Gardening Top Info

Palm trees, scientifically known as Arecaceae or Palmae, are trees belonging to a family of monocot flowering plants. There are approximately 2,600 different species of palm trees, the majority of which are native to tropical or subtropical climates. Some well-known trees that belong to this group include coconut trees, rattan trees, and date palm trees.  Uses of palm trees  Palm trees have many uses. Palm tree sap is sometimes fermented in order to produce palm wine, or palm toddy. To make palm wine from the sap of palm trees, the sap is first collected by cutting between the tree kernels. A container is placed below the cut to collect the sap, a process that takes one or two days. The sap begins fermenting immediately and creates a wine within two hours. If the palm sap is allowed to sit too long, however, it turns into vinegar.  Heart of palm is also derived from several species of palm trees. Heart of palm is also referred to as swamp cabbage, palm heart, or palmito. Heart of palm

Orchids are a thing of beauty, one of the most impressive flowers you can have at home is an orchid. Because Orchids come from a very large family there is a huge variation in the different types of Orchids available on the market. Orchids are not the most difficult flowers to take care of, but they do need some attention, you can have a significant effect on the orchids you grow. Wild orchid is simply a wonderful flower that everyone should own, a wild orchid has a unique look and style of growth. Wild orchids have an amazing verity of species, each with its own beautiful shape and coloring. Orchids in general and wild orchids in particular require that you decide where you think you will place the orchids before you actually buy them, the care needed for orchids demands that you provide them with enough humidity and air flow, and there is a huge difference between placing an orchid at home or have a wild orchid in your garden. As a person who knows the importance of flowers for stres

* What is hydroponics? Hydroponics is commonly referred to as “the cultivation of plants in water.” However, studies show that various media can support the growth of the plant. The definition was broadened to “the cultivation of plants without soil.” * What is aeroponics? Aeroponics is classified as a hydroponic method where roots of the plants are continuously or discontinuously place in an environment soaked with fine drops such as a mist or aerosol of nutrient solution. * What are the advantages of hydroponics? The most apparent advantage of hydroponics is its manageability to control the plant-growing environment. Other benefits of hydroponics are: • Restricted supply of enough water only • Avoid high labor cost than traditional cultivation method • No need for high cost of soil fertilizer • Certainty of plant production * Are there different kinds of hydroponics? Actually, there are many different types of hydroponics. The major divisions are either media-based or water culture.

Personification in Poems & Poetry Personification is the treating of an inanimate object as if it were animate and is probably the most beautiful and effective of all the figures of speech. Personification depends much on a vivid imagination and is adapted especially to poetical composition. It has two distinguishable forms: When personality is ascribed to the inanimate as in "The mountains sing together, the hills rejoice and clap their hands."   When some quality of life is attributed to the inanimate; as, a raging storm; an angry sea; a whistling wind, etc.  Examples of Personification in Poems & Poetry Poems with Personification examples can be found by the most famous poets including John Milton and Robert Frost "Confusion heards his voice.'' from Paradise Lost - Book 3 by John Milton Another example of personification from Paradise Lost by John Milton "Earth felt the wound; and Nature from her seat, Sighing, through all her works, gave signs of

The garden gazebo is a thing of beauty, it has been known that in the past kings and queens had enjoyed gazebos in their royal gardens, setting up a trend of garden gazebos for history’s rich and famous. Using a garden gazebo to any property is a wise step, it seems that what was true many years ago is even more convincing today. Some people use a garden gazebo to increase the value of their property, gifted gardeners can use a garden gazebo to create a division between parts of a garden. In some cases, a big enough garden needs a garden gazebo to hold all the tools that are needed to manicure the flowers and mown. These days almost anyone can own a garden gazebo, and assemble a garden gazebo in the backyard, garden gazebo kits offer the beauty of a wooden gazebo, many gazebos are available in a huge variety of shapes and sizes, ranging from Victorian and Amish styles to small to party size in diameter. Garden owners can purchase a garden gazebo kit and build their own gazebo by themse

