Planning Your Garden Through The Eyes Of A Painter

One of the best quotations I've ever seen used with respect to how one might plan the lay-out of a garden is from Cubist Georges Braque, a French painter and sculptor, who was a contemporary of Picasso. Braque said:

The white canvas—it’s like a layer of dust that covers up the real painting. It’s just a matter of cleaning it. I have a little brush to clear away the blue, another for the red, and another brush for the green. And when I’ve finished cleaning, the picture is all there.

There is an obvious over-simplicity about the technique which, when applied to gardening terms, may have to be rethought when dealing with issues like correct soil and appropriate amounts of sunlight or shade, but as a sweeping overview of how to landscape, it's spot on.

Sometimes gardeners get too pragmatic and lose the sense of artistry in what they're creating -- while I guess you could also argue that the other approach (beauty vs practicality) also exists. I'd like to think that a merry meeting of both practices could produce a beautiful, healthy, and (if desired) edible space. If, for example, you add extra irrigation or fertilizer and mulch to dry or depleted areas, or consider substitute look-alike plants where your first choice might not fare well, your picture-perfect garden might well become a lush reality.

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Best Bets for a Small Garden

Even if you've got a postage-stamp sized yard, you can still have a lush, crop-yielding garden. There's vertical gardening, of course, and windowsill gardening too (which can extend your outdoor garden and give you a bit of an indoor garden as well).

More tips to getting the most out of your small garden include choosing high-volume vegetables or high-yield flowers. Look for plants that keep growing as you cut or pick them--this is a great way to keep your garden looking fresh. For variety in small gardens, take advantage of planting seasons: start in spring with early crops, then move on to midsummer and late fall growth. Depending on where you live, you could have new growth throughout the year.

If you plan carefully, you can inter-plant. This is the practice of planting smaller, faster-growing plants between larger ones (like green onions between rows of broccoli). The green onions can be harvested before they become overshadowed by the slower-growing broccoli.

Always keep your small hard-working patch of earth healthy, by feeding the soil with compost after each harvest.

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Kids Cooking - It's Garden Vegetable Time!

When springs comes, lots of kids like to start a garden. They rake up their patch of soil and decide which plants to grow. They think it's fun to poke holes in the ground, throw the seeds down the holes, and then cover them up. Kids are even good about watering their little seedlings. The best part, though, is picking the vegetables when they're ripe. They get to pull carrots out of the ground, dig deep for hidden potato treasure, and pluck the little cherry tomatoes off the vines.

But then what? Are they shocked because you actually want them to eat what they've grown? Here are a few ideas to get the kids cooking their veggies and eating them too.

Pizza

Let kids use their imagination when it comes to topping their pizzas. Start with a crust made from an easy recipe or a store-bought one. Next pour on the sauce; from scratch or bottled. It can be pizza sauce, barbeque sauce, alfredo sauce, or pesto sauce. They can use any type of cheese they want too. Let them pick out what they want to use, they may surprise you by branching out a little.

Here are some ingredients straight from the garden:

* oregano, basil, rosemary, cilantro, garlic, green onions, asparagus tips, cooked potato hunks, red onion, broccoli tips, green and red peppers, spinach, yellow onions, and cherry tomatoes.

They can also add:

* cooked chicken, cooked hamburger, pepperoni, sausage, and ham.

Pasta

Cold noodles make a great base for many different vegetables. Plus, pasta makes for some great experimentation. Try types of noodles that you don't usually buy - colored noodles, corkscrew, big shells, funny shapes. Cook the pasta up ahead of time and let it cool. Next, they'll want to make it "slippery" by adding a salad dressing. Zesty Italian and Ranch are two favorites.

Now it's time to add some veggies. They can use anything they like and anything that hopefully kind of goes together.

Possible pasta additions from the garden:

* mushrooms, green onions, sweet onions, cherry tomatoes, roma tomatoes, leeks, broccoli, peas, pea pods, asparagus, garlic, cauliflower, green beans , zucchini, spinach, egg plant, chilies, and herbs.

They can also add:

* Cheese chunks, walnut pieces, slivered almonds, and dried cranberries can make the pasta dish extra special.

If your kids don't want cold noodles, then make it hot pasta with any of the sauces you would use on the above pizza. You'll want to blanch the vegetables before you add them to the heated pasta.

Other ideas

There is something intriguing about creating a soup from scratch, so let the kids create their own by adding all kinds of different veggies. They can also use the vegetables they grew to add to hot rice or a green salad.

Since kids are more likely to eat food they've proudly grown and fixed themselves, they might be willing to eat vegetables they've turned their noses up to previously. It's worth a try and gets your kids cooking in the kitchen.

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The author of this article, Peggy Baron, is the editor of the popular Cookin' Kids Newsletter. Interesting themes, fun facts, silly clip art, easy recipes, kid jokes, cooking terms, and safety tips make this newsletter a hit with kids! Learn more about it at Cookin' Kids.com

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How To Make Money With Your Garden

Extra income from your gardening efforts and expertise? Sounds nice, but is it possible?

If you've ever served guests with veggies from your garden, or given gifts of home-grown preserves and bouquets of flowers, then you're on the road to riches -- or at least to a possible sideline business. It's not just selling what you grow that can earn you some extra cash at farmer's markets -- writing down your green thumb experience can bring in some dollars too.

