When you are planning your garden, you may want to offer shade to your guests. To do so will mean that you need to consider the shape, size, and permanency of any structure you may put up.
One common option is an open-area arbor. These choices are great because they offer round or square seating options and typically are a perfect size for sitting someone at your table. On the downside, they do not offer any protection from the wind or other elements because of their open nature. If you are planning to use an arbor to create some shade in your garden, consider adding some hardy shrubs around it to protect from the wind. Also plant some climbing vines on it to add to the shady impact.
A more expensive route, but one that definitely solves the problem of the arbor, is to build a summerhouse. While you will call it a summerhouse, it need not have all of the features of a house. This type of structure should be glassed in so that you can sit in it and see out into your garden. The benefit, of course, is that you will have someplace away from your home to go. If you are a writer or artist, for example, a summerhouse can be a great way to get work done at the same time you are seeing the great outdoors. The disadvantage, beyond the expense, is that you will miss out on some of the garden smells and sounds in the glassed-in area. One solution for this problem is to use a mesh screen instead of glass. It will keep out bugs but let in breezes and nice aromas.
Pergolas are a specific type of arbor, but they are another option for creating shade in your garden. A pergola will allow you to put down poles supported by a covering. The covering may be light and airy, such as mesh, or may be sturdier. Then you will need to put out plants and vines. They will grow along the pergola and create a walkway of shade. The best part about using a pergola to create garden shade is that you will find that you can create pergolas out of any type of material. They also come so that you can build them to fit any area you need. You will buy the poles and other materials, but you have a good bit of leniency in terms of how you design them. Unfortunately, they need concrete for the poles to work well, so you will need to add concrete if you are planning a pergola.
Another option is to plant trees to create shade. This choice is one that is more environmentally sound (no concrete) and will be a part of your garden as well as your shade. It is a little trickier, however. You will need to be sure that you get the right kinds of trees. For example, some deciduous trees cast what are called deep shadows, meaning their shadow (and thus shade) can cover the entire garden. That means that you will find that you have to cut up the crown of the tree by cutting off limbs lower to the ground. That will help with the shading the whole garden issue.
Trees also do not provide full shade. They only provide it where the limbs and leaves are casting a shadow. It may be difficult to plan for a garden bench or work area using trees as your shade. Still if you purchase smaller trees, then you should have a little more control over them. You should find that you can work with the trees to create the shade you want.
Be sure to take the time you will need to create shade into account as well as the financial and other factors. Many gardeners want shade and find that though they may love the heat, it is nice to create an area where they will not need to keep themselves cool all the time. A shaded area can be a perfect addition to any garden. With a little time and perseverance, you can imagine the kind of shading you want for your garden and make it happen.
By Julia Mercer
Wednesday, January 18, 2006
A Few Gardening Tools
If you are going to get your start in gardening, then it is vital that you are familiar with some of the basic tools of the trade. Here is a listing with brief explanations to help you get started.
A wheelbarrow is a must for any gardener who is doing more than just planting a few flowers. Wheelbarrows, as most people know, have one wheel. You lift the barrow by the handles and then roll it along. The best part about a wheelbarrow is that it helps you move heavier items as well as to carry mulch and clippings across distances. The biggest consideration when you are purchasing a wheelbarrow is how large it is. You do not need to get one that is too big for your garden because it will be cumbersome, and storage could be a problem.
A lawnmower is something that many people probably feel is essential, but it is not. If you have grass, of course, you will need one. Otherwise, you can stick to something that will eat up the clippings and turn them to mulch. You can find less expensive models than lawnmowers to do this job.
Gloves are the essential hand tool of the garden. While you may be tempted to skip out on the gloves, avoid this temptation. You will need two pair of gloves for your garden outings. You should purchase a thin pair for any light work you have, such as wedding or transplanting. Then you will need a thick pair to protect your hands if you have any prickly shrubs or others objects that could damage your hands.
In addition to gloves, you should be sure to purchase a quality pair of goggles. You will need them many times when you are gardening. Pruning is one of the primary times when you will want your eyes protected. A gardening-related eye injury is no fun, so be sure to take precautions.
When you are ready to begin digging, a spade will come in handy. It is the most basic of gardening tools, and one that every gardener should own. If you really get into gardening, you will want to buy more than one, but a single spade should suffice for now. A spade is basically like a small shovel. In fact, many people call spades shovels, but they are not exactly the same. A spade is used for gardening primarily herb or flower gardens. Most people who purchase spades get one with a short handle so that they can get on their hands and knees and work close to the ground. If you will be using the spade for larger plants, consider one with a longer handle. Invest in a good spade, stainless steel if you can, because you will use it often.
A cousin of the spade is a spading fork. Many people have seen them but probably do not know what they are called. They have short handles most often (and that is what works best) and look like a bent pitchfork on the end. Most of them have three trowels on them so that they can break up dirt. They are used to break up organic matter to make it easier to plant. Be sure that you get a spading fork that is not too heavy, or you will regret it when you get into a big job.
Hedge trimmers are a must in the hedged, suburban lawn. You will need to get a pair of hedge-trimmers if you have shrubs or hedges of any kind. If you have planted small shrubs, then you should think about shears, especially if price is a factor. Instead you will find that investing in electric hedge-trimmers will save you some work and will produce a great finished product. Avoid gas-powered trimmers if you can. They are heavier to lug around. They also are more expensive because you must pay for the gas to power them, and they are noisy.
These tools should get you started. As you move along in your gardening plans, you will discover that you will want to get more and more tools. Be sure that you have the right tools before you buy any plant so that you can care for it properly. And be sure to care for your tools. They will make your gardening life easier.
