1. Choose the right plants

Kids will more likely choose plants and flowers with bright colors, so have a load of varieties of plants. Examples of bright flowers are zinnias and cosmos; these will keep your children fascinated. Don’t forget the sunflowers. Anything that is tall and fuzzy will surely overwhelm a kid. Make sure these plants will not cause any allergic reactions from your kid.

2. Starting seeds

Give your children the freedom to help you with the staring seeds. Some seeds might be too small for the tiny fingers, but their digits can be of help in covering them with dirt.

3. Home Gardening Memoir

To last the kids’ enthusiasm until the plants grow, make them create a home gardening journal. This activity will allow them to use their imagination to sketch on what the plants will be like and write down when they placed in the ground the seeds and when they first witnessed a sprout pushing up.

4. Make sure that the garden is somewhere very visible for the kids.

Before you start home gardening, pick a spot where the kids often play or walk by. Every time they see and pass by their garden, the more they will sight changes.

5. Dirt playing

Always remember that children are fond of playing with dirt or mud. They can help you ready the soil, even if what they are only doing is stomping on the clumps. To make home gardening with the kids more fun, you can provide them with kid-sized tools to make home gardening very engaging for them.

6. Your kids own the garden

A picture of each plant will enable the children to foresee what the flowers will look like. You can also put your child’s name on a placard, so everyone can see that it’s their garden.

7. Playing with the water

Playing with water is right up there with playing with dirt. Look for a small watering can that they can use to water their garden. You can show them how to let the water go right to the roots of the plants. Hoses want only trouble. They are simply formidable for little hands to control.

8. Kids commit mistakes

Adults, too, are sometimes impatient. Give the kids full control to their garden. If they create a mess, let it be, it’s their mess. Allow them to get pleasure from it and take dignity in their own piece of territory. Just don’t forget to tell them how to clean up that mess.

Trees can affect the character of a garden and all gardens, however small, should have at least one. They make such a strong outline against the background and the sky. A number of conifers have scented needles, such as juniper and cypresses. Some of them have slender columnar forms which are used in gardening to create a formal or contemporary feel. The more spreading, horizontal conifers like Cedar of Lebanon, (scented of blackcurrant in summer weather), Blue Atlas Cedar or Scots Pine, create a less formal look for a gardening design, but still have a distinct aura of grandeur about them.

Primarily we tend to choose trees and shrubs as gardening subjects because they fit architecturally into a given space. Scent is often the last criterion we would use to select a large feature such as this. Trees and shrubs are such significant gardening features that eventual size and the shade cast may be of more importance than scent. Shade is desirable to some degree, but if trees and shrubs are so big and planted on the southern side of a garden they may cast everything into gloom! Scented blossoms may be considered a bonus in gardening terms once the other considerations have been met.

For low, formal hedging you really can’t beat the neatness of Box. It is not as fast growing as privet. If your idea of gardening is about clipped topiary, Box is ideal for designs such as Box Balls or Pyramids on the simpler level up to Elephant, Peacock and Teddy Bear shapes for the more experienced topiarist. Low box hedging can bring a formal look to your gardening, even if other areas are less so: it can bring the garden “into line” so to speak, by creating straight lines of dense green. Of course you can make a curved hedge from it too. One of its less attractive features is its smell, but that is a matter of personal taste. For me it smells too strongly of cat’s urine! I experience this pungent odour every time I walk by it, but many people learn to live with or even love it simply by associating it with happy summer days pottering around gardening. If you really can’t handle the smell then consider using Lonicera Nitida instead. This shrubby honeysuckle has sweet, fruity cream-colored flowers.

Trees and shrubs can of course be used to make a windbreak screen. In order to create the still, sheltered microclimate in which other scented plants can thrive, this may be essential, depending on the situation of your plot. Trees and shrubs can make better windbreaks than walls, as they don’t offer the wind a “full stop” barrier which the wind can then leap over and cause problems due to eddying on the other side. If your region is reasonably mild for gardening, Eucalyptus can grow very fast to create an instant hedge or tree in a selected spot. They have beautifully minty-scented foliage, flowers with the scent of honey, and are fast growers. They can be hard pruned if you don’t mind a modicum of gardening, especially if you don’t want them to grow so big and if you want to keep the prettier, juvenile blue leaves coming back year on year.

