Saturday, April 18, 2009

Tips to Get You Started on Indoor Gardening

If you're new to indoor gardening and you want to grow a few varieties of indoor plants, both edible and ornamental, keep reading for some useful tips. Here is some simple, practical and home-style advice for growing an indoor garden that's easy to maintain and provides food for both body and soul.

Some people are fortunate enough to have lots of room outdoors to plant a vegetable garden. Others, such as those living in apartments, a small lot or where their garage takes up the whole backyard, can still indulge in gardening as a hobby. All they have to do is grow their vegetables, herbs, and flowers inside, in pots.

When it comes to flowers, a good choice of flowering plants that do well even in limited areas of growth, like planter boxes and pots that have been prepped with potting soil, are compact nasturtiums varieties such as Whirlybird and Copper Sunset. Marigolds, Iceland poppies and smaller varieties of sunflowers are other options that are sure to liven up your indoor garden. These are short, easy to care for and not likely to take over your home like trailing plants are prone to doing.

If you decide on herbs for your indoor garden, small tin-pot containers work well as long as you ensure they get at least four hours of sunlight each day. They also need regular watering and the right nutrients in their soil. Ask at your local nursery for potting soil that is pre-mixed for indoor plants, as these contain the right balance of nutrients for a successful indoor garden.

Be sure to check the bottom of your plant containers for proper drainage. If they don't have holes, punch some in. It's important that the excess moisture escapes and your plants get the required warmth as well.

If planting herb seeds, try this old home gardener's trick of pre-soaking them for a couple hours before planting them in pots filled with potting soil. Cover them with a quarter inch more of soil after randomly scattering the seeds over the base soil. Before you know it, rosemary and thyme will be adding their fragrant scent to your kitchen, and your food!

Saturday, April 11, 2009

Bring Your Garden Alive with Pond Landscaping

Do you have a garden pond at the back of your home however don't have any sort of landscaping? Envisage how ho-hum your backyard appears. Does the pond have fish in it? If so, you might have the best fish varieties thriving in your pool of water however what life would they add with as far as esthetics are related if they're not accustomed in a pleasant-looking, energizing surroundings with pond landscaping?

Certainly, you desire more liveliness added into your pond, and to your environment for that matter. Therefore why not begin thinking about erecting a pretty landscape around it? Aside from the esthetics pick up it can provide, it can be more animating to carry on doing your pastime of raising fish with a new pond landscaping. Wouldn’t it be pleasant to work your pastime off in surroundings sophisticatedly bettered and taken cared of? You can just have that if the pool is well landscaped.

And so, how do you begin establishing a fresh landscape close to your pond?

Don’t be concerned because it's simple developing a pretty landscape for your pond. The key is to design it properly. Make certain to recognize the size of your pond and the grounds as you'll require this for ascertaining what type of pond landscaping will best accommodate your requirements. Choose what impression you desire with your backyard. You will be able to come up with themes on numerous internet sites or by way of home improvement articles and magazines for the sort of design you need incorporated with your pond.

Do you enjoy it full of water plants, flowers, and creature? All these are wonderful to establish a pond landscape that's incorporated with nature. It can be an ideal, genuine add-on to your landscape. Filling up your pond with life will be most efficacious in disclosing the true beauty of your pond or your backyard. Do you desire your pond landscape to exude a calming, contemplative impression on your backyard?

You can make that achievable by utilizing water as a component of the landscape design. The trickling noise will ideally produce a haven of gentle, delicate impression with trickling water sound exactly the right thing you require when you, your friends, and your family are relaxing in your back yard.

Adding algae to your pond is a basic but efficacious means of producing a wonderful pond landscape. Apart from adding natural green impact, the algae are a beneficial nutrient to feed the fish. Naturally, if you do not desire the impression that algae are able to bestow to the water on the pond, you can stop the thought of putting algae. You can accept the water as it is for a less clouded view of the creatures and plant life in it.

Adding more fish to your pond won't just reinforce the liveliness in your pond landscape. It will as well be ideal to eliminate the insects. Fish do enjoy consuming mosquitoes and bugs, so they assist also in clearing up your environment with these dirty and health-risky insects.

After you have arranged all the particulars required for a fantastic pond landscaping, you might need to protect and conserve it so that the pond won't become boring even after a while. In this instance, you'll to incorporate fake enhancements.

These things can serve as precaution to protect your pond from the soil, leaves, rocks, and additional debris.

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Ground Cover for Bonsai Trees

If you're interested in bonsai, you've probably noticed that they often feature attractive ground cover that adds tremendously to the overall effect. Moss is the most common material used, but there are others as well. Ground cover not only adds to the beauty of the bonsai, it also serves a useful purpose. It helps to retain water and hold the soil in the pot.

If you a bonsai beginner, you need to realize that there's a certain technique you need to follow when adding moss to your bonsai tree. If you don't do it right, it can become lumpy, which certainly isn't what you're looking for visually.

Start by cutting the moss away from where it's growing by using a sharp knife. Avoid taking any more soil than you have to. Take the moss and place it in a paper lined container. Moisten it a bit, and then take away any remaining soil. Sharp scissors will be useful in this task.

Next you need to roughen the surface of the soil in your bonsai pot. Then, using long handed tweezers, take a tuft of moss and insert it into the soil. Don't place the moss against the trunk. After you have planted all the moss, sprinkle some dry soil over top of it and press it down gently. After a while, the moss will start to grow evenly across the surface of the soil.

Moss isn't the only ground cover you can use for your bonsai tree. Baby tears, for example, is a great choice because it's fast growing and hardy. It's also very attractive. However, you will need to control it because it can tend to take over.

Another popular plant used for ground cover is Kyoto Dwarf Mondo Grass. This is a fine-leafed cover that is native to Korea and Japan. This plant also grows quickly and will need to be trimmed frequently.

With these types of ground covers, it's important that you don't allow them to completely take over your bonsai. They need to be constantly trimmed and controlled.

If a living ground cover doesn't suit your preferences, consider using iron stones. They're very small and inexpensive, and lend a very finished appearance without the need for constant trimming.