Choosing Accessories For Your Garden

Choosing Accessories For Your Garden

Adding accessories to any landscape has so many benefits that are clear to see. They can help to brighten up areas or to add a little bit of extra charm to open spaces. Without using accessories, the landscape may be missing the vital ingredients to make it look and feel complete. It can really turn an open space into something for you to either relax or entertain other people.

Even some of the best designed gardens can often be improved upon with the use of landscaping accessories. There are many different accessories to choose from and so you really shouldn't have a problem finding something to suit you. You just need to know what is available in order to know what will best fit in with your gardens needs.

Flowers and plants are rightly the central attraction of your garden, but they needn't be the only one. Garden accessories can add character and fun to your garden as well as serving various useful purposes. From sculpted row markers and border fences to fully-functional fountains and ponds, here's what some of the best-dressed gardens are wearing this year.

Decorative trellises and arches do more than serve as supports for climbing plants and vines. They can be a beautiful accent on their own. Whether you choose a simple iron fan trellis in a corner of the garden, or build an elaborate arbor or gazebo to support roses and ivy, they'll add a graceful note of natural beauty and add to the enjoyment of your garden. If you allow colorful flowers to grow around it, you will notice how homey it actually makes your home feel. You truly cannot go wrong with an arbor as it looks great on both lawn and patio.

There are some great benefits of adding lights to your landscape area. Not only do they add a touch of class but they can add a sense of security to the area and even the house. The lights can really help to brighten up any dark areas around the yard and they can also make it easy to see at night whilst you are out in the garden. They also help the landscape to look extremely impressive and it adds that little something extra to the balance. They really are an inexpensive way of adding extra charm and style to any landscape.

Lighting allows people to stay outside in the warm months and enjoy socializing or relaxing in the garden. They are absolutely great for entertaining and it really does help to make people feel very welcome. Overall you really cannot go wrong with a little landscape lighting.

Birdbaths and Pedestal Birdbaths are a great way to invite birds into your garden. Whether set into the ground as a small ?pond? or on a pedestal, they can add a touch of old world elegance to a shrubbery or foliage garden that will benefit from the pollination efforts of your feathered friends.

Fountains and Ponds The ultimate accessory for any garden to have has got to be its own pond or fountain. Even small spaces can sport running water with a concealed circulating pump and a nearby power source. A trickling waterfall over rocks or a full-sized pond complete with Koi can both bring a measure of satisfaction and serenity to your garden.

When it comes to landscaping your garden, rocks do often make a great addition and they come in a variety of different sizes and colors to suit every gardeners needs. You can make pretty features, use them as stepping stones and you can even build small little walls for the garden too. Whatever you decide to use them for, there is certainly no getting away from the fact that stones can be great for landscaping.

Besides looking nice and adding a natural quality to your landscaping, rocks are very durable. This makes them great for walkways and retaining walls, or just to decorate a small pond or waterfall. They can be functional or just for looks. No matter what, using rocks or stones will make any landscape more interesting to look at. The type of rock or stone you choose will depend on what its use will be.

Boulders are normally rather large rocks that work well for use in water landscapes. They can also be used to mark a driveway or the entrance of a garden. They can be very dramatic, and if placed correctly, will attract plenty of attention. Very large flat boulders can even be used as a place to sit and enjoy nature.

Lawn ornaments include things such as garden Gnomes and bird baths. They are things which look good and add that little extra something to the garden. You can purchase lawn ornaments in all different styles and sizes so you should easily find something to suit you and your needs. Always remember that whatever you decide to purchase for your garden, it does need serious consideration. This is because you do not want to purchase something which either does not fit or simply looks out of place. So, be sure that it will suit the garden and that you measure it beforehand.

It is best to consider the whole theme of the landscape in order to get accessories that blend or add something special to the area. So, if you want to decorate a secluded area of the garden you could consider using trees, shrubs, a wooden bench or anything you like that can add peaceful surroundings. If you are building a water feature in your land, you could add extra features such as stones or slabs and some nice plants and flowers to add some extra color to it.