A number of gardening writers seem to ignore trees and shrubs when they write about scented gardening; perhaps small and pretty annuals spring to mind or of course roses. In fact a huge amount of scent can be generated from gardening with trees and shrubs. Trees and shrubs can give such a variety of powerful scents that it is a shame that most of us don’t have the space to use more of them in our gardens. The architectural effect of trees and shrubs is undeniable.

Dianne Davies is a keen gardener who likes to share her knowledge. She runs her own half acre garden in Norfolk as well as websites which include – http://www.gardening-world.com & http://www.gardening-notebook.blogspot.com.

Gardening also takes place in non-residential green areas, such as parks, public or semi-public gardens (botanical gardens or zoological gardens), amusement and theme parks, along transportation corridors, and around tourist attractions and hotels. In these situations, a staff of gardeners or groundskeepers maintains the gardens.

Indoor gardening is concerned with the growing of what are essentially houseplants within a residence or building, in a conservatory, or in a greenhouse. Plants grown in a conservatory or greenhouse may or may not require more exacting care and conditions than ordinary houseplants. Indoor gardens are sometimes incorporated as part of air conditioning or heating systems.

Water gardening is concerned with growing plants adapted to pools and ponds. Bog gardens are also considered a type of water garden. These all require special conditions and considerations. A simple water garden may consist solely of a tub containing the water and plant(s).

In cryptanalysis, gardening was a term used at Bletchley Park during World War II for schemes to entice the Germans to include known plaintext, which they called cribs, in their encrypted messages. It is claimed to have been most effective against messages produced by the German Navy’s Enigma machines

In China, for instance, farmers regularly set up outhouses on the roads to attract tourists to use them, furnishing the farmers with “night soil” (human manure) for use as a fertiliser. These meth ods make excellent use of calories and minerals and water, but of course violate the aesthetics of most Westerners, who would balk at using stranger’s human wastes on their own gardens. There is thus some conflict between gardening for personal or aesthetic reasons, and for practical food-raising, even for one household.
The living wall is an unusual variant of a living machine and is effectively a vertical garden: water dripping down feeds a surface growing with moss and vines, other plants, some insects and bacteria, and captured at the bottom in a pool or pond to be recirculated to the top. These are sometimes built indoors to help cure sick building syndrome or otherwise increase the oxygen levels in recirculated air.

Gardening is considered to be an absolutely essential art in most cultures. In Japan, for instance, Samurai and Zen monks were often required to build decorative gardens or practice related skills like flower arrangement known as ikebana.

Social aspect
In modern Europe an d North America, people often express their political or social views in gardens, intentionally or not. The Green parties and Greenpeace often advise their campaigners to call first on homeowners who have lush chaotic wild gardens, as these are deemed to be more likely to respond to the Greens’ political message than those with AstroTurf or bluegrass lawns. No reliable statistics support such claims, but for many years, in the United States, there was a widespread belief that there was such a thing as a Republican lawn and Democratic lawn.

The lawn vs. garden issue is played out in urban planning as the debate over the “land ethic” that is to determine urban land use and whether hyperhygienist bylaws (e.g. weed control) should apply, or whether land should generally be allowed to exist in its natural wild state. In a famous Canadian Charter of Rights case, “Sandra Bell vs. City of Toronto”, 1997, the right to cultivate all native species, even most varieties deemed noxious or allergenic, was upheld as part of the right of free expression, at least in Canada.

Gardening is thus not only a food source and art, but also a right. The Slow Food movement has sought in some countries to add an edible schoolyard and garden classrooms to schools, e.g. in Fergus, Ontario, where these were added to a public school to augment the kitchen classroom.

In US and British usage, the care, installation, and maintenance of ornamental plantings in and around commercial and institutional buildings is called landscaping, landscape maintenance or groundskeeping, while international usage uses the term gardening for these same activities.

History
Gardening for food extends far back into prehistory. Ornamental gardens are known in ancient times (the Hanging Gardens of Babylon), and ancient Rome had dozens of gardens. See the History of gardening article for more information, including a List of historical garden types, as well as a List of notable historical gardens.

