Gardening Tips and Ideas
July 14, 2010
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Gardening Tips and Ideas
Have you ever driven past someone?s home and thought how magnificent their yard looks? Perfectly manicured with incredibly gorgeous gardens ? and that is just the front yard; imagine what their back yard must look like! How did the come up with it? Did they use professional landscapers or was it a do-it-yourself project? It really doesn?t matter as you too can create and maintain that ?perfect? yard look and it won?t take all that much more effort than you are currently doing (even if it is none). Here are a few ideas for figuring out what ?your? perfect garden should look like:
Drive around ? observe everyone?s yard, take pictures of your yard before you start and take pictures of all the landscaping ideas you like. Piece together your yard pictures with the neat landscaping pictures in order to get a clearer sense of what you want.
Sphere: Related ContentCreating a Tea Garden
June 19, 2010
Creating a Tea Garden
Creating a tea garden is one of the best types of gardens for a beginner to start with - especially if they love tea!
Tea gardens can be created in almost any sized container, or they can be planted outside in the ground too. You can simply plant various types of herbal teas into a designated area of your yard, or create a more formal garden bed for your tea garden instead.
Sphere: Related ContentHow to Test your Garden Soil for Acidity Levels
May 25, 2010
How to Test your Garden Soil for Acidity Levels
As all gardeners know, different strokes for different folks apply as much to plants as it does to people. Some plants such as azaleas and camellias are acid-loving, while others such as clematis prefer a much more alkaline soil to call home.
Soil acidity or alkalinity is defined by the amount of calcium-rich lime in the soil and the type of soil itself. Soil acidity and alkalinity are expressed by their pH; a pH lower than 7.0 connotes an acid soil while one with a pH higher than 7.0 is alkaline.
Sphere: Related ContentCreating scented garden paths and walkways
April 30, 2010
Creating scented garden paths and walkways
Creating a garden path or walkway which is filled with wonderful scents is fairly easy to do, and you’ll love the end results too! There are actually several ways to create scented walkways and garden paths, so here we’ll look at each…
1. Plant small scented flowers and herbs between your walkway stones. If you have a walkway or path in place already, or you plan to create one soon, one of the easiest things to do is add flowers and herbs which will release their scent each time someone walks the path.
Sphere: Related ContentHow to Create an Outdoor Sanctuary
April 5, 2010
How to Create an Outdoor Sanctuary
By definition, a sanctuary is a private place, a location where you can get away from the cares, noise and problems of everyday life and enjoy a few moments of refreshing solitude in a calm and peaceful setting. You can create such a sanctuary in your garden, whether that garden is a small backyard or a gracefully meandering meadow.
If your garden space is large, you will certainly need to enclose some of it either structurally or visually to create a smaller space. This is because a principal feature of any sanctuary is feeling safe, and wide open spaces can make people feel nervous and overly visible to others.
Sphere: Related ContentRoof and Terrace Gardens: Unique Ideas for Urban Spaces
March 11, 2010
Roof and Terrace Gardens: Unique Ideas for Urban Spaces
Urban environments offer a huge number of advantages, like access to great restaurants, theaters, public libraries and other facilities that provide opportunities for enriching the human experience. One advantage they lack, however, is a lot of open green space?most city dwellers never get to experience growing their own vegetables or picking flowers from their own gardens.
An exception is people whose living quarters allow them to have a roof or terrace garden, which can provide great decorative benefit in addition to the opportunity to grow a portion of one?s food and increase the livability of the building by lowering heating and cooling costs.
Sphere: Related ContentCreating Private Garden Spaces
February 14, 2010
Creating Private Garden Spaces
Creating a private garden space is a lot of fun to do, but it also provides you with years of enjoyment after the fact too. Sometimes called garden rooms, or outdoor rooms, a private garden space is made to be private. A sanctuary you can retreat to anytime you’d like, to enjoy nature, smell the beautiful flowers growing, and simply destress from the everyday hustle and bustle of life.
When planning your private garden, the general goal is usually to create a quiet place to retreat from the world. This garden doesn’t have to be fully private, but it does have a much more calming effect when it’s at least semi-private. So consider the location of your garden before starting to create it. If you must place the garden near busy or noisy areas such as close to the street, there are tactics you can use in your planning and design which will help dampen the noise and distractions. If possible though, you’ll get the best results from a private garden space by creating it away from everyday noise and activity.
Sphere: Related ContentPlanting Design
January 20, 2010
Planting Design
At first glance you may think this is about landscaping and to a certain extent it is, but planting design is more about the arrangement, the species selection and achieving an overall botanical harmony rather than changing the layout of your lawn. Sounds complicated but in reality it is quite simple. Planting design is all about creating a synergy, if you will, between you and the garden. Gone are the days of going to the local nursery or store and buying a few plants that look cute. Think about it, how often did that impulse plant purchase live? Chances are not too long or they caused the destruction of some other plants you had. It is important and strategic to have a planting design so you can achieve the look and coverage you desire.
You must always remember that you are dealing with a three dimensional area when creating a planting design, so not only are you trying to cover an area but also the depth and width as well. So not only does size play a role but also does how wide the plants will become as well as how thick. And we are talking in the adult or grown stage, not at the purchase stage. You need to factor in growth when choosing your plants plus you need to consider compatibility. Whether you know it or not, many plants are not able to coexist with others and can cause problems later in the age of the garden. A tree that grows too quickly or not quick enough can and will affect the health of your other plants. Some plants are even caustic to others and you should always check the compatibility of all the plants being considered.
Sphere: Related ContentTen Ways to Get your Kids Involved in Gardening This Year
December 26, 2009
Ten Ways to Get your Kids Involved in Gardening This Year
Gardening is work, no doubt about it. But it?s also fun, and can also be a way for the entire family to enjoy a hobby when children as well as parents become involved. Gardening is also a great way to teach your little ones about responsibly caring for other living things and increase their appreciation for our wonderful natural world.
To help you get started, here are 10 ways to get your children interested in taking up gardening, getting them actively involved and help them to become true little gardeners:
Sphere: Related ContentThe Joy of Keeping A Garden Journal
December 1, 2009
The Joy of Keeping A Garden Journal
In the flush of excitement we all get when planning a new garden, or finding a beautiful new plant at the store, we don’t always think to stop and create a record of our gardening activities. And while it’s not critical to keep a garden record, it can be extremely helpful in knowing how your plants are doing, keeping track of things you’ve tried and either succeeded or failed at, and revisiting the joy your garden brings anytime you’d like.
And that’s where a garden journal comes in. Keeping a garden journal can help you to learn from past experiences. It can also help you keep track of various plants, trees or bushes you have. It can be used to keep notes about common diseases or pests, watering and soil requirements, and so much more.
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