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How to start out gardening, wanting to try new things this summer?

admin — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 00:26:01 +0000

This summer I want to do some new things, like crochet, baking, and possibly some gardening. But I have never really had any experience with gardening… If any of you guys could give me some pointers or tell me how to start, please do. Also I live in South Carolina, if that helps anyone.

Five things to know about Delavan’s Congdon Gardens

admin — Sat, 18 Jun 2011 23:17:09 +0000

Five things to know about Delavan’s Congdon Gardens
Congdon Gardens in Delavan were founded in 2003, although the name wasn’t “Congdon Gardens” back then. For the first three years, the gardens weren’t much more than plantings of annuals, said gardens foundation spokeswoman Connie Glatz-Helms.
Read more on The Janesville Gazette

Mexico City – 5 Things To See And Do

admin — Wed, 04 May 2011 04:43:35 +0000

Mexico City – 5 Things To See And Do

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Home Page > Travel > Mexico City – 5 Things To See And Do

Mexico City – 5 Things To See And Do

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Posted: Aug 30, 2010 |Comments: 0
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Despite resting on the ancient Aztec capital, Mexico City is an example of a modern city that is pushing for progress. At roughly 23 million inhabitants, it is one of the biggest cities in the world, and visitors will be spoilt for choice with the wide range of activities and experiences that the city offers. To try and cover everything in Mexico’s capital would be impossible, so here’s 5 things to whet your appetite during the day, and something for the evening if you’ve still got some energy left.

5 Things For The Daytime…
1) Visit the floating gardens of Xochimilco
With Aztec farmland scare, the population developed a system of floating reed mats covered with soil to create gardens on the lake that surrounded their ancient capital. Visitors today can take a journey in a flat bottomed boat around Xochimilco, an area in the south of the city to see the impressive floating gardens where most of the city’s flowers are grown. You’ll also have the opportunity to get an understanding of the immense scale of the agrarian canal system that watered the Aztec capital.

2) Take a city tour
Plenty of tours exist to help you get an overview of the most engaging parts of Mexico City without getting overwhelmed by all the options of museums, architecture, sights and sounds. One of the options that could be included in your tour is the looming Metropolitan Cathedral, the largest church in Latin America, which houses many treasures from the colonial period of the city’s history. It took a back-breaking 250 years to build, well demonstrated by the variety of architectural styles as new people took up the project over the years. Another option could be Chapultepec Park, home to 5 museums, 2 lakes, a zoo, tranquil botanical gardens and, on the other end of the scale, an amusement park with one of the world’s largest roller coasters. For those with a desire to learn about 3000 years of human evolution, a visit to the world-class Anthropological Museum will satisfy you. Thousands of artifacts are displayed, including burial tombs, giant Olmec stone heads, the famous Aztec Calendar Stone and a reconstructed Mayan temple.

3) Visit the ancient ruins of Teotihuacan
The most impressive reminder of the Aztec order, the huge pyramid of Teotihuacan is an easy day trip from Mexico City. Walk the Avenue of the Dead and watch the sun set over the Pyramid of the Sun to get a feel for the once mighty capital that was said to have held a population of 200,000 at its peak.

4) Find some souvenirs
Bargain hunters can’t do much better than the Ciudadela Market, Mexico City’s arts and crafts bazaar. A buzzing hub of activity and trading, shoppers will find handmade artifacts from all over Mexico and are sure to bag a beautiful keepsake.

5) Get serenaded by a Mariachi band
If you enjoy the sight of a group of Mexicans wearing matching costumes and gigantic hats sidling up to you with instruments eagerly at the ready, pay a visit to the Garibaldi Mariachi Plaza. It’s a site surrounded by cafes and restaurants, perfect or open air concerts and wandering musicians. Either receive the full personal treatment from a band or watch from a distance – either option is well worth it.

…And A Slice Of Nightlife
If you can’t face heading out on the town to one of the countless bars or dance clubs after pounding the streets of the city all day long, Mexico City has the option of you. Hosted in the majestic Hidalgo Theatre, Amalia Hernandez’ Folklorico Ballet of Mexico of has performed more than 12,000 presentations over the last 50 years and represents the preservation of traditional music and dance throughout Mexico. It’s a wonderful assault on the senses of colour, sound and movement. The best part is that after a long day on your feet soaking up the wonders of Mexico City, you get to enjoy it sitting down.

