Winter is time of rest from gardening works. Plants are resting under the snow blanket but you can already start preparations for the spring season.

It is worth to spend this time on shopping plans, servicing and conservation of gardening equipment and the first caring endeavours.

 

In January you should go through plants’ winter coats. If there is a snow fall, you should definetely shake it off of the more brittle and fragile trees – magnolias, poplars, maple, fruit trees and dense hedges and conifers, so it doesn't deform the branches.

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Garden sculptures have the power to transform any ordinary appearing garden into a beautiful and elegant one. There are quite a number of sculptures that can be used as embellishments to accentuate the beauty of a garden.

Choosing an Appropriate Sculpture

In order to decorate your garden, you need to choose appropriate garden sculptures from a huge variety. There are many factors to decide before you choose a sculpture. Deciding the location of the sculpture is one among them. Some people love to have statues of lions and elephants at the entrance while others choose to have attractive fountains in the middle of their gardens.

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With more and more UK residents staying put in the same property for longer – on average, a family lives in one house for over 20 years now – the emphasis on maintaining and doing up a property has changed from saleability to liveability. And top of the list are landscape garden designs.

That is not to say, of course, that a landscape design solution will not add value to your home. On the contrary, it is likely to add quite a lot of value to the home. People are finding that their new liveability upgrades are actually putting a few thousand on the resale value of a house anyway – because any upgrade means that all the stuff laid in (paving slabs, sheds, fences and so on) are much newer and therefore more likely to last for a long time. Landscaping also adds a uniqueness and beauty to the outside parts of a home that may otherwise not have been apparent. And uniqueness, it is becoming clear, does make people interested in a house.

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Every season has its good sides. In the summer we can adore beautiful sun, spend time in green garden, feeling warm and relaxed. When it is autumn we can watch colorful leaves on trees from our home or gazebo. But only winter gives us...snow. Take a look how beautiful landscapes it might bring!

Jan Tik

Christopher Isherwood

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When the summer ends and autumn passes away, that does not mean you have to kiss your herb garden goodbye until next year. You don't have to buy dried, bottled herbs from the grocery store all winter. You can move your herbs indoors and continue to enjoy herbs that you have grown yourself. Often, growing herbs in pots is a fun way to continue gardening indoors. But there are definitely some things to remember when doing so.

It is important when you are growing herbs in pots that you ensure the pots drain properly. A good tip is to use one third each top quality potting soil, sand and humus. During the winter, you may find that the soil may be compacted. Just grab a fork and gently rake to top layer to loosen it up. Although it is obviously important to water, during the winter herbs don't grow as fast so they won't need quite as much. A really good tip to remember is the time to water is when the surface of the soil is nearly dry, but still very slightly damp. Of course you don't want to completely dry out the soil.

During the winter, growing herbs in pots is going to take more care. Often the air in our homes is stuffy during the winter, so gently mist the plants regularly. Also, a little fan near the pots will help to circulate the air, but will most likely mean more frequent watering since it may dry out the soil faster. It is also a very good idea to use fertilizer once a month.

Although growing herbs in pots means that the herbs are obviously indoors it does not necessarily mean they are safe from pests. In the instance that you do have a problem, it is not as hard as dealing with them outside. Simply get a hold of a insecticidal soap and spray the leaves of the plants on top and bottom. They will still be safe to consume if you were to add them to a favorite dish to spice it up. So by doing a little research and with a bit of determination, your indoor herb garden will be a success even in the winter.

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Autumn is the time for tidying your garden – removing unneeded plants from the flowerbeds, cutting the too-long branches of the trees, mowing and raking for the last time before the wintertime, gathering leaves, digging the flowerbeds, planting and re-planting, tools conservation and the overall preparations before chill of winter.

The composter

Surely, it is good to have one in your garden – your own, natural fertilizer is a big money saver and an excellent way of disposing of organic scraps. You can either build it yourself or – if you don’t feel very manually talented – buy a cheap, ready one. Autumn is the perfect moment to start your composting adventure, since this is the time when most of the recyclable waste is produced.

The woodshed

Winter is coming, for garden and house owners this is the time for a break from work around the grounds and a heating season. Storing wood is a common issue – it would be best if the woodshed was esthetic, not marring for the garden, not too big, solid and able to endure years of usage. It needs to protect the wood from rain and humidity as well, since wet wood does not burn well. Instead of stacking the wood next to a wall it is good to decide on a special wood rack. A wooden construction fits every garden!

Equipment and tools

Autumn is also the time to take care of your tools of daily garden-care. It might be worth it to clean, sharpen and oil all your metal tools and storage them somewhere hidden from the rain, it might carport. The same goes for the mower, hedge cutter and other electrical equipment helpful in the garden. Thanks to the special care, they will be in great condition when spring arrives!

