Your garden can be a manifestation of your own creativity. It is no longer a place where you plant fruits and vegetables. If you would like to add a little more life and enhance the look of your garden opt for interesting garden designs.
Before you go ahead with some garden designs, you may like to keep some guidelines in mind to for better synchrony of your surroundings:
The Golden Rule
The key to innovative garden designs is a simple rule. THINK BEFORE YOU PLANT. Plan your garden in sync with the look of your house to make a cohesive unit that is in harmony with each other.
Discover The Purpose
Prior to finalizing your garden designs, you may like to consider how the garden would be used. Would you like to enhance the view of the house or would you like to entertain guests? Would little children be comfortable playing in your garden or would senior citizens love taking a walk there? Would your garden occupy private space or would it be in public view? It would really help if you finalized the main purpose of your garden, and then proceeded to design it.
Landscape Matters
Opt for garden designs that compliment the landscape and the house. It is important to remember that the house is the most important part of the landscape and the garden needs to be designed in harmony with the house and the surroundings. Then the different elements of the house and the garden can connect better to provide an interesting style to the house and the landscape.
Choose Your Garden
You have a choice of formal, a semi formal or natural garden designs. A formal garden has the plants and shrubs arranged symmetrically around two axis, which provide a cross with the pool or a gazebo at the center. These gardens are usually adorned with evergreens, hedges or walls and have a hard surface terrace. A semi-formal garden also works on the same axial plan as the formal one; however the garden designs are a little less rigid. In many instances, the hard surface terrace is replaced by grass or evergreen shrubs. Besides, you may also see flowers, vegetables or herbs spilling out of the beds.
Natural garden designs follow the intrinsic landscape. They usually meander around the surroundings and have a casual or softer look. The architectural style of the house, the budget and the personal preference of the owner may eventually decide upon the design of the garden.
Create A Theme
Most garden designs are usually creations of the owners or the gardeners mind, and you have a range of themes to choose from. Let your creativity decide the theme; just make sure that it compliments the overall landscape and the style of the house and garden.
Play With Colors
Colors play a very important role in garden designs. With practice and experimentation you will be able to understand the essence of combining colors. However, you may begin by referring to the color wheel, where colors are arranged according to their relationships with each other. Most color wheels contain 12 colors only, but you may be able to color coordinate the plants and flowers better a violet-red to red to orange-red, in the same order as they appear in the color wheel. Move Around.
Garden designs should be able to accommodate free movement. Designing walkways, pathways or driveways are very important aspects. To make the view of the garden interesting, you can expose vistas that would make a pleasant view. This may encourage visitors to get off the path or driveway and take a closer look at the garden.
Drainage
Drainage is another important factor in garden designs. A sound drainage system will ensure hygiene and maintain overall garden health. On the other hand an unsound drainage system will destroy your garden.
If you are not happy with your existing garden design, follow these guidelines and spice up your view! Add your imagination and creativity to these simple guidelines and create garden designs that will make you proud.
Get all of the latest in garden design know how from the one and only true gardening resource at http://www.gardendesignadvice.com/ Be sure to check out our garden design pages on our web site.
Tuesday, 1 June 2010
Friday, 28 May 2010
Green Tongues – Quotes about Gardening
From the gardener who tends a single geranium in her windowsill, to the one who supplies bountiful bouquets of roses to floral shops, many people have spoken many words about the art and skill and benefits of gardening. Let's listen in to some of their voices, historical and contemporary, for in them we may discover the gardener deep within the soil of our soul:
Gardening gives one back a sense of proportion about everything - except itself. ~May Sarton, Plant Dreaming Deep, 1968.
The most noteworthy thing about gardeners is that they are always optimistic, always enterprising, and never satisfied. They always look forward to doing something better than they have ever done before.--Vita Sackville-West, 1892 - 1962.
My green thumb came only as a result of the mistakes I made while learning to see things from the plant's point of view. ~H. Fred Ale.
I have found, through years of practice, that people garden in order to make something grow; to interact with nature; to share, to find sanctuary, to heal, to honor the earth, to leave a mark. Through gardening, we feel whole as we make our personal work of art upon our land.--Julie Moir Messervy, The Inward Garden, 1995, p.19.
Gardening requires lots of water - most of it in the form of perspiration. ~Lou Erickson.
As the biocentric view suggests, the garden prospers when control is balanced by equal measures of humility and benevolence. A balance is struck. Control, servitude, respect, imagination, pragmatism, an ecological conscience, compliance, and a certain measure of mysticism and altruism all meld together to provide nurturance. Try to separate the various aspects into their constituent parts - grant any one of them the status of fundamental gardening definition and one soon skews the entire process. Put them back together again in the service of the two-way street called nurturance, and we express the state of grace called gardening.--Jim Nollman, Why We Garden: Cultivating a Sense of Place, 1994, p. 106.
There can be no other occupation like gardening in which, if you were to creep up behind someone at their work, you would find them smiling. ~Mirabel Osler.
The home gardener is part scientist, part artist, part philosopher, part plowman.
He modifies the climate around his home.--John R. Whiting.
Gardening is a matter of your enthusiasm holding up until your back gets used to it.--Unknown.
Gardening is an exercise in optimism. Sometimes, it is a triumph of hope over experience.--Marina Schinz.
The best place to seek God is in a garden. You can dig for him there. ~George Bernard Shaw, The Adventures of the Black Girl in Her Search for God, 1932.
Science, or para-science, tells us that geraniums bloom better if they are spoken to. But a kind word every now and then is really quite enough. Too much attention, like too much feeding, and weeding and hoeing, inhibits and embarrasses them. ~Victoria Glendinning.
In gardens, beauty is a by-product. The main business is sex and death. ~Sam Llewelyn.
The greatest gift of the garden is the restoration of the five senses. ~Hanna Rion.
In my garden there is a large place for sentiment. My garden of flowers is also my garden of thoughts and dreams. The thoughts grow as freely as the flowers, and the dreams are as beautiful. ~Abram L. Urban.
It is good to be alone in a garden at dawn or dark so that all its shy presences may haunt you and possess you in a reverie of suspended thought. ~James Douglas, Down Shoe Lane.
Weather means more when you have a garden. There's nothing like listening to a shower and thinking how it is soaking in around your green beans. ~Marcelene Cox.
God made rainy days so gardeners could get the housework done. ~Unknown.
I used to visit and revisit it a dozen times a day, and stand in deep contemplation over my vegetable progeny with a love that nobody could share or conceive of who had never taken part in the process of creation. It was one of the most bewitching sights in the world to observe a hill of beans thrusting aside the soil, or a rose of early peas just peeping forth sufficiently to trace a line of delicate green. ~Nathaniel Hawthorne, Mosses from and Old Manse.
Don't wear perfume in the garden - unless you want to be pollinated by bees. ~Anne Raver.
Take thy plastic spade,
It is thy pencil; take thy seeds, thy plants,
They are thy colours.~William Mason, The English Garden, 1782.
It is a golden maxim to cultivate the garden for the nose, and the eyes will take care of themselves. ~Robert Louis Stevenson.
Gardening is about enjoying the smell of things growing in the soil, getting dirty without feeling guilty, and generally taking the time to soak up a little peace and serenity. ~Lindley Karstens, noproblemgarden.com.
I know that if odour were visible, as colour is,
I'd see the summer garden in rainbow clouds.~Robert Bridges, "Testament of Beauty".
Unemployment is capitalism's way of getting you to plant a garden. ~Orson Scott Card.
How fair is a garden amid the trials and passions of existence. ~Benjamin Disraeli.
Our England is a garden, and such gardens are not made
By singing: -"Oh, how beautiful!" and sitting in the shade. ~Rudyard Kipling, "The Glory of the Garden".
You can bury a lot of troubles digging in the dirt. ~Unknown.
Garden writing is often very tame, a real waste when you think how opinionated, inquisitive, irreverent and lascivious gardeners themselves tend to be. Nobody talks much about the muscular limbs, dark, swollen buds, strip-tease trees and unholy beauty that have made us all slaves of the Goddess Flora. ~Ketzel Levine's talkingplants.com.
On every stem, on every leaf,... and at the root of everything that grew, was a professional specialist in the shape of grub, caterpillar, aphis, or other expert, whose business it was to devour that particular part. ~Oliver Wendell Holmes.
Half the interest of a garden is the constant exercise of the imagination. ~Mrs. C.W. Earle, Pot-Pourri from a Surrey Garden, 1897.
No two gardens are the same. No two days are the same in one garden. ~Hugh Johnson.
We have descended into the garden and caught three hundred slugs. How I love the mixture of the beautiful and the squalid in gardening. It makes it so lifelike. ~Evelyn Underhill, Letters.
I think that if ever a mortal heard the voice of God it would be in a garden at the cool of the day. ~F. Frankfort Moore, A Garden of Peace.
Last night, there came a frost, which has done great damage to my garden.... It is sad that Nature will play such tricks on us poor mortals, inviting us with sunny smiles to confide in her, and then, when we are entirely within her power, striking us to the heart. ~Nathaniel Hawthorne, The American Notebooks.
Despite the gardener's best intentions, Nature will improvise. ~Michael P. Garafalo, gardendigest.com.
Many things grow in the garden that were never sown there. ~Thomas Fuller, Gnomologia, 1732.
In order to live off a garden, you practically have to live in it. ~Frank McKinney Hubbard.
Give me odorous at sunrise a garden of beautiful flowers where I can walk undisturbed. ~Walt Whitman.
Gardens always mean something else, man absolutely uses one thing to say another. ~Robert Harbison, Eccentric Spaces, 1977.
Gardens... should be like lovely, well-shaped girls: all curves, secret corners, unexpected deviations, seductive surprises and then still more curves. ~H.E. Bates, A Love of Flowers.
I never had any other desire so strong, and so like to covetousness, as that one which I have had always, that I might be master at last of a small house and a large Garden. ~Abraham Cowley, The Garden, 1666.
One of the most delightful things about a garden is the anticipation it provides. ~W.E. Johns, The Passing Show.
Earth is here so kind, that just tickle her with a hoe and she laughs with a harvest. ~Douglas William Jerrold, about Australia, A Land of Plenty.
I have never had so many good ideas day after day as when I worked in the garden. ~John Erskine.
Green fingers are the extension of a verdant heart. ~Russell Page.
There is no gardening without humility. Nature is constantly sending even its oldest scholars to the bottom of the class for some egregious blunder. ~Alfred Austin.
It is utterly forbidden to be half-hearted about gardening. You have got to love your garden whether you like it or not. ~W.C. Sellar & R.J. Yeatman, Garden Rubbish, 1936.
A garden was the primitive prison, till man with Promethean felicity and boldness, luckily sinned himself out of it. ~Charles Lamb, 1830.
Let no one think that real gardening is a bucolic and meditative occupation. It is an insatiable passion, like everything else to which a man gives his heart. ~Karel Čapek, The Gardener's Year, translated by M. and R. Weatherall, 1931.
Most people who possess anything like an acre, or half of it, contribute weekly to the support of a gentleman known as Jobbing Gardener. You are warned of the danger that he may prove to be Garden Pest no 1. ~C.E. Lucas-Phillips, The New Small Garden.
Tomatoes and squash never fail to reach maturity. You can spray them with acid, beat them with sticks and burn them; they love it. ~S.J. Perelman, Acres and Pains, 1951.
I appreciate the misunderstanding I have had with Nature over my perennial border. I think it is a flower garden; she thinks it is a meadow lacking grass, and tries to correct the error. ~Sara Stein, My Weeds, 1988.
It takes a while to grasp that not all failures are self-imposed, the result of ignorance, carelessness or inexperience. It takes a while to grasp that a garden isn't a testing ground for character and to stop asking, what did I do wrong? Maybe nothing. ~Eleanor Perényi, Green Thoughts, 1981.
The kiss of the sun for pardon,
The song of the birds for mirth,
One is nearer God's heart in a garden
Than anywhere else on earth.~Dorothy Frances Gurney, "Garden Thoughts".
I don't think we'll ever know all there is to know about gardening, and I'm just as glad
there will always be some magic about it!--Barbara Damrosc.h
Gardening is civil and social, but it wants the vigor and freedom of the forest and the outlaw. ~Henry David Thoreau.
It is always exciting to open the door and go out into the garden for the first time on any day.--Marion Cran.
Gardening is a kind of disease. It infects you, you cannot escape it. When you go visiting, your eyes rove about the garden; you interrupt the serious cocktail drinking because of an irresistible impulse to get up and pull a weed. ~Lewis Gannit.
Gardening is any way that humans and nature come together with the intent of creating beauty.--Tina James, 1999.
When you have done your best for a flower, and it fails, you have some reason to be aggrieved. ~Frank Swinnerton.
Show me your garden and I shall tell you what you are.--Alfred Austin.
A garden really lives only insofar as it is an expression of faith, the embodiment of a hope and a song of praise.--Russell Page, The Education of a Gardener, 1962.
The best fertilizer is the gardener's shadow. ~Unknown.
Gardening is a labour full of tranquility and satisfaction; natural and instructive, and as such contributes to the most serious contemplation, experience, health and longevity.--John Evelyn, 1666.
By the time one is eighty, it is said, there is no longer a tug of war in the garden with the May flowers hauling like mad against the claims of the other months. All is at last in balance and all is serene. The gardener is usually dead, of course. ~Henry Mitchell, The Essential Earthman, 1981.
What a man needs in gardening is a cast-iron back, with a hinge in it. ~Charles Dudley Warner, My Summer in a Garden, 1871.
Gardening is the art that uses flowers and plants as paint, and the soil and sky as canvas.
--Elizabeth Murray.
Copyright © 2006, Ian White Access 2000 Pty Ltd
Author Ian White is founder of Housecarers House Sitting Directory. Find a live-in house sitter to care for your home, garden and pets while you are away =>http://www.housecarers.com
Gardening gives one back a sense of proportion about everything - except itself. ~May Sarton, Plant Dreaming Deep, 1968.
The most noteworthy thing about gardeners is that they are always optimistic, always enterprising, and never satisfied. They always look forward to doing something better than they have ever done before.--Vita Sackville-West, 1892 - 1962.
My green thumb came only as a result of the mistakes I made while learning to see things from the plant's point of view. ~H. Fred Ale.
I have found, through years of practice, that people garden in order to make something grow; to interact with nature; to share, to find sanctuary, to heal, to honor the earth, to leave a mark. Through gardening, we feel whole as we make our personal work of art upon our land.--Julie Moir Messervy, The Inward Garden, 1995, p.19.
Gardening requires lots of water - most of it in the form of perspiration. ~Lou Erickson.
As the biocentric view suggests, the garden prospers when control is balanced by equal measures of humility and benevolence. A balance is struck. Control, servitude, respect, imagination, pragmatism, an ecological conscience, compliance, and a certain measure of mysticism and altruism all meld together to provide nurturance. Try to separate the various aspects into their constituent parts - grant any one of them the status of fundamental gardening definition and one soon skews the entire process. Put them back together again in the service of the two-way street called nurturance, and we express the state of grace called gardening.--Jim Nollman, Why We Garden: Cultivating a Sense of Place, 1994, p. 106.
There can be no other occupation like gardening in which, if you were to creep up behind someone at their work, you would find them smiling. ~Mirabel Osler.
The home gardener is part scientist, part artist, part philosopher, part plowman.
He modifies the climate around his home.--John R. Whiting.
Gardening is a matter of your enthusiasm holding up until your back gets used to it.--Unknown.
Gardening is an exercise in optimism. Sometimes, it is a triumph of hope over experience.--Marina Schinz.
The best place to seek God is in a garden. You can dig for him there. ~George Bernard Shaw, The Adventures of the Black Girl in Her Search for God, 1932.
Science, or para-science, tells us that geraniums bloom better if they are spoken to. But a kind word every now and then is really quite enough. Too much attention, like too much feeding, and weeding and hoeing, inhibits and embarrasses them. ~Victoria Glendinning.
In gardens, beauty is a by-product. The main business is sex and death. ~Sam Llewelyn.
The greatest gift of the garden is the restoration of the five senses. ~Hanna Rion.
In my garden there is a large place for sentiment. My garden of flowers is also my garden of thoughts and dreams. The thoughts grow as freely as the flowers, and the dreams are as beautiful. ~Abram L. Urban.
It is good to be alone in a garden at dawn or dark so that all its shy presences may haunt you and possess you in a reverie of suspended thought. ~James Douglas, Down Shoe Lane.
Weather means more when you have a garden. There's nothing like listening to a shower and thinking how it is soaking in around your green beans. ~Marcelene Cox.
God made rainy days so gardeners could get the housework done. ~Unknown.
I used to visit and revisit it a dozen times a day, and stand in deep contemplation over my vegetable progeny with a love that nobody could share or conceive of who had never taken part in the process of creation. It was one of the most bewitching sights in the world to observe a hill of beans thrusting aside the soil, or a rose of early peas just peeping forth sufficiently to trace a line of delicate green. ~Nathaniel Hawthorne, Mosses from and Old Manse.
Don't wear perfume in the garden - unless you want to be pollinated by bees. ~Anne Raver.
Take thy plastic spade,
It is thy pencil; take thy seeds, thy plants,
They are thy colours.~William Mason, The English Garden, 1782.
It is a golden maxim to cultivate the garden for the nose, and the eyes will take care of themselves. ~Robert Louis Stevenson.
Gardening is about enjoying the smell of things growing in the soil, getting dirty without feeling guilty, and generally taking the time to soak up a little peace and serenity. ~Lindley Karstens, noproblemgarden.com.
I know that if odour were visible, as colour is,
I'd see the summer garden in rainbow clouds.~Robert Bridges, "Testament of Beauty".
Unemployment is capitalism's way of getting you to plant a garden. ~Orson Scott Card.
How fair is a garden amid the trials and passions of existence. ~Benjamin Disraeli.
Our England is a garden, and such gardens are not made
By singing: -"Oh, how beautiful!" and sitting in the shade. ~Rudyard Kipling, "The Glory of the Garden".
You can bury a lot of troubles digging in the dirt. ~Unknown.
Garden writing is often very tame, a real waste when you think how opinionated, inquisitive, irreverent and lascivious gardeners themselves tend to be. Nobody talks much about the muscular limbs, dark, swollen buds, strip-tease trees and unholy beauty that have made us all slaves of the Goddess Flora. ~Ketzel Levine's talkingplants.com.
On every stem, on every leaf,... and at the root of everything that grew, was a professional specialist in the shape of grub, caterpillar, aphis, or other expert, whose business it was to devour that particular part. ~Oliver Wendell Holmes.
