Garden Design

You’ve got a mature garden, one you’ve tended lovingly for many years. Every available space is used. You’ve got beds of flowers which provide three seasons of color, maybe even four. Your trees and shrubs are mature, you have lovely pathways accented with benches for a relaxing moment, a ’secret’ garden for the kids and a well established vegetable garden, producing a healthy bounty every year. You’ve even got your garden to the point of requiring very little maintenance. How can you possibly improve on this picture? Garden figurines can be your icing on the cake, lending that final gourmet touch to your beautiful garden.

photo credit: breekp

Maybe your garden is still in the work-in-progress stage. You’re still adding and refining. You’ve just completed a pathway, leading to your secret garden, a place to relax or for kid’s play. Garden figurines should figure into your design of this area of the garden. Garden figurines and statuary can be as simple as a small, whimsical bronzed frog, seated at the edge of the bench, atop a small pedestal, ready to greet you as you sit down with a book and a tall glass of lemonade. Larger garden figurines, reminiscent of the lion statues flanking the steps of New York City’s Metropolitan Museum can add an elegant statement to your secret garden’s official entry. Religious garden statuary can create a soothing environment, placed next to a bench, or serving as a point for contemplation along a garden pathway.

Garden globes and sundials are other forms of garden figurines which can create a dramatic effect, given the right placement. Both of these are usually used as ‘centerpieces’, placed at the center of a circular brick or paving stone feature, or at the center of a formal herb garden. Garden globes come in a variety of colors, which you can use to coordinate with the colors of a surrounding bed of flowers. A yellow garden globe contrasts nicely with a bed of flowers in shades of blues and purples, providing a focal point which showcases the flower bed. Sundials, the first timekeepers, are fascinating garden additions, giving pleasure to both kids and adults.

When considering the placement of a particular garden statue or figurine, allow enough free space around the piece to be sure garden visitors can easily view it ” don’t hide it in a dense patch of ground cover! If the piece is small, ensure that there’s at least 6-12 inches of ground around it. Installing edging ensures that your figurine won’t become overgrown. Alternatively, set the figurine on a pedestal.

Nurseries and home improvement centers carry large assortments of garden figurines from which to choose, in a variety of sizes suited to every garden situation. There are also stores which specialize in garden figurines and statuary. You’ll find selections in stone, finished cement, as well as wood, bronze and other metals.

Garden figurines are a great way to add refinement and elegance to your garden. Go take a look at what’s available. One thing leads to another. You may end up with a collection!

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Some Gardening Tips for Indoor Gardeners

All plants grown under conditions such as these should have their pots plunged inside a larger and waterproof pot with the space between the two packed with some moisture retentive material such as peat.

photo credit: Rachel Zack

If this material is kept constantly moist, but not soaking wet, this moisture will be absorbed by the plant pot as it is required. This moist material will also give off a surprising amount of humidity, normally wafting it upwards through the leaves of the plant above.

So in the garden room or home extension we shall be wise not to dot our plants about the place as we do in the home proper, but to group them in concentrated colonies for the good of their health.

Normally in most commercial greenhouses plants are grown on benches or shelving which is covered with a layer of shingle, sand, peat or ashes. This is kept moist and the plants benefit. It is possible to obtain simple automatic trickle irrigation equipment, similar to that used in so many commercial greenhouses, which will take care of plants in this fashion when they must be left for long periods, even the entire day.

There are many ways in which this can be achieved, depending mainly on the personal tastes of the person concerned. On the small scale it is possible to make little indoor gardens of half a dozen or so small plants all planted or plunged together in a large container such as an antique bowl or wash basin.

On the large scale it is possible to devote the major part of a single wall to a stepped display of plants. If a stepped rack is constructed it can hold whole banks of flowers and at the same time provide an excellent hiding place for the necessary bucket, watering can, fertilizer bottle or pack, even the dust-pan and brush.

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Some Free Tips on Indoor Plants Decorating

On table top or window sill the greatest virtues and advantages of this plant would be vastly reduced in value.

photo credit: Ted Percival

Let trailers hang by placing them on a pedestal, shelf, for they look better, more natural this way and give greatest value. Use sprawlers to cover the bare soil area of surrounding pots or to writhe uninhibited across a mantelpiece. Judicious pinching out of misplaced or too strong shoots will keep a bush looking like a bush and encourage a spear-like plant to remain looking this way.

Vivid colours, yellow, orange, white and brilliant red are advancing. They come out to meet you and so tend to make a room appear to be shorter if placed at the far end. And conversely, dark colors, mainly greens of course, are receding and tend to look farther away than they really are, thus lengthening a short room. A tall rubber plant or fatshedera will make a room look higher, for the eye tends to follow the growth upwards, while a high ceiling can appear to be lower if horizontal growing plants catch the eye.

An impression of warmth is given if a wall is covered with the trained tendrils and shoots of a growing plant or if warm colors are used. And as might be expected, a hot summer day can be cooled indoors by the decorative use of cool greens, purples and dark colors in general.

