GrowingGreenGardens

Thursday, August 30, 2007

Preliminary Considerations Before Building Your Own Backyard Garden Pond

If you have the creativity, time and resources, you can develop a beautiful and unique bottle garden, which can be named after yourself. A Home Improvement Loan can help you with a new kitchen, bathroom, extension, loft conversion, conservatory, landscaping your garden or new furniture.

Also, you should start in spring so that the young plants are well-established before winter.Begonia displaysPublic gardens often use tuberous begonias in their displays and this can one of the best ways to see a wide range of flower types.I am a garden book author and horticultural photographer based in Christchurch, New Zealand. She owns the website Gwens Healing Garden where you will find lots of free information about gardening for the soil and gardening for the soul. Every garden will be invaded. The real issue, then, is how do you achieve that balance Use Clustering to make the most of your outdoor space The first mistake most people make when decorating a patio, backyard or garden is to take their planters, fountains, statues, etc.

Easy Pond and Water Garden Construction By Lee Goins Todays successful water garden usually is designed as an ecosystem that uses a balance between fish, plants and bacteria keeping the water clear. Before the first shovel of soil is turned, close your eyes and picture your dream garden. Last spring I was checking on my flower garden that I had planted the year before. Jim Rohn says it aptly: You cannot take the mild approach to the weeds in your mental garden.

This also discourages your fish from digging in the pot.Make sure that you do not cover the crown of the tuber with gravel.Step 5Slowly submerge the pot into your garden pond. Hybrids no longer listed under parent species, being instead regarded as just to difficult to classify in that way.But however you view them, flowering cherries have so much to offer that a little confusion over naming and identification shouldn`t stand in the way of your including them in your garden. It should be understood that ?negative calorie? doesn?t mean that the food has zero calories in it, nor does it have an anti-calorie or a negative calorie.Here is a partial list of negative calorie foods: apples, cranberries, grapefruit, lemon mango, oranges, pineapple, raspberries, strawberries, tangerines, asparagus, beets, cabbage (green), carrots, cauliflower, hot Chile peppers, cucumbers, endives, garden cress, garlic, green beans, lettuce, onion, papaya, radishes, spinach, turnips and zucchini.

To illustrate this point, just take a look at all the online news services sprouting up on the web like garden weeds. Spring Cleaning: How To Do It In Your Business To Make More Room For Success By Tresaca Hamilton With the arrival of Spring, I decided to get outside and into my garden. Lady Mary is said to have written many letters to her daughter in the villa garden, and been inspired to write poetry by the beauty of her surroundings.

Easy starters: Trailing lobelia and petunias make a bright and simple garden for sunny spots. Japanese Garden of MonacoBy Lara CiocHave you ever seen an authentic Japanese garden? Well, I had the chance of seeing the one in Monaco and was really impressed too.

Examples of organizations include a Rotary club chapter, a garden club, an alumni association, or a local newcomers` club. Her new passion is her indoor herb garden.

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Thursday, August 23, 2007

Wind Chimes Go Great With Gardening

By Lee Dobbins

What could be more relaxing than gardening on a nice summer
morning? Listening to your wind chime while you garden! Wind
chimes are not only fun to look at but they add much more to
your garden then just visual appeal.

Wind chimes have tones and vibrations that soothe and calm the
mind helping to release all your stress. When you dig in the
garden and connect with the earth, listening to your chimes
tinkle in the breeze can help you also connect with your inner
spirit. Chimes have been used for much more than just decoration
for centuries. In fact, wind chimes are used in many Feng Shui
cures. You can hang your chimes inside as well as outside, metal
chimes are best for North, Northwest and West while wood chimes
are best for South, Southeast and East. The number of rods can
be associated with the cure you want. Use 4, 6, 7, 8 or 18 rods
for luck and 5 rods to reject bad energy. Use bamboo for
outside.

Of course, you should pick chimes that decorate your porch or
garden area to your liking. There’s plenty of styles and
materials to choose from. I favor the chimes with a stained
glass decoration on top that comes in all kinds of whimsical
styles. If you are more traditional, you might go for a simple
bamboo chime with an Asian flair. You can even get chimes that
are hand tuned if you are really into the sound quality of your
wind chime.

