This is of course very silly thinking. When you are building and planning a garden you simply need to do a tiny bit of research. A successful garden is about 80 percent choosing the right plant for the right spot. Frankly some spots are like the surface of the moon, nothing will grow there. Find an alternative: try a rock garden. But research first.
If you have a giant Maple and nothing grows under it. You may need to create a raised bed. But some research would tell you not deeper than two inches, as anything more may kill the tree.
Don’t plant Rododendrums in a sunny spot that is solid clay. They just won’t really grow well. They would be happier under some pine trees in some nice acidic and loamy soil.
Got a spot that is smoking hot and dry? Don’t try to plant a rose garden there…unless you want it to look terrible. Try some Sedum, Cone Flower, Oriental Lillies, Butterfly Weed, Ornamental Grass and maybe a double knock-out rose might be O.K. if you get it some water a few times a week. They kind of thrive on neglect.
A little research goes a long ways to creating a successful and thriving garden.
Visit my other blog GartenGrl for some other ideas I have about gardening.
Originally posted 2009-03-29 17:13:01. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
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Options For Building Inexpensive Garden Paths
Posted by: | CommentsBy Scott M. Free and Nickolie Allen Greer
Photo by UGArdener
Creating a walkway or path for your garden, flowerbed or lawn is a superb way of adding a glorious touch to the outdoor environment. There are innumerable options from where you can make a choice. Quite a few options have been mentioned below; let’s take a look at them:
• Basic Brick Pathway: The first thing that comes into our mind before creating walkways or paths is bricks. Using bricks you can give any desired shape to your path. In simple words, using bricks you can create several paths such as winding, meandering as well as narrow.
What’s more interesting is that bricks are available in various patterns and designs. You may even choose whether you desire to set the path in concrete or sand. Almost all people prefer opting for a concrete base!
Read More→
Originally posted 2010-03-03 14:51:33. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
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Think First: Pest Control In The Garden
Posted by: | CommentsLet’s take a moment to think about garden pests and how we want to tackle them next year. Winter is a good time to think about this because you have time to do some research and plan your strategy. If you have a bit of wisdom in your pocket you can avoid spraying toxic chemicals which are bad for you, your family, your pets and the wildlife which visit your lovely flower decorated garden.
We often attack pests when we first spot them in our flowers and this knee-jerk approach usually involves harsh chemicals. Let’s take a moment to contemplate the unwanted insects that we know will be visiting our garden and the sensible and safe ways we can make them go away so we can spend time this summer feeding the birds and picking the flowers instead of stressing over chemicals and insect damage.
Slugs are certainly an unwanted visitor in the garden. They leave holes in our hostas making them look like a ragged mess and they also leave slimy trails all over the garden. Yuck. Before you break out the most deadly of slug pellets which will also kill all the snakes, toads and bird feeding creatures you can try some other things. Try slug traps using terra cotta pots turned upside down which flip over in the morning and pick off the slugs. You can throw old newspaper bundles around the garden and pick them up in the morning and throw them in the garbage. You can partially fill soda cans with a solution of beer, water and yeast and then let the slugs crawl in and drown. Coffee grinds around your hostas may keep them at bay as well. These are better than the nerve damaging slug killer you buy at the hardware store. Read More→
Originally posted 2010-02-13 11:25:49. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
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