Better Home and Garden

I was walking around the garden a couple of days ago. I'm trying to recall the names of some flowers and plants that caught my attention. We recently acquired new species of bonsai. I was asking my partner every time when she finally told me to figure out the best way to remember the names. Plant label came first in my head.

I hurriedly search online and found www.metalgardenmarkers.com selling plant stakes among others. We could just have make our own garden marker out of some wires but doing it over and over again, at least to me, doesn't make sense. Getting them online by bulk makes life easier for us.

The Crape Myrtle, Lagerstroemia indica, is one of the most ideal choices for a tree in a small garden, backyard or patio. It is also fairly modest in its water needs and so is particularly suitable for dry and Mediterranean gardens. It has an attractive form, delicate leaf texture and as a deciduous plant, looks good when out of leaf, not least due to its reddish pealing bark.

It is usually chosen however because of its amazing flower display in the summer months; Crape Myrtle blooms being one of the highlights of the gardening calendar. While being impressed by flower display alone is normally a bad reason for choosing a particular tree species, in the case of Lagerstroemia, by virtue of its small size and non-aggressive roots, an exception can be made. In fact the flower color is so significant that uniquely perhaps among trees, it determines the pruning method to be adopted.

The poisonous Milkweed is the primary food source for the Monarch Butterfly pupa, or caterpillar (which is classified as a specialist herbivore). Milkweeds are the only source of nourishment up until they are released from their cocoon (chrysalis) and transformed (or undergo metamorphosis) into a butterfly. After transformation the adults drink water and extract nectar from many kinds of flowers. Monarchs do pollinate flowers, but not nearly as proficiently as bees.

The vast majority of all Monarchs in North America make their home in agricultural areas that are abundant with the milkweed plants whose leaves provide a safe place to deposit their eggs, and also to feed their offspring. When returning every spring from their winter migration, the butterflies will stop over at the resurging milkweed and flowering plants and continue northward.

Junipers are often thought of and with good reason, as mainstays of Mediterranean and dry climate gardens. The different varieties provide solutions to many design issues such as the need for screening, ground cover, and vertical accent. They are hardy to cold and drought, remain largely unscathed by pests and disease and require minimal maintenance. Yet disappointment with Junipers is not uncommon, and most of it can be traced to mistakes people make in their care and cultivation.

Planting

A serious error is to plant Junipers too close to each other. Junipers ought to be planted at a distance equal to the width of the plants in maturity, so that if the width of a shrub species reaches up to 2 meters; then that should be the planting distance between the plants. The trouble is that due to their initial high cost, they are often bought as small specimens. Added to that is the fact that they grow slowly as well and so if planted at the recommended distances, large gaps are left between the plants.

Metal halide grow lights create fantastic light under which your plants will thrive. These grow lights are a HID, or high-intensity discharge, light. They are small grow lamps that produce a lot of light, and yet are more efficient to run than either incandescent or fluorescent light bulbs. Indoor gardeners and hydroponics enthusiasts get great results with their plants when they use metal halide lights.

Metal halide lamps are made up of several different parts. There are tungsten electrodes which are connected to a quartz arc tube, where the light is produced. Inside the arc tube is where you will find mercury vapor, different metals and noble gas, all of which play a part in creating the light produced by MH grow light. The arc tube is covered by a glass bulb. There is a metal base, and a connection to the power source. Some metal halide grow lights use an arc tube made of alumina or aluminum oxide, as well. This type of grow light requires the use of a ballast to control the flow of the current through the arc tube in order for the grow lamp to function properly.

Christmas Cacti have a lengthy and loving tradition in my family that is documented back to my grandparents through pictures. As I look back on my childhood photos, I encounter several images of myself in front of my parents' hale and hearty Christmas Cactus. This cactus invariably bloomed at Christmas and Easter and still does! It wasn't until both of my parents passed away in the late 1990s that I commenced my quest of the Christmas Cactus magic.

My eldest sister took the immense cactus that was 50 years old! That first Christmas without my parents, their beloved cactus bloomed even more magnificently than usual. The spirit from all the love and care that my parents had devoted to each other and our family lived on through this plant. It was then that I realized I needed a slip of this cactus to extend the family Christmas Cactus tradition in my own home.

The African violet (Saintpaulia) first headed the pot-plant popularity polls about twelve years ago and has held the top spot ever since, with each year bringing an increasing number of friends.

Varieties of this gesneriad are numbered in the thousands, and it is one of the few florists' plants which blooms throughout the year.

Natural light will vary with the season, increasing in spring, decreasing in fall. As light increases you may have to increase the shading on your greenhouse, and vice versa. I have shading on the outside of the greenhouse and two thicknesses of tobacco cloth inside.

The genus Pistachio contains some excellent trees and shrubs ideally suited to a dry climate garden, due to their low water requirements, hardiness to pests and disease, and general ease of cultivation and care. Most famous of course is the tree, Pistacia vera, which produces the celebrated Pistachio nut. However a number of other species, while not producing edible fruit, are nonetheless fine ornamentals which associate well with other plants in the garden. Let's start with the Pistache nut.

Pistacia vera is a small tree that grows wild in South-West and Central Asia, in places where the average annual rainfall is around 300mm. This figure constitutes the minimum precipitation that trees require. So in areas which receive 400-500 mm per year, like the Eastern Mediterranean, established plants can be grown without irrigation, although occasional deep watering will improve growth and fruit production. The species is dioecious, meaning that female and male reproductive organs are separated on different individuals. In order to produce fruit therefore, both a male and female tree must be planted near each other.

Do you have small garden or a large one? A small garden will not require the same large equipment that would be of use in an extensive one. A ride-on mower is unnecessary if you only have a small strip of lawn. Another point to consider is who does most of the gardening? Some tools are too heavy for use by women.

When you buy secateurs make sure the blade always stays sharp to avoid damaging the plant. Look for models that have blades that can be sharpened or replaced, models with tension control and with sizes that best fit your hands. Secateurs usually cost around $50 - $130.

Few things bring to mind an American Fall season quite like Sunflowers…well, maybe pumpkins, but we’re going with Sunflowers on this one. A native plant to America, the Sunflower (Helianthus annus) is an annually blooming plant and can grow to be over 3 meters tall. The Sunflower is well known for exhibiting heliotropism, or following the path of the sun throughout the day from east to west. While there are certainly a number of ways to go about getting Sunflowers to decorate with this Fall season, here are some thoughts on what to keep in mind in case you’ve decided that you want to grow your own.

Plan Ahead to Plant Early

If you want to grow your own Sunflowers than you had better plan ahead and plan to plant in early Spring. Getting the seeds into the ground by between March and August, with mid-May being an ideal time, is the best way to go to ensure that you get maximum return on the seeds that you plan. Also, make sure you test the soil where you’ll be planting well ahead to make sure that there’s not too much Nitrogen in the soil, but that there is a good amount of Potassium and Phosphorus.