Flora Music » Gardening Ideas

Flower- the Story of Evolution

admin — Mon, 31 May 2010 12:19:00 +0000

Flowers are the Natural beauties sent as a Gift by Nature to the World. They add fragrance, briiliance and beauty to the surroundings. The History of the Flowers in this Earth must go to the day when the Plants emerged in the World.
Scientific research have shown that the Plants are in this World for the past more than 425 Million years and they have developed from their primituve form of Spores. The seeds for the Plants came in the primitve form as spores the small copies of themselves that can grow in other places. The Plants began to develop protection for the spores and thus came the seeds and there came into being the assured way of propagation and systematic reproduction by following regular Life cycles.

The Flowers must have appeared during this stage and the earliest fossil proof of actual Flowers appears only 130 million years ago. But we do not have clear proof of how and when the Flowers developed for the first time as the fossil desposits do not give enough proof in this direction. The father of the theory of Evolution Charles Darwin himself is persplexed over this issue and calls this an abominal Mystery.

It is generally assumed that the function of Flowers, from the start, was to involve other Animals in the reproduction process. Pollen should be taken to other places and for this the assistance of other living beings are necessary and it may not be possible without giving any other benefit. The Plants in some Islands developed sudden, fully developed appearance of Flowers and used them to develop a highly specialized relationship with some specific Animals and Birds. This type of specialized relationship with another Animal bearing pollen from one plant to another has resulted in both the plant(s) and their partners developing a high degree of specialization.

Likewise, the next stage of the Flower the Fruits are used in plant reproduction that comes from the enlargement of parts of the Flower itself and is a tool which depends upon animals wishing to eat it, and thus scattering the seeds it contains. The hard proof as to the existence of Flowers about 130 million years ago, is available though circumstantial evidence we know that they did exist up to 250 million years ago.

Flowers are genetically just an adaptation of normal Leaf and stem components on Plants, and the most primitive Flowers are thought to have both Male and Female parts on the same flower and to be dominated by the Female part. In later stages of evolution, Flowers grew more advanced, some, with a much more specific number and design, and with either specific sexes per Flower or plant.

We see that Flower evolution continues even today; that the Modern Flowers have been influenced by humans to such a degree that many of them cannot be pollinated in Nature.

Possibly Related Posts:

Garden Stepping Stones – What Are They?

admin — Mon, 31 May 2010 12:17:38 +0000

Our life is running like an aircraft where you don’t have much time to spend on others. In this busy world where every single minute has its own significance, thinking about a garden would be termed as imagination or day dreaming. A garden in your house always keeps you fresh and gives you peace and serenity. And what’s even better that having a garden has many more advantages which makes all the hassles that you undergo for it seem worth while.

Maintaining your garden is an art which requires skill and aesthetic sense of creativity and imagination. Decorating your garden requires lot of imagination and consumes time. Gardening is a dying but very relaxing pass time and hobby. If you try it once you will know the calm that you experience is priceless. Not only this, if you want to lose some weight, then this can be a great way to do so.

But let’s explore the mater little more and take a look at something that can give your garden a great new look-garden stepping stones.

Decorating your garden with the stepping stones is a unique way to personalize and make your garden stand out. Stepping stones are often used to give a great appearance to your garden. Stepping stones can make all the paths in your garden add to the beauty of the entire home and surroundings. You can step out of the conventional way of decorating your garden by using garden stepping stones that come in all shapes and give you an option of choosing the one that your prefer the most.

Garden stepping stones not only catch our attention but they are also a favorite item used to decorate gardens. Creatively you can come up with great new ideas to use garden stepping stones in any which way you like. The entire ambiance of your garden may change by using garden stepping stones.

You might have seen the pathway created in the garden where stepping stones are used, think if this is what you can use creatively for your own garden. The impact it will make can be great. With you ingenuity you can create a pathway that gives a glimpse of your personality and lifestyle. You can create wonderful patterns and alluring designs to suit your taste.

While deciding the appearance of your garden, you may consult friends, family or experts who can give you different advise. You can get a valuable suggestion from others about which you have not thought or imagined.

Garden steeping stones are not only used to create a pathway in your garden but also used in fountains, stone tables or chairs where you can spend much time to relax and feel comfortable. The scenic beauty of your garden will get a much needed boost if the stepping stones are used in an imaginative way.

In order to get rejuvenated or to refresh our minds, we often travel to different places for the beauty that they offer. But you develop a fondness of gardening and give your garden a new appearance and work on it regularly then you need not go anywhere. And in this endeavor garden stepping stones can be of great help. So go ahead and splash your creativity in your garden and see the great results that you get.

