photo credit: Ivan Walsh

Simple additions of statuary, seating benches and plants common to the Emerald Isle will create an Irish atmosphere.

Use these easy tips to bring an Irish touch to your garden.

Create a stone or gravel walkway around the garden. Some Irish gardens are planted as Gravel gardens are quite popular in Ireland and use shrubs and perennial flowers in the gravel beds. This would be an easy garden area to maintain and would do well in hard to grow area s or as a specialty garden or min garden tucked away in a corner.

Choose vivid green plants with bright flowers. They will show up against the neutral gravel background and add color that stands out in your yard.

Reading benches along walkways or in a nook will add a feel of invitation for reflection or enjoying a book in the garden areas.

And if you are looking for an atmosphere of frivolity, statuary like leprechauns or frog princes can be placed at focal points or just off the walkway on a gravel base.

photo credit: me and the sysop

Plant white clover or shamrock. Clover has a long-standing history in Ireland and has both a factual base and lore that has built up over the years.

Shamrocks have a bulb like seed and are perennials in many areas. They also make excellent houseplants but do need to die back each year and have a quiet spell. If you live in a warmer climate shamrocks look excellent in the outdoor garden areas.

Shamrocks grow year after year. (They may need overwintered indoors in cooler climates.) Clover likes well-drained, moist soil and full sun. It grows by sending out runners. The plants will go dormant in winter and re-emerge in spring. There are white clover and red clover varieties.

If you have room you can add Irish yew as an evergreen tree. Yew can also be grown as a hedge or shaped as topiary. The Irish yew will thrive in well-drained soil and is drought tolerant after it is established. It is suited to heavy pruning so can be shaped for a unique look in your garden.

Other plants suited for an Irish theme garden

1. Lacy ferns
2. Irish moss – excellent groundcover with tiny white flowers in bright green foliage.
3. Holly plants. Holly is considered invasive in some regions so check with your garden center for acceptable holly varieties for your growing area.

An Irish theme gardens will create and relaxing area in your garden and is an easy style of garden to care for. It will also make a great small space garden for a corner or along a wall area.

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Most people have read that gardening benefits the mind, body and soul. So the purpose of the Resolution Garden is to inspire positive changes in nearly every area of one’s life.

A New Year’s Resolution Garden will bring your family closer together while helping you relax, make better food choices, save money, increase exercise and become a better steward of the environment. 7 varieties of plants, one packet each, will create an ample kitchen garden.

The New Year’s Resolution Garden provides solutions for many of your resolutions:

BETTER FOOD CHOICES – Carrots. Carrots have many valuable vitamins and make an excellent snack. There are the small finger carrots to the longer carrot varieties. This is another crop I prefer to grow in a container. They are easier to harvest from a container. Just tip it when ready to harvest.

EXERCISE – Pole Beans. Blue Lake is a very easy and heavy producer. I also like the scarlet runner bean. It is color and edible. I like to mix it in containers for a vertical garden. Staking and harvesting make it more of a vegetable where you get exercise.

LOSE WEIGHT – Lettuce or any greens. Spinach, bibb, leaf lettuce or the gourmet varieties are just a few ideas
.
REDUCE STRESS – Mixed Cutting Flowers. Flowers add color and atmosphere to the yard, garden areas, and containers and as cut flowers in the home. A packet of mixed cutting flowers will produce bouquets all summer long. One other flower suggestion would be nasturtiums. They are easy to grow, pretty and edible!

SAVE MONEY – Tomatoes. Tomatoes are often one of the more expensive vegetables to buy. Grow several varieties, including cherry tomatoes.

photo credit: Kyle McCluer

SPEND TIME WITH FAMILY – Sunflowers. Sunflowers add color and charm to any yard. They grow anywhere form 18 inches to ten foot depending on the variety. They can be used for bouquets, for crafting and for snacks. They also make great bird food and will attract birds into your garden area.

STEWARD OF THE ENVIRONMENT – Monarda Bergamo. This variety of bee balm will attract birds and beneficial insects but not suffer from the damp like many of the bee balm plants do. This is both a flower and herb with many useful purposes.

