Do you suffer from boring, dull surroundings? Do you wish you had a colorful, unique garden to call your own? You don’t need a lot of money or time to transform your garden from ho-hum to incredible. Here are a few tips for adding decorative elements that will punch up your garden in a fast and easy way.

A Colorful Container Garden Can Transform Your Surroundings

If you are looking for a fast and easy way to add color and interest to your garden, a colorful container garden is an easy way to punch up your surroundings. Purchase container or pots in variety of sizes. You can purchase coordinating pots, or you can decorate and paint your pots on your own. Choose a spot in your garden that looks drab and could stand from a facelift, and arrange your colorful containers in this area. Arrange the composition of your colorful container garden in way that is eye pleasing and easy to maintain.

Look Up – It’s a Hanging Container Garden

Hanging container plants add charm and interest to your garden. This is a great solution if you don’t have a lot of room for placing planters, pots or containers. Find a space where the hanging container will receive plenty of sun and where it will be easy to water. There are many colorful plants that do well in hanging containers. Accentuate your hanging plant with wind chimes and other decorative elements, such as bird feeders and houses. These add charm to even the smallest gardens.

Add a Lawn Sculpture to Act as a Focal Point in Your Garden

If your lawn is more blah than wow, perhaps what you really need is a focal point. Choose a space in your garden or lawn that you think could stand from more attention. Perhaps there is an elevated spot garden or lawn that appears empty or like it is missing something. This is an ideal spot to draw attention. A garden sculpture is a great way to liven up a spot that could otherwise use some attention. You can build a cement or stone foundation, purchase a pedestal and have a sculpture installed. Once you have chosen the right sculpture, you will find that this is a great spot to plant flowers. Simply creating a place for a focal point will give you greater possibilities when it comes to planting. You can accentuate the area with flower that complements your fountain.

Create Your Own Garden Water Music

Many gardeners avow that a garden is simply not complete without the sound of nature, or more specifically, the sound of water. Water provides a soothing and pleasing ambience to any garden. It is a fun and easy way to liven up any garden. There are many sources for pleasing garden water music. You can have a pond installed, or install one yourself. You can also purchase a working fountain, or create your own fountain using decorative pots, or adding a water pump to a decorative barrel. Make sure that your water fountain is re-circulating water properly in order to avoid stagnant water and insect populations. Place a garden bench by your fountain, and enjoy the sound of nature.

A Garden Arbor Adds a Romantic Touch to Any Garden

A garden arbor is a great way to add a bit of nostalgia and romance to any garden environment. This is a fast and economical way to add ambience and create a starting point for exploring your garden. You can choose to make your own garden arbor, or you can purchase a pre-made arbor. There are several materials to choose from, including wood, metal and plastic.

Adding Decorative Elements to Punch Up a Garden is a post from: Gardening Guide

Are you feeding your birds every winter or maybe all around the year? Have you ever thought about using your birdseed for something different than feeding the birds? How about growing a garden from birdseed? Maybe you are already growing a garden from birdseed every year and you do not even know it. Sometimes in spring, there are little plants growing under a bird feeder and many of us remove them as weeds or turn them over to have the flower beds ready for new plants.

Birdseed can make for many beautiful flowers. One of the most beautiful ones contained in bird seeds might be sun flowers. Growing a garden from birdseed is cheap. Birdseed bags are full of nice seeds that can be spread all over your garden or just in a small area. Growing a garden from birdseeds is also very budget-friendly. A big bag of birdseeds is just around 5 dollars and can easily cover your whole garden. Leftovers can be stored for next year if necessary. Buying plants or seeds separately from small bags that contain 3-10 seeds per package can add up fast, especially if you want to cover a whole garden.

A garden from birdseeds is also very bird friendly. If you are a bird lover or your kids love to watch birds, a garden from birdseeds will provide you with plenty of opportunities to watch many different species of birds. Gardens grown from birdseeds of course sprout plants and flowers that produce the seeds and food for birds and are therefore an excellent choice for bird watchers and bird lovers. Birdseed gardens are a natural attraction for birds and other small animals that enjoy the seeds of these plants.

