For many of us, the act of gardening brings us closer to nature by getting us outdoors and allowing us the opportunity to tend and grow objects that in the absence of our assistance would not be able to survive, let alone thrive. There is a special connection between the growers of roses and their plants, however, which seems to go even beyond the basic instincts of the traditional gardener.

The first reason that roses can be such an addictive plant is the roots it has in our culture in the form of myth and symbolism. The same reason we are addicted to rose gardening is the same reason we are willing to pay a ridiculous amount for a single flower or bunch on Valentine’s Day- nothing in our society communicates more than the rose. This cultural phenomenon has been a part of western heritage for longer than anyone can trace. The rose was considered a flower of romance in ancient China, where it was first developed, and was used throughout the Roman Empire. British history is full of roses in every context- the theater where Shakespeare’s plays were put on was known as the rose, and some of the most distinguishing events in British history occurred during the long “War of the Roses”. Roses were not actually introduced to Europe in the cultivated style until the late 1700s, when they arrived from China.

Perhaps some of the addiction we have in cultivating roses stems in part from the same areas that our ancient forebears found so appealing. Many roses have a very distinctive scent, and the shape of the rose is certainly unique enough in itself to warrant extensive cultivation and appeal. Roses can also be found in many different colors and varieties, and there is symbolism attached to every colour that roses can be found in- red, of course, symbolizes love, but did you know that pink roses carry a message of gratitude, while yellow represent joy?

Roses also represent a singular species which can manifest itself in a variety of styles, and therefore a rose gardener really needs only to focus on rose types to bring all the variety to the appearance of her lawn and garden that could be wished for. Roses can be planted in the miniature style, as bushes, and as climbers. As has been noted above, roses are also available in several different colors which will add to the overall diversity in appearance of your garden. Roses are also available in petals of many different sizes to further add diversity to your landscaping. Species roses grow hips that are colorful and last well into the winter, and can add a further sprinkle of uniqueness to your landscaping by attracting birds throughout the winter months.

Lastly, roses require as little or as much attention as the gardener wants to put in. Pruned bushes look ideal, but roses are also beautiful when allowed to grow freely. Roses also tend to be very hardy and resistant to diseases. The soil composition needs not have too many considerations, and the ground cover is totally up to the gardener.

Growing roses can be an addicting experience because of their history, their beauty, their variety, and their maintenance. Once a person dedicates their garden space to the cultivation of roses, the possibilities are limitless.

Chester Smith maintains a website for enthusiasts of rose gardening.

Because there are so many varieties of orchids, you’ll also
find that there are lots of unique pairings of orchids with
other plants. One of the most striking ways to grow and display
your orchids, in fact, is in a naturalistic setting in a
terrarium where their unconventional beauty is complemented by
other plants that are native to the same habitats. By including
gravel, charcoal or bark chips in the growth medium of your
terrarium, you can happily grow a wide variety of orchids that
will suit and complement other plants chosen for your terrarium.

Orchids are quite happy sharing their environment with other
flowers and plants. Generally, orchids have the same
temperature, humidity and light requirements as most popular
houseplants, so they don’t need a specialized environment set
apart from your other houseplants. Because orchids are epiphytic
(taking their nutrition from the moisture in the air), you’ll
find that they work very well in dish gardens when provided with
a layer of moist sphagnum moss or loose bark in which to root.orchid care

One of the most common pairings for a terrarium are carnivorous
plants and orchids. The exotic foliage and showy blooms of the
two kinds of plants not only look spectacular together - the two
plants also ‘help’ each other. While the relationship isn’t
quite symbiotic, the blooms of the orchid help attract the
insects on which a Venus fly trap or other carnivorous plant
feeds. It’s a popular pairing that is often promoted by the
sellers of exotic plants.

During hot summer days bird bath are excellent attraction for birds. Bird Bath welcomes birds to your garden. Bird Baths are available in different size and materials like glass, metal, plastics, mosaic tile, etc that can weather well and hold water.

Shallow bird bath is more preferable and its surface should be rough enough so that birds can grip. Also it must have recirculating pump with filters along with water supply. The arrangement has to make such that water should be clean and clear and the maintenance of bird bath is important. The water filled in the bird bath should be clean and clear. The water should be changed routinely and in the hot weather every day it has to be changed.

Bird feeders also attract birds towards your garden. Bird feeder also called bird table are provided to supply food to birds. Consistency of feeding is very important. Feeding throughout the year is important rather than feeding only during winter or some seasons. Generally the feeders supply seeds, such as millet, sunflower, safflower, hollyhock, nasturtium, thistle and rapeseed to feed birds.

