Summer is here and I believe the forecast will be sunshine. It’s time to start the margarita recipes and send out those out-of-office memos. And although it all sounds cool and all, if you really face facts, you will probably be sitting very close to the A.C. and eating leftovers so you don’t have to go out in the sweltering heat.

Don’t worry! We can add some joy to those summer blues. You can add some cool looking trees to your house plant mix and make your apartment or home have that beach-like look. W we have 5 recommendations for trees that will bring the outdoors inside.

Dracaena ‘Tarzan

this is a really cool cuz he can tolerate lower lights. The Dracaena Tarzan is a pig tropical type of tree that looks sort of like an indoor palm tree. this is the type of plan to let you imagine that you’re in the 5-star hotel in the tropics.  So go get your sunglasses, put on the tunes, and make those pina Coladas. Enjoy the summer without the sweltering heat.

Trichilia ‘Natal Mahogany

if you think you have a problem with over-watering your indoor plants, then this is the tree for you. It is a big and bushy tree with dark green leaves. it can fill up large empty spaces for those of you who have too much space in too little furniture.

The Trichilia Natal Mahogany All perception last summary feeling you want to have indoors. You just have to be sure to water it regularly, even list the leaves often to give it that warm humid environment it needs.

Rhapis Palm

Pictures of a really cool indoor tropical tree that looks like a palm tree but not so much. dark fronds look like fans. The trunk has a lot of texture too which can be an interesting focal point in a room. one of the best features of this tree is that it is really easy to care for.

Ficus Lyrata

The designer seems to love this tree and tends to call it the fiddle leaf fig. the tree has large leaves and can be a real focal point in a large room. Just be aware that it does need some sunlight and requires a nice sized space.

Monstera deliciosa

This is more of a plant than it is a tree. But it’s quite large and easy to care for. Place it on top of a stand to make it look taller and you’re set to enjoy the summer. All you need to do is go out and get those margaritas.

Any well laid out garden needs to be tended to more than anything else. Gardeners are good at not only maintaining and tending to gardens but to the overall look of a space. Listed out are the major thoughts that go towards establishing a good garden patch most of the time. 

Give it a full thought 

Some of the better gardens were brought into being after due thought being applied to space. It is the smart gardener that decides upon the features that need to be included in the gardens as such.  Space has to be proportioned out and made into separate sections for each type of plant and growth.  

It must be admitted that gardens that have had the time and space when it comes to the thought being used on each occasion, it does show on the overall layout of the space most of the time.  Thus the better gardens are efforts at changing over a space both by the gardener as well as those who employ the gardener. 

Getting the location just right 

When it comes to home gardens, it is not usually planned out in advance. So the thing to do is to have the location well thought out from the early days itself. It would be worth the while to have the garden planned out or at least the location set into the building of the house or premise. This would ensure the least disturbance to the area and that the garden could be planned as integral to the whole setting most of the time. 

Let the garden concept grow 

The secret to a good garden is to start small and allow the garden to grow in stature. This allows the plants and shrubs to be added as and when the garden tends to spread out from the initial stages. In a way, this is the scalability of the garden and works to a large extent. 

With this concept of starting out small and allowing the garden to grow, it would be seen that it works out a lot more cheaply and cost-effective as well. It is not every day that people get to have large sums parked somewhere to be spent on the gardens as has been laid out earlier. 

Choose the soil wisely 

For most parts, the garden is what is composed of the soil and nothing more. Ideally, the best soils for gardens are those that have the right moisture retention capacity and also are easy to work into as well. In case the soil type is not of the right type, then the most logical thing to do would be to try and change the soil to the most extent possible. 

It does not take much effort to change the soil. Just the first couple of feet are more than sufficient to have proper growth most of the time. Thus it is this part of the garden that needs to be changed as well. 

The best-laid gardens have been thought up much before the ground was broken to sink in the foundation to the premise. Then it would be appropriate to think of the direction of the sun and the wind flow to try and make sense of what has been the greater plan. Planning is everything to gardening and laying out the gardens as well. This avoids unnecessary clearing of plants and also the ground can be prepared to perfection. 

Poor planning is often double or more of the effort to establish the same garden. Often it would mean rework on a grand scale most of the time. 

