While it doesn't take an Edward Scissorhands to create the stunning, lush creations of topiary, it does take talent and years to perfect the craft unless you use frames!

Regardless of your skill level, topiary frames will make you look like a pro gardener

Topiary Frames How To's

• For years of carefree enjoyment look from frames made of sturdy and galvanized wire with spot welded construction.

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• Soak sphagnum moss or green moss in water with a weak solution of fertiizer until it is pliable.

• Stuff the moss in the frame until it is fully packed.

• Secure the moss with clear craft or fishing line.

• Moss-only topiary are beautiful and require no care other than infrequent touch ups but if you want the wow effect, add plants, ivy or other vines.

• Chose your plants and make individual hole in the moss to receive the roots. Leave as much of the soil on the roots as possible. Add moss as necessary.

• Secure the plants to the frame with flower wire.

• Provide the nutrients, water, light and pest control applicable to the vegetation you selected.

• Have fun with training.  Use flower wires to train the plants' growth direction and don't forget to add some sculpting to your design.

• Plants can be easily replaced if they fail to thrive or changed with the season. Don't be afraid to add blooming flowers in the spring.

• Placement is everything.  Put a giraffe next to a trellis, a mermaid beside the pool, a sleepy cat on the patio or a boxer to watch over your roses.

Best Plants for Topiary Frames

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• Baby's tears
• Begonia
• Boxwood
• Climbing Hydrangea
• Creeping fig
• Cypress Vine
• English Ivy
• Fleece vine
• Hemlock
• Lavender
• Myrtle
• Pine
• Rosemary
• Yew.

Don't limit yourself to the above list. Use your sense of color and whimsy to explore the wonderful world of topiary.

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Large Mushroom Topiary Wire Frame CUSTOM UNIQUE    US $20.00

BRITTANY wire topiary frame NEW lifesize garden dog    US $61.00

Sitting Bunny Topiary Wire Frame Design CUSTOM UNIQUE    US $12.00

DACHSHUND topiary frame NEW handmade Wire Dog Doxie    US $38.00

Lion topiary credit
Bunny topiary credit
Epcot topiary credit

Years of exposure to chemicals can not only make you sick, they can cause long term health problems for your children. Chemicals build up in your system and can cause fatigue, mood changes and weight gain, at best!

Growing organically isn't hard but too often it can feel that way. Go to your local nursery or garden department and you will see aisles and aisles of chemicals guaranteed to feed, protect and produce an abundant food supply... but at what cost.

Fresh organic food tastes better, is healthier for you and your family and is better for our environment. Best of all you can get it right out of your own garden.

Jeff Serland is an organic gardening expert.  His book My Organic Garden will take you through the entire process of getting your organic garden producing the freshest, healthiest food you have ever eaten and you will never go back to chemical laden commercial vegetable.

• Learn how to prepare the soil.
• Learn the right fertilizers.
• Learn about weeds in your garden.
• Learn how to raise your plants from seeds the easy way.
• Learn everything it takes to go organic.

Stop searching book stores and the internet and stop trying to piecemeal all that information together.

If you want to get started on a new way to garden, get Jeff's book today. Gardening can be healthy, fun and stress free if you have the right instructions.

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WORLDS MOST INEXPENSIVE HYDROPONIC GARDEN GROW SYSTEM    US $24.99

Whether you live in a New York high-rise, the desert of Arizona or Minnesota in the winter, hydroponics make it possible to grow fresh vegetables and herbs all year around.

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Hydroponic kits are available in all shapes, sizes and price ranges. Some are even pretty enough to put on a kitchen counter to make clipping herbs into salads or soups quick and easy.  For do-it-yourselfer,  with a few supplies you can construct a system in an afternoon.  Which ever way you go, the basics of a home hydroponic system is simple.

Containers

• For DYI, fish tanks make the perfect hydroponic reservoir because they are solid, meant to hold water and have equal top/bottom dimensions. Any container with similar qualities will work just as well.
• Whether purchased or made, your container needs to block light or you will soon have algae growing along with your plants.   If using a fish tank or other clear container, spray it with black paint or cover with black plastic or fabric.

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Lights

• Essential if your hydroponics garden will be indoors.
• If you have a full scale greenhouse operation, use lights as needed.

Support

• Lacking soil something needs to hold the plants upright.
• You can use Styrofoam or Rockwool.
• If you opt for Styrofoam you will need to cut it about one-quarter inch smaller than your container as well as cutting a hole for the air pump hose and holes for your net pots. Your Styrofoam will float in the water so made sure it is able to rise and lower easily - thus the benefit of an even dimensioned container.

