Even when you have a small yard you can come up with an original landscaping after all. There are several things you can do with little space if you have some basic concepts in mind. It’s essential you plan ahead, since there’s no much space and you don’t want to end up with a cramped yard if you put too much or simply boring if you put too little. The fact that it’s a small yard doesn’t mean it doesn’t have to be attractive, varied and balanced.

Go up

When landscaping small yards, the use of space turns to be essential. Therefore, it’s a good idea to go up, since you can’t expand horizontally, you can do it vertically. Sometimes there are other buildings around, but as long as yours is not an indoor garden, you can go as high as you want. A creative way of going up is using archways and other features to let vine type of plants to grow. These types of creeper plants have beautiful flowers. Another original idea to make good use of verticality is to use terraces to plant. Just put the highest terrace at the back and work it down to the front and you will have a beautiful small yard.

Using color

When you have a small yard, planning becomes much important than in larger yards. A good way to make your small yard come alive is to make good use of color. You can plant roses in every color, violets and yellow daffodils and then you’ll have a small yard with all the colors of the rainbow. It’s a great way to make your small yard enjoyable all the time.

Pots

If you use attractive pots you will be saving a lot of space and also giving emphasis on the container and the plant as well. Since you can’t have a lush, big yard, you can have nice, colorful pots that will add a lot to your yard. And what is more: since the space for each plant is limited, you can have a larger variety of them in less space. And the final touch: you can move the pots around and rearrange them into a new landscaping design!

By the way, if you happen to have a delicate plant or flower, you will be able to bring it inside if the weather turns too harsh for it. Some great plants for a small yard are aromatic herbs, since they are easy to grow and they don’t need much space and will be a great ingredient for your kitchen.

These are just some ideas that will help you to have a beautiful small yard landscaping. Not having enough space is no excuse now!

The Philippines is renowned as one of the most beautiful countries in the world. The tropical archipelago is well-known for its beautiful tourist spots, beautiful people, and of course—beautiful flowers! There are several unique species that can be found only in the Philippines. These exotic flowers grow almost anywhere in the hot and moist environment of the country, from well-trimmed hedges to the natural setting of the countryside to the wild, vacant lots smack in the middle of the metropolis.

One of the most distinctive flowers that can be found in the Philippines is what is locally known as the sampaguita. It is the national flower of the country due to its popularity among the natives and its deep involvement in the local culture and traditions. Its American name is Arabian Jasmine while its botanical term is jasminum sambac, being a species of jasmine with small, white, heavily-scented flowers indigenous in South Asia, specifically in Southeast Asia. Its distinctive fragrance is one that is known by every Filipino. In fact, the flower is so popular that it is usually sold on the streets stringed together like a necklace to use as a cheap car air freshener or as a tribute to statues of saints in Churches and in homes. It grows almost anywhere, loving the heat, and does not require a lot of fussing.

Another exotic flower found in the Philippines is the hibiscus or rosemallow which in the vernacular is called gumamela. The shrub is a popular ornamental plant in the country with brightly-colored, five-petaled blooms in red, yellow, pink, purple, white, orange, and various other color combinations. Aside from being an ornamental plant grown in most gardens and hedges in the country, it is also used as a medicinal plant. Gumamela leaves and flowers are used to treat coughs, fever, dysentery, UTI, headaches, swelling, bronchitis, high blood and other common maladies. There are very few flowers in the Philippines cannot equal the medicinal value of the Gumamela.

The ylang-ylang flower is a small, greenish yellow flower which has petals that extend like a starfish. The name is derived from either two Tagalog words—-ilang, or “wilderness”, and ilang-ilan, or “rare” It is widely known for its essential oil used in aromatherapy, lowering blood pressure, treating skin problems and as an aphrodisiac.

The sampaguita, gumamela and ylang-ylang are only some of the most popular exotic flowers in the Philippines. There are virtually thousands of other unique flowers that serve to highlight the breathtaking beauty of the Philippines. It may be a small country, but flowers in the Philippines are some of the best and most captivating in the world.

