Gardening Shortcuts - Simple Steps to a Great GardGardening Shortcuts - Simple Steps to a Great GardMy blog on planning the perfect garden to suit your lifestyle, depending on your time and space constraints. Along with useful gardening tips and short cuts, as well as guides on various types of garden plants. Articles
Capsicum Annuum (Christmas Pepper)
2007-11-07 18:26:00 An increasingly popular plant bearing brightly colored fleshy berries which appear in autumn and remain decorative for 8-12 weeks. The most familiar berries are orange-red in color but white, yellow, green and purple-berried varieties are also available. They are best treated as annuals and discarded when the fruiting has finished. They make colorful displays and are striking massed together as More About: Christmas , Capsicum , Pepper
Campanula Isophylla (Italian Bellflower)
2007-11-07 18:17:00 Campanula isophylla produce clusters of delicate-looking white or pale-blue flowers in early August and continue flowering until November. The flowers are normally so numerous that they completely hide the pale-green foliage. They are best treated as annuals and discarded when flowering has finished. These are useful plants for massing in hanging baskets or window-boxes. They look good in More About: Italian
Focal plants that look good
2007-11-05 12:34:00 For a simple yet aesthetic front yard, choose plants that look good from inside and out. Here are some easy-care varieties. The trees can be used singly, while most of the other plants need to be grouped to create impact. Small trees Acerpalmatum 'Blood-good' Bauhinia variegata, Callistemon 'Harkness', Cordyline kaspar, Eucalyptus erythrocorys, Gordonia axillaris, Myoporum laetum, Plumeria rubra More About: Plants , Good
How to work on a sloping site for a garden...
2007-11-05 12:28:00 Many front yards have a gradient, which makes mowing a lawn impractical. A low-maintenance alternative is to carpet the slope with easy-care ground-cover plants. Alternatively, you can create a rockery on the gradient. Embed rocks into the slope or, especially if the gradient is steep, terrace the slope by creating a series of low retaining walls with plantings in between. A terraced garden may More About: Garden , Work , Site , Arden , Garde
Creating your beautiful gravel garden
2007-11-05 12:14:00 A simple design is the key to keeping down the workload in your front yard. Gravel gardens can provide the ideal solution - easy-care plants that grow through mulch matting topped by a 5cm layer of gravel. Not only do the natural color and texture of a gravel garden help to set off plants to their best effect, but the 'fluid' nature of the loose materials used is ideal for covering an area of an More About: Garden , Creating , Beautiful , Arden
Design options that make an entrance
2007-11-02 13:04:00 Most front yards need to be functional and easy to look after. All too often, however, this leads to a stark, uninviting area that is low on interest for much of the year. A well-designed front yard combines the practical considerations, such as direct access on wide paths, while being pleasing to the eye. Many people make the mistake of treating the front yard like a replica of the back yard, More About: Design , Options , Make , Tran , Entrance
Planning your yard garden entrance
2007-11-02 12:54:00 Making plans Do draw a scaled plan on graph paper to decide the positioning of essential features.Do use fences, walls, trellis or shrubs to screen the garden from neighboring properties or the road.Do confirm your property line (with a surveyor if necessary) before erecting a new boundary, and check for council regulations.Do use bold plantings, strong focal points and sweeping curves to create More About: Garden , Planning , Yard , Tran , Arden
An empty front lawn, perfect for a yard gardening project
2007-10-31 12:41:00 James and Rebecca Wong have bought a new home in an outer suburban area. James works at the district hospital and Rebecca has a part-time job in a shop. They have two young, school-age children. The Wongs want a garden which will add character and charm to the front of their home and distinguish it from their neighbors' houses. They need a better defined, more welcoming entrance that is within More About: Gardening , Project , Front , Perfect , Yard
Designing that perfect front yard garden
2007-10-31 12:35:00 First impressions count most - and it is the front yard that gives the first impression of your home. It is what welcomes you home at night and sends you on your way in the morning. And it plays the dual roles of welcoming visitors while keeping out intruders, and letting you see the surrounding neighborhood while maintaining privacy. Front yards vary tremendously in size: from pocket More About: Garden , Designing , Perfect , Yard
Easy maintenance gardening all year round
2007-10-31 12:28:00 Early Spring Remove any weeds and tidy up debristhat has fallen in winter. Top up the mulch so that it is at least 5cm (2 inches) deep. Apply snail bait around susceptible plants. Mid Spring Sprinkle complete plant food evenly between shrubs. If you have frosts, prune away any blackened stems. Late Spring Increase rate of watering. Inspect flowers and shrubs for aphids, caterpillars and thrips. More About: Gardening , Maintenance , Easy , Round , Year
Calathea Makoyana (Peacock Plant)
2007-10-26 22:22:00 The leaves of these plants look as if they have been hand painted with dark-green patterns. They look best in a mixed group of foliage plants. Smaller plants can be used in bottle gardens and larger terraria. Mini-climate Warm, shady. Size Calathea makoyana can grow to a height of 3 feet with a spread of about 2feet. Plant s of all sizes are offered for sale. Feeding Feed with standard More About: Thea
