Perhaps the knottiest problem the lawn-builder has to face is trying to make grass thrive where it just naturally does not want to thrive - in shade. The shaded lawn, if we are to judge by the high percentage of failure, has not yet benefited greatly from modern scientific advances in other phases of turf culture.

Under the branches of trees (which is what most people mean by shade), three of the four vital elements of growth are wrong for grass. All plants need heat, light, moisture and food. We can dismiss heat as a problem: usually temperatures under trees are adequate for growth. What about the other three?

In The Right Light

Light is the one lack which is all but impossible to make up. Unless we are willing to trim trees high, or even cut them down, not much can be done about light.

As to food and water, deep-rooted trees, such as planes and oaks, are not as greedy as those with shallower root systems such as the white ash and the maple. Nonetheless, any tree removes vast amounts of water from the soil - easily a barrel or two a day for a mature specimen. Since this moisture is removed from below, it is not available to rise to the surface by normal soil capillary action.

We can readily see, therefore, that moisture will always be scarce under trees. Even when liberal amounts of fertilizer are used, this does not always make up for a lack of plant food in areas under deep-rooted trees because lack of moisture keeps it from being available.

With food, light and moisture all critical factors, the growing of grass under trees is a really knotty problem to solve. Unless water can be supplied (at least enough to keep the grass going through the driest periods), a turf cannot be maintained. Disjointed plants are possible, but they do not run together and form a real sod.

The new ureaform fertilizers are excellent if moisture can be supplied, but if the soil is dry, bacteria cannot break them down, and they fail to feed. For this reason, perhaps the best way to feed a shaded lawn is with liquid fertilizers watered through a hose with a siphon device which sucks up a concentrated solution and adds this to the water in the line.

Best Shade Species

The best grasses for shade are Pennlawn Fescue, with Penn State or Illahee Fescues as second choice, and perhaps with a little Merion on the chance that the shade is not so dense that this will fail. Poa trivialis should be included in a shade mixture only if the spot to be seeded is low, moist and rich.

I know this is contrary to all recommendations in the literature on lawns, but anyone who has grown Poa trivialis experimentally under controlled conditions knows that it has high moisture and food requirements, which cannot be met under ordinary shade conditions.

If only Velvet Bent were not so costly! This is a grass well adapted to shade, and while it can use more food and water than the fescues, it can also survive without these extras and will do very well. Its color and texture are superior to the fescues.

Where the amount of sunshine will total three hours a day, I strongly urge a trial of Merion Kentucky Bluegrass. This grass will tolerate more shade than is commonly realized. Its one drawback as a shade grass is that, to thrive, it must be well fed. It can get along with less moisture than most grasses.

The soil under trees can be improved, but beware of peat moss under such conditions unless artificial watering is used. Peat moss is very hygroscopic, and will draw moisture to itself at the expense of the surrounding soil. Peat moss can absorb so much water that the rest of the soil mass mixed with it will dry out.

All is not lost if you have trees in your lawn. Grow any of these grasses in the shaded areas and you will have success.

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By the water garden we mean a garden of plants growing actually in water or in the saturated ground adjacent to water where the soil is periodically submerged. Few features in a garden are more attractive and interesting than the water garden. The pond selected for the water garden can be large or small; it may be constructed by damming off a section of a river, or a tiny stream may be utilized to provide the water supply.

It is, however, useless to attempt water gardening unless a continuous supply of water, the year through, is available. A very small amount, even a trickle artificially laid on, will suffice, providing it is continuous. But a water garden which is liable to dry up in the summer is a sure source of disappointment.

Where a stream exists, the difficulty of creating a pond is a comparatively small one, granted that by some means, such as a sluice, the flow of water may be regulated; sudden rushes of water in flood times are disastrous to many plants, for example, Nymphceas, Nuphars, etc.

Planting

In moist pockets are planted the bog or marsh plants, those requiring four to six inches of water over their crowns being set under water lower down the bank, while a shade higher up the moist shelf should be grouped those subjects flourishing on cool, moist, swampy banks. The bottom of the pond should be covered with a layer of soil some twelve inches deep, in which the purely aquatic plants may root.