Have you ever looked at the soil in your garden and considered it as anything more than soil? If not you should because there is a lot more there than meets the eye. It performs many functions that you may not be aware of and having good quality soil in your garden is essential for your plants. In this article we will look at the functions of soil, what different types there are and finally some ways to make it healthier. Functions of Soil The most immediately apparent function of soil is a medium to support plant life. It provides support both physically and biologically. Physical support is provided by allowing the plant to grow its roots through the soil to hold itself in place. Biological support is provided by its ability to hold nutrients and water that the plant needs. It also supports other types of life as well. Microorganisms and insects live in the soil and they in turn aid plant life by helping to decay organic material and adding structure to the soil. Soil allows the grow

Gourmet food is expensively delicious not only for its quality ingredients and taste, but also for its aesthetics. Aesthetics in food are making a big comeback in today’s restaurants, and for good reason. An experience involving one sense unwittingly involves more than one. So while we eat, we may think that taste is all that our brain is processing, but it’s a much richer experience than that. The smell and the sight of the food are major points in the eating experience. One of the most natural and most appealing ways to brighten up and beautify a dish is the simple addition of an edible flower! There are many varieties which are edible, and add a subtle flavor into your dish. Cooking with flowers, though, is a cautious process, as you must be completely sure that what you are serving is neither poisonous nor chemically treated. Once you have chosen your flowers safely, the options available for cooking are very wide. While I don’t recommend you start viewing bouquets as scrumptious s

There is immense satisfaction in creating your own garden plan -- the satisfaction derived from relaxing or entertaining in the garden as well as the satisfaction that comes from a job well done. The effort that you expend in planning and executing a design unique to you will add to the enjoyment your garden provides for years to come. How do you begin to create a garden space that is unique to you? Here are ten simple steps that will help you move effortlessly through the process. 1. Identify WHY you want a garden. How will you use it? Who else will enjoy the garden? Remember that you may not be the sole inhabitant, so get input from all family members on how your outdoor space will be used. 2. Do a little dreaming. Now that you know why you want a garden and how you intend to use it, let your imagination play with all the possible features in your special space. A little dreaming will uncover those attributes that will put your personal imprint on the garden. Also decide whether you

A great deal about fountains has changed over the last decade. Now there are really high class ones made of copper, stainless steel, bronze, concrete, and stone, and some fairly nice ones made of resin and fiberglass. There are several things to consider, though. As a pump wholesaler, I speak with fountain owners all the time and also look at lots of samples of fountains at trade shows and in magazines. Before purchasing a fountain, there are quite a few questions to ask. What looks good in a store might not look good at your home or business. Bronze and Stainless Steel Fountains These are at the high end of fountains, and can retail for ten to twenty thousand dollars. They are plain classy. But will one of these fit in where you want to put it? Do you have the right yard or business or location for such a classic kind of display? Also, do you like the aging process (the verdigris patina) that bronze undergoes? Can you afford one of these? If you answered yes to these questions, a bro

Container gardening is fantastic. On its own, a terracotta pot is just a container and summer bedding is just some plants. However, selectively plant the summer bedding in the container, add a few sprinkles of green-fingered expertise and you have created a miniature garden-scape. You are effectively planting a garden in miniature. This is known to some people as container design planting. The constructive planting of containers allows people who may just have a balcony to enjoy a taste of horticulture; containerised planting also brings the garden within the reach of a disabled persons fork and trowel. * Cleaning containers To help you create thriving container plantings for the summer, please consider the following… If you intend replanting any containers you should get rid of all traces of compost from the previous year. Be scrupulous in your washing as particles of previous year’s compost can harbour pests, diseases and mould spores. To ensure a clean environment for growing, wash

Compost, made from decomposed grass clippings, leaves, twigs, and branches, becomes a dark, crumbly mixture of organic matter.  Learn how composting works. Even a newbie to composting can make good quality compost. It can be compared to cooking as art or part science. The following 7 factors will help you master the art of composting. 1. Materials After a time anything that was once alive will naturally decompose. But, not all organic items should be composted for the home. To prepare compost, organic material, microorganisms, air, water, and a small amount of nitrogen are needed. These items are safe to compost at home: * grass clippings * trimmings from hedges * vegetable scraps * leaves * potting soil that has grown old * twigs * coffee filters with coffee grounds * tea bags * weeds that have not went to seed * plant stalks These items are Not safe to compost at home: * weeds that have went to seed * dead animals * pet feces * bread and grains * meat * grease * cooking oil * oily f