To actually go ahead and grow a birdseed garden, there are a few steps that you have to do. First of all, you need to buy a bag of bird food. Then you need to determine where you want to plant your birdseed garden. As with many other gardens, these plants want sun and plenty of water, but they also need to be protected from too hot weather if you are living in a warmer region. After picking a good area for your garden, go ahead and turn over or till the soil, just as if you were to plant a vegetable or flower garden. Removal of weed and stones can be beneficial to the plants. Remove a layer of dirt from the ground, maybe into a wheelbarrow and then go ahead and spread the seed on the patch of your choice. Instead of removing the dirt you can also add topsoil after the spreading of the seeds. Make sure to spread the seeds equally and try not to have too many in one spot. After the spreading of the seed, go ahead and spread the dirt that you had removed over the seeds or the topsoil. Now it is time to water the seeds. Water needs to be applied carefully as to not uncover the seeds from under the soil. Water needs to be applied on a daily basis till the plants sprout and then still daily or at least every two days.

To ensure that your seeds are growing, be aware of birds. Even though you want them to come and enjoy your plants and flowers later on, you do not want them to eat the birdseed you planted in the soil. If the birds steal all your seeds you will not be able to grow your beautiful garden and you will not be able to enjoy the birds later on this year. In general after the starting and sprouting birdseed gardens are very easy to take care of. Besides the regular watering, birdseed gardens do not need much other than sun and nice weather and a little bit of fertilizing here or there.

Grow a Garden Using Birdseed is a post from: Gardening Guide

Does your patio or sidewalk need a good dose of color and texture, but you don’t have the time or money for a full-scale garden? If you want to boost your patio and sidewalk appeal, here are a few easy gardening ideas to brighten up your life and home with the beauty of plants.

Containers, Containers, Containers

It used to be that gardening was restricted to flower beds, but container gardening has swiftly become one of the most popular ways to garden. Why has container gardening become one of the preferred gardening methods? Container gardening has become increasingly popular because it is easy, inexpensive and provides optimal results in a short amount of time. In short, you can create an instant garden through the use of garden containers. If you need a patio that lacks color, construct or purchase a container to fill the area. You can choose to plant bright annuals or less showy but longer-lasting perennials that will bloom on an annual basis. Choose a planter that fits in the area. When it comes to choosing flowers and plants in your containers, consider the following important factors: plant size, color display, plant size, sunlight and watering. Make sure that you have easy access to water. You will be much less likely to keep up your container garden if you have to haul water across the yard. Plant close to a water source, and choose a location that receives an adequate amount of sunlight for the types of plants that you are growing.

A Raised Garden Bed Can Spruce Up Your Sidewalk

If you have an uninspired sidewalk, consider sprucing up the area with a raised flowerbed. It is easy to build your own flowerbed, or you can purchase a ready-made bed that you can install along the sidewalk area. You can use your raised flower bed to plant showy seasonal annuals, adding a splash of color to an otherwise bland and dull area.

Choose a Splashy Color for Your Sidewalk Garden

If you are planting along your sidewalk, this is the perfect location to show off your color and garden design skill. For easy maintenance, choose a bright perennial that is suited for the location and your climate. Or experiment with a ‘two tone’ garden by planting two lines of flowers that are designed to coordinate in color formation.

Add a Decorative Border to Your Sidewalk

Another easy way to add life to a lifeless sidewalk area is to add a decorative border. There are many different designs you can choose from. Pay a visit to your local home improvement store or nursery, and you will find that there are now more border designs than ever before. You can choose between brick and plastic borders, making this a viable option no matter what kind of budget you are working with. You can choose among decorative plastic borders that can provide an eye-pleasing design to your sidewalk garden. This simple touch can add a whole new dimension to your garden. Moreover, adding a decorative border can also be quite practical, as they can help restrict the growth of weeds, and keep pests off of your garden bed.

