For many families, garden vegetables are a main element of the diet and are used to supplement many meals. Additionally, they can help provide many of the essential vitamins and minerals needed for a healthy lifestyle and by being able to plant their own backyard garden, vegetables can be more abundant, fresher and provide more health benefits than buying them from commercial suppliers. While not everyone appreciates the taste of all vegetables, there is no argument about the health benefits of their consumption.

When most people think of garden vegetables they only look at the ones they use the most such as tomatoes or carrots. Depending on the size of the yard a person can devote to a garden, they can grow many more and help to subsidize their food budget, especially during the harvest season. Many will also learn how to can or freeze their garden vegetables for use throughout the year.

Growing garden vegetables such as lettuce, cabbage and different types of beans does not have to take over the entire garden and many will plant only what they can use when they become ready to pick. However, during the initial attempts at gardening, they may underestimate their garden’s yield and end up supplying many others with fresh vegetables so as not to thrown any of them away.

Home Garden Can Provide Freshest Taste

Like any growing plant, garden vegetables begin to die the moment they are picked. Those who have only known vegetables from the grocery store may have no idea of the taste of fresh garden vegetables and are often surprised by the difference. Picking corn from the garden and taking it straight to the kitchen for that night’s dinner not only offers much better taste, but more nutritional value as well.

Additional benefits of growing your own garden vegetables include being able to make your own spaghetti sauce, for instance. While the process of making spaghetti sauce from your own tomatoes, peppers and even homegrown spices can be laborious, the taste of using fresh garden vegetables is unbeatable. You can also use the waste products such as the tomato peels and seeds in the compost pile if you are into using organic fertilizer in the garden.

One key point about growing your own garden vegetables may be to only plant what you are most likely to use. By having a garden full of vegetables that everyone in the family enjoys, the chances are better of getting help during the planting season, the weeding season and the harvest.

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Well I am not sure if you were thinking politics or backyard gardens but I think the Bleeding Heart is such a cool looking plant.

We decided that we would like to have a couple of bleeding hearts, one on either side of our front porch, so we added it to the list of plants to buy this year.

My wife and I were cutting out some thorny bushes on the south side of the garage as they were growing over the satelite dish.

About a week later I noticed what at first I thought was a weed growing but something looked familiar about it so I didn’t yank it, yet. I left it for another week and that weed turned right into a bleed heart.

There was one bleeding heart we didn’t need to buy. I just dug that one up, giving it lots of dirt around it so I would disturb it too much and put it on one side of our front porch.

A few days later I was walking down the side of the garage trying to decide what to put there now that the thorny bush was gone and there was another bleed heart. Guess where it’s going?

Now these bleed hearts are only two inches high so I just had to take a picture today on my walk when I saw the bleeding hearth in the image above.

I don’t know if our two bleeding hearts will get like that this year but I am sure they will be just as beautiful.

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Having a backyard garden full of beautiful flowers is great and we share them with friends and keep a few bouquets around the house for fragrance.

I am from the Toronto area and there are times we need to send flowers to friends and family but we don’t ship our own flowers. Instead we like to use local flower shops. For the Toronto and surrounding area we like Toronto’s Flowers as they have been around since 1877.

When I got married over 25 years ago we had hundreds of flowers from friends all across Canada and even a couple from the U.S. who just lived too far away to attend our blessed day. It made for a very fragrant and memoriable day for us. We still remember it like it was just yesterday.

Flowers just say so much, whatever the occassion.

Whether your need is wedding flowers or sending flowers for other occassions births, birthdays, funerals. It doesn’t matter what the occassion flowers just seem to fit.

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Image via WikipediaCast iron furniture adds a new element of beauty to anyone’s patio and garden. There is nothing like the exclusive state of the art process in manufacturing furniture that is cast iron. A beautiful patio adds grace and beauty to anyone’s home. Many families live on the patio during the long hot summer months. The garden furniture importance is much like that of the household furnishings. The garden furniture must be comfortable, easy to clean, fit the family needs, and affordable.