Bird bath gives you a lively environment and watching this scene will give you a splash of happiness. It will bring everlasting joy and cheerfulness. Bird bath makes birds to come closer. We can enjoy the wonders of nature from the place where we are by placing a bird bath.

Birds are distinguished by their physical characteristics. Birds differ by body shape and size, also beak shape and size. Canada goose, one of the larger birds also enjoys baths. Bird baths must place such that birds should feel safe. It should be kept far enough from squirrels, rats and big birds.

Tamil Selvi is a SEO copywriter for smdblue.com,
She has written many articles in various topics. For more information visit
http://www.smdblue.com. She can be reached at tamil@searchenginegenie.com.

Nothing invites one to sit and enjoy a lovingly created and tended garden quite the way that a garden swing does. Only from the perch of a gently swaying garden swing can one fully appreciate the bounty of nature complete with the subtle flowery and earthy smells of the garden. From this vantage point, one could relax for hours while meditating, reading or simply enjoying the antics of the wildlife.

Strategically placed garden swings draw people to them as if by magic. It seems that even if someone is just passing through, they cannot resist the urge to sit for just a spell on one of these exquisitely beautiful garden swings.

Whether your garden is country, formal or eclectic there is bound to be the perfect garden swing to fit your unique personality and decorating style.

Take for instance the popular Kingsley-Bate Sheraton garden swing. This lovely porch swing features intricate hand carvings from Javanese teak wood in the ageless, romantic 18th century style. The detail to the Sheraton porch swing make it breathtaking in its exquisite beauty. Assembled with precise mortise and tenon joinery, this garden swing will provide your family with a comfortable place to relax for decades to come.

Since the Sheraton porch swing is constructed with teak, it is extremely durable. Often called the premier wood for outdoor furniture, teak is unique in that it can withstand the elements year after year with virtually no maintenance. With teak garden swings, there is no sealing, no staining, and no finishing.

If you prefer something a little more classic in design, perhaps the Nantucket garden swing would be your best bet. This porch swing is crafted from Southern Yellow Pine and available in 28 color finish options which includes eye-catching colors such as lime, mauve and canary or more sedate colors such as sunny yellow, island green and white. You can also choose various finish options for the Nantucket garden swing such as natural, pristine, washed and distressed.

And when you decorate your garden using garden swings, you will not bust your budget or have to take out a loan to do so. Most garden swings can be purchased for approximately $500 depending on your tastes and how high your budget can take you.

But one thing is guaranteed when you buy a garden swing. Once you place it in your most beautiful outdoor space, it will quickly become the favorite spot in the house.

Jennifer Akre is a successful business owner of numerous furniture websites offering product and information about garden swings, porch swings and other furniture and accessories for outdoors as well as indoors.

Visit http://www.AdirondackChairs-Store.com for ways you can buy and know more about decorating your home and garden in style.

Jane owns a Rainbow vacuum cleaner and loves it. Ever since the first night she let Randy, her demonstrator come over and show her and Bill how good the Rainbow vacuum cleaner really is she loved it.

She was amazed at how dirty the water had turned inside the Rainbow vacuum water basin. Randy, her Rainbow vacuum salesman, had just vacuumed a small three foot square area of her light beige carpet after her husband had gone over that spot 50 times, back and forth, with her old vacuum cleaner.

Actually, her old vacuum was brand new, it was only 3 months old. The problem was, according to Randy the Rainbow vacuum guy, that all the little holes in the bag of her old vacuum had stopped up causing it to lose air flow. Air flow?

Jane thought suction was what picked up stuff off the floor. Randy had heard this response dozens if not hundreds of times before so he knew that Jane was playing along according to the script that is played thousands of times a day all across the county.

Only Jane had not rehearsed the play and Randy had. Jane and Bill ended up owning a Rainbow vacuum cleaner that night and have loved the way it has performed ever since. That is until one day when they called Randy to order some more of the Mulberry oil based fragrances.

It made the whole house smell wonderful every time they used their Rainbow vacuum. The problem was that when they called Randy he was not there. Not only was Randy not there but the office number had been disconnected with no forwarding information.

Scenarios like this are common and will continue to be so. The reason it happens is that vacuum cleaner distributors are just like any other direct sales organization.