Half the interest of a garden is the constant exercise of the imagination. ~Mrs. C.W. Earle, Pot-Pourri from a Surrey Garden, 1897.
No two gardens are the same. No two days are the same in one garden. ~Hugh Johnson.
We have descended into the garden and caught three hundred slugs. How I love the mixture of the beautiful and the squalid in gardening. It makes it so lifelike. ~Evelyn Underhill, Letters.
I think that if ever a mortal heard the voice of God it would be in a garden at the cool of the day. ~F. Frankfort Moore, A Garden of Peace.
Last night, there came a frost, which has done great damage to my garden.... It is sad that Nature will play such tricks on us poor mortals, inviting us with sunny smiles to confide in her, and then, when we are entirely within her power, striking us to the heart. ~Nathaniel Hawthorne, The American Notebooks.
Despite the gardener's best intentions, Nature will improvise. ~Michael P. Garafalo, gardendigest.com.
Many things grow in the garden that were never sown there. ~Thomas Fuller, Gnomologia, 1732.
In order to live off a garden, you practically have to live in it. ~Frank McKinney Hubbard.
Give me odorous at sunrise a garden of beautiful flowers where I can walk undisturbed. ~Walt Whitman.
Gardens always mean something else, man absolutely uses one thing to say another. ~Robert Harbison, Eccentric Spaces, 1977.
Gardens... should be like lovely, well-shaped girls: all curves, secret corners, unexpected deviations, seductive surprises and then still more curves. ~H.E. Bates, A Love of Flowers.
I never had any other desire so strong, and so like to covetousness, as that one which I have had always, that I might be master at last of a small house and a large Garden. ~Abraham Cowley, The Garden, 1666.
One of the most delightful things about a garden is the anticipation it provides. ~W.E. Johns, The Passing Show.
Earth is here so kind, that just tickle her with a hoe and she laughs with a harvest. ~Douglas William Jerrold, about Australia, A Land of Plenty.
I have never had so many good ideas day after day as when I worked in the garden. ~John Erskine.
Green fingers are the extension of a verdant heart. ~Russell Page.
There is no gardening without humility. Nature is constantly sending even its oldest scholars to the bottom of the class for some egregious blunder. ~Alfred Austin.
It is utterly forbidden to be half-hearted about gardening. You have got to love your garden whether you like it or not. ~W.C. Sellar & R.J. Yeatman, Garden Rubbish, 1936.
A garden was the primitive prison, till man with Promethean felicity and boldness, luckily sinned himself out of it. ~Charles Lamb, 1830.
Let no one think that real gardening is a bucolic and meditative occupation. It is an insatiable passion, like everything else to which a man gives his heart. ~Karel Čapek, The Gardener's Year, translated by M. and R. Weatherall, 1931.
Most people who possess anything like an acre, or half of it, contribute weekly to the support of a gentleman known as Jobbing Gardener. You are warned of the danger that he may prove to be Garden Pest no 1. ~C.E. Lucas-Phillips, The New Small Garden.
Tomatoes and squash never fail to reach maturity. You can spray them with acid, beat them with sticks and burn them; they love it. ~S.J. Perelman, Acres and Pains, 1951.
I appreciate the misunderstanding I have had with Nature over my perennial border. I think it is a flower garden; she thinks it is a meadow lacking grass, and tries to correct the error. ~Sara Stein, My Weeds, 1988.
It takes a while to grasp that not all failures are self-imposed, the result of ignorance, carelessness or inexperience. It takes a while to grasp that a garden isn't a testing ground for character and to stop asking, what did I do wrong? Maybe nothing. ~Eleanor Perényi, Green Thoughts, 1981.
The kiss of the sun for pardon,
The song of the birds for mirth,
One is nearer God's heart in a garden
Than anywhere else on earth.~Dorothy Frances Gurney, "Garden Thoughts".
I don't think we'll ever know all there is to know about gardening, and I'm just as glad
there will always be some magic about it!--Barbara Damrosc.h
Gardening is civil and social, but it wants the vigor and freedom of the forest and the outlaw. ~Henry David Thoreau.
It is always exciting to open the door and go out into the garden for the first time on any day.--Marion Cran.
Gardening is a kind of disease. It infects you, you cannot escape it. When you go visiting, your eyes rove about the garden; you interrupt the serious cocktail drinking because of an irresistible impulse to get up and pull a weed. ~Lewis Gannit.
Gardening is any way that humans and nature come together with the intent of creating beauty.--Tina James, 1999.
When you have done your best for a flower, and it fails, you have some reason to be aggrieved. ~Frank Swinnerton.
Show me your garden and I shall tell you what you are.--Alfred Austin.
A garden really lives only insofar as it is an expression of faith, the embodiment of a hope and a song of praise.--Russell Page, The Education of a Gardener, 1962.
The best fertilizer is the gardener's shadow. ~Unknown.
Gardening is a labour full of tranquility and satisfaction; natural and instructive, and as such contributes to the most serious contemplation, experience, health and longevity.--John Evelyn, 1666.
By the time one is eighty, it is said, there is no longer a tug of war in the garden with the May flowers hauling like mad against the claims of the other months. All is at last in balance and all is serene. The gardener is usually dead, of course. ~Henry Mitchell, The Essential Earthman, 1981.
What a man needs in gardening is a cast-iron back, with a hinge in it. ~Charles Dudley Warner, My Summer in a Garden, 1871.
Gardening is the art that uses flowers and plants as paint, and the soil and sky as canvas.
--Elizabeth Murray.
Copyright © 2006, Ian White Access 2000 Pty Ltd
Author Ian White is founder of Housecarers House Sitting Directory. Find a live-in house sitter to care for your home, garden and pets while you are away =>http://www.housecarers.com
Wednesday, 26 May 2010
Creating Ambiance With Gardens
During his 40-year career as a garden writer and photographer, Derek Fell has designed numerous garden spaces, many involving his wife Carolyn. The best example of their work can be seen at their home, historic Cedaridge Farm, in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. There, they have designed more than twenty theme areas, including shade gardens, sunny perennial borders, tapestry gardens involving trees and shrubs, a cottage garden, herb garden, cutting garden and an ambitious water garden.
Derek worked as a consultant on garden design to the White House during the Gerald Ford Administration. Derek designed Ford's 'Win' garden, following his 'Win Speech', advising the nation ten ways to fight inflation.
Many garden designs by Derek Fell have been implemented without inspecting the site. The great late architect Frank Lloyd Wright designed beautiful homes for his clients, entirely from photographs without the need for a site inspection.
Fell's garden spaces have been featured in newspapers, magazines, books and also on television, including Architectural Digest, Gardens Illustrated, The Garden (the magazine of the Royal Horticultural Society), Country Gardens, HGTV, QVC and PBS.
Derek has authored more than sixty books and garden calendars, including 550 Home Landscaping Ideas (Simon & Schuster), The Encyclopedia of Garden Design (Firefly Books), The Complete Garden Planning Manual (Friedman), Garden Accents (Henry Holt) and Home Landscaping (Simon & Schuster).
Curb appeal and ambiance are important to brighten up your propoerty or prepare it for sale. Feel free to ask Derek any garden related questions regardless of how big or small.
SOME GARDEN TYPES
Water Garden. Water is the music of nature. It can be tricked over stones, cascaded from a great height so its crashes onto rocks. It can fall in a solid sheet or as silver threads. A beautiful water garden with waterfalls and stepping stones can be located in sunlight or shade. The water garden shown here is located at Cedaridge Farm. It includes a pool for dipping, and it features both a collection of koi and hardy water lilies. A popular water garden design features a koi pool fed by a series of waterfalls, and the water re-circulated through filters to keep the water clear.
Sunny Perennial Border. This can be formal or informal, square, rectangular, round and kidney shaped, in the form of an island bed or backed against a decorative hedge, wall or fence. Plants can be chosen to produce a parade of color through all the seasons, or concentrated for a particular season. Color themes can be polychromatic like a rainbow, monochromatic (for example all white - perfect for a wedding), or it can feature an Impressionist color harmony, such as yellow and purple; orange and blue; red, pink and silver; blue, pink and white; even black and white or black and orange (one of Monet's favorites). A popular perennial garden design is two parallel border with a grass path leading to a focal point such as a sculpture or gazebo.
Tropical Garden. You do not need to live in a frost-free area to have a beautiful tropical garden. At Cedaridge Farm we have two - one is a tribute to the design philosophy of the late Roberto Burle Marx, who designed dramatic tropical gardens around Rio. It is in a lightly shaded area and features plants that are hardy (like 'Sum & Substance' hosta) but look tropical and tender plants that are tender (like banana trees and tree ferns) that either need moving indoors during winter or can be discarded like annuals at the end of the season. Our second tropical space is a patio with tropical plants grown in containers.
Shade Gardens. We design two kinds of shade gardens - one where the plants provide mostly foliage interest (like ferns, hostas, heuchera and hakone grass), and plants that flower well (like impatiens, coleus, and lilies), or a combination of the two.
Woodland Garden. Whether you have existing woodland or you need to create a woodland from scratch, the result can be sensational. Decide whether you want deciduous trees that provide fall color or evergreens that stay green all winter, or a mixture. At Cedaridge we made a 'cathedral' garden where the existing trees are trimmed high so the trunks look like the columns of a cathedral, and the branches arch out to meet overhead like the vaulted ceiling of a cathedral. Below, we provide two more layers of interest, at ground level and the under-story.
Vegetable Garden. We can design you an easy-care garden of raised beds where vegetables are planted in blocks or an edible landscape where edibles are grown for ornamental effect. We can provide the plan for a garden that was approved for the White house during the Ford Administration where Derek Fell worked as a garden consultant. Derek Fell's book, "Vegetables - How to Select, Grow & Enjoy", won a best book award from the Garden Writers Association.
Herb Garden. The herb garden at Cedaridge Farm is a 'quadrant design', feature in numerous calendars and books, including Derek Fell's 'Herb Gardening for Beginners.' We can also provide a cartwheel design or a parterre herb garden for bountiful harvests of fresh herbs. The Herb Garden can also do double-duty as a vegetable garden.
Cutting Garden. The cutting garden at Cedaridge Farm features bulbs such as tulips and daffodils for spring, and ever-blooming annuals to follow the bulbs so armloads of flowers can be harvested from April through October.
Victorian Garden. A garden with romantic overtones! Imagine a white gazebo framed by mostly white flowers for a wedding in the family. Or choose from among several color harmonies, such as yellow and blue, red, pink and silver, or blue, pink and white.
Cottage Garden. You don't need a cottage to have a cottage garden. But if you do, such as a guest cottage, why not wrap it in shrub roses and climbers, plus those delightful English cottage garden plants like poppies, sunflowers and pinks. We also like to include plants to attract butterflies and hummingbirds.
Stream Garden. Lucky you if you have an existing stream to be landscaped. At Cedaridge Farm we have a stream, but when we moved here it was overgrown with poison ivy and brambles. Today it is criss-crossed with bridges, and beds of moisture-loving plants like astilbe and water iris. If you don't have a stream, but would like one, we can create a design where the water is re-circulated along one that's man-made but looks natural.
Orchard. You don't need a lot of space for a productive orchard. By making the right choices, fruit trees can be grown in containers or espaliered against fences and walls to save space. Peaches and apples can be trained over arbors. Just a few plants of small fruits like strawberries and raspberries can be highly productive.
Bog Garden. Ideal for soils that tend to remain moist all season, bog gardens can be extremely colorful and highly imaginative, incorporating stepping stones and bridges to cross wet areas, and growing some of nature's most diverse plant families, such as water iris, Japanese primroses, astilbe and waterlilies.
Japanese Garden. The problem with many Japanese gardens is a tendency to use pseudo-Japanese elements such as Chinese dragons. Derek Fell has twice traveled to Japan, has written award-winning articles about Japanese garden design, and has the experience to design authentic-looking spaces in the Japanese tradition using elements of Zen or Feng Shui, or a combination of the two disciplines to create a magical space.
Italian Garden. Although Italian gardens can be highly ostentatious, requiring steep slopes to achieve the best effect, like the Villa d'Este, near Rome, small spaces can achieve the aura of an Italian garden. Derek Fell has not only visited some of the finest Italian Gardens, such as La Mortola on the Italian coast, and Boboli overlooking Florence, he has toured and photographed the Vatican Gardens.
French Formal Garden. The elaborate style of Versailles Palace and Vaux le Vicompte, may be beyond your means, but elements of French garden design, such as a parterre garden, can be incorporated in small spaces.
Monet's Garden. This beautiful artist's garden north of Paris contains more than a hundred special planting ideas to create what Monet considered his greatest work of art. Moreover, his planting ideas have undoubtedly inspired more new garden design than any other garden. Monet's arched bridge, his waterlily pond, his arches leading to the entrance of his house, and his color harmonies are just some examples of Monet's innovation that people today like to emulate.
Tapestry Garden (Trees & Shrubs). The great French Impressionist artist, Paul Cezanne's garden, in Provence, is composed mostly of trees and shrubs, not only as a labor saving device, but to provide a tapestry of color from leaf colors, leaf texture and leaf shapes. What could be more appealing than to look out of a window of your home at a rich foliage panorama, including all shades of green from light green to dark-green, plus blue, silver, gold, bronze?
Hillside Garden. Even dry hillsides can make beautiful rock gardens, with paths twisting and turning in a zig-zag to create a visual adventure from the top of the slope to the bottom. They can be terraced and threaded with streams to create waterfalls and planted with some of nature's most beautiful plant forms. Bridges, benches and belvedere are some of the structural elements that can add interest to a hillside.
Please visit http://www.derekfell.com to learn more or contact Derek directly.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Derek_Fell
Derek worked as a consultant on garden design to the White House during the Gerald Ford Administration. Derek designed Ford's 'Win' garden, following his 'Win Speech', advising the nation ten ways to fight inflation.
Many garden designs by Derek Fell have been implemented without inspecting the site. The great late architect Frank Lloyd Wright designed beautiful homes for his clients, entirely from photographs without the need for a site inspection.
Fell's garden spaces have been featured in newspapers, magazines, books and also on television, including Architectural Digest, Gardens Illustrated, The Garden (the magazine of the Royal Horticultural Society), Country Gardens, HGTV, QVC and PBS.
Derek has authored more than sixty books and garden calendars, including 550 Home Landscaping Ideas (Simon & Schuster), The Encyclopedia of Garden Design (Firefly Books), The Complete Garden Planning Manual (Friedman), Garden Accents (Henry Holt) and Home Landscaping (Simon & Schuster).
Curb appeal and ambiance are important to brighten up your propoerty or prepare it for sale. Feel free to ask Derek any garden related questions regardless of how big or small.
SOME GARDEN TYPES
Water Garden. Water is the music of nature. It can be tricked over stones, cascaded from a great height so its crashes onto rocks. It can fall in a solid sheet or as silver threads. A beautiful water garden with waterfalls and stepping stones can be located in sunlight or shade. The water garden shown here is located at Cedaridge Farm. It includes a pool for dipping, and it features both a collection of koi and hardy water lilies. A popular water garden design features a koi pool fed by a series of waterfalls, and the water re-circulated through filters to keep the water clear.
Sunny Perennial Border. This can be formal or informal, square, rectangular, round and kidney shaped, in the form of an island bed or backed against a decorative hedge, wall or fence. Plants can be chosen to produce a parade of color through all the seasons, or concentrated for a particular season. Color themes can be polychromatic like a rainbow, monochromatic (for example all white - perfect for a wedding), or it can feature an Impressionist color harmony, such as yellow and purple; orange and blue; red, pink and silver; blue, pink and white; even black and white or black and orange (one of Monet's favorites). A popular perennial garden design is two parallel border with a grass path leading to a focal point such as a sculpture or gazebo.
Tropical Garden. You do not need to live in a frost-free area to have a beautiful tropical garden. At Cedaridge Farm we have two - one is a tribute to the design philosophy of the late Roberto Burle Marx, who designed dramatic tropical gardens around Rio. It is in a lightly shaded area and features plants that are hardy (like 'Sum & Substance' hosta) but look tropical and tender plants that are tender (like banana trees and tree ferns) that either need moving indoors during winter or can be discarded like annuals at the end of the season. Our second tropical space is a patio with tropical plants grown in containers.
Shade Gardens. We design two kinds of shade gardens - one where the plants provide mostly foliage interest (like ferns, hostas, heuchera and hakone grass), and plants that flower well (like impatiens, coleus, and lilies), or a combination of the two.
Woodland Garden. Whether you have existing woodland or you need to create a woodland from scratch, the result can be sensational. Decide whether you want deciduous trees that provide fall color or evergreens that stay green all winter, or a mixture. At Cedaridge we made a 'cathedral' garden where the existing trees are trimmed high so the trunks look like the columns of a cathedral, and the branches arch out to meet overhead like the vaulted ceiling of a cathedral. Below, we provide two more layers of interest, at ground level and the under-story.
Vegetable Garden. We can design you an easy-care garden of raised beds where vegetables are planted in blocks or an edible landscape where edibles are grown for ornamental effect. We can provide the plan for a garden that was approved for the White house during the Ford Administration where Derek Fell worked as a garden consultant. Derek Fell's book, "Vegetables - How to Select, Grow & Enjoy", won a best book award from the Garden Writers Association.
Herb Garden. The herb garden at Cedaridge Farm is a 'quadrant design', feature in numerous calendars and books, including Derek Fell's 'Herb Gardening for Beginners.' We can also provide a cartwheel design or a parterre herb garden for bountiful harvests of fresh herbs. The Herb Garden can also do double-duty as a vegetable garden.
Cutting Garden. The cutting garden at Cedaridge Farm features bulbs such as tulips and daffodils for spring, and ever-blooming annuals to follow the bulbs so armloads of flowers can be harvested from April through October.
Victorian Garden. A garden with romantic overtones! Imagine a white gazebo framed by mostly white flowers for a wedding in the family. Or choose from among several color harmonies, such as yellow and blue, red, pink and silver, or blue, pink and white.
Cottage Garden. You don't need a cottage to have a cottage garden. But if you do, such as a guest cottage, why not wrap it in shrub roses and climbers, plus those delightful English cottage garden plants like poppies, sunflowers and pinks. We also like to include plants to attract butterflies and hummingbirds.
Stream Garden. Lucky you if you have an existing stream to be landscaped. At Cedaridge Farm we have a stream, but when we moved here it was overgrown with poison ivy and brambles. Today it is criss-crossed with bridges, and beds of moisture-loving plants like astilbe and water iris. If you don't have a stream, but would like one, we can create a design where the water is re-circulated along one that's man-made but looks natural.
