Properly Planning Your Landscape

If you want to make the most attractive and beneficial use of your grounds, you’ll want to make sure you plan your landscaping very well. Most people take the idea of pathways, coverage, foliage and so forth for granted, having no idea how much thought and planning it requires to get it just right. Properly planning ahead is the key to having a great looking landscape.

You’ll want to consider several elements in your design, including access (walkways), lighting (if any), coverage, and color. One of the most often overlooked plants are trees, as they are not only to be incorporated in the beginning, but must be accommodated over time as they grow and take up more space and ad more beauty to the landscape.

Remember that trees have an annual cycle of growth, leaf shedding, flowering, and so forth. Some trees do this more than others, with evergreens shedding almost all year round and larger-leafed trees shedding all at once. Be aware of this and how it will affect your landscape’s overall look.

The overall design of your landscape, whether it be a huge undertaking or just a few square feet of yard, is to think is layers. Think of the background, middle ground, and foreground and what elements will be in them to create the texture and layers you want. Also be aware of how you’ll need to get through these areas to work with the plants, care for them, or just get around the space in daily activity. This is where walkways, often hidden by the middle ground elements, will come into play.

Use trees to screen the property and, if needed, to provide shade for the plants that enjoy that so that you can incorporate variety into your landscape design. The prettier, flowering plants are usually the foreground plants, but you should be aware of their flowering cycles so that there are no bare spots during the year. Also be aware of how large some plants can get and be sure to include plant selection plans for your design.

Finally, you should begin by planting the larger plants (trees, shrubs, etc.) first and work your way down the list to the smallest and easiest of the group. Seasonal planting should also be incorporated so you aren’t having to do all of the work at once. Some plants prefer fall plantings (most trees, for instance) and some prefer spring planting (most flowers). Others can be planted at almost any time so long as they have a good climate for recovery (anytime in summer).

Most importantly, don’t forget to stop and smell the roses and enjoy your beautiful landscape and garden! Watch it through the year as it goes through changes and start planning your improvements for next year. That’s a big part of the fun!

Taking Care Of Your Houseplants

Whenever its possible, plants should be obtained only after artificial heat ceases being required. They are not subjected to fumes or fire and can give off plenty of fresh air, which will result in hardening of the developing foliage and prepares the plants for unfavorable environmental conditions of the dry environment of heated enclosed spaces.

Lots of people, get Christmas gift plants such as Primula obconica, Azalea, Erica and Begonia. The beauty of these plants is quite short-lived and because the plants have been used to a moist environment, therefore they are very tender and do not withstand the hot, arid conditions in some homes.

Cool environment necessary

Caring for house plants in good condition, they need to be set up in as cool a location as possible. Any unheated room will work just fine, providing the temperature does not fall below 65 F. During the cooler nights, place the plants in a warmer room, but keep them away from heat sources and removed to the unheated location as soon as the temperature permits.

Permanent larger plants, that cannot be easily moved, can be protected during a cool night by covering with a few thick layers of newspaper. When the outdoor conditions are pleasant, sponging the leaves of Aspidistra congenial with a weak mixture of insecticide, the plants may then be put outside and syringed with clear water to clean them also freshen the leaves. It is important that the pores on the leaves be unclogged and dust-free, at the same time, the soil needs to be kept quite moist and the leaves get sponged as well. The plants are then put back inside and during light, warm showers its always a good idea to set plants outside for short time periods.

How To Grow A Beautiful Indoor Garden

The blues of winter time can be difficult to handle if you are truly a nature lover. Why not attempt to bring a little bit of the nature you are missing indoors with a window garden? There are many beautiful plants that will thrive inside and all you need to do to grow them is provide a sunny window sill. As a matter of fact, many plants do not even need full sunlight to thrive and grow.

You will want to begin by installing a plant hook or two so that you can hang some plants up. Some of the more popular easy to grow hanging plants are the spider plant, boston fern and chenille plant. When buying a plant, it needs to be in a plastic pot. You will want to transfer the plant into a little bit larger of a pot that is more decorative and will give the plant a healthy beginning.

There are a lot of different house plants types that you can have some trouble picking out or narrowing down your choices. Some plants that are easy to take care include African violets, lilies, and ivy. African violets can develop beautiful double flowers, exotic colors and even variegated leaves. Some people fill in every window with African violets and still do not have every enough variety. Peace lilies thrive in indirect sunlight and can have pretty pink or white flowers. Ivy is a favorite on a topiary frame and can easily add interest to your window sill.