Possibly Related Posts:

The Greenhouse that Wouldn’t Lie Down

admin — Mon, 31 May 2010 12:17:03 +0000

On my travels, I met a guy who had just built his own greenhouse. It had taken him two years! We got talking and I mentioned my Greenhouse web site. He could hardly wait for me to finish my sentence before launching into his tale:

“Building a greenhouse is one of the most frustrating projects that I have ever undertaken. I have been involved in doing home repair kinds of things for years, so I am no stranger to the difficulty of making everything fit together, but I swear, I will never build a greenhouse again. I had honestly thought that building a greenhouse would be just like building a shed. Just assemble the frame and install the walls and, bingo – all done. Boy was I mistaken. I had no problem when I made my shed, but the greenhouse was a real nightmare.

D.I.Y. Fundamentalism is a Form of Mentalism.
“I should have listened to my friends who said that I should hire an outside contractor instead of building a greenhouse myself, but I was sure that I was up to it. Let me tell you, it was one nightmare after another. Think installing windows is a pain in the neck? Try building a greenhouse, where every wall is made of absolutely nothing but windows and window frames! But that is not even the half of it. Oh no, not by a long shot.

“If you are building a garage or a shed, you have some leniency in terms of how things fit together. Sure, you assemble the basic frame as accurately and precisely as you can, but a millimeter here, half an inch there, and you’re still good. But it’s not the case if you are building a greenhouse. Not the case at all. Imagine assembling your whole frame and finding that your window frames don’t fit. Imagine trying to recut them,- an expensive waste of time and money that does nothing at all to fix the problem – and then having to dig out your foundations and start again. Imagine burning it down for the insurance and calling it a day. Such is the nightmare of building a greenhouse from scratch. Never again, my friend. Never again.

Plant Lovers Unite and Take Over.
“I had always thought that building a greenhouse was the ultimate project for a plant lover. It’s sort of like decorating the nursery for your kid. It’s the process of making a safe place for something that you love and treasure to glow and blossom. Now I realize the horrible truth. Building a greenhouse did just the opposite for me. It was six months before I could look at a plant!

“But now a year has gone by. I’ve begun to wander in and out of my greenhouse. After all the trials and tribulations, I have to admit that I now have something that I’d been wanting for a long time. It’s still standing, and it is no longer empty. Not by a long way.”

Telling his story put this guy in a much better mood, and we yabbered on long into the night. But I couldn’t help wondering if building a greenhouse could really be so difficult. I’d never even considered the possibility of designing and building one from scratch. There are simply too many good kits that are easy to buy off the shelf, take home, assemble and admire through the glass of a tart Chardonnay to worry about the whole D.I.Y.extremo thing.

Possibly Related Posts:

Is Cedar Wood the right choice for decking

admin — Tue, 25 May 2010 05:55:21 +0000

In this article I will try to explain why red cedar wood is the ideal building material and why it is especially good as a material to use for decking.

Cedar is a really remarkable natural material because is can be used in so many different sorts of building products and seems to be especially good to use a decking timber. The softwood seems to lend some of its Pacific Northwest charm to the exteriors of many homes and offices and with its warm cinnamon tones that will age gracefully over time to a seasoned silver colour. Although it is attractive and has a lot of rustic charm, it has many natural properties that provide it with a built in resistance to both attack by the elements and by insects. Because of this cedar wood has become one of the more popular choices when people are planning to add a decking area to their property. Red Cedar in particular is not only robust but is durable and a visually striking material which will add value to any exterior of a property.

The Red Cedar is a native species found in the costal regions of the Pacific Northwest and is now used not just for decking part for many other building products also. The wood itself is naturally imbued with a high resistance to UV rays, moisture and damage by insects because of certain chemicals in it which protect it from degeneration, and this is the reason why this species has survived in an environment heavy in moisture. Also these attributes are a key reason why the Red Cedar has been so heavily relied on by the Europeans who settled in the region for use as tools and building materials.

So with these strengths in mind you also need to remember that because Red Cedar is a softwood is it very easy to work with. Not only its looks, but its natural protection against the elements and even the scent that is associated with it lends a warmth and general appeal that can easily be transplanted to your own garden when carrying out a decking project.

Not only does it have the benefits mentioned above which are ideal for using when building a deck, but it also does not contain many of the resins or pitch which are normally found in other sorts of wood. So when it comes to the time for applying a finish it is much easier and you have no need for any further protection against what the elements may throw at it. Cedar is in fact resilient enough to discourage the decking fastenings from corroding, a problem which can often lead to leeching of rust into other pressure treated decks. Not only is Cedar durable, but it is also lightweight and to add another level is not hard feat when building your deck. But once completed it will retain its natural feel and look that you will find reminiscent of the beautiful countryside of the Pacific Northwest, as well as the practical benefits such as heat insulation (this ensures that the decking will feel cooler when walking on it compared to many other wooden decks), it has great sound absorption and is very stable so it will be a structural benefit to the rest of your home.

