The Many Ways Gardening Can Improve your Quality of Life
Bonding with nature today may seem like a laborious wilderness adventure for many. Gardening can restore man’s unity with nature. There are many ways gardening improves quality of life.

Learn Respect for Nature
The most significant lesson nature teaches is respect for the environment. This includes, flora and fauna. Every day, humans busy themselves with the job of ridding nature of its basic ecological balance and attempt to impose human control over nature. Those closest to nature understand (more…)

Creating a beautiful garden in your backyard takes a little planning. The first step is to determine what kind of visual effects you want to create. Placing solar landscaping lights in key focal points will highlight your spectacular home garden. Browse through online photos of home gardens to get some ideas about light placement. Solar lights can be purchased inexpensively at any home improvement store. Consider adding more flowers and plants to showcase your garden. You can also install a water garden that will add to the look of the backyard. Waterfall (more…)

Now is the right time to start planting seeds indoors for your outdoor garden. Growing your own vegetables and flowers from seed is fun and can save you a lot of money. These plants are usually sold in market packs of six or 12 transplants and can cost you a great deal if you have a large area to plant. For the price of less than one market pack, you can sow dozens of seeds in varieties and types not usually found at local nurseries or garden centers.

All seeds need two things to germinate: moisture and warmth. Keeping your seeds moist should not be difficult, but you need to use at least one heat lamp to provide the warmth necessary for successful germination. Plants really do not need a light source until they have sprouted and are able to conduct photosynthesis. Compare electricity rates in Houston to find home energy rates that are not so high that keeping the heat lamps on around the clock will make a real impact on your savings.

To begin your garden, choose seeds for the types of plants that grow best in the area. Many vegetables such as tomatoes, peppers, melons and peanuts require a long growing season, so they are good choices for starting indoors. Beginning these types of plants indoors early allows you to take advantage of a longer, more productive growing season. Seeds for more exotic plants and vegetables are available at some nurseries, and they are also carried by a number of online seed suppliers.

You will also need to buy some soil-less potting mix. It is available at most local garden centers and offers several advantages over ordinary garden soil. It has drainage characteristics that are superior to most natural soils and is free of insects, bacteria and other material that might inhibit successful germination.

A good seed-starting tray, some plastic wrap and a soil thermometer round out the supplies you will need.

With your seed-starting tray half full of potting mix, add some water to the mix until it is evenly moist but not overly wet.

Sow the seeds at the depth and spacing recommended on the seed packet. If you obtained the seeds from a neighbor or friend and do not have instructions, a good rule of thumb is to sow the seeds at a depth two times their width.

Place your soil thermometer somewhere inside the tray and cover the entire tray with plastic wrap. This helps to preserve the moisture during germination.

Position your heat lamps no closer than 8 inches from the surface of the soil and switch them on. You may need to adjust them to keep the soil at a constant temperature of 75 to 80 degrees Fahrenheit.

When your seeds sprout, switch off the heat lamps, remove the plastic and provide the seedlings with adequate lighting and moisture until you transplant them outside.

Many times a homeowner will take the time to work on the inside of the home before putting it on the market. However, they often forget that the outside is just as important. It has been shown that homeowners who take the time to work outside are actually increasing their property value with a great garden.

It is a proven fact that many potential buyers have a great outdoor space as one of the must have items on their list. Seeing a beautiful flower or vegetable garden in the back yard, (more…)

Landscaping and lawn care can be very labor intensive, especially when you lack access to the tools, resources and techniques that can offer you long term solutions. Having to deal with weeds that are growing in your lawn, garden or other area of your property can become irritating when you are forced to address the issue over and over again. Dealing with weeds once and for all can offer you a better solution and allow you to spend your landscaping and gardening efforts on other issues and concerns.

Creating a lawn (more…)

Many people enjoy gardening as a hobby which can be an advantage when landscaping a yard on a budget. One of the easiest ways to add interest to yard is to place edging around bushes and flowerbeds. Edging can be made by using large decorative stones or bricks. These items are available at hardware and home improvement stores as well as for free. Large stones can often be gathered in areas where rivers are located. Bricks could be available as left (more…)

Reordering and organizing your garden to make a more efficient and effective growing space can give you a number of improvements that you can look forward to with the upcoming growing season. Gardens that need to be walked through and see higher than average traffic by those who need to tend them can benefit greatly from a superior layout and design. Having to step on seedlings, delicate plants and disrupt the soil with constant foot traffic can limit the results of your growing efforts unless you make the effort to ensure (more…)

For those just starting the wonderful adventure of a home garden, there are a few things you should know. For example the five tools every home gardener should own. These five tools will get you through most of your gardening needs. Of course there may be others that you want, but this is a good beginning set.

Gardening basics: Five tools every home gardener should own.

A rake, you will need this for raking up leaves and debris. These come in a variety of sizes to meet your needs.
Pruning shears. These will be used often.Never heard of (more…)