Sometimes sales are good, sometimes they are so bad that the distributor cannot stay in business so it closes the doors, leaving customers high and dry and no local office to get parts and supplies.

http://vacuum-supplies.com/rainbow.html

Exiee Enterprises saw a need for Rainbow vacuum parts and has been filling the need for over 5 years on the web. Exiee Enterprises is not affiliated with Rainbow vacuums or Rexair.

About the author:

Steve McArthur
Exiee Enterprises
Rainbow Vacuum Parts and Supplies…
http://vacuum-supplies.com/rainbow.html

Native trees tolerant of wet soils are special group of trees.
These trees are able to be in soils that retain water for
sometimes weeks on end. I have compiled this list to help you
find suitable trees for the north east. This is not a complete
list but one of common EZ to plant nursery stock, but these
plants should do well in most of Doylestown Pa. Area.

Red and silver maple (Acer rubrum, A. saccarinum)

River Birch Trees a tree for wet areas!!!! (Betula nigra)
Catalpa spp.

Ash (Fraxinus spp.) Cottonwood (Populus deltoides) Swamp white
oak (Quercus bicolor) Sycamores (Platanus spp.)

Native shrubs tolerant of wet soils: Red osier dogwood (Cornus
sericea) Leatherwood (Dirca palustris) Winterberry (Ilex
verticillata) Sparkleberry holly A great berry producer!!!

Inkberry (Ilex glabra) Pussy willow (Salix discolor)

Willow Trees Trees for wet areas!!!!

Shrubby cinquefoil (Potentilla fruticosa)

Spicebush my long time favorite!!

Black Chokeberry produces great berry crops for the birds!!

You can see more plant info at my web site
http://www.seedlingsrus.com

Are you interested in creating a butterfly garden? Perhaps it is for the purposes of providing some habitat for butterflies in your area? Maybe you just want to attract them to your garden so you and your children can delight in their antics. While there are several things you must consider when building a butterfly garden, a major consideration is providing shelter for them.

Butterflies need shelter from both wind and rain. In winter, if you are lucky enough to have over wintering adult butterflies, they will need shelter for hibernation. So as you begin to create your butterfly garden, you will need to provide shelter.

To begin your butterfly garden give consideration to the direction of the prevailing winds of your area. In the US, mostly the prevailing wind is out of the Northwest but check in your area to be sure. In my area, we can at times get a mean upsloping eastern wind but our normal winds are western winds.

If you do have a prevailing wind from the Northwest, this means you will want to provide some type of windbreak along the northern or northwestern side of your butterfly garden location. If you are creating it on the southern side of your home, you may already be one step ahead. You will simply need to continue your windbreak along the western side of your home.

A windbreak can be created with trees and shrubs, walls and fences or even a stack of firewood or rocks. You will want the taller plants to be on the northern or northwestern side of your butterfly garden. If at all possible, create a protected area for the butterflies by putting the tallest trees, shrubs or whatever on the north side and progressively smaller plantings coming around to an almost open southern side which will allow the sun to shine in.

It may be easier to picture this as a circular area. It does not have to be circular but any shape you desire will work as well as long as there is a windbreak towards your prevailing winds and it allows plenty of sun to shine in from the south for the butterflies to bask in.

The plantings and structures you use to prepare the “bones” of your butterfly garden will provide shelter from rain as well as from the winds. Butterflies will hide from the rain under leaves of the vegetation as well as the eaves of your home and any little nook or cranny they can find.

If you use hard structures such as fences or trellises, add plants such as passion flower or pipevine that will grow up or along these structures to further your butterfly garden goals. Not only will you be providing shelter but, in the case of the stated plantings, you will also be providing host plants. Choose nectar-providing shrubs as your living windbreaks.

Follow these tips and you will have a great start on providing a little habitat for butterflies within your own landscape. Doing so will provide you with many opportunities to watch the butterflies of your area.

Copyright 2006, Sandra Dinkins-Wilson

Container gardens are the ideal solution for people who enjoy gardening but simply have little to no space. With this type of garden, you have the opportunity to plant a wonderful selection of vegetables and flowers, but instead of using land outside, you use small containers. Obviously, for individuals living in apartments, city dwellers, or homes without outside yard space where only a small balcony or patio is available, a container garden makes perfect sense. Regardless of the size your space is, your garden can be designed with wonderful variation for color and fragrance.

