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Uses of the Different Types of Soil. A good garden starts with the right soil. Plants rely on soil for nutrients, water and oxygen for the roots. The wrong kind of soil can make it impossible for even the best gardener to grow a particular species of plant.
Read MoreWhat Happens If You Plant Fruit Trees Too Close Together?. When fruit trees are just starting out, they can grow fairly close together without any problems. Their roots are shallow, their trunks are short and their branches do not meet. Some backyard gardeners and others with a limited space actually prefer to grow their fruit trees about half as far apart as commercial grows. These gardeners select dwarf trees, prune them carefully and keep them from growing into their neighbors. This allows them to squeeze a large number of trees into a small space.
Read MoreUses of Clay Soil. Although heavy clay soil can be frustrating and difficult for gardeners to work with, clay is actually one of the most useful materials in the ground. Clay soil is fertile and mineral rich, making it ideal for many plants. It is also an excellent material for a variety of building and craft purposes.
Read MoreHow to Kill Wild Outdoor Cane Plants. Wild outdoor cane, also known as giant reed, is fast growing, fast spreading and quite difficult to eradicate. It is almost impossible to kill off a population by merely digging it up, since one remaining rhizome can start the whole problem again. Defeating giant reed requires the use of multiple tactics by a patient and vigilant gardener.
Read MoreWhy Do Flowers Die When They Are Cut?. The roots on plants take in water, but that's not all they do. Nutrients such as magnesium, potassium and phosphorus are gathered from the soil by the roots and enter the xylem. The xylem are tiny tubes that distribute water and nutrients to the rest of the plant. On a cut flower, the xylem are no longer attached to the roots. They can not take in the nutrients the flower needs, so it slowly begins to die.
Read MoreWhat Are Four Characteristics of Seed Plants?. Seed plants fall into two groups: gymnosperms and angiosperms. Together, the fruitless gymnosperms and the far more common fruited angiosperms make up more than 80 percent of the plants on the earth. Although these plants exhibit a tremendous amount of variety in size, shape, appearance and adaptations, all of them share a number of common characteristics.
Read MoreHow to Kill an Ivy Plant at the Root. That ivy may look good climbing up your walls, but it can get to be a nuisance. Ivy digs into walls, damages them, spreads quickly and smothers other nearby plants. Ivy plants are also quite hardy, which makes them notoriously hard to kill. If you want to kill an ivy plant, make sure the root is dead or it will come back with a vengeance.
Read MoreHow Does a Flower Absorb Water?. Flowers normally absorb water through their roots, which are attached to small tubes called xylem. These xylem act like thin straws, pulling water up through the plant to the leaves and flowers. When the flower is cut, it no longer is in contact with the roots but it can still absorb water through the xylem. Having a source of water can keep a cut flower in bloom for days or even weeks before it finally wilts and dies.
Read MoreMethods to Preserve Fresh Flowers. No matter how carefully you care for your fresh flowers, they will eventually wilt if you do not preserve them. But preserving your flowers can keep them intact for years. Preserve bouquets from weddings, birthdays and other important occasions or cut your own fresh flowers from the garden as a springtime keepsake to cheer you up when the weather turns cold.
Read MoreHow to Fix a Lawn That Holds Water. As lawns get older, the soil can become compacted, causing it to drain poorly. Water accumulates in the top level of the soil, creating a patchy, unhealthy lawn with poor root penetration. Thatch buildup and heavy clay soil can compound the problem. Fortunately, you can fix most lawns through aeration. In some cases, however, you may have to do more extensive work, breaking up and modifying the soil and completely replanting the lawn.
Read MoreHow Does a Riding Lawn Mower Work?. A riding lawn mower is essentially a small tractor combined with a rotary mower. Riding mowers are powered by a single gas engine that provides power to both the wheels and the blades. The driver sits on top of the mower in a seat behind the engine and controls the operation with levers. Mowers can go forward and backward and most can turn in place. This allows them to precisely cut lawns and avoid obstacles. The blade can also be turned off while the engine is left on, allowing the operator to safely drive over gravel or other terrain. Riding mowers are preferred over rotary mowers for large lawns because they are quicker and have a wider deck, which cuts the grass in wider sections. They also do not require any physical labor, which makes them far easier to work with than heavy, walk-behind rotary mowers.
Read MoreWhy Does Salt Work As a Weed Killer?. Salt has been known as a plant killer for millennia. In ancient times, armies used to salt their enemies' lands. Enough salt would ensure that nothing could grow on the land for decades or even centuries. Nowadays, salt is sometimes used as a weed killer in much smaller quantities. A small bit of salt is mixed with water and applied to the base of an undesirable plant. The salt will kill the plant in a few days without harming nearby plants.
Read MoreRural Landscaping Ideas. Whether you have a large, country lot or just admire the down home aesthetic, rural landscaping is a great way to give your home a warm, natural and friendly look. Rural landscaping gives a rough and unpolished look to the property, combining carefully sculpted gardens and patches of wildness to create a distinctive and welcoming scene.
Read MoreHow Is the Stigma Adapted for Attracting Pollen?. Plants have three female parts which together create the pistel: the stigma, the style and the ovary. The stigma is a bulb on the end of the long, stalk-like style which connects to the ovary inside the petal. Pollen is caught by the stigma and then tunnels down through the style to fertilize the ovules in the ovary. The ovules are like small eggs. Once they are fertilized by the pollen, they begin to develop into seeds which can then grow new plants. The pollen itself comes from the male organ, the stamen. The pollen is suspended from a sac called the anther at the end of a stalk called the stamen.
Read MoreNorth-Facing Garden Ideas. In the Northern Hemisphere, north-facing gardens suffer from low light and short seasons. The sun spends much of the year too far south to give a north-facing landscape much direct light, limiting the plant choices the gardener has. The low light can also make the garden feel gloomy. Choose low-light plants, landscape smartly and add landscaping lights to get the most out of your north-facing garden.
Read MoreNeat Ideas for Greenhouse Organization. Greenhouses are, by design, tightly crowded areas. Growing as many plants as possible in the space increases your productivity and lowers heating and light costs per plant. Such a packed space requires careful organization to keep track of all of your plants, containers and other supplies. Taking the time to come up with a good organizing scheme will save you a lot of time and effort in the long run.
Read MoreWhat Are the Dangers of Potting Soil?. Potting soil is a mixture of soil, peat moss, fertilizer and other ingredients used to grow plants in container gardens. There are a variety of potting soils designed to get the right balance of drainage, water retention and nutrition for various types of plants. Although potting soil has a variety of benefits for growing plants, it also has certain risks and dangers that gardeners should be aware of.
Read MoreTiered Garden Ideas. A tiered garden is an attractive and functional way to manage a steep grade. On an ungraded hill garden, rainwater can wash soil downhill, eroding and damaging the garden and removing valuable topsoil. Tiers prevent rainwater from flowing quickly downhill, keeping the soil intact and allowing the plants to absorb the water.
Read MoreThe Uses of Flowers. Flowers play an important role in the reproduction of plants, but they have a number of important uses for humans as well. Since prehistoric times, humans have used flowers, stems and other plant parts for a variety of different purposes, from simple decorations to matters of survival.
Read MoreCatholic Plants for the Garden. A garden is not just a place to relax and enjoy the sunshine, but also a place to meditate on life's deeper issues. Catholicism has a long tradition of linking plants to important Christian concepts, and a carefully planned Catholic garden can allow you to deepen and explore your relationship to the divine.
Read MoreLandscaping Tips to Reduce Traffic Noise. The constant din of cars, trucks and other vehicles barreling down a nearby road can disturb sleep schedules, decrease your enjoyment of leisure time and substantially increase stress levels. Finding a way to reduce or cover up the noise can help you make your home into a relaxing sanctuary.
Read MoreNative Plants in Korea. North Korea has a temperate but varied climate with warm summers and winters that are cold and dry. The landscape rises from the sea to the height of the Paektu-san Mountain, 9,000 feet above sea level. This variety of terrain gives rise to a rich assortment of native plants, which give the North Korean landscape its own distinctive appearance.
Read MoreNative Plants of Sweden. Sweden has a rich connection to Botany. It was a Swedish citizen, Carl Linnaeus, who began the development of the system used to classify plants and animals while a student and, later, a professor at Uppsala University. Today, Sweden is still known for its coniferous forests and rich variety of flora and fauna.
Read MoreHow to Grow Cabbage Indoors. Cabbage is a nutritious, leafy green vegetable with a long growing season. It can grow in both the spring and the fall, and it can tolerate a range of temperatures and conditions. Cabbage does take a fair bit of room to be grown indoors, but the outcome is worth it if you have the space. Plant a variety of cabbages with different growing periods, and you will have cabbage available for months at a time.
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