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• Rockwool is a growing medium that can be purchased in sheets or blocks/cubes. They must either come with center holes for placing your plant or you must cut your own. Rockwool isn't wool at all but is made from molten rock. It's used in hydroponics as well as for rooting cuttings.

Net pots

• These individual plant pots look like doll size clothes baskets.
• You will place plants in your net pot then into the Styrofoam or Rockwool and finally into the container.

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Air pump

• Plants will not live by nutrients alone.
• Without air circulating oxygen to the bottom of the container and the roots, your plants will soon be taking their last breath.
• Air pumps come from mini to industrial sizes.
• Just make sure it runs quietly if you share living space with your hydroponics system.

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Nutrient Solution

• If there is anywhere you can go more wrong in hydroponics,  it's with your fertilizer.
• Too little will product weak, spindly plants and too much will burn your plant to death.
• Chose hydroponics nutrient solution only as your plants need a full spectrum of nutrients, trace minerals and anti-microbial agents to kill off fungus.
• Follow directions carefully but also use your eyes, instincts and a meter to increase or decrease feeding.

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pH and Nutrient Monitoring

• Yes, there is a meter for that.
• Monitoring the pH and nutrient levels in your hydroponic garden will help your plants grow healthier and produce abundantly and let you sleep better at night knowing you did it right.

If you want to train a bonsai, understand that it is an art form not a specific plant.  Traditionally, bonsai are outdoor trees and do not adapt well to the warmth of the typical home. However, its popularity, especially in American, has prompted the cultivation of tropical and sub-tropical trees for indoor use.

While you can train any woody plant into a bonsai, the evergreen and other temperate trees will not fare well indoor without some skill and exquisite care.  Make life and the art of bonsai easy by investing in one of these beautiful indoor plants that will happily be sculpted to your artist heart's desire.

Best Indoor Plants for Bonsai

Click to Buy Baby Jade

Crassula ovata arborescens or the BABY JADE plant is a very popular succulent bonsai. Native to South Africa with round, pale green leaves. Jades store water in their fleshy leaves as well as their trunk and branches.  They require less care than the average bonsai.  Just make sure they are dry before you water again. They can also stand less than bright full light. Good choice for the beginner.

Dracaena marginata or DRAGON PLANT is a palm style bonsai. Native to Madagascar, the Dragon  has a thin trunk and center focused mass of narrow pointed green leaves with gorgeous red to purple stripes. Dragons are easy to care for as long as you don't over water.  They can tolerate less than full light. The   Dragon is especially healthful for your home's air quality.

Click to Buy a Dragon

Click to Buy Weeping Fig

Ficus benjamina or WEEPING FIG train well in the classical, upright form. Native to India and Malaya it has bright shiny dark green leaves and develops a thick trunk at early age. Shown here is the Ginseng Weeping Fig, which  is especially durable for indoor living. Likes full direct sunshine for at least part of the day and dislikes drafts. You will find its care more inline with the average houseplant.

Ficus neriifolia or WILLOW LEAF FIG is also known as the Mexician Ficus. It has small enlongated, light green leaves and is a natural for the the traditional bonsai size and shape. Shown is the  Shohin (tiny thing) bonsai. Shohin should not exceed 10" in height.  It has all the beauty of a large tree in miniature.  Does well in low and moderate lighting. For the true miniature lover.

Click to Buy Willow Fig

Click to Buy Dwarf Jade

Portulacaria afra or DWARF JADE is one of the easiest indoor trees to care for.  It is not a true jade plant and is much hardier that its namesake. Will tolerate  low light and  short periods of dryness. Its  compact growth make it easy to train in many bonsai styles.  But take care with wire training as the leaf pads can easily break off. Great for beginners and bonsai artists.

Schefflera arboricola or HAWAIIAN UMBRELLA TREE is one of the most popular indoor bonsai.  It has tiny dense green umbrella shaped leaves that form a little canopy.  Tolerates low light but doesn't like to dry out.  Easier to train that the standard bonsai and can be done with just some pinching and pruning. It is not the best choice if you have children and pets because all parts are poisonous Recommend for the inexperienced or green thumb challenged.

Click to Buy Hawaiian Umbrella

Fungi are classified as a kingdom as opposed to the more earthly known plants and animals.   A mushroom garden can add a little gourmet to your harvest and you may just fall in love with growing this quirk of nature.

Good For You

Not only do they make a delicious addition to pizza and stir fry, mushroom are high in fiber, protein, B vitamins, selenium, potassium and phosphorus. You can easily grow most species of mushrooms including Shiitake, Reishi, Maitake, Oyster and the popular button.