Match the garden to the architecture 

Imagine the Taj Mahal without the Mogul gardens?? That is how important is architecture to the layout of the garden.  The garden space must match the architecture plans and come to represent what the whole layout is aiming to be for the most part. Gardens are meant to complement the buildings that they surround or beautify for the most parts. Instances of a bad match of the garden would mean that the work would have to be redone from time to time to achieve near acceptable results.

Keep the scale in sight 

The scale here applies to the garden as a whole and the smaller items like the size of the flower beds and the likes. It is mostly a matter of proportions more than anything else. If the entrance to a garden is rather big and arched, then there needs to be a feature to match the garden layout to the entrance else the sight would be ungainly and uncomfortable, to say the least. 

Bloom times 

If the aim of the garden is to provide a set of flowery gardens to look to then, care must be taken to match the boom times of the flowers in the garden. That is the garden should not be just with flowers that bloom all together or in the same season. It is possible to find garden flowers that bloom during the winter as well. 

An experienced gardener would be able to understand the climate and the relation that it has to the bloom times. It is then a matter of mostly matching the blooms to the proper seasons and no more. 

Think ahead 

Like people plants and trees have a productive life and a death eventually. The aim must be to keep the plant life diverse enough to be able to have a green cover throughout the life of the garden and beyond. By planting trees that are huge and with large canopies, it is possible to extend the green cover to beyond a few decades at least.  It is the proactive gardener and garden setter that allows the most potential to be realized from a garden as the case might be. 

Gardening is an art which has to be learned and mastered for plant protection, sustenance, growth, and long life. Growing flowers in your garden require a certain level of specialization. You should know the soil quality, condition, fertility levels, water absorption and retention capacity, and the rate of water supplies to the saplings. You should know the acidity and salinity level of the soil for planting the right kind of flower sapling.

Jasmine Garden

What is so special about jasmine garden, which makes it attractive, beautiful, and aesthetically perfect? The aroma of a jasmine flower is also exquisite and exclusively unique. You can make a garland, bouquet, or any other design from jasmine. Sitting in the jasmine garden for a few minutes can clear all the blocks in your nasal cavity and refresh your bran’s nerves. You feel energized and motivated.

Water Supplies

Drip irrigation for jasmine could be an ideal choice if the water supplies are limited in your garden. You can layout a pipe of ¾” diameter along the flower bed, preferably at the tip. Drill a small hole of 0.5mm on the pipe and place it just above the watering path. You have to control the flow rate, such that a drop of water seeps through the stem per minute. The plant can absorb all the water without wasting it. Hence, growth will also be gradual and healthy. Pouring excess of water can result in waste and also decaying of plant parts due to excess of soaking.

Fertilizer

The processed mulch from other plant leaves can act as a natural fertilizer. It is recommended you use only natural fertilizers of other forms. Organic manure is readily available online or from your nearest horticultural store.

Temperature and Soil

Jasmine can grow well in a temperature range of 41⁰ F to 67⁰ F. It may not grow well during the winter season. So, you have to ensure the temperature remains within the recommended range. You use the greenhouse for growing jasmine during winter.  

The soil for Jasmine has to be fertile and capable of water retention for a few hours. Then it has to drain away. In many cases, you will not be able to know the exact water retention period. Hence, it is better to have a drip-irrigation system.

Sunlight

Jasmine needs sunlight and ventilation. Hence, it is mostly grown in the external gardens in your home. But harsh forms of heat may slow down the plant growth or kill it due to dehydration. Hence, the recommended method is to create a greenhouse effect around the jasmine plantation bed or zone. It can control the temperature and remove excess humidity factors… It can also prevent the plant from getting directly exposed to cold climatic conditions.

Gardening Other Flowers

The greatest benefit of the jasmine plant is that it doesn’t interfere with the other saplings you plant in your garden. Flowers like rose, marigold, sunflower, and others can grow within its vicinity without getting affected by the jasmine plant.

The first step is to make flowerbeds in your garden for the multiple flower species you wish to gown in your jasmine garden. A wider bed allows the roots to expand and grow deeper. The distance between two plants should be a minimum of three to four feet if the plants can grow into a small size tree. You don’t need to worry about the roots, as they have a natural way of avoiding each other. It is only the branches which may tangle and prevent each others’ growth.  

Jasmine Garden

Rose, marigold, hollyhock, carnation, viola, lobelia, and cosmos are some of the most commonly grown flowers with jasmine flowers.