Deck Out Your Patio with Hanging Planters

Here is an easy way to bring new life to your lifeless patio garden. Add a few hanging gardens and you will see how this simple addition can add a whole new dimension to your garden. If you have a patio, hanging planters can be an easy way to experiment with different plant textures and blooms. There are many plant varieties that do well in hanging planters. Make sure that you have a water can with a long spout for easy watering.

Boost Patio and Sidewalk Appeal with These Easy Gardening Ideas is a post from: Gardening Guide

Renting a home, staying with family or any other temporary housing arrangement often holds people back from designing a beautiful or useful garden. The thoughts are often: “Why plant a big expensive tree or shrub, when in half a year I might move again?” You do not have to spend big bucks to get a beautiful and useful garden. There are many tips and tricks for cheap and easy gardening that you might not even have thought of.

Whether it is flowers or vegetable, plants can be a great addition to any garden. But buying seedlings and plants can be expensive. Filling a vegetable garden with tomato plants, zucchini and squash plants, some rhubarb and maybe some bell or hot peppers can run up the bill, especially if you purchase the young plants in spring at your local gardening supply store. You can easily spend $50-100 for a small/medium size vegetable and herb garden and should you be moving before harvesting season, all this money goes down the drain. But there is a cheap solution if you desire a vegetable and herb garden at your temporary living quarters. In January or February, visit your local gardening center and buy some seeds. Buy one of the nice small packages of seed for the exact same plants that you want to have in your garden. The gardening store also offers small pots and starter soil in which the seeds will easily sprout and grow. The seeds itself are all under three dollars, most of them even less then one dollar. Of course some more work and care needs to be invested, but therefore you do not have to spend a big amount of money to have the same seedlings in your garden. The amount you might spend to achieve the same garden as mentioned above might be around 20 dollars. Twenty dollars is something that you might easier part with when you move than 100 dollars.

For flowers, there are many different solutions. You can beautify your garden with ready potted plants; these are slightly more expensive and can be a budget breaker if you are on a tight budget. Never the less they can beautify your garden by adding a touch of color and fragrance all around the house. Many of these flowers can actually also be grown from seeds at the beginning of the year or the seeds can be planted outdoors in spring. Seeds are cheap and often times easy to grow. Seeds can also be bought in a grow mixture similar to lawn patching. This is a so-called garden in a bag and needs essentially just be spread over the area you want to grow the flowers. After the spreading of the mixture, regular watering will soon sprout you a bed full of beautiful flowers.

Even cheaper than these methods are gardens from birdseed bags. How about a sunflower garden? These beautiful long-stemmed flowers can not only beautify your garden, but will also attract and feed birds throughout the fall season. Your garden will become a bird sanctuary for many months to come. Considering that birdseed bags are only a few dollars, this might be the way to go for temporary housing.

If you are planning on staying at your temporary housing place for longer than half or three quarters of a year, there are also a few other solutions for cheap and easy gardening that you can consider. For example, most gardening places offer shrubs and trees at a reduced price at the end of the season. Often times you can get them 50-75 percent off their regular price. Because it is the end of the summer, winter is getting closer and it is colder outside many people do not think of planting new plants in their garden. But fall is for planting and when you plan ahead, you will have a chance to safe and have a beautiful garden in spring.

Cheap and Easy Gardening Tips for Temporary Housing is a post from: Gardening Guide

Would you like to know what one of the best ways is to get rid of pesky weeds and pests and some diseases as well? It is to solarize your soil.

This technique is largely used in areas that have abundant sunshine and high temperatures. However, it can be adapted for cooler areas as well. The results may not be quite as effective, but it can do wonders in your battle against weeds.

What exactly is solarization? It is a technique that does not use chemicals, but it captures the suns radiant heat and energy which, in turn, causes physical, biological and chemical changes in the soil.

These changes are able to control or eliminate soil borne plant pathogens including bacteria, fungi, pests, and nematodes along with weeds.

In order to solarize the soil, you must cover it with a clear plastic tarp for approximately 4 to 6 weeks during a time of the year when it is very hot and when the soil will be able to receive maximum direct sunlight.

The soil heats up to temperatures that are hot enough to kill some soil inhabiting pests including root rot fungi, wilt, noxious weed seed and root knot nematodes.

Soil solarization also stimulates the releasing of nutrients from organic matter that is present in the soil. It is very effective in treating garden soils where it is intended to plant herbs, vegetables and flowers.

Now that you know what soil solarization is, you may want to give it a try to your soil rather than using different chemicals to control weeds and other pesky little critters!

Soil Solarization is a post from: Gardening Guide

If you have been looking for a plant that has an incredible fragrance, then you have found it in the gardenia. For those blessed with a green thumb, your gardenias will be things of beauty with their white scented blooms.

This plant thrives in tropical climates. So if you live in a tropical climate, gardenias should be plentiful.

In order to choose a nice gardenia, look for a compact plant and one that is full of glossy foliage. The leaves should have a rich, bright green color.

The gardenia needs a lot of light. You should see that the gardenia does not get direct afternoon sun as that is usually the hottest part of the summer.

The gardenia needs an even amount of moisture. They react to the waters quality and temperature. They like room temperature distilled water the best. When the gardenia isn’t blooming, it should be kept a little drier.

These plants bloom the best when the days are warm and the nights are cool. Gardenias are usually tolerant of different variations in temperatures, particularly if it is humid. In order to perform at their very best, gardenias need a climate that has high humidity.

It is best to use a water-soluble fertilizer on gardenias every two to three weeks. Several times during the year, you may use an acid fertilizer.

Once you have smelled the gardenia, you will become hooked! Follow the above tips and you will more than likely be able to grow beautiful gardenias both outside and inside of your home.

Tips for Growing Gardenias is a post from: Gardening Guide

The arrival of spring heralds the return of birds to barren tree branches, to make homes with their families, or to take up residence in local area Bird houses that are either custom made or are built from pre cut bird house kits. As a bird lover and nature watcher the best way to see them up close is to build bird houses for the neighborhood birds, right on your own property.

Building a Bird House from a kit is a great activity that can involve the whole family. Pre-packaged kits with ready to assemble pieces are great because they do most of the work, and that makes it really easy if you aren’t the naturally gifted carpenter. Make sure that you have all the necessary equipment before actually starting the project.

Some kits require only basic equipments. Wood glue that is weather proof, or water resistant, and rust proof nails to keep it together are the main equipment must-haves. More complex bird house kits would require you to have more equipment, make sure the kit being purchased can be easily made with the tools you already have.

The range of bird house kits varies, depending on the skill level of the builder. Basic single home Bird Houses are easy to do for first time builders, while, more advanced homes with multi stories are available for those looking for a challenge.

When building a Bird House from a kit, it’s important to remember a few important tips. Make sure that some item of the bird house is removable. If the roof or the floor of the bird house can detach then it makes it easier for an annual cleaning.

Make sure the bird house kit that you purchase is the proper dimension for the kind of birds that you would like to see in your own back yard. The dimensions and entrance to the home must be precisely for a particular type of bird otherwise the homes can be taken over by squirrels and larger birds, evicting a poor and unsuspecting bird family.

Sometimes, leaving the bird house unfinished attracts more birds, considering that it closely resembles a natural home. Look for birdhouse kits with air holes drilled in the back wall, for ventilation, or along the house floor to let out rain waters. When putting the actual product together use water resistant glue and rust proof nails to insure the longevity of your finished product.

The height of the bird house will have to be adjusted, depending on the type of birds you are trying to attract to your yard. Keep in mind that some bird species only like to share their living space with their own species, and others still are willing to share with different kinds of birds.

Birds are quite particular, when it comes to choosing their future homes. To prevent the birds from moving into the neighbors’ yard, place 2 to 3 bird houses facing different directions, to they may choose one with the most pleasant vantage point.

With careful inspection of a bird house kit before buying, you can insure that the bird house in your back yard will not be empty for long. And with the proper equipment and easy directions, any bird house can be a joy to have and be enjoyed all year long with the entire family.

Building a Bird House from a Kit is a post from: Gardening Guide

If you have just recently planted a new fruit tree, I think it is safe to assume you are not yet an expert on the subject. More fruit trees die in their beginning years due to poor care habits than any disease or pestilence. Therefore it is vital that you understand how to care for trees in a way that will ensure their immediate success as well as future good health.

During the first stages of the tree’s life, the roots, trunk, and branches have not yet fully developed to a self supporting strength. Therefore if your tree is growing fruits, occasionally the combined weight is enough to snap off an entire branch. If this is the case, you should provide external support for your branches – prop them up with boards, or tie them to something at a higher altitude. As long as you can provide your tree the support it needs in these early years, it should grow to be independent in no time at all.

Proper nutrition is not only necessary for the production of healthy fruits, but is also necessary for the tree to survive longer than one season. The exact specifications vary with the area, climate, and type of tree, but I’ve found that there is no better source than a nursery employee. Maybe they’re just eager to sell you the right type of fertilizer, but in my experience they are almost never wrong. Just inform them about the conditions your tree is living in and how healthy it is looking, and they should be able to help you find something to improve the state of your tree.

Lots of people think that the only way to ensure a tree’s healthiness is to provide it insane amounts of water. This is not the case at all. As a matter of fact, giving too much water to a tree can be more harmful than making it go thirsty. At the best it will have a negative effect on the taste of the fruit. But at worst, your entire tree could die and prevent you from ever growing fruit in the future. So do not ever try to solve your problems by giving it lots of water! Solve your tree’s health problems at the root, so to speak. Go to where the problem originates from, and fix that.

If it is too late and you’re already starting to see unhealthy branches that look either diseased or damaged, you should always remove them. If the tree is wasting nutrients by sending them out to the branch that cannot be saved, it is practically throwing away all the nutrients that it could use on the other, healthier branches. As soon as you start to see a branch that is deteriorating or becoming unhealthy, chop it off right away. At the very least, trim down the unhealthy part but leave all the segments that still look like they could continue growing.

Once your tree has started to enter the picking stage, never leave any of the fruit on the ground that is bound to fall. Also, be careful to get every piece off of the tree. Even if it is an ugly looking fruit that you don’t want to keep, you should still pick it and throw it away. Once these fruits begin to rot, they provide a perfect home for unwanted insects or diseases that can transfer to the tree itself. So always remember to rake up these fallen fruits, and prevent yourself a lot of future grief.

Getting a fruit tree and caring for it throughout its life can be a daunting task. It may even seem impossible sometimes to keep track of all the factors that make a tree healthy. But if you just pay attention to the nutrients that your tree needs, you should be on a good path. In addition to nutrients, figure out the precise amount of watering that you should be doing to keep your tree’s thirst quenched without drowning it. Just do all these things, and you will have a great tree that produces delicious fruits.

Caring Properly for your Fruit Tree is a post from: Gardening Guide

Many people may not be aware that gardening can actually harm the environment. A large amount of carbon dioxide can be released through tilling the soil. This contributes to global warming. When you cultivating and compacting the soil, destroys good fungi. Fertilizers like nitrogen and manure often leach out of the soil and pollute the water you drink.

Global warming

Did you know that the earth’s soil gives out carbon dioxide in the atmosphere 10 times more than all human activity? This comes from the pill bugs, microbes, fungi and worms when they breathe, digest food and then die. Although in the past plants have been capable of absorbing carbon dioxide caused by small-scale tillages, this isn’t the case nowadays.
The increase of the globe’s average temperature is because of the carbon dioxide the soil emits when tilled. The good news is that tilling can be minimized by mulching or sheet composting.

