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

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

Adding a garden area to your patio serves several purposes. It adds to the comfort and inviting feel of a patio. And by adding plants to your patio and just inside the room adjacent to the patio you can create a flow from the indoors to the outdoor, giving you a feel of more room and a relaxing garden oasis retreat.
photo credit: owlhere

Also,  if you lack space or live in a city, a patio can support a flower or vegetable garden. Many of these ideas can also be used in a city setting or balcony area where use of space is critical.

Below are several you tube videos with patio gardening tips and the use of a vertical growing wall, which can be used indoors or outdoors.

Patio Gardening Tips

This you tube shows mainly the use of flowers. My patio includes an equal amount of vegetables and herbs. I find having a mini garden on my patio makes gardening easier and harvesting vegetables for a meal is a cinch. It is also easier to move plants indoors before a bad storm or in the fall to over winter them.

Growing walls are beautiful and practical. They can easily grow an indoor garden, herbs or a variety of plants. I have even seen them arranged for holidays.

The you tube will show you how to set up a vertical growing wall. There are growing walls that you can hand build. I am looking for directions for one that I can share with you.

When I lived in cities and moved every few months for my job I gave up gardening. If I had known about green growing walls I would have kept a garden. I find gardening to be relaxing and it adds to a home. I still had plants that I moved from city to city, but no garden.

Technorati Tags: backyard oasis, green growing wall, landscaping, patio, patio garden, Small Space Garden

There are many theme gardens that people use in their backyard garden planning. A theme garden is popular because it usually takes less space than an ordinary garden and acts as a focal point in backyard design.
photo credit: fotologic

With the trend in outdoor kitchens and the popularity of barbeque pits a barbecue garden is a must for many garden areas.

Since most outdoor kitchens use creative landscaping design ideas and Barbeque centers are kept on the deck or patio. It makes sense to grow this theme garden in containers and close to the cooking area.

The Barbeque garden is set up to take limited space and it uses only three potting containers. Two containers should be 24 inches in diameter and one, at least 15 inches in diameter. You will also need potting soil, compost or organic fertilizer.

Plants for your Barbeque Garden

1 tomato plant
1 Red pepper plant
1 Habanera plant
1 flat leaf parsley plant
1 upright rosemary plant
1 trailing rosemary plant
1 Chive plant
1 Dill plant
1 Mint plant
1 Oregano plant
Thyme plant – French is a good culinary variety
3 Basil plants
photo credit: Tambako the Jaguar

When placing your garden remember it will perform better if it’s located in an area that receives at least 6 hours of direct sun.

Start designing your Barbeque garden by checking the bottoms of the garden pots or containers you selected to make sure they have good drainage holes. I would also suggest pots or containers with color since your garden is all about growing herbs for the kitchen. Make your containers spicy and creative like your garden herb selection.

Fill all three pots with potting soil and lightly pat the soil down. Its best to leave three or four inches of space between the top of the soil and the top rim of the pot. This acts to catch water, plus I like to add mulch to the top of the container to help keep the soil moist and conserve on the soils moisture.

Add organic fertilizer or compost to the potting containers. Mix lightly into the soil with a fork and pat the soil back down.

In the first 24-inch pot plant the tomato towards one side of the pot. This will become the backside of the planting design. Next, plant two of the basil’s in front of the tomato toward the center of the pot and the thyme at the very front edge.

Add the dill plant to one side of the basil/thyme and the parsley on the other side. For the final step place a tomato cage or trellis around the tomato. If you are using a trellis place it behind the plant. I like the look of a trellis in this garden design.

For the second 24-inch pot, plant the pepper plants, side-by-side at the “back” of the pot. Space these plants one foot apart.

On one side of the container plant the trailing rosemary. And on the other side plant a basil and mint plant. Add the tomato cage or trellis where both peppers can use it.

To create a nice design I place the third medium sized planter in between and in front of the larger planting containers. This will create a triangle shaped mini garden.

In the medium 15-inch pot, plant the rosemary towards the “back” of the pot. Next place the chive and oregano in front and space accordingly.

Water all of the pots thoroughly and add compost or mulch to the top or each planter. This will shade the soil and help retain moisture.

You can add a few small growing flowers, edible flowers or trailing flowers to the plants in front for color. There are also several different varieties of the herbs I suggested that have more color such as Golden thyme or purple ruffles basil.

You might consider adding two small pots in the front of the planters off to the side of the medium planters for flowers.

One edible flower that I consider a must for the barbeque theme garden is the nasturtium.  They are easy to grow, colorful and have a peppery taste which will compliment any barbeque meal.

This mini theme garden is practical and colorful. It will make a great addition to your backyard oasis paradise and kitchen garden area.

Technorati Tags: backyard design, Backyard Garden, backyard oasis, barbeque garden, herb garden, herbs, small space design, Small Space Garden, small space theme garden

Many people have limited garden space or want their garden as near to the house as possible. The perfect solution is to create a garden porch.
photo credit: hortulus

Your produce will be within walking distance, watering will be easy and you will have the added benefit of creating a garden oasis on your porch that will be enjoyed by family and friends.

The first step to a successful porch garden is to check the sunlight that your plants will receive. For a vegetable garden you will need 6 to 8 hours or sunlight. Flowers and herbs can live with less light but really prefer sunlight.

If sunlight is a problem and you really want the garden you can add fluorescent lighting to help your plants out.

Next it’s time to select containers. A mix of hanging baskets, window boxes, and larger containers for the floor will add a layering of plants which creates a full lush feeling in your garden area. You can choose plastic wood or ceramic containers. For retaining moisture, ceramic and terra cotta are the best.

My porch garden has two upside down hanging tomato plants, two hanging strawberry plants, two window boxes that have been placed on the porch railing, and 4 floor containers for the porch corner that will add height in planting to the garden.

It’s best to keep your plant containers about 16 inches or more in diameter so that the plants will not dry out as fast. It’s also beneficial to have mulch on the soil to keep the soil cool so it will not need as much water.
photo credit: Hotash

A trellis will work well for vining flowers and vegetables. Mixing a flowering vine with a vegetable will add color and interest to your porch garden.

It’s amazing what you can grow in a small space garden area. With proper planning you can grow enough produce on your porch to save $500 to $1000 on your grocery bill.

And by adding herbs and flowers you will also be able to grow you own spices for the kitchen and flower bouquets for the house and garden oasis area.

Technorati Tags: backyard oasis, container gardening, garden design, garden oasis, gardening, home and garden, porch garden, Small Space Garden