Another benefit that Cedar wood provides is the colour range, which starts from an amber and goes up to a pinkish hue as it is taken from the heartwood of the tree. By the time the timber has been shipped and is ready to be used as decking lumber you will find that it has matured to a cinnamon (reddish-brown) colour. Then as it ages it will change colour yet again and this time turns a silvery grey colour, unless it has been stained. Now if you choose to stain it then the colour variations available to you become even greater.

Possibly Related Posts:

Home gardening can encompass a variety of different gardening styles

admin — Tue, 25 May 2010 05:54:42 +0000

For a lot of people, home gardening means the ability to grow your own fresh fruits and vegetables, the ability to control what pesticides enter your domain, and most of all just how fresh your food will be when you take it to the table. Home gardening can encompass a variety of different gardening styles, ranging from simple indoor gardening, to hydroponics gardening, to anything else that you can think of.

Bugs are an ever growing problem, sorry for the pun, and need to be watched for vigilantly. And especially in a vegetable or fruit garden, you will have to be extra careful of such cute, and cuddly creatures as rabbits, and other burrowing animals. Rodents are always a problem, and need to dealt with immediately so as not pass on any disease.

But is this really all that home gardening can accomplish? Shouldn’t there be more to it than the growing of vegetables and fruits? Those were my thoughts at one time when I came upon the concept of home gardening. There is a lot more to home gardening than initially meets the eye however.

Fruits and vegetables aside, you have your flowering plants, your leafy plants, and even your shade giving trees. All of these need to be placed within the design of you garden in such a way that you get the most of them. Next, if you liked you could always design an irrigation system worthy of a bigger garden, or you could keep it simple and just spray the hose when you need to.

It’s undeniable really just how tasty a freshly picked tomato will taste, or peas fresh out of the pod. And the fragrance you get from a handful of newly plucked berries, or freshly cut rosemary. This then is what the home gardener lives for.

Soil needs to be fresh, and aerated so as not to become compacted, thus hindering root growth. Worms and other like insects need to be welcomed into the overall scheme of your home gardening project.

And last but not least, you will need to make it a place that you feel welcome in, and that your visitors can feel welcome in. A place that invites you to explore all the nooks and crannies to see exactly what it is you’ve done with the place. And that’s what home gardening should be all about.

Water drainage, soil erosion, landscape maintenance, tools and equipment, the gallons of lemonade you’ll be consuming in your quest to make perfect your home gardening project. The list is nigh on endless, and I could go on forever, just suffice it to say that home gardening isn’t as cut and dried as it may seem.

Possibly Related Posts:

Concrete stepping stone molds

admin — Tue, 25 May 2010 05:54:11 +0000

How many times have you scolded your kids as they run on your beautifully laid garden grass? But is it really their fault or you need stepping stones so that you kids and anyone else walking on your garden can enjoy beauty without spoiling it. Stepping stones can be a great way to preserve your garden grass along with adding a touch of class to your garden as well.

But getting stepping stones from the market can be an expensive business. You may end up spending a lot for a few stones and getting them fixed too will cost a lot. You will have a tough time also finding the right kind of stones that may suit your garden or lifestyle.

There however is an easy way out. Just make stepping stones at home. Yes, don’t be alarmed. It is a great way to get your kind of stones that too without spending much. Making your stepping stones can also be a great hobby and you can even get your kids involved and have a great time with them. A few basic things needed for making stepping stones include molds. You will need a mold which will be used to shape the stone according to your style and design in mind.

There are various varieties of molds available in the market which may vary in shapes, sizes, material used and so on. A good bet is a concrete stepping stone mold. This is a great way of making your own molds. You can use concrete stepping stone molds a number of times and get great value for money from them rather than buying expensive stepping stones from the market.

Concrete stepping stone molds come in a variety of designs and you can choose the ones you like the most. They cost from anywhere between $18 to $30 depending upon the design and type you are buying.

Different patterns to suit everyone’s taste are available in the market and you are sure to find the kind you are looking for. Whether it’s a leaf design, or a fish pattern, some flowery pattern, sun, moon or stars anything that your imagination may have is available in concrete stepping stone molds. Opting for concrete molds also gives you an advantage of their durability and reusability. You can make great stepping stones time and again as you want to. So go ahead and buy one. You will see how much you can experiment with your garden using stepping stones which will make your pathways beautiful.