By Julia Mercer
A wheelbarrow is a must for any gardener who is doing more than just planting a few flowers. Wheelbarrows, as most people know, have one wheel. You lift the barrow by the handles and then roll it along. The best part about a wheelbarrow is that it helps you move heavier items as well as to carry mulch and clippings across distances. The biggest consideration when you are purchasing a wheelbarrow is how large it is. You do not need to get one that is too big for your garden because it will be cumbersome, and storage could be a problem.
A lawnmower is something that many people probably feel is essential, but it is not. If you have grass, of course, you will need one. Otherwise, you can stick to something that will eat up the clippings and turn them to mulch. You can find less expensive models than lawnmowers to do this job.
Gloves are the essential hand tool of the garden. While you may be tempted to skip out on the gloves, avoid this temptation. You will need two pair of gloves for your garden outings. You should purchase a thin pair for any light work you have, such as wedding or transplanting. Then you will need a thick pair to protect your hands if you have any prickly shrubs or others objects that could damage your hands.
In addition to gloves, you should be sure to purchase a quality pair of goggles. You will need them many times when you are gardening. Pruning is one of the primary times when you will want your eyes protected. A gardening-related eye injury is no fun, so be sure to take precautions.
When you are ready to begin digging, a spade will come in handy. It is the most basic of gardening tools, and one that every gardener should own. If you really get into gardening, you will want to buy more than one, but a single spade should suffice for now. A spade is basically like a small shovel. In fact, many people call spades shovels, but they are not exactly the same. A spade is used for gardening primarily herb or flower gardens. Most people who purchase spades get one with a short handle so that they can get on their hands and knees and work close to the ground. If you will be using the spade for larger plants, consider one with a longer handle. Invest in a good spade, stainless steel if you can, because you will use it often.
A cousin of the spade is a spading fork. Many people have seen them but probably do not know what they are called. They have short handles most often (and that is what works best) and look like a bent pitchfork on the end. Most of them have three trowels on them so that they can break up dirt. They are used to break up organic matter to make it easier to plant. Be sure that you get a spading fork that is not too heavy, or you will regret it when you get into a big job.
Hedge trimmers are a must in the hedged, suburban lawn. You will need to get a pair of hedge-trimmers if you have shrubs or hedges of any kind. If you have planted small shrubs, then you should think about shears, especially if price is a factor. Instead you will find that investing in electric hedge-trimmers will save you some work and will produce a great finished product. Avoid gas-powered trimmers if you can. They are heavier to lug around. They also are more expensive because you must pay for the gas to power them, and they are noisy.
These tools should get you started. As you move along in your gardening plans, you will discover that you will want to get more and more tools. Be sure that you have the right tools before you buy any plant so that you can care for it properly. And be sure to care for your tools. They will make your gardening life easier.
By Julia Mercer
A Garden Railroad
By Christina VanGinkel
Gardening is an enjoyable hobby. It provides activity with fresh air, scenery, and sometimes, good things to eat and smell. For some it is an integral part of their life, to the degree that some of us may look for other ways to increase the gratification we receive from our gardens. What a growing number of gardeners are doing is building worlds in their gardens, worlds that amuse the builders and the young and old alike that may stop by for a visit. These worlds are arrived at by a mode of transportation that was a building block of the real world, trains! Model train enthusiasts have crossed the tracks over to the green, or maybe it is the other way around with gardeners hopping on to the caboose of this fun filled world known as model railroading. Either way, the two have collided into what can only be described as entertainment at its most enjoyable.
If you have been trying to engage your kids into working in the family garden, or even if there are no kids about, but you have always liked model trains, combining the two can be just what your garden is in need of. Kids for example can help plan the layout of the train tracks, and in the process learn about the different types of plants. They can also help research what plants might make good additions to such a display. Some herbs, for example, make good added extras by the train station, as they resemble bushes and other big plants, just in miniature.
If you think that this would be interesting, but the railroad that you already have, or that you have seen, would not withstand the outdoors, you are probably correct. There are trains and tracks manufactured though specifically for this purpose. The building and many of the other added extras are usually made of a plastic, which will actually hold up under even the most severe changes in weather, including rain, snow, heat, and cold. The track systems are a bit more sophisticated even, and are made of a heavy duty alloy that will keep your train running smoothly, but also hold up under some of the most extreme weather changes that occur no matter where you live, reinforcing that a hobby such as this is not just for gardens in warm climates. No matter where you live, an outdoor railroad in your garden is workable. It even has the potential to extend the length of time through the year that you spend in your garden, because even after the first freeze, your railroad and track will still be calling. Keep in mind though that the trains themselves should be stored indoors when not in use, no matter the weather conditions outside. This will of course prolong their life and keep them protected from unforeseeable damage due to outdoor conditions. Because they are also quite costly, this just makes sense to keep them from becoming stolen.
A suggestion from a fellow train enthusiast, to keep the task of moving the train cars indoors to a minimum, was to build the track's layout in a way that it runs nearby a garage or other outdoor building. Run the track actually into the building and out again, with enough indoor tracks to accommodate the whole set of cars, from engine to caboose, and just drive it inside when you are going to be away or when weather may be an issue. This would sure cut down on the work of having to bring each car indoors!
Because a garden railroad is never really complete, always in need of a bit of tweaking here and there, upkeep on the buildings and cars, trimming of this plant or that, adding plants, moving them, trying new ideas, a garden railroad is an ideal hobby to keep you out in your garden enjoying it more than you ever dreamed. If gardens and trains are both passions that you enjoy, or you are looking for some way to extend the enjoyment you reap from your outdoor space, then maybe it is time that you gave a garden railroad some thought and consideration. Keep in mind that this is one of those hobbies, which seem to grow bigger than you ever imagined it would grow. Because once you lay that first piece of track and see that train take its first trip around, you will soon need just one more car, or a new engine, maybe a few additional pieces of track to make the trip round that willow tree mountain a bit more scenic!