Perhaps you have never thought of cast iron furniture for your patio, but this is truly a remarkable way to beautify your patio. The cast iron furniture is inexpensive, long lasting and yes comfortable. Let me introduce you to the Thermosint(c) Process, which is used by Contract Furniture Company to make cast iron furniture. The cast iron is welded and sanded first, and then the bare metal frame undergoes a PH balance wash and primer coating process. This is important step towards crafting the cast iron into beautiful designs for the furniture. Next the premièred frame is heated 660 degrees Fahrenheit in a Thermal Tunnel before it is dipped into an air injected powdered paint mixture. The air-circulated powder, consisting of paint pigments, aluminum flakes and resin particles, evenly bonds the frame, building up to eight mils of paint.

With the outer shell still uncured, the coated frame again enters the thermal tunnel for its final heating process at 390 degrees Fahrenheit. The paint is completely dried and hardened creating the company’s one of a kind finish that is approximately eight times thicker than standard powder coat, and approximately fifteen times thicker than a wet coat. Contract Furniture Company’s exclusive state of the art process resists scratching, peeling, fading and chipping. Furthermore, the frame remains fifty percent cooler to the touch long after exposure to sunlight. The company offers a five-year anti-rust guarantee, which farther reassures you that cast iron furniture meets the best standards in furniture artisanship. These important parts are the trademark of the Contract Furniture Company and no other cast iron company uses this specific procedures.

Let us review the four elements in the Contract Furniture Company metal finish:
1. Iron profile or solid iron as a permanent, stable structural material
2. Iron phosphate undercoat to increase bonding and rust protection
3. Primer coat for improved, even bonding of sintered coat
4. Thermosint(c) up to eight times stronger than standard powder coating varnish.

Let us explain why Contract Furniture Company Thermosint(c) is the best.
1. Five year anti-rust guarantee
2. Remains fifty percent cooler to the touch after long exposure to the sun
3. Eight times thicker than a standard coat
4. Fifteen times thicker than a standard wet coat
5. Extremely smooth finish, weld points are obsolete
6. Resists scratching, peeling, fading and chipping

Now that you know how the craftsmen of Contract Furniture Company make the Cast Iron Outdoor Furniture, you should visit the showroom and see the beautiful pieces created.

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Image via WikipediaHaving bugs in your home is just plain disgusting. When you do, your first thought is often to run to the store and get the most powerful chemicals they have available to get rid of the pests. You actually don’t have to go so far. There is natural insecticide you can use in your home.

You can use natural insecticide recipes that will be much safer for your family and your pets. For example, you can use boric acid as a safe alternative in many cases. For ants, you can mix the boric acid with sugar; then add water. Next, you soak cotton balls in it and put them in bottle caps. Place them where ants have been seen. Boric powder has often been called “roach powder.” Get a squeeze bottle of it, or make up your own. Squirt the stuff along floor boards and behind appliances. Put it anywhere you have seen roaches coming from. It is a great natural insecticide for roaches.

For termites, you can mix boric acid with a non-toxic version of antifreeze called propylene glycol. The glycol is good because it helps the boric acid to go into the wood better. This is a natural insecticide for many types of termites.

You can also use boric acid as a natural insecticide to kill silverfish. You mix 20% boric acid with any inert ingredient. Then you place this natural insecticide in areas like your closets and anywhere you have seen silverfish. Often, silverfish are seen in an attic, so this is a good place to put it as well. Boric acid can be used to make a natural insecticide for surfaces where you might find any crawling bugs, too. You have to boil some water, and then dissolve a small amount of boric acid into it. Wipe this onto surfaces. If the surfaces aren’t ones you wash often, you won’t have to apply it often.

If you have no luck with boric acid, you might try the natural insecticide Diatomaceous Earth. It is made from the fossilized remains of plankton and other tiny sea creatures. It kills by puncturing the insects’ hard covering, or exoskeleton. Then, the insect will be dehydrated by this natural insecticide. Diatomaceous Earth works well to eliminate silverfish, moths and roaches. If an animal has brought fleas into your home, this natural insecticide will take care of them, too. It destroys its victims in as little as one day. Or, it could take as long as two weeks.