Orchard. You don't need a lot of space for a productive orchard. By making the right choices, fruit trees can be grown in containers or espaliered against fences and walls to save space. Peaches and apples can be trained over arbors. Just a few plants of small fruits like strawberries and raspberries can be highly productive.
Bog Garden. Ideal for soils that tend to remain moist all season, bog gardens can be extremely colorful and highly imaginative, incorporating stepping stones and bridges to cross wet areas, and growing some of nature's most diverse plant families, such as water iris, Japanese primroses, astilbe and waterlilies.
Japanese Garden. The problem with many Japanese gardens is a tendency to use pseudo-Japanese elements such as Chinese dragons. Derek Fell has twice traveled to Japan, has written award-winning articles about Japanese garden design, and has the experience to design authentic-looking spaces in the Japanese tradition using elements of Zen or Feng Shui, or a combination of the two disciplines to create a magical space.
Italian Garden. Although Italian gardens can be highly ostentatious, requiring steep slopes to achieve the best effect, like the Villa d'Este, near Rome, small spaces can achieve the aura of an Italian garden. Derek Fell has not only visited some of the finest Italian Gardens, such as La Mortola on the Italian coast, and Boboli overlooking Florence, he has toured and photographed the Vatican Gardens.
French Formal Garden. The elaborate style of Versailles Palace and Vaux le Vicompte, may be beyond your means, but elements of French garden design, such as a parterre garden, can be incorporated in small spaces.
Monet's Garden. This beautiful artist's garden north of Paris contains more than a hundred special planting ideas to create what Monet considered his greatest work of art. Moreover, his planting ideas have undoubtedly inspired more new garden design than any other garden. Monet's arched bridge, his waterlily pond, his arches leading to the entrance of his house, and his color harmonies are just some examples of Monet's innovation that people today like to emulate.
Tapestry Garden (Trees & Shrubs). The great French Impressionist artist, Paul Cezanne's garden, in Provence, is composed mostly of trees and shrubs, not only as a labor saving device, but to provide a tapestry of color from leaf colors, leaf texture and leaf shapes. What could be more appealing than to look out of a window of your home at a rich foliage panorama, including all shades of green from light green to dark-green, plus blue, silver, gold, bronze?
Hillside Garden. Even dry hillsides can make beautiful rock gardens, with paths twisting and turning in a zig-zag to create a visual adventure from the top of the slope to the bottom. They can be terraced and threaded with streams to create waterfalls and planted with some of nature's most beautiful plant forms. Bridges, benches and belvedere are some of the structural elements that can add interest to a hillside.
Please visit http://www.derekfell.com to learn more or contact Derek directly.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Derek_Fell
Friday, 21 May 2010
A Few Gardening Tips For You
Below are some gardening tips that I feel are worth mentioning, and may possibly get you on your way to earning your green thumb. There are never to many gardening tips and I will just brush up on a few to get you started. I am sure if you do a search in Google for "gardening tips", you will have more at your disposal than you can ever ask for.
You could also try garden magazines and books and even gardening clubs. There is plenty of knowledge to go around. The list below will sum up tips on planning your plot, soil preparation, mulch, compost and the watering of the plot.
Garden Tip Number 1
Always plan out your garden before you start digging away at your yard. A good way to start is to take a long look at your garden a try to picture your finished product. Take into account the hight the plants can grow to, the sun spectrum, and the proximity to a water source. Once you see a place you like take a seat and start your gardening plot plan on paper. This way you can get more detailed and include things that you may forget otherwise. Make sure to include in your plans the proximity of your garden hose or garden hose reel and fixture.
Garden Tip 2
Possibly the most important tip of all is correct soil preparation and mixture. It is extremely important to use the non toxic soil nutrients when you are growing anything that you plan on eventually consuming.If you are growing vegetables in your garden then a homemade compost is by far the best fertilizer for your garden. The results will speak for themselves. It is not as hard as you think. Do some research and you would be surprised. If compost is not available the next option is mulch. If you are going to go with this rout, it is best to look for soft woods such as redwood or spruce. Softer woods have an easier time breaking down and spreading the nutrients to the soil in the bed. If you are not growing vegetables there are loads of fertilizers that can fit your project. Just go to your local nursery and they will lead you in the right direction. When you decide on your fertilizer, make sure everything is mixed well and aerated properly. A garden tiller can make this part of the job a lot easier but is not necessary.
Garden Tip 3
Once your plant area is picked out and the soil in properly spread in your garden, you can then start laying your plants in the pattern you thought up in your plans. Laying the plants out can give you a better picture of your end results. It is also best to arrange the plants from the largest growing in the back and decreasing toward the fron of the garden. You can group the plants together according to characteristics. This way you can get the most out of your area with all the plants getting the full benefit of the suns rays. This alone can make a huge difference.
Garden Tip 4
It is always best to use gardening sprinklers but this is not always possible for your first garden. If you cannot afford garden sprinkler you can still automate the garden with a hose attachment sprinkler.You can use timers that attach to the hose fixture and place the sprinkler wherever needed and this can make the watering automated also. You might still need to use the garden hose here and there. If you don't mind watering than a garden hose and garden hose reel setup can work nice and fulfill all the necessary watering you need.Another option is the drip irrigation systems although this will also cost you a little more.
Though the above tips are very important for the basics of your garden you can get a lot more from doing your own research on the internet search engine, ordering a book, or joining a garden club. Ordering a magazine or joining a club can help a lot as you get new informative tips every month. I hope the tips are helpful and wish you good luck on your green thumb quest. You will be there before you know it.
Simon Moris is a horticulture specialist with more than a decade experience. For more Gardening Tips visit his site at: http://www.ourgardensource.com/Gardening/Gardening-Tips.php
You could also try garden magazines and books and even gardening clubs. There is plenty of knowledge to go around. The list below will sum up tips on planning your plot, soil preparation, mulch, compost and the watering of the plot.
Garden Tip Number 1
Always plan out your garden before you start digging away at your yard. A good way to start is to take a long look at your garden a try to picture your finished product. Take into account the hight the plants can grow to, the sun spectrum, and the proximity to a water source. Once you see a place you like take a seat and start your gardening plot plan on paper. This way you can get more detailed and include things that you may forget otherwise. Make sure to include in your plans the proximity of your garden hose or garden hose reel and fixture.
Garden Tip 2
Possibly the most important tip of all is correct soil preparation and mixture. It is extremely important to use the non toxic soil nutrients when you are growing anything that you plan on eventually consuming.If you are growing vegetables in your garden then a homemade compost is by far the best fertilizer for your garden. The results will speak for themselves. It is not as hard as you think. Do some research and you would be surprised. If compost is not available the next option is mulch. If you are going to go with this rout, it is best to look for soft woods such as redwood or spruce. Softer woods have an easier time breaking down and spreading the nutrients to the soil in the bed. If you are not growing vegetables there are loads of fertilizers that can fit your project. Just go to your local nursery and they will lead you in the right direction. When you decide on your fertilizer, make sure everything is mixed well and aerated properly. A garden tiller can make this part of the job a lot easier but is not necessary.
Garden Tip 3
Once your plant area is picked out and the soil in properly spread in your garden, you can then start laying your plants in the pattern you thought up in your plans. Laying the plants out can give you a better picture of your end results. It is also best to arrange the plants from the largest growing in the back and decreasing toward the fron of the garden. You can group the plants together according to characteristics. This way you can get the most out of your area with all the plants getting the full benefit of the suns rays. This alone can make a huge difference.
Garden Tip 4
It is always best to use gardening sprinklers but this is not always possible for your first garden. If you cannot afford garden sprinkler you can still automate the garden with a hose attachment sprinkler.You can use timers that attach to the hose fixture and place the sprinkler wherever needed and this can make the watering automated also. You might still need to use the garden hose here and there. If you don't mind watering than a garden hose and garden hose reel setup can work nice and fulfill all the necessary watering you need.Another option is the drip irrigation systems although this will also cost you a little more.
Though the above tips are very important for the basics of your garden you can get a lot more from doing your own research on the internet search engine, ordering a book, or joining a garden club. Ordering a magazine or joining a club can help a lot as you get new informative tips every month. I hope the tips are helpful and wish you good luck on your green thumb quest. You will be there before you know it.
Simon Moris is a horticulture specialist with more than a decade experience. For more Gardening Tips visit his site at: http://www.ourgardensource.com/Gardening/Gardening-Tips.php
Friday, 14 May 2010
Tulip Divisions - Garden Tulips and Their Identities
Tulips are classified into 15 tulip groups or tulip divisions.
There are an enormous number of large-flowered hybrids and these are classified into 11 of these divisions, according to flowering time, plant shape, flower size and form.
Species and species hybrids make up the four remaining groups.
Let's look at each group!
Division 1 - Single early tulips
This tulip division flowers have rounded petals forming small deep cup-shaped single flowers, which sometimes open flat in full sun.
They flower in mid spring.
They grow to 25-60cm (10-24in) high
Their stems are thick so they can handle the wind and rain.
They are excellent used as bedding plants.
Some varieties can be forced indoors.
Popular Single Early tulips are 'Apricot Beauty' (apricot-pink), 'Bestseller' (copper-orange), 'Generaal de Wet' (golden-orange), and 'Ruby Red' (scarlet).
Division 2 - Double early tulips
These have large double flowers resembling peonies.
They flower in mid spring and are long-lasting.
They grow to 25-30cm (10-12in) high.
They are good for mass bedding layouts or containers.
They prefer a sheltered site.
Popular Double Early tulips are 'Electra' (cherry-red), 'Mr Van de Hoef' (golden-yellow), 'Oranje Nassau' (orange-red), 'Peach Blossom' (rose pink) and 'Schoonoord' (white).
Division 3 - Triumph tulips
These are sometimes referred to as Mid Season tulips in bulb catalogs.
They have large, single, angular flowers.
They flower in mid spring and are long-lasting.
They grow to 40-60cm (16-24in) high.
They can handle the wind and rain so can be used as bedding plants in exposed sites.
Popular varieties include 'Attila' (violet-purple), 'Bellona' (golden-yellow), 'Garden Party' (white and carmine-pink), 'Kees Nellis' (pink and yellow), 'White Dream' (white) and 'Orange Bouquet' (red-orange) which has several flowers on each stem.
Division 4- Darwin hybrids
These have large, round brilliantly colored flowers.
They flower in late spring.
They grow to 55-70cm (22-28in) high on strong stems.
Their colorful flowers make them ideal for the main focal point of a display.
Popular hybrids include 'Apeldoorn' (rich red), 'Big Chief' (pink with white), 'Elizabeth Arden' (salmon pink), 'Olympic Flame' (yellow and red) and 'Red Matador' (scarlet).
Click here to check out premium Dutch Tulips at Brecks
Division 5- Single late tulips
These are sometimes referred to as May flowering tulips.
They have squared-off, oval or egg shaped flowers.
They flower in late spring.
They grow to 65-80cm (26-32in) high.
These are usually used in bedding or border layouts.
Popular varieties include 'Avignon' (red), 'Golden Harvest' (lemon yellow), 'Queen of Bartigons' (salmon-pink), 'Queen of Night' (maroon black) and 'Sorbet' (white and red).
Division 6- Lily-flowered tulips
These have long single flowers with pointed petals, often curving out at the tips.
They flower in late spring.
They grow to 50-65cm (20-26in) high.
They prefer a sunny site.
Popular varieties include 'Aladdin' (crimson and yellow), 'China Pink' (soft pink), 'Maytime' ((mauve lilac with white edges), 'Red Shine' (deep red), 'West Point' (yellow) and 'White Triumphator' (white).
Division 7- Fringed tulips
These have flowers similar to those of the Single late group but with fringed petals.
They flower in late spring.
They grow to 55-80cm (22-32in) high.
Popular varieties include 'Arma' (cardinal-red), 'Burgundy Lace' (wine-red) and 'Fringed Beauty' (red and yellow).
Division 8 - Viridiflora
They are also known as Green tulips.
These are similar to the Single late tulips but the petals are partly green.
The flowers appear in late spring.
They grow to 23-60cm (9-24in) high.
Popular varieties include 'Artist' (apricot-pink and green), 'Golden Artist' (orange-yellow and green), 'Groenland' (green-edged rose) and 'Spring Green' (lemon-yellow and green).
Click here to check out premium Dutch Tulips at Brecks
Division 9 - Rembrandt tulips
These have large single flowers with petals streaked or blotched with a second color which is caused by a harmless virus.
The flowers appear in late spring.
They grow to 45-75cm (18-30in) high.
Among the varieties available are 'lnsulinde' (violet and yellow), 'Lotty van Beuningen' (lilac, purple and white) and 'Jack Laan' (purple, yellow and white).
Division 10 - Parrot tulips
These have large, often bi-colored, flowers with frilled and/or twisted petals.
They flower in mid and late spring.
They grow to 50-65cm (20-26in) high.
Their stems are often too weak to support the large unsheltered flowers and so staking is sometimes necessary.
They prefer a sheltered position
Popular varieties include 'Black Parrot' (purple-black), 'Fantasy' (pink), 'Flaming Parrot' (yellow flamed red) and 'White Parrot' (white).
Division 11 - Double late tulips
These are sometimes called Peony-flowered tulips,
They have large showy flowers, resembling peonies.
They flower in late spring.
The plants grow to 40-60cm) (16-24in) high.
They prefer a sheltered position.
Popular hybrids include 'Angelique' (pale pink), 'Gold Medal' (golden-yellow) and 'Mount Tacoma' (white).
Division 12 - Kaufmanniana hybrids
These are also known as Waterlily tulips.
They have long, often bi colored, flowers.
They flower in early spring.
They grow to 10-25cm (4-10in) high,
These tulips are ideal for rock gardens, containers, or along the edges of orders.
Popular hybrids include 'Heart's Delight' (carmine-red, white and yellow), 'Johann Strauss' (red and white) and 'The First' (white tinted carmine-red).
Click here to check out premium Dutch Tulips at Brecks
Division 13- Fosteriana hybrids
These have large, long flowers.
They flower in mid spring.
They grow to 20-40cm (8-16in) high.
Their brilliant eye-catching colors make them good for focal planting.
Popular hybrids include 'Cantata' (deep scarlet), 'Orange Emperor' (pure orange), 'Rockery Beauty' (orange-red) and 'Purissima' (white-yellow).
Division 14- Greigii hybrids
These have lovely colorful flowers with maroon or purple-brown veined or spotted foliage.
They flower in early to mid spring.
They grow to 23-50cm (9-20in) high.
As most are short, they look best in rockeries and containers.
Popular hybrids include 'Cape Cod' (bronze-yellow and apricot), 'Dreamboat' (amber yellow), 'Plaisir' (creamy white with red stripes), 'Red Riding Hood' (carmine red) and 'Toronto' (salmon-orange).
Division 15- Species tulips
The flowers of this final tulip division tend to be smaller and more delicate in form than the garden tulips. They are ranging from 7.5-45cm (3-18in) in height. Those listed below are the most readily available species, though others are sometimes sold by specialist bulb growers.
Tulipa clusiana (known as the lady tulip)
The clusiana 'cynthia' has red pointed petals flushed yellow with grey-green leaves that are upright and very narrow.
They flower in mid spring.
The plants grow to 23-30cm (9-12in) high.
Tulipa praestans
The praestans 'Bloemenlust' has long red flowers with blunt petals.
Each stem has between two and five flowers accompanied by broad grey-green leaves.
They flower in early and mid spring.
The plants grow to 30-45cm (12-18in) high.
Tulipa tarda
The tarda has white narrow petaled flowers with a yellow eye, with up to five flowers on each stem. The narrow mid-green leaves form a rosette at flowering time.
They flower in early spring.
They grow to 10cm (4in) high.
You can find more detailed information about tulip divisions at
http://www.elegant-tulip-bulbs.com/tulip-divisions.html
Rob Young http://www.elegant-tulip-bulbs.com
There are an enormous number of large-flowered hybrids and these are classified into 11 of these divisions, according to flowering time, plant shape, flower size and form.
Species and species hybrids make up the four remaining groups.
Let's look at each group!
Division 1 - Single early tulips
This tulip division flowers have rounded petals forming small deep cup-shaped single flowers, which sometimes open flat in full sun.
They flower in mid spring.
They grow to 25-60cm (10-24in) high
Their stems are thick so they can handle the wind and rain.
They are excellent used as bedding plants.
Some varieties can be forced indoors.
Popular Single Early tulips are 'Apricot Beauty' (apricot-pink), 'Bestseller' (copper-orange), 'Generaal de Wet' (golden-orange), and 'Ruby Red' (scarlet).
Division 2 - Double early tulips
These have large double flowers resembling peonies.
They flower in mid spring and are long-lasting.
They grow to 25-30cm (10-12in) high.
They are good for mass bedding layouts or containers.
They prefer a sheltered site.
Popular Double Early tulips are 'Electra' (cherry-red), 'Mr Van de Hoef' (golden-yellow), 'Oranje Nassau' (orange-red), 'Peach Blossom' (rose pink) and 'Schoonoord' (white).
Division 3 - Triumph tulips
These are sometimes referred to as Mid Season tulips in bulb catalogs.
They have large, single, angular flowers.
They flower in mid spring and are long-lasting.
They grow to 40-60cm (16-24in) high.
They can handle the wind and rain so can be used as bedding plants in exposed sites.
Popular varieties include 'Attila' (violet-purple), 'Bellona' (golden-yellow), 'Garden Party' (white and carmine-pink), 'Kees Nellis' (pink and yellow), 'White Dream' (white) and 'Orange Bouquet' (red-orange) which has several flowers on each stem.
Division 4- Darwin hybrids
These have large, round brilliantly colored flowers.
They flower in late spring.
They grow to 55-70cm (22-28in) high on strong stems.
Their colorful flowers make them ideal for the main focal point of a display.
Popular hybrids include 'Apeldoorn' (rich red), 'Big Chief' (pink with white), 'Elizabeth Arden' (salmon pink), 'Olympic Flame' (yellow and red) and 'Red Matador' (scarlet).
Click here to check out premium Dutch Tulips at Brecks
Division 5- Single late tulips
These are sometimes referred to as May flowering tulips.
They have squared-off, oval or egg shaped flowers.
They flower in late spring.
They grow to 65-80cm (26-32in) high.
These are usually used in bedding or border layouts.
Popular varieties include 'Avignon' (red), 'Golden Harvest' (lemon yellow), 'Queen of Bartigons' (salmon-pink), 'Queen of Night' (maroon black) and 'Sorbet' (white and red).