Hanging your wind chimes is easy. To hang from the top of your
porch, you can use a simple C shaped hook that screws into the
ceiling. Any type hook can be used as long as it is strong
enough to support your wind chime. Be sure you hang it in an
area where it’s freedom of movement is not obstructed by
anything. You can also buy fancy hangers that screw in or that
stick up from the ground. When hanging your chime, try to pick a
place that will not get a strong wind – this way you can be sure
your chime does not blow off and break.

So, the next time that you get out into the garden, make sure
that you hang out some wind chimes so that you can add a new
level to your gardening experience!

About the Author: Lee Dobbins writes for
http://www.wonderful-wind-chimes.com where you can find all
kinds of wind chimes to brighten your day. Learn more about the
differnt kinds of stained glass chimes at
http://www.wonderful-wind-chimes.com/Glass-Chimes.html

Source: http://www.isnare.com

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Friday, August 17, 2007

Garden Design: Elegance and Style

By Natalie Aranda

The garden has been a tradition dating back to the very dawn of time. From the Hanging Gardens of Babylon to the classic gardens of the great English estates, the garden has been a symbol of elegance and beauty. Today, modern materials have opened up new vistas in the creation of gardens. Concrete brick pavers and vinyl fencing are two examples of materials that were not available to the ancients, but can be used to recreate the beauty of the gardens that they enjoyed.

Gardens are often lumped into two basic groups. These are the formal and the informal garden. It is often hard to distinguish between the two groups. The Woodland garden is an example of an informal garden. This style of garden is usually built within an existing canopy of trees. The use of interlocking pavers can create paths through this artificial woodland. The open spaces can be filled with shade loving plants or ferns. A small pond or running stream is an excellent touch to complete the forest look of this garden.

There are many other garden styles that fall within the informal classification. The container garden is a name given to a garden where the beds are replaced by containers such as large concrete vases. This garden is used where space is limited or to make a garden out of a paved over area such as a patio. The wildflower garden is another informal garden. As its name implies it consist of wildflowers. They are usually growing in mixed disarray. A vinyl fence can separate the garden from the surrounding lawn. This creates the effect of islands of color in a sea of grass.

The Oriental garden appears informal at first glance. In truth it is actually a very formal and purposeful spatial arrangement of elements. The Oriental garden is the epitome of elegance and style. Everything is full of meaning and symbolism. The careful use of a mixture of plants, stones, and water is the key to a successful garden of this type. The idea is to seek understatement in the themes of the garden. Nothing should be excessive, but everything should be in natural proportion.

The Paradise garden comes from old Islamic tradition. It is designed to stimulate all five senses. There would be the sweet smell of flowers to delight the nose. Flowing streams or small waterfalls would be for the ears. The bright colors thrill the eyes. It would include some edible berries or fruits for the tongue. Lastly, the texture of certain plants or stones is for the touch of the hands. There is one last garden style. It is the perfect garden. That is the one that you design and create with your own hands and your own imagination.

Natalie Aranda writes about gardening. The garden has been a tradition dating back to the very dawn of time. From the Hanging Gardens of Babylon to the classic gardens of the great English estates, the garden has been a symbol of elegance and beauty. Today, modern materials have opened up new vistas in the creation of gardens. [http://www.capitolconcrete.com]Concrete brick pavers and vinyl fencing are two examples of materials that were not available to the ancients, but can be used to recreate the beauty of the gardens that they enjoyed.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Natalie_Aranda http://EzineArticles.com/?Garden-Design:-Elegance-and-Style&id=473543

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Tuesday, August 14, 2007

The Elegant Beauty of a Butterfly Garden

Author: Morgan Hamilton

There are a number of different garden types, with the most poplar types being vegetable and flower gardens. There are also hundreds of flower varieties which you can plant depending on your taste and the climate of your area. There is also a type of garden where gardeners plant flowers that are known to attract butterflies. Have you ever seen a butterfly garden before?

My grandmother had a butterfly garden in her backyard before they became popular. When I was a child, I used to sit patiently near her garden as she worked, waiting for the butterflies to come along, and fly among the flowers. However, I was often disappointed because at my young age, I did not realize that while these gardens are designed to attract butterflies, there would not be hundreds hanging out there all the time.

