RELATED ARTICLESParsley: A Cooks Best Friend
A cook's best friend, Petroselinum crispum, commonly known as curly parsley, is used in myriad ways in the kitchen. Often discarded by diners as 'just a garnish,' parsley has many valuable nutrients including bet-carotene, calcium, iron, and Vitamins A and C in easily assimilated form. Parsley has a pleasant flavour and is often used as a breath freshener particularly after eating raw garlic and onions.
Theme Gardens
Flower gardens are for enjoyment. They provide you with visual beauty, the joy of working with soil and plants, and the pride of showing others what you have created. As a gardener, one is always experimenting and learning anew what delights a flower garden may bring forth. This enjoyment can be intensified by creating your garden, or a room within the garden, with a theme.
February in the Garden
Often in February there is a surprisingly warm day. Everybody sheds their coats and puts a bounce in their step. The next day they hear a snow plow at 4 AM. But the brief warmup gets you thinking "what is there to do in the landscape?"
How To Prevent Damping Off
Damping off is the single term used to describe
underground, soil line, or crown rots of seedlings due to
unknown causes. The term actually covers several soil borne
diseases of plants and seed borne fungi. The fungi which
cause root rot are species of Phyium, Phytophthora,
Rhizoctonia and Fusarium.
Letting Nature Grow Your Garden
It is wisest to let Nature have Her way. Nature has her own agenda, and your life as a gardener will be easier if you bow to Her desires. Better to dance with the fairies than struggle with eliminating "weeds". What herbs already grow around you that you can use as teas and seasonings? Most areas are rich in such plants, both native and introduced. Many of them will be happy to grace your garden with very little effort on your part. Some will appear; others may want to be transplanted. Still others are simply there, waiting for you to notice.
Earthworm Friends in the Garden
Earthworms are a gardener's best friend.
The Basics of Growing Roses
So you want to grow roses? They are a beautiful choice for your garden and not nearly as difficult to grow as you might think.
Want to Build a Pond?
A pond, logically, the first question you should ask is WHERE? Do you have a huge yard with a lot of trees and shrubs and flowerbeds? In other words what is the present landscape like? Would you prefer your pond in a sunny spot or in the shade? That may not seem too important, but if you should decide to surround your pond with flowers, it becomes very important. It seems (to me at least) that there are many more varieties of flowers that are sun lovers rather than ones that prefer shade. Another consideration also is that if you place your pond too near to trees, then falling leaves become a cleanup problem.
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.
Gardening - Natural Science NOT Rocket Science
Don't force yourself out of the most profitable hobby in the universe because you think it's too hard to learn ...It isn't!
Wooden Greenhouses
An important addition to any British back garden, the greenhouse is firmly established in the British way of life. It's probably the inclement weather that drives the british gardener 'inside'. If you are visiting this site then you are probably thinking about obtaining a new greenhouse. It is possible you don't know the type of greenhouse you need or even how to decide on the type of greenhouse. This site has a series of articles on many of the different things to consider when installing a greenhouse.
Winter Gardening Looking Towards Spring
Ok, the title "winter gardening" might be a tad bit misleading. I am not suggesting that you actually garden during the winter but you should be using this time to plan your upcoming garden. As you look out at your yard and garden area during the cold months of winter, let your thoughts run wild and you will be amazed at what images you can conjure up. You might even want to try some of your new found ideas this spring!
The Perfect Garden Sundial
Is it possible for a garden sundial to tell perfect
time?
Gardening on a Budget
When we moved into our south Anchorage log home I had glorious plans for the 1/3 acre lot. Some previous owner had chopped down every tree counting on the neighboring woodlands for green and shade. The house was near the street with a lumpy hilly and narrow backyard that ended in the neighbor's goat pen. I was young, enthusiastic and confident that my green thumb could transform our piece of Alaska into a glorious landscaped garden. Now, 20 years later the neighborhood has evolved from birch/spruce woods to suburban sprawl and I'm still working on the transformation and enjoying every season.
Pressure Washing Decks
A beautiful wooden deck, properly maintained, can add
greatly to the aesthetic and resale values of a home.
The Protea Family (Proteaceae)
The protea family (Proteaceae) includes a wide range of ground covers, trees and shrubs that often make superb garden plants. While some of the species are frost-tender, they are in all other respects remarkably resilient plants that often thrive in situations where others would rapidly succumb. Poor soils and hot dry positions that scarcely seem capable of supporting life are often ideal for Proteaceae. If any plants could be said to thrive on neglect the proteas can.
Good Tools and Hard Work is What Creates EyeCatching and Functional Gardens
"Gardens are not made by sitting in the shade." -Rudyard Kipling
Seeds and More Seeds...What Your Garden Needs
Seeds are the most important ingredient in all gardening. Without quality seeds it would be impossible to have a beautiful garden. True seeds vary in size from the dust-like seeds of some orchids to the large seed contained in the coconut. The period of dormancy undergone by many seeds before germination also varies. The seeds may lie dormant for a short period of time before you see growth sprouting above the soil, or they may be dormant for a long time. For some seeds a long dormancy is a result of the extremely hard outer coating of the seeds. Flower seeds, vegetable seeds and garden seeds all germinate very quickly and are therefore perfect for home use.
Seeding Flowers Indoors: An Inexpensive Way to a Beautiful Summer Garden
Every year you plan that THIS will be the year you have pots and pots of lush plants on your balcony or deck. Then you visit your local nursery in the spring and reality hits -? the cost for your fantasy is just outrageous! Sound familiar?
Gardening with Bamboo
Myths and facts
A misconception about bamboo is that they spread like wildfire. This is not entirely true as only a some species of bamboo will be invasive. Spreading, however, can easily be controlled if it becomes a problem. Many people also think that bamboos will die when the temperature falls below freezing. This myth is also false.
