Composting your organic waste allows you to create nutrient-dense food for your garden. Creating a compost pile requires only a small amount of space and a few materials to get started. Once it's up and running, you simple need to keep feeding the pile so that you can have a steady stream of compost for your garden.
Two basic methods of composting exist -- hot composting and cold composting. Hot composting usually involves using a composter. This expensive gardening item heats the compost to more than 100 degrees F, which kills weed seeds and pathogens, and monitors the carbon-to-nitrogen ratio of the compost pile. If you want to compost without the hassle, then use the cold composting method. Cold composting takes more time and doesn't kill all the weeds or pathogens, but it's an achievable composting method for almost any gardener.
In the past month, I’ve eaten more pasta, pizza, bread, desserts and consumed more red wine than I store in my cellar at home!!! Now I’m back on track and determined be as healthy as possible for the rest of the summer. Notice I said healthy, not skinny!!! Sometimes I like to shock my body, and that’s exactly what I did while traveling this summer. I ate it all and enjoyed every moment. Problem is I didn’t really like how I was feeling. But, I’m the type that is really weak when it comes to resisting what is in reach. If I love it and, it’s on the table, I’m eating it.
Flower preservation is returning as a popular hobby. Some brides want to save flowers from their wedding bouquet. Gardeners want to decorate their houses with flowers grown in their own flowerbeds. Unfortunately, any methods for preserving flowers leave the flowers brittle. One method for preserving flowers that retains a more life-like appearance is to dip them in a solution of glycerin and water.
Lilies, once considered too difficult for the average gardener to grow, have become a popular choice--with many options from the hybrids that have been developed. These beautiful, delicate flowers don't require much in the way of pruning. The key is timing. Prune too soon, and you have hungry bulbs beneath the surface. Remove the flowers as soon as they wither, but wait on the stems so the bulbs get the full benefits of the nutrients they provide.
The miniature orange tree, also known as Calamondin, is a native plant commonly harvested as a crop in the Philippines and China. It is an upright tree with very few thorns in its branches. In colder parts of the United States, Calamondin usually grows indoors as an ornamental miniature plant that produces fruits and fragrant flowers. In warmer parts of California and Florida, they can grow outdoors with extra care during colder months.
"Flamboyant" is the word most used to describe hibiscus, and for good reason. This low maintenance plant comes in every size and color imaginable. While it was originally found only in tropical climes it can now be grown in northern climates up to zone four (see zone map in Resources). Whether you plant it as a specimen, on the patio or in a hedge, hibiscus will thrive with the right conditions.