Division 6- Lily-flowered tulips
These have long single flowers with pointed petals, often curving out at the tips.
They flower in late spring.
They grow to 50-65cm (20-26in) high.
They prefer a sunny site.
Popular varieties include 'Aladdin' (crimson and yellow), 'China Pink' (soft pink), 'Maytime' ((mauve lilac with white edges), 'Red Shine' (deep red), 'West Point' (yellow) and 'White Triumphator' (white).
Division 7- Fringed tulips
These have flowers similar to those of the Single late group but with fringed petals.
They flower in late spring.
They grow to 55-80cm (22-32in) high.
Popular varieties include 'Arma' (cardinal-red), 'Burgundy Lace' (wine-red) and 'Fringed Beauty' (red and yellow).
Division 8 - Viridiflora
They are also known as Green tulips.
These are similar to the Single late tulips but the petals are partly green.
The flowers appear in late spring.
They grow to 23-60cm (9-24in) high.
Popular varieties include 'Artist' (apricot-pink and green), 'Golden Artist' (orange-yellow and green), 'Groenland' (green-edged rose) and 'Spring Green' (lemon-yellow and green).
Click here to check out premium Dutch Tulips at Brecks
Division 9 - Rembrandt tulips
These have large single flowers with petals streaked or blotched with a second color which is caused by a harmless virus.
The flowers appear in late spring.
They grow to 45-75cm (18-30in) high.
Among the varieties available are 'lnsulinde' (violet and yellow), 'Lotty van Beuningen' (lilac, purple and white) and 'Jack Laan' (purple, yellow and white).
Division 10 - Parrot tulips
These have large, often bi-colored, flowers with frilled and/or twisted petals.
They flower in mid and late spring.
They grow to 50-65cm (20-26in) high.
Their stems are often too weak to support the large unsheltered flowers and so staking is sometimes necessary.
They prefer a sheltered position
Popular varieties include 'Black Parrot' (purple-black), 'Fantasy' (pink), 'Flaming Parrot' (yellow flamed red) and 'White Parrot' (white).
Division 11 - Double late tulips
These are sometimes called Peony-flowered tulips,
They have large showy flowers, resembling peonies.
They flower in late spring.
The plants grow to 40-60cm) (16-24in) high.
They prefer a sheltered position.
Popular hybrids include 'Angelique' (pale pink), 'Gold Medal' (golden-yellow) and 'Mount Tacoma' (white).
Division 12 - Kaufmanniana hybrids
These are also known as Waterlily tulips.
They have long, often bi colored, flowers.
They flower in early spring.
They grow to 10-25cm (4-10in) high,
These tulips are ideal for rock gardens, containers, or along the edges of orders.
Popular hybrids include 'Heart's Delight' (carmine-red, white and yellow), 'Johann Strauss' (red and white) and 'The First' (white tinted carmine-red).
Click here to check out premium Dutch Tulips at Brecks
Division 13- Fosteriana hybrids
These have large, long flowers.
They flower in mid spring.
They grow to 20-40cm (8-16in) high.
Their brilliant eye-catching colors make them good for focal planting.
Popular hybrids include 'Cantata' (deep scarlet), 'Orange Emperor' (pure orange), 'Rockery Beauty' (orange-red) and 'Purissima' (white-yellow).
Division 14- Greigii hybrids
These have lovely colorful flowers with maroon or purple-brown veined or spotted foliage.
They flower in early to mid spring.
They grow to 23-50cm (9-20in) high.
As most are short, they look best in rockeries and containers.
Popular hybrids include 'Cape Cod' (bronze-yellow and apricot), 'Dreamboat' (amber yellow), 'Plaisir' (creamy white with red stripes), 'Red Riding Hood' (carmine red) and 'Toronto' (salmon-orange).
Division 15- Species tulips
The flowers of this final tulip division tend to be smaller and more delicate in form than the garden tulips. They are ranging from 7.5-45cm (3-18in) in height. Those listed below are the most readily available species, though others are sometimes sold by specialist bulb growers.
Tulipa clusiana (known as the lady tulip)
The clusiana 'cynthia' has red pointed petals flushed yellow with grey-green leaves that are upright and very narrow.
They flower in mid spring.
The plants grow to 23-30cm (9-12in) high.
Tulipa praestans
The praestans 'Bloemenlust' has long red flowers with blunt petals.
Each stem has between two and five flowers accompanied by broad grey-green leaves.
They flower in early and mid spring.
The plants grow to 30-45cm (12-18in) high.
Tulipa tarda
The tarda has white narrow petaled flowers with a yellow eye, with up to five flowers on each stem. The narrow mid-green leaves form a rosette at flowering time.
They flower in early spring.
They grow to 10cm (4in) high.
You can find more detailed information about tulip divisions at
http://www.elegant-tulip-bulbs.com/tulip-divisions.html
Rob Young http://www.elegant-tulip-bulbs.com
Rock Garden Foundation Planting
There is still another use for a customized variety of the rock garden which has been taken little advantage of. This is referred to as "rock garden foundation planting."
There are a few such plantings effectively executed to feel content that there is a field here which has not yet been developed. In many sections where stones flourish and where ledges of rock gather out in the grounds around the home, such a planting is wholly suitable.
It gives a modification from the usual all evergreen planting and makes an innate looking finish for the base of a stone or a stucco residence. Furthermore, in the shade of northern and western exposures are surroundings utterly appropriate to many of the rock garden and alpine plants. Obscured watering may effortlessly be provided.
Sometimes the principal purpose of the gardener may be not so much a rock garden as a compilation of rock plants. This in itself is a meaningful intention, for some of these small beauties are as readily grown as any perennials, and others are appealing because of the assorted difficulties implicated in effectively growing them. They are as useful as any other group of plants for their own qualities even aside from their use as substance for making a rock garden.
Often the novice starts out with no comprehensible idea as to whether his purpose is to grow rock plants or to fashion a bona fide rock garden. This is one of the things which should be decided prior to starting. If you simply want to grow rock plants, stones may be utilized as a resource for supplying appropriate growing elements. Additionally, several of the rock plants, and even a few of the alpines, may be grown flawlessly, particularly in a faintly raised bed, without a rock anywhere in the vicinity.
While this subject has been raised, it may be sensible to call interest to another type of simulated rock gardening. This is the heap of rocks, sometimes cautiously built up, sometimes freely thrown collectively with earth put over them, which is typically called a "rockery."
Such a mound of soil and stone may serve as a support for vines, such as English ivy, to jostle over, or for a few of the dry-soil annuals or perennials, but is in no way a rock garden, not even a small version of one. Even with the addition of a garden fountain or piece of statuary, this arrangement will not suffice as an authentic rock garden.
For the complete design and reason of a rock garden is to accumulate and preserve the dampness in the soil well beneath the surface, so that the far-reaching roots of rock and alpine plants may use the moisture, even though they appear to be growing in completely waterless soil. Regardless of any large statuary or outdoor water features that are supplemented, the moisture reserves will not magically appear. The rockery, on the other hand, is an idyllic configuration for not saving moisture.
When the spring rains are passing, the rockery will rapidly dry out right to the center, and only by frequent trenching, which would be deadly to many rock plants and alpines, can it be kept at all damp.
Sarah Martin is a freelance marketing writer based out of San Diego, CA. She specializes in home improvement, landscaping, gardening, and interior design. For an amazing selection of garden fountains and outdoor water features, please visit http://www.garden-fountains.com.
There are a few such plantings effectively executed to feel content that there is a field here which has not yet been developed. In many sections where stones flourish and where ledges of rock gather out in the grounds around the home, such a planting is wholly suitable.
It gives a modification from the usual all evergreen planting and makes an innate looking finish for the base of a stone or a stucco residence. Furthermore, in the shade of northern and western exposures are surroundings utterly appropriate to many of the rock garden and alpine plants. Obscured watering may effortlessly be provided.
Sometimes the principal purpose of the gardener may be not so much a rock garden as a compilation of rock plants. This in itself is a meaningful intention, for some of these small beauties are as readily grown as any perennials, and others are appealing because of the assorted difficulties implicated in effectively growing them. They are as useful as any other group of plants for their own qualities even aside from their use as substance for making a rock garden.
Often the novice starts out with no comprehensible idea as to whether his purpose is to grow rock plants or to fashion a bona fide rock garden. This is one of the things which should be decided prior to starting. If you simply want to grow rock plants, stones may be utilized as a resource for supplying appropriate growing elements. Additionally, several of the rock plants, and even a few of the alpines, may be grown flawlessly, particularly in a faintly raised bed, without a rock anywhere in the vicinity.
While this subject has been raised, it may be sensible to call interest to another type of simulated rock gardening. This is the heap of rocks, sometimes cautiously built up, sometimes freely thrown collectively with earth put over them, which is typically called a "rockery."
Such a mound of soil and stone may serve as a support for vines, such as English ivy, to jostle over, or for a few of the dry-soil annuals or perennials, but is in no way a rock garden, not even a small version of one. Even with the addition of a garden fountain or piece of statuary, this arrangement will not suffice as an authentic rock garden.
For the complete design and reason of a rock garden is to accumulate and preserve the dampness in the soil well beneath the surface, so that the far-reaching roots of rock and alpine plants may use the moisture, even though they appear to be growing in completely waterless soil. Regardless of any large statuary or outdoor water features that are supplemented, the moisture reserves will not magically appear. The rockery, on the other hand, is an idyllic configuration for not saving moisture.
When the spring rains are passing, the rockery will rapidly dry out right to the center, and only by frequent trenching, which would be deadly to many rock plants and alpines, can it be kept at all damp.
Sarah Martin is a freelance marketing writer based out of San Diego, CA. She specializes in home improvement, landscaping, gardening, and interior design. For an amazing selection of garden fountains and outdoor water features, please visit http://www.garden-fountains.com.
Thursday, 13 May 2010
Growing Flower Bulbs For Profit
Flower bulbs are the perfect crop for any grower. They're fairly easy to grow, and can bring you big profits. They can also multiply rapidly with the right amount of care. That's one of the many things that makes them so appealing. So how can you make good money growing bulbs? Here's how:
Flower growers make, on average, $20 to $30 an hour. It's simply a great business for anyone looking to turn their backyard nursery into a garden of profitable plants. In particular, bulbs continue to be top sellers. Marvin Joslin makes over $100,000 a year selling bulbs and flowers from the garden he started out in the country. He focuses on lilies, because they're hardy perennials that can grow in all four seasons. Plus, lilies grow into long-lasting cut flowers that are always top sellers.
In addition to lilies, there are many other bulbs that have something you probably didn't know about them:
*Daffodils - They're virtually immune to pests and disease.
*Iris - There are around 200 species in a variety of color and form.
*Tulips - These were once a holy flower in Turkey and Iran.
*Hyacinth - These are known for their delicate scent.
Plus, bulbs can be forced to grow outside of their normal season, which can be especially profitable. "Forcing" can cause bulbs to grow months before the normal cycle by simulating the natural conditions. Some popular bulbs for forcing include:
*"Paperwhite" daffodil for Christmas
*"Olaf" tulip for Valentine's Day
*"Anne Marie" hyacinth for Valentine's Day
*"Peerless Pink" tulip for Mother's Day
When you're ready to sell your flowers, you have many places you could try, such as the local farmers' market. These events continually draw big crowds eager to buy from local growers. Set up a stand or booth and get ready for the big profits. It's also a good idea to put out a mailing list that your customers can sign up for. That way you can keep in contact with your customers and let them know when and where you'll be selling your flowers next.
Or how about selling to hotels and restaurants. Many hotels and restaurants buy flowers to make their tables and entryways look nice. It's a simple way to bring class to any room. Plus, these restaurants and hotels will want to keep their tables and entryways looking classy, so you could see a lot of repeat sales.
Mail-order sales work well for many growers. The more exotic or unusual your bulbs, the better they will sell with a small classified in gardening magazines and newsletters. You can be growing flower bulbs for profit in no time. They're easy to grow, and can provide some beautiful results. Soon you could be making $20 to $30 an hour, or more, from growing flowers for profit. To learn more, read Growing Flowers for Profit, available at: http://extraincomebulletin.com
Flower growers make, on average, $20 to $30 an hour. It's simply a great business for anyone looking to turn their backyard nursery into a garden of profitable plants. In particular, bulbs continue to be top sellers. Marvin Joslin makes over $100,000 a year selling bulbs and flowers from the garden he started out in the country. He focuses on lilies, because they're hardy perennials that can grow in all four seasons. Plus, lilies grow into long-lasting cut flowers that are always top sellers.
In addition to lilies, there are many other bulbs that have something you probably didn't know about them:
*Daffodils - They're virtually immune to pests and disease.
*Iris - There are around 200 species in a variety of color and form.
*Tulips - These were once a holy flower in Turkey and Iran.
*Hyacinth - These are known for their delicate scent.
Plus, bulbs can be forced to grow outside of their normal season, which can be especially profitable. "Forcing" can cause bulbs to grow months before the normal cycle by simulating the natural conditions. Some popular bulbs for forcing include:
*"Paperwhite" daffodil for Christmas
*"Olaf" tulip for Valentine's Day
*"Anne Marie" hyacinth for Valentine's Day
*"Peerless Pink" tulip for Mother's Day
When you're ready to sell your flowers, you have many places you could try, such as the local farmers' market. These events continually draw big crowds eager to buy from local growers. Set up a stand or booth and get ready for the big profits. It's also a good idea to put out a mailing list that your customers can sign up for. That way you can keep in contact with your customers and let them know when and where you'll be selling your flowers next.
Or how about selling to hotels and restaurants. Many hotels and restaurants buy flowers to make their tables and entryways look nice. It's a simple way to bring class to any room. Plus, these restaurants and hotels will want to keep their tables and entryways looking classy, so you could see a lot of repeat sales.
Mail-order sales work well for many growers. The more exotic or unusual your bulbs, the better they will sell with a small classified in gardening magazines and newsletters. You can be growing flower bulbs for profit in no time. They're easy to grow, and can provide some beautiful results. Soon you could be making $20 to $30 an hour, or more, from growing flowers for profit. To learn more, read Growing Flowers for Profit, available at: http://extraincomebulletin.com
Growing Flowering Plants Indoors - 5 Easy Ones
More and more people are discovering that growing indoor plants is a very satisfying and rewarding hobby. And because the homes in which we now live are lighter, warmer and more or less drought free, than they used to be, there is less chance of your plants suffering from dramatic changes in temperature throughout the course of the day, or night. So a whole new range of plants from across the world can now be successfully grown indoors. The plants I have selected here are all easy to grow and require just basic care.
Five Easy-To-Grow Flowering House Plants.
Achimenes
The funnel-shaped flowers of this pretty plant are in brilliant shades of red, white, blue or lavender. These plants can be grown from tubers. In April, plant one inch deep and two inches apart. Place them in a warm position and water sparingly. As growth increases, water more freely. To encourage bushiness, pinch out the shoot tips. Short sticks can be used to support them in the pot. They prefer a well-lit position, but avoid strong sunshine. Feed occasionally with liquid fertilizer. When flowering has finished, gradually reduce the amount of water. Allow the plant to dry off before winter and store in a frost free place.
Beloperone
Shrimp Plant, is the common name for this flowering shrub. This is due to the shape and colour of the attractive bracts surrounding the small flowers. They need regular feeding with liquid fertilizer. They need a position with a minimum temperature of 10 degrees, with some direct sunlight. Place in a cool, sunny position in winter. Water well in spring and summer. But keep almost dry, in winter. Encourage branching by removing growing tips. Prune to keep it tidy. Cuttings should be taken in the spring.
Billbergia Nutans
This plant is a Bromeliad from Brazil and is in the same family as the Pineapple. Sometimes known as queen's-tears, it has rosettes of long narrow leaves; flowers are greenish-yellow and appear in the spring. These flowers are born on long stems and arch down from pink bracts. They are easy to grow and will tolerate low temperatures. Normal room temperature is recommended positioned in good natural light, but avoid direct sunlight. Water well in summer, moderately for the rest of the year. Fresh rain water is preferred. Feed occasionally. The plant can be propagated in the spring by means of offsets.
Bougainvillea
This is a climbing plant with little flowers. The pink, red or orange bracts which surround them are quite striking. They need to be grown in large pots supported by canes or wires. They prefer a sunny, open position. Such as a conservatory or large room. They will not survive a frost. Water generously in spring and summer. Keep almost dry in winter. Feed regularly in summer. Prune side shoots in March and remove overcrowded stems. Cuttings taken in early summer should be rooted in a propagator.
Campanula isophylla
This is a trailing perennial with star-shaped blue and white flowers. This plant is ideal for hanging baskets or raised pots. The plant can be trained to grow upwards if supported. Sometimes known as, Star-of-Bethlehem. Cut of flowers as they die to prolong the flowering period. Site in a well lit position with some direct sunshine. Feed regularly during the growing period. Water well, never allow the pot to dry out during the growing season. Over winter, keep the compost just moist. And keep in a cool place. Cuttings can be taken in early spring.
Coleus
Whilst these are an easy to grow plant, they can be difficult to keep overwinter. As such, some growers take cuttings and grow a fresh plant each year. A colourful foliage plant, in shades of Pink, red, yellow and green. Sometimes a combination of two or more colours. Grow in a well lit position with some hours of sunlight. They need plenty of water in summer and a regular feed. Pinch out growth to encourage bushiness. Cuttings root easy in compost or water.
Ok, so that was six! But the last one, Coleus, is well worth a mention. If you can get it to survive winter, repot in fresh compost and a bigger plant pot.
Check out more easy to grow house plants at the link below.
David Snowdon is a published writer. He has two main hobbies: Computers and Growing Plants. During his early years, he spent some time working in the Greenhouses of a large Wholesale Plant Nurseries. He is the author of many Computer and Plant growing articles. You can read some of his recent articles, Here. http://gardenarticles-wolfdave.blogspot.com/
Five Easy-To-Grow Flowering House Plants.
Achimenes
The funnel-shaped flowers of this pretty plant are in brilliant shades of red, white, blue or lavender. These plants can be grown from tubers. In April, plant one inch deep and two inches apart. Place them in a warm position and water sparingly. As growth increases, water more freely. To encourage bushiness, pinch out the shoot tips. Short sticks can be used to support them in the pot. They prefer a well-lit position, but avoid strong sunshine. Feed occasionally with liquid fertilizer. When flowering has finished, gradually reduce the amount of water. Allow the plant to dry off before winter and store in a frost free place.
Beloperone
Shrimp Plant, is the common name for this flowering shrub. This is due to the shape and colour of the attractive bracts surrounding the small flowers. They need regular feeding with liquid fertilizer. They need a position with a minimum temperature of 10 degrees, with some direct sunlight. Place in a cool, sunny position in winter. Water well in spring and summer. But keep almost dry, in winter. Encourage branching by removing growing tips. Prune to keep it tidy. Cuttings should be taken in the spring.
Billbergia Nutans
This plant is a Bromeliad from Brazil and is in the same family as the Pineapple. Sometimes known as queen's-tears, it has rosettes of long narrow leaves; flowers are greenish-yellow and appear in the spring. These flowers are born on long stems and arch down from pink bracts. They are easy to grow and will tolerate low temperatures. Normal room temperature is recommended positioned in good natural light, but avoid direct sunlight. Water well in summer, moderately for the rest of the year. Fresh rain water is preferred. Feed occasionally. The plant can be propagated in the spring by means of offsets.
Bougainvillea
This is a climbing plant with little flowers. The pink, red or orange bracts which surround them are quite striking. They need to be grown in large pots supported by canes or wires. They prefer a sunny, open position. Such as a conservatory or large room. They will not survive a frost. Water generously in spring and summer. Keep almost dry in winter. Feed regularly in summer. Prune side shoots in March and remove overcrowded stems. Cuttings taken in early summer should be rooted in a propagator.
Campanula isophylla
This is a trailing perennial with star-shaped blue and white flowers. This plant is ideal for hanging baskets or raised pots. The plant can be trained to grow upwards if supported. Sometimes known as, Star-of-Bethlehem. Cut of flowers as they die to prolong the flowering period. Site in a well lit position with some direct sunshine. Feed regularly during the growing period. Water well, never allow the pot to dry out during the growing season. Over winter, keep the compost just moist. And keep in a cool place. Cuttings can be taken in early spring.
Coleus
Whilst these are an easy to grow plant, they can be difficult to keep overwinter. As such, some growers take cuttings and grow a fresh plant each year. A colourful foliage plant, in shades of Pink, red, yellow and green. Sometimes a combination of two or more colours. Grow in a well lit position with some hours of sunlight. They need plenty of water in summer and a regular feed. Pinch out growth to encourage bushiness. Cuttings root easy in compost or water.
Ok, so that was six! But the last one, Coleus, is well worth a mention. If you can get it to survive winter, repot in fresh compost and a bigger plant pot.
Check out more easy to grow house plants at the link below.
David Snowdon is a published writer. He has two main hobbies: Computers and Growing Plants. During his early years, he spent some time working in the Greenhouses of a large Wholesale Plant Nurseries. He is the author of many Computer and Plant growing articles. You can read some of his recent articles, Here. http://gardenarticles-wolfdave.blogspot.com/
Wednesday, 12 May 2010
Green Tongues – Quotes about Gardening
From the gardener who tends a single geranium in her windowsill, to the one who supplies bountiful bouquets of roses to floral shops, many people have spoken many words about the art and skill and benefits of gardening. Let's listen in to some of their voices, historical and contemporary, for in them we may discover the gardener deep within the soil of our soul:
Gardening gives one back a sense of proportion about everything - except itself. ~May Sarton, Plant Dreaming Deep, 1968.
The most noteworthy thing about gardeners is that they are always optimistic, always enterprising, and never satisfied. They always look forward to doing something better than they have ever done before.--Vita Sackville-West, 1892 - 1962.
My green thumb came only as a result of the mistakes I made while learning to see things from the plant's point of view. ~H. Fred Ale.
I have found, through years of practice, that people garden in order to make something grow; to interact with nature; to share, to find sanctuary, to heal, to honor the earth, to leave a mark. Through gardening, we feel whole as we make our personal work of art upon our land.--Julie Moir Messervy, The Inward Garden, 1995, p.19.
Gardening requires lots of water - most of it in the form of perspiration. ~Lou Erickson.
As the biocentric view suggests, the garden prospers when control is balanced by equal measures of humility and benevolence. A balance is struck. Control, servitude, respect, imagination, pragmatism, an ecological conscience, compliance, and a certain measure of mysticism and altruism all meld together to provide nurturance. Try to separate the various aspects into their constituent parts - grant any one of them the status of fundamental gardening definition and one soon skews the entire process. Put them back together again in the service of the two-way street called nurturance, and we express the state of grace called gardening.--Jim Nollman, Why We Garden: Cultivating a Sense of Place, 1994, p. 106.
There can be no other occupation like gardening in which, if you were to creep up behind someone at their work, you would find them smiling. ~Mirabel Osler.
The home gardener is part scientist, part artist, part philosopher, part plowman.
He modifies the climate around his home.--John R. Whiting.
Gardening is a matter of your enthusiasm holding up until your back gets used to it.--Unknown.
Gardening is an exercise in optimism. Sometimes, it is a triumph of hope over experience.--Marina Schinz.
The best place to seek God is in a garden. You can dig for him there. ~George Bernard Shaw, The Adventures of the Black Girl in Her Search for God, 1932.
Science, or para-science, tells us that geraniums bloom better if they are spoken to. But a kind word every now and then is really quite enough. Too much attention, like too much feeding, and weeding and hoeing, inhibits and embarrasses them. ~Victoria Glendinning.
In gardens, beauty is a by-product. The main business is sex and death. ~Sam Llewelyn.
The greatest gift of the garden is the restoration of the five senses. ~Hanna Rion.
In my garden there is a large place for sentiment. My garden of flowers is also my garden of thoughts and dreams. The thoughts grow as freely as the flowers, and the dreams are as beautiful. ~Abram L. Urban.
It is good to be alone in a garden at dawn or dark so that all its shy presences may haunt you and possess you in a reverie of suspended thought. ~James Douglas, Down Shoe Lane.
Weather means more when you have a garden. There's nothing like listening to a shower and thinking how it is soaking in around your green beans. ~Marcelene Cox.
God made rainy days so gardeners could get the housework done. ~Unknown.
I used to visit and revisit it a dozen times a day, and stand in deep contemplation over my vegetable progeny with a love that nobody could share or conceive of who had never taken part in the process of creation. It was one of the most bewitching sights in the world to observe a hill of beans thrusting aside the soil, or a rose of early peas just peeping forth sufficiently to trace a line of delicate green. ~Nathaniel Hawthorne, Mosses from and Old Manse.
Don't wear perfume in the garden - unless you want to be pollinated by bees. ~Anne Raver.
Take thy plastic spade,
It is thy pencil; take thy seeds, thy plants,
They are thy colours.~William Mason, The English Garden, 1782.
It is a golden maxim to cultivate the garden for the nose, and the eyes will take care of themselves. ~Robert Louis Stevenson.
Gardening is about enjoying the smell of things growing in the soil, getting dirty without feeling guilty, and generally taking the time to soak up a little peace and serenity. ~Lindley Karstens, noproblemgarden.com.
I know that if odour were visible, as colour is,
I'd see the summer garden in rainbow clouds.~Robert Bridges, "Testament of Beauty".
Unemployment is capitalism's way of getting you to plant a garden. ~Orson Scott Card.
How fair is a garden amid the trials and passions of existence. ~Benjamin Disraeli.
Our England is a garden, and such gardens are not made
By singing: -"Oh, how beautiful!" and sitting in the shade. ~Rudyard Kipling, "The Glory of the Garden".
You can bury a lot of troubles digging in the dirt. ~Unknown.
Garden writing is often very tame, a real waste when you think how opinionated, inquisitive, irreverent and lascivious gardeners themselves tend to be. Nobody talks much about the muscular limbs, dark, swollen buds, strip-tease trees and unholy beauty that have made us all slaves of the Goddess Flora. ~Ketzel Levine's talkingplants.com.
On every stem, on every leaf,... and at the root of everything that grew, was a professional specialist in the shape of grub, caterpillar, aphis, or other expert, whose business it was to devour that particular part. ~Oliver Wendell Holmes.
Half the interest of a garden is the constant exercise of the imagination. ~Mrs. C.W. Earle, Pot-Pourri from a Surrey Garden, 1897.
No two gardens are the same. No two days are the same in one garden. ~Hugh Johnson.
We have descended into the garden and caught three hundred slugs. How I love the mixture of the beautiful and the squalid in gardening. It makes it so lifelike. ~Evelyn Underhill, Letters.
I think that if ever a mortal heard the voice of God it would be in a garden at the cool of the day. ~F. Frankfort Moore, A Garden of Peace.
Last night, there came a frost, which has done great damage to my garden.... It is sad that Nature will play such tricks on us poor mortals, inviting us with sunny smiles to confide in her, and then, when we are entirely within her power, striking us to the heart. ~Nathaniel Hawthorne, The American Notebooks.
Despite the gardener's best intentions, Nature will improvise. ~Michael P. Garafalo, gardendigest.com.
Many things grow in the garden that were never sown there. ~Thomas Fuller, Gnomologia, 1732.
In order to live off a garden, you practically have to live in it. ~Frank McKinney Hubbard.
Give me odorous at sunrise a garden of beautiful flowers where I can walk undisturbed. ~Walt Whitman.
Gardens always mean something else, man absolutely uses one thing to say another. ~Robert Harbison, Eccentric Spaces, 1977.
Gardens... should be like lovely, well-shaped girls: all curves, secret corners, unexpected deviations, seductive surprises and then still more curves. ~H.E. Bates, A Love of Flowers.
I never had any other desire so strong, and so like to covetousness, as that one which I have had always, that I might be master at last of a small house and a large Garden. ~Abraham Cowley, The Garden, 1666.
One of the most delightful things about a garden is the anticipation it provides. ~W.E. Johns, The Passing Show.
Earth is here so kind, that just tickle her with a hoe and she laughs with a harvest. ~Douglas William Jerrold, about Australia, A Land of Plenty.
I have never had so many good ideas day after day as when I worked in the garden. ~John Erskine.
Green fingers are the extension of a verdant heart. ~Russell Page.
There is no gardening without humility. Nature is constantly sending even its oldest scholars to the bottom of the class for some egregious blunder. ~Alfred Austin.
It is utterly forbidden to be half-hearted about gardening. You have got to love your garden whether you like it or not. ~W.C. Sellar & R.J. Yeatman, Garden Rubbish, 1936.
A garden was the primitive prison, till man with Promethean felicity and boldness, luckily sinned himself out of it. ~Charles Lamb, 1830.
Let no one think that real gardening is a bucolic and meditative occupation. It is an insatiable passion, like everything else to which a man gives his heart. ~Karel Čapek, The Gardener's Year, translated by M. and R. Weatherall, 1931.
Most people who possess anything like an acre, or half of it, contribute weekly to the support of a gentleman known as Jobbing Gardener. You are warned of the danger that he may prove to be Garden Pest no 1. ~C.E. Lucas-Phillips, The New Small Garden.
Tomatoes and squash never fail to reach maturity. You can spray them with acid, beat them with sticks and burn them; they love it. ~S.J. Perelman, Acres and Pains, 1951.
I appreciate the misunderstanding I have had with Nature over my perennial border. I think it is a flower garden; she thinks it is a meadow lacking grass, and tries to correct the error. ~Sara Stein, My Weeds, 1988.
It takes a while to grasp that not all failures are self-imposed, the result of ignorance, carelessness or inexperience. It takes a while to grasp that a garden isn't a testing ground for character and to stop asking, what did I do wrong? Maybe nothing. ~Eleanor Perényi, Green Thoughts, 1981.
The kiss of the sun for pardon,
The song of the birds for mirth,
One is nearer God's heart in a garden
Than anywhere else on earth.~Dorothy Frances Gurney, "Garden Thoughts".
I don't think we'll ever know all there is to know about gardening, and I'm just as glad
there will always be some magic about it!--Barbara Damrosc.h
Gardening is civil and social, but it wants the vigor and freedom of the forest and the outlaw. ~Henry David Thoreau.
It is always exciting to open the door and go out into the garden for the first time on any day.--Marion Cran.
Gardening is a kind of disease. It infects you, you cannot escape it. When you go visiting, your eyes rove about the garden; you interrupt the serious cocktail drinking because of an irresistible impulse to get up and pull a weed. ~Lewis Gannit.
Gardening is any way that humans and nature come together with the intent of creating beauty.--Tina James, 1999.
When you have done your best for a flower, and it fails, you have some reason to be aggrieved. ~Frank Swinnerton.
Show me your garden and I shall tell you what you are.--Alfred Austin.
A garden really lives only insofar as it is an expression of faith, the embodiment of a hope and a song of praise.--Russell Page, The Education of a Gardener, 1962.
The best fertilizer is the gardener's shadow. ~Unknown.
Gardening is a labour full of tranquility and satisfaction; natural and instructive, and as such contributes to the most serious contemplation, experience, health and longevity.--John Evelyn, 1666.
By the time one is eighty, it is said, there is no longer a tug of war in the garden with the May flowers hauling like mad against the claims of the other months. All is at last in balance and all is serene. The gardener is usually dead, of course. ~Henry Mitchell, The Essential Earthman, 1981.
What a man needs in gardening is a cast-iron back, with a hinge in it. ~Charles Dudley Warner, My Summer in a Garden, 1871.
Gardening is the art that uses flowers and plants as paint, and the soil and sky as canvas.
--Elizabeth Murray.
Copyright © 2006, Ian White Access 2000 Pty Ltd
Author Ian White is founder of Housecarers House Sitting Directory. Find a live-in house sitter to care for your home, garden and pets while you are away =>http://www.housecarers.com
Gardening gives one back a sense of proportion about everything - except itself. ~May Sarton, Plant Dreaming Deep, 1968.
The most noteworthy thing about gardeners is that they are always optimistic, always enterprising, and never satisfied. They always look forward to doing something better than they have ever done before.--Vita Sackville-West, 1892 - 1962.
My green thumb came only as a result of the mistakes I made while learning to see things from the plant's point of view. ~H. Fred Ale.
I have found, through years of practice, that people garden in order to make something grow; to interact with nature; to share, to find sanctuary, to heal, to honor the earth, to leave a mark. Through gardening, we feel whole as we make our personal work of art upon our land.--Julie Moir Messervy, The Inward Garden, 1995, p.19.
Gardening requires lots of water - most of it in the form of perspiration. ~Lou Erickson.
As the biocentric view suggests, the garden prospers when control is balanced by equal measures of humility and benevolence. A balance is struck. Control, servitude, respect, imagination, pragmatism, an ecological conscience, compliance, and a certain measure of mysticism and altruism all meld together to provide nurturance. Try to separate the various aspects into their constituent parts - grant any one of them the status of fundamental gardening definition and one soon skews the entire process. Put them back together again in the service of the two-way street called nurturance, and we express the state of grace called gardening.--Jim Nollman, Why We Garden: Cultivating a Sense of Place, 1994, p. 106.
There can be no other occupation like gardening in which, if you were to creep up behind someone at their work, you would find them smiling. ~Mirabel Osler.
The home gardener is part scientist, part artist, part philosopher, part plowman.
He modifies the climate around his home.--John R. Whiting.
Gardening is a matter of your enthusiasm holding up until your back gets used to it.--Unknown.
Gardening is an exercise in optimism. Sometimes, it is a triumph of hope over experience.--Marina Schinz.
The best place to seek God is in a garden. You can dig for him there. ~George Bernard Shaw, The Adventures of the Black Girl in Her Search for God, 1932.
Science, or para-science, tells us that geraniums bloom better if they are spoken to. But a kind word every now and then is really quite enough. Too much attention, like too much feeding, and weeding and hoeing, inhibits and embarrasses them. ~Victoria Glendinning.
In gardens, beauty is a by-product. The main business is sex and death. ~Sam Llewelyn.
The greatest gift of the garden is the restoration of the five senses. ~Hanna Rion.
In my garden there is a large place for sentiment. My garden of flowers is also my garden of thoughts and dreams. The thoughts grow as freely as the flowers, and the dreams are as beautiful. ~Abram L. Urban.
It is good to be alone in a garden at dawn or dark so that all its shy presences may haunt you and possess you in a reverie of suspended thought. ~James Douglas, Down Shoe Lane.
Weather means more when you have a garden. There's nothing like listening to a shower and thinking how it is soaking in around your green beans. ~Marcelene Cox.
God made rainy days so gardeners could get the housework done. ~Unknown.
I used to visit and revisit it a dozen times a day, and stand in deep contemplation over my vegetable progeny with a love that nobody could share or conceive of who had never taken part in the process of creation. It was one of the most bewitching sights in the world to observe a hill of beans thrusting aside the soil, or a rose of early peas just peeping forth sufficiently to trace a line of delicate green. ~Nathaniel Hawthorne, Mosses from and Old Manse.
Don't wear perfume in the garden - unless you want to be pollinated by bees. ~Anne Raver.
Take thy plastic spade,
It is thy pencil; take thy seeds, thy plants,
They are thy colours.~William Mason, The English Garden, 1782.
It is a golden maxim to cultivate the garden for the nose, and the eyes will take care of themselves. ~Robert Louis Stevenson.
Gardening is about enjoying the smell of things growing in the soil, getting dirty without feeling guilty, and generally taking the time to soak up a little peace and serenity. ~Lindley Karstens, noproblemgarden.com.
I know that if odour were visible, as colour is,
I'd see the summer garden in rainbow clouds.~Robert Bridges, "Testament of Beauty".
Unemployment is capitalism's way of getting you to plant a garden. ~Orson Scott Card.
How fair is a garden amid the trials and passions of existence. ~Benjamin Disraeli.
Our England is a garden, and such gardens are not made
By singing: -"Oh, how beautiful!" and sitting in the shade. ~Rudyard Kipling, "The Glory of the Garden".
You can bury a lot of troubles digging in the dirt. ~Unknown.
Garden writing is often very tame, a real waste when you think how opinionated, inquisitive, irreverent and lascivious gardeners themselves tend to be. Nobody talks much about the muscular limbs, dark, swollen buds, strip-tease trees and unholy beauty that have made us all slaves of the Goddess Flora. ~Ketzel Levine's talkingplants.com.
On every stem, on every leaf,... and at the root of everything that grew, was a professional specialist in the shape of grub, caterpillar, aphis, or other expert, whose business it was to devour that particular part. ~Oliver Wendell Holmes.
Half the interest of a garden is the constant exercise of the imagination. ~Mrs. C.W. Earle, Pot-Pourri from a Surrey Garden, 1897.
No two gardens are the same. No two days are the same in one garden. ~Hugh Johnson.
We have descended into the garden and caught three hundred slugs. How I love the mixture of the beautiful and the squalid in gardening. It makes it so lifelike. ~Evelyn Underhill, Letters.
I think that if ever a mortal heard the voice of God it would be in a garden at the cool of the day. ~F. Frankfort Moore, A Garden of Peace.
Last night, there came a frost, which has done great damage to my garden.... It is sad that Nature will play such tricks on us poor mortals, inviting us with sunny smiles to confide in her, and then, when we are entirely within her power, striking us to the heart. ~Nathaniel Hawthorne, The American Notebooks.
Despite the gardener's best intentions, Nature will improvise. ~Michael P. Garafalo, gardendigest.com.
Many things grow in the garden that were never sown there. ~Thomas Fuller, Gnomologia, 1732.
In order to live off a garden, you practically have to live in it. ~Frank McKinney Hubbard.
Give me odorous at sunrise a garden of beautiful flowers where I can walk undisturbed. ~Walt Whitman.
Gardens always mean something else, man absolutely uses one thing to say another. ~Robert Harbison, Eccentric Spaces, 1977.
Gardens... should be like lovely, well-shaped girls: all curves, secret corners, unexpected deviations, seductive surprises and then still more curves. ~H.E. Bates, A Love of Flowers.
I never had any other desire so strong, and so like to covetousness, as that one which I have had always, that I might be master at last of a small house and a large Garden. ~Abraham Cowley, The Garden, 1666.
One of the most delightful things about a garden is the anticipation it provides. ~W.E. Johns, The Passing Show.
Earth is here so kind, that just tickle her with a hoe and she laughs with a harvest. ~Douglas William Jerrold, about Australia, A Land of Plenty.
I have never had so many good ideas day after day as when I worked in the garden. ~John Erskine.
Green fingers are the extension of a verdant heart. ~Russell Page.
There is no gardening without humility. Nature is constantly sending even its oldest scholars to the bottom of the class for some egregious blunder. ~Alfred Austin.
It is utterly forbidden to be half-hearted about gardening. You have got to love your garden whether you like it or not. ~W.C. Sellar & R.J. Yeatman, Garden Rubbish, 1936.
A garden was the primitive prison, till man with Promethean felicity and boldness, luckily sinned himself out of it. ~Charles Lamb, 1830.
Let no one think that real gardening is a bucolic and meditative occupation. It is an insatiable passion, like everything else to which a man gives his heart. ~Karel Čapek, The Gardener's Year, translated by M. and R. Weatherall, 1931.
Most people who possess anything like an acre, or half of it, contribute weekly to the support of a gentleman known as Jobbing Gardener. You are warned of the danger that he may prove to be Garden Pest no 1. ~C.E. Lucas-Phillips, The New Small Garden.
Tomatoes and squash never fail to reach maturity. You can spray them with acid, beat them with sticks and burn them; they love it. ~S.J. Perelman, Acres and Pains, 1951.
I appreciate the misunderstanding I have had with Nature over my perennial border. I think it is a flower garden; she thinks it is a meadow lacking grass, and tries to correct the error. ~Sara Stein, My Weeds, 1988.
It takes a while to grasp that not all failures are self-imposed, the result of ignorance, carelessness or inexperience. It takes a while to grasp that a garden isn't a testing ground for character and to stop asking, what did I do wrong? Maybe nothing. ~Eleanor Perényi, Green Thoughts, 1981.
The kiss of the sun for pardon,
The song of the birds for mirth,
One is nearer God's heart in a garden
Than anywhere else on earth.~Dorothy Frances Gurney, "Garden Thoughts".
I don't think we'll ever know all there is to know about gardening, and I'm just as glad
there will always be some magic about it!--Barbara Damrosc.h
Gardening is civil and social, but it wants the vigor and freedom of the forest and the outlaw. ~Henry David Thoreau.
It is always exciting to open the door and go out into the garden for the first time on any day.--Marion Cran.
Gardening is a kind of disease. It infects you, you cannot escape it. When you go visiting, your eyes rove about the garden; you interrupt the serious cocktail drinking because of an irresistible impulse to get up and pull a weed. ~Lewis Gannit.
Gardening is any way that humans and nature come together with the intent of creating beauty.--Tina James, 1999.
When you have done your best for a flower, and it fails, you have some reason to be aggrieved. ~Frank Swinnerton.
Show me your garden and I shall tell you what you are.--Alfred Austin.
A garden really lives only insofar as it is an expression of faith, the embodiment of a hope and a song of praise.--Russell Page, The Education of a Gardener, 1962.
The best fertilizer is the gardener's shadow. ~Unknown.
Gardening is a labour full of tranquility and satisfaction; natural and instructive, and as such contributes to the most serious contemplation, experience, health and longevity.--John Evelyn, 1666.
By the time one is eighty, it is said, there is no longer a tug of war in the garden with the May flowers hauling like mad against the claims of the other months. All is at last in balance and all is serene. The gardener is usually dead, of course. ~Henry Mitchell, The Essential Earthman, 1981.
What a man needs in gardening is a cast-iron back, with a hinge in it. ~Charles Dudley Warner, My Summer in a Garden, 1871.
Gardening is the art that uses flowers and plants as paint, and the soil and sky as canvas.
--Elizabeth Murray.
Copyright © 2006, Ian White Access 2000 Pty Ltd
Author Ian White is founder of Housecarers House Sitting Directory. Find a live-in house sitter to care for your home, garden and pets while you are away =>http://www.housecarers.com
Tuesday, 11 May 2010
Modern Garden Design
Modern garden design has become an essential part of gardening. Modern architecture started in Europe since the beginning of twentieth century but it was not only then that the concept of modern garden designing acquired prominence. Modern design started in United States in California. 'Modern' means 'simple'. Modernity is all about keeping things simple and ordered. This has transmitted to the sphere of gardening too. In this article we shall discuss how you can make a garden "modern".
Modern garden designs are rare to find as most gardens follow the traditional approach. Traditional approach is largely decorative and gardens have to be decorative for the simple purpose of their existence is to provide beauty and relaxation to people. It is difficult to apply concrete "modern" methods to complex forms of nature. But this idea is changing.
Features
Present concept of modern garden designs considers the garden as extension of the house and not as a greenhouse. This has led to certain innovations in the context of garden design. This has brought in more artificial assets to the garden. These include placing some furniture on the garden or arranging for separate lights.
This will also include the provision of barbeque in your garden and presence of shelters and screens in the area. In fact, nowadays, modern gardens also contain swimming pools. There is the scope for the placing of a variety of other articles in your garden.
Space and time are important constraints in the present world. Modern garden designs are made with a view to suit both. Plants have to be arranged carefully so that they do not take up excessive space. At the same time, the variety of plants will decrease as compared to traditional gardens if you are not considering gardening as your hobby.
Privacy is an important factor so plywood, opaque plastic and lattice (closely woven) are used to separate one's garden from the road. Expensive concrete walls are out of fashion. Shadow effect that is created by using unusual forms in the gardens is a characteristic feature of modern gardens.
Visit http://www.gardendesignideas.org to learn more garden design ideas.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Indri_Maryani
Modern garden designs are rare to find as most gardens follow the traditional approach. Traditional approach is largely decorative and gardens have to be decorative for the simple purpose of their existence is to provide beauty and relaxation to people. It is difficult to apply concrete "modern" methods to complex forms of nature. But this idea is changing.
Features
Present concept of modern garden designs considers the garden as extension of the house and not as a greenhouse. This has led to certain innovations in the context of garden design. This has brought in more artificial assets to the garden. These include placing some furniture on the garden or arranging for separate lights.
This will also include the provision of barbeque in your garden and presence of shelters and screens in the area. In fact, nowadays, modern gardens also contain swimming pools. There is the scope for the placing of a variety of other articles in your garden.
Space and time are important constraints in the present world. Modern garden designs are made with a view to suit both. Plants have to be arranged carefully so that they do not take up excessive space. At the same time, the variety of plants will decrease as compared to traditional gardens if you are not considering gardening as your hobby.
Privacy is an important factor so plywood, opaque plastic and lattice (closely woven) are used to separate one's garden from the road. Expensive concrete walls are out of fashion. Shadow effect that is created by using unusual forms in the gardens is a characteristic feature of modern gardens.
Visit http://www.gardendesignideas.org to learn more garden design ideas.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Indri_Maryani
Thursday, 6 May 2010
Planning An Herb Garden With Culinary Herbs, Medicinal Herbs and Aromatic Herbs
Planning an herb garden can be fun and rewarding. Herbs have been in use for centuries for culinary, medicinal and aromatic reasons. For generations tribal leaders and healers passed down the herbal secrets. Many modern medicines have an herb base. Modern herbalist mix medicinal herb for their clients. Many herbalists also mix aromatic herbs for beauty purposes. But, of course, the culinary herb is still the most widely used. You can become a kitchen gardener by growing an herb garden right in your kitchen on a sunny windowsill.
For the discussion of herbal gardening today we will plant the herbs found in the Elizabethan Era and so often mentioned in William Shakespeare's works. The plants selected will be culinary herbs, medicinal herbs and aromatic herbs, all to experience the aromas and flavors of that time.
Herbal gardening is wonderful since the herbs can be grown in a variety of ways. Plant a container garden for you deck or patio for great colors, different textures and super aromas. Planning an herb garden in the ground will allow you to cultivate a traditional kitchen herb garden outside. Or if you have limited space, become an inside kitchen gardener and plant your herbs on a windowsill or in a window box.
When planning your herb garden remember that the herbs need well drained soil, they hate wet feet. Test your soil for the herb garden and make sure it is alkaline. All Herbs need at least six hours of sunlight.
When Elizabethans planted aromatic herbs, culinary herbs and medicinal herbs they used either a symmetrical rectangular or square patterns. The Elizabethans were very formal and felt their herb gardens should be too. Their herbal gardens had walkways, as strolling through the garden was a popular pastime. They had no TV'S! If you are planting your herbal garden near a patio, think about adding a strolling path for yourself. The paths will add character to you herbal garden.
In planning an herb garden be sure to take in to consideration the growing habits of each herb. Plant the taller busier herbs in the back of the garden, the small, compact ones in the front. Most herbs are perennials meaning they will grow back each year. Any of the herbs that need to be planted annually should go in a spot in the herb garden that is easy to get to. Give each herb plenty of room to grow. The herbs need air circulation to prevent mold. This stage of planning an herb garden is essential since once the plants become mature they do not like to be moved.
When you plant an herb garden, you can either start from seeds or get small plants from your garden center. The garden center plants will give a better chance of achieving success in the herb garden. When using seeds, plan ahead because the seeds may need to grow for several months before they are ready to plant into the herb garden. Especially if you are a beginner, I would recommend using the small plants from the garden center.
Go to a reputable garden center to purchase you herbs. Inspect your herbs closely to make sure they are healthy. One infected plant can ruin your whole herbal garden. When using the small herbs from the garden center you will be able to harvest your herbs much sooner. When you take the herbs out to be planted in the herbal garden, gently remove the plant from the pot and loosen the soil around the roots. Place the herb in the spot you have chosen or the container that you have prepared. Cover all of the roots with soil and gently tamp down. Give your new herbs plenty of water checking the moisture each day. Never let the soil dry out but don't make your herbs roots too wet. If you are planting a container garden remember that the dirt in a container will dry out more quickly then the ground. You might find that the herbs will droop for a couple of days. Don't fret that is shock but they will recover.
Once you have learned the herbs growth patterns you can start pinching off to get a bushier herb. When you first start out, keep a journal for your herb garden to keep track of each herbs strengths and weaknesses. After you get to know your herb garden you will be able to tell when the plants need attention.
Over the centuries herbs have evolved into very hardy plants. Once you herbal garden is established it will need very little care. To hold moisture for the herb longer, mulch around the plants. This is a good garden tip whether you plant the herbs in container gardens or in the ground.
Herbs are natural insect repellents but if you have to treat for pests be sure you use a non toxic treatment since you will be eating your harvest. Marigolds are a natural repellent so you may want to plant of few of these flowers. Planting companion plants is how most Shakespearian gardens were done.
Harvest can begin as soon as you have several leaves on the herb. It is best to cut your herbs before they begin to flower for the best flavor. This is when the most oils are stored in the leaves. Wait until any morning dew has dissipated before cutting but harvest before the full sun is out. You can cut your herbs right before you wish to use them. If the stems are tender these too can be used in your recipes.
If you have an abundant harvest you can freeze or dry the herbs. Dry them by hanging them upside down, in a bunch tied together, in a warm and dark place. You can microwave them by placing them between two paper towels and microwaving for 2 minutes. Put them in an air tight container, they will last up to 1 year.
Freezing the bounty of your herb garden will let them last a little longer, a year to year and a half. Chop up the herbs and place on a sheet of wax paper. Freeze for at least 2 hours. Another method is to put the herbs in ice cube trays with water. Freeze until firm, pop them out and put them in to zip lock bags. When ever you need the herbs for soups, stews or sauces, just throw in an herb ice cube.
Now, here is the list of Shakespearian Herbs to plant in your Elizabethan herb garden including culinary herbs, aromatic herbs and medicinal herbs. It will truly make you a kitchen gardener.
Bay, box, Broom, Calendula, Chamomile, Chives, Heartsease, Hyssop, Lavender, Lemon Balm, Parsley, Peppermint, Rosemary, Rue, Salad Burnet, Summer Savory, Bachelors Buttons and Thyme. For more information on each herb, email me or search on the internet.
Happy Gardening!
Copyright © Mary Hanna, All Rights Reserved.
This article may be distributed freely on your website and in your ezines, as long as this entire article, copyright notice, links and the resource box are unchanged.
Mary Hanna is an aspiring herbalist who lives in Central Florida. This allows her to grow gardens inside and outside year round. She has published other articles on Cruising, Gardening and Cooking. Visit her websites at http://www.GardeningHerb.com http://www.CruiseTravelDirectory.com and http://www.ContainerGardeningSecrets.com
For the discussion of herbal gardening today we will plant the herbs found in the Elizabethan Era and so often mentioned in William Shakespeare's works. The plants selected will be culinary herbs, medicinal herbs and aromatic herbs, all to experience the aromas and flavors of that time.
Herbal gardening is wonderful since the herbs can be grown in a variety of ways. Plant a container garden for you deck or patio for great colors, different textures and super aromas. Planning an herb garden in the ground will allow you to cultivate a traditional kitchen herb garden outside. Or if you have limited space, become an inside kitchen gardener and plant your herbs on a windowsill or in a window box.
When planning your herb garden remember that the herbs need well drained soil, they hate wet feet. Test your soil for the herb garden and make sure it is alkaline. All Herbs need at least six hours of sunlight.
When Elizabethans planted aromatic herbs, culinary herbs and medicinal herbs they used either a symmetrical rectangular or square patterns. The Elizabethans were very formal and felt their herb gardens should be too. Their herbal gardens had walkways, as strolling through the garden was a popular pastime. They had no TV'S! If you are planting your herbal garden near a patio, think about adding a strolling path for yourself. The paths will add character to you herbal garden.
In planning an herb garden be sure to take in to consideration the growing habits of each herb. Plant the taller busier herbs in the back of the garden, the small, compact ones in the front. Most herbs are perennials meaning they will grow back each year. Any of the herbs that need to be planted annually should go in a spot in the herb garden that is easy to get to. Give each herb plenty of room to grow. The herbs need air circulation to prevent mold. This stage of planning an herb garden is essential since once the plants become mature they do not like to be moved.
When you plant an herb garden, you can either start from seeds or get small plants from your garden center. The garden center plants will give a better chance of achieving success in the herb garden. When using seeds, plan ahead because the seeds may need to grow for several months before they are ready to plant into the herb garden. Especially if you are a beginner, I would recommend using the small plants from the garden center.
Go to a reputable garden center to purchase you herbs. Inspect your herbs closely to make sure they are healthy. One infected plant can ruin your whole herbal garden. When using the small herbs from the garden center you will be able to harvest your herbs much sooner. When you take the herbs out to be planted in the herbal garden, gently remove the plant from the pot and loosen the soil around the roots. Place the herb in the spot you have chosen or the container that you have prepared. Cover all of the roots with soil and gently tamp down. Give your new herbs plenty of water checking the moisture each day. Never let the soil dry out but don't make your herbs roots too wet. If you are planting a container garden remember that the dirt in a container will dry out more quickly then the ground. You might find that the herbs will droop for a couple of days. Don't fret that is shock but they will recover.
Once you have learned the herbs growth patterns you can start pinching off to get a bushier herb. When you first start out, keep a journal for your herb garden to keep track of each herbs strengths and weaknesses. After you get to know your herb garden you will be able to tell when the plants need attention.
Over the centuries herbs have evolved into very hardy plants. Once you herbal garden is established it will need very little care. To hold moisture for the herb longer, mulch around the plants. This is a good garden tip whether you plant the herbs in container gardens or in the ground.
Herbs are natural insect repellents but if you have to treat for pests be sure you use a non toxic treatment since you will be eating your harvest. Marigolds are a natural repellent so you may want to plant of few of these flowers. Planting companion plants is how most Shakespearian gardens were done.
Harvest can begin as soon as you have several leaves on the herb. It is best to cut your herbs before they begin to flower for the best flavor. This is when the most oils are stored in the leaves. Wait until any morning dew has dissipated before cutting but harvest before the full sun is out. You can cut your herbs right before you wish to use them. If the stems are tender these too can be used in your recipes.
If you have an abundant harvest you can freeze or dry the herbs. Dry them by hanging them upside down, in a bunch tied together, in a warm and dark place. You can microwave them by placing them between two paper towels and microwaving for 2 minutes. Put them in an air tight container, they will last up to 1 year.
Freezing the bounty of your herb garden will let them last a little longer, a year to year and a half. Chop up the herbs and place on a sheet of wax paper. Freeze for at least 2 hours. Another method is to put the herbs in ice cube trays with water. Freeze until firm, pop them out and put them in to zip lock bags. When ever you need the herbs for soups, stews or sauces, just throw in an herb ice cube.
Now, here is the list of Shakespearian Herbs to plant in your Elizabethan herb garden including culinary herbs, aromatic herbs and medicinal herbs. It will truly make you a kitchen gardener.
Bay, box, Broom, Calendula, Chamomile, Chives, Heartsease, Hyssop, Lavender, Lemon Balm, Parsley, Peppermint, Rosemary, Rue, Salad Burnet, Summer Savory, Bachelors Buttons and Thyme. For more information on each herb, email me or search on the internet.
Happy Gardening!
Copyright © Mary Hanna, All Rights Reserved.
This article may be distributed freely on your website and in your ezines, as long as this entire article, copyright notice, links and the resource box are unchanged.
Mary Hanna is an aspiring herbalist who lives in Central Florida. This allows her to grow gardens inside and outside year round. She has published other articles on Cruising, Gardening and Cooking. Visit her websites at http://www.GardeningHerb.com http://www.CruiseTravelDirectory.com and http://www.ContainerGardeningSecrets.com
Gardening Styles Revisited
Each gardener has his or her own set of gardening guidelines that correspond to certain predetermined gardening styles. If you know your gardening style and if you can apply that style to creating an organic garden, then you have pretty much captured an edge over other gardening enthusiasts. But, if you do not have a gardening style that you can apply to organic vegetable growing, then you could be at a strong disadvantage. What are the different styles of gardening that actually apply to successful organic vegetable harvesting? Here are some of the types that you could consider:
Residential Gardening
This is the most common of all gardening techniques. It is often referred to as "backyard gardening". If you are just a novice and not seasonally experienced in vegetable gardening, then residential gardening is your best approach. The primary purpose of the residential garden is to feed a family. A steady supply of home grown vegetables can not only feed your family now, if you understand canning and preserving, your garden can nourish your family long after the production period of your garden has ended.
The second appeal of residential gardening lies in its aesthetic appeal. Your garden can add color and depth to your landscape. It is quite transforming to see what was once only grass, a wooden deck, or a concrete balcony develop into an eye pleasing sculpture.
Residential gardening does not require a great deal of space. A window sill, deck, balcony or other small area that has sufficient light can easily produce a small crop. These small confined areas are easy to monitor and at the same time, easy to maintain. Protecting your garden from pests is much easier in a smaller area. The great thing about residential gardening is the ease with which it transforms the gardening wannabe into the gardening professional. It takes the rookie, having no knowledge of planting, growing, and harvesting, to a level of understanding where other gardening styles become the dream and the possibility.
Specialized Gardening
Specialized gardening usually involves non-residential areas. Common examples of specialized gardening include amusement parks, botanical gardens, zoos, commercial landscaping along highway right of ways, and many more. Making the landscape more attractive seems to be the most common underlying theme of the specialized garden. These landscaping endeavors are rarely the responsibility of a single person. Often times a staff of botanists and gardeners work together to maintain the garden's aesthetic attractiveness. These gardens are often created to support or deliver revenue to their owners or the organizations supporting them.
Specialized gardens rarely sport vegetables like corn, tomatoes, potatoes, peas, or beans. They, in agreement with their type, focus more on the special or more rare type of flora. Unique flowers, shrubs, even trees are often found in these areas. But, when a specialized garden does focus on vegetable planting, wide row techniques, sewing seeds in a wide band rather than in a single row, are most often applied.
Impact Gardening
By definition, impact gardening focuses on getting the most out of a small space. It involves using a relatively small gardening area and finding ways to maximize its gardening potential. In order to accomplish this objective, plants are strategically organized and systematically planted in a "crowded" format. This type of gardening requires a basic knowledge of plant types; annuals, perennials, shrubs, trees, and even ground cover. Understanding the types of plants most suited to the environment and the climate is paramount to successful impact gardening.
Impact gardening requires planning. A haphazard approach will not work. A layout of which plants will be placed where is paramount to successful impact growing. The best approach is to actually draw out a schematic of the garden labeling specific areas and then filling those areas with the appropriate plants. These designs or surveys should be as detailed as possible to include plant specifics and cost analysis.
There are four basic steps to successful impact gardening.
* Step one, survey a space for the garden and mark off the specific site. It is best to have the long side of the plot aligned with the sun, from east to west. This helps keep the plants from burning in the summer heat, and ruining your crops.
* Step two, design the garden. It should be attractive yet maintain its functionality.
* Step three, make long thin beds, eight feet longer than they are wide. This makes it easy to weed and plant. Build the bed frames out of long 2x8's. If you make several, you can lay them end to end, parallel to the sun.
* Step four, use soaker hoses to water. Place them up and down the rows, about one foot from the edges of the bed.
Indoor Gardening
Growing plants indoors is not only a science, it is an art. This type of gardening can be as small as a few potted plants kept on the coffee table or near the front door; or as large as a greenhouse with thousands of plant varieties housed in a climate controlled environment. These greenhouses or conservatories are designed and built with controlled systems for heating and air conditioning, whatever the plants require. Unfortunately this hot house type of gardening is more suitable to the commercial grower because of the expense factor involved.
For the home owner, the greatest benefit of indoor gardening is the simple fact that plants can be grown year round, completely independent of extreme climatic conditions like heat, cold, wind, or rain. Light is the most common limiting factor for indoor gardening. Most plants do not do well indoors, so it is important to match the light needs of a particular plant with the amount of light you can offer it. There are three general light categories--high, medium and low light. An easy way to measure how much light is in a particular area is to use a light meter, which is typically available at local nurseries, or simply hold your hand between the source of light and the spot where the plant is to be set. The amount of shadow gives a rough indication of available light. If there is no shadow or if a shadow is difficult to see, then that is an indication of low light.
Water Gardening
If you like low supervision gardening and love fish and aquatic plants, then water gardening is your style. Perhaps the most important consideration in water gardening is location selection. Most aquatic plants and fish need plenty of sun, so a place that gets 6-8 hours of direct sunlight is your best bet. Choose a site away from tall shrubs and trees. This site will then provide the best lighting and hopefully prevent the accumulation of leaf debris on the pond surface.
Planning is once again very important. Make sure you apply both common sense and some basic gardening principles to your site plan before you begin construction. Consider the overall size of your property, the size of your site selection, and your ability to maintain your garden before you scoop the first shovel of dirt. It goes without saying, small ponds are best for small properties. A container on a deck may be all that your need in accordance with the space you have available. Features like waterfalls, rock work, lighting and fountains are budget dependent. They may add style, but they could be overly costly.
Aquatic plants should cover no more than 50 - 60 percent of the water surface. Some are free floating while others are marginals or partially submerged. Selection depends on pond size and your personal preference. Water lilies are very popular and can add drama and fragrance even in small gardens. Some plants oxygenate the water and they help keep the water clear and the pool healthy. Fish can be a beneficial addition, because of their scavenging activities. They naturally clean up debris that would otherwise accumulate in the garden. They also can help control mosquito larva, and other insect development.
Community Gardening
Community gardening is becoming quite popular especially in highly populated urban areas. It involves concentrated efforts from different members of the community to help plant, maintain, and then harvest a garden. It is a huge undertaking, but the members of the community are given autonomy to style their areas in whichever way they choose. Locally, the Master Gardner program, through local Agricultural Extension Services, can provide just the right atmosphere for a community to plant a garden, maintain its integrity, and harvest its produce.
Neighborhoods pull together and transform vacant lots into green space. Building tenants gather on rooftops to plant and grow vegetables. Everyone shares in the responsibility and the harvest. This is community gardening in its purest form. These community gardens are a great way to get both children and adults involved in beautifying the neighborhood while at the same time working with nature.
No matter which style suits your needs best, it can be effectively applied to organic gardening. Each gardening style requires some level of planning and site preparation. Once planting is complete, the actual work of gardening begins. Caring for the plants in your garden is very similar to caring for your pets. They need regular food and water. Their space needs to be cleaned or weeded regularly. And, the more attention you give them, the more they respond and produce.
W. Bergfeld has been actively involved in the agriculture industry for over 30 years. He has experience raising quality commercial cattle as well as Pure Bred and Half Arab Western Pleasure show horses. His farming and gardening experience help customers at his Farm Supply Store. More information is available at his website: http://www.billbergfeld.com
Residential Gardening
This is the most common of all gardening techniques. It is often referred to as "backyard gardening". If you are just a novice and not seasonally experienced in vegetable gardening, then residential gardening is your best approach. The primary purpose of the residential garden is to feed a family. A steady supply of home grown vegetables can not only feed your family now, if you understand canning and preserving, your garden can nourish your family long after the production period of your garden has ended.
The second appeal of residential gardening lies in its aesthetic appeal. Your garden can add color and depth to your landscape. It is quite transforming to see what was once only grass, a wooden deck, or a concrete balcony develop into an eye pleasing sculpture.
Residential gardening does not require a great deal of space. A window sill, deck, balcony or other small area that has sufficient light can easily produce a small crop. These small confined areas are easy to monitor and at the same time, easy to maintain. Protecting your garden from pests is much easier in a smaller area. The great thing about residential gardening is the ease with which it transforms the gardening wannabe into the gardening professional. It takes the rookie, having no knowledge of planting, growing, and harvesting, to a level of understanding where other gardening styles become the dream and the possibility.
Specialized Gardening
Specialized gardening usually involves non-residential areas. Common examples of specialized gardening include amusement parks, botanical gardens, zoos, commercial landscaping along highway right of ways, and many more. Making the landscape more attractive seems to be the most common underlying theme of the specialized garden. These landscaping endeavors are rarely the responsibility of a single person. Often times a staff of botanists and gardeners work together to maintain the garden's aesthetic attractiveness. These gardens are often created to support or deliver revenue to their owners or the organizations supporting them.
Specialized gardens rarely sport vegetables like corn, tomatoes, potatoes, peas, or beans. They, in agreement with their type, focus more on the special or more rare type of flora. Unique flowers, shrubs, even trees are often found in these areas. But, when a specialized garden does focus on vegetable planting, wide row techniques, sewing seeds in a wide band rather than in a single row, are most often applied.
Impact Gardening
By definition, impact gardening focuses on getting the most out of a small space. It involves using a relatively small gardening area and finding ways to maximize its gardening potential. In order to accomplish this objective, plants are strategically organized and systematically planted in a "crowded" format. This type of gardening requires a basic knowledge of plant types; annuals, perennials, shrubs, trees, and even ground cover. Understanding the types of plants most suited to the environment and the climate is paramount to successful impact gardening.
Impact gardening requires planning. A haphazard approach will not work. A layout of which plants will be placed where is paramount to successful impact growing. The best approach is to actually draw out a schematic of the garden labeling specific areas and then filling those areas with the appropriate plants. These designs or surveys should be as detailed as possible to include plant specifics and cost analysis.
There are four basic steps to successful impact gardening.
* Step one, survey a space for the garden and mark off the specific site. It is best to have the long side of the plot aligned with the sun, from east to west. This helps keep the plants from burning in the summer heat, and ruining your crops.
* Step two, design the garden. It should be attractive yet maintain its functionality.
* Step three, make long thin beds, eight feet longer than they are wide. This makes it easy to weed and plant. Build the bed frames out of long 2x8's. If you make several, you can lay them end to end, parallel to the sun.
* Step four, use soaker hoses to water. Place them up and down the rows, about one foot from the edges of the bed.
Indoor Gardening
Growing plants indoors is not only a science, it is an art. This type of gardening can be as small as a few potted plants kept on the coffee table or near the front door; or as large as a greenhouse with thousands of plant varieties housed in a climate controlled environment. These greenhouses or conservatories are designed and built with controlled systems for heating and air conditioning, whatever the plants require. Unfortunately this hot house type of gardening is more suitable to the commercial grower because of the expense factor involved.
For the home owner, the greatest benefit of indoor gardening is the simple fact that plants can be grown year round, completely independent of extreme climatic conditions like heat, cold, wind, or rain. Light is the most common limiting factor for indoor gardening. Most plants do not do well indoors, so it is important to match the light needs of a particular plant with the amount of light you can offer it. There are three general light categories--high, medium and low light. An easy way to measure how much light is in a particular area is to use a light meter, which is typically available at local nurseries, or simply hold your hand between the source of light and the spot where the plant is to be set. The amount of shadow gives a rough indication of available light. If there is no shadow or if a shadow is difficult to see, then that is an indication of low light.
Water Gardening
If you like low supervision gardening and love fish and aquatic plants, then water gardening is your style. Perhaps the most important consideration in water gardening is location selection. Most aquatic plants and fish need plenty of sun, so a place that gets 6-8 hours of direct sunlight is your best bet. Choose a site away from tall shrubs and trees. This site will then provide the best lighting and hopefully prevent the accumulation of leaf debris on the pond surface.
Planning is once again very important. Make sure you apply both common sense and some basic gardening principles to your site plan before you begin construction. Consider the overall size of your property, the size of your site selection, and your ability to maintain your garden before you scoop the first shovel of dirt. It goes without saying, small ponds are best for small properties. A container on a deck may be all that your need in accordance with the space you have available. Features like waterfalls, rock work, lighting and fountains are budget dependent. They may add style, but they could be overly costly.
Aquatic plants should cover no more than 50 - 60 percent of the water surface. Some are free floating while others are marginals or partially submerged. Selection depends on pond size and your personal preference. Water lilies are very popular and can add drama and fragrance even in small gardens. Some plants oxygenate the water and they help keep the water clear and the pool healthy. Fish can be a beneficial addition, because of their scavenging activities. They naturally clean up debris that would otherwise accumulate in the garden. They also can help control mosquito larva, and other insect development.
Community Gardening
Community gardening is becoming quite popular especially in highly populated urban areas. It involves concentrated efforts from different members of the community to help plant, maintain, and then harvest a garden. It is a huge undertaking, but the members of the community are given autonomy to style their areas in whichever way they choose. Locally, the Master Gardner program, through local Agricultural Extension Services, can provide just the right atmosphere for a community to plant a garden, maintain its integrity, and harvest its produce.
Neighborhoods pull together and transform vacant lots into green space. Building tenants gather on rooftops to plant and grow vegetables. Everyone shares in the responsibility and the harvest. This is community gardening in its purest form. These community gardens are a great way to get both children and adults involved in beautifying the neighborhood while at the same time working with nature.
No matter which style suits your needs best, it can be effectively applied to organic gardening. Each gardening style requires some level of planning and site preparation. Once planting is complete, the actual work of gardening begins. Caring for the plants in your garden is very similar to caring for your pets. They need regular food and water. Their space needs to be cleaned or weeded regularly. And, the more attention you give them, the more they respond and produce.
W. Bergfeld has been actively involved in the agriculture industry for over 30 years. He has experience raising quality commercial cattle as well as Pure Bred and Half Arab Western Pleasure show horses. His farming and gardening experience help customers at his Farm Supply Store. More information is available at his website: http://www.billbergfeld.com
Tuesday, 4 May 2010
Garden Plans - How to Create a Breathtaking Garden Using Simple Planning Methods
I know far too many gardeners who are just plain lazy and undirected when they start out. (Forgive me for starting out so blunt but some things need to be said!)
They think they can just "throw together" whatever plants or flowers they find and call it a garden...
Believe me when I say I am never surprised when they run to me for help later on, saying how they wished they had a plan.
Let me tell you a little secret that *all* successful gardeners have in common: they start out with a clear plan for their garden.
They understand that following solid garden plans is the secret to matching their landscape perfectly, or complement their home in a breathtaking way... a well designed garden plan can even add value to your property. (That's a huge plus, especially when you consider today's economy!)
I've seen smart gardeners use garden plans to seclude private areas of their yard or put a hedge around their property. Of course, the ability alone to add color or contrast to objects in your yard is amazing!
"Where should I put my garden?"
Be creative-- I've seen gardens designed around work areas, storage spaces (like a shed or loft), patios, barbecue pit or near kids play areas. (Just remember to teach your kids that lying down in your plants is not the ideal place for "hide n' seek"... don't laugh, I've seen it happen!)
Don't forget to think hard about *why* you want it... one couple I know designed a fantastic garden for the purpose of nothing but resting near it. They've even designed it to enjoy the company of birds and butterflies! (Yes, there are ways to make your garden attract butterflies!)
Of course, you'll need to think about what kind of plants and flowers you want... Keep in mind that not all plants and equal! ... remember to keep going back to the purpose of your garden and also think about how your family might interact with it.
Don't be afraid to "think outside the box" and have fun - you can do amazing things with fountains, fences, mulch, rocks and other garden ornaments.
Important: Think About How *Others* Will Use It
Don't just think about how you alone will use the garden... what happens when you have guests over?
I know a family who planned a lovely garden right in the center of their yard so they could entertain family and friends... Or you might want your garden to be a sanctuary for wildlife and butterflies...
The type of plants/foliage you use is very dependant on your reasons for starting the garden!
See, if you think through these questions beforehand you will have so many ideas about how you can use your garden. (Rather than rushing forward, flying by the seat-of-your-pants and getting hit with your real desires when it's too late!)
Take it from someone who's been there: Do *not* keep your garden plans "in your head"... it really helps to write them down! Your thoughts will be 'fresher' and you'll find yourself able to think more freely.
What NOT To Do - Make Sure You Don't Make This Mistake
I know a well meaning gardener who thought the side of his house would be perfect for his garden... he was so inspired and excited that he couldn't wait to rush and get it going... so that's exactly what he did!
The problem - and you knew there was going to be a problem :) - was that side of his house didn't get much sunlight because it was blocked by a tree and a shed.
His garden failed miserably and all that time, hard work and money he spent was wasted.
Of course this would have easily been avoided had he taken some time to put a plan together.
Lesson learned: make sure you think about structures on your property and their relationship to your garden.
What Colors Should You Chose For Your Garden?
When it comes to colors in your garden plan, there is only one single, most important thing you need to think about: how far the garden is from your house.
You should use cooler colors like blues and purples if the garden is close and brighter colors like yellows, oranges and reds if your garden is further away from the house.
Here's why: dark colors are very difficult to see from far away and bright ones are often 'too much' from up close!
With the right garden plan you'll be able to visualize your garden *exactly* the way it will look before you build it! Remember to think about where it will be, what plants and flowers you'll grow, how to use it (remember: the purpose of it) and how big you want it to be.
Not only will you have more fun and end up with exactly the type of garden you were hoping for, you'll spend less time and money putting it together!
For more secrets on garden plans - including the little known design secrets that landscaping companies don't want you to know - just visit a http://www.OrganicGardenTips.net
They think they can just "throw together" whatever plants or flowers they find and call it a garden...
Believe me when I say I am never surprised when they run to me for help later on, saying how they wished they had a plan.
Let me tell you a little secret that *all* successful gardeners have in common: they start out with a clear plan for their garden.
They understand that following solid garden plans is the secret to matching their landscape perfectly, or complement their home in a breathtaking way... a well designed garden plan can even add value to your property. (That's a huge plus, especially when you consider today's economy!)
I've seen smart gardeners use garden plans to seclude private areas of their yard or put a hedge around their property. Of course, the ability alone to add color or contrast to objects in your yard is amazing!
"Where should I put my garden?"
