Archive for July, 2010
All of us, at one time or another, has seen a display of container gardens with flowers or vegetables at a friend’s home or in a nursery center. Many mistakenly think that it took a lot of effort or was done by professionals. That is far from the truth. Container gardens are just as easy as outside gardens and in some way s even easier to maintain. Anyone that loves to garden can plant and raise a container garden even those with limited space, even apartment dwellers. You can create a beautiful garden with just a few container gardening tips.
Start out with a plan. You need to know what you are going to plant, a container garden flower or a container garden vegetable. You may want to concentrate on an herb container garden. It is important to know this so you can choose the right size container for the plants. The number one container gardening tip is to choose a pot that has sufficient space for soil and the plants. Vine type plants will need a large, deep pot to grow over. If you are planning on a large plant you will need a wide passed container for balance. Keep reading, there are more container gardening tips to come. One thing to keep in mind is that you must have adequate drainage in the container that you use. No plant likes to have “wet feet”.
The type of soil you use in your container garden is an issue too. Most experts on container gardening tips say that you should use potting soil. While some gardeners have had success using the soil from their outside gardens, it is not recommended. Potting soil is preferred mainly because it will not compact letting more water to the root system over the growing season. Here it is important to do some research and plant like minded plants together. Your plant groupings should consider water needs, sun needs and fertilization needs.
An essential container gardening tip is to pay attention to the plants watering needs. If you get a very hot streak and your container garden is outdoors on your patio you will need to water daily. If this is your first venture into container gardening, choose drought resistant plants. Plants in container gardens can’t reach out for other avenues of water supplies so it is up to you to make sure they don’t get thirsty.
You will come to love your container garden but plants only last so long. If the plants you are growing in your container garden become less productive change them out. With container gardening you are the one to decide how your gardens will be in bloom. It is true that you can manipulate your plants by moving them around or taking them from the inside to the outside, or vice versa.
There is one thing that you must be diligent about and that is pests. If you find a container that has an infestation, isolate and treat it immediately. Do not use harsh chemicals on the plants. If it is an indoor container garden the chemicals could harm pets or children. Here is a natural pesticide that will keep the bugs in check:
In a jar, combine 1 teaspoon dishwashing liquid and 1 cup vegetable oil. Shake vigorously. In an empty spray bottle, combine 2 teaspoons of this mixture and 1 cup water. Use at ten-day intervals (or more often if needed) to rid plants of whiteflies, mites, aphids, scales, and other pests.
Search online or at your local library for additional container gardening tips so that your beautiful container garden is a wild success. Once you have planted one container garden you will be anxious to start more.
Happy Container Gardening!
Copyright © Mary Hanna, All Rights Reserved.
This article may be distributed freely on your website and in your ezines, as long as this entire article, copyright notice, links and the resource box are unchanged.
These gardens are beautiful and tranquil and give the visitor a sense of inner peace, that is one of the reasons that they are so popular. In Japan you will find them at the site of the most sacred and holy places. The temple of Buddha, historical landmarks, Shinto shrines and the medieval castles Feudal Japan are just a few of the many places you will find beautiful public Japanese gardens.
Below you will find five steps and advice on how to incorporate the traditional Japanese style Garden into your outdoor living space. There are several types of traditional Japanese Garden designs and it would do well to look them all over before deciding on the one for your space. Some may not translate as well as others in the same amount of garden space.
Karesansui gardens: This is a garden that does not use water as its central focus, instead the creative use of rocks and moss represent islands, ponds, boats, mountains, rivers and oceans in this picturesque landscape. One such famous Karensansui Garden is to be found in the temple in Kyoto, Ryoan-ji. The Daisen-in was created in the 1500″s and is still as lovely as ever.
Tsukiyama Gardens: This technique is great when you have a small garden. The premise is to use the surrounding scenery as a backdrop to enlarge the view of your garden. The idea is to use shrubbery to block out unsightly areas and draw the attention to a large copse of trees or hills in the background. Ponds, garden fountains and streams, hills and all of the other traditional accouterments are used in this style of garden. Some of these gardens are themed with Asian Decor items.
Kaiy-Shiki: A favorite style of western landscape artists is the strolling gardens. This design allows the landscape to change every few hundred feet and circumnavigates the entire garden. You can photo’s representative of this style all over the Internet.