Regard, for example, the cissus, rhoicissus, ivy, several philodendrons and the dramatic monstera, to say nothing of the huge and rampant tetrastigma. All of these can be trained to cover a wall, to climb to the ceiling and follow the wall around the room. One tetrastigma in our possession once grew near the front door, climbed to the ceiling, was led along to the stairway, climbed up the stair well and was stopped just before it invaded one of the bedrooms. One ten year old cissus still grows happily in a Victorian washbowl without drainage holes. It frames an arch between kitchen and dining-room and shows no signs of its hardships suffered when building operations dictated its removal and storage, twisted and tangled like a cat-teased ball of knitting wool, for several months before being unravelled and trained once again along its almost invisible supports of cotton.

A great chlorophytum stands six feet high in the bowl of an old oil-lamp standard, its elegant green and white striped grass like leaves arching into the air and its long stems bearing the little white flowers and the young plants at their ends swooping outwards to hang in graceful clusters.

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Winter Landscaping - What You Need To Know

photo credit: Kyknoord

by Andrew Caxton

While winter landscaping is not something that most people think about, it is an important part of taking care of your landscaping. Consider the benefits in reducing your costs.

While you may not have thought of winter landscaping, there are plenty of bnefits to doing it. One is to reduce fuel costs which are high enough today! The fact is, you can cut your cost by some 40 percent if you plan do take action. One way is to plan windbreaks around your property (on the west, east and north) to avoid wind blowing at the house. As these plants grow, they insulate your home enough to reduce your fuel costs!

What To Use

The best windbreaks available to you are trees and shrubs that have a low crown. To move the wind over the house instead of at it, plant an evergreen, along with a natural berm. Avoid planting on the south side of your home, though. You want the sun to be able to heat up your home whenever possible. You should also consider how tall the plants will grow. Plant them at least a foot from your home. In addition, plant them at between two and five times the grown height against the house.

Add Beauty, Too

Winter lawn care or john deere snowblowers can also add benefit to your home in looks. To make your winter landscaping look beautiful and even graceful, be sure that you take steps to make this happen. It can add interest and appeal to the landscape. Be sure that you manage your landscaping too. Taking the time to add a beautiful evergreen also means keeping the snow mounds off it.

You can also place specific plants and trees that will attract specific birds during the wintertime. Use those that produce brightly colored berries, for example. Choose a plant that has a unique color, style or shape. You may want a plant that has a unique bark texture to it to add even more interest. Consider a cranberry bush viburnum, which will have plenty of berries on them. It also has a beautiful flower in the middle of May and June. It will definitely add interest to your winter landscaping and provides something unique in the otherwise boring winter wonderland!

Alternatively, consider other bushes that work. For example, the Japanese barberry is a good choice. It will grow to four or six feet and will have amazingly colored red purple leaves during autumn. It also produces berries to bring the birds in.

Choosing the right plants for your landscaping will add character and plenty of fuel savings to your home!

Andrew Caxton is the copywriter of http://www.lawn-mowers-and-garden-tractors.com . Find more publications about john deere snowblowers at his website.

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Guide to DIY Lawn Care

by Andrew Caxton

DIY lawn care is easy as long as you are willing to invest some time in researching and learning those basic steps on lawn caring. In this article you will get basic information on this topic.

Guide to DIY Lawn Care

Many people think that lawn care can only be handle properly by the professional service providers, maybe you are one of them.Let’s say that you can handled your garden and lawn like a professional if you are aware of some basic factors.

DIY lawn care is easy as long as you are willing to invest some time in researching and learning those basic steps on lawn caring.

DIY Lawn Care Tips.

First tip: mowing. Be sure that you mow your lawn regularly, and also leave the lawn clippings on your lawn after mowing, notice that clippings provides a high source of slow-release nitrogen totally natural and chemicals free, other recommendations on mowing is to do it when grass is dry and never mow too short.thus grass may deplete the nutrients of soil when is mowed more than necessary.

Watering.

Watering play the main roll in maintenance of your lawn.and watering must be according to the soil type, the grass type and the needs of certain season or climates. The best advice on catering your lawn is never water after rainfall. Keep a good drainage on your lawn and this will avoid pests and fungi,in addtion make sure to distribute the water across the lawn evenly, remember excessive watering is as bad as lack of water.

Fertilizing.

A Crucial point of keeping your lawn healthy and beautiful, your first step is to analyze soil. Learn what type is and adjust the fertilizer to your soil needs, maybe it is advisable to use organic or natural fertilizer. Over fertilizing can be harmful to your grass and make so called fertilizer burn for that reason compost is the best available fertilizer for organic lawn care .It add organic matter and nutrients without damaging the environment and your health.

Aeration.

Vital for your grass good health is the proper aearation: compact soil may deprive grass for the feeding that needs, preventing water and nutrients come to the roots and the result: poor and weak grass, so if you decide aerate your lawn , do it when you notice it is particularly hard, compact and thatch is accumulating too much.

Good raking in fall will prevent grass to cover with dead leave and organic material that pollute the soil and aid to development of grass illness and insects, notice that many pests come from the lack of good maintenance, specially mold, they find a favorable climate to grow in a uncleaned area. Clean, free of weed, dead leave and other organic material is vital to prevent insect infestation or other incidents that can be very harmful to your lawn.

