Archive for July 24th, 2010
For those small spaces or by preference, growing herbs in pots is an excellent alternative to the outdoor garden. Window boxes, hanging baskets, and pots can be used for your indoor herb garden.
The basic needs of all plants are: soil, water, and sunlight. This holds true for herbs as well. Soil and water are straight forward and easy to accommodate. Sunlight is key, however, and orienting your indoor herb garden to take advantage of natural sunlight should be an important consideration when locating your plants in your indoor space. To get the best and most sunlight, using your west or south facing windows will be the most appropriate setup.
Another thing to consider is that different types of herbs will have different light needs, but most will love a sunny spot. If you don’t have a good, sunny window, there are ways to supplement natural light, with fluorescent or “grow” lamps.
To provide the best growing soil for your herbs, you will need rich but well drained soil. For container herbs, use two parts sterilized potting soil to one part perlite or coarse sand. For good drainage, before placing the soil in the growing pots, add an inch of gravel to the bottom of each pot. To improve to the sweetness of the soil, be sure to also add one teaspoon of lime for each 5-inch container.
Watering with care is an important factor of growing an indoor herb garden. Add plenty of water, since plants in containers need more water than those growing outside, but be sure not to overwater or drench the roots. Also use a spray bottle to mist the plants.
During the summer, indoor plants can be taken outside for that natural light – maybe on a balcony or in the garden. Annuals can be kept inside even during the summer; for perennials, spending some time outdoors during the summer is an added bonus, if feasible for your location. Having the plants in containers allows one to easily move them around as needed. By the time of the first frost of the fall, all the plants should be brought back inside.
Think how much fun it would be to walk over to your windowsill herb garden and pick fresh mint, for instance. A lot of plants are suited for growing in pots. Some herbs, like mint, can take over a garden and will do really well in an indoor herb garden, where it will be well contained to the pot. To keep your plants healthy, use some light feeding periodically. Repotting your herbs yearly will also help ensure they stay health.
Keeping an indoor herb garden will allow you to enjoy fresh herbs any time, plus have the convenience of having herbs handy for your cooking. Be sure to harvest them as need, use them liberally in your cooking, and share them with friends. With a little care, growing herbs in pots is fun and easy!
If you have always been interested in the topic of landscaping you should learn about it from the experts. While you can read various gardening magazines, the best way for you to learn about landscaping is to take a landscaping class.
You might be surprised to know that landscaping classes are an excellent option. These classes are usually something that people who are interested in botany like to take, as it is a way to implement their love of plants.
You’ll learn about:
* Plant health, soil, and fertilizers
* Servicing garden tractors and other tools used in landscaping
* Creating landscaping designs using shrubs and ground covers
* Specialty landscaping, starting and operating your own landscaping business
* And you may be able to learn it right at home
With the right credentials, you can:
* Work for an established landscaping firm or start your own business.
* Complete your training in as little as six months from today, or take longer if you wish.
If you have a basic knowledge of flowers and plants, that basic knowledge will help you when it comes to learning about the basics of landscaping. If, however, you really do not know much about either, that is not a problem, because a landscaping class will teach you all of the basic knowledge plus more.
There are usually several levels of landscaping classes that you can choose from, in accordance with your current knowledge. The basic landscaping classes will most likely have to do with being able to identify certain kinds of plants, and how they can be implemented into various landscaping designs.
One important thing that you should know about landscaping is that you will need to pay attention to the kinds of plants that work well in your climate. For example, if you like a certain kind of plant, but that plant is only right in warmer climates, and you live in a colder climate, you will need to find a plant that can work with your climate.
Another important thing to learn about landscaping is the quality of soil that you have, because it varies with the climate. The kind of soil that you have should have sufficient nutrients, so you might need to get soil that has all the nutrients that your plants need. If you decide to take a class about landscaping, that should be one of the topics.
While your front yard landscaping is generally going to be about other people and what they see, your backyard landscaping is all about you. Backyard landscaping is one of the most popular methods in improving your outdoor space without spending too much money on materials, labor and other tasks involved in implementing a landscape design.
With backyard landscaping, not only can you achieve an improved overall appearance of your outdoor area, adding landscape elements can also benefit your home by providing environmental functions, increasing real estate value of your home, saving energy costs and adding privacy to your home.
Backyard landscaping can alter a person’s mood and perception because of the environmental feel of the area. As a result, people who work at home can improve productivity from work when they can work on a stress-free environment. Landscape elements in your backyard can have a positive effect on people with illnesses by giving the patient’s mind a relaxing state that speeds up recovery.