If you're a good writer, you can get paid to write "how-to" articles, whether geared towards beginner level gardeners or experts, and sell them to print publications or online venues like Constant Content (where I've sold some articles on unrelated matters).

Gardening is such a vast topic that there are an infinite number of sub-topics you can address. You can break down each of those further by the specific reader base you're addressing or by garden climate or even by garden color scheme.

If you're a photographer, you can sell your garden photos as well. Although I don't have personal experience with them, there's a site called PhotoShelter.com where you can upload your pictures and sell them. As I understand it, you get 90 percent of the sale price.


Full Disclosure: if you do decide to sign up with Constant Content to sell your gardening articles, please use my affiliate link to do so: http://www.constant-content.com/?aref=26999. It won't cost you anything, and I'll get a small percentage on your sales.

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Click here to get your Free Gifts from Mike McGroarty -- you know, that famous "Dumb Ole Dirt Farmer".

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Vertical Gardening

Vertical gardens are great if you've run out of ground space in which to expand your garden. Sweet peas, tomatoes and other climbing plants and flowering vines can also be used on trellises as privacy screens or to hide unsightly chain link fences.

Living walls aren't just ornamental space-savers: they are less prone to disease (due to the fact that they're not sitting in saturated soil) and easier to reach (a real boon to those of us with wonky backs!). Heavier vegetables can be grown as a base or edging to the vine plants, so you don't have to limit yourself as to what you grow -- just plan ahead, a given for any gardener.

Read the full article here.

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Caring for Christmas Poinsettias

The best care for poinsettias, which are also known as Christmas Stars, is to keep them in sunny locations, out of the way of drafts. If the plant experiences any sudden chills, it reacts by losing its leaves -- and lost leaves don't grow back. Water only when the soil is dry to the touch.

In late January or so, once you see the leaves are beginning to drop off in earnest, you'll know it's time to change the type of care. Find a partially dark place to store the plant and give it a bit of water (to stave off complete dryness) every seven days or so. This dormant period will carry you through until spring when it's time to cut back and re-pot.

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Hoop House Gardening is Weatherproof Gardening

For those of us in northern climates, indoor greenhouse gardening extends the usually very short time we get to garden to a year-round pleasure.

If you can put a tent, you can build a hoop house (although you can of course build a wood framed one if you're ambitious!) -- there are plenty of kits available from gardening supply stores and online as well. However, there are a few extra steps you should be sure to take to keep your hothouse secure:

1. dig deep for the corner posts and add similar extra support to the walls at front and back
2. wet snow is heavy -- a couple of beams supporting the structure from the inside would keep it from sagging or collapsing (and always be sure to clear the top of your hoop house of snow as quickly as possible);
3. especially for those hoop houses encased in plastic, remember to allow for ventilation so that the garden doesn't get overly warm.

Read the full article: How to Make a Home Garden Greenhouse Like Michelle Obama.

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Grow Lavender Tea in Your Garden - Your Dog Will Thank You

I read that one pet owner who was battling the bane of all dog and cat people -- FLEAS -- had superb results with lavender tea, which she grew in her own garden. This not only makes a flea repellent affordable, but also ensures that you get a pure product.

In fact, for the concoction, you've got to get the flowers (not just the leaves and/or stems) in order to brew a very strong tea. Once the tea cools and after you've tested a small area of furniture and carpet, then you spray everything: the animal(s), their beds (and yours if they have access to your bedroom), your furniture and carpets, and so on.

Wherever your dogs and cats go, cover with lavender spray. You see, fleas simply hate lavender and you should see them actually hopping off your pets!

Remember to repeat the procedure after a few weeks, and the agony of a flea-ridden house should be over.

Not only will your entire home smell lovely, so will your flea-free cats and dogs!

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I'm Dreaming of a Fresh (Safe) Christmas Tree

After you watch this video: A dry Christmas tree can burn in just a few seconds, you'll be more likely to take good care of your Christmas tree and keep home and family safe.

Keep your Christmas tree fresh, moist and green by following these simple steps:

• ask the seller to make a fresh cut just up from the tree trunk so the tree can take in water when you get home
• put the tree in tap water as soon as you get home
• Make sure there's always water in the tree stand, and never let the water level drop below the tree base
• hot spots in your home are danger points, so keep your tree away from fireplaces, heaters, TV sets and any other sources of heat
  
• check tree lights for obvious problems
• turn off lights when you leave the house or will be out of the room for any length of time
  

Read the full article here

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Gardening Tips for the Holidays

Here are a few tips for gardening through the busy holiday season from Plant Answers' Tom LeRoy in Texas:

* Newly planted evergreens should be kept adequately moist during dry winter periods. Too much watering will cause damage of course, but proper soil moisture during dry winter periods will help prevent freeze damage.

* Continue to rake up fallen leaves and add them to your compost heap. If you let them pile up on the lawn where they fall, they'll simply block out sunlight and decrease the winter hardiness of your lawn.

A couple of great Christmas decoration tips here:

• Mistletoe will remain fresh and hold its decorative berries if the end of the stem is dipped in wax to seal off possible moisture loss. Remember: mistletoe berries are poisonous so keep out of reach of small children.

• When using holly or other Christmas greenery to decorate, you'll get a longer lasting arrangement by crushing the cut ends of the stems and soaking overnight in water before displaying.

Read the full article here.

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Click here to get your Free Gifts from Mike McGroarty -- you know, that famous "Dumb Ole Dirt Farmer".

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