Gardening is an enjoyable hobby. It provides activity with fresh air, scenery, and sometimes, good things to eat and smell. For some it is an integral part of their life, to the degree that some of us may look for other ways to increase the gratification we receive from our gardens. What a growing number of gardeners are doing is building worlds in their gardens, worlds that amuse the builders and the young and old alike that may stop by for a visit. These worlds are arrived at by a mode of transportation that was a building block of the real world, trains! Model train enthusiasts have crossed the tracks over to the green, or maybe it is the other way around with gardeners hopping on to the caboose of this fun filled world known as model railroading. Either way, the two have collided into what can only be described as entertainment at its most enjoyable.
If you have been trying to engage your kids into working in the family garden, or even if there are no kids about, but you have always liked model trains, combining the two can be just what your garden is in need of. Kids for example can help plan the layout of the train tracks, and in the process learn about the different types of plants. They can also help research what plants might make good additions to such a display. Some herbs, for example, make good added extras by the train station, as they resemble bushes and other big plants, just in miniature.
If you think that this would be interesting, but the railroad that you already have, or that you have seen, would not withstand the outdoors, you are probably correct. There are trains and tracks manufactured though specifically for this purpose. The building and many of the other added extras are usually made of a plastic, which will actually hold up under even the most severe changes in weather, including rain, snow, heat, and cold. The track systems are a bit more sophisticated even, and are made of a heavy duty alloy that will keep your train running smoothly, but also hold up under some of the most extreme weather changes that occur no matter where you live, reinforcing that a hobby such as this is not just for gardens in warm climates. No matter where you live, an outdoor railroad in your garden is workable. It even has the potential to extend the length of time through the year that you spend in your garden, because even after the first freeze, your railroad and track will still be calling. Keep in mind though that the trains themselves should be stored indoors when not in use, no matter the weather conditions outside. This will of course prolong their life and keep them protected from unforeseeable damage due to outdoor conditions. Because they are also quite costly, this just makes sense to keep them from becoming stolen.
A suggestion from a fellow train enthusiast, to keep the task of moving the train cars indoors to a minimum, was to build the track's layout in a way that it runs nearby a garage or other outdoor building. Run the track actually into the building and out again, with enough indoor tracks to accommodate the whole set of cars, from engine to caboose, and just drive it inside when you are going to be away or when weather may be an issue. This would sure cut down on the work of having to bring each car indoors!
Because a garden railroad is never really complete, always in need of a bit of tweaking here and there, upkeep on the buildings and cars, trimming of this plant or that, adding plants, moving them, trying new ideas, a garden railroad is an ideal hobby to keep you out in your garden enjoying it more than you ever dreamed. If gardens and trains are both passions that you enjoy, or you are looking for some way to extend the enjoyment you reap from your outdoor space, then maybe it is time that you gave a garden railroad some thought and consideration. Keep in mind that this is one of those hobbies, which seem to grow bigger than you ever imagined it would grow. Because once you lay that first piece of track and see that train take its first trip around, you will soon need just one more car, or a new engine, maybe a few additional pieces of track to make the trip round that willow tree mountain a bit more scenic!
Thursday, January 12, 2006
Gardening is a Way of Life
By Christina VanGinkel
Gardening is more than just digging in the dirt, planting seeds and seedlings, and harvesting what grows. It can flow into other parts of your life before you even realize it. I should make a disclaimer here that I am a gardener at heart, but not always that successful. I love the idea of gardening, I love planting things, I do not even mind pulling weeds, but I do things like pulling plants when I am pulling weeds, especially in the spring when life is first erupting in the beds. I often water plants that should not be watered, and plant things needing sun in the shade and vice versa. I am getting better though, with a lot of help and instruction from my husband, the true gardener in the family. Even with all of these downfalls, I love gardening.
I find myself in the dead of winter searching for items that remind me of the garden in full bloom. From kitchen curtains that are decorated with embroidered Thyme, Chives, Basil, and Rosemary, to the papers I choose for my scrapbook layouts, plants, both decorative and fruit and vegetable, keep cropping up in my life.
Maybe it is the mother in me, looking for things that represent life I am not sure, but the theme of gardening itself is something that I seem drawn towards. Take for example a recent shopping trip where I needed to replace some of our bathroom towels. While towels in bright colors and earth tones alike surrounded me, I kept looking for something that I was not sure existed. Then I found them, a set of bathroom towels with a border of a flower garden in full bloom. I would have settled for any of the other towels had I not found those, but the minute I saw them, there was no question in my mind which ones I would buy.
Scrapbook paper that is handcrafted with flower petals, seeds, and even paper and cardstock that are printed with garden themes, embellishments of miniature watering cans, hoes, packs of seeds, and shovels always find their way to my scrap room. Not sure exactly which layouts they will end up in; nevertheless, they all come home with me.
Maybe it is just a longing for growth when all around me is white snow, but I am mature enough to recognize and acknowledge that even last summer when our own garden was overflowing with moss roses, and Asian lilies, bleeding hearts, and flowers in every hue in the rainbow and in between, I was already searching out garden items.