If you have even a passing interest in the topic of gardening with bulbs, then you should take a look at the following information. This enlightening article presents some of the latest news on the subject of gardening with bulbs.

The information about gardening with bulbs presented here will do one of two things: either it will reinforce what you know about gardening with bulbs or it will teach you something new. Both are good outcomes.

Bulbs are among the most popular of all flowering plants, due to their hardiness, low price and beauty. It is hard to beat the color variety of a garden bed full of bulbs, and planting bulbs that bloom in different seasons can guarantee a season full of beautiful flowers.

This article focuses on a few of the most popular varieties of bulbs. Some of the most popular bulb varieties available to the home gardener include:

Hyacinths (Dutch Hyacinth)
The Dutch hyacinth is one of the most instantly recognizable, and most popular, of all the varieties of bulb plants. The Dutch hyacinth blooms in the spring and features the well known foot high spires with their small bell shaped and very fragrant flowers. Hyacinths come in a wide varieties of colors, including red, pink, buff, white, blue and purple. The Dutch hyacinth grows best in colder areas, and it can last from year to year. In these cold water climates, the hyacinth is best planted in September of October.

IN areas where the weather is milder, hyacinth bulbs will not last from one year to the next. In these more temperate areas, hyacinths are best treated as an annual and replanted each year, preferably in October, November or December. It is best to plant hyacinth bulbs four to five inches deep, and to space them from four to five inches apart as well. Hyacinths grow best in full sunlight, and they benefit from regular watering, especially during their blooming and growth periods.

Iris
The most frequently seen variety of irises are the bearded varieties. Bearded irises are striking plants, and they appear in a dazzling array of colors and combinations of colors. Irises appear in a variety of sizes as well, with very small varieties and very large ones as well.

Irises should be planted in July or August in cold climates and in September or October in warmer areas. Irises are actually rhizomes, and they should be spaced from one to two feet apart, with the tops placed right below the surface of the soil. Irises grow best in full sunlight or light shade, and they benefit from a regular watering schedule during their growing season.

Lilium
The lillium is the scientific name given to the Asiatic and oriental hybrid lily, and they are very popular bulb plants. These Asiatic lilies bloom early in the summer, and they range in height from a mere six inches to a towering 4½ feet. These lilies feature blossoms ranging in size from four to six inches and in colors like white, yellow, orange, pink and red.

Oriental lilies bloom later in the year, usually in midsummer or early autumn. Oriental lilies have stems from two to ix feet in height, and they feature large and fragrant flowers up to nine inches in length. These beautiful flowers feature pink and white petals with stripes and speckles, and they provide a striking addition to any garden.

Lilly bulbs should be planted as quickly as possible after they are bought, since these particular bulbs do not keep well. If it is necessary to delay planting, the bulbs should be stored in a cool place. It is important to examine the bulbs carefully before they are planted, and any shriveled bulbs should be placed in peat moss or moist sand until they have recovered.

Asiatic and oriental lily bulbs are best planted spaced about a foot apart. Smaller bulbs should be covered with a layer of soil two to three inches thick, which medium sized bulbs need a layer of three to four inches and large bulbs should be covered with four to six inches of soil.

The most commonly seen problem encountered when growing bulbs is a viral infection, and unfortunately that infection is incurable. The best way to avoid infection is to buy only the healthiest bulbs from the best sources. Any lilies showing mottled or very stunted leaves should be destroyed.

Lilies tend to do best in full sun or partial shade, and like other bulbs they benefit from regular watering during their growth and blooming phases.

As your knowledge about gardening with bulbs continues to grow, you will begin to see how gardening with bulbs fits into the overall scheme of things. Knowing how something relates to the rest of the world is important too.

If you want to escape the everyday hassles of life but can’t afford to go on a Mediterranean vacation, you could fix up your backyard with a Mediterranean garden to help you relax the night or weekend away!

