A small strip of green in your backyard completes the charm of your sweet home. What can parallel the experience of a relaxed weekend amidst the chattering of the birds in the greenery right in your backyard or retiring in the lap of nature at the end of every tiring day! Your tryst with nature will become even more enjoyable if your garden—even if it is small one—is neatly manicured and artistically landscaped. When it comes to landscaping the garden, many people are led by the misconception that you need an expert help to give your garden the desired shape and look. But in reality, it is possible to design your own garden according to your taste. In fact, landscaping can be all fun and easy if you are armed with proper information.

What is garden landscaping?

Landscaping is often described as a pursuit of art, backed up by the scientific knowledge. The aesthetic sense in you makes the garden alluring, while the scientific knowledge serves the practical purposes. Thus in order to get started in your landscaping endeavor, polish up your finer senses of aesthetics and try to acquire information about basic landscaping designs.

According to the basic grammar of landscape designing, there are major five elements of landscape designing. They are:

• Color
• Texture
• Scale
• Line
• Form

Color: The color is added by the selection of flowers and particular shrubs and plants. The color schemes most commonly used in landscape designing are: monochromatic, analogous and complementary. While the monochromatic color scheme consists of different shades of one color, analogous color schemes are based on the colors which stay side-by-side on the color wheel. Complementary color schemes on the other hand comprise the hues that stay directly opposite each other in the color wheel.

Line: You can create the landscape in a line that is either straight or curved. While straight line has certain force of itself, curved lines appeared to be gentle to the eyes of the beholder and they create an illusion of movement.

Form: Lines are closely associated with that of the form. The form depends on the type of the plantations and their growth habit. Form relates to the aspects of size or area of the garden.

Texture: This factor is not influenced by the plants alone; there are many other objects in the garden like bridge, path etc that add to the roughness or smoothness of the landscape.

Scale: This refers to the size or dimension of any object in terms of the total area of the garden. Good landscaping depends on the sense of the scale and symmetry.

These were the basic elements of landscape design. Add your imagination and creativity to these basic elements to create your private retreat of peace and tranquility.

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The art of cultivating bonsai trees is a Japanese tradition stretching back hundreds of years.  Bonsai literally translates to “tray planting,” and involves actively growing and shaping trees into an artistic dwarfed version of themselves.  A bonsai tree is not a special dwarf or hybrid species of a common tree; they’re genetically identical to their taller brothers and sisters.  It’s the careful cultivation that keeps these trees small.  However, the trees are not sick or damaged.  In fact, given the proper attention, the bonsai version of a tree can exceed the life expectancy of the same tree if it were grown in the wild.

Grown from seeds or cuttings, Bonsai trees normally grow in height from two inches to three feet.  Through pruning both branches and roots bonsai trees are kept small.  Additionally, new growth is often removed when the bonsai plants are periodically repotted.

There is a much about art as there is about horticulture in the growing and cultivating of bonsai trees.  Not only are bonsai trees kept small, they are also formed into pleasing shapes.  They often follow a number of different growth patterns, from elaborate waterfall shapes cascading down over their pots to simple triangular pattens.  The various shapes are normally a product of both the pruning of the tree and through the wrapping the branches and trunk with wire, shaping the tree into its desired form.  The pots themselves are part of the art as well, chosen to compliment the shape and color of the tree itself.  Rocks and mosses are frequently added to the base for aesthetic appeal.

Taking care of a bonsai tree is more complicated than the growing of most houseplants.  Since the bonsai has has a smaller root system than most plants, it needs fertilizer and water more frequently than the majority of garden-variety houseplants.  Occasional pruning is also essential, since without pruning the bonsai tree would grow into just a normal large tree.  Also, if wire is used to help mold and form the tree, it is important to take care that the wire doesn’t dig into the bark of the tree, scarring the branches permanently.  Depending on the type of bonsai tree and your climate, you may be able to keep some bonsai trees outside year round, while others will need to be kept inside for at least part of the year.  Since moisture in the soil, leaves, and branches of the bonsai is important, they need to be misted occasionally if they are to develop healthily.

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Image by cjohnson7 via Flickr

Just imagine your pasta and pizza without the finishing touch of oregano or the delicious mince dumplings without the pinch of sage! The outcome is sure to be bland and boring. This is what the herbs do for you’re your culinary skills – they uplift the taste and flavor of any dish. In addition to that they make the dish look colorful and inviting. Thus the defining character of any dish is the work of appropriate herbs. While you can buy them in the local grocery stores, it is always better to home grow them in your backyard; the addition of garden fresh herbs will definitely make your cooking and dining experience even more enjoyable.

Plant type

Before getting started in the task of herb gardening, you must learn about the different types of herbs. The herbal plants are of three types:

Annual—the herbs like basil, chamomile, dill, chives, lavender, lemon, mint, oregano rosemary, sage, tarragon or thyme are planted each spring and live for only one season.

Perennial—the herbs like catnip, balm, lovage, marjoram or thyme live for many years. Although they shake off the leaves during winter, their roots remain alive and in the turn of spring they bloom into new foliage.

Biennial—The plant like Parsley grow for two years. The first season is for growing foliage, next the seeds are formed. After that they die at the end of the second season.

Choice of the location

For herb gardening the question as to where to plant is very critical. Not all the herbs have same light or temperature requirement. While most of the herbs need exposure to the sunlight for at least 6 hours per day, the herbs likes chives, cilantro, dill, and mint are grown in the shade.

Soil type

Make sure of the soil requirement of a particular herb before planting one. In general an extra rich and over fertilized soil is not suitable for planting good quality herbs. Over fertilization kills the flavor of the herb by reducing the essential oil content of the herbs. The herbs do better in the moderately rich soil. In addition to that, your herb garden must have excellent drainage quality, so that soil does not contain extra water. Growing herbs in raised beds or containers is also a good idea.

Daily care of your herb garden

Just like with vegetables, other herbs require about an inch of water per week. However, those planted in containers tend to dry out more quickly and hence need more frequent watering. To get a better grip, with the soil keep garden beds weeded.

One interesting thing about herb plants is: they have inherent power to resist pests and disease attacks. This is due the aromatic natural oil, they are bestowed with; the aroma repel pests and insects naturally. Still, herbs are susceptible to the attack of insects like aphids, and diseases such as powdery mildew.

Keep these information in mind when you are going to start your herb garden for the first time; your care for your herb garden will result into great pleasure everyday all through the year.

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