Here are the benefits of organic gardening:

1. Organically grown foods are not sprayed with chemicals.

That means less health harming chemicals on the food that you and your family may consume. Keep in mind that pesticides are created with only one purpose, to kill living things. A certain kind of protection might be dangerous. Pest control must be done with utmost consideration to safety; safety in terms of the plants, animals and humans.

On the average, a child ingests four to five times more cancer-causing pesticides from foods than an adult. This can lead to various diseases later on in the childs life. With organic gardening, these incidents are lessened.

Organically grown foods are nutritious and full of taste although they may not look as colorful and well presented as shop produce.

2. Cost savings

One example of organic fertilizer that you could make use of is as lowly as the stale coffee and coffee grounds. You dont need to buy chemical fertilizers and pesticides that are expensive. Besides, the main purpose of taking care of vegetables and organic gardens will be defeated if they become “tainted” with pest control chemicals. In organic gardening, pest control relies on a series of strategy, not on a highly toxic chemical. For example, you can plant suitable flowers to attract pests natural predators like wasps and lacewings.

Compost can be made using vegetable waste. You can also add tealeaves, coffee grounds, eggshells and banana skins. Although this is a bit more time-consuming than buying prepared chemical pesticides and fertilizers, it would surely be one rewarding activity.

3. Less harm to the environment.

Growing foods organically can protect the topsoil from erosion. As an addition, it has residual effect on ground water. According to The Environmental Protection Agency, 38 states have cases of contaminated ground water.

Growing your own fruit and vegetables is a great way of getting closer to nature. The independence and satisfaction that can come from growing your own food is as rewarding as the peace of mind you have when you know exactly how the food was grown. By doing it, you have participated in safeguarding the future of the next generations.

Early spring is a time of great activity in the rose garden as you prepare for the beautiful buds that will be sprouting almost any day. Here’s a summary of what needs to be done in order to prepare your roses for the tough growing season that lies ahead.

If you covered your roses with dirt or mulch, your first step is to gently remove the protective materials so you can introduce your dormant bushes to the warming spring sun and rains that lie ahead.

Before beginning your spring pruning activities, cut back any dead and damaged canes that did not survive the wint er. Be sure to clear away any debris and residue from around the bushes as well.

Prepare the soil to nurture your plants by adding some organic compounds. You can either buy pre-packaged organics from your favorite garden supplier, or you can mix up your own recipe using
composted manure or mushroom compost, or any of the usual meal blends which can include alfalfa, cottonseed, fish or blood meal. See below for some suggestions.

Work your soil with a spade or hoe if it has become too compacted during the winter or if you notice standing water after watering your plants. Roses require well-drained soil to thrive.

After soil preparation is done you can plant any new additions to your garden including container grown roses.

Next it is time to begin your fungicide spraying regiment either immediately or, if you prefer to wait, approximately 14 days after you complete your pruning. Opinions on the best time differ. The choice is yours.

Remember to rotate through different fun gicides during the year to prevent any fungi from becoming immune to any one product.

Don’t use any pesticides unless you see evidence of damage, but remember to keep a sharp eye out for aphids which are as much a sign of spring as April showers are. Hit them with a blast of water to remove them, or apply insecticide in a mister to the affected areas.

Imagine how hungry you’d be if you just woke up from a long winter hibernation! Well, your Roses are hungry too. The best way to coax them from dormancy to budding is to feed them now and every other week through the remainder of the growing season. Water well after feeding! Feed with a fertilizer balanced for Nitrogen (N), Phosphates (P2O5) and Potash (K2O). Nitrogen stimulates the growth of leaves and canes and increases the size of the bush. Phosphate stimulates the growth of roots, canes and stems and speeds up flowering. Potash stimulates the production of top quality blooms and improves the drought and disease resistance of the plant. A good balanced fertilizer with these elements is 10-10-10.

Another popular spring fertilizer is Osmocote which is a controlled release fertilizer that releases nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium depending on soil temperature. The 18-6-12 (8 to 9 month term) formulation is recommended for this area. Osmocote is also available with trace elements added in a product with the name of Sierra 17-6-10 Plus Minors Controlled Release Fertilizer.