Now here are five steps to take to get the most out of your space and to create a lovely rendition of a traditional Japanese garden.
1.) Japanese gardens should have a pond or stream with bridges and miniature trees and immaculately manicured shrubs.
2.) Research some famous gardens and then pick a theme for your garden. It is important that the theme flow throughout the garden. If you start a meditation Garden that is what is should be throughout. Be consistent in your design.
3.) Use the traditional elements as required for a Japanese style Garden. These are stone, water, and gravel as well as the alignment of the plants. All of these are essential items for a Japanese Garden.
4.) Japanese Gardens have a Sculptured look and you have to stay true to this form. Pavilions, pagodas, stepping stones all should have a certain amount of Feng Shui about their set up.
5.) Decide on the plants and other decorations from the start and map out the area to best fit the items you intend to incorporate into the garden. If your space does not allow for water to be used substitute raked colored gravel to simulate the flow of water in and around your plants.
Now you have a working idea of how best to begin your Japanese Garden.
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If you live in the UK and are looking for outdoor furniture for you garden you will be looking for durable furniture that can stand the rigours of our British weather. You will also want furniture that is made of material that will keep its colour, be washable and pest and fungus free. There are not many materials which can withstand such a diverse climate as well as keep its colour, but there is one type which is perfect for all climates and that is cane. Outdoor cane furniture has the properties which will keep the furniture looking stylish for years to come and withstand the weather and general ware and tear.
Have you ever been abroad and seen all the beautiful cane furniture outside bars and restaurants? You might have wondered how the chairs and tables stay in such good condition year in and year out. Well it’s because they are made with cane which has been treated to last for years to come. Good quality cane furniture doesn’t come cheap but you are buying quality. One great design company that is a top player in making Outdoor Cane furniture is Skyline Design who is based in the UK but supply worldwide. Their range encompasses dining suites, living suites, daybeds, sun loungers, parasols and sun shades.
You might think that cane is for older people, the type you see in your grandparent’s conservatory. Well think again, these days cane furniture is designed for all ages. You can get some beautiful stylish furniture that looks good in homes as well as gardens. In fact because of its lasting properties and the many stylish designs many people are choosing to have this type of cane furniture in their living rooms.
Any cushions that come with outdoor furniture need to be strong enough to withstand intense sunlight exposure. They also need to be soft and inviting but be resistant to stains fading or mould and pests. Obviously fully washable is another important quality you want from your outdoor furniture. Sunbrela fabrics have all of the above qualities and are generally the most sought after outdoor fabric. They can come in many bright colours and are soft to touch and have all the durable qualities needed for outdoor furniture.
The reason cane is so tough is because comes from the stems of large rattans, which are climbing palms found native to tropical countries. These palms are naturally very tough and are used to extreme weather conditions. The palm is harvested and then boiled to very high a temperature which is done to remove the sap from the bark. Once the sap has been removed the material then becomes flexible which makes it ideal for molding into various shapes. The next process is where the material is cut into strips which can then be intertwined to make all sorts of furniture and baskets.
Outdoor rattan furniture is the latest trend for your garden conservatory or home. It is popping up everywhere and like I said before not just for the garden.
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Indoor gardening is a popular hobby, and one that can actually improve your decor and your health. Glossy green living plants are an unbeatable decorating accessory, whether you favor the bold statement a snake plant makes or the ethereal lightness of an asparagus fern. By surrounding yourself with healthy green plants, you oxygenate your living environment and gain more energy.
Grow Houseplants Organically
You can do some organic indoor gardening with houseplants. Growing organically means you don’t use chemical pesticides, herbicides, or fertilizers in your gardening routine. Organic indoor gardening also means not using genetically modified seeds, cuttings, or other elements.
Indoor Gardening The Organic Way
If you’re serious about indoor organic gardening, you might want to purchase Indoor Gardening the Organic Way: How to Create a Natural and Sustaining Environment for Your Houseplants, by Julie Bawden Davis.
