8 Fantastic Milk Powder Uses in the Garden

USDA Plant Hardiness Zones are based on the temperature conditions of the place. They range from zones 1a to 13b. Most of the United States comprises zone 3a, which has a low temperature of around -40 and -35 degrees (F), and zone 8a, with 10 to 15 degrees. Outdoor gardening is on hold as by December, most annual plants have finished their cycles and been taken up, and many perennials are dormant.

«Healing gardens» are now featured in the design of most new hospitals. Aside from the pleasure of getting out in the fresh air and sunlight, just glimpsing the green space from a hospital window does wonders. As Deborah Franklin writes for Scientific American about one particular study on the topic, «Patients with bedside windows looking out on leafy trees healed, on average, a day faster, needed significantly less pain medication and had fewer postsurgical complications than patients who instead saw a brick wall.»

Hens and chicks plants make great low-maintenance options for dry, sunny gardens. And there are so many interesting cultivars available in a range of hues, from chocolate brown to green to bright orange and yellow. The common name may be confusing until you grow them yourself and realize it makes sense. One main rosette (mama hen) will eventually produce several offsets or babies (the chicks!). Though I’ve never heard them referred to by houseleeks, their other common name, the Latin name you’ll see on plant tags for these popular succulents is Sempervivum. They are members of the stonecrop family (Crassulaceae).

When referencing my front yard’s native grass and wildflower planting, I irreverently and affectionately call it my weed patch. I’ll address the irreverent part in a later blog.

Step outside your door and look around at your lawn and garden. You probably see a few common weeds. Now look again. You might also be looking at dinner or the ingredients for a poultice to ease that rash that’s been nagging you.It’s easy to disregard weeds as a troublesome nuis

The agave plant is inhabitant to the desert regions of Mexico and the Caribbean. It derives its name from the Greek word ‘Agauos,’ which means ‘Illustrious.’ Agave forms rosette of succulent blue-gray leaves. Depending on the species and growing location, it reaches a height of few centimeters to several meters.

When I think of a plant hunter—as in, someone who goes to places like South Africa, Vietnam, China, and Nepal to find rare species and bring them back to the United States—I imagine a swashbuckling Indiana Jones type running through the mountains complete with hat and whip. And to hear famed plant collector, horticulturist, and botanist Daniel Hinkley tell it, there is a bit of daredevilry to the job. “I’ve had hard treks, bad knees, bee stings, and leeches hanging from my neck,” he says. “But if I am lucky, plant collecting offers me a bit of seed, and the resulting plant possesses all of the memories associated with it.”

To understand why we need the little bumblebee, we need to understand how it helps us and why it is in danger. If the bee faces extinction, then the planet risks losing a great variety of foodstuffs.We enjoy the beautiful flowers in our g

It just isn’t summer in the northeast without Japanese beetles (Popillia japonica) tearing through raspberries, roses, and other plants gardeners tend to hold near and dear.Their voracious appetite is matched in intensity with an innate difficulty to e

At the University of Rhode Island, gardeners made a solution containing 4 crushed aspirin tablets and 4 gallons of water and then sprayed the solution on their vegetable gardens every three weeks throughout the growing season. At the end of the season, they found that the treated plants grew more quickly and were more fruitful than the group that was left untreated.

It recently came into news and attracted the attention of environmentalists and biologists. According to the Fox News–“In brief, the sap prevents your skin from protecting itself from sunlight, which leads to a very bad sunburn.”

One of my favorite summer activities is roaming through the woodlands near my home in Vermont, foraging for lowbush blueberries.A few summers ago, I decided to bring the berries to me and planted severa