While you are choosing plants to fill up your window sill with, do not forget you can even use bulbs. When you are using bulbs, you can experience and early springtime, at least on your window ledge. Great bulbs to chose are daffodils, tulips and fragrant hyacinths. To force bulbs, you need to keep them chilled for a few months in a refrigerator or an unheated room. The next step is planting them and placing them in a window box and watering them. The bulbs should begin to sprout within 4-6 weeks.

For a nontraditional window box garden, try some flowers in the orchid family. Despite their reputation, the plants are not that difficult to take care of. The most common types to use are the phalaenopsis and paphiopedilum for beginners, but the cattleya orchids are also easily grown. Phalaeonopsis and paphiopedilum orchids have beautiful bold flowers and people can usually get them to rebloom easily. Cattleya orchids have small, delicate flowers and are harder to rebloom however.

To take care of the orchids properly, you need a clay pot and a potting soil made especially for orchids, a tray and some pebbles or small stones. You will need to repot your orchids in the clay pot with fresh potting soil and run room temperature water over in the pot for about two minutes and let it drain. The easiest and most common way to kill orchids is leaving them in standing water, so be certain to remove excess water before you place the plant on your window ledge. Put the tray on the window ledge and cover the bottom of it with pebbles. Place the orchid in the tray and once a week, you need to check and make sure the potting mix has dried out. If this happens, water the orchid the same way you did as when you transplanted it.

If however, you are not blessed with a proverbial green thumb when it comes to growing plants, you may still be successful in growing plants inside your home especially growing plants by the window. You need to begin growing the plants in dish gardens or in a terrarium. To take care of a terrarium, basically you need to only neglect it.

To design a terrarium for your window, you need a container with a lid like a fish tank or a an old fashioned gallon sized pickle jar, sand, some potting soil and a few tropical plants or ferns that are smaller in sized. First put about three inches of sand in the bottom of the container and on top of the sand, place a few inches of the potting soil. Next make a small hollowed out area in the soil for each number of plants you are sticking in the terrarium. Put each plant into the container and fill in the area with more of the soil mixture. If the soil and sand are dry, then you will need to add a small bit of water. If the terrarium is in balance and properly maintained you should never have to water it anymore. If you see that there is too much moisture in the terrarium, you need to crack the lid for a bit to allow some of the moisture to escape.

Once there are a few plants growing, it will be a bit easier to wait anxiously for spring time to arrive.

Houseplants: Care And Treatment

Treatment of Plants

Bulbs In Bowls

Planting bulbs in a bowl container filled with fiber, makes it possible to have flowers all year long.

The secret of being successful is to plant the bulb as soon as they are obtained in August or September. The fiber, is sold for this purpose, must be wetted prior to being up in the bowl, in which a few chunks of charcoal have been places. After putting the bulbs into position, their tips need to be just above the surface of fiber.

To make sure your roots develop freely, the bowl the bulbs are put in must me placed in the proper position. The best place is outside, under a nine inch mound of peat moss, or even covered with bags and a piece of wood to keep the rain out.

If there are no outside places available, put the bowl in a deep box or bath, cover in the same manner above and stand them in the coolest place possible. At the end of a 4-8 week period, roots should be formed in abundance and shoots should be about 2 inches long. The covering should be taken off and the bulbs should remain until the shoots turn green. Forcing may begin by putting the bowl into a warm location, this is where the shoots can begin to bloom, of the fiber is kept moist.

To take advantage of having a long display, the variety you choose should be taken into consideration.

Hyacinths-The first one of this type of flower that will bloom is the Roman White variety. The blooms look like white bluebells; then will come the hyacinths, which have been specially prepared to make them bloom during Christmas time.

In the springtime is when the ordinary, larger flowered, untreated hyacinths bloom.

Narcissus-The white Narcissus is easily obtained while in full bloom in the month of December. The success can be maintained by other types, described in the bulb catalog.

Some types can be forced rather easy and are followed by other single tulips.

Holiday Treatment of Houseplants

What do you do with house plants during the holidays? The big question here is how to care for plants left alone while you are out for your holiday vacation. Unless you can make arrangements to have them watered while you are away, you can run into problems. When you are gone for a week or more, it is possible to prevent damage if you take the proper precautions.

