|
|
 If you’ve been a city-dweller for years and now find yourself moving to a new country home, you will probably not have too much experience beating back the forest and the weeds that threaten to overtake your whole garden and every conceivable spot of ground. Get yourself some gardening supplies for the trees, bushes, lawn and also the walkways so you can keep a well maintained area surrounding your new home. I’ll talk about some of the supplies you will need to get the job done:
An expanse of green in your garden is something that everyone appreciates but if you have an overgrown, unkempt, yard you could be have to pay a fine in some subdivisions and cities. To make sure that your lawn is kept well mowed you should get yourself a lawn mower that either is powered by gasoline or by electricity. This is one of the most used tools in your garden and you should get one that is reliable and able to maintain your lawn. You will have to decide on the size of the mower according to the amount of lawn you have. If you get a lawn mower with a built in bag then you will not have the problem of cleaning up after you have finished mowing. I suggest a high-quality walk-behind lawnmower for detail work around most areas. If you have a large area to mow, then go with a riding mower. My Self-Propelled Honda lawnmower has never let me down and it starts on the first or second pull.
Gardening tools for trimming tree branches and bushes
If the bushes you have planted have a slow growth rate it’s fine, but if not, you will have to trim them often to make them look neat and tidy. Bush trimmers are also gasoline or electric models, but you could also get the manual shears to trim the bushes with, but that’s only if you don’t have too many. If you have flowering bushes then you should find out whether you should trim them before they flower or after they have finished blooming. Bushes should be kept away from the home foundation to avoid rot caused by moisture. To trim branches and sprigs that come up every now and then you would need tree limb cutters. You can get these with long handles to reach up into the taller bushes, trees and branches. Saws and electric trimmers are also available. Continue Reading »
 More and more people are getting into growing their own fresh fruits and vegetables by planting a home garden. Many are enjoying their fresh garden produce during the growing season and are also preserving it for later use by freezing and canning. Even those who were not previously interested in gardening have become motivated to grow their own produce as they have learned that store-bought fruits and vegetables are often nutrient-deficient. Not only that, but for many people starting and cultivating a home garden for the purpose of providing wonderful foods for the table is an enjoyable endeavor.
Gardening has long been a popular hobby for many people all around the world, but when you add the extra incentive of being able to provide your family with nutrient-rich fruits and vegetables that have not been contaminated with chemicals and pesticides, it is easy to see why the popularity of the garden has grown.
In addition to concerns about the quality and safety of store-bought produce, another reason why people love to have a home garden bursting with wonderful foods is that you can go out and pick the vegetables at just the right time to assure freshness. Compare this with tomatoes, for example, that are picked long before they ripen, transported, stored and finally put on the store shelf. In that scenario, which is common of the vast majority of produce sold in the grocery stores today, the tomato has been detached from its life-giving parent plant for many days and sometimes weeks. But with a vegetable garden just outside your kitchen door, you can pick your tomatoes when they are at their peak of ripeness and be able to have the freshest tomatoes to add to your salad or for your famous tomato sauce.
Most of the common and popular vegetables that are available in the produce sections of grocery stores can be grown in home gardens. Some of the most popular varieties are carrots, green beans, potatoes, peas, beets, broccoli, cabbage, and many varieties of squash, just to name a few.
And don’t forget about all of the wonderful berries that can be home grown as well. Technically a fruit, tomatoes are one of the most popular foods that people enjoy including in their home gardens. They are easy to grow and simply delicious plucked off the vine. Continue Reading »
 So what are annuals really all about? The following report includes some fascinating information about these Popular Flowering Plants you can use, not just the old stuff they used to tell you. Annuals are among the most popular of all flowering plants, and it is hard to beat annuals for low cost, beautiful blooms and ease of planting. All most annuals need in order to thrive is proper water, sufficient sunlight and a good well balanced soil.
Let’s take a quick look at each of these important elements for growing a spectacular bed of annuals.
Most types of annuals will do best in when given a well drained soil containing a moderate amount of humus. If you start a compost bin at home, you can provide your own high quality humus, or you can buy prepared humus from your favorite garden store. If your soil is very dry or contains a lot of clay it can be supplemented with manure or high quality compost.
Those of you not familiar with the latest on Annuals, now have at least a basic understanding.
Sunlight
Most varieties of annuals need to have at least six hours of full sunlight per day. Many types of annuals, such as argeratum, browallia, coleus, fuschia, dianthus, pansy, and impatiens, do well in partial shade or in filtered sunlight, but few if any annuals will thrive in complete shade. It is important to take these sunlight needs into account when planning your flower bed. Continue Reading »
 The right houseplants can add depth and beauty to your home. There are a plethora of choices for anyone who wants to bring decorative accents to his décor. The plants range from tall indoor trees to tiny cactus houseplants that just provide a little color and detail. These decorative must-haves can also be functional as well.