Are you like me? Sad to see the summer end but at the same time relieved that there is one less task to tend to. Weeding, watering, pruning, and more weeding is over for this year and with a few more chores the outdoor gardening year draws to a close. Most of what needs to be completed is a matter of cleaning up and covering up. Practical steps to preparing your outdoor garden for winter involve: 1. Protecting plants. There are different opinions concerning whether to cut down or leave plants standing through the winter. Here on the prairies most people leave their perennials standing for a variety of reasons. In particular, trapping the snow cover is important for protection of plants and retaining moisture. Snow cover acts the same as good mulch by insulating the soil. Many perennial stems and seed heads are also very attractive for winter interest and provide food for the birds. After the ground freezes, mulch perennials and shrub beds with pine needles, compost, peat mos

A Garden gives life to a home. It's the green and blooming plants that seem to refresh anyone who sees them. However, gardening isn't as simple as putting the plants into the soil. You must know the basics and you have the necessities. In Budding Green Thumb these are aspects to consider; sun, view, wind, drainage and garden style and especially the plant selection. There are basic necessities you will need in building your most promising garden. Whether you have a small or large ground, these necessities will play a big part on beginning your most promising garden. These consist of spading fork, planting shovel, hand cultivator, Iron Rake, weed spud and a pair of shears, Hose reel, mower, garden roller and wheelbarrow. There are tools wherein there is no substitute. A spading fork is one of these. Spading fork is usually use in turning the compact soil to open. Once the soil is opened from compacted soil, use the spading fork to mix in the additives and use it to turn the comp

It’s not always easy to be an organic gardener. Even committed organic gardeners sometimes long to spray herbicide on goutweed or pesky poison ivy. When Japanese beetles or rose chafers arrive in throngs just before your garden party, you may suffer an urge for the good old days — the time before you understood that spraying an insecticide would kill beneficial bugs along with the bad, aggravating your pest problems. But there are also problems that are more easily addressed with organic solutions. Each winter, the Ecological Landscaping Association (www.ela. org) holds a conference and eco-marketplace where researchers, landscapers, gardeners and environmentalists meet to share knowledge and ideas. This year, one of the presentations I liked best was by Dr. Richard Casagrande of the University of Rhode Island, who spoke on biocontrol of invasive species. He explained that for some problems, organic controls work better than chemical controls. Casagrande said that when gardeners hear t

Native to the Andean region of South American and under cultivation in Peru in the sixteenth century, tomatoes (Lycopersicum esculentum) have been grown for thousands of years. The Spanish introduced them to the European cultures. Europeans were not open to trying tomatoes until the end of the sixteenth century, as tomatoes, being part of the nightshade family, were considered poisonous. Later, the French tried them and began to call them “pommes d’amour”, apples of love. They felt that tomatoes carried aphrodisiac qualities. It wasn’t until the 1900’s when the tomato gained popularity in North America.   Scientific research shows the health benefits from this tasty fruit. In recent years, researchers discovered that tomatoes were natural sources of the element lycopene. This antioxidant has been shown in tests to dramatically reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and many cancers, including prostate and colon cancers. Tomatoes are an excellent source of phytochemicals, nutr

The potting bench that you are about to read about is not fancy, but very functional. It is also very easy to build and use. Except it doesn't have any legs! Don't panic, having a legless potting bench is actually a benefit. I'll get to that a little later.   The potting bench described in this article is actually identical to the potting bench that we have been using for years in our backyard nursery, and it has served us well, potting up tens of thousands of plants.  I like it because it is large enough to pot up around ten small plants at a time, and it holds a significant amount of soil. However, since I originally wrote this article, I designed and built a potting bench for home gardeners that you may like better.  There are lots of photos and step by step plans for building it on this page:  http://www.freeplants.com/free-potting-bench-plans.htm On the above page you will also find a photo of one of my other potting bench designs, an outhouse with a flip out potting