This garden can be set up in a very small area and will actually make an excellent patio or container garden. And the colors and height of the different plants will add to your garden décor but not be an overwhelming task.

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Creating a Harry Potter theme garden will depend on your growing climate, plants available and a little creativity on your part.

Hagrid, a popular character from the story, had a garden along with a charming cottage. The cottage would be somewhat difficult to copy but a fairie house would be a good replacement and fairie homes have that mystical feel to them.

Pumpkins also grew in Hagrid’s garden. In the current movie Hagrid grows huge orange pumpkins. Any pumpkin would fit in this theme garden including the miniature pumpkins, or the Lumina pumpkins (called ghost pumpkins by some), which are white on the outside and orange on the inside.

Hellebores, which grow in a multitude of colors varieties, grow well in many climates. They are mentioned many times in the Harry Potter series and are used for making potions. The Kingston cardinal is one example of a Hellebore.
photo credit: alice-palace

There are many magical plants mentioned in the Harry Potter movie but they are not real.

But with a little creativity you can substitute actual plants in your own Harry Potter theme garden creation.

For example,

• you could use  Balloon flowers or Chinese lanterns in place of puffapods.
• The money plant has a unique look and would fit into the garden well.
• Flowering cabbage or kale could be used to represent mandrakes.
• Bat plants, Venus flytrap and any evening flower such as a moonflower would add interest to the garden.
• And you will find many herbs would have a look that would fit into this them garden well. Ginger, sage, nettle and wormwood are a few examples.

You will learn more about all the magical plants in the world of Harry Potter by visiting  the plant section of the Harry Potter Lexicon website.

Night lights and garden art would add more interest too as would varying heights in the garden. And any garden seems to benefit from mini pond or rustic fountain.

This is a project your children may really enjoy and lead them to years of gardening. And any theme garden add fun to your garden and backyard

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Another benefit of a tea garden is that it takes a very small amount of space. A 6-foot by 8-foot garden is actually quite big. If you have less space you can make it smaller. And if you only have indoor space available, a tea garden will adapt well to being indoors or on a balcony.

If you have more room you may want to set the tea garden up in a cottage garden tea garden design with a small fenced in area with a gate and trellis or arbor.

Many cottage herb garden designs plant honeysuckle, clematis, climbing rose bushes or wisteria on the trellis or arbor. It will not be long before these plants climb over the arbor and trellis and add astonishing color to you garden area.

Whatever size you select for an outdoor tea garden you will want to divide your entire garden down the middle by making a path. The path can be wide enough for a wheelbarrow or a slender path used for harvesting. Next create narrow paths within each planting bed on either side of the path.

Your goal is to make everything is within arm’s length for weeding and harvesting. This will keep you off the soil and allow more room for your herbs. I will often place a flat rock to stand on just off a path if I need to be able to reach into the garden bed further. This also adds a more natural look to the garden.

Choose herb plants that will thrive in your garden zone. A trip to you local nursery or garden center will help you with your plant selections. I also mix a few colorful fragrant flowers, fruits and vegetables in the herb garden just to add interest and color.

As with any garden, plant the garden based on what each plant needs for sunlight and spacing.

Herbs can be planted closer together than many plants and still thrive so fill the garden. If possible leave a very small section for a tiny bench or a very small table. This will give you a place to relax, enjoy the garden and have a cup of fresh tea.

I also try to add a rain barrel to my herb garden area so that water is easily within reach for watering the plants.
photo credit: chaz2b

And if your only available space is the patio or indoors, herbs grow very well in containers and hanging baskets. Just try to find a spot that get 6 to 8 hours of sunlight for the plants.

Herbs make wonderful container gardens because you have interesting color and texture in herbs and by selecting unique containers and planters you can create wonderful relaxing garden art that can be changed during the season and that also adds tea and seasonings to you home.

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A cutting garden adds a cottage garden look to your yard and can be set up in a small space or even in containers if need be. Cutting garden flowers generally have sturdy stems, and survive well in a vase of water. This is what makes them have value as a cut flower. They also will live in vases longer than most flowers and work well in flower arrangements.

