Flowers and living flower arrangements add to any room or home. And if you have a spare plant on hand they make a great gift for company or a birthday.

photo credit: >>>WonderMike<<<

At this time of year any plant adds beauty to a room and flowering bulbs are a fun, exciting and easy plant to start. The bulbs are often on sale at this time of year too.

Or you can take a bulb such as a daffodil an use his method of forcing a bulb to have a wonderful accent.

This you tube shows how easy it is to start a bulb. I like the glass vase that was used for this bulb. It add an artistic look to the arrangement.

I also enjoy tropical plants but they are a challenge in my home. I really do not have a lot of light in most rooms. Or the rooms with great lighting have a chill in the room.

This you tube has tips for growing tropical plants and how to work with them if they seem to be dying.

As this you tube points out, some plants need a resting period.Check the plants growing tag or look online or at the local library for more information on your plant variety.

House plants will also add color and even the look of additional space to apartments, patios and balcony gardens. Place plants outdoors in warmer weather and bring them indoors for the colder seasons

House plants add to any home and with a little care and knowledge you can have a lush garden.

Technorati Tags: balcony gardening, indoor plants, indoor plants for small spaces, patio plants, Small Space Garden

With advances in solar cells and the widespread use of LED lights, options for solar accents in the garden abound. Whether you are looking for lanterns, landscape lighting, fountains, or a patio umbrella that doubles as a mini-power station, solutions are both easy to find and economical.

photo credit: rengber

The solar garden lantern, though a staple of outdoor lighting, remains a top pick among solar products. The consumer now has a wide array of choices for styles and materials, not to mention pricing. Another common option is the use of a single solar panel for multiple lights, which allows for placement in areas once considered too shady for a lantern.

Low voltage string lights are a natural evolution of solar power in the backyard. The solar panel can be placed in an area of maximum sun exposure, and the entire string will sparkle evenly long after sunset. Styles run from simple white holiday lights to large and colorful Chinese lanterns.

Adjustable solar landscape lighting allows for the illumination of trees, walls and garden artifacts. Without the need for a power source, placement of solar landscape lighting is easy and flexible, even at the edges of a property or driveway.

Solar fountains bring the welcome sound of running water into the yard, minus the worries about wasting electricity. Placing a fountain near a bedroom window creates a peaceful background for sleep, and there is no need to turn the power off. Many times these garden decorations also double as bird baths.

photo credit: Ian Muttoo

Many are re-discovering garden decorations brought to life by the use of solar power. For example, kissing fairies once hidden after sunset now have their snowy faces illumined by the light of a glowing orb. Likewise, a trio of gnomes hold lit lanterns high to see the trail ahead. The whole yard can indeed be a wonder at night.

For the backyard connoisseur who must have it all, a solar patio umbrella provides both an attractive and practical solution. During the day solar cells gather energy as the umbrella provides shade; during the night LED lights on the underside of the umbrella provide light for meals and socializing. The system can be turned off at any time and the solar cells will continue to gather energy.

As a final step, check the sales rank of products to help find the best solar landscape lights on the market. Adding motion, sound and lighting to the yard without the guilt of wasting energy provides a special satisfaction. In addition to bringing enjoyment, it can also be surprisingly easy and economical.

To further investigate the solar lights and decorations in this article visit Robert Mann’s Solar Garden Center .

Technorati Tags: backyard oasis night lighting, garden decor, gardening, landscaping, outdoor lighting, solar lights

Indoors or out, plants in pots and containers have certain uses and needs. With proper care both the plant and potting container will last for years and add beauty throughout the entire year.

photo credit: hello-julie

Planters: Where to place your plants

Where you place your plant in a room or on patios and balconies create an impact upon the atmosphere and ambience of the area. Your first concern with potted plants is the amount of light or lack of light the plant requires. The plant care tag will help you with this or garden shops and online plant care websites.

Once you know your plant needs it time to place the plant for the best visual effect.

Tall, potted plants will create a quiet reading corner or add privacy to an office space. They can be used as a divider in a room or to hide a problem area in a room.

Hanging plants can provide a screen for a bathroom or bedroom window. They will also create a room barrier and fill bare corner with color. Add an herbal hanging container to you kitchen and harvest fresh herbs for cooking all winter.

An orchid may add tropical appeal to a patio or other living space. To give a more rounded and lush look near the orchid add two or three small potted plants around the orchid planter.

photo credit: magic_bee

Avoid placing plants in heavy traffic areas or small spaces. They will add a cluttered feel to these spaces and interfere with traffic flow.

