On the internet, one can easily find countless images of shrubs that have been masterfully cut and trimmed to resemble all sorts of shapes including animals, spheres, and even human figures. These are what you call topiaries and a person who does them for a living is kFnown as topiarist.
What do you call a NON-PERSON that makes topiaries? (more…)
Roses make a gorgeous addition to any yard, but they aren’t for everyone. Although the rose flower is often considered one of the most beautiful flowers, some varieties can be quite difficult to grow and keep healthy.
It is important to understand that not all roses are created equal. There is a huge selection of roses available today that can be broadly divided into two categories: Old and modern roses.
Old roses are varieties of roses that existed prior to (more…)
Growing lettuce is an excellent choice as an addition to your home vegetable gardening. It is very healthy and takes up little space, which is why I recommended planting it under your growing cucumbers for space and shade.
Lettuce is a hardy and cool climate vegetable that enjoys an average temperature around 60-70 degrees. However, we are going to touch on it later, a method to keep lettuce from bolting in the face of a hot summer.
First I do want to discuss why lettuce thrives best in cooler weather. Lettuce should be planted in early spring or late summer.
Those high temperatures result in (more…)
When given proper care, a Lipstick plant rewards its master with blooms that are unique in each stage of its development. Its flowers, hanging off its stems are bright red and tubular.
The blooms are a constant feat of the plant all year long. The name of the plant was derived from the way its flowers look—open tubes resembling a lipstick.
Aeschynanthus, the genus where lipstick plant belongs to, is also known as the Basket vine because of its trailing stems which are best suited for hanging baskets.
Native to the damp forest of Asia, the Aeschynanthus has more than 170 species. Many of them are (more…)
Hydroponics is an approach to growing plants, by employing the use of water imbued with mineral nutrients as opposed to the traditional method of using soil.
To this day the method popularized the “soilless culture” of agriculture, and went on to become a standard technique in researching and teaching in the field of biology.
Through this method, mineralized nutrients are dropped into the water supply in an artificial manner, and then get absorbed by the plant through its roots.
Not only is hydroponics an (more…)
A symbol of vitality since ancient times, dill has often been viewed as having magical powers. During the Middle Ages some people thought (more…)
Growing your own vegetables makes more sense today than it has done for a long time in the past.
With the price of fresh and frozen vegetables continually rising in the stores, the gardener has some small hedge against inflation if he can provide all or part of his family’s vegetable requirements.
It is true that the price of seeds is also rising; but even a dollar for a packet of seeds represents excellent value, and many cost much less than that.
There is also enormous (more…)
