MyGarden

As mid-summer is approaching, you have probably begun to harvest some of your vegetables. This is the absolute BEST part of having your own garden. It is so satisfying to put a meal on the table and know that you actually grew the ingredients yourself. I've noticed that the fresh vegetables from my garden tend to taste better than grocery store fare as well. Today I want to talk about another GREAT use of your garden vegetables that a lot of people don't think about. What do you do if you have a monster tomato plant and you have 30-40 tomatoes all ripen at the same time? What about when you have 10 giant cucumbers sitting in your fridge waiting to be eaten and you can't stomach the idea of another...

Unlike many gardeners, I actually love the beginning of winter. Yes, there are some jobs that need to be done in the garden - we can get to those later. But it's also an opportunity to curl up in front of a warm fire with a perfect excuse to stay indoors (if you happen to live in a part of the world where it's cold, dark and raining!), consider what worked and what didn't over the past gardening year, and begin to plan what you'll try next year. At the end of autumn my husband usually finds me surrounded by gardening books, seed catalogues and sheets of paper, sketching out my vege garden for the coming year and looking for new varieties to plant which will survive in our very humid summer. This is...

The first greenhouse I saw was one my mother made from an old window. She dug a hole in the ground with her garden spade. It was maybe six inches deep. She put tomato seedlings in soup cans into the hole and then laid a great big old window over the hole. The seedlings were safe from predators and winds and sudden cold. The sun warmed the plants through the window and they thrived. In the middle of the summer, when it is pouring rain, or when I need to work on an experimental project, I often wish I had a greenhouse. (Okay by experimental project, I mean some notion I dreamed up and want to try out.) I was browsing through books and catalogs over the weekend and thought that a greenhouse would be...

For most people gardening begins in the spring and ends in the fall. When the garden beds have been cleared and the snow begins to fall, we are left with a white, boring landscape. Wouldn't you rather have a beautiful and colorful winter garden spot? You can. With a little imagination and planning, you can have a beautiful winter garden, alive with color and beautiful birds. There are many plants that can add color and beauty to your winter garden... Blue Rug Juniper The Blue Rug Juniper is beautiful throughout the winter. It easily tolerates sub-zero temperatures while retaining its beautiful appearance. The dense, silvery-blue foliage grows to 6-8 inches tall, spreading to about 5 feet. The Blue...

How often have you flipped through home and garden magazines, staring at the lovely well landscaped gardens thinking how costly it must be to get these gardens set up and maintain? On the contrary, with a little bit of creativity and imagination, you can actually achieve the same well manicured lawn in an economical way, by following some of these tips: 1. Know what you want. Look around your neighborhood and study which plants really grow well in your area. You can start gathering pictures from magazines or internet websites to get an idea of the garden design that you would want to have. 2. Decide on the color. Once you had already chosen the plants that you want to see in your garden, you can now...

Have you ever noticed that cooking shows don't use the herbs and spices that they buy from grocery stores? Everything they use is freshly picked right from their own, personal mini herb garden. Truly, if you want to cook exceptional meals - having your own herbs is something you should definitely be looking into. The fact of the matter is growing your own herb garden isn't that difficult! It takes a bit of knowledge, some discipline and a good location to plant your seeds. There are all sorts of different ways to grow herb gardens. There's the indoor kind, such as the ones you see in a cook's kitchen. These are nice for people who live in apartments or crowded condo's. Then, there is the outdoor...

Herbs may be a very tolerant kind of plant but they need care nevertheless and here are a few areas that you should remember when you start an herb garden. Before you start an herb garden clean up the area where the plants are going to be planted. This includes digging the soil to remove all weeds that may already be present, their roots and other organic matter. Dig up the soil thoroughly to ensure there are no lumps which will block the easy passage of water and disturb the growth of your herbs. Well rotted organic matter should also be included in the soil to increase its ability to retain water and keep the roots moist. Most herbs can up by themselves and do not need any external assistance to...

