Floral Design Arrangements - Your New Hobby

Ok. You are not yet convinced that growing a bonsai tree may bring you joy and pride after a couple of years (and will keep you busy in the meantime!) - in case you start off from a single seed, or sooner if you get a young bonsai and carefully follow the so-called masters' secrets.Whichever you choose, though, will surely be an accomplishment in your life.


Still, you are thinking that it is too much work, that it is not worth it. In this case, you may take up another hobby - floral arrangements - and maybe turn it into an extra income. Not only will you be surprised with your own talent, as you learn how to design the arrangements, but you will also add a positive pastime (or extra earnings) into your routine.

Bonsai Trees - How To Grow Them

After writing the post on bonsai trees, I felt compelled to grow my own bonsai. It's something I've always thought of doing but never accomplished. The reasons for this failure vary from procrastination itself (which is no good thing to do) to a feeling of being unable to properly grow and care for a bonsai tree. Unfounded excuses because, as long as you have the right information and follow the required steps, you are likely to succeed getting your bonsai.

While mine is still a seed to be sown in good soil, I admire ancient bonsai trees, carefully cultivated by Asian masters, such as the ones displayed on this page. They are all over 80 years old.

How To Grow Bonsai Trees

Originally from China, the art of bonsai was developed by the Japanese who have a special preference for bamboos (take), plum trees, cherry trees (sakura) and pine trees (matsu). The word bonsai literally means "tree in a pot" and, for the plant to be considered a bonsai it must represent the tree exactly as it is found in nature.

Growing bonsai trees may be a challenging task because it requires some special skills but, once you learn the basics and give your bonsai proper care, you will most likely feel extremely rewarded and proud of your accomplishment.

 Bonsai trees are usually more difficult to care for than the regular plants you have in your garden. This is because there are a few important details to be observed such as having the right bonsai soil (which is designed to dry out more easily than standard houseplant soil) and the right type of pot to match the size and shape of the bonsai. Besides these two, let's say, basic aspects to get started, you should be prepared to learn how to prune and when to prune your bonsai as pruning is crucial to achieving a perfected miniature. You will have to prune the roots and branches, wire the trunk and branches, and use other techniques to make the tree look like a mature tree.

Since bonsai trees are real trees, they should not be kept indoors in the winter because they need sunlight to grow, and, to keep them as healthy as possible, remember that bonsai trees require frequent small watering. Moreover, in the spring and fall, you must feed them with nitrogen, phosphoric acid and potash.

As said above, the art of bonsai may be a rewarding experience as long as you dedicate some time to learn the secrets behind successfully grown bonsai trees. Among the numerous publications on the issue, there is this one that may be just as handy to help you get started: Beautiful Bonsai Secrets.


                                                                   

Earth Day 2010

Everyone is invited to take some kind of eco-friendly action to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Earth Day. 

It goes without saying that any action will add to the global movement: from recycling plastic bottles to carpooling, from saving water to adopting a simpler lifestyle, anything will surely make a substantial difference in the end. The future generations will either thank us or curse us - that will depend on what we do now.


A visit to the Earth Day website will be worth it as the site shows a good number of ideas, call for actions, pledges from all over the world, assuring that there is a concern towards our planet's health at every corner of the globe.


TAKE ACTION!

"Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience."

Ralph Waldo Emerson

How To Attract Hummingbirds To Your Garden - Part Three

 This is the last part of "How To Attract Hummingbirds". After following the tips you will most likely be pleased with your new visitors and your garden will look far more nicer.

"You can also tie 18 to 24 inch strips of red ribbon to the feeder. The blowing ribbons will make it easier for the hummingbirds to see.

Place feeders at various heights. Some hummingbird species like to feed at heights of 12 to 15 feet, while others feed on low growing flowers and prefer feeders placed closer to the ground.

Avoid hanging feeders in direct sunlight, which will cause nectar to spoil more quickly.

Once a week the feeder must be washed with vinegar and water or a 10% chlorine solution and scrubbed clean.

Create a separate feeder for Bees and wasps. Fill it with a mixture of 3:1 or even a 2:1 ratio of water to sugar. The insects have a very strong preference for rich, high-sugar mixtures and will quickly decide to use the feeder with the higher sugar content.

To repel ants, apply vinegar or powdered cloves to ant trails. Put adhesive tape applied sticky-side-out to the
hanging wire. Experts advise that petroleum jelly not be used because the greasy substance gets onto the birds and make it hard for the birds to clean their feathers properly. Use ant traps instead."