By: Luann Hays

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Five Tips For A Beautiful Urban Garden

Five Tips For A Beautiful Urban Garden

You don’t need to live in a rural environment to plant and maintain a thriving garden. Here are a few tips for developing a beautiful urban garden.

Garden in containers. No soil? No problem. Container gardening allows you to build a thriving garden to fit any outdoor space—despite lack of soil. Adequate drainage is key for container gardens. Make sure you choose containers with holes at the bottom to let out moisture. Raise them several centimeters above the ground to give them room to drain.

Garden on the roof.. A rooftop garden can be lower maintenance than a garden in a more sheltered space, as you won’t need to water it as frequently. It’s good for the environment, too; soil on rooftops can absorb rainwater and reduce runoff.

Garden on the patio or balcony. Your only outdoor space may be a patio or balcony. These spaces can be perfect places for gardens, but in most cases you’ll have to keep it small—your space is likely to be limited, as is the weight your balcony can support.

Garden vertically. Build a series of slatted shelves—the slatting allows for drainage and air circulation—on which to place plants in containers. Hang baskets and build trellises.

Garden with your community. Community gardens transform empty urban lots into productive green spaces. Community gardens can be started with a purpose—for example, beautifying an urban area or feeding hungry families—or it can offer individual plots for local gardeners to grow flowers and plants for themselves.

You don’t have to live in the country to garden like you do. Whether you’re planning to develop a complex rooftop or vertical garden, a modest balcony garden, or volunteer in a community garden, chances are your gardening efforts will enrich your neighborhood.

By: Geoff Wolfenden

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Garden Lighting Made Easy With Solar Power

Garden Lighting Made Easy With Solar Power

Anyone who has ever visited a public garden will know that they are usually illuminated after dark. The garden designer will often use accent lights to highlight specimen trees and shrubs, or to create a certain mood or tone in the garden space. Such a thing can be easily replicated by the home gardener who chooses to use solar lighting fixtures.

It is important to remember, however, that a lighting fixture doesn’t disappear when the sun rises and the loveliest bed of roses can be made ugly by several large and unpleasant spotlights stuck in front of them. This is something to always keep in mind when selecting and placing garden fixtures.
Fortunately, anyone who wants to add decorative garden lighting, but who also wants to retain the charm of their daytime garden can do so with the many stylish and lovely solar powered lights.

Because they are designed to be used strictly out of doors, solar fixtures are crafted from the same high-quality materials as traditional, hard wired fixtures. This means that copper, bronze and cast iron appear just as frequently in the solar powered selections as in the others.


Garden lighting can encompass everything from beauty to security and solar lighting fixtures are available for every need. There are sturdy and strong lamp posts, motion detector fixtures and even decorative strings of lights for porches and patios. The important thing for the gardener to do is remember that the lighting should highlight and accent the garden, but not be distracting. A good garden lighting plan takes into consideration the changes that occur throughout the seasons and will really emphasize the well-developed areas of a yard or garden.

The great thing about choosing solar lighting for a garden is that the fixtures can be quickly and easily installed without disrupting the plantings in any way at all. Consider that traditional electrical fixtures would require wiring, which could mean digging trenches to bury the lines, which in turn could mean digging up established beds and destroying roots.

Additionally, the appeal of solar lighting of any kind is that it requires only the initial investment, and then operates entirely for free thereafter. The bulbs used in solar lighting are usually LED, and they offer an average life span of roughly sixty to one hundred thousand hours. This is compared to the standard fluorescent lifespan of twelve to twenty four thousand hours.

This means that solar garden lighting fixtures are free to operate, require little to no maintenance, install without disturbing the garden and are just as durable, lovely and sturdy as traditional fixtures.

By: The Solar Guy

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Facts About Organic Gardening

Facts About Organic Gardening

When most people think of organic gardening they think of gardening without the use of chemicals such as fertilizers, insecticides and pesticides. Although these are essential elements, organic gardening involves a lot more. Organic gardening in it's broadest sense refers to a system of gardening in harmony with nature. The organic gardener tries to minimize the impact of his gardening efforts on the environment and natural systems.