Gardening can become a way of life in many ways. Walking through a craft show last summer, I had to stop at every booth that had anything that might be construed garden related in some small way. Handcrafted Thank You cards with a stamped daisy, old watering cans with decorative tole painting, a small bench that had a white picket fence for its back with flowers entwined up between the slats of the pickets. Each called to me with the song of gardening in its name, and I wanted it. Of course, I did not buy all of them, but I would rush home and make a note in my journal about what I saw, and if I though it could somehow be fit into our garden sometime in the future. My father-in-law made me a little house of wood, varnished, painted with butterflies and flowers, to be used in the garden for a place to store my hand shovel and rake, and my daughter bought me a small toad house resembling a tiny cottage with a grumpy old man standing next to it. Before I gardened, I would have looked at both of these gifts and wondered what they were thinking. As it was, they have been two of my favorite gifts I have ever received.
Having a love of gardening means much more than just digging, planting, and harvesting. It truly is a way of life. If you are looking for something that has the potential to add dimension to your days, your life, take up gardening and you will never go another day without something interesting to dream about.
Gardening is more than just digging in the dirt, planting seeds and seedlings, and harvesting what grows. It can flow into other parts of your life before you even realize it. I should make a disclaimer here that I am a gardener at heart, but not always that successful. I love the idea of gardening, I love planting things, I do not even mind pulling weeds, but I do things like pulling plants when I am pulling weeds, especially in the spring when life is first erupting in the beds. I often water plants that should not be watered, and plant things needing sun in the shade and vice versa. I am getting better though, with a lot of help and instruction from my husband, the true gardener in the family. Even with all of these downfalls, I love gardening.
I find myself in the dead of winter searching for items that remind me of the garden in full bloom. From kitchen curtains that are decorated with embroidered Thyme, Chives, Basil, and Rosemary, to the papers I choose for my scrapbook layouts, plants, both decorative and fruit and vegetable, keep cropping up in my life.
Maybe it is the mother in me, looking for things that represent life I am not sure, but the theme of gardening itself is something that I seem drawn towards. Take for example a recent shopping trip where I needed to replace some of our bathroom towels. While towels in bright colors and earth tones alike surrounded me, I kept looking for something that I was not sure existed. Then I found them, a set of bathroom towels with a border of a flower garden in full bloom. I would have settled for any of the other towels had I not found those, but the minute I saw them, there was no question in my mind which ones I would buy.
Scrapbook paper that is handcrafted with flower petals, seeds, and even paper and cardstock that are printed with garden themes, embellishments of miniature watering cans, hoes, packs of seeds, and shovels always find their way to my scrap room. Not sure exactly which layouts they will end up in; nevertheless, they all come home with me.
Maybe it is just a longing for growth when all around me is white snow, but I am mature enough to recognize and acknowledge that even last summer when our own garden was overflowing with moss roses, and Asian lilies, bleeding hearts, and flowers in every hue in the rainbow and in between, I was already searching out garden items.
Gardening can become a way of life in many ways. Walking through a craft show last summer, I had to stop at every booth that had anything that might be construed garden related in some small way. Handcrafted Thank You cards with a stamped daisy, old watering cans with decorative tole painting, a small bench that had a white picket fence for its back with flowers entwined up between the slats of the pickets. Each called to me with the song of gardening in its name, and I wanted it. Of course, I did not buy all of them, but I would rush home and make a note in my journal about what I saw, and if I though it could somehow be fit into our garden sometime in the future. My father-in-law made me a little house of wood, varnished, painted with butterflies and flowers, to be used in the garden for a place to store my hand shovel and rake, and my daughter bought me a small toad house resembling a tiny cottage with a grumpy old man standing next to it. Before I gardened, I would have looked at both of these gifts and wondered what they were thinking. As it was, they have been two of my favorite gifts I have ever received.
Having a love of gardening means much more than just digging, planting, and harvesting. It truly is a way of life. If you are looking for something that has the potential to add dimension to your days, your life, take up gardening and you will never go another day without something interesting to dream about.
Wednesday, January 11, 2006
Bonsai Trees
By Christina VanGinkel
Ever since, I watched the Karate Kid back in 1984, starring Pat Morita and Ralph Machio, I have had a longing to own a bonsai tree. What the attraction to these miniature trees is I have never been able to pinpoint, yet I realized that I talked about them so much, that one good friend actually bought me an antique container for one when she came across it during her antique hunting two summers ago. I still have not put a bonsai tree in it, as every time I think about getting one, I remind myself that while I like plants, they do not always like me. While a dead tomato plant is one thing, or even an Aloe Vera, the thought of killing a whole tree, even if it is about as small as any plant comes, would just break my heart. Yet every time I come across gardening sites online, or visit a nursery, the first thing I look to see if they have, is a selection of these fascinating trees in miniature.
Then I discovered the Bonsai Boy of New York site right here at iGardeners.com. I have sat browsing this site longer than even some of my favorite scrapbook sites. Their catalog, broken down into types of bonsai trees through the following headings:
Juniper Trees
Trees under $30
Flowering Bonsai
Artificial Bonsai
Outdoor Bonsai
Recommended Bonsai
Medium and Large Bonsai
One of a Kind Bonsai
My budget minded part me of course headed directly to the Trees Under $30 category. One of the first trees on the page appealed to me right off. Its appearance when you first look at it, reminds one of a big, old, overgrown tree deep in some forest. The trunk looks all gnarled and twisted, and it gives the impression that it is hundreds of years old. I know it is not, but that is part of the appeal to me, actually most of the appeal. I like old things, and these trees often appear as if they have stepped through the centuries, shrinking in size as they came. A Epiphytic plant, part of the tropical distinction of plants, it requires no soil to grow, which means watering is mainly through the absorption of the humidity in the air, with a small weekly watering to make sure it is consuming enough water. Taking care of itself by it nature, it seems like it would be the ideal plant, bonsai tree or not, for me to have. It would also require bright to subdued indirect light, warmth, and a humid spot. I have a small humidifier, so I wonder if I placed it near that, if that would be enough humidity for it during the dry winter months that are common indoors in our area, due to the furnace running almost constantly with the temperatures outside dropping to well below zero much of the time. The description went on to say that, it was six inches tall, and included a 5" black oval ceramic container, with five of the air plants forming the canopy that gives the plant its miniature tree appearance. It also reads that a suitable 8" x 6" humidity tray is recommended for an additional $3.95. This particular Bonsai Tree is available for $29.95, so with shipping at $10.95, and the recommended humidity tray, the price would be an overall reasonable $45.00. Not too bad for such a whimsical addition to my home, but I wonder if it would be difficult, or even possible, to transfer the plant to the antique bonsai container that my friend gave me.