The plants which may suitably be grown in and around a pond naturally vary with its size. If the pond is large, such water-lilies as Nymphcea Marliacea, N. Gladstoniana, and N. colossea may be grown, also Nuphar advena, Stratiotes aloides, and Sagittaria. Intermixed with these may be grouped such vigorous plants as Alisma, Hottonia palustris, Aponogeton distachyum, Cyperus longus, and C. vegetus. The giant Mace Reed (Typha latifolia) should be included wherever space permits.

Where the pond is a small one, there are dwarf water-lilies which occupy a comparatively little space, among the most beautiful being Nymphcea odorata minor, N. tetragona, and N. Laydekeri fulgens. These have the further advantage of growing freely and well in as little as a foot of water. Nymphceas cannot feed on water alone, and the soil of their pond or the water around their roots must be enriched, if they are to do really well. This is best done by means of small balls of cow-manure mixed with straw or litter to bind it, made firm, and thrown into the water round the roots of the plants just as the young growth is starting.

Care Of The Water Garden

Once planted, many of the aquatic and marsh plants are better if left undisturbed and are only lifted and replanted when they appear to be unhealthy and ailing. Others, however, are much like hardy herbaceous perennials in their requirements and do best if they are lifted, divided, and replaced every third or fourth spring. Some of the water-lilies make tremendous leaf-growth and consequently little bloom, for the leaves cover the surface of the water and prevent the sun’s rays from playing on it.

This warming of the water by the sun’s rays is essential to most aquatics, especially the Nymphceas, or water-lilies. The strong leaf-growth must, therefore, be periodically cut away in the spring, and, if necessary, the roots should be divided. This thinning-out will produce more bloom on the plant and will restore adequate breathing-space to its neighbours.

Many people are troubled with an objectionable slimy green growth called Blanket Weed. It may be disposed of by adding one ounce of copper sulphate or half an ounce of potassium permanganate to every fifteen thousand gallons of water in the pond. A second application should be made a week later, should the first have proved unsuccessful. These solutions will harm neither plants nor fish.

These are just a few of the initial steps which need to be taken to create a beautiful water garden. The rest you will no doubt learn from your own experience. Happy gardening!

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The rose is the first flower whose perfume has been recorded. Undoubtedly many other scented flowers existed before those records were made, but, being inferior, they were disregarded. The historians of perfumery tell us also that the rose was the first flower from which any form of perfume was made, and that Avicenna, an illustrious Arabian doctor, discovered the art of extracting perfume from flowers by distillation. He made his first experiments on R. centifolia (the Cabbage Rose), and so invented rose-water. The sweetness of rose scent is mentioned by the earliest Greek and Roman writers.

Nature provides a plant with blossoms as part of its reproductive system. These flowers must attract insects, and in order that they may do so they have perfume and showy petals. Many sweetly scented roses have less attractive colouring; perhaps they do not need both, or perhaps they inherit the defect from some ancestor.

Fragrance is expected of roses, and it is one of their greatest attractions. A rose with only faint perfume is no less beautiful, but it is certainly less alluring. The truest, simplest, and least complex love of flowers is found in the man or woman who grows just a few plants of this and that, in a purely unscientific way, and does not know the names of more than two or three of them.

Hand him or her a rose. There will be little caring for form. Size and colour will be admired, but before there will be time to express an opinion that bloom will have been smelt. Does that happen with a daisy, a dahlia, a hibiscus, a chrysanthemum, a camellia, or a gladiolus? Perfume is expected of a rose.

Perfume In Modern Roses

It is commonly said that modern roses lack the perfume of older sorts. Excluding R. damascena, such a statement does not stand investigation. It is extremely rare to find any modern rose scentless; there are a few, but there were also some among the old varieties. Actually some had distinctly unpleasant odours, for example R. foetida. This species has been responsible for altering the type of perfume in some roses of today. Their fragrance is no longer unpleasant but has definitely changed.