Organic gardening is self sustaining and aims to leave the environment in the same state as it was found - avoiding depletion of resources and safeguarding the delicate balance that exists in nature. True organic gardening therefore considers the role that even the smallest micro organism has to play in the ecology of the garden and attempts to make use of resources present naturally in the environment rather than introduce external chemicals into the process. Selection of plants appropriate to the environment is therefore a vital part of organic gardening.

Whereas chemical based agriculture attempts to change the environment to suit the crop by using chemical additives and fertilizers etc. The organic approach is to best use the resources naturally available. Principles of organic gardening also involve crop rotation to prevent nutrient depletion. Constantly growing the same type of plant - that is plants which have the same or similar nutrient requirements could lead to severe depletion of these elements in the soil. Crop rotation by alternately growing plants with different nutrient requirements allows the soil to replenish its nutrient supplies and rejuvenate itself.

These concepts are very succinctly stated in the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movement's Principles of Organic Agriculture as follows:

"The role of Organic Agriculture, whether in farming, processing, distribution or consumption is to sustain and enhance the health of the ecosystems and organisms from the smallest in the soil to human beings".

Stated in this manner the objective of organic gardening and agriculture while laudable might seem rather unachievable. However, there are many practical and simple strategies that could promote this objective. These include:

Composting - rather than using chemicals and other artificial additives to boost soil nutrients the organic approach is through recycling of plant matter itself through composting.

Instead of using pesticides the organic gardener uses natural methods to control insects and other organisms. The emphasis is on control rather than total eradication. Crop rotation helps by not letting pests that feed on any particular type of plant to establish a strong presence. Another strategy may be to grow plants which encourage the presence of "pest predators" or growing companion plants that repel insects. These are a few of the many natural environmental control mechanisms available to the organic gardener.

Weed control could be done for instance through use of mulches and natural ground cover.

The major criticism of organic gardening is that it is not as efficient or productive as chemical based gardening. It is suggested that yields can be significantly increased by use of artificial cultivation methods. However, the organic gardener would argue that the increased yields come at an unacceptably high price. A price expressed in terms of the new and increased health risks associated with exposure to dangerous chemicals. Chemicals which find their way into all manner of products and foods as result of contamination of waterways etc. Pollution and degradation of the environment as a result is the other price we pay for non-organic gardening.

Since the beginning of the 1990's interest in organic agriculture and gardening has been increasing in leaps and bounds and shows no signs of abating. Although organic gardening is not likely to take over in the short run it is obviously here to stay.

By: suegold

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Wildflower Landscaping And Gardening

Wildflower Landscaping And Gardening

Take a hike through a meadow in full bloom and chances are you'll wish you could recreate a smaller version in your own yard. The colors and varieties of flowers and grasses are totally random, yet about as close to landscaped perfection that you'll ever find. Whether you have a large expanse or a small area, a wildflower garden can be a unique addition to your landscaping plan.

The native plants are hardy and once established require little care, fertilizer or watering. In a true wildflower garden, the flowers are planted close together, at least one per square foot of dirt. This allows them to provide shelter for one another, conserve water, and helps to eliminate weeds. The brightly colored flowers attract a variety of birds and butterflies and can provide a taste of wilderness even in the most urban setting,

Once a wildflower garden is fully established, you can sit back and enjoy, but the real effort comes with the soil preparation and maintenance in the first two or three years. Here is a guide to the successful planning and planting of your own wildflower meadow.

Designing Your Garden:

Plant a combination of wildflowers and native grasses. The most common complaint from new gardeners is that the garden bloomed beautifully the first year and proceeded to get sparser in subsequent years, accompanied by a high concentration of weeds. This is often the result of choosing a seed mixture consisting of non-native annuals instead of true native, perennial wildflowers and grasses. With the latter species, you shouldn't expect blooms until the third year.

When choosing plants, use a combination of Spring and late bloomers, as well as a mixture of tall and low growing species.