Good Fungi

In untilled soil, there is beneficial fungi known as the vesicular-arbuscular-mycorrhizae or VAM for short. VAM actually forms a symbiotic relationship with plants. Their filaments increase root hairs and provide nutrients to the plant. They give out zinc, copper, potassium and phosphorus. Plants provide carbohydrates for the fungi in return. It is possible to grow a garden without tilling the sooiil at all by mulching heavily until the soil is soft and friable.

Surplus Nitrogen

Many gardeners waste nitrogen and manures; farmers do otherwise. Farmers only need a quarter to a third of nitrogen to mix with an inch of compost, horse, or cow manure. Kate Burroughs of Sebastopol California, uses the same rule for her home-grown lettuce and sweet corns. When it comes to broccoli and pear trees, farmers only need a small amount. Notice that gardeners apply larger amounts of compost and manure than farmers. Obviously, they are not only wasting their fertilizer but also their money.

The best gardening advice that can be given to those concerned is to do all things with moderation. Keep in mind that too little and too much of something is not healthy. This is the most valuable advice one can have in gardening.

The Most Valuable Gardening Advice is a post from: Gardening Guide

Your garden should be a relaxing, enjoyable place to be in every season. Keeping your outdoor space inviting is easy with these tips for yards and water gardens in the fall.

1. Keep the water in your outdoor fountain or garden pond free of fallen leaves. Not only can leaves and other fallen organic matter decompose in your pond and cause problems with bacteria and algae, they can also clog your pump. Skim leaves off the surface daily and be sure to use an algaecide made for fountain such as No More Algae for Fountains (found at SpecialtyLiving.com).

2. Clean your fountain pump before emptying the water for the winter. This will ensure that any debris inside the pump won’t be left to dry up and clog the inner workings once you’ve emptied the water from your fountain. Remove the cover and pull out anything that may have accumulated inside.

3. Protect your fountain from cracks due to the expansion and contraction of water as it freezes and thaws. Purchase a fountain cover in the appropriate size and cover the fountain from the top to the bottom of the basin (pedestals don’t need to be covered). This will keep precipitation from falling into the basins and causing damage.

4. Prepare your water garden for the upcoming freeze by sinking all hardy perennial aquatics to the deepest area of the pond. This will keep them in the warmest water available and allow them to go dormant for the winter without sustaining damage.

5. If your pond is too shallow to sink your plants over the winter, consider purchasing a de-icer. De-icers heat a small opening in the top of your pond where it would normally freeze over, allowing the release of toxic gases from decomposing organic matter to escape and also oxygenating the water.

6. If you supplement your landscaping or water garden with tropical plants, it’s best to remove them for the winter unless you live in a mild climate. They won’t survive the cold weather, and as they decay they can cause damage to other plants around them. It’s recommended to treat them as annuals and purchase new ones each spring.

7. Don’t cut your perennials down over the winter – leave them standing so they can provide resources for birds. Many plants have attractive foliage and seed pods that offer both food and shelter during the snowy months when both can be difficult for birds to find. Birds need water, also – use a plastic container and replace the water frequently.

8. Mulch around perennials and well-established plants to maintain a uniform soil temperature and add a few extra weeks to the root development of newly planted shrubs and trees.

9. Give your garden a good fall cleanup to prevent disease and insect problems next year. Canker, mildew, fungi and other problem spots in your yard can spread to other plant life if the rotting plant matter is allowed to linger and be spread around by wind and water. Prune dead branches, gather fallen leaves and collect yard waste piles and either burn, bury or compost.

10. Plant spring bulbs in October. Planting tulip, crocus, daffodils and other flower bulbs at this time will give the roots time to get established before warm weather rolls back around. Prepare the soil to ensure that it has good drainage. Soil fertility is also important – work a complete commercial fertilizer into the upper 4 to 6 inches of soil. The depth of the soil above the bulb should be approximately twice the diameter of the bulb.

Top Ten Outdoor Gardening Tips for Fall is a post from: Gardening Guide