Archive for August, 2011

August 27th, 2011  Posted at   Modern House
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Garden Design 101: Aesthetically Pleasing Garden for the Home

Gardens are one of the most attractive part of the home. Gardens can increase the aesthetic appeal and resale value of one’s house. Getting a garden also increases the luxury and comfort of living inside your house. It gives you the chance to appreciate the beauty of nature without leaving your yard. Making this little haven of flora and fauna can be achieved with a couple of easy steps.

One of the first things you need to think about is the flowers for your garden. Deciding which flowers to put into your garden deserves consideration; most homeowners prefer to plant perennial flowers that bloom throughout the year. They bloom in accordance with the season and climate. Among all perennial flowers, roses are the most popularly used in gardens.

Annual flowers bloom only once a year unlike perennial flowers.

Though these flowers rarely bloom they still make a good adornment for the garden. Compared with perennials, they are less expensive and simpler to grow. What’s great about annual flowers is that they provide a different look for the garden every year. Some examples of annual flowers include daisies, baby’s breath, and begonias.

Most people think that flowers only exist to enhance the beauty of the yard. What they don’t know is that flowers can serve other functions. There are flowers that attract butterflies and repel insects. You should also check if the plants in the garden blend well together. Some plants with runners have a tendency to spread, compete for nourishment with other plants, and sometimes cause structural damage.

Make sure that these plants are separated from other plants and flowers inside your garden.

After deciding which plants to get for your garden, you must design a layout for every flower. The layout does not have to be complex; a simple layout in the flowerbed and planting schedule will do. Determine one single focal point for your garden, when you make the layout and add flowers for shade gardens.

Accentuate your garden by highlighting pathways and putting up small lanterns in particular locations. Create terrariums as decorations for your patio. Lastly, you can produce a location of relaxation by adding chairs and tables for your garden, where you can spend your free time with family members and friends. A well-designed and well-planned garden is aesthetically pleasing and practically efficient. Therefore, you really have to plan ahead and organize stuff prior to getting stuff planted.

If you have questions, please visit us at bloomiq.com for complete details and answers.

August 26th, 2011  Posted at   Modern House
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Design Your Own Windowsill Herb Garden

If you use lots of herbs while cooking and are interested in having a herb garden of your own and do not have enough space then you should consider growing a herb garden indoors. One of the most common indoor herb gardens are the ones in pots along window sills. But there are also other ways in which you can grow plants indoors.

The thing that you first have to understand if you want a herb garden is that it needs to get sufficient sunlight and should be out of the reach of any pets, or children. The next step is for you to decide the size of the herb garden that you are going to grow so that it fits on your window sill. Every herb does not grow similarly and you should ensure that you leave enough space for the bigger ones.

You should ensure that you select herbs that grow well together. There are a few herbs that tend to take over others in the garden and you then get hybrids of both.

A good example of this is when a peppermint plant and oregano plants are too close to one another and lead to the formation of a new herb that smells like peppermint and oregano.

You should decide the herbs which you wish to plant in your windowsill herb garden and also the ways in which you wish to use them. You can consider growing herbs for potpourri or herbs for cooking. There is a very large variety of herbs and some of them do not grow well when together. You should thus do sufficient research on conditions and compatibility among the herbs that you choose before you start to grow them.

There are a few herbs which are quite difficult to grow and there are others like Chives which grow quite easily almost anywhere. Ensure that you only select herbs that will be able to grow at room temperature.

These herb gardens also help in adding color to your rooms if you grow them correctly with the right amount of light and the right temperature.

When you have an indoor windowsill herb garden then you can have the freshest herbs even during winter months. Just ensure that you keep moving the herbs around so that they get the right amount of light for them to grow. You also get some necessary minerals and vitamins from your indoor herb garden like cayenne that works towards keeping you healthy.

Herbs have been grown for medicinal purposes for a very long time. There are herbs that are known to cure colds and others that help with depression that you face during the colder months.

You should always buy your herbs from a reputed nursery so that, you get the right information about the conditions required for their growth. If you take help from an expert then you will able to maintain your herb garden quite easily all through the year. It is very simple for anybody to grow a herb garden that lowers your bills on herb purchases as well as improve your house aesthetically.

Carolyn Grant is a herb gardening expert. For great information on Herb Gardening, visit http://www.herbgardenofeden.com