FamilyCorner.com Magazine: Experts : Gardening

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Top : Experts : Gardening

Autumn and the Comforting Taste of Pumpkin - Every year as soon as the air starts cooling off I get out my pumpkin recipes. It doesn't seem to matter that I use canned and buy extra to keep on hand all year. I love baking with pumpkin in the autumn. It's one of those wonderful comfort tastes and smells.

Autumn Garden Chores - Autumn is the time for garden clean-up! I know it seems like a droll chore, but it really isn't. Any work you do now, while it's cool, will make for an enjoyable spring and summer.

Bird Watching Tips - Bird watching is a fun, inexpensive activity for families. You can reserve a special space for bird feeders anywhere in your yard, and throughout the year watch the variety of birds that come to visit.

Creating a Container Herb Garden: Window and Porch Boxes - I've used a lot of containers for herbs over the years from baskets to porch boxes to large clay pots. I think the key, as with herb beds, is matching the plants that have the same needs and to be realistic about the size of the plants. You can only squeeze so much into a container and have them all do well.

Creating an Herb Garden: Hot, Dry & Sunny Locations - This herb garden can be located in a small or large area as long as it's in full sun and the soil is extremely well-drained to the point of being dry. It shouldn't be amended with any compost or organic matter.

Dish Gardens for Indoor Beauty - Dish gardens are a great project for kids and adults, plus they make wonderful gifts! I did a little checking and a purchased dish garden from a florist will run you $40-$50. Not only is this expensive, but they really lack a personal touch.

Forcing Bulbs for Winter Beauty - If you are like me and go through a little bit of a blue period in the winter when you can't garden outside, then you may want to consider forcing bulbs. You can do this with daffodils, hyacinths, snowdrops, tulips and crocus, among others.

Gardening Adventures With Kids - I remember the first packet of seeds my sons chose to buy at the garden center, as well as their excitement, their impatience and then their amazement as "their" flowers began to bloom.

Gardening With Kids Project : Colorful and Easy Calendula Pots - Children love growing things, but sometimes they need a little encouragement and some instruction to get them interested. Having children decorate their own clay flower pot and helping them plant Calendula, which is also known as pot marigold is a great way to begin a gardening journey that often last their entire lifetime.

Growing Butterfly Bushes - What is a butterfly bush? Does it really attract butterflies? Buddleia does indeed attract many varieties of butterflies including Fritillaries, Western Tiger Swallowtails, Tortoiseshells and Red Admirals. The bush has blossoms in white, red, pink, yellow, purple, blue and maroon that cover the entire bush. They look much like lilac blooms and are honey scented. Red varieties may attract hummingbirds!

Growing Flowers - Easy Gardening For Kids - Would you like to have a garden this year? If you don't have very much space that's ok, you can use pots or wood boxes and still grow flowers.

Growing Lilacs - Although my love of herbs and flowers keeps me from ever choose just one favorite scent, I would say the lilac is my sentimental favorite. To me, there is nothing more wonderful then a light spring breeze that carries the scent of lilacs across the way. One simple bouquet can scent an entire room.

Growing Old Fashioned Snapdragons - Snapdragons (antirrhinum majus) are charming old fashioned flowers loved by children and adults. I have grown them for many years and love them more each season.

Growing Sunflowers - Sunflowers are easy, and inexpensive to grow, and yes, everyone can do it! The days of sunflowers being contained to the vegetable garden are over. Children of all ages love sunflowers and can participate in all aspects.

Harvesting and Storing Herbs - I am not going to pretend to know the proper technique for every herb out there - there are far too many! But, over the years I have gathered many harvest and storage tips that have worked for me and many other gardeners.

Herbal Bath Garden - There are several herbs and flowers that you can use to help soothe and relieve stress. Check out these great recipes and ideas!

Identifying and Getting Rid of Houseplant Pests - Houseplants will look happy and grow like "weeds" and then something changes and they appear to be unhealthy. You could have a pest infestation! The most common being mealy bug, scale, aphids, spider mite, white fly, and sometimes soil or fungus gnats.

Poison Ivy: Remedies and Tips - Poison Ivy. Even typing it makes me itchy. It's amazing that wildlife actually enjoys this plant that makes most of us pretty miserable. Many of the same treatments and tips can be used for poison oak and sumac too.

Relax and Soothe With Herbs - Using dried and fresh herbs to relax and soothe isn't just a trick the spas use. You can do that same thing at home! I keep dried chamomile to use in the bath and for tea, as well as lavender, rosemary and mint. Herbal bath teas and bath salts are very easy to make, and if you allow yourself to experiment a little bit you will find your perfect combination!

Relaxing Herbal Teas - Herbal teas are not only relaxing and soothing to the spirit, but your stomach as well! Many herbs have properties to calm. Don't be so quick though as to grab any herb from the garden and make a tea. Do your research, especially if you are nursing a baby or pregnant.

Roses: The Beloved Herb - Roses are not only beautiful, but they are a soothing, fragrant herb that we can use in recipes, both culinary and cosmetic. You can mix dried rose petals in with other herbs or black teas for a lovely tea. Add them to your bath teas as well.

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