Sunday, December 24, 2006

- Quick Tips to Get Growing!

Quick Tips to Get Growing!

1. Choosing the right plant: You won't have to spend as much time caring for your palnts if you choose plants that are suited to your environmental conditions and gardening style. Let the Floracle help you find which plants are right for you, or browse our collection of Gifts that Grow™, and get the perfect plant shipped to your door.

2. Watering: Test the soil in your containers every day with your finger. If it's dry an inch below the surface - water. If you can't water your plants on a regular basis, consider self-watering containers. If you've got hard-to-reach plants, we'd recommend a watering wand, which has saved us from lots of stepstool time.


3. Fertilizing: Fertilizer is important. Mix a dry, time-release fertilizer into the soil when planting, and use small amounts of liquid fertilizer for regular feeding every few weeks.

4. Fighting Pests: Inspect plants regularly for fungus, insects, bugs, etc. Remove any diseased or dying leaves. Spray insects with water or other natural repellants to get rid of them.

5. Pruning: Don't be afraid to cut or trim plants to keep their shape and encourage growth - just leave at least 2/3 of the original plant intact so it'll have enough surface area to absorb sunlight. Pinch (aka. deadhead) faded flowers regularly to encourage more blooms on annual plants. A good set of tools can make all the difference.

Keep in mind that every plant is different. Take some time to read up on your plants and learn as much as you can about their individual needs. A little time spent reading and planning now can save you a lot of time and disappointment later.

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Tuesday, December 19, 2006

- How to make stepping stone walkways

Garden Stepping Stone Walkways - A How-To
By Scott Byers
Do you want to an attractive walkway to lead way to your beautiful yard or garden? Then a great way to give your garden a new look is to try garden stepping stones in your walkway.

Stepping stones are often used to give a natural looking walkway to your garden through the front door of your home. Stepping stones are considered as a work of art which give your walkway or garden a personalize signature of your lifestyle. Using stepping stone in your lawn for walkway not only personalizes your living style but also an adds touch of beauty to your garden.

How to make a garden walkway using stepping stones

A series of steps we have discussed below which could be helpful and you can give a better look to your garden using stepping stones.

a) Marking your lawn: Marking your lawn is the foundation of your walkway. Determine your path which you would like to take. Mark your way in a curved fashion with the help of ropes. While marking your way make sure that you are laying two ropes together side by side.

b) Positioning the stones: Positioning the stones in the marked area is the second important step in creating a walkway. Once you are over with the marking process you need to place the stones in the marked area. Position the stones with a proper distance and fix them properly by placing them in a hole. Make sure that the difference between the stones is 18inches from the hole.

c) Arranging the stones: Arrange the stones with the help of flat spade and give proper spacing. Difference between the rocks helps you to fix them properly in the ground.

d) Removing the stone: Removing the stone from their place helps you to fix the stone in the ground. Dig the outlined area from the spade so that you can fix the stone properly in the ground.

e) Pouring sand: Once you have dug the outlined area, pour about an inch of sand so that the stone will lay flat.

f) Placing the stone: Place the stones in there respective holes.

g) Leveling the stone: Make sure that you have leveled the


stones properly in the hole. An oddly fixed stoned can be a cause of accident while walking on the walkway.

h) Tamping the level: Once you have leveled the stone in the ground tamp the area with the soil. Filling the area is of utmost importance because it always gives a proper balance to the stone.

i) Deciding the height of stones: Make sure that you have given same height to all the stones. You may level the height of stones by laying a board.

j) Sweeping the stones: Once you are done with all the process mentioned above sweep the stones and make sure that they are giving a better look.

k) Readjusting the height: You can adjust the height of stones according to your preference. While readjusting the height of stone you need to take out stone and can decide the height of stone by filling up more sand in the area.

Once you are done, leave your walkway for few days so that the stones can sit properly. The best option would be leave it for at least week. Once you confirmed that stones are well fixed in the ground, you are all ready to use your newly made walkway.
Scott Byers is the owner of Stepping Stone Info, a complete stepping stone walkway resource with articles on stepping stones and directions on how to make them.

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