The best way is to obtain a large tub and fill it with dampened moss. Then plunge the plants into the pot, with the moss covering the soil to about an inch or more in depth. If moss is not accessible, granulated peat moss or damp sacking can also be substituted. Lastly, the material for plunging needs to be covered with plastic film which will slow the evaporation of moisture. The plants must also be well watered prior to plunging.

Another way is to put the plants in a group, with a bucket of water close by. A piece of lamp wicking connected to the soil in each plant with the water, will ensure enough water to the compost.

To those who have a garden, plunging pots to their rims in the soil, they need to be put into a shady spot as well.

In any case, the soil must be well watered prior to plunging or before they are connected to lamp wicks.

Protect Your Orchids from Insects and Pests

Orchids are exquisite exotic plants that produce breathtaking flowers. Orchids are located in tropical and subtropical locations around the world. There are some exceptions to this scenario however. Most have an aerial root system that are attached to the trunks of trees in their natural environment.

Orchid Pest Threats

There are several types of pests that can kill orchids, some of the most common are aphids, mealy bugs, mites, millipedes, centipedes and snails, among others. The climate and area would depend on which type of pest could invade.

Aphids suck the fluid from the Orchids, the damage comes from this bug actually biting into the plant. The tissue will experience necrosis, grow yellow and rot. Mealybugs are white or pink, they infest the plant and feed off of them. These are some of the more difficult pests and require immediate attention when discovered.

Scale bugs are white and look like they have scales. They are a frequent orchid pest. They feed off the orchid and grow quickly and get larger, harder scales. The males are winged and breed with the females. Mites are another threat, the most typical being the spider mite, that form webs on the plant and you may never even see the spider.

Millipedes and centipedes eat the rots of the plants they infest. They are quite harmful to orchids and centipedes are potentially dangerous because they can sting humans. Slugs and snails are very similar in their destruction of orchids by eating them and they are common orchid pests. Whiteflies rank as one of the three peskiest orchid pests along with aphids and spider mites.

Millipedes and centipedes will actually eat the roots of the orchid and cause rotting. They are very harmful and dangerous to human beings because they sting. Snails and slugs are similar to millipedes, in that they destroy the flower by eating the roots. Whiteflies, however, rank as the top threat to orchids.

Solving Orchid Pest Problems

There are many natural methods which you can employ to control orchid pests. You can get a natural house plant pest enemy of the pest in question and release it on the infected orchid. You do not need to use a pesticide for this reason and in the process you are not harming the environment either. If you have a number of pests infecting your plants however, you may want to consider going the route of pesticides.

You need to make sure you get the pesticide that is more natural and less environmentally harmful. This approach allows you to protect the world for future generations. Netting and protective barriers also work as another natural alternative in preventing orchid pest infestation in your garden.

Types Of Ivy Plants

If someone plans to grow one or more plants at the same time, the chances are likely that most of them will be described under the heading of foliage plants. While not as showy as other flowering plants that have been previously discussed, they make up for what they lack, by being able to be easily grown, simple propagation, and easily acclimating to any environment they live in.

Choices offered as to size, leaves form and color is almost an endless possibility. The plants we have discussed are capable of being grown in any of environment or region in the country with relative ease and are easily found in many places.

Dumb cane is a member of the Arum family of species, it has a white sap which when chewing the leaves can cause speechlessness and pain for short periods of time. There are several kinds of this plant species, the leases are splotched with white or yellow. They can grow up to several feet tall and have leaves of up to a foot in length. There are often than not, few leaves of any plant. These plants can be placed near African Violets because they too, require high humidity and a temp of around 70F, constantly to grow properly. They can be easily propagated by simple stem cutting.

English ivy is a common house plant, perhaps the most common in the country. People who have no other house plants oftentimes, have a pot of ivy growing somewhere in the house. First, and most importantly, it is very versatile and can be trained to climb or vine with relative ease. This feature gave the idea to landscapers to tap the possibilities of using English Ivy in hillside landscape designs. Secondly, its simple to care for and will survive some very extreme conditions indoors and even outdoors when used as a landscaping plant. Ideally, most varieties prefer a moist, cool and shady environment.

In theory, they prefer a normal room temp and will be happy, especially if you mist the frequently to increase moisture levels and clean the leaves from any dust or insects. Ivy is easily propagated by stem and leaf cutting. There are many varieties of ivy, the number is too great to list all of them. The five pointed leaves trail or climb, others grown in a shrub form, some have leaves that are bordered by white or mother midget types. If you find yourself interested, you should take a visit to your local floral shop or nursery and look at the various types of ivy available. You will be surprised at the amount of shapes and forms this plant has.

