Balcony Garden Designs 1. A Balcony garden full of greenery This apartment balcony in Paris, Belleville, is made into an urban jungle. Ideal for taking fresh breakfasts and lunches. Table and chairs are surrounded by lush vegetation of fast-growing, low care plant species: Fatsia japonica with the large glossy leaves (erroneously referred as castor oil plant), golden bamboo (Phyllostachys aurea) that is covering the space tightly and kōwhai (Sophora tetraptera) a plant coming from New Zealand....

The cultivar that I prefer to grow is Red Russian Kale, mostly due to the beautiful coloration on the stem — a light, pinkish-red hue that paints a stark contrast with the green leaves. It’s a cheap seed to get as well. Kale Microgreens Quick Info Flavor: fresh, milder than most other brassicas. Soak – No Rinse / Drain – No Germination – 2-3 days Ideal Harvest – 8-12 days You can either watch the full grow-along video or follow the step-by-step guide....

If you’re looking for a striking but simple plant that’s perfect for an office desk, kitchen, or succulent planter, look no further than Haworthia attenuata, or the zebra plant. It can thrive in pots, in the ground, and even indoors in a decorative arrangement so long as you care for it well. Table of Contents The striking, green and white appearance is why they’re so popular. It’s how they got on my radar — I saw one at the nursery and instantly bought it!...

Let’s find out. We’ll take a look at the following: You know the old saying, don’t cry over split tomatoes? Or something like that… Tomatoes commonly split on the vine, creating an open gash. But are these still safe to use and eat? We link to vendors to help you find relevant products. If you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. Why Do Tomatoes Split? Fruits may split while they’re growing due to changes in their hydration status....

Thanks to all of these variables, it’s hard to know how far apart to space them. Especially when you factor in the different types of gardening: square foot, row, raised beds, containers, and so on. If you’ve never grown eggplant before, perhaps you imagine bushy plants with enormous, dark-purple fruits hanging off them. While this is an accurate picture of what Solanum melongena may look like in the garden, the reality is that a variety of diverse cultivars exist....

USDA Zones — 5 – 11 Propagation Method — Seeds, vegetative propagation Difficulty — Easy Soil pH — 6 – 6.5 Other names — Lentil, Adas, Mercimek, Messer, heramame, masoor Where do Lentils Grow Lentil (Lens culinaris) – A relative of beans, it is an annual legume that is self-pollinating. It is used and cultivated from ancient times and was already well known in Egypt, Greece and Rome. Now it is cultivated mainly in the Canada, India, Turkey, USA, Australia and Egypt....

Modern medicine has taken full advantage of the many antibiotics produced by these organisms, and more than two-thirds of the antibiotics in use today were originally discovered from Streptomyces. You have probably never thought about life in the soil, but it’s a jungle down there with organisms fighting each other for survival. Instead of fighting tooth and nail, they fight by parasitizing each other and producing chemicals that help to compete against other microbes....

The giant coneflower or great coneflower is a favorite amongst novice and seasoned gardeners. It’s easy to care for and its flowers attract gorgeous butterflies! Perfect for a cottage garden, this Rudbeckia provides a stunning display as well. Table of Contents Scientifically known as Rudbeckia maxima, these plants have striking waxy green-blue leaves that appear in rosettes. The foliage has cabbage-like blades which is why this plant is also known as cabbage leaf coneflower....

While spending hours out in the garden is one of life’s greatest joys, it can take a toll on our bodies. Our skin, hands, and most importantly, knees can all suffer unless we protect them. Table of Contents Being as tall as I am, my knees are always under extra stress. So I wanted to find garden kneelers and gardening mats to protect me when I’m knee deep in the dirt....

When the leaves start to drop from your rose, it’s waving the white flag – or lots of little green ones. It’s telling you that something is wrong and you need to fix it. We don’t usually grow roses for the foliage. It’s nice and all, but it’s those flowers that we really want. But that doesn’t mean we don’t mind if the leaves start to rain down off the plant like raindrops in a spring storm....