There! Your rose garden is ready for spring, but remember your work is far from over. If spring is near then summer can’t be far behind.

Gloves protect your hands from blisters, thorns and cuts while doing rough work like digging or pruning in the garden. Investing in one or more pairs of quality gloves is a good decision.

Here are some tips on how to choose the pair that will suit you best: 1. Look for quality leather gloves with a cloth back; this will let the gloves breathe and keep your hands dry, cool and comfortable.

2. If mud bothers you, select rubber gloves with cotton lining.

3. When spraying pesticides or chemicals choose gloves that are made from neoprene. Gloves made from latex or any type of plastic may not offer the best protection.

4. When pruning roses, use gloves that reach up to the arms.

5. If you usually operate large garden machinery, buy gloves in brown instead of red as the latter may dye your hands.

6. Light cotton or even fingerless gloves may be useful for transplanting seedlings. They will allow more dexterity and so help to prevent the tiny roots from being crushed.

7. And of course, make sure that the gloves you buy actually fit your hands. If you have small hands, try the childrens gardening section. theres nothing worse than trying to garden is gloves that are too big.

Your gloves must be comfortable as well as give protection to best serve your gardening needs.

Nicky Pilkington

Find more about gardening and some useful gardening tips at About Gardening

Defective gardening tools can be detrimental to your garden and to you. Defective gardening tools can cause injury to your plants or injury to yourself. Gardeners should find the best quality garden tool that they can afford. Once you have labeled your garden tool as “the best”, it implies that the tool provides quality work for which it was designed for and with the least labor possible.

Below is a list of some common garden tools and their uses.

Lawnmowers

Luxus Push Reel Mower rated as best by the gardening aficionados provides large top cover that protects overhanging flowers and shrubs. Another special gardening tool called American Lawn Mower Deluxe has also been accredited as best, which will be helpful to operate on elbow grease alone and causing no pollution. However, this is not conducive for too tall grasses.

Garden Shredders

In general, all garden shredders have a high watt motor and come with silent crushing system. This kind of gardening tool accelerates your shredding activity. Gardening shredders with an electric shredder are easy to assemble and aids in tree pruning with maximum of 40 mm. The garden shredder also aids in shredding debris from punning your hedges. This gardening tool is considered the best among all the garden shredders since it is available with a plunger for increased portability and built-in wheels.

Cultivators

These modern gardening tools are available with patented tines to help in cutting the hard compacted soil smoothly. Cultivators are available with a free border edger. It is perfect to use in cleaning the moss, aerating and in thatching. This garden tool helps extensively in preparing vegetable plots, flowerbeds, etc.

Leaf sweeper

These gardening tools are extensively used for smaller lawns. It is having an infinite height adjustment with 200-liter collector.

Edge Trimmer

The gardening equipment reviewers have also accredited this gardening tool as important equipment. This aids in trimming the hedges and aids in plant pruning.

Spading fork

This is a wonderful gardening tool used for aerating and transplanting. By using this gardening tool, it is possible to perform splitting grasses and perennials. In addition, this garden tool can be used as a manure fork, mulch fork, and sorting hay.

Mattock

Mattock is an important gardening tool for breaking up the clay soils and working around established trees with the roots. There is no need to have a pick and a hoe, if you have a mattock.

Before you leave the garden center, it is highly advisable to have a look at this checklist of gardening tools and confirm if you have all the gardening tools you need to make your garden picture perfect.

David Chandler

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One of the great things about container gardening is the wide variety of items that can be used as containers. Many of the items can be found around the house or even purchased from thrift stores. Old washtubs, and even filing cabinets laid on their sides and removed of their drawers (which can also be used as containers) make great containers. You can even cut the tops off of milk cartons and use the bottom sections as planters. These everyday items can be attractively decorated to look nice.

In addition to converting things like coffee cans and old shoes into fun and cute flower and herb holders, there are plenty of more traditional planters and containers that can be incorporated into an attractive landscape design. Clay pots and large urns make attractive holders, and the urns can even be used to hold vegetables. Additionally, container gardening is not limited to the ground. Hanging baskets bought at the store make excellent additions to any landscape. Plus, they can be hanged from the house, the porch, and even from tree branches and along fences. These baskets create little bursts of color no matter where they are. Window boxes are also attractive variations on container gardening and can add a great deal to the look of a home.