Although modern roses are just as rich in fragrance as the older types, few people realize that perfume has become more varied. Once the rich, sweet damask perfume was almost universal, differing only in intensity among popular roses from one sort to another. Then came the Tea Rose and its typical perfume. The hybridization of the two types brought the Hybrid Tea and a blending of the perfumes. Some of the progeny had nearly the damask perfume, some almost the tea perfume and the majority an intermediate type.

Oil Of Roses

Essential, or volatile, oils are highly aromatic, and sufficiently soluble in water to impart their odour and taste to it. In flowers they are mainly in the petals; there is a little in the pollen and stamens. They volatilize quickly and easily. Tiny particles are released under the influence of moisture, sun, light, changes of temperature, and maturity of the bloom.

Some varieties of roses make more of these oils than others, and they differ slightly in composition; hence the variations in intensity and type of fragrance. Usually, the double roses hold their fragrance longer because more of the petal surfaces are hidden and the oil volatilizes more slowly.

As a bloom unfolds and exposes its pistil and stamens to insects for pollination, it not only increases its attractiveness by more fully displaying its colourful petals, but it becomes more strongly perfumed. Even indoors, roses increase their scent as they open. Blooms displayed on show benches have usually lost a great proportion of their fragrance, due to being kept in cool rooms and to being sprayed with water.

The rose is indeed beautiful to look at and just as beautiful to smell. Grow roses and you will have these wonderful qualities in your garden all year round.

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With the appearance of the long-awaited first orchid in his greenhouse, the amateur quite justifiably feels a warm glow of achievement and pride. He will find, however, that this is no time to bask in the glory of the moment, for, almost overnight, the greenhouse has quickened with life.

New growths glow a healthy red and the emerald-green tips of new roots peep from the potting mixture and even from breaks that are apparently dead roots. These are signals that the potting season is at hand.

The demand of the orchid for periodic repotting is a characteristic setting it apart from other plants grown under artificial conditions. It is common to most orchids out of their native environment. Just as important as housing and balance, repotting may appear to present almost insuperable obstacles to the inexperienced grower.

Repotting is not something that can well be postponed, for, once the precise moment for repotting is past, it is best to hold the plant over for another year - the only exception to this being in extreme cases involving the life of the plant. This enforced holdover may result in retarded development and the appearance of a smaller new bulb. Next season’s flowers may be fewer and poorer or there may be no flowering at all.

It is one of the paradoxes of orchid growing that the plants require repotting at regular intervals, yet they resent shock and suffer from the procedure if every circumstance is not just right.

The best time to repot varies by genus but in most cases it is soon after flowering when the live eye at the base of the most recent pseudobulb begins to swell and form a new growth. It should never be done unless the plant is in active growth. Repotting in flower sheath is inadvisable, since it usually results in loss of the flower. The ideal moment is just before the tiny new roots break through the tissue.

Friends of orchidists often remark that growers spend much time in the greenhouse, seemingly doing nothing but brooding over the plants. But there is purpose in this ‘brooding.’ Careful inspection of the base of bulbs will occasionally reveal a need for repotting that would be missed by cursory observation. If growth of the new bulb progresses too far or if the roots become too long, it is almost impossible to repot without knocking them off. New growths appear as though by magic but may remain undetected for a considerable time unless the plant is watched closely.

Aside from the known requirements of a particular orchid, to be learned by experience and research, there are certain indications of a need for repotting that will be obvious to any beginner. One such sign, although not always to be trusted because of the sprawling nature of some roots, is the appearance of many roots ranging out of the pot and over the potting material.

There is an urgent need for repotting when new bulbs are crowding or overhanging the edge of the pot or climbing awkwardly in the air. Repotting should have taken place long before such conditions appeared and the plant may be retarded by this neglect.

Equally obvious is the case of a plant that has exhausted its compost. The compost will appear entirely decomposed and will feel spongy and soggy. In spite of the risk involved in potting at the wrong time, it is best to remove plants at once from such unhealthy conditions, since otherwise rotting of the roots, loss of leaves, and death of the plant may result.

Repot with care and your reward will be beautiful orchids.

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Nearly all orchids are benefited by a period in the garden. There is something about outdoor life, no matter how short the period, that imparts vigor to them, ripens their pseudobulbs, and prepares them for heavy flowering. European gardeners stumbled onto this fact a long time ago.

