The pros and cons of ordering garden plants over the internet

In the 21st century, more and more people find themselves turning to the Internet and the World Wide Web to purchase all types of products and services. Indeed, many people are turning to the Net to order garden plants of all types. Perhaps you are a person who is interested in gardening. If that is the case, you truly will want to spend some time on the Net to find out what is available in the way of garden plants. Of course, when it comes to shopping for garden plants on the Net, you do need to keep in mind that there are pros and cons to buying garden plants over the Internet and World Wide Web.

One of the most positive elements of shopping for garden plants online is convenience. Generally speaking, you can make the purchase of garden plants online twenty four hours a day, seven days a week. Therefore, you can make your garden plant purchases at a time that is completely convenient for you.

Another of the positive benefits that can be realized through shopping for garden plants online is cost savings. In many, many instances, you will be able to save a great deal of money by shopping for garden plants online. By spending some time surfing around the Net, you will be able to locate some sites that offer some pretty amazing deals on garden plants for your home.

There are some downsides to shopping for garden plants on the Net. However, these are not problems that cannot be surmounted by being a smart Internet shopper.

One problem that can be associated with shopping for garden plants online is the challenge that can occur in some instances when it comes to getting thriving plants delivered in a timely manner. There can be instances in which garden plants end up being slow to be delivered and, therefore, do not end up being received in the best possible condition. (This can be avoided by arranging for more rapid delivery, by using overnight delivery and the like.)

Of course, as with shopping for anything on the Net, you will want to make certain that you are dealing with a reputable vendor. There are plenty of reputable sellers of garden plants in cyberspace and you just want to make very certain that you are dealing with such a reliable vendor and merchant.

What is the right garden style for you - wildlife garden

I am lucky enough to live in a rural area within easy reach of various country footpaths, which take you through different natural habitats. There are woodland walks, a coastal path, grassland areas and one or two large ponds with all the associated wildlife. Each area has it's own natural beauty and the wild plants can easily compete in shape form and colour with the cultivated varieties.

When planning a wildlife garden it is a good idea to visit any country walks or parks in your area, so that you can get an idea of what natural species grow there, and the type of wildlife that lives in your area. You can then plan your garden around what is found naturally in your neighbourhood.

To attract birds you need to provide plants that offer shelter, food and nesting spaces. Along with this you should incorporate water for them to drink. This can either be in the form of a pond, ornamental bird baths or simply tubs filled with water scattered around the garden.

There are plenty of plants that can be grown in your garden that are both attractive and good food sources for the local bird population. Mountain ash (Rowan) provides an abundance of berries in the autumn which birds love. Dog woods, pheasant berry, viburnum and cotoneasters will also provide your birds with berries. Perennials flowers provide seeds for other birds. Sunflowers are a good example of these.

Birds that visit your garden feed in different ways and levels, so you will want to provide plants of differing heights. Robins will scavenge on the ground looking for worms, grubs and insects. Finches and other seed eaters will be in amongst your perennials looking for seeds. Some birds such as woodpeckers prefer to be up in the tree tops.

Along with birds there is plenty of other wildlife that you can attract to your garden. Butterfly's are no longer as common as they once were, so why not plant something like lavender, geraniums, hebe or a buddleja (Butterfly Bush) or two to attract them. These plants not only provide butterfly's with food, but also produce attractive flowers, and in some cases a pleasant fragrance throughout the summer.

Bees are another form of wildlife that has been having problems in the last few years. Many people are nervous of bees, but they are in fact gentle creatures and will not sting unless provoked. Potentilla, penstemons, heathers, Lamium and ceanothus are always frequently visited by bees.

A pond in the garden will always attract a fair amount of wildlife. Frogs, toads and newts will always find your pond and move in. You will also attract a number of insects, some of which are quite beautiful such as dragonflies and damselflies. Other birds and animals will also visit the garden to grab a quick drink.

Maintaining a wildlife garden is a little less time consuming than some other garden styles. Trees and shrubs can be left to grow naturally. Shrubs only need pruning once or twice a year to encourage new growth. Perennials should be left to go to seed and tidied up in the spring before new growth starts.

Weeding can be less of a chore as well. I like to leave many of the weeds in place unless they are causing a problem and taking over. Many of the weeds have attractive flowers and provide food for the wildlife that visits your garden.

When designing your garden you want to create plenty of areas that your wildlife can take shelter in so that it feels safe from predator attack. Trees and dense shrubs are ideal for this. Try to use natural curves instead of straight lines, and don't manicure you plants.

Lawn care tips and proper lawn maintenance

How much does the average person know about proper lawn maintenance? It may surprise you that the average person is fairly ignorant when it comes to properly caring for their lawn. Sure they can spray for weeds, and use big name lawn equipment, but what do they really know? Proper maintenance of one's lawn is much more than this. It enthralls taking what one already knows and tweaking it with new technique and knowledge. Once this type of mind set is reached only then can your lawn start to separate from the average run of the mill lawn. Watering your lawn is very easy and therefore common knowledge, but seeding and proper weeding may not be as readily known. Study everything you can find about lawn maintenance and become a student of this necessary past time.

When you take it to the next lawn care level as far as reading tips and tricks then you are ready to start applying them to your own lawn. It does no good to learn many wonderful and exciting tricks dealing with your grass if you are not going to take the first step. Start off slow in order to not burn yourself out then gradually build. In other words, you may not want to go out and purchase a buch of exspensive lawn equipment right off the bat. If you decide that you do not have an interest in lawn care then you will be stuck trying to sell name brand equipment at a discounted rate. Also, you may not wnat to over think things when it comes to your lawn. Too many times I have seen people get so far into the science behind lawn care to where lawn maintenance becomes more of a chore then past time.

Lastly and most importantly, have fun with what you learn. Do not be so regimented that you loose sight of your goal. This goal is of course having a beautiful yard full of life. This will give you the satisfaction of creating something from scratch and making it wonderful. Tips such as these can be found at lawn-care-guru. com along with many other insightful bits of information. Have fun and enjoy your new outlook on lawn care.

Rays of light - how they can be harenessed by greenhouses

Every day, the sun beams down huge amounts of warmth and light onto the Earth, in the form of light waves, or ‘rays’. However, most of these rays are wasted, as we still have few effective ways of harnessing and storing them.

Greenhouses store these rays by using a very simple piece of science to their advantage. Basically, if you make a structure out of glass, then the sun’s rays can pass through the glass to get into the structure, but then get trapped inside.

This happens because of the unique structure of glass that allows light to pass through but not air. When the sun’s rays get into the greenhouse, they heat up the air, soil, rocks, plants and other things inside the greenhouse, which then retain the heat. As the heat that has been absorbed into the air and objects cannot simply escape again, the greenhouse gradually gets hotter and hotter because of the amount of heat that is being trapped inside.

One hot day can keep the inside of a greenhouse warm for several days, and even a normal day will be good enough to keep the greenhouse warm overnight.

By using the heat that is stored in the greenhouse, the plants inside can grow and make food for themselves, even when it’s cold outside. As the temperatures in greenhouses will rise far above the outside temperature in warm conditions, they allow you to grow plants that would usually only grow in a more tropical climate than there is where you live, such as exotic fruits and flowers.

However, because of the way greenhouses work, you need to be careful about how often you go in your greenhouse. Every time you open the door, a huge amount of the heat will escape, and if you’re going in there every day then the greenhouse will be next to useless. However tempting it might be to go in and look at your plants, they will do much better if you plant them and then leave them alone (look through the windows if you have to!), only going in very occasionally to water them.