Containers make great accents as well as being practical and money saving. They can be just as beautiful to look at as the rest of the landscape design elements. Indeed, container gardening is a great way to enjoy the benefits of having a garden without as much backbreaking labor. Weeds cannot work their way into the containers, and if you have the right depth of container it is possible to have very healthy plants with strong roots, making them resistant to disease and pests. Additionally, flowers in containers are well protected from cutworms and from rodents who may burrow into the root system. Containers are excellent sources of protection for many plants.

In order to ensure that your container-based landscape is a success, it is important that you make sure that your plants do not need an extensive root system. Most flowers, even perennials, are fine in most containers. Even many vegetables are fine in coffee tins and washtubs. Corn can easily be planted in the filing cabinet lying down, and most drawers are plenty deep for tomatoes. Lettuce is a vegetable with a fairly shallow root system, and peppers have requirements that are very easy to meet with containers. Make sure, before planting, that your container is adequate for the needs of your plants. Herbs, of course, can thrive in just about any size of container, and many of them can even be grown inside the house (near a sunny window, of course).

Fill the containers with potting soil or garden soil. These soils are rich in nutrients and can provide your plants with the food they need. It is even possible to mix in a little organic compost for added nutrition. You will need to water your plants occasionally, but because your plants are enclosed in the container, there is no need to water them as often as plants in the ground. This is because the container will help retain moisture, and there is no drainage. Rather, you need to be careful not to over water your container garden.

Making use of a container garden is a great way to save time and money in your landscaping. It is also a creative way to display your plants and even to grow your food. And, if you have a small amount of space, container gardening can allow you to have a variety of plants that you might not otherwise have room for.

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First of all, organic gardening requires your personal involvement in the whole process. The plants need you to supply the soil with fruitful compost. The natural compost is made of kitchen and garden waste, with no chemical pesticides in it.

Chemicals are the second issue solved by organic gardening. When you grow the plants organic, you need not add any artificial substances in the soil. Pesticides are made of toxins that kill every living thing in the natural environment. They can be extremely harmful for the human body, as well. Organic gardening contains no risk for any living creature, and saves the life balance in the surroundings.

The above-mentioned reveals the third advantage of organic gardening: it is harmless for the environment. You can try it and preserve nature. In that way you get two great extras: eating healthy food without being a monster to the living habitat around you. Trees and plants have produced their harvest for millions of years without being propped up with chemical substances. By organic gardening we let nature do something for us, and feed us, as it had feeded our ancestors with delicious food, long before pesticides came into fashion.

By trying organic gardening, you help your children grow up healthy. Many research works show that a child ingests four to five times more cancer-causing pesticides from food than a full-grown adult. The necessity of healthy food for children is not a myth, but a scientifically proven trut h.

The last thing that makes organic gardening utterly irresistible for the practical people, is that it is CHEAPER. Pesticides and artificial supplements DO cost a lot of money indeed. But this doesn’t mean that organic gardeners leave things go their own unpredictable way. A devoted gardener always comes up with smart ideas like making cheap compost of coffee grounds. If you want to get rid of aphids, a typical organic gardening tip would be to plant marigolds nearby. There are many do-it-yourself practical advice for making your plants grow stronger. Take mulch, for example. Mulch is done by mixing pine needles and grass clippings. It helps keeping the soil moist and the weeds off. There are many recipes for producing cheap substances to fight against garden pests. The most inexpensive way to make a quart of garden pest spray is by mixing water with one spoon of dishwashing soap and one cup of cooking oil.

When taking up organic gardening, you start to feel that you are really doing something use ful for the environment and for your health, and the satisfaction is rewarding. Saving money is the other great privilege that an organic gardening practitioner feels over the others.

Article by Robbie Darmona – an article author who writes on a wide variety of subjects.

Let us start with the entrance, a focal point for every house. A simple arrangement consists of similar container plants at each side of the doorway. If the house is informal, painted tubs will make a cheerful note, while urns or ornamental pots are more appropriate if the architecture is formal. The arrangement, however, need not be symmetrical, since a single container at either side, particularly if the doorway is off-center, is pleasing. A large specimen can be balanced by a grouping of small pots, and various other interesting combinations can be worked out. Sometimes, the front entranceway can qualify as an outdoor place for house plants, but be sure they are not exposed to strong sun and wind.

