Most people smile when they see the big, spherical flowers of globe thistle. They’re visually-striking and just so cheerful. They’ve become a staple in arboretums, cottage gardens, or other garden settings. Table of Contents The foliage is a bit weedlike in appearance until those giant globes of color appear. Leaves from this plant are a little prickly as they’re covered with a myriad of fine, stiff hairs. Like other thistles, they can be a little hard on the hands, but they’re great as cut flowers....

As cheerful and innocuous as the lowly dandelion is, it ranks among America’s most hated plants. People will resort to almost anything to get rid of them, from prying them up by their seemingly endless taproots to dousing them with toxic chemicals. The things we’ll do for a pure lawn. But as most modern herbalists know, the dandelion is, in fact, a tasty, nutritious, useful, and above all, healthful herb....

Probiotics are good for human health, as they help in improving digestion, mood, and immunity. But do you know, you can use them in the garden? If it sounds unbelievable, read this article with interest to get the idea. Do you know you can use milk in the garden! To find out how, click here! What is Yogurt? Yogurt is a dairy product, a result of bacterial fermentation of milk, which involves mainly two bacterias-Streptococcus thermophilus and Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp....

Hollyhocks, scientifically known as Alcea rosea, are gorgeous, eye-catching plants that will draw in pollinators of all kinds. Many people are discouraged from growing hollyhock flowers because they’re biennial and won’t grow flowers the first year. If you don’t mind waiting, they’re pretty easy to grow! The key is knowing when to plant hollyhock seeds. Table of Contents Growing hollyhocks is well worth the wait since they develop beautiful flower stalks that will likely tower over you....

Want to add a touch of beauty to your garden without spending too much? The holiday season is also around the corner and here are some creative ideas you can use on Garden Projects Using Sticks and Twigs. Check out some great garden projects using just glue here Garden Projects Using Sticks and Twigs 1. Make Twig Trellis Make twig trellis to grow climbing flowers and lean it against the wall....

Whether you’re planning for spring or just getting a head start on your gardening tasks in general, starting seeds can be one of the trickiest parts of being a gardener. If you’re used to buying seedlings from your local nursery and haven’t started seeds before, it can be daunting to figure out exactly what type of seed starting mix is best. In this article, I’ll get into exactly what you need to know when choosing the best seed starting mix for your garden and seedlings....

While the species plant, Ceropegia woodii needs no improvement, there are nonetheless several fascinating varieties and cultivars, with different leaf shapes and colors, that fans of this succulent will undoubtedly find utterly beguiling. String of hearts, also known as “rosary vine” or “chain of hearts,” is a fabulous vining houseplant that looks like it is straight out of a fairy tale. We link to vendors to help you find relevant products....

It features small flowers on tall stems, floating above a sea of textured leaves, all in shades of green and white. Anemone cylindrica Native to the Canadian province I grew up in, and every province I’ve lived in since, candle anemone is one of those seemingly unexceptional plants that I would recognize everywhere but never took much notice of beyond that. My siblings and I used the seed fluff to line the beds of the baby mice we found....

You’ve raised your tomato plants right: provided them with good-quality potting mix, fertilized them with care, faithfully pinched off sucker shoots, or trimmed back low-hanging branches. So why do tomatoes split, even when we’ve spent so much time and effort on making sure everything goes perfectly? Tomato cracking and splitting can appear in two forms. In one, concentric rings of cracks can appear around the top of the fruit. In the other, lengthwise splits happen down the sides of the fruit, either along the indents in heirlooms or along the surface of smooth varieties....

USDA Zones — 5 – 10 Difficulty — Easy Other Names — Featherfew, Fever few, Febrifuge plant, Featherfoil, Mid-summer daisy and wild chamomile . Feverfew (Tanacetum parthenium) belong to the Asteraceae family (family of chrysanthemums). This plant is also called “false chamomile”. It is native to the Eastern Mediterranean. From there it was brought to Central and Western Europe a long time ago, where it was grown in gardens as a medicinal and ornamental plant....