Many also make excellent dried flowers. These dried flowers can be used in crafts or made into dried floral arrangements for the colder months when flowers are scarce. Cutting gardens may include perennials and annuals, and are fairly easy to grow. Many of the annuals are started from seed right in the garden, or earlier in a greenhouse or cold frame if you want earlier blooms.

Planning a Cutting Garden

Develop your plant list by choosing the colors and textures you like, and how you will use your cut flowers. Are you growing them for the home or for a family event where flowers are needed? You may also want to sell a few or dry different varieties for crafting. These decisions swill help you choose varieties, how many plants you want and the garden size you will need for you plants.

Top ten cutting flowers that are bought

• Tulips
• Gerbera Daisies
• Lilies
• Gladioli
• Iris
• Roses
• Snapdragons
• Delphinium
• Orchids
• Lisianthus

I also feel these flowers belong in the list. They add to any floral arrangement:

• Carnations
• Chrysanthemums
• Alstroemeria (Peruvian Lily)
• Gypsophila (Baby’s breath)

Next choose your garden location. Most cut flowers will thrive with lots of sunshine. It will also be easier to tend your garden if it’s near a water source. I would also choose a location where you can see the garden from several different vantage points so that you and the family can enjoy it.

Design your garden.

If your garden is large and its main purpose is selling flowers I would lay the flowers out in one-foot rows. But if it’s decorative; give it an artistic flair and group the flowers, make a curved bed, and add height and garden art. In other words, have fun!
photo credit: maggiephotos

You may also want to have two gardens or at least keep the annuals and perennial flowers separated in the flowerbed. The soil needs for these two varieties differ enough that it’s best to keep them separate

Cutting gardens are easy and fun to grow and they add color and personality to your backyard garden area. They will also save you money on bouquets and flowers for crafting.

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One theme garden garden twist is a Color Theme Garden. The garden can be restful or a place that energizes and inspires. You can choose a color for a season, your favorite color or base the garden on an overall theme.

Even though my color theme garden changes each year I still use a tree in the background for light contrast and often will include container shrubs for added color and texture. And there is always a piece of new garden art to create dimension and interest

Designing a Color Theme Garden

• Consider the purpose of your garden and select a color or several closely related colors that will fulfill that purpose.  Youe will also want to take into consideration the design and cost.
• First I draw a garden design using graph paper. I often use cut patterns for trees and shrubs then work with different size shapes of colors to get a feel for what I want.
• Put a small tree or large shrub in the back. Choose a tree that flowers in the color you want for your garden. If you’re working with a large space, several trees or shrubs can form the backbone of your design. If your design will stay the same from year to year I would go with several trees and shrubs. By choosing carefully you can keep color and texture in this garden the better part of the year.
• Next add smaller shrubs and perennials to your design. By looking online or asking at your local nursery and greenhouses you can select plants that will have color or flowers from spring until fall.
• For added color, flair and to fill in any holes select a few annuals for your design. Or think out of the box and add vegetables.
• Last but not least add garden art that complements your design. Garden art is an unlimited area limited only by your imagination. I have one friend who changes the garden art each week and their garden is always an adventure.

Also, one of the most successful color theme gardens I ever saw was planted all in containers and created on a balcony. So, small spaces make great gardens too!

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Here is a list of some of the more popular shade plants

1. Begonias
2. Day Lilies
3. Ferns
4. Hostas (many colors and sizes available)
5. Impatiens (many colors available)
6. Lilies of the Valley
7. Violets

photo credit: ClatieK

Shade gardens have a more realistic look if you take the time to look around your yard and neighborhood to see what plants naturally grow in shade. Take a few suggestions from Mother Nature and you will notice a difference between the sun loving plants and shade plants.  You may even consider digging up a few found or foraged plants from the woods or roadsides.

You should be able to find day lilies, ferns, violets, lambs ears, violets and many more wild plants. These perennials thrive in the shade and multiply with a little care. Collect a few of these kinds of plants for your space and then add other perennials and annuals to the collection.

Tips for arranging and planting shade plants .

• Silver leafed plants like lambs ears or the annual Dusty miller will add contrast to the dark green leaves of hostas.
• Textures like feathery ferns will lighten heavy canna leaves and add a feel of air and depth to a garden.
• Impatiens come in a variety of color and look great mixed in with mint.
• If you keep the colors muted it will add a calming affect. An example would be purples and blues and whites and pinks to contrast with the different shades of green.