They had one other tree that was even cheaper, at only $19.95, a small Juniper Tree, that is three years old, and is consistent with what many perceive to be a Bonsai Tree, but for me personally, it just does not have that gnarled old look like the Bonsai Tree Air Plant. I also could not resist checking out the one-of-a-kind category, and there were several there that appealed to me, including several Scot Pines, but with prices in the hundred dollar range and up, I liked them, but still not as much as the first one that caught my eye, the Bonsai Tree Air Plant. I need to do some more research and reading about it, but if they can be transferred easily, and they have a long life expectancy, I think I know what I am going to ask for on my next birthday!
Ever since, I watched the Karate Kid back in 1984, starring Pat Morita and Ralph Machio, I have had a longing to own a bonsai tree. What the attraction to these miniature trees is I have never been able to pinpoint, yet I realized that I talked about them so much, that one good friend actually bought me an antique container for one when she came across it during her antique hunting two summers ago. I still have not put a bonsai tree in it, as every time I think about getting one, I remind myself that while I like plants, they do not always like me. While a dead tomato plant is one thing, or even an Aloe Vera, the thought of killing a whole tree, even if it is about as small as any plant comes, would just break my heart. Yet every time I come across gardening sites online, or visit a nursery, the first thing I look to see if they have, is a selection of these fascinating trees in miniature.
Then I discovered the Bonsai Boy of New York site right here at iGardeners.com. I have sat browsing this site longer than even some of my favorite scrapbook sites. Their catalog, broken down into types of bonsai trees through the following headings:
Juniper Trees
Trees under $30
Flowering Bonsai
Artificial Bonsai
Outdoor Bonsai
Recommended Bonsai
Medium and Large Bonsai
One of a Kind Bonsai
My budget minded part me of course headed directly to the Trees Under $30 category. One of the first trees on the page appealed to me right off. Its appearance when you first look at it, reminds one of a big, old, overgrown tree deep in some forest. The trunk looks all gnarled and twisted, and it gives the impression that it is hundreds of years old. I know it is not, but that is part of the appeal to me, actually most of the appeal. I like old things, and these trees often appear as if they have stepped through the centuries, shrinking in size as they came. A Epiphytic plant, part of the tropical distinction of plants, it requires no soil to grow, which means watering is mainly through the absorption of the humidity in the air, with a small weekly watering to make sure it is consuming enough water. Taking care of itself by it nature, it seems like it would be the ideal plant, bonsai tree or not, for me to have. It would also require bright to subdued indirect light, warmth, and a humid spot. I have a small humidifier, so I wonder if I placed it near that, if that would be enough humidity for it during the dry winter months that are common indoors in our area, due to the furnace running almost constantly with the temperatures outside dropping to well below zero much of the time. The description went on to say that, it was six inches tall, and included a 5" black oval ceramic container, with five of the air plants forming the canopy that gives the plant its miniature tree appearance. It also reads that a suitable 8" x 6" humidity tray is recommended for an additional $3.95. This particular Bonsai Tree is available for $29.95, so with shipping at $10.95, and the recommended humidity tray, the price would be an overall reasonable $45.00. Not too bad for such a whimsical addition to my home, but I wonder if it would be difficult, or even possible, to transfer the plant to the antique bonsai container that my friend gave me.
They had one other tree that was even cheaper, at only $19.95, a small Juniper Tree, that is three years old, and is consistent with what many perceive to be a Bonsai Tree, but for me personally, it just does not have that gnarled old look like the Bonsai Tree Air Plant. I also could not resist checking out the one-of-a-kind category, and there were several there that appealed to me, including several Scot Pines, but with prices in the hundred dollar range and up, I liked them, but still not as much as the first one that caught my eye, the Bonsai Tree Air Plant. I need to do some more research and reading about it, but if they can be transferred easily, and they have a long life expectancy, I think I know what I am going to ask for on my next birthday!
Saturday, January 07, 2006
More Gifts from the Garden
By Christina VanGinkel
Besides drying flowers, there are a few other projects you can create with both fresh flowers, the garden itself, or by harvesting the seeds from some of your favorites. They are a fun and creative way to share your garden with friends and family that may not be able to enjoy your garden, as they are not living close by.
Creating shaker cards with your flower heads is a fun way to send a bit of your garden across the country via good old postal mail service. With a bit of vinyl that can be purchased in your local craft department or ordered online from a site such as Joann's, you can soon be sending a bit of your garden cross-country. I use a vinyl called Heat and Bond that is very flexible, and can be sewn or used iron on style. I seal three edges of two pieces together, pop in a fresh flower head or bud, a couple if they are small, then seal up the fourth side. I then place this little clear wonder of flowers into the cut out opening of a card that I handcraft from colored cardstock. Similar to the shaker style cards that arrive in your mail from friends announcing things like baby showers and other parties; these are made with the fresh flowers in place of the confetti normally inserted into the little pouches.