Placing Your Outdoor Lights In The Proper Location

If you do not plan your lighting carefully, it can make or break your landscape. The entire reason for having outdoor lighting is for two purposes:

1.) To improve the value of your garden 2.) To create a certain ambiance in your garden

In more cases than not, you will find your backyard garden decorated with lighting in one of two ways. The first, is an all purpose lighting, with the main function of lighting up the space for use during the night.

The second type of lighting is used with great effort for adding an ambiance or mood to your garden. This king of special purpose lighting, can be witnessed around rock gardens, fountains or being a large tree for lighting and shadowing effects.

One of the main advantages of landscape lighting is not just for lighting, but also to use the shadows cast around artificial or natural objects. There are unlimited chances for a splendid show of lighting effects you can use in your garden. You can use a Japanese garden lamp carved in stone along the path to create a lovely effect for a small budget.

Landscape lighting needs to be planned during the initial design stage. When you want to create a landscape plan for your garden, it is important to note the position of lighting in your plans so that electric wiring can be run underground prior to starting any pathway or lawn construction.

Another important aspect in the field of landscape lighting is the use of solar powered landscape lights. Just as the name suggests, these lights use direct sunlight and convert it into electricity and store it in a batter for later use.

In the early stages of development, these lights used to be powered by a battery made of lead and acid, now this form has been replaced by a nickel-cadmium battery which allows for longer storage and better performance.

The light bulb has now been replaced by an LED light. It used to be a standard incandescent bulb, but this consumed more electricity and has a short life span. If you are planning to use these types in your garden, you must plan their position first, this is to ensure they receive the direct sunlight required for usage.

You should not position these landscaping lights in a place where shadows will fall on trees even where shadows on the house will fall. Look for the areas that get direct sunlight and this will ensure maximum usage of every outdoor light that you will use.

You can cater to the problem of special solar landscape lighting, there are other types available which the solar cell and battery are located away from the light fixture. This means you can put them in a location where they will get direct sunlight exposure. This means wiring will have to be run from the solar cell or battery and to the fixture in your garden. You will gain from planning this at the design stage, which will save you time and length of wiring, which also saves you money.

How To Distinguished A Chewing Bugs From Sucking Bugs

As many new gardeners quickly discover, there are two kinds of insects which you may find in your garden. The first are chewing insects that eat holes in the leaves of your plants. These pests include caterpillars, grasshoppers, beetles, snails, slugs, and earwigs. The second type is sucking insects that feed on your garden by pushing their mouths into the plant tissue and sucking out the juices. This type of insect includes aphids, scales, while flies, and mites.

You may assume that sucking insects are tiny (like aphids, for example) and chewing insects large (like caterpillars), but this is not always true. There are many examples of small chewing insects and large sucking bugs.

If you find leaves on your plants that are rolled and twisted out of their normal shape, you can expect to find caterpillars. Some species of caterpillar roll the leaves, and when you unroll the leaf you can expect to find a small green caterpillar inside. Some types of aphids also hide inside rolled leaves. If youre not sure if its an aphid, look for a soft, nearly transparent body, large abdomen, and six legs.

If the leaves of your plants develop transparent sections or trails, leaf miner has probably invaded your garden. This insect tunnels inside the leaves, just under the surface. If you hold a leaf to the light, youll be able to see the trails. On the other hand, if the trails are on the top of the leaf, you probably have slugs.

Depending on the type of insect, you may find bugs on the stems, on the flowers, on the leaves, or hiding underneath the leaves. Be sure to look over all parts of your plants carefully if you suspect insect or pests damage. Insects can hide from view, making it hard to figure out what is damaging your plants. Of course, if you want to make your houseplant healthy again, youll need to find the bugs and get rid of them.

There are many kinds of garden pests that attack your plant in different ways. Many of these are difficult to get rid of once you have them. If you want to get rid of pests like these, youll need to blast your plants with a heavy spray of water. They can hide in unexpected places on your plants, so use a very strong spray of water to get them all. For some bugs, including aphids, youll need to treat the plant with chemicals as well.

How To Choose The Right Pot When Transferring Your Houseplants

Choosing the right pot for your plant is one of the most important considerations an indoor gardener must make.