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Gary Sargent is the Managing Director of the tour companies Escaped to Peru and Escaped to Latin America and has lived in South America for over 10 years. Gary is passionate about life here, the people, customs and places. Visit Gary’s website for more Latin America travel advice or to book your next Latin America adventure.

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What are these things that grows in my garden?What should I do about them?

admin — Wed, 04 May 2011 00:45:52 +0000

I bought a house recently. It seems that the former owner has been neglecting it for quite some time. I hope someone can tell me what are these things in the following pictures as i am going to remove all the weeds and plant some evergreen bushes. BTW, I live in the Midwest and want some recommendation on some low maintenance evergreen bushes that flower. (If there are any.)

http://i118.photobucket.com/albums/o108/mytreasure2006/garden/pics100.jpg

http://i118.photobucket.com/albums/o108/mytreasure2006/garden/pics102.jpg

http://i118.photobucket.com/albums/o108/mytreasure2006/garden/pics097.jpg

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6 Things you MUST know before hiring a lawn fertilization company

admin — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 19:40:23 +0000

6 Things you MUST know before hiring a lawn fertilization company

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Home Page > Home Improvement > Landscaping > 6 Things you MUST know before hiring a lawn fertilization company

6 Things you MUST know before hiring a lawn fertilization company

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Posted: Feb 22, 2011 |Comments: 0
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So you are looking for a lawn care company. Before you call around and ask for estimates, you MUST read these tips to save yourself a lot of MONEY and TIME.

1.) Don’t make the mistake of comparing apples to oranges.
Break every quote down to cost PER APPLICATION not PER YEAR.
Some companies are very clever with their marketing. One may have a 7-step treatment program. Some may have a 5 step treatment program. The number of steps in the program represents how many treatments you will receive annually.

Example: One company may quote you at $250 a year for lawn care, but when you read what is actually in the program it only includes 4 treatments That cost it $62.50 per treatment. Another may quote you at $350 a year, but will offer 6 treatments which comes to $58 per treatment.
Break everything down to the per treatment cost. Ignore the Per Year price. See how many treatments a company will offer and then you will find the real best deal.

2.) Watch for “False Synergy”. It is common in the industry for a company to do one application per visit. There are times of the year and certain situations where it is beneficial to do two application at the same visit. An example of this would be if you had a really bad grub problem in the lawn. During the late summer visit, the technician should do your late summer fertilizer and your grub control at the same visit. This is best for the lawn because of the time frame you have to get the product down. It is also best for the environment: it cuts down gas, carbon footprint, and useless wasting of other resources. We call this “Synergy” and it can be a good idea. But their is need for Caution: Some companies try to pull a fast one on their clients and apply 4,5, and I’ve even seen 6 treatments at once. This is what I call “False Synergy”. To much of a good thing can become a bad thing. When you add anything to your soil it changes the chemistry of it; to much at once can become dangerous and harmful to the beneficial insects, microbes and microorganisms living in the soil.

3.) The Danger of incorrectly applying and abusing pesticides.
People now more than ever are concerned about the use of pesticides on our crops, in our homes and on our lawns. I am not anti-pesticide; but I understand the DANGER of improperly applying them. Any Commercial Pesticide in the USA must be registered with the Environmental Protection Agency. Depending on the state you live in they may have additional requirements. Each pesticide label clearly explains the dangers of misuse, the amount to be mixed, and how and where to apply. Many Companies Do NOT take these precautions seriously. They buy the product, hire some untrained people, and call them “technicians”. Then they send them out with a truck to YOUR HOME and tell them to “spray the weeds or spray the lawn down”. One of the biggest problems with this is they hit areas where the pesticide should not be (non-target areas) and cause damage to the soil structure, microbes and beneficial organisms in the soil.

Pesticides can also be harmful to your health, your children’s health, and the environment.

*Between 1973 and 1991, the overall incidence of childhood cancer increased 10%.
Soft tissue sarcoma and brain cancer incidence increased more than 25%

*A study sponsored by the National Cancer Institute indicates that household and garden
pesticide use can increase risk of childhoods leukemia as much as seven-fold

*Children take in more pesticides relative to body weight than adults and have developing organ systems that are more vulnerable and less able to detoxify toxic chemicals. (www.toxicsinfo.org/Lawn/Lawn Pesticide Facts & Figures.htm)

Your best bet: eliminate the use of any pesticide and go with an organic, Eco-friendly lawn Company.

