Home & Garden Blog

I will never boast to have a green thumb, but I recently became the proud recipient of a basil plant, which brings me much joy and delicious omelet-making ingredients every morning. As the produce prices start to rise as the crops die out and farmers have to dip into previous commodity preserves to keep filling the supermarket shelves, I like to evade the supermarket glut in my own special way by having the basil plant. For just maintenance care, I can have a delicious herb free of charge ready at my disposal and always fresh, which is more than I can say for how much basil would cost me if I bought it every week (about $5 a week).

I only feed my Basil the best purified water and now I want to get into organic soil and potting techniques. Call me a basil purist, but I think every plant would enjoy a natural soil supplement.

Top organic soils on the market today:

Revive Organic Soil Treatment from Lowes.com: $19.97

Evergreen 1 cubic foot organic Humus from Lowes.com: $1.57

REVIVE organic soil treatment spray from Lowes.com: $12.47

Remember back in the day when you could customize your desktop to have a cyber friend? Sometimes it was a dog, sometimes a cat, sometimes a paperclip, but either way you had a little friend that told you about updates, software, and gave advice and assistance for the programs you were working on. The cyberfriends have been replaced by stark white search boxes, tool bars, and help menus, and the tasks and tools that these cyberfriends provided have been thoroughly covered and replaced. But what about the need to have a little cyber friend? One that you could care for, feed, water and play with, even for a short time (and even if the cyberfriend didn’t necessarily need it. Let’s face it…does a paperclip really need to have a facelift?)

New on the market: Cyberplants! A real, living plant can be attached to your monitor by the flowerpot and cared for at your leisure. The hardy plants come in patented, artificial soil, and need only 1 tablespoon of water every 2-3 months. But think of all the useful and positive agents of a plant accompanying you on cyber surfing journeys. You can choose from a variety of plants for your pot, from a bamboo plant to a mini palm plant. One catch: this plant item is part of a promotional company and can only be purchased in bulk, the minimum being 125 plants, pots and installation materials. So think of this as a clean, low-maintenance way to make your office space into a greener environment, or maybe a present you can give to your friends for years (and years) to come!

Promotional Cyberplant from Iaspromotes.com: $6.80/each for bulk of 125.

Shop for real plants and seeds at Smarter.com.

Logic tells us that fall is harvest time, mostly because if you don’t harvest before the ground freezes then everything you’ve put into the garden, flowers, backyard, etc has been lost to the elements. Maybe the beginning of this summer, you were a little overwhelmed by other responsibilities (bank accounts, credit, bills, family obligations, etc) that you didn’t have time to enjoy the simpler side of life, or even the outdoors. As you look out on your bare garden plot with dismay, don’t lose heart! There are still options for planting for the season, plants and flowers with a quick turn-around life that you can have a fully functioning, flourishing garden come fall. Here are some of your options:

Black-Eyed Susans, Daisies, Forget-Me-Nots, and Viola’s can all be planted as late as 2 months before the first frost in your area, and they will survive in the gradually dropping temperatures until then! You will still want to keep the soil well-ventilated, with constant watering and breaking up of the soil to keep it from getting too hard for the roots to grow. GardenGuides.com provides a whole list of late-summer planting options, plus additional tips and tricks for how to make the most of your gardening in the future. Take a look and find out what’s right for you; if you’re from a warmer climate where the frost is extremely late (or rarely, if ever) kicks in, then there are plenty more options for you too!

House plants are a whole different option. Of course, the most important thing you can provide your plant with is extensive, natural lighting. Aloe plants or palms are my favorite for kitchen and living room decor. Apparently, Cacti and Peace Lilies absorb EMF emissions from computers or electronic devices–maybe healthy to put in the computer or television room?

Good luck and happy planting! You can still make things grow, even if it’s not your bank account.

Shop Smarter.com for plants & seeds.

While our ancestors threw off the influence of Great Britain in favor of a more democratic and anti-imperialist government, they were thinking in terms of money and politics.  This is important to keep in mind for all those Yanks who still hold the revolutionary American spirit close to heart: taking garden tips from the British is not the same as being ruled by them!  And once you get a whiff of the styles these Brits are sporting, you will never look back.

Designer Spotlights, brought to you from the BBC Garden section, is as aesthetically pleasing as a website as it is with garden tips.  The Designer Spotlights feature many up and coming and highly regarded garden designers from Great and Greater Britain:

The first featured artist is Sarah Eberle, who has a degree in landscape architecture and was awarded an honorary degree from Greenwich University for her designs just last year.  She drew early influences from the Modernist Art period and was classically trained, at first, as an architecture proper student.  She claims she is more of a farmer than a gardener, so her designs reflect this attitude as well.  Her top plants to have in a garden are: Euphorbia wulfenii, cow parsley, hawthorn beech trees in autumn.