When you buy a plant from the store, it already comes in container, this makes it feel as though the pot was chosen for you. But, you need to decide whether or not your plant will thrive and grow in that pot. You also need to think about the situation, when it comes time to transfer the plant into another pot. Your decision is influenced by whatever container you choose from the beginning.

Aside from issues like color and material, the size of a pot is the most important thing to think about. Size plays an important role, but is also a chief concern when repotting a plant.

A lot of houseplants require repotting at least once a year. This of course will depend upon its size, species and amount of sunlight and many other factors.

A large pot, for example encourages free root growth, and usually provides substantial soil nutrients for them to draw on. Thus, starting with a larger pot will allow the plant to grow faster, leading to quicker repotting. But it can lead to excess water retention, so don’t go overboard.

With a smaller pot, it provides less soil to supply nutrients, but can lead to higher concentration levels. There is less growing room with a smaller pot, because it restrains the roots and the plant will grow more slowly. These two things often offset each other, leading time to repot about the same. It is important to remember not to allow the plant to become root bound, this can lead to damage.

When transferring a plant to another pot is necessary, the size of the pot will need to be an inch or to large in diameter for the plant to remain healthy.

How you deal with water draining is another very important consideration. Professional sources estimate that as many as 90% of houseplants are given excessive water. This can oftentimes lead to premature death of a plant. Diseases are another likely condition that can be the result over excessive watering. Most harmful organisms like mold and fungi, need warmth and moisture to thrive and multiply.

Herbs can also be easy to over water. They evolved in poor growing conditions, and had extreme sun exposure. Herbs flourish and thrive in an environment that would stress and possibly kill most other kinds of plants. Bonsai plants, enjoy a moist potting soil or hyponex potting soil, but still need plenty of draining room to ensure that they do not sit in water for extended periods of time.

A pot with plenty of holes in the bottom, is ideal. Keep the holes to a medium size in order to prevent dirt from spilling out or you could even cover the holes with mesh. Holes should not be to large or to small, since they may become plugged up. To test the size, place a pan of water under the plant and fill it about one third full of water. Repeat this exercise until water is no longer absorbed into the soil above it.

Types Of Lawn Trimmers And Edgers

While a lawnmower is essential to caring for your lawn, a trimmer or edger is also important. The reason for this is that many lawnmowers cannot reach areas of your grass next to walls, patios, or trees. To make your lawn look neat and tidy, use an edger to finish the job.

It can be hard to choose a type of trimmer or edger. Edgers have a traditional design with dual blades and a long wooden handle. Although they work quite well for the job, they have an old-fashioned design. They require no gas, and are lightweight. You’ll need to keep the blades clean and sharp, but they can do your edging in just a few minutes.

On the downside, they require a lot of effort for you to push them along. If you’ll end up with an aching back or sore wrists, this type of edger may not be right for you. If this is the case, try upgrading to an electric trimmer.

Electric trimmers are actually quite inexpensive. Plus, they are easy to use. They remove the longer grass by slicing it off by a quickly-moving plastic string. The string is easy to replace and costs only a few dollars. It will last at least several weeks, if not months, depending on how much you use the trimmer.

Electric trimmers have several other features that manual edgers do not have. You can use them at different angles and in tight areas that even manual edgers cannot reach. For example, if you have grass growing next to a shed or other building, it can be difficult to use your manual edger to cut this grass, but an electric trimmer will work. The same goes for grass around a large rock, or a lawn bordered by a scalloped edge. Electric trimmers will not damage the bricks, and will easily remove the grass.

A third style of edger to consider uses a small gasoline-powered motor. Unlike an electric edger, there is no cord in the pathways to get in the way, so you can take them far into the yard even to the areas near your brick patio, where there’s no outlet nearby. Using a gasoline-powered edger eliminates the need for a long extension cord snaking through your yard. Plus, they typically have more power, so they can handle thick brush or weeds better than electric edgers. However, gas-powered trimmers are noisier and heavier than electric models, and many of them are more expensive than either the electric or manual trimmers.

As you can see, there are many choices in lawn edgers and trimmers. The model you choose should depend on your preferences as well as your budget. A manual model is well-suited to a small yard without a lot of obstacles, while an electric trimmer is a good choice for medium-sized yards. Gasoline trimmers are a good choice for larger yards with obstacles to cut around. Because edgers are an investment, be sure to choose wisely, and pick a high-quality model that will last for years.

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