4.) Don’t let them oversell you! Educate yourself.
One of the biggest mistake I see in the industry is people being oversold and ripped off!
First of all if someone tell you that you need 12 lawn treatments a year, just hang up the phone.
Believe it or not their is a lot of science behind fertilizing a lawn. Let me quickly teach you the basics.

1.) Start with a soil Sample. This can be done by any legitimate lawn company. You can also do it yourself and save a few bucks but you may need an expert to make sense of it all. A company can do this for around $40-50. They take the samples from your lawn using a probe and mail them to a lab. The lab breaks it down and analyzes it. They send you a report that will show you if your lawn has a surplus or deficiency of a few different specific nutrients. They will normally include: P.h balance (if your lawn is to acidic, or alkaline), Cation Exchange Capacity (Measurement of the soils ability to hold and break down nutrients), Iron, Nitrogen, Calcium levels and much more. Once you have this you will know what your lawn really needs.

2.) Find out how much Nitrogen your lawn needs. Depending on what part of the country you live in also depends on how much Nitrogen your lawn needs. This is very very important! If you over fertilize and put to much Nitrogen down on a lawn you will hurt it. This may cause the grass and the top part of the plant to be dark green and grow fast but the soil will suffer for it. You will find yourself getting more fungus in the soil. When the top half of the plant grows to fast the roots cant keep up and support the plant during tough times like the summer or winter. The balance of the plant is thrown off and will eventually deteriorate. Go to your local Co-operative extension which is a state provided resource for agriculture. They will guide you along the way and tell you exactly how much nitrogen your lawn needs. Remember, every area is different, there is no one size fits all.

5.) Utah Cooperative Extension: the best kept secret!

Just about every state has a government funded program that provides free information on everything that has to do with lawns. If you find an insect that you want to get rid of but not sure what it is or how to get rid of it, take it to them, they will find your answer for free. They have a “Master Gardner” on staff. She/He usually has a degree and is an expert in all things agriculture. Trees or lawn dying and you don’t know why? Take some samples in, they have a lab and will diagnose and tell you what you need to do. Visit the website, call them, stop in. They are friendly and passionate about what they do and love to help. As a lawn care business owner I keep them on speed dial and visit regularly. They really are the best kept secret and the best part it’s all FREE. Chat with them before hiring a lawn fertilization company to get educated so you don’t get ripped off.

6.) Don’t just feed the grass, feed the soil.

As mentioned earlier in this report most companies focus on giving you the greenest lawn and not so much the healthiest. To do this they may put extra amounts of nitrogen and fertilizers so that the leaves of the blade are dark green but forget to take care of the rest of the plants, especially the roots. Synthetic fertilizer is like a drug. The lawn may wake up and green faster but its only a high and will wear off until the next feeding of synthetic fertilizer. Its very addictive. When you use organic fertilizer made from natural materials like, bone and blood meal, sugars, humus, molasses, worm castings, yeast and organic matter you are feeding the soil. They feed all the million of microscopic organism that live in the soil and create a healthy environment for them to thrive, which in return organically heals and sustains your lawn. Traditional chemical companies overlook this and do not understand the importance of feeding the soil. When you feed a lawn organically, you are helping it to be self sustaining and not reliant upon the chemicals. When the lawn is healthy and self sustaining, it requires less fertilization, less water, and no more chemicals. You get the best results for the short and long term. Organic fertilizer is safer for your family, safer for the environment and safer on your budget.

Robert Ah Ping
rob@ecolawnutah.com
www.ecolawnutah.com

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Robert AhPing is currently the owner of Eco Lawn Utah. An Eco-friendly lawn fertilization company located in Northen Utah. Robert has 15 years in the turf managment industry.

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What are really easy things to grow in a garden?

admin — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 12:44:44 +0000

I am not a gardener, but I want to try a garden. I don’t have a ton of time to be out there weeding every night, so what are some easy things I can grow next year that would require minimal maintenance? I am in South Dakota.

