Tag Archives: Gardening

Gardening Advice

An Alternative Way of Gardening: The Organic Garden

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A lot of people seem to think that an organic garden is just for hippies and vegetarians. They think it is a difficult and hard way to grow vegetables and flowers while in fact they could not have been further from the truth. Having an organic garden is not difficult at all and it certainly is not just for hippies and vegetarians. When you know that most organic fertilizers are made from animal products you will understand that vegetarians need to be very careful with organic gardening.

Owning a organic garden is not hard at all the only thing where you should be aware of is that you do not use synthesized products. You can use normal seeds and plants they do not need to be organic at all. The only seeds you can not use are genetically modified seeds.

The same people who think that having an organic garden makes you a hippie also often think that your organic garden needs to be animal friendly. Well most gardeners also those who have an organic garden are not always the greatest friends of the local wildlife. And be honest would you be, when your carefully grown crops are being eaten by some rabbits?

There are all kind of gardeners and those that have a organic garden will never use chemicals or pesticides but some are known to shoot a rabbit occasionally, to scare it away or to eat it. A more natural meal is hard to find.

Is an organic garden the same as a natural garden?

A natural garden does not exist, every garden is in fact artificial when you are the one that decides what to grow and at what place in contrary to nature where nothing is planned. a organic garden is not a natural garden if we have land where we let nature do its thing we usually do not call it a garden we call it wasteland. In our gardens we like to decide what are considered weeds and what we consider to be plants or flowers and a organic garden is no different. If our organic garden is suffering from drought you would be crazy not to water those carefully planted flowers and vegetables. As you can see an organic garden also takes some unnatural growing methods.

Vegetarians who own a organic garden should be aware that many of the
fertilizers and other organic garden products contain animal products like fish oil, leather and bone. They need to read all the ingredients on these products.

Although it is not necessary to call your garden an organic garden a very good and “natural” way to control bugs and pest is to mix specific plants together, if you do some research you learn that by placing for example onions and carrots together you will reduce pests and insects. Sometimes you can even use certain weeds to repel bugs and pests. You can also use insects like ladybugs to reduce louse, the ladybugs eat the louse and your organicly grown roses will be more beautiful then ever.

Hank Gordon has a passion for gardening and wants the world to know how relaxing and rewarding it can be. On his website he talks about front yard landscaping and landscape ideas

Gardening Advice

Giving a Gardening Gift

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Gardening has become one of the most popular hobbies, and you probably know a gardener or two that would love a gardening gift for their upcoming special occasion. There are hundreds of gardening gifts to buy for both the beginner and expert gardener, and the great thing about gardening gifts is they can be bought just about anywhere: online, nursery, feed store, farmer’s market, even your local Wal-Mart or grocery store.

If buying a gardening gift for a beginner, an instructional or informational book is always a good idea. Books like this will give tips on how to eliminate gardening nightmares like disease, insects, and weeds. They will tell gardeners which kind of plants thrive in different climates, as well as how much sun, water, and nutrients various types of plants require. Books like this can be purchased at nurseries, online, or at your local bookstore. If your gardening friend is a “computer nerd”, a gardening information CD might be a better gardening gift for them than a book.

Whether giving to a novice or expert professional, a plant is always a great gardening gift. Whether buying the traditional gift, like a poinsettia at Christmas, or just some random plant random, like moss, a plant is sure to be greatly appreciated and enjoyed. Another idea is to buy seeds or just a bulb for someone to transplant. Giving a perennial would be a gift that keeps on giving. 

Theme gardening gifts using plants can also be loads of fun. An herb can come with an attached card including a recipe using that herb. A plant that produces nectar and will attract butterflies can be coupled with a book on butterflies.

Possibly the best and most common, gardening gift is gardening tools. This can be anything as simple as a hoe or rake to something more high-tech like an electric blower or vacuum. These are good for removing debris, leaves, or grass from driveways and side walks. Other favorites are gloves, hedge trimmers, and sprinklers.

An excellent gardening gift that is rarely though of is a calendar. Calendar’s can serve dual purposes; it can be decorative with beautiful gardening themes, or can be used to keep up with the moon phase that affects most all plants. A farmer’s almanac is also a good idea, it is full of information regarding the weather, moon phase, when to plant, when to prune; it is the best guidebook to gardening there is.

The ultimate gardening gift is for any gardener is a gift certificate to a nursery or store where gardening tools or plants are available. This way, your friend can get any tool they do not have in their collection, or any kind of plant their heart desires.

Gift giving is a difficult task at best, but if you have gardeners for friends, a gardening gift is an easy way out and makes your gift buying simple. Gardening gifts can range anywhere from tools to actual plants and with gardening gifts you have a wide range of costs to choose from. You can give a cheap pair of gloves or an expensive power tiller. So the next time you go gift shopping, thing about a gardening gift for your friends with green thumbs!