The beginning of the book explains how houseplants are grown and shipped to your local garden center. Young house plants are fed the equivalent of a fast food diet to pump them up so they’ll look good in the garden center. When you bring your new house plants home, they may have a bit of a chemical fertilizer hangover at first. Be patient with them, and soon they will become accustomed to an organic lifestyle.
Organic Fertilizers
The best organic fertilizer is homemade compost. Even if you live in an apartment, you can make organic compost for gardening indoors.
Use a coffee can or another metallic container with a tight fitting lid. Make a few ventilation holes around the side of the coffee can with a nail or a drill. Fill the can with alternating layers of crisp, dry ingredients and wet ingredients.
For the crisp, dry ingredients, use dry leaves if you have access to them. Otherwise, you can use shredded newspaper or crumpled up paper bags.
For the wet ingredients, you can use raw vegetable scraps nothing with oil or butter on it and coffee grounds.
Keeping the compost can indoors will heat the compost up fast and help process it quickly. You can get the compost to make itself more quickly by stirring it periodically.
When one coffee can is full, start another. Turn the first can upside down every day to mix the ingredients and keep the compost cooking. Soon the first can will be full of rich, crumbly compost the key to indoor organic gardening.
Mix a little bit of compost in with your plants’ soil to provide long-lasting nutrients. You can grow almost any houseplant with this indoor organic gardening trick.
Landscape accessories are a great way to enhance a beautiful landscape design. These accessories may not serve a practical purpose, but they can add beauty and personality to a landscaping design. Some landscape accessories do offer a practical purpose to the consumer, for example, lawn chairs, but many of the accessories only offer interest and visual appeal, rather than a functional purpose. You can do so many different things using landscape accessories and you can find so many different landscape accessories that they choices may even overwhelm you.
When you are determining what landscape accessories are best for your yard, then you need to keep in mind the whole landscaping design as well. You do not want landscaping accessories that overpower the rest of the landscaping or that take too much attention from the landscaping itself. You want something that enhances the rest of your landscaping design and blends in with the rest of the landscaping. Smaller items can usually be added to your landscaping design very easily, but larger items may need more thought put into their use and location.
You need to choose landscaping accessories that you find beautiful and interesting. Don’t just choose an item because you think that it would cause people’s eyes to be drawn to it or you may end up with an accessory that you do not like very well. Make sure that it is a landscaping accessory that is well made and durable enough to spend time outdoors in your landscaped area. Ask yourself if you would like this item if it were not in your yard and determine whether it gives you positive feelings. Choose landscaping accessories that makes you feel proud and good about your landscaping design.
Natural accessories are the simplest things to add to a landscaping design. Natural landscaping accessories work so well in the landscaping design because they look like they are a part of the yard or garden. You may even want to consider using driftwood for your landscaping design because it comes in a wide variety of colors, including white, silver, black, and brown. Another natural landscaping accessory that you can choose is rocks, stones, or boulders. By choosing natural landscaping to add to your landscape area, you will be helping to make it more relaxing and enjoyable.
You can also find a big variety of landscaping accessories that are manmade. This may include things like sculptures, outdoor chandeliers, and stained glass. You need to choose these items carefully or they may overpower your landscaping design. You can find manmade landscaping accessories that will mesh well with your natural landscape, but it is important that you make the choice carefully. Adding lights to your landscape is a great way to add interest and visual appeal. They are not necessarily for security, but they are for décor and beauty.
You can find landscaping accessories that can serve a purpose and give visual appeal to your landscape. Lawn and patio furniture is one kind of landscaping accessory that you can choose. This may include tables, umbrellas, chairs, hammocks, and/or benches. Carefully consider each piece before purchasing any accessories to make sure that it goes with your landscaping design and with your other landscaping materials. Even though it is a piece of furniture, it still needs to mesh well with your landscaping design. You may also find that planting containers, birdbaths, and bird feeders can be quite a useful landscaping accessory for your yard. These items are considered landscaping accessories because they are not a necessary component to the landscape, for example the lawn, trees, plants, etc.
The most important thing that you need to remember is to not overdo the landscaping accessories. You want them to enhance your landscaping design, rather than take away from the feel of it. Keep your lawn looking neat and tidy, rather than cluttered and ugly. If you carefully consider the choices that you make so that they beautify your yard, you will find that your satisfaction level and enjoyment level will increase substantially.