Flowers that attract birds or butterflies, include Blazing stars, coneflowers, asters, silphiums and sunflowers. If deer are a problem in your area, choose a combination of deer resistant seeds such as lavender hyssop, nodding wild onion, coreopsis, purple clover, purple coneflower and meadow rose.

Choose a sunny location with good air circulation. Your wildflowers will need a minimum of one half day of full sun to really thrive. Steep north-facing slopes tend to be sheltered from the sun and are not the best candidates for meadows, but do well with ferns or woodland wildflowers.

Soil & Site Preparation:

Determine your soil type, adding to it if needed. For instance, a sandy or clay type soil will benefit from added organic matter which breaks up heavy soils, improving ability to absorb water and provides air flow to the roots. The other effective method for improving poor soil is to plant a "green manure crop" such as buckwheat. Let it grow for a year and plow it under. The roots will draw up the nutrients from the lower soil and convert them into organic matter.

In addition to proper growing conditions and good soil, the most important factor in growing a successful wildflower garden is having a smooth, surface, free of weeds. The first step is to remove any existing vegetation is by smothering, cultivating, herbiciding or a combination of these.

On smaller areas, smothering is an effective method of eliminating weeds. Cover the planting area with dark plastic, tarps, old carpeting, plywood or a thick layer of leaves for a complete growing season. Adding a layer of newspaper before covering will enrich the soil even more. As the paper decomposes, worms will move in, adding even more nutrients.

A broad spectrum, non-persistent herbicide will also do the trick, especially on larger areas. The third alternative is to cultivate the area using a rototiller or tractor.

Planting:

Once you have prepared your site, purchase your seeds from a reliable grower. On areas less than one acre, the seeds can be dispersed by hand, by mixing with a lightweight material such as vermiculite, peat moss or sawdust. For a 1000 square foot planting, combine one bushel basket of this material, dampened slightly, with your seed. Take half the mixture and spread across the area. When spreading the second half, walk perpendicular to your first spreading. If the soil is dry, proceed to roll the area. If it is wet, then wait until it dries slightly to avoid compacting the soil.

By: Tina Fountain

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Beautiful Roses: Gardening And Growing Tips

Beautiful Roses: Gardening And Growing Tips

Roses have long since been recognized as a symbol of beauty. Their reputation of fragrance and color are unsurpassed by any other flower. If you are interested in planting roses in your garden, you may be interested in these special growing tips. Follow these simple steps and you will be on your way to a gorgeous rose garden that you will enjoy for years to come.

Any nursery should have a lot of options for you when you are choosing your roses. Some roses are climbing vines and some are more like bushes, so keep your location in mind when selecting your breed. Roses need a lot of sunlight, around six hours per day, so choose an area that gets a lot of direct sun.

Many people make their rose choices based on appearance. There are many different colors and sizes of blooms to choose from. In general, large blossoms will have little or no scent. Smaller blooms will usually have a more intense aroma. There are so many types of rose bushes that you should be able to choose the color and level of fragrance that you desire. If you are looking for something low maintenance, ask for landscape roses. These have been developed specifically for people who want a hearty shrub that is disease and insect resistant.

Plant your roses in full sunlight if possible. Avoid rocky areas and hard clay that may create standing water around the root system of your rose bush or vine. Soil should be able to drain well. Ideally roses should be planted away from competing plants and trees to get enough water and nutrients from the soil to flourish. Adding compost to the soil will help add nutrients and improve soil drainage around your roses.

When you buy your rose plants, they will either be potted or sold with bare roots. Bare-root roses should only be planted in the early spring after the chance of frost has passed. Soak the bare roots in water for about an hour before you plant them. Potted roses tend to have a better chance of survival. Potted roses can be planted in the spring or the fall, just avoid planting during colder weather as much as possible.

Before you plant, check your soil’s pH. A pH of 5.5 to 7.0 is ideal for roses. Check with your local nursery if you need help adjusting the pH of your soil.