Things to do and see in Marin County, Feb. 10 through 17, 2011

admin — Sat, 12 Feb 2011 21:46:33 +0000

Things to do and see in Marin County, Feb. 10 through 17, 2011
PERFORMING ARTSON STAGE”ANGEL STREET” — Novato Theater Company Playhouse, 484 Ignacio Blvd., Novato; 883-4498; www.
Read more on Marin Independent Journal

Landscape Design Gardening – 4 Most Important Things To Keep In Mind!

admin — Wed, 26 Jan 2011 09:23:51 +0000

Landscape Design Gardening – 4 Most Important Things To Keep In Mind!

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Home Page > Home Improvement > Gardening > Landscape Design Gardening – 4 Most Important Things To Keep In Mind!

Landscape Design Gardening – 4 Most Important Things To Keep In Mind!

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Posted: Feb 03, 2009 |Comments: 0
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We will try to throw sufficient light onto the art of landscape design gardening in this article. We will review the basis, various stages and factors that need consideration in the process of landscape design gardening.

Landscape Design Gardening: Don’t rush to the store unless sure

Landscape design gardening is an activity that involves meticulous planning followed by step-by-step strict adherence to a plan. An ideal landscape design gardening plan comprises of four stages starting from planning, moving onto designing based on the plan, followed by implementation of the designs and concluding with the management of the whole project to ensure that the work is carried out in confirmation to the plan. When you’re involved in landscape design gardening, you should never feel overwhelmed by the many requirements that surface regularly, and rush to the store to procure them. Unless the materials find a mention in the plan, you must not go ahead and purchase them in a hurried manner.

All Terrain

Landscape gardening designs must be based entirely of the kind of terrain that is under consideration. Whether you are landscaping huge areas like acreage around a building or smaller ones like a households backyard, the type of terrain will determine the final look of the landscape design. If the terrain is large enough, one can play around with many options, however, smaller terrains have limited choices to work around with. The soil of the land under consideration can be rocky, sandy or even with a lot of clay. It can be a slope, raised or plain flat. All these factors will also play a significant role in going about the task of landscape designing.

Geometrical Considerations

When working on a landscape design gardening project, one can play around with a lot of permutations and combinations of geometrical figures to come up with the best overall look for the landscaped garden. Following are some of the sample shapes:

- Ponds and plant beds in circles
- Borders and paths in Curves
- Patios and plant beds in squares
- Walkways in a straight line
- Pruned bushes in the shape of a cone
- Elliptical plant beds
- Corner beds in the shape of a triangle

Order is the name of the game

One can venture into several gardening options at the time of preparing the landscape designs. However, it should be known that all such options may not necessarily be concerning the types of plants alone. When it comes to landscape gardening, the actual positioning of the plants is in fact more important than the plants themselves. One can either go about placing the plants in a planned manner or just randomly. There are few other questions that can also be explored when working on the landscape designs. They are: Whether there is a provision for walkways adjacent to low lying plants in the garden or not? Are the waterfalls natural or artificial in nature? If natural, are they running into ponds that may need to be populated with aquatic plants and animals? One just needs to run ones imagination to get creative with the landscape designs! However, if not worked on in an orderly manner, the landscape designs can go haywire easily.

If approached in a careful manner, landscape design gardening can reap rich dividends in the form of a prized look for ones garden. By paying attention to important factors like terrains, geometrical shapes, plant placements etc. the beauty of a garden can be multiplied many times. A well-planned landscape designing approach will always keep you occupied and enthusiastic to achieve the best results.

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Abhishek is an avid Gardening enthusiast and he has got some great Gardening Secrets up his sleeves! Download his FREE 57 Pages Ebook, “Your Garden – Neighbor’s Envy, Owner’s Pride!” from his website http://www.Gardening-Master.com/762/index.htm . Only limited Free Copies available.

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Do you like gardening? What are your favorite things to plant? What was the first plant you ever grew?

admin — Mon, 20 Dec 2010 00:25:59 +0000

Planting gives me a warm, fuzzy feeling inside, like I’m helping one of God’s creatures along the path of life. Do you have a green thumb? I love gardening, don’t you? Can you give me some plant tips?
Oooooh, crocuses are pretty, I like tulips, too! heard they were easy to grow, True?