English gardeners grow orchids in wooden baskets and rafts and hang them from oak trees. Mediterranean hobbyists leave orchids in clay pots, sinking them in the ground near azaleas or clumping them with ferns near sheltered terraces. In Mexico orchids are used for patio decoration, along with more commonly grown tuberous begonias and fuchsias.

ENCLOSED PATIO

Many orchids can be grown outdoors, provided suitable conditions can be found for them - but there’s the hitch. Orchids with high humidity or warmth requirements never do become acclimated to North America. For the hardier orchids it is often difficult to find acceptable conditions in many portions of the United States.

The spring-to-fall growing season may be short. In actual practice you are limited to the time between the last frost of spring and the first frost of autumn. The weather may be too hot, too dry, or too windy. Nevertheless, knowing the limitations of your climate, you frequently can supply artificially the missing requirements for normal orchid growth.

Wind is a problem in Wyoming, but several gardeners have overcome it by using glass and wood folding screens to break the force of the wind. Northwest gardeners frequently use glass shields to help conserve warmth from the winter sun. It isn’t the winter sun that is cold, but uninterrupted wind and the cold radiation from chilled earth. Of course, in most of these rigorous climates, outdoor orchid gardening is at best only a summer pastime. But you can have a lot of fun with it.

Orchids grown in the garden often do not require so much attention as when house cultured. Drafts are not a problem. Temperature changes are usually gradual. Humidity is created by hosing orchid foliage or the adjacent ground as often as necessary. Watering the pots may be a bit more frequent, but is no job at all with a hose. The difficulty - if any - will lie in the selection of a convenient and suitable garden spot for your orchids.

It is hard to be arbitrary about garden locations; orchids have succeeded in many places. The most unlikely spot, if care is exercised, can be made to grow lovely specimens. For the beginner a cool, semi-shady porch or terrace is probably the best starting point. The plants are easily accessible and can be closely watched for danger signs until a gardener acquires confidence. A brick porch or flagstone terrace is simple to keep moist. A wood porch can be protected by a strip of tar paper or galvanized tin over which a layer of moist gravel is spread.

The selection of a garden location should be made only after mature deliberation. It must have, ideally, the following characteristics: It must be open, permitting free air circulation. It should have some shade - a light, cheerful sort of shade, not heavy or dense. Study the filtered light beneath a single oak tree; that is about right. It must be as cool as possible in summer, as warm as possible in winter, with a natural hedge or high fence to block strong or cold air currents. Finally, there should be as much natural moisture in the air as possible.

Now it is time to take some orchids outside and enjoy them there.

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If a tree is planted and fed right, it will last for decades, maybe more than a hundred years. It is well worth while following the guidelines below, to make your trees almost indestructible.

In planting or transplanting a tree, and in building on a lot where you wish to preserve the trees, the gardener’s chief consideration must be to protect the root structure of the tree. The big roots near the stem anchor the tree to the ground, while the fine root hairs at the ends of the rootlets absorb the water from the soil.

Planting

In planting trees, their mature height and spread must be considered before a selection is made. Tempting as are the nursery catalogs, it is necessary to choose carefully, especially on the average lot, because crowding spoils the growth and appearance of trees, particularly specimen trees.

Today you can plant trees when in full leaf with the aid of new wilt-proof sprays that seal the leaves against moisture loss until the roots are established. This, however, costs money and entails greater risks than buying your tree and planting it in early spring( the best time) or late fall or winter. If you are planting a tree over 6 feet tall, it will suffer less setback if moved with a bur-lapped root ball.

To plant a tree dig a hole 2 feet deep and at least 1 foot wider each way than the full spread of the roots. The bottom of the hole should be broken up with a pitchfork and thoroughly mixed with peat, leaf mold, loam, etc. Manure should be used sparingly and only on the top of the hole as it burns the roots. The deeper you can cultivate your hole, the better for your tree.

If you are planting a seedling that is not balled and burlapped, you will want to protect it by “heeling in” a vacant flower bed where it may be kept before planting as long as dormant. This means laying it on its side and covering the roots with good soil. When you take it from the soil, give it a mud bath or “puddle” it. Puddling protects the roots from exposure to air before planting and also from any air pockets which may exist after planting.

Having filled the hole to the depth required by the roots of the plant, flood it with water to settle the soil at the bottom; when this has drained away, place the tree in the position in which it is to grow and settle the soil about it.

Use a stick or shovel handle to work the soil around the roots, and make certain there are no air pockets. Spread the roots out naturally, planting the tree at about the same depth as in the nursery or its former location. When the hole is two-thirds full, trample it down and again fill with water. Don’t firm down the remaining soil, so that the water will drain towards the trunk.

Feeding Trees

When trees grow naturally in the forest, the leaves fall around them, decay and form a good soil. The leaves also preserve moisture in the soil. On a lawn, however, the tree must compete with the grass for moisture and nutrients, and the leaves are raked up to prevent grass disorders, so that the successful gardener finds it wise to supply nutrients every two or three years.

Feeding should be done when the ground is workable, in the spring or in the fall.

An easy method is to drill holes 2 to 3 feet beyond the outer branches, 12 to 18 inches deep and spaced about 15 inches apart. Fill each hole with a commercial fertilizer (made up of bone meal, tankage, peat moss or humus) plus chemicals, in a formula containing 10% nitrogen,6% phosphoric acid and 4% potash.

With the above information you can plant trees successfully, feed them satisfactorily and have a beautiful garden.

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How frustrating! You would love to grow plants and more plants, but outside space around your house is limited! The solution for this is offered in the form of container gardening, which requires less space and less maintenance. Unfortunately, “less” maintenance is often mistaken for “no” maintenance at all, and people are then left wondering why their plants refuse to survive! A crucial aspect of this sort of gardening is “container gardening drainage”, which we will go into details about in the succeeding paragraphs.

Except for the prospect of growing huge trees, there is really no limitation as to what type of plants can be grown in containers! A number of vegetables can be produced in these containers, and so can a variety of flowers. But for all these plants to have healthy, long lives, an adequate container gardening drainage system for removing excess water is vital. Once the plants have been given all that they need, you find an enchanting panorama unfolding right in front of your eyes!

Why is container garden drainage so important?

Roots begin to rot if they are surrounded by too much of water; the soil in the container can absorb only so much! For it is not possible to know exactly how much water has to be poured in each time you are watering the plants.

The standard containers available in the market, such as plastic pots, already come with drainage holes placed at the bottom. But what if you would like to get creative and use anything and everything around the house as a holder for plants? Like for instance, logs that have been hollowed out, boots that are worn out and no longer needed, galvanized tubs and buckets. You can think of many more, of course! Anything will do for a container or pot, large or small. The condition is, have a good drainage system in place. It is recommended that the drainage holes be placed at the bottom as well as on the sides.

The type of container selected for a particular plant will decide the tools that are needed to drill the gardening drainage holes. A metal pot or container would require a drill to prepare the holes. It is far simpler and faster to make holes in aluminium containers with the help of a punch. If choosing wood containers, go back to the drill. A drill can be used on ceramic pots too, but with tremendous care.
Whatever be the choice of container or pot, the container gardening drainage system has to be a great one!

Another point to be taken into consideration for container gardening drainage is - where are the pots or containers going to be exactly placed? If the drainage system results in water getting pooled outside the container instead of inside the container, it serves absolutely no purpose at all! The roots are going to rot anyway and your plants are gone! So it is best that the container garden as a whole is placed on a number of bricks or blocks, leaving adequate space for the water to flow out and away from the containers.

Abhishek is a self-confessed Gardening addict! Visit his website http://www. Gardening-Master.com and download his FREE Gardening Report “Indoor Gardening Secrets” and learn some amazing Gardening tips for FREE! Create the perfect Garden on a shoe-string budget. And yes, you get to keep all the accolades! But hurry, only limited Free copies available!. http://www. Gardening-Master.com

A gardener’s inspiration and motivation for gardening can vary, but most of the time, gardening is a hobby done either as a recreational form of natural art, or as an experiment in self-sufficiency. And with so many plant varieties available ranging from flowers to vegetables, it would be quite rare to find two identical gardens.