You do not want to plant your roses too deep in the soil. Bare-root plants should only be planted with about one inch of soil covering the top roots. If you have a potted rose bush, plant it in the ground at the same depth that it was when it was in the bucket. To help the roots establish their hold, water the freshly planted rose bush liberally the first time. This helps to settle the soil and encourage roots to start taking in nutrients.

Set up your garden for easy care. Use a hose reel to keep your water hose handy. With a little pruning and watering, your roses can bring you a display of magnificent proportion for years to come. You will not only gain enjoyment from their beauty and fragrance, but also from the gardening experience of creating such an alluring exhibit.

By: Stacy Pessoney

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A Couple Of Tips For Gardening

A Couple Of Tips For Gardening

Organic gardening is the way of growing vegetables and fruits with the use of things only found in nature.

Why would one want to indulge in organic gardening?
 
1.One can easily make compost from garden and kitchen waste. Though this is a bit more time-consuming than buying prepared chemical pesticides and fertilizers, it certainly helps to put garbage to good use and so saves the environment.

2. Organic farming does not use chemicals that may have an adverse affect on your health. This is especially important when growing vegetables. Chemical companies tell us that the chemicals we use are safe if used according to direction, but research shows that even tiny amounts of poisons absorbed through the skin can cause such things as cancer, especially in children.

On the average, a child ingests four to five times more cancer-causing pesticides from foods than an adult. This can lead to various diseases later on in the child's life. With organic gardening, these incidents are lessened.

Remember, pesticides contain toxins that have only one purpose - to kill living things.

3. Less harm to the environment. Poisons are often washed into our waterways, causing death to the native fish and polluting their habitat. 4.Organic farming practices help prevent the loss of topsoil through erosion. The Soil Conservation Service says that an estimated 30 - 32 billion tons of soil erodes from United States farmlands every year.

4. Cost savings. One does not need to buy costly chemical fertilizers and pesticides with organic gardening. Many organic recipes for the control of pest and disease come straight from the kitchen cupboard. Sometimes other plants can be grown as companions to the main crop. An example of this is the marigold, which helps to repel aphids from vegetables. Mixing 1 tablespoon of liquid dishwashing soap and 1 cup of cooking oil can make a cheap garden pest spray. Put 3 tablespoons of this mixture in 1 quart of water and spray on plants.

5.A simple mulch of pine needles will help to suppress the growth of weeds as well as keeping the moisture in.

6. Organic gardening practices help to keep the environment safe for future generations.

By: Jamey Sackville

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Decorating Your Beautiful Garden

Decorating Your Beautiful Garden

The art of garden never fails to transform an idle tract of land into a beautiful and lively environment. Gardens feed the spirit's longing for beauty and grace as it provides a venue to witness the wonder of nature and the comforts of home. While plants and trees are enough to make a garden delightful, the landscape can surely be enhanced by installing garden décor.

There are many types of garden decors each having unique features and purposes for your garden. Here are some garden decors:

Arbors, Pillars, and Gazebos - these are large structures that can add a good focal point to your garden. Having large structures can create an illusion of having a large space. These structures can also serve as platforms for aerial plants. Climbing foliage such as vines may also cling to these platforms, creating an elegantly classic garden effect.

Statuaries and Wind Sculptures - these also provide good focal points for the landscape. Such structures add a sense of prominence, strength, and sturdiness.

Bird feeders and bird baths - these simple additions to a garden attract beautiful creatures the landscape. Since a garden is generally inadequate without the chirp of robins and jays, installing something that would make them feel welcome is a good way of cheering up the garden.

Other architectural ornamentation - architectural structures create a good balance with and contrast against the natural elements of a garden such as shrubs and trees. Man-made structures enhance the sight of nature, making it appear more familiar and inviting.

Trellises and obelisks - these are good in blocking obtrusive structure and other unwanted views. It is impossible to have a perfect view all the time as obstructions cannot be completely eliminated. Luckily you can install structures that can block eyesores. Trellises are good for this purpose because they can act as support for clinging vines.