Unexpected areas like side and rear entrances can also serve as backgrounds for pot plants in casual groupings. For sunny steps, consider tubs of petunias, or dwarf dahlias, or boxes of herbs to be used in cooking. Tuberous begonias, fuchsias, patient Lucy, and fragrant nicotiana solve the problem of what to grow in shade.

Porches or verandas, traditional or contemporary in style, offer numerous settings for pots, window boxes, and hanging baskets. Indeed, the entire container garden can be concentrated there so that plants can be easily cared for. If the porch is open on three sides, it will afford exposures to suit a variety of specimens.

The patio or terrace, beside or beyond the house, where family and friends gather to eat or relax, is an ideal location. If it is formal, select clipped evergreens and arrange pots in symmetrical rows, perhaps lined up against the house or along the edge of the terrace. If the site is informal, make casual groupings of one or two tall plants with smaller ones in front. Either way, allow for a few large plants in tubs or boxes for accent and height.

Container plants may line walks and paths that lead to the house, garage, or garden. They can rest on paved areas along fences and walls and on driveways where they are not in the way. If the driveway adjoins the foundation of the house, plant containers may be placed there.

Tops of garden or terrace walls are ideal places, too. Put small pots and boxes on tall, narrow walls and large containers on low, broad surfaces. Hanging plants of ivy geraniums in the sun and fuchsias in the shade will cascade from walls, as they do in the patios of Spain, Portugal, and Italy. On Rhodes, I recall a fifteen-foot wall topped with a row of thirty gleaming green tin cans full of roses and other flowers.

Think of what you can do with rooftops and sundecks where considerable space is usually available. Here sun-loving plants, like geraniums, most annuals, cacti, and succulents can be grown, but, again, include large specimens for height to give a garden feeling. A few large boxes and planters for trees and shrubs are sufficient but be sure to include some evergreens for year-round green.

Many gardeners like to insert container plants in flower borders to introduce unusual specimens, such as tropicals in the North. Large tubs can be set at the corners and small pots may be scattered among the permanent flowering plants. One gardener keeps a supply of potted pink Fiat Enchantress geraniums on hand to fill bare spots in her wide borders, moving them about as needed. Most of the geraniums are in four-inch clay pots, but there are larger specimens for the center of each grouping. Make sure their secure, sink pots a few inches into the ground.

You can always dress up the lamp post in your yard with container plants at the base or you can suspend a hanging basket of lantana, perhaps from the top. Ivy geraniums in an old-fashioned black kettle are nice for the base. Bare posts that support sectional roofs over patios or paved surfaces of contemporary houses look more attractive if potted plants are clustered around the bases or permanent boxes for plants are built there. Try planting climbing ivy in a pot and train it to climb the posts.

Novelty containers—donkey carts, wheelbarrows, and spinning wheels—can be fun in some places, but, of course, such planters must not be overdone. Usually they are set on lawns, on a terrace or beside a gate or doorway. (If you life in a neighborhood that has a house owners association check with them first to see if this is allowed). Steps leading to a driveway or street or to different levels in a garden can be emphasized with pot plants. A few can be arranged at the top or at the base of the stairs. And, there are other possibilities. Tree trunks cut to the ground or left a few feet high make good pedestals for large containers. In fact, this can be a solution to the problem of what to do with a trunk too expensive to remove. If you have a tree with heavy shade, why not construct a pretty sitting area around it and decorate the space with containers of coleus, wax and other begonias, caladiums, ferns and other shade-tolerant plants.

These are just a few ideas for using container plants around your house and garden. Use your imagination and have fun. Happy Gardening!

Copyright © 2006 Mary Hanna All Rights Reserved.

This article may be distributed freely on your website and in your ezines, as long as this entire article, copyright notice, links and the resource box are unchanged.

Mary Hanna is an Aspiring Herbalist who lives in Central Florida. This allows her to grow gardens inside and outside year round. She has published other articles on Gardening, Cooking and Cruising.