Gardening, lawns, garden design, organic gardening & more!
Archive for October, 2007
Organic Compost – It Is All in What You Add
Oct 31st
Compost by definition is organic. It is the decayed remainder of flora & fauna & thus is processed organic material. That said, additives both known & unknown can add inorganic material to the mix.
Some organic gardeners like to add certain mineral additives to their compost such as dolomitic limestone or greensand to lower pH & add calcium to the mix. It is doubtful if this is more effective than adding these materials directly to the soil especially in the case of pH control as compost piles tend to go neutral by the nature of their composting action. Still, it means More >
Japanese Interior Decorating Combined With a Japanese Garden
Oct 30th
Japanese gardens have become increasingly popular & it seems that they will continue to do so thanks to their simplicity & their peacefulness. There is more. There is something truly beautiful about a Japanese garden & it gives a place of beauty for the whole family to relax & escape in.
Usually a home with a Japanese garden also has a Japanese interior design, but it’s possible to simply have a Japanese garden without the need for a matching interior!
Enjoy the Tranquility of a Japanese Garden
With the world so full of stress & panic these days, it’s often rare to find More >
Concrete Lawn Ornament & Statue Repair
Oct 30th
My husband & I owned a concrete lawn ornament business for 7 years. We bought a lot of concrete in North Carolina, packed it on a 30′ trailer, & drove up I 81 through Pennsylvania to get home in central New York. If anyone’s ever driven I 81, you know how bad the road surfaces are. Several pieces broke each trip no matter how well we packed them.
We found it quite necessary to learn to repair concrete while we were selling lawn ornaments. Each trip to the hardware store would bring home a new trial of another form of repair More >
How to Use Platform Bird Feeders
Oct 29th
Amongst the many types of bird feeders that you can select the most common, & easiest to make, are the platform bird feeders. There is more. This type of feeder has a flat tray like base with short sides that are only tall enough to keep the bird food from falling out. It should also have a roof to it to keep the food dry in case of rain or snow. It also needs to have some holes for drainage in case it does get wet. You do not want puddles to appear in the seed you’re feeding to the More >
Different Types of Composters
Oct 28th
There are basically two types of composters. One type is a static freestanding type of composter & the other is the kind that rotates like a wheel barrel to kind of churn the waste material into a swiftly degrading mixture. Of course these are just the two types of composters that you can buy commercially. You can also make your own composter.
Of course the simplest of composters is simply the heap that is in the garden. This is usually just a mound, occasionally hidden, that is now full of grass clippings, leaves & kitchen waste. All it really needs is More >
How to Plan an Herb Garden
Oct 28th
An herb garden can bring a person a lot of pleasure because there’s so many things that can be done with herbs such as herbal crafts, herbal teas & herbal seasonings. On top of this, you get to care & tend for the plants which, if this is all you do, is enough reason to grow an herb garden. Seeing how the herbs mingle together & enjoying their fragrance are other benefits.
By planning your herb garden, you’ll eliminate any frustration that may arise from planting an herb in the wrong area. By example, if you plant Basil in a very More >
Greenhouse Plans – How To Build A Greenhouse
Oct 28th
Are you searching for greenhouse plans so that you can give your seedlings a head start in the spring? Would you like to create a warm environment where you can keep your pot plants & hanging baskets during the winter? And how about growing your own organic vegetables? All of this can be achieved in a greenhouse.
Just as if you were building a house, if you want to build a controlled environment for your plants you will need to start with greenhouse plans. There is more. There is more. There is more to a greenhouse than piping & polypropylene & this More >
Home Improvement – Outdoor Path Lighting
Oct 28th
Outdoor path lighting is as important to your outdoors as trimming the lawn, looking after the trees, & other landscaping projects that you might undertake from time to time. Good fixtures for outdoor path lighting can really make a difference to the look of your home after sundown. There are many different styles of outdoor path lighting that you can select from. Not only are these designs pleasing to look at but they also provide some additional security by helping you to clearly see the surroundings when the sun is no longer in the sky.
Outdoor path lighting is a good More >
How To Do Bonsai – 4 Keys For The Beginner To Know
Oct 28th
I remember the first time I was exposed to the beautiful artistry of Bonsai. When I was about 5 years old, I was visiting relatives at my uncles house in Tokyo, Japan. After a while, some of us kids went out to the back “yard”. In Tokyo, as in most places in Japan, land is a real premium, so the back “yard” was really just a small rock garden. It was in that small, simple, yet beautiful rock garde, that I saw my first bonsai tree. It was so tiny, yet proportionally perfect. I later found out that it was More >
Organic Gardening Beauty
Oct 27th
Organic gardening & insect chewed up fruits, vegetables & flowers do not have to go together. It is easy to discover how to protect your garden from harmful insects, maintain fertile soil & healthy plants, without resorting to chemical insecticides & fertilizers by learning about a few, simple techniques.
The gardening resource guide “Gardening Made Easy” (available at our website) discusses many organic gardening techniques to protect your organic garden. Here are just some of the major techniques that it discusses.
Compost & Organic Fertilizers
To feed you plants & get your soil nourished you can use simple, natural products called organic fertilizers. More >