Once you’ve made your cuttings, planted them, and watered them, they need to go under lighting. I like to use a 4′ T5 fluorescent light setup so I can control how much light they get and for how long, but you can also grow outdoors if you like – it’ll just be less consistent. To make sure your cuttings will root properly, you need to control the temperature in the bottom of your container....

The amount of water a plant receives is often hard to control in a regular garden. Some plants require lots of water to grow healthy and strong, while others require very little water. Many plants are susceptible to root rot if they’re left standing in water for too long. Too much water is one of the main causes of dead plants. There is an easy way to test your soil to see how well it drains....

You’ve sweated and toiled all summer caring for your sweet potatoes in the garden, or maybe you’ve grown sweet potatoes indoors. You’ve lovingly protected your plants from powdery mildew, stem rot, and sweet potato weevils. You were careful to harvest sweet potatoes gently, so they didn’t have any cuts or bruises, and now, it’s time to eat… almost. You could certainly eat them right after picking if you really wanted to....

Kevin and Jacques love to bake bread (like this pocaccia bread recipe) with the wheat harvests from the Epic Homestead, and there’s a really good reason for that. There is nothing quite as uniquely satisfying as enjoying the literal fruits of your harvest… or, in this case, berries, as wheat produces seeds called wheat berries that can later be ground into flour for baking fresh, whole-wheat bread. But remember, this is a team spearheaded by the Potato Daddy himself....

We all love natural vibes in our bedroom and there’s nothing like sleeping with lush green plants. If you want to include them near your bed, then check out these Plant Headboard Ideas for Ultimate Houseplant Lovers for inspiration! Here are the best bedroom plants you can grow Ultimate Plant Headboard Ideas 1. Bed Frame with Snake Plants Snake plants are a great indoor air purifier and sleeping with them makes perfect sense!...

Thankfully, this needn’t be a long-term issue. By deadheading Strelitzia flowers, you can save your birds of paradise from sporting sorry-looking blossoms, while stimulating additional botanical benefits. There’s nothing quite like the blooms of a Strelitzia. Shaped like vibrantly-colored birds in flight, the flowers on a bird of paradise plant are uniquely gorgeous, transforming your patio or landscape into a tropical utopia. But all good things must come to an end, and there will be a time in every Strelitzia flower’s life when it starts to fade and then die....

Do you absolutely love growing your own food? Maybe you already have chickens and a garden in the backyard, but want to take your sustainable lifestyle to the next level. Table of Contents That’s where aquaponics comes in. It’s been around for hundreds of years, with roots in ancient China and South America, but is becoming more and more popular in modern society due to its incredible efficiency in growing both plants and fish....

Read more to learn all the ins and outs of harvesting and storing turnips. We’ll also share some unique recipe ideas. So, you planted a bed of turnips in your garden this season. You cared for your plants, thinning, mulching, watering, managing pests, and watching them grow. Now what? You may be wondering when you can harvest the roots. Can you harvest greens and roots from the same plants? And what do you do with the roots once you have pulled them out of the ground?...

In our guide to growing garden geraniums, we discuss all you need to know to grow your own plants as perennials in USDA Hardiness Zones 10 and 11, and as annuals in all temperate zones. We also introduce you to the many modern hybrid series available and their arrays of color options. The garden or zonal geranium, Pelargonium x hortorum, is a geranium by common name only. It is actually a member of the Pelargonium genus, in the large Geraniaceae family of plants....

Tired of putting your potted plants on the floor? Try these eye-catching Plant Shelves Ideas to add a bit of versatility and charm indoors! Check out our article on DIY Ladder Shelf for the garden here Plant Shelves Ideas 1. Kitchen Plant Shelf A plant shelf like this in a kitchen will allow you to grow herbs near a bright window. 2. Aesthetic Plants on Shelf Grow compact and vining plants on the shelf for that aesthetic look....