Fountains and ponds - water dripping and splashing can be great way to relax. Fountains are usually installed to add a natural ambience that can draw positive energy to your garden. Having a fountain in your garden can also make it a suitable place for meditation exercises like yoga and tai chi. If you have the budget, you may choose to have elaborate and grand fountains installed. You my also choose to add simple rock fountain that greatly serves its purpose at such small a cost.

Landscape lighting - you can enjoy your garden even without the sun, the moon or the stars. By installing simple lights on trees and other plants, you can create a beautiful setting which can even be romantic and enticing. Lighting does not have to be permanent. You can use Christmas lights or even lanterns and candles to illuminate your garden anytime. Lights can also prevent strangers from hiding in your garden.

Garden furniture - the best way to enjoy the beauty of your garden is to stay in it and in order to do so you might need chairs and tables specifically designed for the outdoors. These could also serve as picnic furniture for those times you would want to have barbecue outdoor dinners.

The garden experience can greatly be enhanced by garden décor. To know more about garden decors, simply contact your local garden supplier or visit the many websites devoted to landscaping and gardening.

By: Joey Singer

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Palm Tree For Your Home Or Garden

Palm trees might remind you of the tropics, but actually there are many palms that can be grown in cooler weather. These wont be banana trees swaying in the breeze under a hot sun, but theyll still bring a bit of the tropics into your garden, or even inside your home. They are quite adaptable, and are both attractive and unique. Palm trees are easy to care for even for a beginning gardener. The variety you choose should be based on the palm trees intended location. Here are a few choices to consider:

King Palms are great shade trees for your yard. You can start tem off indoors, but they can grow very tall, so expect that youll need to transplant them to your yard after a couple of years. Indoors, they can shield smaller plants from the direct sunlight entering through your windows.

There are a few other varieties that are similar to King Palms but should not be started inside. Majesty Palms, for example, will grow to be ten feet tall in just ten years. In as little as seven years, Queen Palms can grow to be 25 feet tall, making it a bad choice to keep indoors.

If you live in a cool climate, there are still a few palm trees you can grow. In fact, there are hundreds of different species of palm tree. Among these, there are a few that adapt well to lower temperatures. Date Palms can survive temperatures as low as 18 degrees. Texas Sabal Palms and Canary Island Date Palms are a few other choices if you live in a cold climate. Windmill Palms can even tolerate temperatures as low as just five degrees.

If you want to grow a palm as a houseplant, of course, you need not worry about temperatures this cold. However, keep in mind that you can grow houseplants in containers just outside your front door, or on an enclosed porch.

Palm plants need good soil and attentive care, just like any other plant you purchase. Palm trees can benefit from a beneficial fungus such as mycorrhizal fungi, which is added to the soil. Do not use regular plant fertilizer for your majesty palm plants; they require a different type of fertilizer than most houseplants. Look for a slow-release fertilizer with 3-1-3 NPK ratios Also make sure that your palm receives enough magnesium and calcium, too. This may be already mixed into your fertilizer, or you may need to purchase it separately. Also look for a small amount of Manganese in your fertilizer, as this is another important element that your palm tree will use in small quantities.

Palm trees can have issues with salt buildup, but you can easily prevent this. Just flush with water every few hours and measure the salt content with a simple soil testing kit until the levels have been reduced. Palm trees can thrive with very little water, since they are used to the tropics. When you do water them, you can give them plenty of water, as theyre also used to monsoons.
When potting your palm tree, make sure it has a large enough pot to prevent bound roots, and good drainage. Your pot will need to be large and heavy enough to support a large palm.

By: Keith Markensen

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The Vegatable Gardening Tips

The Vegatable Gardening Tips

Vegetable farming tips for tomato upward are speedily offered. Most gardeners are lucky to stake their tomato emergent tips and even non-gardeners who crack to grow tomatoes every mechanism will proposal guidance. The difficulty for the novice tomato farmer comes in difficult so genus the useful vegetable farming tips for tomato emergent from the old wives' tales.

One of the best sources for vegetable farming help is a regional playgroup. Buying plants at a supermarket or a sequence warehouse with plot crux may permit you to purchase plants at a cheaper charge, but it is unlikely that the pole in these supplies know a great agreement about farming. For reliable vegetable farming help, vacation a home nursery. Many nurseries pass plants that they, themselves have adult from seed, and they will be knowledgeable about each type of works and can warn on regional conditions.

Most towns have a home patch bash and meeting together with other gardeners is a great way to find vegetable farming help and result your facts. Other gardeners from your vicinity will have abundant information about the requirements of vegetables in your zone. When you get the aid of gardeners that are area to your section, you will get vegetable farming help that you can use because these gardeners understand the matchless desires of your particular zone.

Local patch clubs steadily run workshops or program on topics ranging from composting, to growing a particular diversity of heirloom vegetable, to annoyance running in the backyard. Many evenly sponsor projects such as identity gardens which can bestow gardening distance to those who live in apartments and have no patch interval of their own. And pleasing part in an altruistic effort with your fellow patch strike members is a fantastic way to learn all sorts of gardening secrets and tips.

Even if you don't bond a garden society winning part in some workshops will provide you with an opportunity to link fellow gardeners and form friendships with people with an everyday concern.

Another top source for vegetable gardening guidance is your home province porch personnel. They specialize in solving the gardening problems matchless to your local environment. They can execute soil tests, recognize plants and diseases and sometimes deliver gratis seeds or plants

Once you've gained some gardening skill it's time to get your hands dirty.

Tomatoes and other vegetables are calm to grow if you begin with good soil. Before you yard your garden, till the soil to about deepness of ten inches and dig in some well rotted manure or other organic notes. Complete this stair numerous weeks before you want to place your tomatoes.

For a bigger garden, you can rent the controls, but for a small garden freedom you can use a gardening fork to dig in the manure.

When gamble of cold has passed, desire a 3/4 shuffle stake into your prepared garden bed. Dig a gulf a little deeper and wider than the range of the tomato conceal's pot next to the stake, gently place the workshop into the defect and stable it in. A framework or tomato cage can also be worn for joist in lieu of a stake. These are readily offered at nurseries and hardware supplies. Use subtle string or tomato ties to tie the lodge's stem loosely to the stake or lattice. As the tomato place grows, prove the ties regularly and slacken them occasionally to preclude stem wound. The tomato seedlings should be planted 18.

Feed your tomato plants regularly using a potassium-based lodge food or you can invent your own organic fertilizer mix. Planting sage adjacent to your tomato plants will help in custody rats at bay.

Watering is as important as feeding. Water your tomatoes regularly with a hand-detained rinse. Direct the water at the improper of the hide and prevent wetting the grass which can control to rot.

Never let your tomatoes dry out to the purpose that they wilt. Although you can commonly avert the wilting yard by watering it, the dry spot will take its toll on the yard and influence the class of the fruit. Extending dry spells may root your tomatoes to crack.

Regularly nip out by hand any face shoots that develop between the leaf and the stem. This will help to station the yard's energy into its fruit.

When your tomatoes have mature, select them by bending back the fruit at the attain on the stem. Ripe tomatoes can be stored in the fridge for up to a week. Continue to water and nosh the place to help the enduring tomatoes to develop and mature.

By: Jasmine Stone

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Feng Shui Tips For Your Garden And Home

Feng Shui Tips For Your Garden And Home

The entry to a home or the doorway into rooms is where your first view is encountered. Doorways and entrances to anything should feel welcoming. They should be clear and the pathway should allow ease of movement.

The Chi, (or energy flow), should never be made stagnant at this point. Pictures and ornamental decorations in this area should be pleasing and round leafed plants in pots attract prosperity into the home. Another tip to remember is that if you have doorways from front to back that are visible, the flowing of energy should be stopped from escape.

A Feng Shui cure for this problem, can be by placing a plant as suggested to the side of the entry: thus creating an environment to capture the Chi flow. The essence of creating good flow and attracting harmony, involves placement.

