Gardens of Shangri-La

A romantic cottage nestled in gorgeous flower gardens. The deck overlooks acres of vineyards. Step off the porch into gorgeous gardens. Snooze in the hammock and dine on your private deck. A cozy hide-away for two! www.vrbo.com

The 405 Session presents the incredible Fanfarlo for a three track acoustic session. Shot in the gorgeous gardens of the Norwich Arts Centre in the beginning stages of Summer.

What kid doesn’t like to play in the dirt? You can channel this like, of digging in the dirt, into a life-long interest in gardening. From the plotting and plowing to the tending and harvesting, gardening can be a wonderful learning experience for your kids if you remember these kid friendly garden thoughts.

Spring Projects

1-Plant seeds in a clear jar, against the side, so they can watch them grow.

2-Take your kids shopping for some kid-sized gardening gloves and tools.

3-Help them start a compost pile.

4-Help them make a worm farm.

5-Help them build a scarecrow or other craft for their garden.

6-Get them started on a gardening scrapbook or journal.

Make It Personal

Give the kids their own personal space to plant, care for and harvest. This may be a few rows in your garden, a separate plot, a window box or several grouped containers. Here are some thoughts for Read more…

Flowers are the work horses of the garden. They provide the attraction that makes people want to stop and take a look. Flower gardens on the cover of magazines are the envy of those who want them, but it’s not that hard to do. You just need to follow a few guidelines to select the flowers that will be the top performers in your garden:

1) Examine your garden for things such as spots that stay dry vs. wet or sunny vs. shady. Note the things that will affect flower growth. This includes finding out what your USDA hardiness zone is.

2) Analyze the garden soil. Finding out what pH and available nutrients the soil has will determine the types of flowers you can plant. The available nutrients and pH can also determine the necessary adjustments needed to plant flowers that may Read more…

www.cinemachicfilms.com Truly one of my favorite weddings. Ana & Josh just had such a fantastic chemistry together. The day was so relaxed starting out at the hotel, catching the limo to the gorgeous gardens, everything just flowed. The reception was a blast with all their skits; and can this coulple dance! I reckon they only sat out one dance. And the food – soooo excellent! Many thanks to Alana Rainey at the Morikami Japanese Gardens, Delray, Florida, for all her help and organization, and to Heather Funk for the team work and awesome photos she sent me.

Ah! It’s that time of year when the weather is warming up, and gardeners everywhere are itching to get outside to work in their gardens. After being cooped up indoors all winter long, what might seem like an unpleasant chore to some (weeding for instance!) might really be enjoyable. Whether you need to till your soil, prune your rose bushes or get rid of pesky weeds, all gardening chores are simpler with clean tools in excellent condition.

There are four steps to preparing gardening tools for the growing season.

ASSESS

You can’t prepare your garden tools for use unless you know what you have and what condition they are in. Pick a nice sunny day, and place all of your garden tools in a spot where you have room to go around.

Separate the garden tools into three piles: one for tools that are clean and in excellent working order, one for Read more…

Gardening is not as simple as the word sounds but in its essence has the simplicity of beauty. Gardening is the doorway to another mode of being beyond the one we commonly know. It can take you to a place deep within yourself where peace, and reality coexist in a medley of shades, actions, smells and textures that change with each passing minute. A movement in a cloud thousands of feet above you can repaint the whole landscape in a different hue, a nearby bird can change the mood from tranquil to harmonious in an instant, an invasive weed can cause you to ponder some of life’s deepest questions and tackle the justice of the garden.

I am only in the infancy of my gardening career and have much to learn from the garden and it has many more lessons to teach me. As a second a year gardener my Read more…

We’ve all heard about Cottage gardens, but there is considerably more to a cottage garden than most of us realize. The entire concept of cottage gardening really dates back to the days of Tudor England, between 1485 and 1603. That was a period in history where there was no such thing as the middle class and the economic standard of living was such that you were either well off of very poor.

A cottage garden was essentially a garden that was made on the very small amount of land that surrounded a very small cottage home. Cottage gardens were made out of sheer necessity. They had to be practical, productive and attractive. Although flowers were planted in cottage gardens, the flowers were planted right along side fruits and vegetables.

Cottage gardens were traditionally extremely small, so everything that was planted was really packed into that small space. The flowers that were planted Read more…

Everybody likes their home. For people who live in houses, gardens have become common. They are viewed by most as part of their living space, a place of relaxation and entertainment. Making it more attractive and functional by investing in garden furniture is a sensible choice. Doing this will help you use the garden as a space for plants and make it a homey environment.

Having your own garden will give you the chance to grow lots of plants for your family to delight in whenever they would like. But there is the problem of how to plant it. Having your own garden allows you to control the use of harmful chemicals on your plants. It will also be according to your taste. Thus you will delight in the fruits of your labor throughout the year.

It is not so hard to plant your garden, but you need to consider some things before jumping into it. Just like everything you do, planting your garden needs plotting. After you plot the use of space, you need to prepare the soil and plant the seeds. After all the seeds are in place, you need to keep the weeds away and take care of your plants. From this point on, it will be only a matter of time before you will see what you have grown and delight in your garden in its entire splendor.

The first step in plotting your garden is establishing its location. Keep in mind that about five hours a day of sunlight are required. The space must also be plotted according to the number of plants you want to grow and furnished according to the number of family members. If you have a numerous family and you also want to plant a lot of plants, you will need a lot of space. If you have never planted a garden before, it is best to start small with a reduced number of plants and see the progress.

The preparation of the soil is very vital for the success of you garden and involves a lot of steps. To avoid explaining a very elaborate process, the basic steps in the preparation of the soil are turning the soil and enriching it by using compost or other organic matter. This is done because plants also need a lot of nutrition to grow and doing the preparation before planting will lead to a gorgeous garden.

Planting is the most fun part. You may choose to plant your garden any way you like it. After you have prepared the soil, you will spread the seeds and cover them with a thin layer of soil. Before you know it you will look at gorgeous results and delight in them more than you did before.

But, planting a garden cannot be done with your bare hands. Lots of stuff you can use in your garden can be found over the internet. Crocus is a company that gives you the opportunity to choose from a variety of products for you garden and furniture for every taste. The products include water butts, cold frames, tunnels, raised beds and furniture like four seats round tables or eight seats rectangular tables. Crocus free shipping ensures that all the products reach your home without any additional costs.

Crocus free shipping is one of the services this company provides. Crocus free shipping works in partnership with hand picked couriers so your plants will reach their destination as safely as possible. If you buy products from this website you will find Crocus free shipping as the best service of its kind.

A Crocus voucher is something you can use as a gift. Gardeners are picky when it comes to their plants and because of that you can always go incorrect. Using a Crocus voucher has some advantages. If you order online any product, it takes some time until it reaches its destination. If you were under pressure and you need it today a Crocus voucher will be will be available in a matter of seconds and you make sure the recipient will get whatever he or she wants. This makes the Crocus voucher the best gift for your gardener friends.

There are many ways to make your garden exotic with spending small or no money. I’m a midwest gardener, but I like to go to exotic gardens to remind me of more romantic times. Through experience, I have found many simple and cost effective ways to bring this feel to your own garden.

One way is to keep tropical plants in your house. If you have a nice sunny window, you can often keep a substantial house plant alive through the winter months. Plants such as a rubber plant or a ficus require small care and are often on sale at local markets and grocery stores.

For the landscape, some plants are hardy enough to keep in a cold climate garden. Cannas have that feel of the jungle and can give a tropical feel to any garden when planted as a foundation or backdrop. These are bulbs that are available Read more…