Natural insecticide products are being made of many substances. Some of these used in homes are made of orange and/or lemon extracts. These work very well on hard-bodied insects such as ants. Many companies are making products that kill roaches and other common household pests. These companies make natural insecticide available in stores and over the internet. The products they sell are often as effective as synthetic chemical products, if not more effective.

If you want to use natural insecticide in your home, you have many avenues. You can make your own using boric acid. You can purchase a product such as Diatomaceous Earth. Or, you can go shopping for other forms of natural insecticides. It’s all up to you.

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Image via WikipediaLearning to be a gardener is a lot of fun. But the process of learning to be a backyard gardener has it’s ups and downs as things don’t always go the way you planned it.

My wife and I are slowly becoming the backyard gardeners we have long wanted to be. We are starting small and will add to our gardens, both vegetable garden and flower gardens, as we have time.

We have only begun but already we are learning and making progress. We do have a friend that has been a backyard gardener for more than 10 years now so we have a bit of an edge. All we have to do is ask questions.

I would even, eventually, have her writing gardening articles for me as she and her husband have a lot to teach.

Our biggest hurdle this year is going to be working the ground. Our soil is a very heavy and damp clay, through the entire property. So learning how to deal with it is a priority.

We do have a couple of raised beds that were here when we bought our home but the soil is just as bad there. I guess I better start digging if I want to become the backyard gardener I hope to be.

If you have any tips for dealing with the soil in our yard please leave us a comment explaining what you do.

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Image via WikipediaGrowing vegetables doesn’t have to be limited to homeowners who are fortunate to possess a large, sprawling plot of land. You can enjoy homegrown produce if you live in a townhouse, condominium or high rise in the heart of the city. A container vegetable garden is an easy way to enjoy your green thumb and fresh veggies no matter where you live. However, before you run out to the nursery to purchase seeds and containers, there are a few things you need to know about how to make a container vegetable garden a success.

Choosing your Location
Sunlight is important for the growth of any plant, and this goes for your container vegetable garden as well. Most crops will require at least five hours of direct sunlight a day, so make sure your patio or balcony can accommodate these needs. It is also a good idea to choose a spot that is sheltered from too much wind, since harsh gusts can break off delicate new plants and dry out the soil much quicker. Once you have found the perfect spot for your container vegetable garden, it is time to select a container or two.

Selecting Containers
The first consideration in selecting pots for your container vegetable garden is size. While some crops, like onions and herbs will grow well in more shallow containers, most plants will do best in at least a five gallon pot. However, you are not limited to the traditional flower pots for your container vegetable garden. Check out the variety of buckets, bushel pails, wooden boxes and window boxes that are available. The main factors to keep in mind when choosing your container are to choose a substance that is nontoxic, and will provide sufficient drainage for your plants.

Preparing Soil
Good soil and regular feedings are essential for container vegetable gardens, since they will not be able to get nutrients from the ground. Peat-based synthetic mixes are generally the best choice for this style of gardening and you can find an excellent variety of commercial products designed for this purpose at your local nursery or garden center. Once your plants are growing, it is a good idea to use a slow-release fertilizer as directed to keep your plants thriving and your harvest coming. Regular watering is also important, since the soil in containers tends to dry out much more quickly than garden beds in the ground. Check your pots daily and water as needed.

Homeowners with large yards are not the only ones who can enjoy fresh veggies from the vine all summer long. With a container vegetable garden, you can indulge in this hobby no matter where you live.

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Image via WikipediaWe have had backyard anthills on every property we have owned so it’s nothing new and I would say that most people have to deal with anthills.

So how to you rid your yard of those ants and their ugly anthills without destroying the environment? We prefer the GREEN solution.

Well here are 5 ways to get rid of backyard anthills.

1. You could dig them up but that’s a lot of work. The anthills we have had seem to be all sand and makes a big ugly bump in our yard so even after using other methods to get rid of the ants you still need to dig up the anthill and replace it with good top soil so your yard gets looking great again.

I thought about using dynamite but my wife said she wanted to keep me home instead of in prison so we scrapped that idea.

