I love to get new plants for free by taking cuttings of some of my existing indoor plants. Purple passion plant cuttings root very easily and I’ll be showing you how to propagate it today. Gynura Aurantiaca – also known as purple passion plant or purple velvet plant is an easy to grow houseplant with…
Get a head start on spring gardening by starting seeds indoors with Jiffy Peat Pellets. These handy peat pots have the perfect soil for seedlings and they can be transplanted right into the ground as soon as the weather is warm enough. This step by step tutorial features a Jiffy Peat Pellet Greenhouse with perennial,…
Forsythia bushes have a wonderful arching habit will makes them a great focal point when planted in a large garden bed. All shrubs need pruning, but what do you do when you have totally overgrown forsythia shrub? It’s either time for hard pruning or renovation pruning for them. If you stay on top of pruning…
Garden arbors and arches are set up as walk through areas in home gardens or public parks where one can welcome guests. There are many styles of arbors to choose from. Some are man made and others formed over time by nature. Trellises are often a part of arbors for the garden, giving some support…
Nothing is more attractive to a gardener than getting new plants without having to pay for them. And since succulents are a very sought after plant, it stands to reason propagating succulent leaves and cuttings is a popular project for many gardeners. Best of all, it’s easy and free! Succulents are very drought hardy plants…
Try growing astilbe for beautiful, showy flowers that do well in a shady garden bed. This perennial has feathery flowers that sit above the fern like foliage in a majestic way. These tips will show you how to grow astilbe and bring color to your shady perennial garden beds. Most shady garden beds are filled…
Ever since it was established in 1970, people around the world take part in Earth Day Activities as a way to celebrate National Earth Day on April 22. This day is now a worldwide event where more than 1 billion people take part in a day of action. Here are some things that you can…
Nephrolepis Exaltata Bostoniensis is one of the most popular indoor plants, and can also be grown outdoors in some parts of the country. Care of Boston Fern means providing extra humidity to keep the fronds fresh and fluffy and not giving the plant too much sunlight. Luckily for gardeners who don’t seem to possess a green thumb,…
Forsythia bushes delight us each spring with their burst of cheery yellow flowers. This deciduous perennial bush has arching branches with flowers that come before the leaves appear. Planting forsythia is all about timing and spacing. The two best times are early spring and mid fall depending on your hardiness zone. The forsythia flower bursts into…
Love it or hate it, cilantro (Coriandrum sativum) is still one of the most popular herbs for kitchen gardens . Growing Cilantro is quite easy as long as you take care to keep it away from the hottest heat. Cilantro is a staple of Mexican and Asian cooking. It makes a great garnish and is best served…
Echeveria Neon Breakers is a Renee O’Donnell hybrid of the succulent Pink Frills crossed with an unknown parent. It is a drought tolerant succulent with green leaves that have pretty pink frilly edges and deep margins. This pretty succulent is very popular for many reasons. It has highly colored leaf margins, especially when the plant…
Hosta Minuteman is a delight in a shade garden with it’s deep white margins. It makes a great container plant and will stand out against other plain green hostas in any shady garden spot. This plant is one of the few hostas that don’t mind more sun as long as you take care to keep…
Watering cans are a staple of any gardener but, for me, they are not just for watering plants. I love turning them into watering can planters and using them as garden art. The size is perfect for potted indoor plants and the look of them transforms a plant into a work of art that looks great…
Spring is just around the corner and we’ll soon be wanting to start planting for flowers and vegetable gardening. These tips for preparing spring flower beds will make things much less hectic when the warm weather arrives in a few weeks (or months!) The weather is so cool now, and that makes it the perfect…
Home grown watermelons are one of the real sweet treat pleasures of summer. How do you know when your watermelon is ready? There are lots of tips that will help you with harvesting watermelons. Just remember that patience is a virtue with this summer favorite. Vegetable gardening is a love of mine and watermelons are…
Compost piles are mounds of nutrient rich organic matter. Generally soil is mixed with compost to enrich it. Instead of doing growing my vegetables the normal way in soil that is enriched with compost, I experimented this year with planting in compost itself. This type of planting works best in a rolling compost pile rather…
One of the biggest pleasures that my garden gives me is its ability for attracting butterflies to it. With the right nectar plants, a garden can be swarming with these fluttering friends all season long. But it is not just the plants that attract butterflies. There are a few other things that you can do…
English cottage gardens have a very romantic feel to them. The look may seem haphazard but is actually planned. To choose cottage garden plants, think of tall flowering perennials, self seeding annuals and hardy biennials to give your garden just the right look. A cottage garden has a very distinct style that throws formality out…
I love anything that gives me a jump start on spring. Forcing forsythia indoors lets me have the showy yellow flowers of the well known harbinger of spring – forsythia bushes – to enjoy indoors well before they give you their cheery spring greeting outside. Luckily, it is very easy to force forsythia blooms in…
Some of the most interesting planters and those that recycle items used for other purposes. These unique boot and shoe planters make great use of old shoes and boots. Some have seen their better day and some look like new but all showcase indoor plants in new and unusual ways. Do you have some old shoes…
Have you ever thought about using number plates in DIY projects? There are dozens of uses for license plates if you just think outside the box a bit. The colors and designs lend them selves to loads of home decor projects, both inside and outside the home. My husband is a collector of old license…
Large, showy indoor plants are a delight in the home. Growing dracaena fragrans gives the feeling of being in a corn field. The striped yellow and green leaves bring a lot of softness to any corn of a room It is not too hard to figure out why Dracaena Fragrans is called The Corn Plant. The…
When the weather outside is too cold for gardening, flowering houseplants bring a touch of the garden into your home. Blooming indoor plants add color and decor to any indoor setting and are cheerful year round. My first attempt at gardening started with houseplants. I remember coming home one day to the aroma of the…
Forsythia flowers give us one of the first splashes of color in early spring gardens. But to get that color and a well shaped shrub, it’s important to trim forsythia bushes correctly. Pruning forsythia requires some basic knowledge of how the plant is meant to grow. Seeing the cheery yellow blooms on the long arching…
Liriope Muscari Variegata is an evergreen perennial that easily spreads to form a deep carpet of grass-like plants that makes a great ground cover or border plant. This form of liriope aptly has the common name “variegated lilyturf.” This interesting perennial plant has vibrant yellow stripes along the arching dark green foliage. I love the…
Hellebores are a long blooming perennial plant that needs very little in the way of maintenance but it does get a bit ragged looking at times of the year. Pruning hellebores will keep your Lenten rose looking its best all year long. All garden plants need pruning at some stage, and hellebores are no exception.…