These days, many home owners like to use decorative stones in their landscape projects. Decorative stones like Walnut nuggets, Western Sunrise, Arctic rainbow, Spanish tile, Walnut pebbles, Silica pebbles and Royal Gorge offer a classic look to your landscape. There are some landscape supply companies that provide variety of decorative stones for exterior embellishment. These stones do not require more maintenance. You simply need to rinse them with a garden hose, whenever they become dull. Decorative stones like Beachwood pebbles are man-made silica stones and are brown in color. They are lightweight and very simple to install. They offer an exquisite backdrop to your landscape design. You can...

"body"> If you have a lot of extra land and don't know what to do with it, then let me suggest growing trees. With growing trees you can earn a small income without having to do much work. Sometimes if you're lucky the government will even help you pay or provide the trees as long as you keep them planted a certain amount of time. Now let us look at the types of trees to plant. The most commonly used trees are pines. They are fast growing, fairly hardy, and have good wood. They also have a fairly good chance of surviving a controlled field burning. To start off you should make sure your land can handle the trees. Check the soil for nutrients and see if there is any chance of flooding. Natural...

Among many reasons why landscaping of gardens has become more common and popular, is that it adds artistic value to your land and it also increases its value. You should have a lot of planning before landscaping the garden as your ideas will become out of order when your are starting the work, and there might be some hazards in the way. Your ideas for landscaping the garden can include things like small pools, ponds, lighting and you can even add sculptured statues if you have a big budget. Landscaping the gardens can give you infinite ideas as there are many things you would like to do with your garden like adding various flowering plants, cemented walkways and bushes and so on. Making your...

Buy your orchids as soon as they appear in the stores when they are fresh from the nursery, and the blooms will last for weeks. When buying your orchid plant, first examine it carefully. The plant may have been healthy and fit when it left the grower, but if conditions have not been right since then, the buds may be yellow and shriveled. These will drop off and the plant should be avoided. FOLIAGE This should be clean, a deep green colour and not floppy and dehydrated. LEAVES Check the undersides for any bugs that may be hiding there. FLOWERSPIKES Make sure that they are staked correctly and that some buds are unopened. COMPOST Examine the surface to make sure that there are no dead roots showing...

Not all gardens are perfect and there are a lot of things that can happen to it. One of the many frustrating things that you can experience during your gardening activities is when you check on your plants (and see that they're thriving) but with a couple of holes that weren't there a couple of hours ago. The best explanation for these are garden pests, the most common of which includes slugs, worms, caterpillars, birds, snails, and some occasional gopher. What's more frustrating about it is that you can never wipe them out entirely. All you can manage is to keep them away for some time but for sure, they'll end up going back. So, what do you do? To keep the insects away, remove their habitat which...

- As soon as the earth is workable, begin planting late spring and summer bulbs. Always plant bulbs six to eight inches below the ground to prevent spring freeze damage. - Try planting leftover Christmas amaryllis bulbs outside. You need to put them along the side of your house, about eight or nine inches below ground, as soon as the soil is workable. Some might never come up, Amaryllis is such a hit-and-miss thing. There is a saying at many flower shows that I don't agree with: 'Grow them, show them and throw them.' But we can't just throw a live plant away." - If you discover that a lot of spring bulbs were lost to the cold, make note to replant in the fall. In fact, I think it's a good idea to...

As the warm summer sun starts its decent into fall, we begin to look at what lawn care is essential for this time of year. Since most of us simply do not have the time to spend hours on end to keep up the garden, we will explore the available options for superior yard care. What gardening tools you will need: To begin the process, some very important tools should be in your possession. The first is a petrol lawnmower and this will be the most important item to use for the lawn care process. In addition to this very important tool, you should also have: - Hose/Irrigation System - Rake - Edger - Clippers - Gloves Rake the lawn before and after you cut: For those that would think it is brilliant to mow...

Tending to the garden is just one aspect of gardening. Another aspect that can be focused on is the garden journal. Here are six tips to help your garden journaling. 1. Find the Right Journal The right garden journal makes a difference. If you spend a lot of time in your garden journal, you might want something that appeals to you. It can be just a blank notebook, or it can be something grand such as a sketch pad. You can use a three-ringed binder to make your own garden journal. Add graph paper, blank copy paper and/or lined paper. You could decorate the covers to express your artistic or garden tastes. You could buy a journal that has a floral or garden design on it. The options are limited only...