Caladium Hortulanum Hybrids (Angel Wings)
2007-10-26 22:14:00 Caladium hortulanum hybrids send up long, fleshy stalks bearing the paper-thin, heart-shaped leaves. The variety of leaf colors and patterns is immense - besides green leaves with red veining, white and cream leaves veined with pink or green are also available. These plants are highly ornamental, especially if different leaf colors are grouped together. Mini-climate Warm, shady. Size The More About: Hybrids , Angel , Wings , Adium
Browallia Speciosa (Amethyst Violet)
2007-10-26 22:07:00 These are showy plants with violet-blue flowers that appear in early summer or autumn depending on climate and when seeds were started. They are best treated as annuals and discarded when flowering has finished. The stems tend to droop so display plants in eye-level hanging baskets or massed together on a low table. Mini-climate Warm, sunny. Size Browallia speciosa grow to 10-12 inch tall More About: Violet , Amethyst
Bougainvillea Buttiana (Paper Flower)
2007-10-26 22:04:00 Armed with sharp spines, these plants are woody-stemmed. The small, creamy-white flowers are insignificant in themselves but are surrounded by large, decorative, papery bracts which can be white, yellow, orange, pink, red or purple. These are produced in clusters of between 10 and 20, mainly during spring and summer. Although they are naturally climbing plants, Bougainvillea buttiana can be More About: Flower , Paper , Ville , Tiana
Billbergia Nutans (Queen's Tears)
2007-10-26 21:57:00 These plants have tough leaves with toothed edges. There may be many plants in the same pot, as production of offsets is prolific. 1 luring the main flowering season, May to June, the foliage is interspersed with trailing, bright-pink bracts. These bracts open to display the small yellow, green and purple flowers. Billbergia nutans are best displayed at eye-level as feature plants. Mini-climate More About: Berg
Begonia 'Tiger Paws' (Eyelash Begonia)
2007-10-22 12:07:00 The common name of these plants derives from the short, coarse hairs which grow around the edge of each lopsided, heart-shaped leaf. The attractive foliage is bright lime-green in color, marked with a bronze-red pattern which gives the leaves a patched or blotchy appearance. The stalks are also speckled with red and arise from a rhizome which creeps across the surface of the potting mixture. Mass More About: Tiger
Begonia Semperflorens-cultorum (Wax Begonia)
2007-10-22 11:51:00 A profusion of white, pink or red flowers begin blooming in spring and continue well into the winter. Single- and double-flowered varieties are available. They are best treated as annuals and discarded when flowering has finished. Group them together in shallow containers or mix with colorful foliage plants in light, well-ventilated rooms. Mini-climate Warm, sunny. Size These plants never More About: Loren
Begonia Rex-Cultorum (Painted-leaf Begonia)
2007-10-22 11:41:00 Also known as "rex begonias", these are among the most handsome of the species, grown for their beautifully colored leaves rather than their flowers, which tend to be insignificant. The heart-shaped leaves, which can be up to 1 ft in length, bear striking patterns made up of variations of red, black, silver and green. Leaf texture also varies: some hybrids have smooth leaves; this one has a
Begonia Foliosa Miniata (Fuchsia Begonia)
2007-10-21 12:05:00 These delicate-looking plants have small, oval leaves with a glossy texture. The leaves are borne on long, thin stems which begin to arch over as they get longer. Small, waxy, succulent-looking, shell-pink flowers appear in clusters between autumn and spring. They need some kind of support if they are to be seen to best effect. Display with green foliage groups in an informal setting. They can
Begonia 'Elatior' Hybrids (Elatior Begonia)
2007-10-21 11:56:00 These plants flower for most of the year. The large, roselike flowers range in color from deep red, through pink to yellow and white, They are best treated as annuals and discarded when flowering has finished. The foliage is usually pale green but plants with deep-red foliage are sometimes available. As their flowers are quite large they can be displayed as specimen plants or grouped together in More About: Hybrids
Beaucarnea Recurvata (Ponytail)
2007-10-21 11:47:00 These are most bizarre-looking plants, having a ponytail-like tuft of narrow, green leaves sprouting from the top of a fat or long, woody stem. The swollen base adds to the unusual appearance of the plants, which are ideal for displaying in a modern interior and will thrive in any centrally heated room. Mini-climate Warm, filtered sun. Size These plants reach a maximum height of 5feet with a
Aucuba Japonica ‘Variegata’ (Spotted Laurel)
2007-10-21 11:40:00 Also known as "Japanese laurels", these plants were much used by the Victorians in their shrubberies and greenhouses. The modern hybrids are more cheerful, having leaves strongly variegated with yellow. They can be used in window-boxes and in cool rooms as they tolerate a certain amount of neglect, poor light and drafts. Mini-climate Cool, filtered sun. Size These plants can reach 3-4 feet
Asplenium Nidus (Bird's Nest Fern)
More articles from this author:2007-10-21 11:30:00 These plants have shiny, apple-green fronds arranged in an upward-spreading rosette at whose base is a circle of young leaf fronds. These slowly unroll from the fibrous core of the plant. Large specimens are too bold in shape to display with other ferns and look best either arranged on their own, or included in a mixed group of large-leaved foliage plants. Mini-climate Warm, shady. Size The More About: Fern , Nest 1, 2, 3 |
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