Tools.

Tools and their proper maintenance will facilitate your work, your tools must be clean, free of rust or dirt, sharp and keep on a dry place, they are important to lawn caring and if you don’t take the adequate measure they can ruin the whole work. Use the right tools for you, take your time earch what kind your need according to your lawn size and conditions, you can start from basic tools like rake, spades and shear and reach to the most sophisticated lawnmower.

Taking the above rules in mind, you can keep your lawn as a professional may do, without consuming too much time and mony, maybe with the help of used landscaping equipment, and you will proud of showing your work to friends and relatives

Andrew Caxton loves writing for http://www.lawn-mowers-and-garden-tractors.com .A website with tips on used landscaping equipment and type of grass.

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Winter Gardens. Is your garden arranged with ornamental things that add a splash of color even in winter?

Some statues, ornaments or gates to catch and hold the glistening snow? Maybe red berries or an ornamental tree that rises up out of the sleeping earth. I love gardening and in the winter gardens sleep so I make sure mine still brings me joy when I look out the window, especially when it snows.

Nope. I’m not really into statues, etc. A great way to add colour to a winter garden is planing a dogwood bush with red bark. Very nice against the white snow.

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what will be some winter veggies I can plant..anything I need to know..New to winter gardening?

I know turnip greens & other greens..what about beets radishes ?what else??

THANK YOU TO ALL THAT ANSWER!!!
I live in alabama

If your ground is tilled deeply and without stones, you can plant beet, turnips, parsnips, carrots and leafy green veggies such as spinach and kales.
Fall planting for germination and then covering the plants with a heavy mulch to prevent “heaving” of the soil and promote easy digging works great! A cold frame placed over you greens will prevent winter “burn” and keep you harvesting well into bitter cold weather.

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Brians Tips for Basic Gardening Tools

photo credit: Unhindered by Talent

Most people do their best to keep their garden presentable and sometimes this leads them to start gardening as a hobby. Like any hobbies, gardening can quickly become an expensive undertaking. You are bombarded with advertising constantly for the latest wiz gadget, and it can be very tempting to think I may need that, and buy it.

Basic gardening however doesn’t have to be expensive. I mean, did your grandfather need a fully automated rotary tiller for example? Probably not. If you do need one for example if you are creating a new lawn, there is little point in buying one. It’s much more sensible to rent one, or have a gardener do it for you. May I suggest a good firm (big grin)?

To get started all you need is some simple sound tools, and they don’t have to be expensive. It’s quite possible to pick up some good gardening tools at a local car boot sale. There are always people disposing of surplus garden tools.

You don’t need to buy them new. It does not matter if they’re a little rusty. Rust will not interfere with the growing process and can always be removed with a scouring pad.

Here is a basic list of tools that you will need.

* Shovel. A shovel should have a good sturdy handle that is easy to grab. Avoid thinner handles that may break and also because thinner handles are more likely to blister your hands.
* Spade. A lot of people tend to think that a shovel and a spade are much the same. A spade is primary used to break up the ground, not for lifting. Again a thick handle and a comfortable grip are important. You should acquire two spades, one being a smaller hand held spade to accommodate for work in smaller spaces.
* Rakes. You need two types of rakes. A lawn rake to gather up leaves, fallen twigs, moss, and lawn cuttings, and a ground rake which you used to smooth the ground and flower beds.
* A hoe. There are many cool designs on the market, but in the interests of simplicity a standard square hoe will suffice for most garden tasks to begin with.
* Wheelbarrow. A Wheelbarrow is essential if you’re doing any type of gardening or yard work. A broad wheeled barrow should be chosen to spread the weight when using it on a lawn. It should be lightweight easily wheeled about, and again, care and attention should be paid to the handles to prevent your hands becoming blistered during use.

Really these tips are nothing more than a commonsense approach to basic gardening, and with a little thought and some work, gardening doesn’t have to be an expensive proposition.

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Brians Tip for Free Compost

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By late November, usually following stormy weather, most of the trees in and around your garden will have dumped their leaves over your lawn and flower beds.

Rather than just gather them up and throw them into your brown bin for collection, here’s a handy tip to make use of those leaves next year.

Recycling your autumn leaves is one of the best ways to get free compost.


Here’s all you have to do.

* Take a good sized black bin liner and put a few holes in the side and bottom.
* Gather up leaves and stuff them into the bin liner.
* When almost full, sprinkle with water, shake and tie.
* Store in a shady spot, (most people have some spare room behind a garden
shed or in a corner somewhere), and by next autumn the leaves will have
rotted down into a rich, crumbly mixture that you can use as a mulch around
the base of your plants.
* If you want to use the leaves to add to the soil as growing compost, then
leave them alone for a second year.

More on composting -

• “Let it Rot!” Stu Campbell - Pros: Fantastic comprehensive guide to composting Cons: None Rating: 5 out of 5. (more…)

• Friends School Plant Sale - Mother’s Day weekend at the Minnesota … - The Green Guardian met with and later knighted a group of Friends School middle schoolers who implemented a recycling and composting program at the school. …

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