The first thing is choosing the containers for your garden. Interestingly, with a container garden, you can use literally anything. For instance, some great choices include things such as old bathtubs, washtubs, whiskey barrels, glass jars, kitchen bowls, ceramic pots, watering cans, you name it, and you could probably start a container garden in it. As long as the container will hold soil, plants, and water, you are set to go.

With a container garden, the type of container you choose will need to have a good drain hole in the bottom. If not, you can put two pieces of masking or duct tape in a crisscross pattern on the bottom and then with a small drill, begin to drill through the center, slowly working your way outward until the size is approximately one-inch in diameter. Then, prior to placing soil in the container, we suggest you place broken potshards or gravel in the bottom to help keep the soil inside the pot, especially when watering.

Popular choices for container gardens are wooden containers. In this case, just make sure the container is quality wood or you might be dealing with a bad case of wood rot. In addition to this, never use pretreated wood. With this, the wood has been treated with preservatives that can leak down into the soil, causing damage to the plants. Therefore, if you have your heart set on wood, simply choose something such as redwood or cedar, both excellent options.

You also want to make sure you have fun creating your container garden. Many times, you can find colorful trinkets or figurines already around the house or garage that would be perfect to enhance the look of your garden. If not, rather than spend a lot of money, you could check out local thrift stores, shopping for containers and knickknacks. With a container garden, you can create a sophisticated look, something Victorian, perhaps a rustic country look, or a garden that is colorful and whimsical.

Another important aspect of the container garden is the soil. Since you are planting in a confined space, soil from your yard is generally fine but you might consider buying a bag of good soil, which typically costs less than $5. The reason is that bought soil provides you with a cleaner mix, which is both disease and weed free. An important tip to remember when and if you ever report any of the plants - never reuse soil form the containers.

The growing mixture you use with container gardening is also designed so water will drain off quickly. The importance of this is to allow enough moisture to keep roots moist without the plants sitting in soaking wet soil, which can lead to root rot and other diseases. You also want to consider the plants that you grow since some may require different balances of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. Just be sure you leave two inches from the top of the container between the top of the soil.

Because the soil for your container garden is formulated to drain quickly, fertilizer is important. A good rule of thumb is that the lighter the soil the more frequent you will need to fertilize. We suggest you go with a diluted type of liquid fertilizer. Two of the best options for healthy fruits and vegetables, as well as vibrant flowers are liquid seaweed or fish emulsion. However, remember that again, different plants have different nutritional needs to try to purchase those with the same requirements.

Typically, container gardens need about five to six hours of direct sunlight daily. Now, if you plan to grow vegetables such as carrots or beets, they would need more with fruits like tomatoes and cucumbers needing even more. For flowers, this would depend on the type of flowers being grown. In this case, your best option is to read the sunlight recommendations for plants when buying and purchase flowers with like requirements.

If you plan to grow flowers in your container garden, now the fun part starts with choosing what you will grow. Although you have literally hundreds and hundreds of possibilities, the following are some of our recommendations:

Browallia – Upward facing chalices that are simply beautiful. These desert bluebells can handle all types of conditions. Additionally, these flowers are beautiful as the main attraction or filler plants.

Coleus – This type of houseplant produces magnificent leaves of bronze, white copper, gold, yellow, red, pink, and purple. Hardy and strong, Coleus are a perfect addition to any container garden.

Impatiens – The flowers of Impatiens are dainty yet prolific. The petals shimmer with a magnificent coral, peach, and pink color with a darker petal margin that makes each bloom distinct.

Periwinkle – This type of flower is virtually disease and pest free. Best of all, it readily reseeds itself. The flowers are a beautiful white and pink color, adding gentle color to your garden.

Snapdragons – Everyone loves Snapdragons. If you have a container garden that can accommodate some height, these flowers provide a magical carpet of color with vibrant yellow, orange, pink, and red.

Black-Eyed Susan – Perfect for container gardens, these flowers are actually fast-growing vines that produce incredible yellow, orange, and white flowers with solid eyes, thus the name.

Keep in mind that these flower recommendations are just a few that you might consider. The best thing with any container garden is to do what you like. Once you have decided on a container and soil, choose flowers, plants, vegetables, herbs, or fruits that you enjoy. You will be amazed at just how rewarding a container garden can be.

WNY Alive © 2005

For more articles on this topic and others visit http://www.wnyalive.com

Eileen M. is an avid gardener and the editor of www.wnyalive.com

“Exchanging Plants, Seeds and Flowers for Winter Gardening
Fun”

Exciting New Winter Garden Fun!