Summer is a great time to replenish stocks of herbs in our kitchen shelves and pantries. Thanks to the cheerful warm and sunny weather, in that season many herbs achieves the strongest aroma as well as essential oils. Therefore, it is important to learn how to harvest herbs at an appropriate time and how to dry and store them collectively to keep as much of their flavor. How and When to Harvest Herbs Leaves Generally, most herbs have the best flavor and fragrance before flowering....

Green onion is one of the most versatile vegetables. From garnishing your food to making it a part of your salad, there are countless ways to consume it. No doubt! And the best part, you can grow this in a very small space, in a DIY container, EASILY. What are Green Onions? Green onions are immature onions with green shoots. The green shoots form and grow before the bulb formation....

Oregano is a peculiar herb. It has an earthy, pungent flavor that’s only paired with certain foods. This herb also takes 3-4 weeks just to form cotyledons. As such, oregano microgreens are much less popular than clover or spinach microgreens. However, the unique flavor helps oregano fill a very specific niche: Mediterranean food! Table of Contents If you like to cook tomato-based soups and dishes, particularly Italian and Greek cuisine, oregano microgreens need a place in your garden....

Lemon thyme is a must for any herb garden. This versatile, zesty herb has all the savory notes of common thyme with an added sweet citrus aroma and taste! Table of Contents Its versatility extends to ornamental gardening, with a range of upright and low growing ground cover and variegated varieties to choose from, with lavender-pink flowers attracting beneficial insects and adding pops of color. Used fresh, lemon thyme should be added at the end of cooking to retain flavor....

For the home gardener, the beautiful Spanish species (Lavandula stoechas) and its cultivars are the best performers for hot and humid climates, with the pretty French (L. dentata) selections coming a close second. With beautiful purple, blue, pink, or white flowers and delightful perfume, lavender is a garden favorite around the world. Unfortunately, not all varieties are suitable for hot or humid regions. However, that doesn’t mean folks in USDA Hardiness Zones 9 and up can’t enjoy them too....

With the help of these creative DIY Plant Hanger Ideas, you can grow plants vertically without using the floor space of your urban home. Hang pots on walls and roofs using ropes and strings for a creative green display! Check out our article on hanging plant ideas for the bathroom here DIY Plant Hanger Ideas 1. Jewelry Box Planters Use empty wooden jewelry boxes as planters and hang them using a small gold chain....

Flowering is infrequent, and consists of pendant-style clusters of tiny yellow blossoms that pale in comparison to a breathtaking backdrop of richly-hued foliage. Codiaeum variegatum Tropical garden croton, Codiaeum variegatum, makes a spectacular houseplant. A member of the genus Codiaeum in the Euphorbiaceae, or spurge, family, it is not to be confused with the “true croton” species of the genus Croton, also in the spurge family. If you’ve vacationed where it’s warm and humid, you’ve probably been awed by this brightly-colored shrub....

And therein lies the kicker for those of us in the southern parts of the country. In the plant world, when does “full sun” not really mean full sun? When you live in a place that gets really, really hot for a really long time. When we go to the garden store, and our attention is captured by an interesting-looking species that’s new to us, we’ll often look for that little plastic pick that’s inserted into the pot, or if it’s a seed packet we’re intrigued by, we’ll flip it over to learn more....

Flowering vines make intriguing specimens in the garden, adding both color and character. Vines are not complicated to grow or maintain; yet, if not properly cared for, they can grow beyond their boundaries. Some varieties are aggressive to the point of overtaking the garden as well as the surrounding landscape. The vigorous growth and rapid spreading characteristics of these plants can quickly turn these spirited plants into annoying pests. However, with proper care and maintenance, even the most aggressive varieties can become beautiful additions to nearly any landscape....

My supervisor, noting my interest, filled me in on the vegetation I was gawking at. A great trap crop for pests, comes in trailing or mounding form, very spicy. Plucking off one of its flower heads, she offered me a taste. I fondly remember my first encounter with a nasturtium. ‘Twas the summer of 2021, and I was working as an intern at a botanical garden. I was doing my weeding rounds in a new section of the garden, when I literally stumbled upon a Tropaeolum majus....