We usually associate edible plants with outdoor gardens that are replanted each year. However, edible plants can serve two purposes when used as houseplants. There are a number of creative ways to integrate the functional vegetation into your home. The functional houseplants are a wonderful way to make use of your decorations.
Many vegetables can be grown indoors. The best vegetables to use as houseplant include radishes. Radishes are especially nice because they add color as well as function. Bushy vegetables fair better in the home than vine vegetables like beans. The vine plants are difficult to grow indoors. They require a lot of light and a lot of room to grow to their fullest potential.
Another thing to consider when growing houseplants is using the proper containers. It is essential that the containers have the proper drain holes for the specific houseplants. The containers should also be decorative, of course, while giving the plants room to grow. You may fall in love with a planter that strangles your houseplant. Continue Reading »
Fresh flowers are truly a display of natures beauty. They can easily brighten up not only a room, but a person’s mood as well. Fresh flower bouquets make wonderful birthday, anniversary and Valentine’s Day gifts. The only downside to cut flowers is that their beauty fades, and they wither too quickly. However, the beauty doesn’t have to fade away so soon, because there is a way to capture the essence of the flower, forever.
Preserving fresh flowers isn’t a difficult process. It can easily be done and once completed you have a tangible memory of the arrangement and the occasion it marked.
One of the first steps in preserving fresh flowers is to spray the flowers with hair spray. The hair spray helps to preserve the color of the flowers. Next you’ll want to hang the flowers upside down in a dark, dry and cool place. This can be a closest or in a basement if you have one in your home.
Once the flowers have dried significantly you can place them in a vase again or arrange them in another manner without having to worry about them spoiling.
A very popular method for preserving fresh flowers is to press them. Pressing them involves placing them between two pieces of wax paper or paper towel. Once you’ve done that you’ll place them in a book and then place several books on top. The weight presses the flower into a flat position.
This preservation technique enables you to use them as additions to photo albums, scrap books or picture frames. Many newlyweds utilize this after their weddings. By preserving fresh flowers from their special day they can place them in a frame along with a wedding photo. Continue Reading »
 We recently added to our patio area. We enjoy the new space but there is one area that seems to be desolate. It’s not large enough for a chair so I thought I would look at outdoor plants that could fill the space. I had other outdoor plants in the yard, but I didn’t want a short blooming plant in this area because you would not be able to see it due to the railing. So, off I went to the local nursery to see what I could find.
The nursery was filled with outdoor plants of all kinds. I had been here several times to purchase my bedding plants as well as vegetable plants. The owner of the nursery asked if she could help me. I told her that I needed a plant to put in a corner of the deck. She showed me beautiful hibiscus trees. These plants are specially bred to be outdoor plants, but they can be brought indoors for the winter months. I loved the plants, but they needed partial shade and the area of the deck I needed them for was in full sun light. We looked at several other outdoor plants that can withstand the hot sun, but none of them were tall enough for the space that I wanted to fill.
I was getting ready to leave when I spotted a large patio tomato plant that had a sturdy stake in the middle. The plant and stake was about 5 feel tall. The nursery owner said that she would sell it to me, but she was concerned that some of the tomatoes would come off during transport. I had brought our pick up truck to the nursery because I knew I wanted a tall plant. We taped a cardboard shield around the plant to protect it for the three miles to our home. Continue Reading »
 If you have a summer herb garden, it’s always a disappointment when cooler weather sets in and your fresh herbs die down. Now you need to rely on dried herbs as the next best thing to enhance your menus. Or do you? With a south-facing window and a little TLC, you can have a thriving window herb garden throughout the winter. Sure, you may not have the full complement of fresh annual herbs, but many herbs, given the right care and a sunny, warm environment will provide a bounty of delectable additions to your everyday winter menus. Here we have seven herbs you can sustain in a window herb garden, without too much effort, enhancing a variety of dishes with that just-picked taste.
1. Parsley: yes, parsley is readily available in the supermarket year-round. However, there’s a world of difference between freshly picked parsley, both in taste and nutrition, from a bunch that’s traveled hundreds or thousands of miles before reaching your store. If your garden parsley has already gone to seed, it’s not too late! Buy a bunch and snip off the freshest tips, leaving as much stem as you can. Dip the cutting in a rooting hormone powder (available at any nursery) and set the cutting in a small pot of sandy soil. It will root within a week or two and begin sprouting new leaves. During this rooting period, spray the cutting, in its pot, with a fine mist to keep it moist. Allow the plant to grow to a sufficient size before you start snipping. Snipping will then encourage new branches. Continue Reading »
|
|