GardenHere turns grey cold weather months into exciting home gardening fun.  While
other gardening enthusiast are waiting for Spring plant and seed
catalogs, GardenHere members are busy growing landscape and
flower starts in their window sills to trade with other home
gardeners around the country.

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“Winter can be a really fun time of year for home gardeners,”
said Al Stubblefield, designer and owner of the GardenHere
Website.  “Many of our members in the North root plant cuttings
in kitchen glasses to offer in exchange for postage or other
plants they would like to acquire. Some members offer to trade
flower seeds they harvested earlier in the year.

“Even though outside temperatures in my state can easily hit
freezing or below this time of year, I have Fuchsia starts and
Geraniums in my sunroom window that will be ready for trade in a
couple of weeks.  There is still a bucket of Dayl
ily and Iris tubers in the garage that I didn’t have time to
get in the ground this fall.  I’m sure some of our GardenHere
members will want them when spring arrives.”

Most gardeners in the South never see snow or experience
temperatures even close to freezing.  Some garden fanatics in the
North protect their prize plants in home greenhouses.  Most of
these gardeners have too many of some plants and would like to
either give a way some of their extra landscape plants and
flowers or trade for plant varieties they do not already
have.

The GardenHere Internet site makes it easy to exchange plants,
seeds and flowers. It takes about 60 seconds to register and
membership is free.  After that, home gardeners can place
messages in the forums offering their extra plants and flowers,
or tell other members what they would like in exchange.  It’s
all very simple and fun.

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“Last month I received 20 new varieties of Daylilies and two
cold hardy Hibiscus plants,” said GardenHere founder, Al
Stubblefield.  “The only cost to me was postage, which was less
than $6 dollars.  That’s hard to beat.”

Here’s what another garden member had to say,
“As many of you know, I started up my own eBay business a few
months ago. Well, turns out that a GardenHere member, Fern, had
made some purchases from me on e-Bay recently. We figured this
out when Fern recognized my name and address I sent her in
regards to a trade we were setting up.

”She sent me tons and tons of glad bulbs and bulbils, plus some
seeds in exchange for my sedum, ginger and seeds from my prize
Zinnias I grew this summer.

“What a small world and what an awesome trade. Thanks again,
Fern. I hope to trade again soon,” posted by GardenHere Member,
Nicole.

GardenHere Member Copperlilac had this to say, “I just finished
a trade with Maineroses. I sent her Peonies for Irises and she
included a great baby Lupine and seeds as a bonus.

“Thanks for the great trade Maineroses.”

Finally, GardenHere Member Dee wrote, “I have some baby
Gladiolus. I have so many different colors I couldn’t tell you
what colors they would be. By the way, do you know how to keep
them from having too many offspring? I have to throw away
hundreds each year because I have no one to give them to.

Gardeners interested in joining this friendly home gardening community are
invited to register at GardenHere Forums.
It only takes about 60 seconds to register and membership is
free.

“Exchanging Plants and Flowers is the Neighborly Thing To
Do”

When most people think of hosepipes, they think of the standard garden hose: a long, green snake-like flexible pipe that can be used to take water from a garden tap and spray it out into the garden. However, hosepipes are more complicated than that.

To begin with, for the garden hose, there are all sorts of attachments you can add to make it do more useful things than just shooting a jet of water. You can add a sprayer, which acts as a kind of water gun, making it so your hose will only squirt water when you pull the trigger – essential if you want to focus on a specific area of your garden instead of just making all of it wet.

You can also attach a sprinkler to your hosepipe, which will spray small jets of water in all directions – good for leaving in the middle of some grass or other plants, so they all get watered.

The biggest problem with hosepipes, however, is that, come the summer, many places impose what is known as a ‘hosepipe ban’. This is an effort by water companies or governments to save water during the dry summer months, but it frustrates many gardeners by making it effectively illegal to water their gardens during the months that it is most needed – it is extremely frustrating to be kept from watering your plants during a drought. All kinds of sprinklers are generally included in hosepipe bans, too.

However, there is a simple way of getting around hosepipe bans, by buying something called a bowser. A bowser is basically a very large watering can with a hosepipe-like attachment for spraying the water on your garden. It has roughly the same effect as a hosepipe, but because it is technically closer to a normal watering can, it evades the ban – and the water companies are happy for you to do this, as bowsers waste far less water than just plugging a hose straight into the tap.

John Gibb is the owner of Hose-Pipe guides, For more information on Hose-pipes please check out www.Hose-Pipe-Information.info