Possibly Related Posts:

How A Garden Designer Can Transform Your Garden

admin — Tue, 25 May 2010 04:02:42 +0000

Many fine gardens evolve gradually through the loving attention of their owners with little or no outside help. But when it comes to creating a new garden, or taking over an existing one that has fallen on hard times or that does not suit your taste or needs, it is well worth seeking advice from a professional garden designer.

The issues involved can be surprisingly complex, from drainage and construction through to siting trees and planting a border. How to deal with slopes and levels? How to forge a harmonious relationship between house, garden and surrounding landscape? What materials to use? How large to make a patio or pergola, how to site a water feature, pond or lake? How and where to incorporate outdoor lighting? Might planning permission be needed for any of this, and what order of costs might be involved?

Some of these questions might be answered by a knowledgeable gardener, others by a landscaper or builder, but for professional advice covering the whole process of planning and making a garden it is best to consult a qualified garden designer. Of course, before engaging any professional advisor you should first check their credentials and satisfy yourself that they are someone you can trust to interpret your brief in a sympathetic manner. The Society of Garden Designers, now celebrating its 25th year, is the only professional body in the UK devoted solely to garden design. Registered members have had their work individually assessed and must adhere to a code of professional practice. In the United States the equivalent body is the APLD (Association of Professional Landscape Designers).

A professional garden designer will listen carefully to your wishes before making any detailed proposals; time spent discussing practical needs and your likes and dislikes will help achieve a result that both you and the designer can be excited by. The hoped-for reaction from a client when they see that first presentation plan is “I never imagined anything quite like that, but it’s exactly what I want”.

Beautifully drawn plans are all very well, but can they be put into practice? A garden designer will have thought through the practical implications of his proposals, including cost. He will be able to provide detailed working drawings and to source materials and plants, giving you a much wider choice than could be found at your local garden centre or builder’s merchant. He will be able to find or recommend contractors to carry out the work, with costs and specifications agreed beforehand.

There is no denying that creating a garden can be expensive: expect to spend about the same on a new garden as on a complete new kitchen. Having detailed plans puts you in control and reduces the risk of unforeseen extra costs. A well designed garden makes good use of space that might have been wasted, making a small plot seem bigger and a large uninteresting space more intimate. The benefits of a new garden go on improving over time – planting typically takes three to five years to mature, for a larger garden ten years or more. Research shows that patients who have access to a garden, even if they can only look at it from a hospital bed, recover more quickly than those who do not, confirming what gardeners have known all along: gardens are good for you.

Possibly Related Posts:

Growing bedding plants

admin — Tue, 25 May 2010 04:01:05 +0000

Bedding plants have become an indispensable item for landscape use, presenting an array of flowers and foliage that add colour and texture to the landscapes of homes, apartment complexes, shopping malls, public buildings, city streets and parks.

They are ideal for planting on their own or with most other plants in a whole range of arrangements such as hanging baskets, tubs and pots, window boxes, troughs and of course in borders in the garden. Bedding plants are temporary so your displays can be different each year.

Bedding plants are really all plants that, irrespective of their growing habits, are used to make a temporary show. For example: Busy Lizzies (Impatiens) and Fibrous Begonias enjoy shady areas as will Pansies, Canterbury Bells, Lobelia and Coleus.

The ever popular are Surfinia, Geraniums, Alyssum, Ageratum, Verbena, Marigolds and Fuchsias for tubs, hanging baskets and borders.

Bedding plants are traditionally planted in early spring when the danger of frost is past.
Bedding plants include herbaceous annuals such as Petunia, Salvia, Ageratum and Perennials such as Canna, Chrysanthemum, and Lantana. They are available commercially, but many people find that germinating their own plants and caring for them until they are ready for flower beds is both satisfying and inexpensive.

Harden-off the plants by gradually getting them acclimatised to the weather conditions outside. Start with ventilate the coldframe by opening the lid slightly on warm, still days only, closing it at night. After a few days, gradually increase the amount of ventilation each day until you remove the lid completely. Summer bedding plants, such as Antirrhinums and Alyssum, can be moved out a month before the last frost date. Tender plants such as Begonias, Busy Lizzies and Pelargoniums should not be placed into the coldframe before the last expected frost date.

Bedding plant sites should be spaded or tilled several weeks before planting. Incorporation of organic matter into planting beds will increase nutrient and water holding capacities of these soils. Organic materials such as compost or peat should be thoroughly mixed into the soil.