Here is a photo of Sarah Eberle’s submission to the 2007 Ellerslie Flower Show

To recreate her look, check out some of these products:
Heronswood.com for “unusually great plants”: Euphorbia ‘Jessie’ for sale for $13.95.

Modernist furniture at a modest price: Ellis 3-Piece Sitting Group for $449.00, a total of $180.00 knocked off the original kist price.

On to the second favorite designer of the BBC Gardening Section: John Brookes, a legendary designer with over 50 years experience in landscape designing!  While Sarah Eberle brings a fresh, modernist approach to landscaping, John can help build your knowledge of the basics of landscaping.  Interesting enough, when John first started out he was considered ahead of his time and labeled–a Modernist!  To him, that means using concrete skillfully in your designs.  His designs are often described as “handsome” rather than “cute” or “pretty”.  Understandable, when you observe his hearty, large plant life, sleek pathway and furniture design, such in the Denmans, one of his favorite gardens:

To channel John Brookes’ classic, handsome designs, here are some garden products and plants to consider:

Lavender buds for your garden, sold by the pound or in bulk by the San Francisco Herb Company

Ranging between $8-15 a pound, the San Francisco Herb Company gives you several different options of Lavender plants to customize the product for your garden needs. You can’t resist the smell of Lavender in the summertime!

The other product I would recommend to emulate John Brookes’ design would be concrete.  While I can’t exactly recommend exact places to buy concrete since it is a very localized process and unfortunately not conducive to the Internet, I do want to say that concrete for pathways or walls is not as disgusting and stark as you might think.

Some tips:

1. Always draw out a map of the landscaping plan beforehand, and make sure it is to scale and you have the measurements of your land and the projected width/ height of any plants, walls, fountains, etc you plan on putting into the garden.
2. Think about how you will water the garden and keep it healthy: will there be an underground watering system? Hoses?    Do you have the adequate soil and water supply to support the type of garden you want to create?
3. Think about the aesthetic of your home and how you can compliment it with a garden.  Old colonial?  Do some brick pathways.  Modern bungalow?  Concrete paths and maybe some bamboo.

Best of luck with your designer tip of the week!  Don’t forget to check out the BBC Gardening page itself, there are plenty of other designers to discover!

Find at Smarter.com:  Shop for garden decor and flowers.

It’s long been suggested that you should talk to your plants, kiss em’, hug em’, whisper sweet nothings into their leaves! Doing so apparently makes them healthier, but now the plants are talking back. A company called Botanicalls have merged plant care with telecommunications, devising and constructing a way to bring container gardening to the 21st century: using their system, your plants will call you on the phone when they need to be watered, when they haven’t gotten enough, and to thank you when they’re no longer thirsty.

The system currently involves a soil moisture sensor, hardware and software to interpret that data, and a call to a lounge phone; phase to will include a bunch of new features including a light sensor, display, ambient sensors, output to the web and email, as well as calls to your personal cell phone (not just the one connected to the plant). You’ll even be able to call and check on the plants status. (Source)

Ok so here comes my two cents. Ready?

Cent One: I think this idea is genius because I am a plant serial killer. As I mentioned in a previous post about the wonders of the tilting vase, I have yet to own a plant that didn’t commit suicide in my care. So I applaud the creativity and innovation involved in this technology.

Cent Two: The only drawback I can think of regarding this idea is how annoying some of the calls or texts might become. I mean I have enough on my mind without getting badgering calls from my tulips whining about not having any water! (Hmm…now that I think about it, such feelings are probably why they commit suicide) Overall I still think this idea is very cool and could save many, many plant lives.

Watch the Botanicalls animation to learn more about the project, visit their site to get all the details. ::Botanicalls via ::Reuters

Do your plants not get enough sun during the day? Plant ‘O’ Matic is the solution! A flowerpot on wheels equipped with solar panels allows the plants to roll themselves into the sun. We found this object at Stereonoise, the inventor’s studio run by Pep Torres in Barcelona, Spain. Unfortunately there’s not much information available but this idea definitely has potential- not just for letting plants find the sun.

I think they should invent something that monitors dogs and cats hunger and thirst levels, when they need water or food a collar on their neck should shout out, “Feed me Woman!” or “I’m thirsty!” ….

Do they have that yet?

Grandin Road, $139

A great way to add color and unexpected charm to your home is with a window planter or two. These hanging flower beds are such an easy way to spruce up the exterior of a house that it’s a wonder they’re not more popular. I say be the first on your block, and it won’t be long before they start popping up all over your neighborhood.

Finding the right window planter for your home should be fairly simple. Decide on a window, take some measurements and choose accordingly. Consider the style of your home when choosing, since you’ll want to pick a window box that won’t look out of place. Here are some examples of styles.

Redwood Windowbox, $23.99- $61.99 (24″-72″)

CobraCo Adjustable Horse Trough Planter, $29.99

Grandin Road Charleston Planter, $149

Wentworth Window Box, $109

To get more window planter tips Read more »