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Choosing a water feature
If you’re looking to create a nice, calming focal point in your garden then you can’t go wrong with a water feature. From the garden designs of Ancient Greece to the magnificent fountains of Renaissance Italy, water has long been a companion to our enjoyment of plants and flowers. The sound of a babbling flow…
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What is a weather station?
A weather station is a device that collects data on the weather and environment using sensors. They can predict the weather and display current conditions outside. Recent years have seen digital stations getting smaller, smarter and cheaper. Now they are a popular home gadget and used by all sorts of people, from farmers and meteorologists,…
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Tips For Indoor Gardening
When the weather warms up as it is about to do in the coming months, many people turn their focus to the outdoors and to gardening. However, while outdoor gardening can be a very rewarding hobby, you can also turn your gardening interests inside to add a bit of flavour to your home interior. Indoor…
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How to grow bulbs and corms indoors
With the right environment and soil it’s possible to grow many bulbs, corms and tubers indoors. Different species require different conditions, so check the packaging they came in or do some research. As a rule of thumb, most require a light soil with good drainage – multi-purpose compost mixed with grit or perlite should be…
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Spider plants
[amazon asin=B00BBFZBTS&template=Image]Spider plants (Chlorophytum comosum) are reliable, companionable and easy to keep plants. Popular in the 70s and 80s, they are now seeing a well deserved revival. They’re quick growing, putting out wiry stems in the spring and summer which have small white flowers. Spider plants self propagate, producing baby plantlets that are easy to…
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A short introduction to basil
Basil is one of the most aromatic and recognisable herbs, and a key ingredient in much Italian cooking. It grows wild in southern Europe, but it actually originated in India, where it’s considered sacred. According to wikipedia, the word basil comes from the Greek ‘basileus’, meaning “king”, as it is believed to have grown above…
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Growing basil from seed
As with growing most plants from seed, hedge your bets. You’re not expecting every single seed to produce a whopping great basil plant, so expect to lose some along the way. But if you sow enough seeds, you improve your odds of ending up with at least a couple of plants. It’s important to start…
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Tips for healthy basil plants
When basil flowers appear, pinch them off. This encourages the plant to put its energy into producing leaves instead. It’s difficult to keep basil going in the winter because of the lack of sunshine and chance of frost. Your plant will probably look a bit sorry for itself. However, if you can just keep it…
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Common problems with rosemary
Tired looking plant? Sprinkle some dried, ground up eggshell around the plant on top of the soil. Do this after about a year, and then repeat every year. This will refresh the plant. White powdery mildew on the surface of the soil? Rosemary needs good air circulation. Without this, rosemary plants can develop a mildew…
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How to take cuttings from rosemary
It’s usually best to take cutting in late autumn or early winter. Cut a 2 inch stem for new growth on a well established plant. Snip off the bottom leaves rather than pull them off. Dip the bottom tip into a hormone rooting powder. Pop the cutting carefully in a pot of dampened peat moss…