2. Here is one I got from Yahoo Answers. You can use GRITS to rid yourself of live ants. Unfortunately they will explode once they eat the grits so you will have ant innerds all over the place.

NOTE: You could try designing a tiny sign that says it’s better in your neighbours yard. The smart ants pack up and move right in. Problem solved, for you.

3. The Local Nursery. Don’t forget to check with your local nursery for non-toxic solutions.

4. Garden Alive has a product called Liquid Ant Killer & Bait Holder that can solve your ant problems as long as they have a sweet tooth.

5. We have a few anthills around our yard and my wife went the plain white vinegar route and it seems to have done the job. It’s still early in the season here so for this one we are not making any promises, but so far so good.

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Having heart problems I need to walk 40 minutes or more daily. Something I should have been doing for years.

I used to be a workaholic only sticking my head out of my home office to play guitar with friends or to go buy smokes. What a dumbass, but hind site is 20/20 they say.

My daily walks have come to be a great inspiration and gives my brain a break and an opportunity to gain fresh ideas.

This spring seemed to take a long time getting here this year and it’s still dropping to zero every night. Brrrrr

??????I bought a video camera this year so I could document the progress we make with our backyard garden. I take it with me on my walks so I can see what is happening in the neighbourhood.

We have a few flowers, more each day, poking through the dirt and others are experiencing the same thing but some homes have some plants we don’t have so I am getting some good ideas of what to add to our flower garden this year.

I have never been able to take photos without a tripod because I shake all the time. Not enough to really effect my life but certainly enough to stop me from taking pictures. I am hoping this digital camera will make a different.

Here are a few images I have taken in the past couple of weeks. I hope they are not to fuzzy. I will get better the more I use the camera and I will also make a few videos that may help my readers.

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Some times I think our city planners do their thinking over too many beers.

We have a spring cleanup every year which gives us the opportunity to put things at the curb for pickup that we no longer want but can’t put out at our regular garbage pickup. It also saves us money renting a truck and paying to drive into the dump.

This year the city decided to have pickup day in the middle of the week, Wednesday and in the middle of the day instead of after dark like the regular pickup.

They also picked it up two weeks earlier than previous years.

People seemed to be a bit confused about the new time and when I went on my 40 minute walk yesterday I saw only a small fraction of homes that had their junk at the curb. Those people would have come home planning to put it out after supper but will be surprised to see it all still there this morning.

I would imagine there is going to be a lot of people who are irrate this morning and the city will be very busy answering angry calls from stunned home owners.

We are a tri-city community and our city was first for pickup so I would think the other two cities will learn from this and have their spring cleaning by the road.

But to make a long story a bit short. My wife took Wednesday off and we had every thing to the curb in time or we would have been too late like most others. The early bird gets his/her garbage out early.

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Image via WikipediaBackyard gardening in New Brunswick.

Ask anyone who has a green thumb about rose gardening, and you may need a tape recorder to remember all the advice you’ll get! Almost anyone who has an interest in gardening flowers and plants will eventually mosey into rose territory. It’s almost irresistible because of the beauty and scent of one of the most popular plants on earth.

A rose is like no other. Rose gardening then will certainly open up grounds for controversy among fellow gardeners. It’s a subject like that of rearing children. To the rose gardening crowd, their plants often become like their own children. They must be fed and nourished and guided properly to bloom and flourish into their majestic beauty.

Gardeners have been known to talk to their plants to coax them into perfect health.

Rose gardening is sure to involve getting your hands dirty. If you want to truly enjoy the experience, you must dig in with gusto and heartily embrace your adventure. Well, there are gloves, you know; but the earth welcomes the hands-on experience. Some say it is quite gratifying to become like one with the soil.

There is surely an art to rose gardening. The experience can be as simple or as scientific as you so choose. You may want to stock up on things like mulch, a shovel, a hoe, weed-killer, a watering can or hose, and maybe something called Miracle Grow or “food” for your rose plants. Not to mention bandaids if your plants have thorns! You’re certain to get pricked at some point if you have the type of rose plant that produces thorns. It’s all part of the true rose gardening experience.
Roses have been known to contract diseases, so you want to know your plants well to be able to recognize unhealthy changes in their leaves, color, overall health. Any living thing is susceptible to such and must be monitored.

Certainly some research is recommended should you choose to begin rose gardening. It would be advisable to research your particular type of rose plant. The adorable miniature roses may need different care than another type of rose plant. Also, a rose that grows well in one area of the globe may struggle in another.

Unsure where to start? The internet has vast amounts of information for rose gardening. There are gardening clubs in many areas. You can search your local library or favored book store for the proper books or magazines. Maybe it would be a good way to meet that neighbor you never knew how to approach. There are also many elderly gardeners who would enjoy mentoring the right student in rose gardening.

Remember, when you choose your rose plant, you may want to share the beautiful blossoms with someone special, or many someones. A child’s teacher, some lonely person in a nursing home or hospital, someone who is unable to enjoy the rose gardening experience firsthand, a favored relative or friend. So make sure you choose carefully and choose enough to share! A rose just isn’t meant to enjoy alone.

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Image via WikipediaYou will be rewarded in many ways – financial, spiritual and physical – when you choose to plant your own backyard vegetable garden. Once you eat some of the vegetables that you planted and nurtured with your own two hands and discover how tasty they are, you will never want to eat store bought again. Best of all, your garden will likely produce more vegetables than you could possibly eat so you could share the bounty with your friends, which makes for a tasty gift!

Vegetable Reward #1

One of the best rewards of a backyard vegetable garden concerns the savings you will receive at the grocery store when you don’t have to pay their exorbitant pricing on their fresh vegetables. Your vegetables will be so fresh and tasty that you could pull them up or pluck them from the vine as you need them. This element is not something you will come close to in a grocery store retail chain as those vegetables are sometimes picked a few days before they are ready due to the ripening process during shipping.

Vegetable Reward #2

The second reason why a backyard vegetable garden works is it could become an entire family affair, a project everyone could work on for some quality time together. Jobs could be split up between the adults and children and the children could learn about the growing process and how to tell when the vegetables are ready to be picked.  In addition, children who would normally scoff and turn their noses up on vegetables may actually eat what they grow – and with enthusiasm too! Therefore, the health of your family will get a great boost from the vitamins and minerals cultivated in your backyard vegetable garden.

Vegetable Reward #3

One of the best things about a backyard vegetable garden is the fact that sometimes, it produces more than you can eat. You could share the excess with your friends or learn how to can or freeze them for future consumption. If you choose to freeze or can your excess vegetables, you could essentially end up with “fresh” vegetables virtually all year long! Most people prefer eating their own bounty from their backyard vegetable garden even frozen or canned in comparison with the paler fresh vegetables you may find off-season in the grocery stores.

When fresh and healthy is the name of the game in your family, a backyard vegetable garden is the best scenario for your family. Cruise your garden center’s vegetable seed and plant aisles and start planning your garden today so you’ll have fresh vegetables in the future.

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Image via WikipediaIn the hot summer months it is difficult to keep your lawn looking fresh and green. This is because the hotter and drier it gets the more your lawn and plants need to be watered. If you don’t have an irrigation system already installed then you probably have to use a hose to water your lawn and plants.

Constantly watering your lawn this way is not possible. This is where having a DIY lawn irrigation system in place can help you out. With such a system in place you don’t have to worry about taking out the old hose and can be assured of having the best lawn in the neighborhood.

Economics

Using a DIY lawn irrigation system saves you the money that would otherwise be spent on hiring a contractor. In the long term an irrigation system will also help you to conserve water and better irrigate your plants.

Simple Installation

Typically a sprinkler system needs professional installation that involves excavation. With a DIY lawn irrigation system you can install the system on your own. The ease of installation is a big plus as it cuts down on the cost of having an irrigation system installed. Too much of the cost of an irrigation system comes from the labor and installation when in fact the actual system does not cost all that much.

You shouldn’t need any experience to install a DIY lawn irrigation system. You want a system that will be installed quickly and easily, look for one that you can manage to install in an afternoon or day at most. Something that hooks up to a spigot in your yard is what you’re looking for.

You should be able to customize your DIY lawn irrigation system otherwise you will be stuck with a system that only covers a small part of your lawn or neglects hard to reach places. Check that the DIY lawn irrigation kit you buy can be set up to fit your lawn properly.

The kit that you buy should come with extensive instructions to help you along and if possible look for a product that comes with ‘tech support’. This could be a website that answers questions or a hotline number that you can use to talk to someone about your kit. Have someone help you out; even though you should be able to do it on your own it’s always good to have an extra pair of hands helping you out.

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Whether you have a backyard vegetable garden or a flower garden they need watering.

Plants are approximately 90% water and therefore it is essential that they get enough water to survive. Backyard gardening is all about balance and that applies to the amount of water your plants need to stay healthy.

Over watering can be as harmful as not giving them enough water.
The soil that the plants are growing in is a big factor in the amount of water that you should be giving them.

If the soil is heavy and doesn’t drain well you will need to give them less water or they could get water logged and the roots can rot.
If the soil is a lot freer draining then you might need to water a little more often.

Too much water can reduce the plants ability to draw oxygen and nutrients from the soil and this is as essential to their growth as the water.

Gentle watering is better than heavy watering with a hose as the higher pressure of the hose can cause the soil to turn to mud. Once the soil dries out again it will become solidified. This compacting of the soil after heavy watering makes it more difficult for the plants to grow.

Soakers are a good method of watering provided the flow of water is not too great.

Soakers are also excellent when using a timed irrigation system so that the plants get sufficient water when you are away and particularly in the hotter months of the year when the soil tends to dry out more often.

If you are using timed irrigation you will need to adjust the timing and the flow of water according to the seasons and always make changes when there have been unseasonal changes to the weather that will require extra care for the plants.

Once again, plants need the human touch to maintain that balance.

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When one thinks of an antique, a rose might not immediately come to mind. But antique roses have been around for centuries. Shakespeare used the word ‘eglantine’ when speaking of the rose in his sonnets and plays. Eglantine is described in the dictionary as a European rose with sweet-scented leaves and pink flowers.

If you aren’t familiar with the word ‘emporium’, it means a large store with a wide variety of things for sale. There are antique rose emporiums to delight rose growers. You can buy an antique rose already rooted from a rose emporium.

How does one prepare to grow an antique? First choose an area that allows for several hours of morning sunlight. It is best to give the plant room for healthy air movement as the bush will grow and develop. Break the soil well; a tiller is helpful should you desire to plant many plants in one area. It’s better to have rich soil in which to grow your antique. The antique will do better if you add good quality organic material and if the soil has proper drainage.

When does one prepare the area for planting the antique? It’s best to prepare in the spring or summer if you live in a southern climate. When you are new to planting, it is an easy assumption that all planting should be done in the spring. But it depends on the climate of the area where you live. If you are buying seeds, there are usually helpful maps on the back of the seed packets to use as a guide. If you are buying from a nursery, be sure to ask there. Of course, you could always try looking it up online or going to the local library or enlisting the advice of an established gardener.

How long can you keep an antique in a container before planting outdoors? If needed, you can keep an antique in a container for several months. You’ll want to give them more attention than once you get them established outdoors. Remember to fertilize and water frequently—and don’t forget proper drainage and air flow around the plants!

Should you add mulch to your antique roses? A true-blue gardener would gasp at the neglect to add mulch! It cuts down on weeds. This may seem strange since it aids the growth of one type of plant and inhibits the growth of another. Mulching also means less stress to your roots from the heat.

How often would one water an antique? It helps to deep-soak your antique once a week—that means saturating the ground in which you have planted your rose. Several hours or overnight should do the trick. This is where it is extremely helpful to have a soaker hose for soaking more than one plant at once.

An antique rose is not disease free, but it is disease resistant. It’s still important to watch for insect or other damage. Should you spray, it is preferable to use a mild fungicide. If in doubt, read the labels on the product carefully. Prune your antique lightly and respectfully. It won’t bloom well if the new growth has to endure damage from heat or frost.

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