Gardening Articles

Many of us like to save flowers to preserve and use them in dry displays to brighten up our house over the winter. Even we do not grow in our gardens plants for this purpose, there may be already plants in our gardens that can be used for drying. Although the flower heads will often dry naturally if left on the plants, we have to cut and dry them when they are at their peak or they will look very shabby if left on the plant to dry out by themselves.

There is a growing fashion for topiary these days and you can buy ready-clipped shrubs in any shape, from simple sphere and cones to any imaginable shape. Traditional topiary is usually created using very slow-growing plants. That is why you need a lot of patience if you want to create your own topiary.

To keep your ornamental borders in peak condition you have to make sure you are carrying out the right maintenance at the right time of the year. Doing so, your plants will remain healthy and vigorous and the more you work in your garden, the more you will understand how plants grow and how to help them to grow well.

End of summer is the right time to create a mini garden in a big glass bottle. Chose small plants like Fitonia, Pilea, Peperomia.

Avoid colored glass bottle as they will stop the light to go in and also disturb the solar spectrum.

Lay on the bottom of the bottle 3 cm of clay balls for a good drainage and few small charcoal pieces for antiseptic effect. Add soil trying to create a small bump in the middle. Use a fork or a teaspoon for planting.

Start arranging the plants  from margins to middle then add some gravel over the soil. Water the whole arrangement by letting the water falling on the walls of the bottle.

Maintenance consist in watering when needed, cleaning the walls with a sponge and cutting plants that became too big.