Make sure that plants placed on tables or in other conversation spots are not too large. This will interfere with conversation and give the area an uneasy unbalanced feel.

Potted containers.

Pots and containers are often overlooked when selecting a plant and adding to the atmosphere of a room. Many feel any old pot will do. But selecting pots for color and décor adds to the room and to the beauty of the plant.

Regardless of the decorative appeal, a container with good drainage is a must for an interior plant. Indoor plants have more of a problem for plant disease if the soil cannot drain properly

Place a saucer underneath the container to catch the run off water before it leaves water stains on your tables or reaches your floor. Saucers with pebbles place them will keep excess water away for the plants roots and add humidity around the plants. This humidity is beneficial to the plants and people.

Polystyrene peanuts will keep the container light in weight, increase your drainage, and
decrease the soil needed to fill the pot. This is particularly important in hanging baskets and larger potting containers that can get heavy. Outdoor balcony gardens will also benefit from lighter planters.

Baskets and decorator pots are available at home improvement stores, gardening centers, auction houses and garage sales. You can also paint or redecorate or planter and pots to match your décor. And if you are in a creative mood you can make a hypertyfu one of a kind planter.

Plants and planters add to the atmosphere and health of your home. And with creativity in the choice of plants and planters you can add change to your rooms on a weekly or monthly basis, indoors or out.

Technorati Tags: backyard oasis, hanging baskets, indoor plants, plant containers, planters

At this time of year, many people that are doing indoor gardening are using windowsill gardening methods or container gardening.

photo credit: striatic

For successful container gardening these 7 steps should be considered. These steps will work both indoors and outdoors.

1. Light
2. soil
3. humidity
4. temperature
5. water
6. the right container
7. feeding the plant

The following you tube will expand on the seven steps for container gardening and provide you will very useful information.

I have found over the last few years that container gardening is quickly becoming my favorite style of gardening. Its easy, the gardens can be moved and they can be covered during severe weather. I also bring many of my mini gardens in during the winter months.

Container gardening is also perfect for small space garden needs.

Technorati Tags: container gardening, gardening, indoor gardening, Small Space Garden, successful container gardening

With busy schedule most families keep today, it’s easy to let your backyard get that “wild out of Control” look. You don’t seem to notice how bad it looks until you are pulling in the drive or take a look at it from the neighbors yard and wonder who lives there!

photo credit: JulieFinestone

Here’s how to clean up your backyard and get it back under control.

Clean up the weeds, leaves and shrubs.

Grab your garden tools and a wheelbarrow and start first by cleaning up the fallen leaves. You can also pull out the weeds growing along fences and the sides of your house at the same time. If you have a compost pile add the fresh material into the pile.

Next trim your shrubs with a garden trimmer. For a nice trim its best to step back and take a good look at the shrub. Remove any damaged or diseased branches. After that you can trim the top and sides. It depends on what type of shrub I have on where I dispose of the cuttings. Shrubs with leaves go in the compost pile for the garden areas. Evergreen shrubs are put in a pile to be used for mulching material around shrubs and trees.

Mow the lawn and trim the edges

After the leaves, weeds and shrubs are tidied up, its time to mow the yard and doing any neglected backyard trimming. Mow your lawn on a low height setting to trim down the grass. This will let you get a good look at the lawn area. Get your weed whacker out of storage and edge any fences, sidewalks, drives and shrubs and trees.

This is when I look at the difficult trimming areas and decide if I will be creating mulch layering in these areas.

Clean up the clutter.

Start eliminating the clutter by placing any tools and belongings back into the garage or a storage shed. If you need more storage space, organize your existing space or buy building or small storage shed for your backyard.

If you have an item in your backyard that has sat in one place waiting to be fixed or used one day, wither fix it or move it on. Someone else will appreciate that old doghouse that has not been used in years or the canoe hidden in grass.  And yes, it’s hard to part with those “I’ll do it next week” projects.

Landscape your backyard.

If you feel you backyard needs made over just take a few minutes and sit down and take a look. What would add comfort or ease to the backyard? Is there a certain plant or tree you have always wanted. Do you need more room to entertain or would you like to make the yard easier to maintain?

Install paving stones to make a path or a few new trees and shrubs will give a new look to the yard quickly. Put a bench in your backyard for reading relaxing or to enjoy the garden area.

By adding new landscaping and creating areas in your backyard you will add interest to the yard.  You will also find yourself spending more time enjoying and taking care of backyard projects that will keep the yard clean and tidy.

Technorati Tags: backyard clean-up, backyard landscaping, backyard oasis, backyard projects, clean up backyard