It is important to blend colours together – try planting drifts of colour in borders. Use ‘hot’ colours – reds, yellows, oranges, or ‘cool’ colours – blues, lavender, silver and white for different effects.

Bedding plants should be watered immediately after planting and daily until they have become established. After establishment, they should be watered on an “as needed” basis. The frequency of irrigation will depend on soil type, exposure to sunlight and kind of bedding plant

Hanging baskets may require watering more than once a day, especially during hot weather. If the compost does dry out, water thoroughly and repeat. Create good drainage to prevent waterlogging in containers.

Possibly Related Posts:

Gardening Safety Tips

admin — Tue, 25 May 2010 03:59:43 +0000

Whether you have a green thumb or simply want to start learning the art of gardening, it’s a good idea to be prepared for all of those little surprises that may pop up along the way. Perhaps you want to create a perfectly landscaped lawn, grow some vegetables or surround your home with a garden of beautiful flowers. Whatever the case, keep the following tips in mind when you begin any type of gardening project:

Pollen Allergies. If you are like many, you probably suffer from some type of allergies. They affect us every day and in every season, but all sufferers are especially miserable during the spring and summer months. With the pollen in the air and everything in bloom, it can be difficult to be outdoors for any length of time. Before starting a new gardening project, it’s important to consider whether or not you have allergies and to what extent you are affected. If they are moderate to severe, working outdoors may be something to carefully consider avoiding.

Bee Sting Allergies. Did you know that some people are allergic to bee stings? In fact, some are so much so that they require medication to help regain control of the bee’s effect. Difficulty breathing and swallowing, swelling of the bee sting area and other problems may occur for anyone who finds themselves allergic. During the later months of autumn, bees are especially dangerous and should be avoided if at all possible. If you are allergic or if these types of allergies are common in your family, speak with a physician about allergy medicine before tackling any outdoor gardening project.

Outdoor Attire. During a gardening project, it is important that you dress for your environment. This means possibly wearing long pants and a long sleeve shirt, especially if you want to avoid mosquito bites that could result in potential health problems during certain times of the year and in certain geographical locations. You will also want to consider wearing gardening gloves to protect your hands and always be mindful of what you reach for, which is especially true if you find yourself reaching into grassy areas or those that are not easily visible. This may include weeds, shrubbery or overgrown areas of your yard or garden, which could be a hiding place for snakes, spiders or other potential aggressors.

Temperature. If possible, try gardening either early in the morning or late in the evening. The afternoon hours are commonly the hottest and is also the time of day when the sun has the most power, which leaves the door open for possible heat exhaustion or other heat-related illness. By choosing the coolest times of day and drinking plenty of fluids, you will be better equipped to get your gardening project completed without any unexpected problems or delays.

In addition to the above considerations, deciding whether or not to undertake a gardening project will largely depend on the type of project and your knowledge or skill. If you are doing basic work, such as planting flowers or a few vegetable seeds, you shouldn’t have any problems. If your work involves extensive landscaping work, such as adding a pond or a complete redesign, you may want to consider hiring a professional landscape artist who can complete the work without causing you any inconvenience.

Possibly Related Posts:

Indoor Fountains

admin — Tue, 18 May 2010 23:32:39 +0000

After coming home from a long day of working, the first thing that any person would want to do is to rest and relax. Especially after a hard day or bad day at work, a person would want to kick back and relax in their home. It is important that people get their rest after work so that they can recharge for the next day of work. Around the house, there are a lot of different places wherein they can relax. A lot of people like to relax in the privacy of their bedrooms, where they can lie down and sleep on their beds. Another area would be the living room where they can sit down and eat their dinner while watching the news on the television.

Others like to relax outdoors in their gardens or in the backyards. To make your relaxing experience even better outside, you can buy and install fountains. Fountains will not only make your garden or backyard a lot more aesthetically pleasing, it can also help you relax more outdoors. The sound of running water has been said to help relax a person. If you do not have a garden or backyard or if you live in an apartment, you do not need to worry about anything. You can opt to buy and install a wall waterfall instead inside your home. A wall waterfall also saves you a lot of floor space because as its name implies, you can just mount it on your wall where a spout will drop water to a basin below. To save even more space and still have a fountain in your home, you can also buy a tabletop fountain. As it names says, you can place it on tables around the house or in a specific room that you want.

This way you can still enjoy the perks of having a fountain inside your home while still saving space and making it as aesthetically pleasing as possible. To relax better at home from a long day of working, always pick the right spot. Different kinds of fountains are available to increase the relaxing ambiance of your house. In the event that you live in an apartment or condominium unit, you can go for a wall waterfall instead. A tabletop fountain is a great idea to save more space.

Possibly Related Posts: