Posted on Mar 14, 2010 under Best For Garden |
I live in Cornwall, which is warmer than other parts of the UK. I understand that it is possible to keep them outdoors for most of the year, provided the enclosure has suitable shelter, etc? And that they need to come in to hibernate over the winter months. Any advice would be appreciated in order that I can decide whether this is the pet for me!
i would get a russian tortoise
http://www.russiantortoise.org/
GOOD LUCK 
Posted on Mar 11, 2010 under Best For Garden |
For most landscapers, the unique beauty and spirit of something made by hand, constructed, and shaped, emphasizes the joy of creating. And even if it means having a small garden to work with, every landscaper knows the value of enjoying their craft and mastering their skills.
Having a small garden to work on does not necessarily mean less details and minor work. What should matter most is to closely assess each detail to come up with the best result.
Working on a small garden is never a problem to most landscape designers. Whether the area is large or small, the sales continue to have a gradual annual growth increase of 8% for the last five years.
In addition, from 1997 to 2002 alone, landscaping sales achieved a growth rate of almost $40 billion. This shows that the landscape designers know how to hone their craft well, regardless of the size of the area they work on.
Generally, when people describe small gardens, they refer to those areas that have straight walls, borders, lines, and/or walks. Then a problem is created because small gardens tend to create an impression of being dull, rigid, and boring. The goal of landscaping should delve into how to make the garden look alive, larger, and more appealing.
The Main Concept
The very core of landscaping a small garden is based on how a landscaper can make the most of the size of the area through plant selection.
With a small garden, having the right kind and size of plants is crucial to the outcome of the whole project.
Size is an important factor because the size of the plants that will be used in the garden should project an image of a bigger space, even if the area is quite small. The color, shape, and texture of the plantings should be coordinated.
It is best to use curves to create a visible flow to the design. Since small gardens tend to have rigid, straight lines, it is best to have curves to open up the garden to reveal its natural beauty. It is also important to create illusions that will give a small garden an effect of being larger.
Considering these, landscaping a small garden will never be a daunting task. As they say, it is all in the details. So whether it is a small or a large garden, landscape designers always take note of the details in the design.
Joey Simmons
http://www.articlesbase.com/gardening-articles/making-your-small-garden-beautiful-675703.html
Posted on Mar 11, 2010 under Best For Garden |
I’m going to school still and live in an apt. I want to grow my own organic herbs and vegetabesl. I just moved to SLC, Utah and actually plan to move back to Oregon in a year. I’d like to get things started though. What is your advice? I’d like to keep them potted for a while because I won’t have my own house to plant them in the ground at, for years. Thanks
Below is a great website that has a lot of info. Also, grow bulbs are a godsend!! Hope this helps :O)
You can grow herbs indoors this winter and add that just-picked taste to your meals, even when snow is drifting up against the kitchen window. You don’t even need special lights—herbs fare just fine in a bright window. Here are the best herbs for growing on windowsills and the smart techniques you need to keep them happy and healthy until you can plant outside again.
Basil: Start basil from seeds and place the pots in a south-facing window—it likes lots of sun and warmth.
Bay: A perennial that grows well in containers all year long. Place the pot in an east, or west, facing window, but be sure it does not get crowded—bay needs air circulation to remain healthy.
Chervil: Start chervil seeds in late summer. It grows well in low light but needs 65 to 70 degrees F temperatures to thrive.
Chives: Dig up a clump from your garden at the end of the growing season and pot it up. Leave the pot outside until the leaves die back. In early winter, move the pot to your coolest indoor spot (such as a basement) for a few days, then finally to your brightest window.
Oregano: Your best bet is to start with a tip cutting from an outdoor plant. Place the pot in a south-facing window.
Parsley: You can start this herb from seeds or dig up a clump from your garden at the end of the season. Parsley likes full sun, but will grow slowly in an east, or west, facing window.
Rosemary: Start with a cutting of rosemary, and keep it in moist soilless mix until it roots. It grows best in a south-facing window.
Sage: Take a tip cutting from an outdoor plant to start an indoor sage. It tolerates dry, indoor air well, but it needs the strong sun it will get in a south-facing window.
Tarragon: A dormant period in late fall or early winter is essential for tarragon to grow indoors. Pot up a mature plant from your outdoor garden and leave it outside until the leaves die back. Bring it to your coolest indoor spot for a few days, then place it in a south-facing window for as much sun as possible. Feed well with an organic liquid fertilizer.
Thyme: You can start thyme indoors either by rooting a soft tip cutting or by digging up and potting an outdoor plant. Thyme likes full sun but will grow in an east, or west, facing window.
Rooting a cutting
Many herbs—including oregano, thyme, rosemary, and sage—are best propagated for indoor growing by taking a cutting from an existing outdoor plant. To do it, snip off a 4-inch section, measured back from the tip. Strip off the lower leaves and stick the stem into moist, soilless mix, such as perlite and/or vermiculite. To ensure good humidity, cover with glass or clear plastic, and keep the growing medium-moist.
Transition to indoors
Before the first fall frost (while the weather is still on the mild side), start moving your potted herb plants toward their winter home. Instead of bringing them directly inside, put them in a bright, cool "transitional zone," such as a garage, entryway, or enclosed porch, for a few weeks.
Once they’ve acclimated, move them to an area with lots of sun (south-facing windows are brightest, followed by east or west views). But protect them from heat and dryness. Most herbs prefer daytime temperatures of about 65 to 70 degrees F, although they can withstand climbs into the 70s. It’s especially important that night temperatures drop at least 10 degrees—down into the 50s would be better—to simulate outdoor conditions.
With the exception of basil, they’ll even do well with occasional dips into the 40s. (So turn that thermostat down when you go to bed.) Place them outside on mild days, and give them regular baths to wash off dust.
Water, light, and temperature
Most herbs like to be well watered but don’t like wet feet. That’s why good drainage is important. Water when the top of the container feels dry, or learn to judge the moisture in the soil by the weight of the pot. Add sand or vermiculite to the potting soil to ensure good drainage.
Learn to juggle water, light, and temperature. An herb in a clay pot in a south-facing window will need more water than one in a plastic pot in an east, or west, facing window. If the light is low, keep the temperature low.
Pest prevention
Choose the soil for your indoor herbs carefully. A good commercial potting soil is fine, or for a deluxe mix, blend one part potting soil with one part compost and one part vermiculite, perlite, or sand (or a mixture of all three).
Resist the temptation to use disease- and pest-prone garden soil. And when you pot up garden-grown plants, remove as much of the garden soil as possible without damaging the roots.
Keep such transplants separate from your other houseplants while you’re gradually acclimating them to the indoors. If you see insects on a plant during this "quarantine," leave it outside.
If, despite such defenses, your indoor plants do come under insect attack, help the herbs stay healthy by providing the correct mix of light and temperature, and give them regular baths. A plant weakened by hot, dry indoor conditions is even more susceptible to spider mite, whitefly, or aphid damage than a healthy one.
If you choose to use soap sprays to control these pests, remember that the wet spray must come in contact with the insect to be effective. Spray in the evening (and never in bright sunlight) to prevent rapid drying, and wash off residues the next day (or before eating the leaves). Don’t spray very young seedlings with soap!
Hold back on the water and fertilizer through December, but when the days start getting longer in mid-January, feed them with liquid seaweed or compost. Even potted soil gets compacted as you water it, so cultivate it with a little fork, then top-dress it with compost.
February is usually a great month for indoor plants because of all the bright light. By March, they are starting to get buds, and in April, be sure to put them outside on a warm day. Then it won’t be long before the herbs—and you—are ready to move back to the garden.
Posted on Mar 06, 2010 under Best For Garden |
It needs to fit in my moderate garden & I dont want to pay more than about £50. Anyone know of a good one?
Look in Argos or Early Learning - its a catch 22 really though to be honest, you either end up spending alot or getting one that doesnt last five minutes! - I wouldnt recommend Toys R Us though - I’ve brought so many things from there and have found the quality to be awful - sorry to anyone that loves the place !
Posted on Mar 02, 2010 under Best For Garden |
I’ve been planning on having a vegetable garden this summer I had one last year and it turned out ok except for some veggies. I need some advice from someone who has had a veggie garden for a number of years, or even just a casual gardener. And what veggies or fruits are good for your health in that they fight off disease?
10 points for anyone that can give a good educated answer
There is a secret to growing the nicest veggies you’ll ever have: Soil prep!
Weed out the bed. Wait a week and weed again (hand weed because you don’t want chemicals on your food). Wait one more week and weed once more. Now head off to your local bulk soil seller (with a pickup truck) and buy a yard of fine compost. Spread at least a 3 inch layer of compost over your garden bed (a 2 inch layer of composted manure could go down now, but some people don’t like to use it). Dig in the compost nice and deep, about a foot down into your soil (it’s almost like digging in and flipping the soil over). Not only are you improving the soil fertility, but you’re making that soil nice and soft so the roots of the veggie plants can spread out easily. Smooth everything out and now you’re ready to plant (wait until all danger of frosty weather is gone).
