Budgeting for that new backyard

Backyard renovations and new landscape installations are an exciting feat for me. It is very easy though, for my creative and unruly side to overwhelm my rational, realistic side when planning a new garden or landscape design. What can I say, I love plants. 'The more, the merrier.' Sadly, budgets are a reality that many must abide by when considering the addition of new landscape features to a yard or property. 

After having to tone down my spring garden plans and landscaping projects for the yard this year, and meet my own frugal budget, I thought what a perfect topic for a new article. My latest featured Helium article, Tips and tricks to landscaping on a budget, discusses my predicament further, and provides some hopefully helpful advice to assist in the organizing the budget for your new backyard or landscaping project. 

Please feel free to share any tips or advice you may have about landscaping on a budget in the comments area…

Turning the Garden Soil

Apricot blossoms
~by J A Tucker

The gardens are calling! The warm sun is finally shining, and the new shoots of springs are erupting all over the yard. Mission of the week: get the garden soil turned and ready for all the new plants.

Spring has been extremely busy so far this year. Between the massive spring cleanup of my new yard and gardens, and the endless mountain of boxes that overtook my new office during the move, sadly my writing was forced to the back burner, so to speak. Still in search of the office I know exists somewhere behind that pile boxes, I decided that I should not be letting it hold me back from returning to my writing.

Over the next week or so, I will be doing a few springtime updates around the pages of A Growing Garden. Some additions have already been made to our Garden Links and Garden Advice pages; feel free to take a quick peek at what’s new.

Make sure to check back throughout the summer for new posts as I build my new vegetable garden, berry and melon patches, kitchen/ herb garden, and update my out-of-date front and backyard. I have loads of work to do!

A gardener's Christmas wish list

Gardening and growing plants, shrubs, and trees of all kinds is not only healthy for the heart and the soul, it is also immensely important to our existence upon this planet for generations to come. This of course should not need mention, but with Christmas and a new year soon upon us why not keep the environment, and the planet we so greatly rely upon, in mind.

Gardening gifts this Christmas and gift giving season can be a great choice for almost anyone on your gift list. From a starter gardening play set for a toddler, to tools, gardening gloves, a bird feeder, or one of the many gardening gadgets available, for the gardener on your Christmas list, the ideas are many.

For ideas on hi-tech stocking stuffers and many other great gifts for under the tree that will satisfy the avid, to aspiring, gardener this Christmas, the following article will come in handy.

Five great gardening gifts for the gardener on your Christmas list

Take a look, and feel free to add any additional ideas into the comments below.

No span please, all comments will be moderated before being published.

Tips to successfully germinating plant seeds and cuttings

Since the last post, House plants and garden designs, I have been working on the content layout for both of these upcoming projects. As usual, I was extremely eager to get writing. The product of this burst of ambition is my latest article, Tips for growing plants in an indoor germination station, which has been published at Helium. As germination is an integral part of growing any plant, outside or in, I thought this would be a great place to start for both projects.  

When working with plant seedlings or cuttings, most plants need, or will significantly benefit from the use of, a germination station. Whether planning to start seedlings for your upcoming vegetable or herb garden, or propagating a favorite house plant, your germination station could be as simple as cups on the window sill to a system complex as a self-feeding, computerized germination station bought from a store.

As plant propagation and nurturing delicate seedlings is not for everyone, for the wary, the following article link and collection of tips it encompasses will be helpful for successfully starting your new plants in a germination station.

Drop your mouse here to view the full length article. 

Have advice of your own you would like to share? Please post your thoughts to the comments area.
 

House plants and garden designs

It always seems to be winter by the time I find a few quality moments to get back to my blogs. This year, more the case than others!

After a very busy few months of packing, cleaning, moving, and then attempting to find everything once again, finally I have come to a garden in which I can stay for a while. The winter can now be used to layout and create the new garden and landscaping design plans for my spring time renovations. The new space is private, well kept, and at this point very simply landscaped. Best of all, there is unlimited potential and I plan to make the most of it!

This brings me to my winter plans for agrowinggarden… 

Considering the time of year, and how nice it is to brighten up the house with greenery as the days get shorter, indoor gardening and house plants are a great place to start I think. Some of the topics I want to discuss over the next few months are: kitchen herb gardens, oxygen producing plants, air purifying plants, as well as the many other types of plants are great to include inside a home.  

The second project that will be focused on is a feature on garden and yard design as I research and design my upcoming garden, yard, and patio. As I am planning to blog myself through this project, several new posts relating to my garden and yard space are slated throughout the upcoming months.

These posts will include articles, how to guides, photos, and informative links relating to dry landscape yard and garden design, vegetable gardens, herb and kitchen gardens, greenhouses, flowers, potted plants and patio areas. Primarily I will be focusing on organic methods of gardening, low impact and self-sustainable practices.

I am very excited about the upcoming projects and look forward to sharing the information. If any of these topics are of interest, make sure to check back periodically or subscribe by email to receive new posts as they are published.