Most gardening takes place in regions with temperate weather, and each season bears the potential for new beauty. Planting can take place anywhere from early spring through mid-autumn depending on the location, climate, and plant.

Getting your gardening materials ready

Before you get started on your gardening project, there are a few tools and materials necessary to begin. Of course, you’ll need a plot of land or area within a yard to plant your garden. The size and design of the garden largely depends on what kind of garden you will grow.

Once you have determined how your garden will be physically laid out, you’ll need some basic tools to get started. A hoe or small plow will be needed to turn the soil in which you will plant. For small flower gardens, a hoe or even a small trowel may be sufficient. For larger gardens and for many vegetable and fruit gardens, a plow, or rototiller, would probably be more desirable.

After you have planted your seeds or plants, they will require water. A garden hose or watering bucket can be used to help irrigate the garden, particularly in months when rain may be at a minimum. Automatic sprinkler and irrigation systems may also be installed to maintain your garden.

Finally, some gardeners insist on the use of fertilizers and plant foods. While these may not be necessary, they may have a significant impact on your garden. If pests and other insects may be a problem, you might also consider investing in a safe insecticide for treating your plants.

Common challenges faced in gardening

We aren’t all “green thumbs,” but everybody faces the same basic problems in the planting and maintenance of a garden. First of all, insects and other pests can cause serious issues for an otherwise healthy garden. Many nurseries can offer you guidance in common pests and plant diseases that might be prone to your region or type of plant, and should be able to help you pick out a pesticide.

The weather can also seriously hamper your efforts at maintaining a successful garden. Brutally hot temperatures, lack of rain, and other weather conditions during the growing season can stunt growth, prevent blooms, or even kill entire gardens. And, of course, unexpected changes in the weather can catch even the most experienced gardener off-guard. Be prepared for anything in terms of weather, and this will help prevent surprises later on.

Gardening for beauty

Flower gardens greatly add to the overall landscaping of a home or business, and can add color at any time of year. Understanding the difference between annuals — which bloom only once and typically die at the end of the season — and perennials — which, if cared for properly, will return again season after season — can be of great benefit to establishing a garden.

Many flower gardens feature a set of perennials as part of the landscape, requiring the gardener to simply fill in the open space with annuals each year. Popular annuals for flower gardening include impatiens, begonias, daisies, tulips, and pansies. Some gardens may be designed around a color scheme or theme, and are often designed to be incorporated into the larger landscaping theme of the home or business.

Gardening for food

Many gardens are created for the sole purpose of growing and harvesting edible fruits and vegetables. In some regions of the world, fruit and vegetable gardening is so popular that nearly every home on every street or road has at least some size garden filled with fruits and vegetables.

While planting and growing flowers from seed is fairly simple, knowing when to plant seeds for a vegetable garden can be a more of a challenge. Many novice gardeners choose to purchases small plants to grow, leaving most of the work in maintenance of the garden.

Most vegetable and fruit gardens are planted in rows, which makes working in the garden, the weeding and watering for example, easier. Planting in rows also eases in harvesting the yields of the garden, as a person can walk through the rows next to plants to harvest and pick the food. Common plants in fruits and vegetable gardens include beans, tomatoes, all varieties of peppers, corn, and radishes. Most fruit and vegetables are summer gardens, although the yields may not be harvested until fall for some vegetables and fruits such as gourds and pumpkins.

For those who like plants for beauty, or those who want to grow fresh food in their backyard, the rewarding hobby of gardening is well worth a try.

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Like everything else, gardens can come in all sizes. The smallest one is where all sorts of small plants are planted in old dishes with holes at the bottom or in baskets which can be hung or in containers known as window boxes. This sort of a garden is maintained probably because of the lack of a larger space. Therefore, not much would be required in the way of gardening supplies.

In contrast are the small gardens with just 2 or 3 different plants on display, while the largest ones exhibit an assorted variety of plants which can survive for two or three seasons. The gardening supplies to be purchased would depend on the type and size of the garden.

