RELATED ARTICLESXeriscaping is Waterwise Gardening
What is xeriscaping? You may have heard of xeriscaping as a way of landscaping in the Southwestern United States. You may picture xeriscaping as a lot of gray gravel and cactus in a hot desert yard. People call that "zero-scaping," and that is not what xeriscaping is. Xeriscaping is a method of gardening and landscaping that will reduce your water use and maintenance requirements by as much as 60 percent. Xeriscaping can be done anywhere by any gardener, and in any yard, with the result being a beautiful, even lush, landscape.
Landscape Design
Landscaping is a wonderful pastime enjoyed by many. It provides a natural beauty and needs no ornaments or other attractive items to help achieve its magnificence. What it does need, however, is a little TLC from you and great ideas to keep the landscape design ever changing and up to date.
Pond Construction
The location of your pond should be decided. You've picked a good spot in your yard where you can see the pond from different places, and it's near enough to the house so you can see it from a window. This is really part of the fun because you can visualize the landscaping ideas you'll be incorporating into the pond area once the dig is finished.
A Compost Primer
Most gardeners and landscapers will agree almost unanimously that the single best thing you can do for your lawn is to add compost. Good, organic compost can remedy almost any problem you have with your soil. If you soil is too acidic, adding compost will help neutralize it and bring it back to a proper pH level. If your soil is too alkaline, ditto! Adding compost will help balance the alkalinity in the soil. If you live in an area with a lot of heavy clay, adding compost will help loosen and aerate the soil. If you live in a coastal or southern area with a lot of sand, adding compost will help bind it together. Soil lacking nutrients? Add compost to add new life to overworked soil.
A Couple of Good Places to Buy Lawnmowers
After much searching and deliberation, I finally bought a lawnmower of the Internet. This is not the sort of item that I would normally buy on the web, but am happy that I did so.
Cultivating Plants In Your Garden...What To Watch Out For
There are so many plants available for you to choose from that it's hard to know where to start. Are you looking for house plants, tropical plants or some beautiful garden plants? Green plants are not only beautiful to look at they also provide a much needed source of fresh oxygen for our breathing. Nature has a way of providing a balance for everything.
Introducting KOI-Cam!
This is a project I've had on the back burner for many months
now, but now it's finally ready!
Sleeping Beauties: Porches For Dreaming
There's something magical about sleeping outside, drinking in the night sounds of crickets, frogs and wind chimes, watching fireflies and stars, and feeling the cool night breeze. You'll find children giggling long past their bedtime from sheer excitement.
How to Grow Bananas
If your grocer says, "Yes, we have no bananas. We have no bananas today," it isn't surprising since the banana is the world's second favorite fruit, surpassed in popularity only by the apple. Once only grown in tropical climates, the good news is that several varieties can be grown in northern areas as well as in the south.
Marjoram: The Herb of Happiness
Called the "herb of happiness," Origanum majorana, commonly known as sweet marjoram or knotted marjoram, is an herbal symbol of peace and well-being. Marjoram is grown as an annual in the colder parts of the world but is perennial in warmer regions. To keep it growing as a perennial, bring it indoors for the winter. Marjoram may be grown as a houseplant and as it has a tendency to trail when grown indoors, it makes a nice hanging basket. Marjoram has small, grey-green, oval-shaped leaves that are velvety to the touch. Tiny white or pink flowers, reddish stems, and the grey-green colour of the leaves make marjoram an attractive border plant.
Tuberous Begonias
If you appreciate plants that have no hesitation in boldly stating their presence with huge, almost artificially perfect flowers, then tuberous begonias are for you. While some may find them rather too overstated, downright brazen even, if you like colour, and plenty of it, with subtlety an option rather than compulsory, then look no further.
Wild Flower Garden - Recreate the Splendor of Nature in Your Own Backyard
A few years ago I made the decision to create a wild flower garden within my existing garden. I had been working to develop a more earth friendly approach to my garden, trying different options for fertilizing and pest and weed control. The next logical step for me was to establish a wild flower or natural style garden.
Do You Know About A Bamboo Orchid
Bamboo Orchid Plant
Roses - Creating Beautiful Cut Roses
Many gardeners like to enjoy their roses twice - first in the garden, then indoors as cut flowers. By choosing the right roses, cutting them at the proper time of day, and conditioning them after cutting, you can enjoy your cut roses for the longest possible time - up to five days or more after cutting.
Teak Umbrella : Add the Final Touch to Your Patio
Okay, so you have agonized for weeks and finally went out and purchased that gorgeous teak patio table that you have had your eye on for quite a while. And now that it is nestled away in that perfect spot on your deck, you realize that the only thing that would make you love your teak table even more is the addition of an umbrella. But not just any umbrella, a teak umbrella that is designed to remain beautiful and durable for decades, just like your new teak table.
Ecological Landscape Design and Organic Lawn Care
There is a growing recognition, that the expanding suburban landscape is having a negative environmental impact. Suburban development often includes vast energy dependant monocultures (perfect, grass lawns). They consume a significant amount of natural resources, (water to keep them green and gasoline to keep them trimmed), and they reduce the amount of habitat available for native wildlife. Over use of fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides can leach into water supplies and be harmful to children and pets. Trends toward ecological landscaping and organic lawn care are lessening the detrimental effects of these designs. Many landscape designers are recommending native plant species, and even golf course managers are moving toward organic methods.
Using Push Reel Mowers
If you're not familiar with push reel mowers or if you haven't used one since "back in the day", there are a few points you should be aware of before using a push reel mower:
Rock Gardens - A Different Kind of Garden
Planting a Rock Garden is a great alternative to the normal flower and vegetable garden.
Tips for Backyard Fish Ponds Care
Installing a backyard fish pond is an aesthetic addition to your landscaping and offers a bit of tranquility as well. However, taking care of backyard fish ponds is not as easy as one might think. And, you have to do more than simply install the fish pond and then let it go. Backyard fish ponds care is constant and consistent. Although, if you follow these tips you will be able to enjoy your backyard fish pond with as little effort possible in its maintenance.
Low Maintenance Teak Furniture
In all likelihood you have heard of teak furniture and have wanted to know why it's such a big deal. This article contains some simple info regarding the building material that seems a little mysterious, even has a weird sound to it, but dominates the market of outdoor furniture.