You could make a similar style card, but in place of the fresh flower head, insert paper flowers or a color snapshot of your garden in bloom, and toss in seeds for the flowers you would like to share with the recipient of the card. Handcrafted paper is another unique way to share the seed bounty from your garden. Do a search online for making paper, or buy a book about this fun to do craft. Because you will be instructing others to plant the paper after reading it, be sure to use only one hundred percent natural material in the paper making process itself. Also, tell anyone that you gift with the paper to hand write on the sheets only and never put it into a computer printer. The reason for this advice is that the seeds could easily come loose from the paper, and become lodged in a printer, possibly causing damage to the machine. Once you have assembled all your needed supplies, gather an assortment of both annual and perennial seeds. You can also use dried flowers to add to the texture and appearance of the paper. When you mix the paper, it might be fun to keep track of what seeds you have added to what batch, and try to plant a sheet on your own next spring, so you know what you are sharing. Be sure to provide instructions as to how you made the paper, so they can possibly pass the tradition on by making their own the following year, and how to plant the paper, which is simply soak it in water and plant as you would any other seeds.
Photograph your garden when it is in full bloom; zoom in on a single flower, or over a span of several days, catching a bud as it first starts to open, all the way, until it is open in all its glorious color. If you do this last suggestion, open the photographs in your favorite photo editing software and create a collage of the flower from its earliest inception until it is fully bloomed, or set up in the order you would on a filmstrip, or some other creative way where the results will show the flower's progression from bloom to flower. Then use the pictures in note cards to send family and friends just because, as a thank you, or a thinking of you card.
A flower garden is such a glorious thing that it seems almost wasteful not to share it in some small way with those around you. Besides these projects, remember that nursing homes and hospitals often welcome bouquets for their greeting areas or even patient rooms, but do call ahead and inquire of their policies. If your garden is an abundant one, share it with other, so that you can experience one of your garden's greatest gifts of all, the gift of giving.
Besides drying flowers, there are a few other projects you can create with both fresh flowers, the garden itself, or by harvesting the seeds from some of your favorites. They are a fun and creative way to share your garden with friends and family that may not be able to enjoy your garden, as they are not living close by.
Creating shaker cards with your flower heads is a fun way to send a bit of your garden across the country via good old postal mail service. With a bit of vinyl that can be purchased in your local craft department or ordered online from a site such as Joann's, you can soon be sending a bit of your garden cross-country. I use a vinyl called Heat and Bond that is very flexible, and can be sewn or used iron on style. I seal three edges of two pieces together, pop in a fresh flower head or bud, a couple if they are small, then seal up the fourth side. I then place this little clear wonder of flowers into the cut out opening of a card that I handcraft from colored cardstock. Similar to the shaker style cards that arrive in your mail from friends announcing things like baby showers and other parties; these are made with the fresh flowers in place of the confetti normally inserted into the little pouches.
You could make a similar style card, but in place of the fresh flower head, insert paper flowers or a color snapshot of your garden in bloom, and toss in seeds for the flowers you would like to share with the recipient of the card. Handcrafted paper is another unique way to share the seed bounty from your garden. Do a search online for making paper, or buy a book about this fun to do craft. Because you will be instructing others to plant the paper after reading it, be sure to use only one hundred percent natural material in the paper making process itself. Also, tell anyone that you gift with the paper to hand write on the sheets only and never put it into a computer printer. The reason for this advice is that the seeds could easily come loose from the paper, and become lodged in a printer, possibly causing damage to the machine. Once you have assembled all your needed supplies, gather an assortment of both annual and perennial seeds. You can also use dried flowers to add to the texture and appearance of the paper. When you mix the paper, it might be fun to keep track of what seeds you have added to what batch, and try to plant a sheet on your own next spring, so you know what you are sharing. Be sure to provide instructions as to how you made the paper, so they can possibly pass the tradition on by making their own the following year, and how to plant the paper, which is simply soak it in water and plant as you would any other seeds.
Photograph your garden when it is in full bloom; zoom in on a single flower, or over a span of several days, catching a bud as it first starts to open, all the way, until it is open in all its glorious color. If you do this last suggestion, open the photographs in your favorite photo editing software and create a collage of the flower from its earliest inception until it is fully bloomed, or set up in the order you would on a filmstrip, or some other creative way where the results will show the flower's progression from bloom to flower. Then use the pictures in note cards to send family and friends just because, as a thank you, or a thinking of you card.
A flower garden is such a glorious thing that it seems almost wasteful not to share it in some small way with those around you. Besides these projects, remember that nursing homes and hospitals often welcome bouquets for their greeting areas or even patient rooms, but do call ahead and inquire of their policies. If your garden is an abundant one, share it with other, so that you can experience one of your garden's greatest gifts of all, the gift of giving.
Friday, January 06, 2006
Pressing Flowers
By Christina VanGinkel
At the end of the day, when the plants have been planted, the weeds have been pulled, the vegetables harvested, and even your scarecrow is the best-dressed person around town, there is still one more project you can do to enhance the enjoyment you receive from your garden. Press the flowers to turn them into beautiful creations you can later share with family and friends, or maybe even make a few dollars from at a local craft fair.
To begin, choose flower heads that will be somewhat flat when pressed and dry. While some thicker bodied flowers will dry well, they may be hard to work with. Choose an assortment, picking some complete with leaves and stems, as this will provide a more rounded array of materials to choose from when everything is dry, to make into assorted crafts.
