Category — gardening

With virtually hundreds of plant varieties just waiting to be discovered, keeping your air and body healthier has never been easier than by displaying an assortment of houseplants throughout your home or apartment. However, you should not just choose plants at random, even if they all look great and add the perfect finishing touch to a room. Some plants have different needs than others, from lighting to water and even fertilizer, so choosing the best plants for your home should be based on the room and the plant’s needs instead.
1. Each houseplant has specific shade and lighting needs. Some of the most common are full sun, partial shade, and full shade, but some plants are easier to care for in this regard than others. For instance, while it would be okay to put a partial shade plant in the full sun for a small portion of the day, allowing a full shade plant to sit in the sun all day would kill it quickly. Pay very close attention to what the plant’s lighting needs are before you find a place within your home for that plant.

Examples of Plant’s Lighting Needs

Full sun: geraniums, petunias, basil, and bougainvillea

Partial sun: golden pathos, philodendron, and begonias

Shade: African violets, spider plants, and ferns
2. There are many plants that do not have to be watered daily, and some do not have to be watered even monthly. Some plants will need to have moist soil at all times, but others should be allowed to get mostly or completely dry between watering days. Dry does not just mean on the surface; you should poke your finger into the soil to determine the actual dryness of the soil before adding water again. The vast majority of plants should be watered about once per week unless the label says otherwise.

Examples of Plant’s Watering Needs

Frequent water: English ivy and hibiscus

Mostly dry soil: philodendron and jade plants

Very dry soil: cactus and African violets
3. Be careful to avoid poisonous houseplants in areas where children or pets are present. A good number of houseplants are actually poisonous, so if you know that children or pets are going to be in the room frequently you should make sure the plant is far out of reach, such as by placing it in a hanging basket or on a high shelf. Take this into consideration when you choose the right plant for a space, since there is less light on a high shelf or hanging basket in some cases. Some plants may have some poisonous parts, such as seeds or flower, while other plants are poisonous entirely. In most cases, it is sap, seeds, leaves, or stems that are poisonous, but in rare cases more than one area may be dangerous, so ask an expert to be sure.

Examples of Poisonous Houseplants

Houseplants you should avoid in rooms with children: asparagus ferns, daffodils, mistletoe, philodendron, and English ivy.

Houseplants safe for children and pets: African violets, Boston ferns, jade plants, orchids, spider plants, and kalanchoe.

Article by Jessica Ackerman of WallDecorandHomeAccents.com – your top place to buy large candle sconces and architectural wall art.

If you prefer to lead a green eco-conscious lifestyle, consider growing your own herbs throughout the year. Not only will these plants provide fresh herbs for cooking, but they will also add a decorative and fragrant accent to your home.

Choosing Herbs for Indoor Gardening

The best herbs to grow indoors are the ones that you use most often in your everyday cooking. Herbs such as chives, oregano, basil and sage can all be grown indoors, either in a sunny window or on a table with some auxiliary light. If you use herbs for teas, bath preparations, sachets or potpourris, herbs that you prefer for these uses would also make good choices for indoor growing. Mint plants come in many different varieties, and although some of these grow too large for indoor use, there are many specialty mints in “designer” fragrances and flavors such as chocolate mint that would work wonderfully when grown indoors.

How to Grow Herbs

When growing herbs indoors, the most important thing is matching the plant’s light needs to the location chosen. A sunny window sill or shelf can be adequate for many different herbs, but if the room doesn’t get direct sunlight or the herb’s light needs are especially high, you might need to provide auxiliary light. This could be as simple as locating the plant under a table lamp, or you could choose to equip an area in your home with fluorescent lighting designed specifically for growing plants. This technique may take a little longer to set up, but if you enjoy using lots of fresh herbs in your cooking it could be a very economical way of growing what you need.

To set up a lighted area for growing herbs, you can either purchase a kit or simply suspend standard fluorescent tube lighting over shelves or a table to provide adequate growing space. You will also want to pay attention to the temperature requirements for the herbs, especially if you plan to set up a light table in an unheated basement. Some herbs thrive in cooler temperatures, but others love warmer temperatures.

How to Use Fresh Grown Herbs

Once you have a steady supply of herbs growing in your home year-round, you will find many different uses for them. Try creating your own sachets, potpourris and bath preparations from herbs such as lavender and chamomile. Or, dry mint leaves such as peppermint and spearmint or herbs such as chamomile to make your own herbal tea blends. Cooking herbs can either be used fresh in recipes as needed, or pick larger quantities to either dry or freeze for later use. Individual quantities of fresh herbs can be rolled in plastic wrap and frozen in plastic bags, or place portions in an ice cube tray, fill with water and freeze to create “herb cubes” that are perfect for adding to recipes such as soups and sauces.

Metal-Wall-Art.com senior staff writer, Alyssa Davis, specializes in designing with western metal wall decor and wrought iron wall decor

Sundials are devices used in ancient cultures to determine time. The more commonly known sundial is the horizontal variety, where the sun casts a shadow from its style (typically a thin straight rod). Time is told based on the shadow cast on the markings – which indicate the hours of the day. As the sun progressively moves throughout the day, the shadow’s coverage moves along the flat surface of the sundial to indicate different hours of the day. In order for sundials to tell the correct time, the style must face true north.

This clever invention comes in several popular variations – horizontal sundials, vertical sundials, armillary sundials, equatorial sundials etc – each serving the same purpose but based on different build concepts. Widely used for its actual purpose – to tell time – in ancient civilisations, the sundial is largely used today for decorative purposes whilst serving a minor practical functionality.

Similar to birdbaths, sundials are perfect for placement in open gardens which receive adequate sunlight reach. They come in many designs these days from simple to extravagantly detailed. Although not largely a common addition to gardens in Asia, sundials can definitely add a touch of class to any garden and be an instant talking point with your guests. 1001sundials.com is a great retail site hosting a large variety of sundials for sale online if you’re on the look out for a sundial for the home

As your plants grow, the need to repot arises and here is a simple 4 step plan to help you repot effectively

*note: this should be done only when the soil in the existing pot is dry

1. Choose a pot ONE size larger than the existing one

2. Now put the the smaller pot inside the new larger pot and fill it with soil/compost. Be generous with the soil/compost and pack it in. Remove the small pot

3. Carefully lift the plant and soil out of the old pot and drop it into the new pot. Firmly tap around the soil/compost ring and top up with more soil to fill in the remaining gaps.

4. Water well and that’s all there is to it!