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.

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.

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.

I am learning to love backyard gardening in New Brunswick. It’s a lot of hard work to get it started so we are starting small this year. I have this inner fear that if we try to do too much in our first year we may get discouraged and give up.

My wife has a good friend that has been gardening for more than 10 years and you can be sure we will be picking her brain for backyard gardening tips and tricks that will make our learning curve a bit shorter.

What we have done so far is to remove some of the bushes that the previous owners let run wild. I spent the better part of yesterday cutting them off at the ground so they are out of our face. We will remove the roots another day but for now our backyard garden area is starting to look a little better.

Backyard gardening is becoming more of a reality every day. These past few days of warm weather, above freezing, is awesome. New Brunswick seems to be a bit behind everyone else when it comes to getting rid of this snow though.

I think this year is going to be more focused on getting rid of the things we don’t want to keep. We have some shrubs that are across the front of our yard and they are way out of control plus it’s not something we care to look at. I would rather have flowers with a shrub here and there but not a big shrubby mess.

We will see if we can find anyone who would like the shrubs and let them have them. All they have to do is dig them up and take them. We don’t even care if they fill in the holes, we can handle that.

You would expect a natural insecticide to be perfectly safe for people and pets. The truth is that some cause irritations or burns or are even toxic to humans and animals. If you are going to use a natural insecticide, you should be aware of whether it causes problems beyond the pest.

Rotenone is a natural insecticide. It is made from derris plant roots. While it is fairly safe for people, it does harm fish. If you use it, you should take precautions to keep it away from water where you have fish. Rotenone is somewhat toxic to warm-blooded animals. It is even somewhat toxic to humans. You should therefore protect yourself during application of the natural insecticide. The good news is that it doesn’t affect the safety of vegetables grown using it.

A natural insecticide that causes eye and respiratory irritations is Sabadillia. Although it causes discomfort, it is not toxic. However, you should take care not to breathe it in when using it. A mask should be worn.

Dried peppers can be ground and mixed with water to make a spray. This is used as a natural insecticide. However, it too can cause eye and respiratory irritation. The crucial time to be concerned is when you are grinding the peppers.

Termite control products that contain nicotine sulfates are actually more toxic to mammals than synthetic products are. These natural insecticides should be used with caution by an experienced exterminator. Some people use nicotine either in a commercially made product or they make it on their own from tobacco leaves. They use this natural insecticide for many different insects. The trouble is that it is toxic to people. You can’t breathe the vapors. You’ll want to avoid letting it touch your skin.

On the other hand, many a natural insecticide is completely harmless to people and pets. Boric acid is so safe that it can be used in areas where children play. It is toxic only to insects. Diatomaceous Earth is a very popular natural insecticide that is safe for all mammals, including people. Bacillus thurengiensis, Bt, is safe for use on plants as well. It does not harm humans or animals.

Orange, lime, and grapefruit oils are being developed as products to be used as natural insecticides in Third World countries. They are very good at killing many different insects. At the same time, they are completely non-toxic to humans. The natural insecticide from the neem tree is not just non-toxic. It has actually been used as an antiseptic. It has also been used by herbalists to treat many diseases. It has been used for over forty years.

If you use a natural insecticide that contains harmful ingredients, you need to be sure to use it properly. If it is a commercial preparation, follow instructions on the label and use in recommended amounts. It is also important to be aware of how long you need to wait between use of the product and harvesting the crop.

Some kinds of natural insecticide are harmful to people and/or pets. Some are not. The key is to know which natural insecticide you are dealing with. Then, be sure you know everything about it.