For more information visit:

http://www.apluswriting.net/garden/hummingbird.htm

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About the author:

Author: Marilyn Pokorney
Freelance writer of science, nature, animals and the
environment.
Also loves crafts, gardening, and reading.
Website: http://www.apluswriting.net

How To Attract Hummingbirds To Your Garden - Part Two

Today I'm posting the second part of the article by Marilyn Pokorney on How to Attract Hummingbirds to Your Garden. It's  interesting to read all the advice she gives because most of it seems obvious but is often overlooked by gardeners - amateurs and pros as well. So if you want to see your garden being visited by hummingbirds, make sure you follow the tips below.


"Avoid pesticides. These chemicals kill the insects that hummingbirds eat for protein and can also sicken or kill the birds.

Add plenty of places for the birds to perch. Hummingbirds spend around 80% of their time sitting on twigs, shrubs, and other available resting places.

Provide red hummingbird feeders hung about thirty feet apart throughout your yard. Never fill your feeders with anything but a sugar-water mix of 1 part white sugar to 4 parts boiled water. Do not use food coloring or artificial sweeteners of any kind, and never, never use honey which can develop a fungus which can be fatal to hummingbirds. Clean and refill the feeders every 3 days. More often if temperatures are above 85 degrees F.

Hang the feeders on a pole in a flower bed or on a porch or deck near flowers hummingbirds are attracted to".

(to be continued)


About the author:

Author: Marilyn Pokorney
Freelance writer of science, nature, animals and the
environment.
Also loves crafts, gardening, and reading.
Website: http://www.apluswriting.net/

 

How To Attract Hummingbirds To Your Garden - Part One

Hummingbirds are specially welcome to any garden, be it a small one or a large yard. They positively add to the spot you grow so carefully. Below you will find some ideas by Marilyn Pokorney on how to attract those cute critters. 

Part One

"Planting a garden full of red flowers is the best way to attract these beautiful jeweled birds.

Plant bee balm, butterfly weed, columbine, cardinal Flower, coral bells, cosmos, dahlias, four-o'-clock's, fuchsias, morning glory, petunias, zinnias, trumpet vine, or honeysuckle. A web search will reveal many more.

Be a hummingbird magnet by having as much red in your backyard as possible. Besides flowers use gazing balls, backyard furniture, ribbons, and other yard decorations. Create both sun and shade areas in your hummingbird garden. Offer an abundance of nesting materials to encourage nesting
females. Hummingbirds prefer downy like materials, spider webs, ferns, moss and lichens for their nests.
Make certain that there is always fresh water available for drinking as well as for bathing. Set up misters. Hummingbirds love to take "leaf baths," rubbing against wet leaves or just sitting on a branch having the mist fall upon them."

Author: Marilyn Pokorney
Freelance writer of science, nature, animals and the environment.

Botanical Garden - Trees And Shades

A quiet corner in the Botanical Garden in Porto Alegre, southern Brazil. Ideal for a lazy walk on a Sunday morning.
Like any other botanical garden, it shows a variety of scientifically documented native regional plants, and spreads over an area of 39ha. It is ranked among the top five Brazilian botanical gardens.

                 

Flowers For the Garden

You may want something like this for your garden.

Or you would rather have only a flower bush like this one.

Plant a Tree in Early Spring

Thinking of planting one tree? Or maybe more? Then early spring is the ideal time to do that as your tree will have plenty of good weather conditions - ideally - to grow.

Besides, you will have to be careful as to soil preparation since this is a crucial element for your task success. The following steps are a must:

• dig a hole 2 feet deep and at least 1 foot wider each way than the full spread of the roots. The bottom of the hole should be broken up with a pitchfork and thoroughly mixed with peat, leaf mould, loam, etc.;

• manure should be used sparingly and only on the top of the hole as it burns the roots. The deeper you can cultivate your hole, the better for your tree. Once it is planted, you can cultivate around it but not under the roots;

• having filled the hole to the depth required by the roots of the plant, flood it with water to settle the soil at the bottom; when this has drained away, place the tree in the position in which it is to grow and settle the soil about it;

• after the tree is planted, cutting back is proper. Cut back sharply at least one-third, pruning the branches. It is necessary to brace the tree with wire ropes so that the roots will not be broken by the wind. Use a single wire around the trunk and three guy wires;

• for the first year after planting, the more cultivation you can do the better. Keep weeds away, too, with straw or mulch, and straw manure mulch in the spring and fall will help keep the moisture in the ground.(Source: Hege Crowton - www.ezinecrow.com) 

 By planting a single tree or more, you will be adding to the UN The Billion Tree Campaign which has already reached the staggering figure of 7.4 billion trees worldwide. Quoting  Prof. Wangari
Maathai, founder of the Green Belt Movement and 2004 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate“When we plant trees, we plant the seeds of peace and seeds of hope.”