Learn the dangers of mold and mildew and see why it is so important to get rid of any that may be breeding in your home.
Who hasn’t grown mold as an experiment in grade school? Probably very few of us. It seems like such an harmless thing. Certainly not something as severe as cancer or liver disease or anything that strikes fear in our hearts.
Well, sadly, mold is not harmless and can be easily done away with if treated properly. So, if you have problems with mold, please read this article for it may just may save your life.
Roses are still the “Queen of the Garden? but unfortunately, they are also heavy water consumers, a fact that makes them problematical for gardeners in a dry climate. Here are some tips for growing roses on less water.
Roses, for the most part are very demanding in their water needs. With the exception of a number of species roses of Mediterranean and steppe-climate origin (i.e. Central Asia), the cultivated varieties known to the gardener consume, to perform at their best, 3-4 times more than drought resistant landscaping shrubs.
Despite the large number of species and their wide geographical range, most Sages require similar growing conditions. Most are suitable for dry climate gardens.
Sage or Salvia is a large genus containing over 900 species and numerous varieties. Species of Sage grow wild in a wide range of locations, from South Africa, the Mediterranean, West and Central Asia, and many parts of North America and Mexico. Most species however, a few exceptions notwithstanding, require similar growing conditions, and these by happy coincidence, are suitable for gardens in dry climates.
There are a number of factors behind successfully growing container plants, but supplying adequate drainage has to be one of the most important. That is why you should consider installing a professional drainage system, especially if you garden in a dry climate.
Container gardening is all about giving the pot plants optimal growing conditions. While everyone knows that plants have to have access to sufficient moisture, it is less obvious, but no less essential that there be a ready supply of oxygen in the root zone. Understanding the air/moisture balance is probably the key to successful container gardening; but while the hydroponics method achieves this for indoor plants, outdoor pot plants have to have some sort of drainage system. The question is then, what type of drainage is best?
The need to save water in dry climate gardens, involves reducing the size of the lawn. This is best achieved by changing the way we approach garden design.
Water shortages in dry climates are forcing home gardeners and professional landscapers to reduce the area of the garden taken up by the lawn. The trouble is that nothing that can replace a lawn in the field in which a lawn works. Young children cannot play as safely on hard paving, you can’t really play soccer on wooden decking, and it’s hardly practical to lie down on a bed of ground cover plants, as one would on grass.
While laying turf in the autumn is possible in Mediterranean and other mild winter climates, the temptation to do so should be resisted. It is far better to sow a temporary lawn for the winter instead.
While laying turf during the autumn is unthinkable in cold winter regions, in the mild winters typical of Mediterranean type climates, it is both possible and common. This does not necessarily mean it is a good idea. Although in most cases, the turf should survive the winter and regenerate in the spring, for the reasons I shall outline, it often proves to be a thoroughly bad move.
While laying turf in the autumn is possible in Mediterranean and other mild winter climates, the temptation to do so should be resisted. It is far better to sow a temporary lawn for the winter instead.
While laying turf during the autumn is unthinkable in cold winter regions, in the mild winters typical of Mediterranean type climates, it is both possible and common. This does not necessarily mean it is a good idea. Although in most cases, the turf should survive the winter and regenerate in the spring, for the reasons I shall outline, it often proves to be a thoroughly bad move.
Plumbago auriculata is one of the most useful landscaping shrubs available to the Mediterranean and dry climate gardener. It is often planted in the wrong place however, which gives this fine plant a bad name.
Plumbago auriculata, or Cape Plumbago, is a somewhat strange landscaping shrub. It has many fine qualities, not least its profuse blooming of sky blue flowers through most of the warm, growing season. For Mediterranean and dry climate gardeners in particular, its capacity to withstand drought, neglect and poor, alkaline soils makes it one of the most useful landscaping shrubs available. Yet it often induces negative reactions from home gardeners. Why is this?
Landscape shrubs and bushes are a vital part of garden design and composition. In order to use them most effectively, their design role should be clearly understood.
Landscaping shrubs and bushes have a number of functions in the garden. In the abstract, landscape architects and designers see them as the “walls? of the garden, whereas trees and prostrate plants are viewed respectively, as its “ceiling? and the “floor?. Shrubs and bushes, by virtue of their dimensions, are the one group of landscape plants that relate to human beings in terms of scale ? both trees and low-growing plants being either beyond or beneath the size that relate to people. As the usual height of garden shrubs is between 1 to 3 meters (3-9ft) it follows that people eye them without either having to look upwards in the case of trees, or downwards with flowers or ground covers. The psychological significance of this “humanizing? function of shrubs and bushes, is usually missed by the average home gardener,
Saving water does not have to mean a dull, colorless garden. Here are some tips for an amazingly colorful garden, that is water wise as well.
Saving water in Mediterranean and other dry climate climates is becoming a matter of critical importance for gardeners. It is often thought though, that saving water has to be at the expense of beauty; that water conservation is synonymous with a dull, colorless garden. Admittedly, annual flowers are the largest consumers of water compared to other groups of plants, but color can be attained by using plants that once established, consume about 5 times less water over the year. Too good to be true? Read on.
