Home And Garden

Conditioning a plant to the home environment is the first step in adapting store bought greenery to life in your house or apartment. Our homes usually have less light and humidity than the plant had before we bought it. Houseplants might lose their leaves within a week or two of purchase if our home environment provides too drastic a change for them. Conditioning plants to our home extends their life and it's possible to buy preconditioned plants. Buy from a garden center and ask them if the plant is pre-conditioned. To condition new plants expose them to the maximum amount of light available. Over a period of a few weeks, gradually reduce the available light to approximate the desired final location for the plant. You can remove excess fertilizer and salts from the soil by allowing water to filter down through the soil and escape through the drainage hole. The greenhouse where your plant lived before was more humid than your living area. Using a humidifier is good for your...

Decide on the Position Firstly, you need to think carefully about where you will place the pond. If it has trees overhanging, then you will be driven mad by leaves falling in. If it is too shady, your plants won't appreciate it (water lilies and other water plants generally like plenty of sunshine). Above all of course, however, do pick a place where you can see it and appreciate it. Incidentally, this is the point where you really want to sit back and be sure that this is what you want.  Before long, you will be spending money and digging a hole that takes just as much work to fill up again if you change your mind.  Make sure that what you are planning is going to add to the value of your home and garden, and not be out of place. Decide on the Size Now decide on the size. The best way to visualise it is to lay a hose pipe on the ground to define the edge of the pond. Then look at it from different viewpoints to make sure that it fits well into the view of the garden....

1 Determine the best time to plant your seeds. Most flowers can be planted outside any time after the last frost, but some should be planted later in the season. Most seed packets have directions for when to plant, or you can check the planting schedule in the resource section. If you want to start your flowers early, you can plant them indoors six to eight weeks before outdoor planting. 2 If you're planting your seeds outside skip to step three. If you choose to start your plants inside, fill the pots about three-quarters full with potting soil. You can use small starter pots or seedling trays and eventually transfer the seedlings from the container to the ground, or you can use peat pots, which go directly into the ground and dissolve in the soil. 3 Plant two or three seeds per pot. Press the seeds about half an inch below the surface, and cover them with soil. If you are planting large flowers, remove extra seedlings so there is only one flower growing in each pot, bu...

Privacy, safety, beauty and convenience are some of the considerations to keep in mind when landscaping around swimming pools. Plants   provide beauty and privacy around a swimming pool. They soften the harsh lines of swimming pool equipment and help swimming pools to blend more naturally with the surrounding environment. If you grow plants that are tall enough, they will form   privacy screens   around the pool area. But plants must be chosen wisely. Strive for low-maintenance plants. For instance, you don't wasn't large   deciduous   trees around a   swimming pool, as you'll end up fishing all those leaves out of the water! Even needle-bearing evergreen trees can be messy. A good alternative is a   broadleaf   evergreen such as   holly . Avoid fruit trees: not only are they messy, but the fruits attract bees. And as beautiful as flowers are, be aware that they, too, can be bee-magnets. Even worse, plants with invasive root systems can ...

Mediterranean Style Mediterranean Garden : Mediterranean Garden one of the oldest designs of landscape architecture. Like any classic, this style has passed the test of time, is still attractive today, has spread far beyond the land gave rise to it. Especial charm of terracotta pottery, herbs, clipped conifers, white sculptures, sand and gravel garden paths, highlighting the water in the pool – there is no indifferent people who are inclined to seek harmony in all. The most popular decorative elements in Mediterranean garden are grottoes and paths-pergolas covered with ivy or other plants. A characteristic feature of modernity - the appearance in a garden of cane or wrought-iron garden furniture and sun umbrellas and awnings stretched over light pergolas, arbors.  Moorish Style Moorish gardens: Moorish gardens were derived from oases - the main joy of a person living in the desert. That's what determined the main features of Moorish style in landscape design - the abundanc...

Success in home landscape design is certainly attainable for do-it-yourselfers, but there are some pitfalls that should be avoided if maximum satisfaction is to be achieved. Thus the need for this list of 10 mistakes to be avoided in home landscape design. The mistakes covered range from miscalculations that have practical ramifications to more subtle errors that negatively impact your enjoyment of your home landscape design. 1.   Piecemeal Planting: Failure to Have a Plan Many home landscape designs evolve helter-skelter. A plant is planted somewhere in the yard simply because there is room for it there at the time. Ideally, it's best to start from scratch, draw a plan for the whole yard, and stick to it. Short of that, try at least to sketch a rough plan for one large area of your yard, and put all your energy into implementing that plan this year. This article introduces the do-it-yourselfer to drawing landscape plans: 2.   Having a Lawn Just Because "Everyone Else Does ...

  Cycas revoluta (sago cycad), is an attractive plant native to southern Japan . Though often known by the common name of king sago palm, or just sago palm, it is not a palm at all, but a cycad. This very symmetrical plant supports a crown of shiny, dark green leaves on a thick shaggy trunk that is typically about 20 cm (7.9 in) in diameter, sometimes wider. The trunk is very low to subterranean in young plants, but lengthens above ground with age.  It can grow into very old specimens with 6–7 m (over 20 feet) of trunk; however, the plant is very slow-growing and requires about 50–100 years to achieve this height. Trunks can branch multiple times, thus producing multiple heads of leaves. The leaves are a deep semi glossy green and about 50–150 cm (20–59 in) long when the  plants are of a reproductive age.   Propagation of Cycas revoluta is either by seed or by removal of basal offsets. As with other cycads, it is dioecious, with the males bearing co...

Lucky Bamboo is a really popular indoor plant for the home, dorm, or office. The name is a little bit deceiving as it is actually not a bamboo, but rather in the Lily family with the scientific name Dracaena Sanderiana. The Lucky Bamboo is very easy to grow and take care of. The following should always be remembered: • The plant should not receive direct sunlight. • The plant should be in 2 - 3 inches of water that should be changed weekly to prevent the plant from rotting. Use rocks to hold the stalk upright. • The use of fertilizer is not necessary but can encourage and keep the plant strong. • For optimal growth, keep the Lucky Bamboo between 60-70F. The Lucky Bamboo usually does not require too much care. One common problem is yellow leaves. This problem is caused either by too much direct sunlight or the use of tap water with too much fluorine. To overcome this, do not place the plant directly in front of the window and try using filtered or bottled water.

Roses can add a special touch to the room. As well as their beauty, fragrant roses add a wonderful aroma that is hard to beat; you want to make sure they last as long as possible. Follow our guidelines here and our guide to taking care of cut flowers to make sure that you enjoy the beauty of your cut roses for as long as possible. Submerged leaves can decay and create bacteria. Remove these leaves. Be careful not to damage the bark of the stem. Any damages to the stem can prevent uptake of water through the stem. Hold the stems under water and cut about 2 cm from the bottom of the stem with a sharp knife or scissors. Keep this end moist and don't let it dry before being placed in vase or container. Immediately after the stems are cut, place roses in a deep vase of warm preservative solution (about 100 degrees Fahrenheit). Leave roses in a cool, dark room for a couple of hours before arranging. This gives the roses a little time to settle and adjust before being arranged. Arrang...