To plant a shade theme garden first prepare the soil and get out weed and rocks. Place your bigger plants that add emphasis to the garden. Larger plants usually look better in the background of your garden where they will emphasis the small plants in front.

Once you have several plants down, mulch with a well ground root mulch. This will serve as a moisture retainer during dryer spells and add a polished look to the garden area. Do not use wood chips in a shade garden.

If you add rocks, driftwood, or garden art you give the area a touch of you own personality. Stepping-stones and hummingbird feeders will also help add to the charm of the garden area. These creative gardening ideas will  add fun and surprises to your yard

With proper planning, those shady areas of the yard that sometimes can be hard to manage turn into one of the most pleasing and restful places in the yard.

Tips: Herbs and edibles like kale and lettuce and also add color and interest into your shade garden

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These mini container gardens will take very little time and with a tea garden theme you can have fun with the containers.

Setting small mini gardens will make them portable so that you can move them in the house when cool weather arrives. This garden will provide a year round supply of tea and plant variety to your house.

Select an appropriate container for your tea garden. You may prefer to have everything in one large container, or to have a grouping of container tea gardens. A grouping will allow the plants more room to grow and thrive plus give you more creativity in arrangements and pots.

Clay pots work well for proper drainage but you can use any pots that have a hole for drainage in the bottom and add pebbles or terra cotta pieces in the bottom of the containers for drainage. I use a coffee filter over the drainage holes to prevent soil from leaking out. I also sit my containers on a tray with pebbles to catch any water that drains out and to add humidity around the plant.

You will need a nutrient-rich potting soil or compost. Check to make sure your pot has good drainage in the bottom and fill your pot almost completely full with the soil. Herbs do not use as much water as some plants so water carefully once you plants are growing.

It will be fun to choose the herbal tea plants that please you and will make fine teas. I like many of the thyme herbs. You can check you local health food store to get ideas for herb plants and search online for herbal tea recipes.

Mint and balm family herbs are very popular for tea blends. Other plants suggestions would be different sage plants, pot marigold, cilantro, basil and lavender.

Plant your herbs according to the instructions that come with each plant or on the back of the seed packets. Be careful not to crowd the herb plants. I plant one to two per smaller containers and 5 to 6 for a larger container.
photo credit: themissiah

Herbs thrive in full sun with well-drained soil so choose a sunny room or window. If you use your herbs on a regular basis they will not become overcrowded in the containers.

Enjoy your herbal container garden!

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why walk a Labyrinth?
photo credit: Zesmerelda

I would answer because it’s fun and relaxing. It’s always different and depending which labyrinth you walk its very scenic.

Most Labyrinths are located outdoors but many are inside. Quite a few are located in churches. The history of labyrinths goes far back and is amazing and rather mystical.

How do you walk a Labyrinth?

A Labyrinth is very easy to walk. There is only one opening and you will return and exit at the same spot. This is rather amazing when several people are walking the path at one time. You are all going the same way but because the path runs back onto itself you look like you are going different directions.

Its best to just clear your mind and let your thoughts go where they want. Sometimes you will surprise yourself with what feelings you have during the walk.

Some people suggest walking with your hands in an upward position like you are holding or receiving something until you get to the center of the circle. At the center it is a time to reflect. You can stay there as long as you wish. As you leave the center and follow the path to the beginning its suggested that your hands be down at your side as if you are letting go of all your cares that came in with.

I also has a friend that would pick up a small rock by the beginning of the path and leave it in the center. This was leaving her problems and worries behind.

I walked a temporary Labyrinth in Mississippi last fall and it was the most relaxing and beautiful experience. It was set up like most labyrinths using one of several paths. This was the Circle of Peace design. What made this different is that the paths can be marked in many ways but this path was marked with flowers on both sides of the path. A beautiful winding flower garden.

Outside of the circle were several sculptures and benches to relax. Being an avid gardener a garden theme that used this Circle of peace design made my mind spin with garden ideas.

I have a  funny feeling that there may be a Labrinth garden in my gardens next year.

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