Five Things You Can Do to Get Your Lawn Ready for Summer

admin — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 19:35:08 +0000

In the spring a young man’s fancy lightly turns to thoughts of love, or so Alfred, Lord Tennyson once wrote. For some of us, our thoughts tend to turn to more mundane issues, such as the color of our lawns. Getting a gorgeous green lawn requires a bit of work, and the owners of the best lawns know that work starts well before summer hits.

Raking and Thatch Removal

Raking and thatch removal are probably the first couple of things you’ll do in the spring. In fact, this actually starts in the fall, because ideally you’d have raked your lawn then as well.

Raking isn’t just about removing leaves and surface mess from your lawn-it’s also one of the best ways to control thatch (the build-up of lawn clippings and other solid waste that collects on top of the soil). For this reason, raking thoroughly and deeply is very important both in the fall and the spring, to help get your lawn ready for summer growth.

In general, a thatch of half an inch or more will need raking. If the thatch on your lawn is less than a quarter inch in depth, you might be better off leaving the deep raking until fall, as a light thatch helps improve the condition of your lawn by holding excess moisture. The exception to this is if you live in a particularly humid climate. Even a relatively thin thatch can end up holding too much moisture, and leave your lawn prey to mold.

A thorough spring raking is also a good way of getting reacquainted with your lawn after the winter break. You’ll be able to take stock of its condition, find out if there are any bare or matted patches that need taking care of, and check for pests, mold, or diseases.

Aeration

Removing thick layers of thatch from your lawn is important for helping keep the soil aerated, but if your lawn has been, a high-traffic area for several years, thatching might not be enough.

High-traffic lawns will eventually start to decline due to soil compaction, which means that air has been squeezed out of the soil over time. Compacted soil tends to suffer from excessive run-off, and will make a poor root bed for any new grass you want to sow, so it’s important to get it taken care of.

There’s one very easy-and fun-way to fix this problem, which simply involves walking all over the lawn while wearing spiked shoes. The holes you poke in the soil will aerate it, and your problem is more or less solved.

However, if your lawn is severely compacted this may not be enough. In these cases, you can rent an aeration machine from your local garden center. This easy-to-operate equipment pulls plugs of earth out of the soil to provide more extensive aeration.

Overseeding

If “dog spots” or heavy traffic has left your lawn covered in bare patches, you’ll need to apply seed to fill in the patchy parts. This technique is known as overseeding, and involves sowing grass seed over the bare patches, along with a slow-release nitrogen fertilizer. Once the grass has germinated, apply a quick-release nitrogen fertilizer for a growth boost.

Note that the grass you sow is going to be competing with the existing lawn for vital nutrients. If you need to overseed, cut your lawn short before doing so, so that the seeds have a good chance to get past existing grass to the soil.

Finally, note that it’s usually best to overseed in the fall (due to the problem described in the next section). Sometimes your lawn problem will be too severe too wait, of course, but fall is generally regarded as the best time for it.

Weed Control

If your lawn has an annual problem with weeds or crabgrass, you’ll want to hold off on spring fertilization until you’ve applied pre-emergent herbicides. These herbicides address the weed control issue by preventing seeds from germinating, so that weeds are prevented from sprouting at all.

Note that if you need to overseed your lawn, pre-emergent herbicides may not be an effective option. These herbicides don’t distinguish between weed and grass seeds-they prevent both types of seeds germinating. There are one or two products on the market that allow you to overseed in spring and still use pre-emergent herbicides, depending on the type of grass you have. These include Tupersan, which is compatible with overseeding cool-season grasses.

Spring Fertilization

In the spring, slow-release fertilizer is a great kick-start for your lawn’s new growth. You don’t want to push the grass to grow if it isn’t ready, so it’s best to stay away from quick-release fertilizers, at least initially. This is particularly important if your spring weather is unpredictable, as you don’t want a situation where new spring growth is killed by a late frost.

Retest your soil regularly-every few years-to make sure you’re applying the right fertilizer for your soil type. When applying fertilizer, make sure you use the right amount for your square footage, and remember that grass growing in the shade will need around half as much as that which is consistently in sun.

Brian Jenkins is a freelance writer who writes about large businesses for home owners such as Scott’s, Lawn Doctor and TruGreen