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Attracting toads and frogs to the garden brings two benefits–first, they look super cute and second, they help to control pests lurking in your garden. So without further ado, find out the ways to attract them. 1. Avoid Chemicals Like other amphibians, toads and frogs breathe (completely or partially) and drink through their skin. If you use pesticides, herbicides or fungicides or any other chemicals for pest control your garden, they can not survive....

But while there is a wealth of different ways to use snapdragons, there seems to be a lack of information out there on just how long they live. They’re a classic in cottage gardens and stunning in bouquets. You can grow them from seed or buy them for a song in giant packs at home supply stores. You can even eat them or play with the flowers like you did when you were a kid....

It’s not as daunting as it seems! Each of us has to start somewhere, right? Mary, Mary, quite contrary, How does your garden grow? Good question – how does your garden grow? If you’re stumped on where to begin planning your vegetable plot, there are a few steps you’ll need to take to figure it out. We link to vendors to help you find relevant products. If you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission....

Rusts don’t kill their hosts, but they don’t do them any favors either. This type of rust is found throughout the world wherever turnips are grown. Albugo candida White rust, caused by Albugo candida, afflicts turnip leaves and flowers and used to be considered a fungal disease. The organism has been reclassified and is now no longer a fungus. It is a water mold – a relative of brown algae....

1. DIY Glass Garden Flowers Have unused glass plates and bowls in your house? Well, you can use them to make interesting garden accessories. Glue them together to form colorful flower sculptures with the help of this DIY! This is one DIY Garden Projects With Glue you must try! 2. Garden Art Totems Here’s how you can combine the broken glass pieces, old lampshades, and dishes lying around in your home to form beautiful glass totems for free....

1. DIY Terracotta Fountain Get some terracotta pots and bowls of different sizes without the drainage holes to make a fountain for your garden. Visit Instructables to learn how to do this! 2. Mini Magic Garden in Terracotta Pot Involve your kids to complete this mini magic garden project in a terracotta pot. Find more info at Good HouseKeeping. 3. A Clay Pot Smoker Learn how to build a clay pot smoker here if the idea of smoking meat or fish outdoors is hitting your mind....

Picking the right houseplants for your living space can be tricky, and finding ones that are pet-friendly is even harder. .. While dogs like to laze around in the house, cats are rather curious. With a feisty pet that loves to explore every nook and corner, it’s important not to keep any poisonous plants in the house. Ponytail palms are extremely common houseplants, with their cascading leaves and bulbous caudex. They make fantastic indoor décor as they’re slow-growers, low-maintenance, and can live for decades....

If you have a garden (especially a cut flower garden), you have the makings of beautiful foliage arrangements at your fingertips. When you combine the seasonal leaves, flowers, and branches available to you, the creative possibilities are awesome! With a few tips, you’ll be on your way to crafting centerpieces for your home, and thoughtful gifts to give to friends and loved ones. The art of floral arranging is an ancient and fascinating one....

Brown rot is a group of fungal diseases that impact stone fruits and some pome fruits grown worldwide. It’s a problem during the development of healthy fruits as well as a leading cause of post-harvest fruit decay in peaches, cherries, plums, and apricots. Brown rot fungi can be found on young shoots, infected twigs, open or unopened blossoms, and rotting fruit. Table of Contents Brown rot diseases were first documented in 1796 and went through several taxonomic changes in the past few centuries until they became classified under the new genus Monilinia in 1928....

If not using one of its non-scientific names, many gardeners simply call the plant “mina lobata.” Ipomoea lobata Shooting up almost as quickly as one of its many nicknames, firecracker vine can grow close to 10 feet in a month, racing up trellises and fences and launching attractive red, banana-shaped flowers that gradually fade to a cream color. Properly known as Ipomoea lobata, firecracker vine is also known by two former scientific names, Mina lobata and Quamoclit lobata and by a colorful array of other nicknames including Spanish flag and exotic love vine....

Cardamom is one of the world’s most expensive spices after saffron and vanilla. It has a sweet, burning taste and a very distinctive spicy odor. Cardamom because of its variety of uses gained a reputation as the queen of spices (king, however, is black pepper). USDA Zones — 10 – 12 Difficulty — Moderate to Hard Other Names — Amomum cardamomum, Bai Dou Kou, Black Cardamom, Cardamome, Cardamomo, Cardomom, Cardomomi Fructus, Ela, Elettaria cardamomum, Green Cardamom, Huile Essentielle de Cardamome, Indian Cardamom, Lesser Cardamom, Kardamom, chhoti elachi, lachie, illaichi and elam....

These tough, woody perennials are mostly self-sufficient and handle lean soils, hot sun, and arid conditions without missing a beat. Highly popular for their gorgeous flowers and exquisite herbal perfume, the best way to keep lavender plants at their peak is to become skilled at pruning. We link to vendors to help you find relevant products. If you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. Pollinators flock to their sweet mauve, pink, purple, and white flowers, while the intense essential oils repel deer and gnawing rodents....

Grasses are just not limited to meadows anymore, some of them are prized for their aesthetics and grown in containers for their architectural appeal! Moreover, it’s becoming a trend to grow them indoors, which is why we’ve selected 9 Best Ornamental Indoor Grass varieties that you can grow as a houseplant. Check out our article on Ornamental Grasses for homes & gardens here Best Ornamental Indoor Grass 1. Fiber Optics Grass Botanical Name: Scirpus cernuus...

More than 100 species of Phytophthora cause a complex of diseases on hundreds of kinds of plants. Several different species can infect temperate fruit trees such apple and crabapple, pear, peach, apricot, plum, and cherry and also tropical fruit trees such as oranges, limes, and lemons. Phytophthora While the name Phytophthora might not mean much to you, these organisms are a menace to agriculture and forests alike. The name is derived from Greek and tells you what you need to know about them: plant destroyers....

A birdcage planter can add a unique touch to your garden. Hang it inside the house or outside on a tree, fix it near the door or create a beautiful vista– hanging many of them in a row near the entrance of your garden. You can do a lot of experiments with it. Things you’ll need A birdcage Potting mix Coco liner Plants Pebbles (optional) Steps to make a birdcage planter Step One: If you are using an old bird cage, make sure to clean it thoroughly with a disinfectant....

In this article you will learn more about what a tree guild is, as well as how to create a cherry tree guild that improves fruit production, protects against disease, reduces long-term maintenance needs, and creates a beautiful focal point in the garden. Mimicking conditions of the natural environment in your design is a great way to encourage a home garden to thrive. Plants don’t grow in neat rows in the wild....

In this article, we discuss guidelines for choosing the best time to plant bulbs, and what to do if you miss this optimal window of opportunity. Most of our favorite flowers that grow from bulbs bloom in the spring. But when is the best time to plant them? Bulb flowers such as allium, crocus, cyclamen, daffodil, fritillaria, iris, Siberian squill, and tulip should be planted in the fall, so they can undergo the winter chilling they need to bloom in the springtime....

A friend of mine, Mary, loves gardening and cut flowers. It only makes sense that she has her own cut flower garden, which has actually inspired me. Mary not only keeps fresh flowers in her own home; but she also makes up gorgeous bouquets to take to the elderly shut-ins, who live in her neighborhood. Following Mary’s lead, I have started planting more flowers to use in bouquets. You can do the same....

When you grow them organically, they also have edible blooms, so you can scatter the cheery color on a salad or rice and get a mood boost, even when the weather’s chilly. Need a pick-me-up homegrown flower? Sunflowers, daisies, or dahlias might immediately come to mind. But I prefer pansies! I think of this day-brightener first, because it blooms in many different jewel-tones and sunny colors, and has those cute little flower faces....

They are so sweet and delicious, even my family of skeptics can get on board. I love kale. I could happily eat it at any time, cooked in any style. My family, however, isn’t quite so enthralled. It has taken a bit of prodding and experimentation on my end, but I have finally found a few varieties that they can get excited about too. Napini is a term for the tender flowering shoots of kale plants, typically harvested from Siberian kale varieties....