The rose is a very beautiful flower, often considered to be the queen of all flowers. The inherent beauty of the rose is peerless; no other flower can ever compare to it. Gardeners who have successfully cultivated their own rose gardens prize the fruit of their own labors highly and take a lot of effort to care for and maintain their gardens. For indeed, if you want to be able to enjoy the beauty of a rose plant, you must be prepared to exert the effort needed to cultivate, care for and protect these plants. The task of caring for roses is no easy feat. To take care of roses can be arduous and can consume a good amount of time every day. But no matter how laborious cultivating roses can be, the effort exerted is very much worth it. To see a healthy and thriving rose plant in your garden is certainly very rewarding. Caring for rose plants involves regular watering, pruning and constant protection from the weather and from disease. Watering Your Roses There are flowers and plants t

Pergolas are a shady, garden structure whose beginnings date back to ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome, and were common features in early Renaissance gardens throughout Europe. Their primary purpose was to provide shade on walkways, terraces, or pools. The earlier versions were often constructed from stone pillars with wooden cross-beams with a lattice roof. It was common to see ivy, grapevines, or other climbing plants winding around the wood, and filling the open spaces between the lattice. Today they are often constructed from pressure-treated wood or cedar. The many varieties of maintenance-free lumber products are also widely used. They give the look of wood, but never need painting, resist rot, peeling, and fading, and are available in a variety of colors.  A pergola makes a striking accent to any landscaping theme; not only are they eye-catching, but functional as well. Depending on their size, pergolas often become an extension of the main home, and may be used for entertaining, d

The devices and implements used for fighting plant enemies are of two sorts: (1) those used to afford mechanical protection to the plants;  (2) those used to apply insecticides and fungicides. Of the first the most useful is the covered frame. It consists usually of a wooden box, some eighteen inches to two feet square and about eight high, covered with glass, protecting cloth, mosquito netting or mosquito wire. The first two coverings have, of course, the additional advantage of retaining heat and protecting from cold, making it possible by their use to plant earlier than is otherwise safe. They are used extensively in getting an extra early and safe start with cucumbers, melons and the other vine vegetables.  Simpler devices for protecting newly-set plants, such as tomatoes or cabbage, from the cut-worm, are stiff, tin, cardboard or tar paper collars, which are made several inches high and large enough to be put around the stem and penetrate an inch or so into the soil.  For applying

Are you looking for the best and most innovative lawn mower? Are you tired of using the ancient type of lawn mower that provides less performance than what you have expected? Then RobotShop knows just what you need. At RobotShop, you can almost find every kind of robot that you are looking for. They are all built to provide the necessary services and products that most robot enthusiasts are looking form. Robotic devices are very hot these days considering the fact that they offer more than technology itself. This time, they are offering technology that you can use. Now, you can use robots to help you out with home improvement chores. One of the more popular domestic robots is the robot lawn mower. Robot lawn mowers are uniquely and innovatively designed to take the place of traditional lawn mowers. These robot lawn mowers offer more than what the traditional lawn mowers can do. They do other things aside from cutting the lawn. One of the best things about these robot lawn mowers is tha

Home remodeling is a very common event that the home owners undertake. This is in fact true for I know that all of us want our homes to look better and be more comfortable to live in. So for those who are thinking about home remodeling, here are some of the essential guides to help you in your project. The first step to be considered for home remodeling is the home design. At first most of the people think on what way will their home look better and what is the possible design that will fit for the natural aura of the place. The concept of design for home remodeling in this sense comes in. So for the design for home remodeling you should decide if you want to hire an architect, a designer expert, or other home remodeling masters to visualize your home remodeling ideas. In such case, it is necessary to think for the design for home remodeling that you can afford and you really love. A certain rapport with the home remodeling contractor is important as well for a solid work. And t

One of the best ways to improve your garden is to stop throwing out your garbage. That's right, your used coffee grinds and banana peels can help your tomato and cucumber plants grow larger and stronger. When that same garbage is eaten and digested by a worm it becomes a powerful plant supplement known as worm castings. Starting a worm compost bin is a great way to create a steady supply of worm castings for your flower and vegetable gardens. First thing you'll need is a bin. You can buy a commercially made worm bin but where's the fun in that. Those plastic or rubber storage bins make great worm bins. Drill a few holes in the bin so your worms get plenty of air. Just be sure to cover those holes with small pieces of window screen or something else that will keep the fruit flies out. And if you have any plumbing experience, why not add a hose spigot near the bottom of the bin to take advantage of worm tea. Worm tea is even better than compost tea for your plants. All you ha