Mediterranean gardens are very popular right now in some of the warmer parts of the United States and they are easy to have built by a professional garden company or to build yourself. It depends on your budgetary restrictions and what your taste is and how much time and effort you are willing to put into making your backyard a Mediterranean paradise.

The Mediterranean influences come from Italy, France, Spain and several other coastal places where the climate is dry and hot enough for various plant life. California is another Mediterranean area in which people have large Mediterranean gardens packed with olives, lavender, citrus and many other plants and flowers found through out the Mediterranean regions.

And the Mediterranean gardens are not only about the plants, although they play a major part in the design, it’s also about the structure of the space. If you have an archway made of brick leading into the garden, this would be a wonderful place to have growing vines and flowers that are native to the Mediterranean area. There are fountains and pathways, walkways, statues and trees all covered with Mediterranean vegetation and rich, thick plant life and flowers. The smell of citrus and olives in addition to the wonderful fragrant flowers make the garden inviting to everyone, perfect for entertaining or just relaxing after a long, hard day.

If you have a pool or a pond or even a fountain, you can build up against it because the Mediterranean flowers and vegetation grows wild near the water for its dry climate needs water to survive. Building up a wall around the pool or pond then planting beautiful flowers that hang down over the mismatched brick wall will bring out the Mediterranean feel for the area in your garden. Building an archway will remind people of the olden places of Italy or Spain in which there are arched walkways every few feet.

If you can not hire a professional garden company to make your Mediterranean garden, then you can look through books at the library or countless sites on the Internet that will give you clean, step by step instructions on how to build a Mediterranean garden by yourself. And you will get exactly what you want in your garden. You will need some patience and a lot of hard work, but it can be done.

If you do hire a garden specialist, make sure you check out their references to be sure their former customers are happy ones. Then ask to see a ‘floor plan’ before they begin their work. You want to know what it will look like before they begin digging and building. Make sure they understand the difference between a Mediterranean garden and a regular flower garden or vegetable garden because you want what you pay for and you want to get what you want.

“If your garden was there before you were, chances are it grew out of many others’ dreams.” ~ Ferris Cook

It’s spring which means gardening time again! Time to tuck your plants into their outdoor beds. In so doing, many home gardeners make the critical mistake of sticking their bedding plants into the same old worn out soil they’ve used for years. They dig it up a bit, maybe throw on some fertilizer, and expect their plants to do the rest. I know a better way.

You can make a planting mix from scratch that your plants will love. It is easy and simple to do, takes little time, and is relatively inexpensive. The end result is worth the small effort and minimal cost.

First, begin with a good bagged soil of some sort. It need not be the expensive name brands for which you pay a premium. Just a reasonable quality soil as a base for the rest of the mix. For our project let’s say you buy a 20 quart bag of this product – a common size in most nurseries.

Next, buy a small bag of pure worm castings. You will need 4 quarts – about 10 lbs – for this mix. Ensure you have real, good quality worm castings and not some dilluted product which is commonly on the market. Nature’s Big Bud Worm Castings makes a premium liquid version which can also be used. Worm castings (worm manure) are nature’s miracle fertilizer and soil enhancer. They are organic, all natural, and contain more than 60 beneficial elements your plants need and use in growing healthy, robust root systems, strong stems and branches and beautiful flowers or fruits. Once moistened, they retain water in your soil thereby providing an additional benefit of saving watering time and money.

Buy a small bag of composted steer manure. This is inexpensive and will add nitrogen to the soil in abundance. The key is to not use too much of this in your mix. I am suggesting only 4 quarts.

Finally, you will need one pound of natural powdered Shidigera yucca (Mohave Yucca) to add to the mix. Yucca is another organic, all natural product; it is a wetting agent (surfactant) which makes water wetter. This will allow water to be retained in the soil and will give your plants a quicker way to absorb nutrients from the soil mix. Yucca also contains natural steroids such as saponin which will assist in insect and disease control once your plants absorb it into their system.

You now have the ingredients for success in making a nutrient rich, water retaining bedding plant soil mix. Putting them together is the next step. Dump the 20 quart bag of soil onto a flat clean dry surface. To it add 4 quarts of the worm castings and the 4 quarts of composted steer manure. Next add the yucca extract powder. With a shovel, turn the pile a few times until all the ingredients are well mixed.

This is your planting mix. Dig holes in your garden, fill them with this mix and plant your bedding plants or seeds in it. (This mixture is also ideal for container gardening – nothing better on the market at half the price you pay for prestige brand name products.) You have made a completely organic, all natural, homemade product which will benefit you, your plants, and the environment without using any toxic chemicals. You will be more than happy with the results. So will your plants.

(More info is available at www.naturesbigbud.com)

“A society is great when old men plant trees in whose shade they know they shall never sit”.

Living in Southern California has some advantages for growing flowers. We can plant annuals more than once a year to be able to enjoy all those blossoms year round. Once the early bloomers have died out we can replace them with new. Just think we can have snapdragons and pansies all year long.

The best time for planting our spring flowers is during the fall, that is September through early December, here in Southern California. In many other parts of the country planting bulbs will cease once the first frost arrives. We also need to purchase our bulbs as soon as they appear in garden center stores, if we wait until November or December the firmest bulbs, which are the best will be gone. When we purchase early and want to plant later in the season, we need to keep our bulbs in a cool dry place until that time.

Because bulbs are perennials they will come back year after year, but because we live in Southern California some of those bulbs need to be dug up and stored in a cool place until spring. Some of our areas don’t get a frost in the winter, so in the spring after they have bloomed, we need to dig up our crocus, hyacinths, and tulips, and keep them in a cool place until fall planting. We don’t need to do this with any of the other flowering bulbs.

If you see a garden that has a bed of bushy tulips or daffodils, you can assume that they were planted many years ago. Most bulbs have a habit of multiplying of the years.

We need to have our soil ready before planting the bulbs. An important factor is that the soil drainage must be good and if the soil has a lot of clay we need to add compost and it needs to be worked in very well. Spring bulbs need 5 tablespoons of fertilizer mixed with the soil at planting and again when they start coming up through the soil.

There are a few good areas to plant flowering bulbs. The majority of the bulbs need sun and can even be planted under trees because they will have finished blooming before the new seasons leaves arrive. Our summer bulbs will require partial shade or full sunshine, so these bulbs should not be planted under the trees. When we plant our bulbs remember that the larger bulbs need to be planted nearly twice as deep as the smaller ones.

Home gardening is an enjoyable, relaxing and most of all an inexpensive hobby. It sets your mood, keeps you alive and stress free. A lot of people nowadays have been into garding. They started turning their front and back yards into a sight to behold with bountiful colored flowers and blossoms or greenery. The process is easy and can be done in just few steps. By having the right tools; knowing what, where, when and how to plant, you can now indulge yourself in gardening and have fun without leaving your home.

Home gardening is growing in popularity. Some people garden as a hobby and some to make money. It is very innate in every person to appreciate design, beauty and symmetry. Everyone would love the sight of a garden in abundance of beautiful flowers in vibrant colors, although some people would prefer a bed of greenery. Freshly cut flowers in the living room will somehow bring a tinge of the summer indoors. It will be enjoyable to grow vegetables, too. Whatever your preference is, give your yard a face lift and make it a magical sight of elegance and beauty.

Many people had already made a way for home gardening into their own front and back yards. Statistics had it that it has became a favorite leisure activity, placed ahead of time spent with family, but not on top of reading and watching television. Another thing is that one out of every three families are more into home gardening nowadays with most gardens found in urban areas.

A person with a green thumb they say is gifted with the ability of growing plants. This may be true, but it doesn’t mean that people not having this gift cannot do home gardening anymore. It’s a matter of personal taste. Everyone, young and old, who has the willingness to learn how to plant can be a home gardener. There are a hundred and one reasons to plant a vegetable or a flower garden in your own yard and the benefits people get keep getting better and better all the time.