The good thing about backyard landscaping is you can take control of sunshine and air purification. By planning the placements of trees, shrubs and other elements, you can improve air circulation in your backyard, while maintaining adequate sunlight to enter your outdoor space. In addition, planting trees can help reduce pollution because plants can control erosion, reduce wind speed levels and noise effects, disperse mist and help in influencing snow deposition.
Reflect Your Interests
Backyard Landscaping is really very important as this is a place which is a safe and beautiful. Some of the best backyard landscaping ideas for you include making the yard in a style your own. Try to figure out what some of the things are that are important to your family and try to incorporate these things into your backyard landscaping ideas. For instance, if you are really interested in fishing or other outdoor sports, you might want to add these things into your backyard landscaping ideas. Remember that your backyard should be something that you like, and somewhere that your family feels at ease.
Make it Fun
No one said that backyard landscaping ideas had to include frumpy ideas that no one would like. If you are doing your landscaping you should be trying your very best to really make it fun for everyone. Do what you can to make sure that you are allowing yourself and your family plenty of room to play, whether that is with sandboxes, hammocks or a back porch for entertaining guests.
No matter where you live, you are probably going to be spending some time of the year in your backyard. So be sure to make it somewhere that you’d love to be and have some things that everyone will love incorporated in the backyard as well. Try to make it a place which has something to hold every family members interest.
Get everyone’s Input
Backyard landscaping is not just positioning plants in your backyard. Backyard landscaping ideas include asking for everyone’s help and for their suggestions as well. Your whole family can help design the backyard and they can all let you know what they’d like to see in it. If you’d like to get their input but you don’t’ want a million ideas, try to create some ideas on your own and then ask your family for which ones they like best.
The question arises though, exactly what type of backyard landscaping is best for your house. Even young children and seniors can put in their two cents worth. A mosaic stepping-stone competition amongst family members can give you material for a unique walk way into your backyard. By building a tree house (or at least starting with a bird house) you can get the entire family more involved in the outdoors.
If you can let everyone take ownership of the backyard landscaping ideas and everyone feels like they are playing a part, they are going to be more likely to enjoy the backyard and lend a hand in its maintenance and upkeep too!
Use the Internet
An internet search of “Backyard Landscaping Ideas” will give you and your family ideas of what people are doing all over the country. Just make a list of 5 things that everyone agrees on and get started.
Have fun and enjoy!
Copyright © John Hanna All Rights Reserved.
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Growing herbs is rapidly gaining favor with gardeners today. Both the experienced and beginners are discovering the rewards of growing fresh herbs. They are joining an age old pursuit of seeking to enjoy the delightful products offered by herbs. This pursuit has touched all societies and ages. These how to plant herb garden tips will help the beginning herb gardener get off to a good start on the path to fresh herb enjoyment.
Herbs are easy to grow and starting out they don’t necessarily have to be grown in their own garden. They can be planted in an existing flower bed or garden as long as it drains well and it will receive plenty of sunshine. They can also be grown in pots that can be placed either indoors or outside. If culinary herbs are being cultivated it is a good idea to plant them near the kitchen so they will be immediately available for cooking.
An enjoyable challenge to the beginning herb gardener is picking which herbs to raise. In addition to culinary herbs other types include medicinal, aromatic, ornamental, beverage, pesticidal and industrial. It is recommended for the beginner to start with familiar culinary herbs and expand with other type herbs as the confidence and experience levels grow.
Here are a few suggestions with comments for the new gardener’s considersation.
SWEET MARJORAM – This is a good plant for growing in pots because it only grows to twelve inches and needs only six inches of space. In warmer areas it can be a perennial but in cooler climes with frequent frosts it is an annual. Its reward is the delicate flavor it adds to soups, salads, fish and lamb.
THYME – This herb is used to flavor poultry dressing and soups. It grows to twelve inches and needs eight inches of space. It is a hardy perennial that becomes a shrub that produces leaves for flavoring. It also needs rich soil.
SUMMER SAVORY – Excellent when used to create mouth-watering fish specialties and to flavor soups and beans. This is a delicate little annual that germinates in only seven to ten days and grows up to twelve inched and requires five inches of space.
BORAGE – This plant’s leaves are a great addition to a tossed salad with its subtle flavor. It does not like to be moved so it should be planted directly in the garden where it will reach a height of two feet and need twelve inches of space. It is an annual.
LAVENDER – Here is an aromatic that a new herb gardener might like to try. It is a hardy perennial with gray leaves and spikes of fragrant lavender flowers. The leaves can be dried by hanging them in a cool dry space like and attic or garage. The pleasant scented dried leaves can be used for a variety of purposes including freshening up a linen closet.
Armed with this information you are now ready to start your adventure in herb gardening so go for the gusto.