Tag: Gardening Products and Tips

DIY Coastal Style Terracotta Flower Pots

DIY Coastal Style Terracotta Flower Pots

I have a lot of indoor houseplants and I have to admit, I’m pretty good at growing them. Back in late Spring I decided to grow some starters and last week they were finally rooted and ready to be planted. I decorate my home in 

Sneak Peek at Shelly’s Flower Gardens

Sneak Peek at Shelly’s Flower Gardens

If you’ve been following this blog over the past 9 years, you’ll already know that I love gardening. I have 6 flower gardens (gardening beds) outside and inside my home I grow a lot of indoor plants. I admit, I’m no expert in the field 

Perennials vs. Mowing:  If You Dislike Mowing, You Need More Flowers and Shrubs

Perennials vs. Mowing: If You Dislike Mowing, You Need More Flowers and Shrubs

Many people would like to live in a natural environment, but are often discouraged by the sheer amount of work it takes just to maintain it so overgrowth doesn’t become a problem. Apart from living in an urbanized, concrete environment, is there another way? Well, if you’d like to keep your mowing chores to the bare minimum, there happens to be a middle ground; by making perennials your prevalent choice, you will be able to enjoy the following benefits:

1. Keeping the soil moisturized

Since the soil is not exposed at any point, perennials help it retain its moisture. If you live in a windy or a rainy environment, perennials will help protect it against erosion.

2. Securing nutrients for other plants

In some cases, the nutrients found in the soil may be out of reach for certain plants. Perennials have the added benefit of pulling these out to the surface where the surrounding plants can access them with ease. For example, by pulling the water to the surface, the plants with shorter roots can absorb it even though they normally wouldn’t be able to.

3. Lessening the amount of maintenance required

Whether you decide to plant them yourself or reach out to landscaping Mississauga or similar service providers for help, the fact of the matter is that you only have to take care of this once (there’s no need to replant them every year). Furthermore, perennials require much less maintenance in general. Still, even though they may last for quite a while, their lifespan is limited.

4. Propagation is smooth

Simply put, the aspect of propagation is taken care of by taking the plant’s root system and dividing it. Of course, you need to be careful when doing that, but once you get the handle of this, all you need to do is to replant them, so new plants will be able to see the light of day when the time comes.

5. Plenty of options to choose from

One of the great things about perennials is there are so many to choose from you’ll never be running out of options. Unlike annuals, perennials don’t all bloom in the same period, which means that (with some careful planning) you’ll be able to set everything up in such a way that something gets to bloom all year round.

Have you considered an artificial turf?

If you truly don’t want to spend time or money on maintaining your turf, installing an artificial one is sure to relieve you from the stress and the sheer amount of work involved in dealing with it. A modern artificial turf is pretty much indistinguishable from the real thing, so that is no longer a drawback.

Conclusion

Living in a suburban environment means that you’re either going to have to invest a little bit of your resources into maintaining it, or relocate to the city area. Luckily, the modern times have blessed us with so many different tools and options to make the chore of maintaining your garden much less demanding, and there is always the easy way out by simply hiring someone to take care of it for you.

A Few Fall Gardening Photos

A Few Fall Gardening Photos

Our 2017 gardening season is coming to a close. In another 2 1/2 weeks, I’ll start my Fall pruning, digging out my annuals and getting things ready for winter. I have to say, I’m really impressed with how all of my gardens turned out this 

How to Get Rid of Fruit Flies with DIY Fruit Flies Trap

How to Get Rid of Fruit Flies with DIY Fruit Flies Trap

For the past few weeks I’ve been having an issue with fruit flies. Every year when I’m busy harvesting fruits and veggies from our garden…the fruit flies appear. This year, those buggers are worst than ever and driving me nuts! Seriously, I can’t stand fruit 

Gardening: Making Your Own Air Plant Terrarium

Gardening: Making Your Own Air Plant Terrarium

I love gardening and that includes growing my own indoor plants. Most of my weekly gardening features the past few months dealt with outdoor ideas, tips and information. My feature this week deals with putting together your own little indoor air plant terrarium!

What’s really cool about making your own terrarium, you can make them in a variety of different containers, use different plants and add-in your own little decorations. Since I decorate in a coastal and beach theme…mine is indeed in a coastal design! Here’s how I’ve made mine.

Gardening: Making Your Own Air Plant Terrarium

Gardening: Making Your Own Air Plant Terrarium

Clear Glass Fish Bowl
1 1/2 to 2 cups Real Beach Sand (not craft sand)
Air Plants
2 Mini Seashells
1 Mini Starfish
1 Mini Sand Dollar

I bought my clear glass fish bowl for $2.00 at a local craft store. You want to give them a good cleaning and make sure they’re thoroughly dry before placing anything inside it. Don’t use chemicals to clean it as you don’t want any residue left behind. I used an all-natural liquid soap, rinsed it well and then air dried overnight.

It took approximately 1 1/2 to 2 cups of beach sand to fill by fish bowl a little over 1/3 of the way full. It’s actually between 1/3 and 1/2 full. Remember, there is a difference between sand that is used for crafting and real beach sand. I brought my sand home from the beach a few months ago in a baggie. Make sure the sand is thoroughly dry before placing it into the fish bowl.

Air plants don’t get buried and don’t have roots like traditional plants. I sit mine on top of the sand, slightly nestled into the sand, but not much. Every week I take my little air plant out and use a water bottle to mist it (to water it). I turn it upside down on my bathroom vanity and let it air dry for about 4 hours before placing it back into the bowl. Don’t mist them while they’re in the bowl!

To add that beach feeling to mine…I added in a few miniature seashells, a sand dollar and a tiny starfish. Isn’t it cute? They’re super easy to make and you could make a whole bunch of them to give as gifts or to keep for yourself.

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Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens

Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens

The Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens is located in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania and is one of the prettiest botanical gardens in the entire world. It’s a place of natural beauty that’s educational and fun to visit. Lucky for all of us, they’re open year-round to visitors. 

Gardening: Tips on How to Grow Pickleweed – Indoors

Gardening: Tips on How to Grow Pickleweed – Indoors

The Pickleweed is classified as a succulent and can be found in North America, South Asia, South Africa and in Europe. It’s a plant that grows in salt marshes, along beaches & coastal areas and around salt lakes. They’re herbs which means they can be