Feng Shui recognizes that small problems can have a major effect on your life, and that a well kept home will always have better chi than one where maintenance tasks have been allowed to pile up. The minor problems and inconveniences that plague a poorly maintained home can restrict your freedom of movement, cloud your ability to understand a situation, make it difficult to take advantage of opportunities, and waste your resources.

For example:

- Doors that are difficult to open make it difficult for you to progress in life.

- Dirty windows cloud your judgment and make it hard to see things clearly. This can manifest as physical eye problems or symbolically as difficulty recognizing what's really going on in a situation.

- Burnt-out light bulbs, fixtures that don't work, and inadequate lighting all contribute to a lack of vision, energy, and initiative in that area of your home and in the related area of your life.

Now that you know where your power spots are, it's a good idea to take a close look at those areas of your house. Make a note of any new or long-overdue housekeeping, maintenance, and repair tasks, and make getting them done as soon as possible a feng shui priority!

Think of Chi as an important guest you wish to welcome to your home, and make your formal entry - and the access to it from the street - as inviting as possible.

The principles of Feng Shui can be applied to your garden as well. By applying Feng Shui principles to your garden you can attract positive energy, wealth and good fortune. Given below are a few tips and ideas on how to Feng Shui your garden.

The most important principles of Feng Shui in the garden are curves and proportion. Your house is the Yin energy and your garden is the Yang energy. The Yang aspect in Feng Shui is about light and space. Try to incorporate all the five elements of Feng Shui in your garden as much as possible.

» Use a pond, birdbath or fountain to represent the water element.
» Use a sundial or bronze statue in the garden for metal.
» Use trees and shrubs for wood.
» Use plants or flowers that are red and orange in color to represent fire.
» Use earth to represent the earth element.

Water features such as pools, ponds and fountains are beautiful and encourage beneficial chi. They also symbolize prosperity and create yin (feminine) energy.

You can create more Yang (masculine) energy by using garden lights to add light to the garden's dark areas. Remember balance and harmony is the key to a Feng Shui Garden.

By: Kathy Tyson

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The Different Types Of Trees In Your Garden

The Different Types Of Trees In Your Garden

We have leaves around us because they make our lives more amusing. Most people reply to grass outside basically observing the aesthetic charm. We feel peaceful, peaceful, soothing, and tranquil in an orchard of grass. Looking up into a charming strong tree gives you awareness of solidarity. Trees are the very focus part of amazing landscapes. Nevertheless that is not all, they also present great quantity in many other areas. Here are just a few profit that these magnificent living gear may add to your life.

Trees can act as wonderful sound and snake barriers creating a more peaceful, secretive outside living environment. Strategically located, windbreak planting can significantly decrease home heating costs during the frost months. A well located shade tree can also lower your roof and enclose temperatures by 20 degrees or more and help you recover considerably on your electric check in the summer months as well. Shade from grass can decrease efficacy bills for air conditioning by 15-50 percent.


Trees also help soothe your neighborhood and can add substantially to the help of your home. It is reality that homes retail faster in neighborhoods with mature foliage. They can afford privacy, accentuate views, or obstruct discarded views. They help to lessen shimmering and reflection. They can also harvest a background and allay, compliment, or enhance architecture.

Another help of grass is that they help pure the air by removing fatal gases and particles such as dust, pollen, carbon dioxide, smoke. Trees thus significantly help reload the earth's oxygen amount.

Finally, by planting plants, we restore to a more inborn, minus artificial environment. Trees present food, nesting sites and protection for birds and other plants that help saturate our lives with diversity and marvel.

With foliage comes the responsibility to nursing for them well. Like most plants in your yard, plants must unique problem. It is important to keep tree limbs away from brawn shape and away from the roof of your house. Branches can certainly appeal down gutters or begin other costly dent if they are killing over your house.

Trees add beauty and kindness to any district backdrop. They make life more enjoyable, peaceful, relaxing, and deal a plentiful inheritance for coming generations. Take the time to mind for your trees now so that the trees may keep on generous.

By: Joseph Silva

Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com