RELATED ARTICLESRelease Some Tension...Spend Some Time In Your Garden
Gardening can be one of the most rewarding and relaxing hobbies that you can engage in. Picture a beautiful spring day, the sweet smell of grass in the air and you get to go out and work the soil and prepare your garden.
It?s Gardening Season!
It's gardening season again! Are you ready? Whether you are a seasoned gardener, or are looking to start gardening, you will likely need supplies and plants. If you shop smart, and use the tips below, you can get that garden running with very little money. And you can save a lot of money on your grocery bill as well.
Halfway Through Summer - Are We Having Fun Yet
Today is Thursday the 23rd of June and we're almost halfway through the summer can you believe it. It seem to me that you wait and wait to get past the winter (at least here in the Northeast) then some years a wet soggy spring and finally your rewarded with sunny warm weather.
Slugging It Out In The Trenches
In an effort to introduce a shaft of sunlight into a particularly gloomy conversation, I recently asked a gardening acquaintance of mine to explain the difference between a slug and a snail.
Furniture Benches Are Perfect For Every Outdoor Space
The task of selecting outdoor furniture for your natural spaces can seem daunting at times. There are just so many options to choose from that many people get confused browsing through the large collections that can be found in catalogues, stores and even online.
Greenhouse Calamities ? Thoughts from a Novice Gardener
Greenhouses are a great addition to anyone's garden. They come in all different sizes and you can nestle them right where you want them and with smaller versions of greenhouses you can move them quite easily. That said, as great as they look and of course smell, there should be some type of manual to buy when you are first setting up shop in there. There are many things no one bothers to tell you and if you don't know, you don't ask. Here are five things I learned by plodding along on my own:
Want a Garden but Not Enough Room or Soil? Then Hydroponics Gardening could be for You
Hydroponics gardening is a great idea for anyone who wants a garden but doesn't have enough land or soil. Hydroponics gardening is, essentially, a way to cultivate plants using a nutrient solution instead of soil. With hydroponics gardening, it's easy to grow lovely flowers and succulent vegetables virtually anywhere you want! It's true that hydroponics gardening needs much less time than an ordinary garden. In fact, you might spend only five minutes a day maintaining you're hydroponics garden.
Once a month the nutrient solution will have to be changed but this will only take a few minutes. Big fruiting vegetables like peppers and tomatoes may not be able to thrive but most other vegetables and flowers will do great.
Turn Your Patio Into A Voluminous Vegetable Garden
My first apartment was a second-story condo in an urban complex, far displaced from the groomed suburban landscapes and sprawling gardens I had grown up with. My only connection to the outdoors was a small porch, surrounded by brown siding and a fading carpet of artificial turf.
Compost YES, Epsom Salts NO
You'll often hear garden writers recommending the use of Epsom salts in the garden as a general rule. First off, I'm not one of those writers. Secondly, Epsom salts are essentially magnesium so if your garden soil is magnesium starved, adding the Epsom salts will seemingly work miracles. If your soil is not magnesium starved, adding Epsom salts is a waste of time, effort and money.
New for 2006 - Granite Flexible Preformed Rock Ponds
Traditionally, preformed ponds are large shells, which are extremely burdensome and difficult to transport. For example, a typical preformed pond kit would come in a box that is 60" x 48" x 24", which is too large for many car trunk sizes. Liner kits, on the other hand, present many difficulties for the beginner pond gardener. Since every liner pond shape is different, pond gardeners must customize their own pond and ensure that it is level, and that it does not have excessive wrinkling.
Protecting your Garden Pond from Pesky Predators
Notice any fish disappearing lately? While herons are present
year-round, water gardeners notice the challenges they bring to
the pond in spring and early summer when herons feed their young.
How to Grow Cooking Herbs
Grow your own cooking herbs to add fresh zest and flavor to your menus year-round!
Create and Furnish Your Outdoor Room
More and more people are enjoying their time spent outdoors by creating outdoor rooms. Whether your plans for outdoor living involve a grand plan or a more modest one, the many choices available are sure to allow you to furnish your outdoor room just the way you want it.
Growing and Preserving Cut Flowers
There is nothing more cheerful than vases full of fresh flowers placed around the house that have been grown and cut from your own garden. A cut flower is one that has been cut at the stem and placed in a vase of water. Cut flowers are grown from both annual and perennial plants. Here is a short list (by common name) of cut flowers that you can grow in your own garden to enjoy for many years to come.
Wind Chimes Go Great With Gardening
What could be more relaxing than gardening on a nice summer morning? Listening to your wind chime while you garden! Wind chimes are not only fun to look at but they add much more to your garden then just visual appeal.
Toxic Pollutants & Their Effect on Fish Health
Once water temperatures increase in the summer months, fish
become more active and produce increasing amounts of waste,
leading to potential water pollution. Fish produce waste in the
form of ammonia, which is broken down into nitrites then nitrates
by beneficial bacteria. Both ammonia and nitrite are very harmful
to fish, even in very small quantities. Ammonia, in particular,
is more toxic at high temperatures and can cause severe problems.
In fact, water can hold five times as much dangerous ammonia at
77°F as opposed to 41°F. The effect on water quality is
exaggerated by a high pH, resulting in the formation of more
toxic ammonia.
Would You Like More Information About Climbing Roses?
What is more beautiful than seeing a home or building with an arch of climbing roses in the landscaping? Climbing roses are one of many plants that branch out and intertwine themselves among arches, trellises, or even buildings and railings. They can add a great landscape element to any foundation.
Companion Planting
If you look closely at the natural landscape, you'll never see a large area populated by a single species. Why then would it make sense to plant a single crop in a field or in a section of your garden? It doesn't. Companion planting makes a lot of sense.
The Ultimate Magic Garden
Spring is the season to start planting seeds for the future. For me, the ultimate Magic Garden would be planted using the Feng Shui bagua as a guideline for the boundaries of the plot and incorporate flowers herbs and plants that correspond to each signifigant direction..
The Amazing Hummingbird
Without a doubt, hummingbirds are beautiful and interesting creatures.
