It’s time to dry and store herbs
Drying herbs
Archives
Garden edging
Classic and decorative flower bed edgers
Cooling refreshments
Keep cool refreshments prepared for the garden party
Garden shower
Prepare for the heat with a cooling garden shower
Garden gnome
This week is Garden Gnomes’ Week. These little figures reputely bring luck, protect and fertilize the garden
Raised garden beds
One of the advanteges of raised garden beds is avoiding backache of bending down
Insect repellents
The early summery weather already requires insect protection, which can be achieved by natural methods also. Several well-known plants have insect repellent effect. So, planting of these means not only a kitchen garden addition or home apothecary’s but a more livable outdoor also. They will look good planted near the patio or potted on the balcony. Most of them has a strong and pleasing fragrance.
Here are some of them which help us to keep the multi-feet and undesirable guests away.
Basil: used as an herb. It is effective against fly and mosquito.
Peppermint: used in the products containing menthol. It is effective against ant, spider and mosquito.
Marigold: it is a useful officinal herb as ointment or tea. Effective against aphid and mosquito.
Lavender: its essential oil is used in many ways. It is effective against flea, fly, moth and mosquito.
Catnip: cats love to sniff this plant, that’s why it was named. It is effective against mosquito.
Rosemary: it is an herb. It is effective against flea and ked.
Caring of the plants mentioned above doesn’t require more work than any others, this way it’s worth to choose them for the summer.
Outdoor Easter decor
DIY outdoor decoration ideas for Easter
Topiary
Topiary is a special section of horticulture. The main point of it is cutting plants in a certain shape, and to make them grown in this shape in the future. Its history is dating back to ancient Roman times, Pliny the elder mentioned it in his Natural History also. Its next boom was during the Renaissance then in the Victorian era.
The plants used for topiary are evergreen perennials: shrubs, suffrutexes or trees. Those with small-leafed and bushy foliages, and which growing in a columnar and/or compact way are the best for this purpose. Both the foliage and the branches are cut to shape. It is a type of art now, called living sculpture. Actually, any kind of „sculpture” can be made, even if it has geometrical or organic shape.
Plants are best for topiary which can be purchased in Hungary also: common box (Buxus sempervirens), thujas (Thuja …), bay tree (Laurus nobilis), myrtles (Myrtus …), yews (Taxus …) and privets (Ligustrum …).
Modern topiary uses wire braces and shape-baskets for help, but the bases of the real old-school topiary are steady hands, seateurs and patience. Making a spectacular plant-sculpture can last for years. We can say, the simplest topiaries are the cut hedges used as fences and bedding hems.
It is a popular gardening form nowadays also, even in interiors as potted plants. These works of art decorate not only the gardens of castles, manors and cottages. For example, it is a frequent decorating element in Disney parks also. Nowadays there are ready-made, pre-cut, potted versions to purchase which only have to be „kept in shape”.
Green stairs
If there is only an inch of free green space literally
