(Via Home and Family: Gardening Articles from EzineArticles.com)

Posted by admin to Uncategorized on 2008-03-12, 10:17:43

Has being a couch potato kept you from organic gardening this year? If you should have started your compost pile two months ago, is being an organic gardener ruled out? Absolutely not! How do you compensate for wasted time? With wasted money, of course!

(Via The Blogging Nurseryman - The Art of Running a Small Garden Center or Nursery)

Posted by admin to Small is Cool, independent, nursery, retail on 2008-03-12, 08:35:04

Just read a great article on the difficulties, and rewards of starting a small retail garden center. The article can be found here at The Green Beam. It follows owner Cliff, who had a dream of starting his own garden center in Alabama. What I found interesting and you may too is how long it takes [...]

(Via Snappy's Gardens Blog)

Posted by admin to Summer bulbs, cherry blossom on 2008-03-12, 08:22:00

An unknown Cherry Blossom tree that I photographed on the way upto the allotment.It was foul weather last night with gale force winds and rain.I worried about the tarpaulin being blown away. I got up this morning to take some stone slabs upto the plot. I put them onto the black covering.
It was even more rain sodden than yesterday.I nearly got blown over from the strong winds. The front gates were really hard to shut as the wind blew them apart.
I went shopping after my short visit to the allotment for summer bulbs and spent this afternoon planting them, and weeding the borders a little. I planted the Purple Sage and Chamomile i bought from Swillington.
I planted three Poppies, six Dahlias,ten Iris Hollandica Blue Pearl, twenty four Freesias in Blue, yellow, and white,eight Peacock Orchids from Hils, Fifteen Gladiolus in Blues, and whites,TwoIvory Coast Lillys, five Anemones Mr Fokker, and five Anemone The Bride,and finally six Crocosmia Lucifer's . Ninety three Bulbs in all have been planted..
The Spring Bulbs are still coming up.I have a few mystery plants emerging from the soil too. March is a month where the garden seems to come to life after slumbering through the winter.I am too organised planting for the Summer when we have not quite left winter.
I love Cherry Blossom trees.If I had a bigger garden they would be on my wishlist.Its back to work for me soon so the posts will slow down over the next four days!

(Via Home and Family: Gardening Articles from EzineArticles.com)

Posted by admin to Uncategorized on 2008-03-12, 06:23:18

Compost is the end result of the decomposition of organic material, or waste. This occurs naturally in the bush, or a forest, by the accumulation of debris from plant and animal material; and provided there is moisture present, either from rain, in the soil, or from the material itself, decomposition will occur.

(Via Home and Family: Gardening Articles from EzineArticles.com)

Posted by admin to Uncategorized on 2008-03-12, 05:55:17

If you have always found the Bonsai Tree to be a fascinating plant but have thought that you just don't have the skills necessary to grow one yourself, you may want to consider the Japanese Maple Bonsai. These are not only beautiful trees, but perfect for beginners as they are easily grown and cared for. The Japanese Maple Bonsai Tree comes in several different varieties, and all of these different trees offer some great color during the spring and fall.

(Via Country Gardener)

Posted by admin to Canada Post, peonies, stamps on 2008-03-12, 05:51:00

Gotta hand it to Canada Post once again. Last year they issued gorgeous lilac stamps, and now they have lucious peony stamps on offer. They're domestic stamps; one features Elgin Peony and the other the single-cup Coral 'n Gold.

They were designed by Isabelle Toussaint, the same Montreal graphic designer who created the lilacs stamps.

Another little set of stamps of interest to gardeners, issued in December 2007, features beneficial insects: Lady Beetle, Lacewing, Bumble Bee, Dragon Fly and Cecropia Moth.

© Yvonne Cunnington, Country Gardener

(Via Home and Family: Gardening Articles from EzineArticles.com)

Posted by admin to Uncategorized on 2008-03-12, 05:49:40

There are several varieties of Bonzai Trees available at Bonzai nurseries, but these can be very expensive. Another option for growing your own Bonzai Trees is to start them from seeds. Though you may not be able to reproduce the exact tree that you see in the nursery, you can create a miniature Bonzai Tree that is very similar.

(Via Home and Family: Gardening Articles from EzineArticles.com)

Posted by admin to Uncategorized on 2008-03-12, 05:46:09

Bonzai is a Japanese word, but its roots are Chinese and are derived from the word "punsa". This word means "tree in a pot" The practice of growing trees in a pot was originally Chinese, but the practice of growing the Bonzai Tree was made into an art form by the Japanese when the concept was introduced to them about 5 centuries ago.

(Via Home and Family: Gardening Articles from EzineArticles.com)

Posted by admin to Uncategorized on 2008-03-12, 05:45:02

Do you have a green thumb, or just the desire to grow your own plants, but find that you are restricted by lack of space? The Bonsai Plant may be the answer to your dilemma. Cultivating the Bonsai Plant has become very popular, partly for the fact that they don't take much space, and they are a very decorative addition to the home.

(Via An Iowa Garden)

Posted by admin to Uncategorized on 2008-03-12, 05:33:00

Sweetheart the deer first showed up at our back door last summer, a motherless fawn so tiny that he could hardly hold up his ears. I don't know what happened to his mother; perhaps she was hit by a car. Sweetheart (as I soon named him) seemed unlikely to survive on his own, and the larger deer in the neighborhood were soon bullying him and trying to run him off. He would stand there in the middle of the yard all alone, long wobbly legs akimbo, and with his ears held down, not knowing where to go or what to do. Sweet corn and a ripe red apple made things a little better, but things really looked up when one of the does, who already had two slightly older fawns of her own (shown in the middle picture), took Sweetheart into her fold, and protected him. Sweetheart and his new family were then a regular fixture in our woods all summer, growing strong and healthy on the rich green grass, with long afternoon naps on the high hillside where the cool breezes blew.
This winter was a new challenge, as a thick layer of ice was soon laid across the landscape, followed by several feet of snow, which never melted. In past brutal winters like this, the deer grew gaunt and weak, tottering about through the ice and snow, continually and ever more desperately searching for food, like so many wan ghosts. I decided I couldn't watch this happen this winter (never start naming your deer) so have been putting out some corn every day.
This week we finally seem to be coming out of the other side of winter. Sweetheart (shown at bottom between his two step-sisters), has made it. Thick-furred, larger, and darker now than his sisters, he will soon be frisking through his first spring, full of promise and adventure. Living with and in nature can be frustrating (there is no tree or shrub that is truly deer-proof anymore and the four foot long prairie kingsnake that hunts toads at night on our front stoop tends to discourage visitors); it can be expensive (the property taxes on our land have tripled as enormous houses with four car garages crowd in around us); but above all it is a joy... and a privilege.