You can go the quick route and just place the chosen flowers into various books and weigh them down, or build or purchase a flower press. If you plan to dry flowers year after year, this is probably the easiest way to assure that your flowers turn out nicely pressed and usable. You can also lay out a large piece of cardboard covered with a few sheets of newspaper. Avoid the colored print paper, choosing plain old black and white print. I save the heavy cardboard insert that comes with my wall calendar I purchase every year. It is about twelve by twelve inches and is a convenient size to work with. Continue to layer several sheets of newspaper between layers of flowers. When you have all the flowers you want to dry, stacked up, place some heavy objects over the top. A few heavy books would most likely work, though I have a couple of flat cement pavers that I use year after year. They provide plenty of weight and there is not much chance that someone may walk by and accidentally topple it. I place this complete stacked up flower drying stack in the corner of my bedroom closet, but any place both dry and cool will work well. Drying time will vary depending on the humidity level, but most flowers will be dry after a two-week period.
Once my flowers are dry, I sort them into flat plastic tubs, the sort they sell for storing shoes. This keeps them dry and moisture free and safe in my workroom until I am ready to use them, and use them I do. With these dried wonders, it is easy to make everything from collaged hatboxes, flowered covered gourds, note cards, and bookmarks. My favorite and one of the simplest projects is the bookmarks. I purchase precut bookmarks that are not punched. I may write on them first with a few words or a short poem done in calligraphy, or you could print on them in your favorite font. Be sure to leave room at the top, bottom, or to one side though, for the flower arrangement. The flower arrangement could be as simple as a single bud, or a combination of buds and greens. A bit of warning, it is very easy to lose track of time as you search for the right combination of flowers for each project you create, but it can also be a big stress reliever as the flowers take over your thoughts leaving little room for much else!
Once you have the arrangement laid out, as you want it, cover it with a sheet of self-sticking laminate. I recently purchased a Xyron 900 which adapts to a cool laminate machine besides being a sticker machine, and I plan on trying that this upcoming year, but for making just a few at a time, the self laminating sheets work good. You can find a package of them in the paper aisle of your favorite store such as Wal-Mart or Target, or online at Amazon. You can also cardstock in a size a bit bigger than an ordinary bookmark and create in a similar manner a prayer card or a favorite poem that needs more space than a typical bookmark size would provide. These make great gifts and sell well at craft fairs. If you do not want to laminate over the dried flowers, you could also use a product such as Modge Podge. It seals in the beauty of the flowers, and works well with those flowers that might be a bit on the thick side.
At the end of the day, when the plants have been planted, the weeds have been pulled, the vegetables harvested, and even your scarecrow is the best-dressed person around town, there is still one more project you can do to enhance the enjoyment you receive from your garden. Press the flowers to turn them into beautiful creations you can later share with family and friends, or maybe even make a few dollars from at a local craft fair.
To begin, choose flower heads that will be somewhat flat when pressed and dry. While some thicker bodied flowers will dry well, they may be hard to work with. Choose an assortment, picking some complete with leaves and stems, as this will provide a more rounded array of materials to choose from when everything is dry, to make into assorted crafts.
You can go the quick route and just place the chosen flowers into various books and weigh them down, or build or purchase a flower press. If you plan to dry flowers year after year, this is probably the easiest way to assure that your flowers turn out nicely pressed and usable. You can also lay out a large piece of cardboard covered with a few sheets of newspaper. Avoid the colored print paper, choosing plain old black and white print. I save the heavy cardboard insert that comes with my wall calendar I purchase every year. It is about twelve by twelve inches and is a convenient size to work with. Continue to layer several sheets of newspaper between layers of flowers. When you have all the flowers you want to dry, stacked up, place some heavy objects over the top. A few heavy books would most likely work, though I have a couple of flat cement pavers that I use year after year. They provide plenty of weight and there is not much chance that someone may walk by and accidentally topple it. I place this complete stacked up flower drying stack in the corner of my bedroom closet, but any place both dry and cool will work well. Drying time will vary depending on the humidity level, but most flowers will be dry after a two-week period.
Once my flowers are dry, I sort them into flat plastic tubs, the sort they sell for storing shoes. This keeps them dry and moisture free and safe in my workroom until I am ready to use them, and use them I do. With these dried wonders, it is easy to make everything from collaged hatboxes, flowered covered gourds, note cards, and bookmarks. My favorite and one of the simplest projects is the bookmarks. I purchase precut bookmarks that are not punched. I may write on them first with a few words or a short poem done in calligraphy, or you could print on them in your favorite font. Be sure to leave room at the top, bottom, or to one side though, for the flower arrangement. The flower arrangement could be as simple as a single bud, or a combination of buds and greens. A bit of warning, it is very easy to lose track of time as you search for the right combination of flowers for each project you create, but it can also be a big stress reliever as the flowers take over your thoughts leaving little room for much else!
Once you have the arrangement laid out, as you want it, cover it with a sheet of self-sticking laminate. I recently purchased a Xyron 900 which adapts to a cool laminate machine besides being a sticker machine, and I plan on trying that this upcoming year, but for making just a few at a time, the self laminating sheets work good. You can find a package of them in the paper aisle of your favorite store such as Wal-Mart or Target, or online at Amazon. You can also cardstock in a size a bit bigger than an ordinary bookmark and create in a similar manner a prayer card or a favorite poem that needs more space than a typical bookmark size would provide. These make great gifts and sell well at craft fairs. If you do not want to laminate over the dried flowers, you could also use a product such as Modge Podge. It seals in the beauty of the flowers, and works well with those flowers that might be a bit on the thick side.