The bed should have a good 6 hours of hot afternoon sun for the best vegetables and you need to keep the soil moist, but not soggy. Letting the plants wilt once or twice is one thing, constantly letting those plants get too dry will invite fungus and bugs to your sickly plants. So will weeds that get outta hand. So keep it watered and hand weeded, and then fertilizer with an organic vegetable fertilizer.
Posted on Feb 27, 2010 under Best For Garden |
I grew up in Northwest Indiana and my Grandma had a GLORIOUS garden. She was from Mississippi and boy did she have a green thumb. I will likely be relocating in 2 years & we’re open to a hundred places around the country.. we love adventure AND family.. Here’s what I’d like to grow and please don’t say it can’t all be done, because Grandma did it! Thank you!!
Apple tree, a cherry tree & eucalyptus tree or plants.
Pergola with grapes. I will grow onions, carrots, potatoes, celery, green onions, strawberries, cabbage, collard mustard and spinach greens, tomatoes and brussels sprouts.
I’d like flowers, too, but I’ll leave those to my hubby who loves landscaping.
Lilac bushes (my favorite) !!!
Lots of herbs like cilantro, basil, rosemary, lavender & such for cooking and making soaps & candles.
Pennsylvania is a great state for growing all that you have mentioned. In fact I have a garden every year and grow all of what you mentioned and more. My lilac bushes are awesome. They are one of my favorites as well. The only tree I do not know if it will grow is the eucalyptus tree. It might I just never tried.
Posted on Feb 25, 2010 under Best For Garden |
Gardening is a hobby that brings joy, entertainment, and a better quality of life. It is a creative activity, the result of which is a more aesthetically appealing home.
Thoughtful planning of a garden starts with the type of
garden you would like to have. Deciding on a type ofgarden is essential defore choosing which designelements to include. Will your garden be just a place to plant a bunch of flowers, which will blossom only during the growing season? Or would you rather have a thoughtfully-chosen herb garden? Or maybe just a vegetable plot?
Another issue to consider is the climate in your location. It can be surprising how little we know about the facts, figures and statistics of the weather where we live. You may want to consult an online map to get statistical data regarding climate elements like rainfall per month or average temperatures.
The next step, after having decided about the type of garden and after investigating the local climate, is to figure out the plants that you would like to grow in your garden. Think of plants that are suitable for the duration of the growing season in your location and that will survive the changes in temperature, typical for your location.
The thoughtful planning of a garden involves one more factor to consider - how much shade is necessary for each of the plants. You need to make sure that there is enough light all over the places you plan to plant your garden.
When you have finished with planning in theory, it is time to start planning the plots in your garden. Again, think for
a good plan - one that brings joy, is easy to keep to, and
at the same time efficiently uses the available space.
Think about where to place plants that require a lot of
sunlight. The best place for such plants is away from
buildings and taller trees because these block the light at
daytime.
Deciding which plants to grow near the house, and which
should be in the open also requires some thought. If you prefer the sunshine streaming through your windows, then you are best not to have bulky trees or bushes near the house, where they will block the sunlight.
If you have decided that you will be growing herbs and
vegetables, the best place for them is near the house. When they are near the house, it is more likely that you will be using them for cooking. Besides convenience, you should also think about the location of vegetables as far as their needs for sunlight are concerned. This is especially true if yours is mainly a vegetable garden.
Last, but not least, take into account your personal
preferences, when designing a garden. If there are
particular extras you would like to have, for instance
winding pathways or gazebos, include them in the initial design of the garden. Your outdoor garden is constrained only by the limits of your creativity and the growing season in your location.
John Pawlett
http://www.articlesbase.com/gardening-articles/how-to-plan-a-garden-right-89071.html
Posted on Feb 24, 2010 under Best For Garden |
I have a garden office and would like to have some plants on the desk and shelves etc. I would only want to water a max of twice a week and the office will be mainly unheated, can anyone recommend suitable plants? Thank you.
There is a lot of information available on the internet. A Yahoo search for "indoor office plants" (include the quotation marks in the Yahoo search box) yields 84 results. If you do the same search, and are willing to spend a little time exploring, I’m sure that you will quickly find lots of useful and interesting information.
Good luck with your search.