Now, the complete novice who has just begun to experiment with a “garden” is totally clueless where gardening supplies are concerned! The thought of purchasing even some basic supplies like good soil, tools to be used in the garden, some pots for the plants, or fertilizer may send them into a tizzy! Items displayed in a store stocking gardening items and catalogues listing gardening supplies convey nothing to them!

An experienced gardener would visit the local center that stocked gardening supplies before going in for catalogues. There could be just one center present, supplying everything from the oldest to the latest. Or there could be several. It all depends on how large or small the community is.

The staff employed in these local centers is trained to understand the difference between a garden and a farm. So they are the right people to give advice on why certain items are not suitable for a garden in that particular area. Knowledge about which plants are the most suitable, the correct time to plant them and appropriate gardening supplies to purchase, is also provided by them. Do you really need to go in for catalogues then?

Yet, there are those who refuse to depend on local centers and concentrate on the annual catalogues. They believe that the advantage lies in the fact that a single catalogue covers an entire range of plants unlike a local store. What these gardeners fail to understand is that climatic conditions in a particular area may or may not prove suitable for the growth of all plants, especially a place with a cold climate.

The catalogues advertising gardening supplies keep updating themselves regarding newer products. Each one tries to do a better job of advertising these products than the other, making the advertisements slick and glossy enough to attract customers. Since these new catalogues are mailed out to experienced gardeners at the start of every year, they can plan well ahead for the year ahead. Of course, these gardeners are mature enough to realize that everything that is advertised need not come with a guarantee!

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You may just be a novice venturing into the arena of gardening; or you may be a professional gardener with years of experience behind you. You would like to set up a novel garden - different from the vegetable gardens, cottage gardens, indoor gardens, a space age hydroponics (cultivation of plants in nutrient solution, not soil) setup, and Japanese gardens (to name just a few)! What is the next step after you have made a wish? Purchase appropriate tools and supplies. Do not go to any store. Sit down in the comfort of your living room and order gardening supplies online! The quality is good and the prices affordable.

Why go for gardening supplies online? Here is the answer:

(1) There is a particular type of garden you would love to create! Imagining something is different from actually seeing the picture in front of you! The online web sites provide colorful images on screen about every type of garden, and also give information about each. Hobby or professional, they fuel your imagination to such an extent that you wish to try out every idea, with the possibility of adding your own! And to top it all, the gardens exhibited are matched by gardening supplies online

(2) Have you noticed how crowded gardening centers are, especially in the springtime or gardening season? The staff hardly finds time to communicate with customers. If you have gone there seeking information, forget it! It’s not going to happen! So the alternative is to search for gardening supplies online. A number of web sites display products with their prices. Additionally, they include instructions on how to use each product and how it will benefit you. Thus, reading material about a variety of supplies is obtainable first-hand.

(3) What if there is something that forms part of your garden theme and it is not stocked by local nurseries? They may not see the need for it in that area and so do not even include it in their inventory. Do you give up on your dream? Certainly not! Find gardening supplies online. They can help you look for supplies that are not available locally. You are welcome to even grow orchids in your backyard with their help!

(4) If it is something that is not in stock at your local store, you would have to take out your car and go on long drives, searching for shops which can actually provide the supplies that you need! How much money is spent on gas! It is far wiser to look for gardening supplies online! For instance, if you are thinking of creating a magical Japanese garden, there would be one web site at least where professional growers can offer you valuable advice regarding this. Do-it-yourself kits are also on offer. Give your address and the materials are shipped to you. Buying in bulk can even get you a discount on shipping!

(5) The best thing about shopping online - no matter if it is “in-season” or “off season”, you can always get whatever you want. Especially during the off-season, you can get supplies at bargain prices.

To put it in a nutshell, looking for gardening supplies online is more fun than traipsing from store to store, hunting for the materials you would need!

Abhishek is a self-confessed Gardening addict! Visit his website http://www. Gardening-Master.com and download his FREE Gardening Report “Indoor Gardening Secrets” and learn some amazing Gardening tips for FREE! Create the perfect Garden on a shoe-string budget. And yes, you get to keep all the accolades! But hurry, only limited Free copies available!. http://www. Gardening-Master.com