I can’t exactly recall the specific flowering plants that she planted in her butterfly garden, but I can remember that it was beautiful. My grandmother paid as much attention to it as her vegetable garden, and would sit out there in her spare time to enjoy the result of her efforts. Butterflies were indeed attracted to her butterfly garden, and I was inspired to have one of my own.

I don’t have one yet, but I’m planning to start making one next year. If you are also interested in making your own butterfly garden, you can get information about it on the Internet. You can also talk with an employee at any garden shop, and they would be able to give you some information about the flowering plants that should be included in your garden.

If the butterflies are slow in visiting your butterfly garden, you should consider looking for other ways to attract them before you surrender. Milkweeds are known to attract Monarch butterflies. Monarch larvae eat the leaves of this plant, and attach to it when they make their cocoon. If you can get some of this plant nearby, your butterfly garden will soon be teeming with Monarch butterflies. You should also consider the location of your garden. If it is near a busy highway, or where children play often, the butterflies may not be attracted to your garden.

About the Author:

Morgan Hamilton offers expert advice and great tips regarding all aspects concerning Butterfly Garden. Visit our site for more helpful information about Butterfly Garden and other similar topics.
This article is free for republishing
Source: http://www.articlealley.com/article_109903_54.html

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Saturday, August 4, 2007

Rid Your Garden Of Slugs

By Marilyn Pokorney

Slugs are major pests of horticultural plants throughout theworld. They are destructive pests of home gardens,landscapes, nurseries, greenhouses, and field crops.

Slugs also pose a health threat to humans, pets and wildlifeby serving as intermediate hosts for parasites such aslungworm.

Slugs are inactive in cold weather and hibernate in thesoil.

Heavy mulching and watering, required for productive andbeautiful gardens createfavorable conditions for slugs.

Slugs destroy plants by killing seeds or seedlings, bydestroying stems or growing points, or by reducing the leafarea. Slug feeding may also initiate mold growth orrotting.

Slugs feed on a variety of living plants chewing holes inleaves, flowers, fruit and young bark. They are alsoserious pests of ripening fruits, such as strawberries andtomatoes, that are close to the ground. However, they willalso feed on foliage and fruit of some trees favoringcitrus. Some plants that are seriously damaged includeartichokes, asparagus, basil, beans, cabbage, dahlia,delphinium, hosta, lettuce, marigolds, and many more plantstoo numerous to list here. To determine if damage is causedby a slug or other insect, look for a clear, silvery mucoustrail.

Under ideal conditions, chemical baits, containingmetaldehyde, can be somewhat effective because this aldehydeparalyzes the slugs and they eventually die fromdehydration. However, under cool and wet conditions whenslugs are most active and troublesome, they can oftenrecover. And these chemicals are poisonous to cats, dogs,birds and curious children.

Biological control provides an attractive alternative totraditional control practices. Nematodes possessexceptional potential as biocontrol agents for pest slugs.

In Europe, a product as been successfully developed fromPhasmarhabditis hermaphrodita, that is effective against awide variety of pest slug and snail species and it targetsonly slugs and snails.

It would be a perfect solution for introduction into the USbut there are no published records of P. hermaphroditaoccurrence in the US. Thus, regulatory issues prohibit it'sintroduction and marketing in the US.

Slugs do play a positive role in the environment. Becauseslugs are also scavengers eating decaying vegetation, animalfeces, and carrion they help in breaking down decomposingmaterials thus helping to release nutrients back into thesoil.

Slugs are night feeders so night traps and beer traps arethe best ways to catch and trap them. But there are manyother methods proven successful. One includes a verycommon, but not well known, ingredient.

For more information:
http://www.apluswriting.net/garden/slugs.htm" target="_blank">http://www.apluswriting.net/garden/slugs.htm

About the Author: Marilyn PokorneyFreelance writer of science, nature, animals and theenvironment.Also loves crafts, gardening, and reading.Website: http://www.apluswriting.net" target="_blank">http://www.apluswriting.net

Source: www.isnare.com

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