Jasmine Bed Size

An average jasmine plant grows to a height of ten feet. The average size of every leaf is 2.5”. The average jasmine plant can spread to a width of two feet to three feet. Hence, you have to ensure so much space for each plant in the bed. The number of plants in each bed determines the dimension of the bed.

Rose Bed Size

Rose can grow to a size of six feet at an average. The different types of rose may have variable heights. The average bed size of a rose plant could be between 16 feet and 20 feet in length if the number of plants is five. The average width will be between 3 feet and five feet. You have to consider the space between two rose plants for their free growth.

Marigold Bed Size

The space required for each marigold plant is 40cmX40xcm within the bed. The distance between each plant should not be less than four inches. You may plant the marigold in rows and columns within the bed. So, you can calculate the net dimension required based on the number of plants. Make sure that the space from the bed edge and the last plant is also being four inches.

Similarly, you can calculate the bed sizes for other plants, based on the input given by the gardener near your home.

Soil ph

Though it is not possible to change the soil condition of a large garden, you can certainly do it for the small soil bed. You can replace the topsoil to a depth of six feet for the length and breadth, based on the soil type required by the specific flowering plant.  You have to test the soil ph condition regularly. If there is a variation, you have to restore the original condition. You can get the advice from the horticulture specialist near your home.

Watering Methods

Every flowering plant may have a specific type of watering requirement. But all the flowering plants grow well with drip irrigation. It is a simple method by which only one drop of water is supplied to the bottom of the plant stem near the ground soil. You can change the frequency according to the flowering plant species.

Fertilizing Method

Mulch from the leaves and branches of trees in your garden is stated to be the natural and healthy fertilizer.

This article is courtesy of our friend at Gold Coast Tree Lopping.

Gold Coast Tree Lopping
1/58 Milbrook Crescent Pimpama 4209
(07) 5646 3714
http://www.goldcoasttreeloppingqld.com/

You have to consider the basic parameters like soil type, fertility, supported types of flowers, flowering season, plant size, watering needs, shading and sunlight needs, planting method, and fertilizing for the plants.  Then you can learn about soil preparation, plantation, and maintenance procedures. You should also know about the maintenance methods for disease prevention and healing. Now, you can start with your quest for growing flowers in your garden.

Introduction

Soil Testing

The flowering plants will have an affinity to a specific type of soil. Some of the flowers may grow on all types of soils. The first requirement is that you prepare the soil for the flowering plant.

The ph testing method at home without a kit can help determine the value accurately. It is to ensure lower alkaline content in the soil for better growth of flowering plants. You need one cup of vinegar and half a cup of baking soda. Add the soil to half a bucket of water and pour the vinegar into it. If you see bubbles, it means the soil is alkaline. If it bubbles with soda, the soil is acidic.  

Acidic Soil

In the acidic soil, you can grow some of the flowering plants, which grow and blossom without any problems. Some of them are

• Daffodils
• Heathers
• Azaleas
• Camellias
• Japanese Pieris  
• Magnolia
• Marigold, etc

Alkaline Soil

Alkaline soil is stated to be better for the flowering plants, because most of the gardening plants from rose, to jasmine, prefer the soil. Some of the other species are

• Lenten rose
• Salvias
• Flowering Vines
• Kiwi
• Boston Ivy
• Lavender
• Easter lilies
• Daylilies  etc

Neutral Soil

Neutral soil is not acidic and not alkaline. You can grow many types of flowering plants on these soils. Some of them are

• Red Rose
• Jasmine
• Firecracker flower etc.

Soil Preparation

The process of soil preparation starts with digging. Yes, you have to do it for taking the fertile part of the soil to the top layer. It is a slow process, which may take many hours or days, depending on the size of your garden.

• Mark specific layout
• Prepare plant beds
• Use a spade to till the soil
• Remove stones and rocks by hand

You can also find many types of soil tilling hand tools. The next stage is the soil fertilization. You may use the organic mulch from the other plants and trees in your garden. Or you may choose off-the-shelf natural fertilizers. Follow the gardener manual for the ratio of mixing.

Sapling Planting  

Prepare the individual space within the plant beds and install the sapling. You may have to dig into the subsoil. The hole should cover the sapling from the roots to the base of the stump. Then you can place the sapling and close the hole with the dugout soil.

Plant Maintenance

The next step is to prepare the water lines. You can add the fertilizer or manure to the inlet water whenever required. Keep the plants free from weeds.