Be creative-- I've seen gardens designed around work areas, storage spaces (like a shed or loft), patios, barbecue pit or near kids play areas. (Just remember to teach your kids that lying down in your plants is not the ideal place for "hide n' seek"... don't laugh, I've seen it happen!)
Don't forget to think hard about *why* you want it... one couple I know designed a fantastic garden for the purpose of nothing but resting near it. They've even designed it to enjoy the company of birds and butterflies! (Yes, there are ways to make your garden attract butterflies!)
Of course, you'll need to think about what kind of plants and flowers you want... Keep in mind that not all plants and equal! ... remember to keep going back to the purpose of your garden and also think about how your family might interact with it.
Don't be afraid to "think outside the box" and have fun - you can do amazing things with fountains, fences, mulch, rocks and other garden ornaments.
Important: Think About How *Others* Will Use It
Don't just think about how you alone will use the garden... what happens when you have guests over?
I know a family who planned a lovely garden right in the center of their yard so they could entertain family and friends... Or you might want your garden to be a sanctuary for wildlife and butterflies...
The type of plants/foliage you use is very dependant on your reasons for starting the garden!
See, if you think through these questions beforehand you will have so many ideas about how you can use your garden. (Rather than rushing forward, flying by the seat-of-your-pants and getting hit with your real desires when it's too late!)
Take it from someone who's been there: Do *not* keep your garden plans "in your head"... it really helps to write them down! Your thoughts will be 'fresher' and you'll find yourself able to think more freely.
What NOT To Do - Make Sure You Don't Make This Mistake
I know a well meaning gardener who thought the side of his house would be perfect for his garden... he was so inspired and excited that he couldn't wait to rush and get it going... so that's exactly what he did!
The problem - and you knew there was going to be a problem :) - was that side of his house didn't get much sunlight because it was blocked by a tree and a shed.
His garden failed miserably and all that time, hard work and money he spent was wasted.
Of course this would have easily been avoided had he taken some time to put a plan together.
Lesson learned: make sure you think about structures on your property and their relationship to your garden.
What Colors Should You Chose For Your Garden?
When it comes to colors in your garden plan, there is only one single, most important thing you need to think about: how far the garden is from your house.
You should use cooler colors like blues and purples if the garden is close and brighter colors like yellows, oranges and reds if your garden is further away from the house.
Here's why: dark colors are very difficult to see from far away and bright ones are often 'too much' from up close!
With the right garden plan you'll be able to visualize your garden *exactly* the way it will look before you build it! Remember to think about where it will be, what plants and flowers you'll grow, how to use it (remember: the purpose of it) and how big you want it to be.
Not only will you have more fun and end up with exactly the type of garden you were hoping for, you'll spend less time and money putting it together!
For more secrets on garden plans - including the little known design secrets that landscaping companies don't want you to know - just visit a http://www.OrganicGardenTips.net
Raised Bed Gardening - How to Grow Well in Small Spaces
What is raised bed gardening and why should you be interested? It's planting that isn't done directly in the ground. It is -- usually -- done in some kind of raised bed gardening in containers. There are square raised beds, rectangular raised beds, and round raised beds. You can make a raised bed just about any shape you want and, yes, container planters are a form of raised bed.
You don't have to have land the size of Green Acres to garden successfully. You know what I mean -- land stretching out for days.
You also do not have to grow vegetables in the ground. There's nothing out there anywhere that says a veggie garden will only be successful if you have an acre of ground to plant in.
Raised Bed Gardening and the New Homeowner
Let me tell you about my first house and the very first square foot garden I'd ever tended on my own. It was 1991 and I'd just closed on a townhouse in Marlton, New Jersey. It had fenced backyard but the previous owner's dog had really it ripped up.
Now, lots of women may have focused on things like window treatments or furniture.
Not me, boy. The day after closing I went to the home center and had them cut eight 1x12 pieces of lumber.
For those of you not familiar with the size and dimensions of lumber, the one is the thickness and the 12 is the width. I asked the lumber yard to cut these pieces 4 feet long for two 4x4 square raised beds.
After that, I went over to the garden center and picked up eight bags of garden soil. Why eight? 'Cuz I had no clue as to how much I'd need.
Then I bought some plants and some seed packets. I spent between $30 and $35 for everything.
I learned about raised bed gardening from watching garden shows on TV including Mel Bartholomew's TV show on PBS, "Square Foot Gardening".
Now, I'm not a tool belt diva. I had the rudimentary tools -- hammer, two screwdrivers, and a ratchet set. Hey, how hard can it be to nail four boards together to form a four foot by four foot raised bed garden box?
Harder than I thought.
I either needed someone to hold the lumber while I nailed or needed clamps or a vise. I discovered this after boards came loose and I had littered the air with blue words.
In the end, I got enough nails into the lumber to hold it together (I'm sure my neighbors had a good laugh watching me do this). The pressure of the garden soil also helped keep the shape of the raised bed garden box together.
The point is that raised beds don't have to be works of art -- they don't have to be structurally sound or be able to withstand a 7.3 earthquake. They just have to hold soil.
I grew lots of things in those to raised beds: tomatoes, peppers, cilantro, oregano, squash, beans, dill, basil, eggplant, spinach, musk melon (small cantaloupe), scallions, and fennel.
It's astonishing how much could grow in a small raised bed garden. I also did it with the help of vertical gardening using trellises.
One of the greatest advantages to raised bed gardening is that you control the soil content.
Let's say you've got clay soil like I do here in Tidewater Virginia. Not a problem. Build some raised beds and filled them with a mix of garden soil, compost and something to lighten it up -- vermiculite, perlite, peat moss, or even some sand. One thing you should know is to never use topsoil -- it's too dense and muddy.
I personally use Miracle-Gro products -- I like their water retention mix. Most of their soils have plant food already mixed in and you can buy garden soil, topsoil, and/or potting mix.
Every once in awhile, I'll combine garden soil with potting mix because the potting mix already has some perlite in it and this tends to be a lighter, fluffier soil.
One of the things you want to avoid in raised bed or container gardening is heavy soil density. It's like trying to grow plants in wet concrete. The lighter and fluffier it is the easier it will be for plants' roots to grow.
And raised bed gardening does not have to be on the ground. If you have a bad back or you have avoided gardening because you don't want to look like one of those pieces of bent over garden art -- you know the ones, women with fat butts in bloomers -- build your garden beds higher.
You can stack your raised beds on top of each other. Just make sure to anchor the boxes together so that the top box doesn't slip off the bottom. Or you could get wider pieces of lumber to make them higher.
You can grow just about anything in a raised bed. From potatoes to tomatoes to a cutting garden full of zinnias, you can do it in a raised bed.
The only exceptions would be really large-scale shrubs like azaleas and hydrangeas or trees. Although, you could probably plant dwarf trees in them. If you want to grow larger scale veggies like squash, zucchini, melon, or watermelon, you'll probably need most of one end of the raised bed for them to sprawl out in.
Garden Versatility with Raised Bed Gardening
Cultivating soil in a traditional row garden takes time. I don't care if your house is located on the most wonderful loam in the world. It'll still to take time to make it better. Using raised beds allows you to garden instantly.
And you don't have to put to raised beds on dirt or grass. You can place them on a deck or patio. If you do that, I'd either put some kind of bottom on the raised bed box or even set them on pallets (you can sometimes get old pallets from grocery stores for next to nothing).
The point here is when putting a raised bed on a hard surface like concrete, give the plant's roots some air. Make these beds a bit deeper by making the sides of the bed higher -- that allows for plenty of plant growth.
Victoria Rosendahl has been getting her hands dirty in the garden since she was 10. She writes a free monthly ezine, The Frugal Gardener, http://www.myfrugalgardener.com and has designed the ultimate raised garden bed, GardenRack, which allows you to garden without bending or kneeling. Check out her site at http://www.garden-rack.com or send her an email at info@garden-rack.com
You don't have to have land the size of Green Acres to garden successfully. You know what I mean -- land stretching out for days.
You also do not have to grow vegetables in the ground. There's nothing out there anywhere that says a veggie garden will only be successful if you have an acre of ground to plant in.
Raised Bed Gardening and the New Homeowner
Let me tell you about my first house and the very first square foot garden I'd ever tended on my own. It was 1991 and I'd just closed on a townhouse in Marlton, New Jersey. It had fenced backyard but the previous owner's dog had really it ripped up.
Now, lots of women may have focused on things like window treatments or furniture.
Not me, boy. The day after closing I went to the home center and had them cut eight 1x12 pieces of lumber.
For those of you not familiar with the size and dimensions of lumber, the one is the thickness and the 12 is the width. I asked the lumber yard to cut these pieces 4 feet long for two 4x4 square raised beds.
After that, I went over to the garden center and picked up eight bags of garden soil. Why eight? 'Cuz I had no clue as to how much I'd need.
Then I bought some plants and some seed packets. I spent between $30 and $35 for everything.
I learned about raised bed gardening from watching garden shows on TV including Mel Bartholomew's TV show on PBS, "Square Foot Gardening".
Now, I'm not a tool belt diva. I had the rudimentary tools -- hammer, two screwdrivers, and a ratchet set. Hey, how hard can it be to nail four boards together to form a four foot by four foot raised bed garden box?
Harder than I thought.
I either needed someone to hold the lumber while I nailed or needed clamps or a vise. I discovered this after boards came loose and I had littered the air with blue words.
In the end, I got enough nails into the lumber to hold it together (I'm sure my neighbors had a good laugh watching me do this). The pressure of the garden soil also helped keep the shape of the raised bed garden box together.
The point is that raised beds don't have to be works of art -- they don't have to be structurally sound or be able to withstand a 7.3 earthquake. They just have to hold soil.
I grew lots of things in those to raised beds: tomatoes, peppers, cilantro, oregano, squash, beans, dill, basil, eggplant, spinach, musk melon (small cantaloupe), scallions, and fennel.
It's astonishing how much could grow in a small raised bed garden. I also did it with the help of vertical gardening using trellises.
One of the greatest advantages to raised bed gardening is that you control the soil content.
Let's say you've got clay soil like I do here in Tidewater Virginia. Not a problem. Build some raised beds and filled them with a mix of garden soil, compost and something to lighten it up -- vermiculite, perlite, peat moss, or even some sand. One thing you should know is to never use topsoil -- it's too dense and muddy.
I personally use Miracle-Gro products -- I like their water retention mix. Most of their soils have plant food already mixed in and you can buy garden soil, topsoil, and/or potting mix.
Every once in awhile, I'll combine garden soil with potting mix because the potting mix already has some perlite in it and this tends to be a lighter, fluffier soil.
One of the things you want to avoid in raised bed or container gardening is heavy soil density. It's like trying to grow plants in wet concrete. The lighter and fluffier it is the easier it will be for plants' roots to grow.
And raised bed gardening does not have to be on the ground. If you have a bad back or you have avoided gardening because you don't want to look like one of those pieces of bent over garden art -- you know the ones, women with fat butts in bloomers -- build your garden beds higher.
You can stack your raised beds on top of each other. Just make sure to anchor the boxes together so that the top box doesn't slip off the bottom. Or you could get wider pieces of lumber to make them higher.
You can grow just about anything in a raised bed. From potatoes to tomatoes to a cutting garden full of zinnias, you can do it in a raised bed.
The only exceptions would be really large-scale shrubs like azaleas and hydrangeas or trees. Although, you could probably plant dwarf trees in them. If you want to grow larger scale veggies like squash, zucchini, melon, or watermelon, you'll probably need most of one end of the raised bed for them to sprawl out in.
Garden Versatility with Raised Bed Gardening
Cultivating soil in a traditional row garden takes time. I don't care if your house is located on the most wonderful loam in the world. It'll still to take time to make it better. Using raised beds allows you to garden instantly.
And you don't have to put to raised beds on dirt or grass. You can place them on a deck or patio. If you do that, I'd either put some kind of bottom on the raised bed box or even set them on pallets (you can sometimes get old pallets from grocery stores for next to nothing).
The point here is when putting a raised bed on a hard surface like concrete, give the plant's roots some air. Make these beds a bit deeper by making the sides of the bed higher -- that allows for plenty of plant growth.
Victoria Rosendahl has been getting her hands dirty in the garden since she was 10. She writes a free monthly ezine, The Frugal Gardener, http://www.myfrugalgardener.com and has designed the ultimate raised garden bed, GardenRack, which allows you to garden without bending or kneeling. Check out her site at http://www.garden-rack.com or send her an email at info@garden-rack.com
Gardening Gifts For The Gardener In Your Life
If you are looking for a unique gift idea for the gardener in your life, there's great news. Gardening has suddenly become very vogue, and so finding interesting gardening gifts is no longer a problem. In fact, consider a gift basket idea themed for the gardener. Here are just a few ideas to put a smile on the gardener's face.
Plants
Of course plants always make excellent gardening gifts. There are a few things to consider when purchasing plants. Things like where the gardener lives, what type of gardening they do, whether you are looking for a specific plant family, and a host of other questions need answering, and then you can find the perfect unique gift idea in the plant you buy.
Gloves
Now I know what you're thinking - that's a boring gift.
Actually not, because they are a great gift basket idea. And with all the fun new gardening gloves on the market you'll have the gardener looking great and protecting their hands. Gloves are an essential tool - choose from leather, canvas, or light cotton.
Ornaments
These are a welcome addition to both indoor and outdoor gardening and with so many fun choices you can find unique gift ideas with little problem. Besides being a gardener, perhaps the person you need to buy for has another hobby - a golfer, a musician, a bowler? You can often tie two themes together for a very interesting and unique gift idea.
The Trowel
If you aren't a gardener you likely don't understand the importance of this. But trust me when I tell you that every gardener needs a stainless trowel. These handy little tools are great for digging up young plants that need to be transplanted or digging up soil. They are lightweight, making them easy to use for every age.
Pruners
Don't go big here. A nice mall pair is perfect for the average size plants. Pruners will make it a breeze for your gardener to trim back plants. And although they might not be considered a truly unique gift idea when it comes to gardening gifts they are a very useful item.
Hoe
Every gardener needs a hoe to deal with the weeds when they start popping up. But not just any hoe. When it comes to gardening gifts go "big" and choose one of the fancy hoes that are easy on the back, ergonomically designed, and not an item your gardener is likely to treat themselves to.
Water Feature
Have you seen all the wonderful water features that are on the market? There is a size and theme for every garden. And there is nothing as tranquil as the sound of running water. What a great finishing touch to any garden! If you are buying for an indoor garden - great news! There are miniature versions for in the house.
Hummingbird Feeder
If you want a really unique gift idea then consider a blown glass hummingbird feeder. No two are identical, and they are simply stunning. Even if there are no hummingbirds in the area they make a beautiful addition to any garden.
Watering Can
Of my favorite gardening gifts is the watering can. There are so many types to choose from, it can easily become part of the gardening decor! Big, small, figural, painted, short, wide, short spout, long spout - the choices are endless. Take some time choosing a watering can, and you've got a unique gift idea.
A gardening gift basket idea is another smart idea for the gardener in your life. You can buy a pre-made basket, or you can have a little fun and make your own. You can usually find a large wicker basket at a discount store, and then start filling. You can finish the basket with a coffee cup and some specialty coffee, chocolates, or whatever is favorite to the gardener you are buying for. It doesn't get more personal than that!
Gardening gifts for the gardener in your life can be a lot of fun to buy for. Just let your imagination run wild, and you'll find the perfect unique gift idea!
At Nuts to You, we celebrate any occasion and have gardening gifts, specialty foods, pampering treats, and gifts for all ages. Give from the heart, and your gifts will always be perfect. Visit our online catalog of extraordinary products at http://www.giftsfromnutstoyou.com/
Plants
Of course plants always make excellent gardening gifts. There are a few things to consider when purchasing plants. Things like where the gardener lives, what type of gardening they do, whether you are looking for a specific plant family, and a host of other questions need answering, and then you can find the perfect unique gift idea in the plant you buy.
Gloves
Now I know what you're thinking - that's a boring gift.
Actually not, because they are a great gift basket idea. And with all the fun new gardening gloves on the market you'll have the gardener looking great and protecting their hands. Gloves are an essential tool - choose from leather, canvas, or light cotton.
Ornaments
These are a welcome addition to both indoor and outdoor gardening and with so many fun choices you can find unique gift ideas with little problem. Besides being a gardener, perhaps the person you need to buy for has another hobby - a golfer, a musician, a bowler? You can often tie two themes together for a very interesting and unique gift idea.
The Trowel
If you aren't a gardener you likely don't understand the importance of this. But trust me when I tell you that every gardener needs a stainless trowel. These handy little tools are great for digging up young plants that need to be transplanted or digging up soil. They are lightweight, making them easy to use for every age.
Pruners
Don't go big here. A nice mall pair is perfect for the average size plants. Pruners will make it a breeze for your gardener to trim back plants. And although they might not be considered a truly unique gift idea when it comes to gardening gifts they are a very useful item.
Hoe
Every gardener needs a hoe to deal with the weeds when they start popping up. But not just any hoe. When it comes to gardening gifts go "big" and choose one of the fancy hoes that are easy on the back, ergonomically designed, and not an item your gardener is likely to treat themselves to.
Water Feature
Have you seen all the wonderful water features that are on the market? There is a size and theme for every garden. And there is nothing as tranquil as the sound of running water. What a great finishing touch to any garden! If you are buying for an indoor garden - great news! There are miniature versions for in the house.
Hummingbird Feeder
If you want a really unique gift idea then consider a blown glass hummingbird feeder. No two are identical, and they are simply stunning. Even if there are no hummingbirds in the area they make a beautiful addition to any garden.
Watering Can
Of my favorite gardening gifts is the watering can. There are so many types to choose from, it can easily become part of the gardening decor! Big, small, figural, painted, short, wide, short spout, long spout - the choices are endless. Take some time choosing a watering can, and you've got a unique gift idea.
A gardening gift basket idea is another smart idea for the gardener in your life. You can buy a pre-made basket, or you can have a little fun and make your own. You can usually find a large wicker basket at a discount store, and then start filling. You can finish the basket with a coffee cup and some specialty coffee, chocolates, or whatever is favorite to the gardener you are buying for. It doesn't get more personal than that!
Gardening gifts for the gardener in your life can be a lot of fun to buy for. Just let your imagination run wild, and you'll find the perfect unique gift idea!
At Nuts to You, we celebrate any occasion and have gardening gifts, specialty foods, pampering treats, and gifts for all ages. Give from the heart, and your gifts will always be perfect. Visit our online catalog of extraordinary products at http://www.giftsfromnutstoyou.com/
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