A Good Plan Today is Better than a Perfect Plan Tomorrow

Home gardening can be done in few simplified steps. There are lots of easy approaches on how to do gardening. First is having a plan. It will be better if you draw a picture of what kind of plants you want and where you want them planted. Of equal importance is knowing your plants and finding time to do a little research in a local library or a bookstore to get acquainted about the flowers or the vegetables you are growing will help you a lot in the process and will give you a clear cut definition of how they will be grown. Determining the type of soil, how much space, the amount of shade or sunlight and how much water your plants require will always give you almost perfect results. The second is the right gardening tools. You are going to need a shovel, a rake and a trowel to loosen and soften the soil to make it easier in creating the holes for the plants.

Having done these things, you are now ready to execute your home gardening plan. Before planting, you weed out the grass as this may take over the garden before your plants even begin to grow, then till the soil so it becomes loose and soft. Most importantly, apply compost or manure or a well-rotted animal a week before you plan to plant. This will make both the soil and your plants grow healthy.

Planting and Taking Care of Your Home Garden

Home gardening requires lots of nurturing for your plants. Planting and caring for your garden gives you a feeling of creativity as you turn that spot in your yard a masterpiece. Planting your garden can be done as much as possible in the spring and fall. This kind of conditions that ideally enable plants to grow and mature very well. You can either grow the flowers from seeds, especially during wintertime, or buy from a nursery. For a flower garden it is best to note which area you want to use gets the full or partial sun or the most shade. This will enable you to change the kind of flowers you can plant on your beds. For a vegetable garden, you have to dig holes in rows. Small holes for seeds, deep holes for bulb roots. Bulb naturally multiply and produces more blooms every now and then. In planting trees and shrubs, the dirt attached to the bulb is included and make sure the roots are deep enough to cover it all in order to protect it from animals.

For the most part during during the growing season, gardens require a weekly moisture supply tantamount to one inch of rain.Weed your garden as frequently as possible. You don’t want a garden full of grass. Mulch your home garden because it keeps it from drying out. These rotting vegetables will act as your protective covering and reduces soil erosion. When it matures, trust me, you can now decide what you want the end product of your garden to be. So let your home gardening tell the story, let it convey the power it possesses and let it take control of the environment for you, for your family and for your friends as well as your neighbors.

what are some flowers native to Africa that are just beautiful, pretty, unique???? need names and places to find pics at?

Just after winter, people dust off their trowels and take out the gloves, getting ready for another flowering season. This year it will be different. You’ll have beautiful flowers, a fantastic display of colors and all your neighbors will stop in your front lawn to admire your garden. Does it have to be a dream? In fact, you could start your garden at any time and have a beautiful garden to enjoy all seasons.
The only prerequisite is planning and prep work and you’ll have the garden of your dreams. One important step that some people tend to forget is that you have to plan the right garden for you.
Measure out the space you have set up as the garden area and give it a second and third look. a)What is the soil like, what additional fertilizer you need, will it be organic? Which type? Worm castings, seaweed, pet safe? b) Does it get enough sunlight? How is the irrigation system?Do you have to repair any leaks?Check the batteries of the system . It doesn’t matter if your area has all the above parameters in the best proportions. Some plants need tough soil, not a lot of light and little water. You just need to be aware and plan of this, in order to pick plants that are suitable to your environment.One tip i highly recommend is to add worms in your garden.Check out with your local supplier if he has deliver-ready cocoons. What ever you will grow with earthworm castings will be as it use to be.
Talk with people at your local garden shop about setting up your dream garden. They can offer suggestions as to how to structure your garden and to put out your plants so you get to enjoy. You want to be able to take care of them easily. Some plants are more easy to grow than others.
It only takes a little bit of preparation work and a little of help from the experts and you’ll have the garden you always dreamed of.