Monday, January 02, 2006
A True Gardener
By Christina VanGinkel
I was saddened to hear of the passing on of a good friend, who even though she was well into her nineties, was as quick as a person was one quarter her age. She was one of the first persons to give me cuttings from her garden, actually, thinking back, I think she was the very first person to do so, and she continued doing so right up through last summer.
She did this for so many people and as far as I know, the majority of her cuttings always survived. She always passed them on with bits of wisdom as to how to replant them, what size plant it had come from, if it was going to be a good producer, and so on. In addition, once she gave you a cutting or a plant, she remembered it as if she had passed on one of her own children, if she would have had any to pass along, as even though she was a widow, her husband and she had never had any children, none that I ever knew about anyhow. She would ask how the plant was doing, or if the cutting had taken hold, if it was producing , or what had I done to it to make it come to an early passing, because if it died, it was surely something I had done to it, nothing that she or the plant itself were at fault for.
Her garden truly was her child. She never read a single book or article on gardening as far as I know, yet she always had the tallest tomatoes, the biggest ears of corn, the most perfect carrots, and such a wild array of flowers around her complete vegetable garden, that she left the florists around town wondering just how she did it. She truly had what one would call the proverbial green thumb. If she planted it, it grew. If she weeded it, the weeds were afraid to come back, and the produce that came from her garden was always the biggest, tastiest, most colorful produce one could find anywhere. She would tenderly save seeds, almost a lost art, from her plants each year for the following year's garden. These she also shared with a select few. Those of us who were fortunate enough to be on that short list cherished our spots. We even bragged to others that we had been gifted with seeds from such and such a plant that she had grown the previous year and you should see how well its offspring were doing in our own yards and gardens.
With my own skills for gardening lacking, I always knew I could call her up or stop by, and fill up on some advice. I could even bring along an ailing plant to leave in her care until she had nurtured it back to health. Then, she would give it back, all green and healthy, along with a long list of do's and don'ts, and the advice that if it started to look ill again, do not wait so long to bring it back, as one of these times even she would not be able to bring it back to life. She always tried to tell me that I had more of a knack for growing things than I would admit, and even with her passing, I will continue to argue that point with her, as a gardener I might try to be, but a natural at it by no stretch of the imagination.
In the summer, she was so often out in her garden, that if I knew I needed to talk, as long as I was willing to pull a few weeds while I rambled on, she was always willing to tender care to my own self too, the same way she did so with her plants. And so, with spring many months away, I will not be looking forward to it as much as I have in years past, as I will have to rely on my own instincts and those of my husband from here on out for all things garden related. If by chance she can look down on us from her garden, as she must be in a garden somewhere, otherwise, the universe would surely fall apart; I hope that she will help make the sunshine bright. That she will make the rain fall where it is needed, and help the clouds know just when they need to linger, to provide a bit of shade for the long hot summer days of life that lie ahead.
I was saddened to hear of the passing on of a good friend, who even though she was well into her nineties, was as quick as a person was one quarter her age. She was one of the first persons to give me cuttings from her garden, actually, thinking back, I think she was the very first person to do so, and she continued doing so right up through last summer.
She did this for so many people and as far as I know, the majority of her cuttings always survived. She always passed them on with bits of wisdom as to how to replant them, what size plant it had come from, if it was going to be a good producer, and so on. In addition, once she gave you a cutting or a plant, she remembered it as if she had passed on one of her own children, if she would have had any to pass along, as even though she was a widow, her husband and she had never had any children, none that I ever knew about anyhow. She would ask how the plant was doing, or if the cutting had taken hold, if it was producing , or what had I done to it to make it come to an early passing, because if it died, it was surely something I had done to it, nothing that she or the plant itself were at fault for.
Her garden truly was her child. She never read a single book or article on gardening as far as I know, yet she always had the tallest tomatoes, the biggest ears of corn, the most perfect carrots, and such a wild array of flowers around her complete vegetable garden, that she left the florists around town wondering just how she did it. She truly had what one would call the proverbial green thumb. If she planted it, it grew. If she weeded it, the weeds were afraid to come back, and the produce that came from her garden was always the biggest, tastiest, most colorful produce one could find anywhere. She would tenderly save seeds, almost a lost art, from her plants each year for the following year's garden. These she also shared with a select few. Those of us who were fortunate enough to be on that short list cherished our spots. We even bragged to others that we had been gifted with seeds from such and such a plant that she had grown the previous year and you should see how well its offspring were doing in our own yards and gardens.
With my own skills for gardening lacking, I always knew I could call her up or stop by, and fill up on some advice. I could even bring along an ailing plant to leave in her care until she had nurtured it back to health. Then, she would give it back, all green and healthy, along with a long list of do's and don'ts, and the advice that if it started to look ill again, do not wait so long to bring it back, as one of these times even she would not be able to bring it back to life. She always tried to tell me that I had more of a knack for growing things than I would admit, and even with her passing, I will continue to argue that point with her, as a gardener I might try to be, but a natural at it by no stretch of the imagination.
In the summer, she was so often out in her garden, that if I knew I needed to talk, as long as I was willing to pull a few weeds while I rambled on, she was always willing to tender care to my own self too, the same way she did so with her plants. And so, with spring many months away, I will not be looking forward to it as much as I have in years past, as I will have to rely on my own instincts and those of my husband from here on out for all things garden related. If by chance she can look down on us from her garden, as she must be in a garden somewhere, otherwise, the universe would surely fall apart; I hope that she will help make the sunshine bright. That she will make the rain fall where it is needed, and help the clouds know just when they need to linger, to provide a bit of shade for the long hot summer days of life that lie ahead.
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