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If you love growing great tasting vegetables in your home vegetable garden then by now you should know that in order to maintain that yearly success your soil needs to be rich in nutrients. There are a number of ways you can add these nutrients to your soil, from decayed organic material, to your food scraps to a variety of chemicals. One of the best ways is to add manure.

Certain manures are nothing more than organic matter rich in nutrients waiting for them to be released. When you work manure into your soil you provide a food source for your soil’s ecosystem to feed on. In turn that ecosystem releases the nutrients from the manure that your plants need to grow and thrive. Here is how you can add manure to your home vegetable garden.

It goes without saying that the first step in this process is to actually obtain the manure. There are a number of varieties of manure to choose from such as chicken, cow, horse and green mangroures such as alfalfa, winter rye and buckwheat. Never use human, dog or cat manure in your garden. The first place to look for manure is the free website Craigslist. Go to the farm and garden section in your area and search on manure. You’ll be surprised how many farmers, horse breeders and so on will just give it to you for free. If you are unable to find free manure you can always buy it at your local home or garden center.

Now that you have your manure you need to understand that the fresher the manure the longer you need to let it sit in your home vegetable garden’s soil before you plant your seeds. A good rule of thumb is to use the manure in the autumn months giving the soil’s underlying ecosystem plenty of time to feed on it so the nutrients can be released.

With your manure added to your soil, now is the time that you work it in. You can use a pitchfork, garen tiller, garden ho, you name it. The tool you choose is completely up to you. I use a pitchfork since my garden is a size I can handle within reasonable physical limits. If you have a very large garden, you may want to consider buying or renting a tiller.

Now that the manure is worked into the soil, wait until a week or two prior to the following season’s planting dates for this next step. Using your tool of choice, work the soil again so that you are mixing in the broken down manure. This helps spread the nutrients around. Your seeds are now ready to plant.

In some cases spreading manure can be a messy (and smelly) job, but the benefits for a home vegetable garden can be tremendous. Follow this every year and you will have great soil for your fruits and vegetables in no time.

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We are adding another 10 elements to the previous list of most often mistakes made by gardening amateurs. The following article is a set of examples that might help the beginner gardeners in avoiding some serious problems. It is worth to know what to be careful with when gardening.

1. Hedges not cuted properly

Not cutting the hedge enough is a common occurrence amongst young gardeners – they feel bad for the pretty, small plants so they allow it to grow high. In the beginning the mistake is unnoticeable but after a few years, when it grows a bit, the bottom parts of the hedges become bald. It is far more difficult to make the plants cover these spots then cutting it a bit annually – the more regularly you cut the young sprouts, the more it prompts the plant to grow and propagate.

2. Taking plants for weeds

For an amateur all young plants look alike and in the beginning it is difficult to tell what will become, for example, a beautiful flower. That is why often in the spring those future flowers are brutally removed, mistaken for weeds.

3. Too much or not enough watering (especially for pot plants)

Pot plants are far more delicate than the flowerbed ones. It is caused by their environment being highly limited and artificial, the water evaporates faster, dooming the plant to wither and roots rot easily when soaked for too long a time. Not fertilized potted plants grow slower than the flowerbed ones, as the soil loses its nutritious value.

 

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Most consider drip irrigation to be an useful watering system beneficial for almost every type of plants, shrubs and lawn. You may come across varied drip kits and number of drip irrigation equipments that you can use for getting your irrigation task simpler. Here are few guidelines and points you can follow to acquire maximum gain from your irrigation drip system.

When it comes to irrigating your garden with the assist of a drip watering system, you do not always need fresh water. You might also utilize recycled municipal waste water. Furthermore, utilizing this system you can render your plants accurate quantity of water and save water considerably. Moreover there are some other remarkable positive aspects that can motivate you to make use of this irrigation method for your garden.

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So what are you missing with your gazebo garden? Well, I intend to let you know. If you are merely using as a garden or a place for shade then I would argue that you are missing quite a lot. You are missing out on a way to reduce stress and help yourself out. Did I say reduce stress? Oh yes I did, lets see how.

You are going to achieve this by learning to think differently about your gazebo garden. You have to start thinking of it as a doorway. Uhh...but my gazebo doesn't have any doors? Okay smart guy, not a literal door, a metaphorical door. To what? To an area of your life separate from everything else. Why would I want to do that? That is the only way you are going to get the benefit of stress reduction. You aren't going to be any less stressed out in your garden gazebo if you are thinking about all the things that stress you out while you are there. So that is the first step. Banish all thoughts that are stressful or negative when you walk through the door.

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