A common mistake when planning a garden is not deciding on your garden's design before you begin planting. If you take into consideration all aspects of what you would like to see in your garden, then chances are the end result is going to be beautiful. If you are just starting out, it might be a good idea to talk to a professional gardener to get advice on how best to lay out your garden. Many gardeners are willing to do a consult with you and some will even do it for free. You will need to determine the location of your garden first, so that you will know the amount of light that your garden will receive. Plants, flowers and vegetables vary greatly in the amount of light that is required for them...

> The design of your garden has an amazing affect on your family’s health and well-being. Here is how you can create harmony in your garden—which is considered a living entity—and bring peace and happiness within your home. Vastu Shastra is an environmental science written about some 7,000 — 10,000 years ago in India by rishis, or men of great wisdom. They observed the workings of Nature and recorded how different rays of the sun, the magnetic poles, the makeup of the land, soil, slope, structures, etc. affected all living things. It is the oldest recorded architectural treatise known to man and it is from this science that some of the world’s most enduring structures have been...

Gardening with your family can be a good way to connect with your kids. While gardening can be a little expensive, it doesn't have to. There are cheaper ways to make gardening fun and exciting for you and your family. Start small. If you don't have a backyard or lawn, you can turn your window boxes or containers into mini-gardens. Set up mini-gardens in your kid's bedroom. You'll be surprised at how responsible they can be. Get child-sized gardening tools. Local nurseries or garden centers usually have gardening tools for the little hands. Purchase ones that looks like the real things to make your child feel like a real gardener. Plastic spoons and shovels can work too, if you're on a tight budget...

After you have been growing a vegetable garden for a while you could just be feeling a bit dissatisfied at how bare looking it appears. I also began our gardening interest with a vegetable garden. Before long I came to the conclusion that it wasn't quite as pleasing to look at as I thought it was. I heard from a friend that the use of perennial flowers could be a great way to liven up my garden without adding any extra work for me. Flowers that return every year without the need for replanting are called perennials. For us it began a few perennials and have found that perennial flowers are durable. During their off seasons, the flowers and stems die back so that you can hardly even tell the plant is...

Starting a garden is a rewarding task. There is a lot involved when you first invest time into gardening but in the end it brings many benefits including fresh and healthier food and it can even bring in the benefit of a little extra cash. Getting your kids involved in the gardening process is even more rewarding. The kids learn responsibility, patience and the way nature works. But how can you start the kids on their adventure into gardening? Here are a few ideas. Give Kids the Choice Giving kids a voice in design and choice in the garden matters. It will make them feel like the garden is a more personal experience to them. Even the younger kids can have a choice with parental encouragement. Allow...

What are the 5 best and easiest plants to grow in my garden? Tomatoes, Lettuce, Radishes, Peppers and Cucumbers. I'll tell you a little about planting each one. TOMATOES are the number one grown plant in the country. Whether people grow it actually in their garden or in pots on the patio or in their flower beds. Tomatoes are a very popular vegetable, because nothing beats the taste of a home grown tomato! They tend to get a large green caterpillar called a "tomato worm". But these can be easily picked off with gloves if you are squeamish. There are large and small varieties of tomatoes such as Beefsteak or Cherry tomatoes. You will need a trellis or tomato cage or one of those up side down growing...

When is it safe to plant vegetables outdoors? You log on to the USDA website, find the frost map for the United States, look up your zone and low and behold it is time to plant. But wait there's more! The dates give for the last frost in your area are only a suggestion and the recommendation from most gardeners I talk to is two weeks after that date to avoid that rare case of cold weather that could wipe all of your indoor growth. When should you start fertilizing your vegetable plants? In short, never. Let me explain. Products like miracle grow and others similar to it do work and they work well. But if you really want to build a great garden and one that is chemical free, you need to compost. If...

Before you can go and build a hydroponic garden, you must first know what exactly it is and the duties and level of commitment it entails. Hydroponics, in essence, refers to the ability to grow plants in the absence of soil. Despite what science books have taught us over the years, all plants and vegetables do not require air, sunlight, and water in order to thrive. Below are four of the most frequently asked questions by gardeners new to the idea of hydroponic gardening: "Can plants really be grown indoors?" Contrary to what we've grown to know about sunlight and its vital role in helping our plants grow, growing plants indoor by way of hydroponics is indeed possible. In order to grow plants...

Pole Beans, Squash, Okra, Beets and Greens POLE BEANS are one of my favorite plants to grow. You should only grow them if you like 3 Bean Salad or Green Bean Casserole or some other way of cooking them. Because they are very prolific and need to be picked every other day or so or they will get too big and tough. You can find the yellow beans for your 3 Bean Salad in the pole bean variety too. The reason I like the pole beans is they're easier to pick than the bush bean type which are also easy to grow. But you'll appreciate that item as you grow older. They will also need a trellis or a tomato cage. SQUASH is a very popular plant in the South. There are probably at least 5 varieties of Squash on the...

The biggest mistake contractors make when marketing their business is they try to "re-invent the wheel"! Contractors need to appreciate that as they are in business their first responsibility is to promote and sell their services. However, their initial training in the industry may have only taught them the skills to care for lawn and gardens. Marketing, sadly, is not a skill that is easily learned, taught or acquired by people in the Lawn and Gardening Industry. Having said all that: Marketing techniques and tactics used in the Industry are pretty similar and nothing out of the ordinary. The less experienced operators in the Industry can rely on the following list of marketing tools to help them...

Pink Cherokee Chief Dogwood - Makes a great addition to any yard Does your yard lack color? Does it lack a feeling of serenity and peace when it comes to your yard design? Is it bare or too busy? No matter what your reason the Pink Cherokee Dogwood makes a great addition to any landscape. This kind of pink dogwood tree is the so called "Chief of the dogwood family." It has a very showy display of blooms in the spring and stunning deep pink foliage in the fall that seems to last forever. It seems as if every day you look at the pink dogwood it gets prettier and prettier the more you look at it. The Cherokee Chief dogwood grows to a height of 20' to 25' and spreads 12'-15'. The Pink Flowering Dogwood...

If you want to plant roses, you must know a few things in order to be successful growing them. The best time to plant roses is in the spring months when the weather is cool and it is damp outside. The best thing about roses is that they are aesthetically pleasing to the eye and they simply smell fabulous as well. Not everyone can grow roses due to the geographical and weather conditions that vary around the world. Also, it takes time and care to get roses to bloom and to become productive flowering plants. The following can help you to grow roses: 1. It is very important to give the roses between four and six hours of pure sun daily. Do not plant roses where there is not this amount of sunlight...

When people think about growing their own flowers they think about the roses. Roses are the most beautiful flowers in the garden, but they are the hardest to grow. There are flowers that are easier to grow. If I were you I would start with something easy to grow as a practice. Wide variety of flowers makes your garden beautiful. For example tulips have a lot of colors and are fairly easy to grow. Tropical flowers will accent your garden, and will show to your friends that you are good gardener. Remember to pick a theme of your garden. Color pallets of your garden should bring out a beauty of your home surrounding. This way your work in your garden is going to be most satisfying to you and your...

Protect those Joints!: Use tools with padded handles and easy spring loaded handles to minimize stiffness in the hands. If you are spending time on your knees, wear knee pads, use a knee cushion or a kneeler seat. These items will cushion the knee joint and reduce pressure. Conserve your energy: Think Ahead! Carry all the hand tools you may use in a bucket and your large tools in a cart. This will save you many trips to the shed or garage. Sitting or kneeling on a Kneeler Seat instead of bending over will save your back, hips and legs from tiredness and stress. A Kneeler Seat is a low seat, and turned upside down it's perfect for kneeling and the handles will help you get back up. They are generally...

One vital routine in home gardening which entails boredom is your water management aspects. Busy people can't cope with these activities since every minute is very important for them. Failure to serve enough water to your plants would bring to your frustration in home gardening. Being busy is not an alibi to maintain the growth of your plants. But, don't panic, there is a solution to this problem. Getting Automated! This system does not need a main water supply and is therefore suitable in all gardening activities, either it be greenhouse or home garden. Select the following systems that would fit your convenience...o Bottle Reservoir. Steps to follow: 1. Invert and secure a refillable bottle of...

Once you have a beautiful garden growing and you've retired for the night seeing that all is well, it can be frustrating when, in the morning you find that some of your plants have been near eaten to the stock. "By Gum!" you exclaim. Right? Well, the garden is green and lovely and good for the eating as far as insect pests are concerned so here are some ideas to drive the little pest out. Insects are really very good in your garden as long as they are not leaf eating beetles or root devouring larvae or... you know what I mean? As you garden systematically eliminate places where bugs can live and multiply so that you can help prevent a problem from occurring. Some bugs live under leaves and debris on...

The most successful gardening designs are those that feature exciting and appealing landscapes. These landscapes are usually the output of a laborious task. In general, gardening landscapes must not only be aesthetically pleasing but are likewise practical and suited to the locations natural circumstances. These gardens must henceforth meet all of the needs, wants, and desires of those who maintain and use them. After all, the gardening endeavor should be capable of enhancing or creating moods for those who visit these sites. A home that has a backyard cultivated through gardening actually creates a friendly and comforting atmosphere for those who live within the vicinity. Nothing could compare to a...

Having a pool in the summer is a godsend and a big headache all at the same time. On the one hand there is the cool sensation of floating in the water, the comfort of sitting in the sun knowing that refreshment is only a step away, and frequent opportunities for friends and family to come and enjoy the pool with you. On the other hand there's cleaning, evaporation, and safety concerns that have to be kept in mind. If you already have an aluminum pool fence around your pool then you're well on your way to fun summers and higher property values. If you don't, you should seriously consider getting one put in (or Do it yourself). An aluminum fence is inexpensive, resistant to moisture and high levels of...

Building a garden pond is not just a matter of digging a hole, lining it with plastic and filling it with water. There are other considerations such as whether it should contain fish or just plants; how big or small it should be; its shape, and so on. Be prepared to dig a decent hole and spend many hours complaining about your aching back ... but you'll be very pleased with the results and you can happily stand around, beer in hand, praising your efforts after the fact. For those who have done it, building a garden pond can be a very satisfying project indeed. Step 1 - Decide on where to build your pond. Naturally, level ground would be best or else you'll spend far more time and effort doing the...

Good concrete pond construction means not taking shortcuts. Improper methods can lead to more money spent on maintenance, repairs, or replacement than on the cost of the initial construction. Since good concrete pond construction equates to having one that lasts a lifetime or longer, follow these rules of thumb to get it right - the first time! Keep in mind that for suitable concrete pond construction, you need to pour the concrete to a thickness of four to six inches. After deciding on the dimensions and outlining the area, all soil (and rocks!) should then be dug out. Forms then need to be built and placed where concrete is to be poured, along with the proper placement of cut-to-fit reinforcement...

Dallas lawn care does not have to be complicated. Having a great looking lawn and garden really doesn't have to take a lot of work, or use a lot of water. With the proper planning and preparation you can design and landscape your land so that it will be easy to care for and better for the environment. The ideas for landscaping in Dallas, Texas below should help to get you on the right track. If you want to minimize water usage and maintenance, the first thing you will need to do is design your Dallas landscaping based on the plants that are native to the area and do well with the type of soil that you have. Most garden centers can help you to get a better idea of which plants these are, or you can...

The soothing sounds of flowing water and its relaxing sight is such a delight to everyone. Adding outdoor fountains to your garden, whether indoor or outdoor, gives a more relaxing feel to your own space and adds up to the beauty that nature has to offer. These bamboo fountains can do the trick by lightening up your garden's ambience and setting the mood of your desire. Each has its own uniqueness to it, each showing a different perspective and personality. Garden decorative items not only add beauty to our gardens but help with relaxation at the same time. Some prefer outdoor fountains with gigantic statues so it catches attention that is also the garden centerpiece. Others prefer simpler fountains...