10 Tips to Keep Orchids Thriving, Says a Horticulturist

Growing Hyacinths

This is one of the many books in my collection but the only one to focus on growing big, bigger and biggest vegetables. If you want to grow giant vegetable for exhibition or to get large crops then there are many pointers in ‘How to Grow Giant Vegetables’ by Bernard Lavery and below.

The original post on 5th April 2008′ was entitled welcome to the Compost Heap.’

Do you have dark succulents and wondering how to ensure they stay that way or maybe even get a shade darker? Follow these tips on How to Keep Black Succulents Blacker!

We all love this nutrient-rich fruit that is packed with potassium and many other vitamins and minerals. But the saddest fact is they have a short shelf life. The day you buy them, they are fresh and firm, and pretty soon, they turn brown and floppy. How to avoid this? How to keep them fresh and flavorful? This article has the answers.

You’re not the only one who dreams of a Clueless-inspired bedroom closet. To create an oasis of organized outfits though, you have to clear out the dusty boxes full of childhood photos, bridesmaid dresses you cringe at the sight of, and that stack of shirts you intended to return. Here’s the hard truth: your closet is finite, and if you keep unnecessary items in there, it can quickly turn into a chaotic abyss.  To make Cher Horowitz proud, we tapped three organizational experts—who have all seen their fair share of cluttered closets—to reveal eight things you shouldn’t keep in your closet. Read on for their advice.

Well, the answer is not tricky. Keep them well maintained, provide optimal growing conditions. Give access to full sun or provide some shade, if you’re growing a flowering plant like impatiens. Besides all these basic requirements, here is this most important tip, which can improve the productivity of your flowering plants–Deadheading.

Food safety is a top priority for any household, as unsafe food handling practices can lead to foodborne illnesses and severe health consequences. This blog post will discuss simple tips for ensuring food safety at home and keeping your family healthy.

IT’S A QUESTION I DON’T HAVE AN ANSWER FOR, but maybe you can help: What’s the best way to keep track of gardening records—a format or tactic that can grow with the garden? Is it index cards; spreadsheets on the computer; a series of actual journals, such as the popular moleskine notebooks? Forum member KK asked the other day, and maybe you have the secret to record-keeping success.

NOTHING LASTS. I KEEP SAYING IT, reminding myself of this essential fact of every living thing–from the magnolia blossom to the Japanese maple leaves (above) to–yes, that’s right, say it out loud with me–our own human lives.

LET’S HEAR IT FOR the little guys: It’s their moment. Click and meet them.

THE OTHER NIGHT a newt ambled in after supper as if to join us for dessert. That morning, a pair of garter snakes had poked their heads up, periscope-style, from a stone wall. And nonstop frogpond madness: seven rambunctious male green frogs are fighting over one poor female. All are signs of a healthy garden where no chemicals are used, but also signal to me how important it is to make room for change in life: to shed a little skin, perhaps, or to try a change of venue every now and again (as do amphibians, which means “both lives”–in their case, land and water). Some photos of my provocative little friends. The red eft in my hands is the terrestrial youth stage of <a href=«http://amphibiaweb.org/cgi-bin/amphib_query?query_src=» https: class=«external» target="_blank">the Eastern newt, specifically the red-spotted subspecies (so not simply Notophthalmus viridescens, but Notophthalmus viridescens viridescens), which started its life in water as an aquatic larvae, not unlike a tadpole. She (he?) will spend the next two or three years or so wandering about up here with us earth-dwellers, before reaching sexual maturity and returning to the water to breed. Three adults that I can see are in the smaller of my backyard pools, presumably doing just that. I sometimes see adults (sort of khaki color but retaining those red spots surrounded by black rings) out of the water. Apparently they are able to make the shift again if their pool dries up and they need to relocate, for instance, I have read.