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Easy Grow How-To

Although you can grow your own spawn (fungi speak for seedlings) from spore (think seeds) and use mediums from mature to coffee grounds, the easiest way to produce a healthy, bountiful flush (harvest) is to purchase sterilized spawn and inoculate (fungi speak for plant) in a log.

• Just think of the last place you would grow anything. Mushroom need a dark, humid and cool environment so grow them in a garage, shed, basement, cellar or outbuilding. If your climate and yard allows (dark and dank), grow outdoors.

• Mushrooms are grown on hardwood. You will need a 3-4 foot log, cut 4-12 weeks prior to inoculating.

• Don't use a fresh cut log as it still has the tree's natural fungicide compounds and will kill your spawn. Likewise don't use an aged log as its nutrient and sugar content has depleted.

• Select oak, poplar, elm, maple or alder. Avoid cedar and pine as they are too aromatic.

• Purchase sterilized plug spawn.

• To inoculate your hardwood with the spawn, drill 2" deep holes at 4" intervals in your log.

• You should drill about 40 holes in a 3-4 foot log.

• Pound the spawn plugs into the holes with a hammer (one per hole).

• Seal the holes with a fine coat of melted paraffin wax to prevent insects from feasting on your spawn.

• Inoculate prior to the winter freeze as the spawn will need to go dormant in winter.

• Stand your log on end; just lean it up against something.

• Water every few weeks; never let the log dry out.

• Colonizing can take 9-12 months.

• Your logs have begun "fruiting" when you see dark mottling on the cut ends.

• You can force fruiting by submerging your log in cold water for 24 hours (or putting out in heavy rain) and then hitting it with a hammer or dropping it a rock (aliens!). This arouses the primal instinct of the fungi who apparently think the tree has fallen and it's time to produce.

• Once established and given the right growing conditions, your fungi will fruit in flushes for years.

• Harvest your mushroom with a sharp knife.

• Should you want a steady supply of mushrooms for the whole family, inoculate 1-2 dozen logs.

• By re-soaking with a 6-8 week resting period you can rotate through the logs and be totally flushed in mushrooms year round.

• Start a new crop every year or two.

An even easier way to grow your own mushrooms and make a fun project for the kids is to buy mushroom kits. There are kits for most gourmet mushrooms prepared just right for their specific species and ready to fruit in just weeks. Mushrooms make a great new hobby and a meal too!

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DigiWeigh Pocket Scale Mushroom Spore Growing Gram Kit    US $23.99

Standard Myco Grow Kit 6 Jars Growing Mushrooms    US $38.99

This herb has so many benefits it's hard to decide whether to use it in baking a sweet bread or to add elegance to a hot bath.  Indecision is perfectly ok because just by sitting in its pot, lavender will fill your home with fragrance and beauty.

• Never compromise on your potting soil for any plant or you will have a fish out of water quandary. Putting a plant in the wrong soil is a lot like exchanging money in a foreign country; you're bound to lose a few. To avoid losing your beautiful new lavender plant, add lime and sand to a high quality potting mix.

• This lovely herb loves to spread and most indoor growing ventures go wrong with this herb when it's put in a too small pot for it spreading root system. Check that the root ball has several inches of pot room but not so much more as lavender demands its soil be on the drier side.

• A clay pot will ensure that the soil dries out nicely for this arid herb. The pot must also be large enough to accommodate a 1-2 inch layer of gravel at the bottom or you will end up with root rot. Don't attempt to use a shallow pot.

• Lavender is a bit of a show off and likes the attention afforded by a sunny windowsill. Never put this herb in a corner, it simply will not tolerate anything but a day of bright sunlight.

• Lavender is neither a sipper nor a hardy drinker. It will not tolerate frequent watering nor a soggy environment. Let the soil become just dry to the touch then give it a good watering before leaving it to dry again.

• Never mist the foliage and avoid getting it wet when watering.

• Native of the Mediterranean, lavender can enjoy the warm temperatures in most homes. Just don't put it directly next to a heat source and check the soil more often if your home is very warm.

• Perhaps hypnotized by its own scent, lavender will quickly fail in a stuffy or smoke filled home. If not too cold for humans,  give it a bit of fresh outdoor air a time or two per week and especially if there is a light breeze.

• Despite it aromatic beauty, lavender is a hardy dessert plant and was born to wander. It can grow one to three feet tall and endless feet wide. Once your plant has reached the limits of its pot, put it out in the garden or prune it heavily (and cut back the root ball if necessary) rather than continue its confinement.

• Use a general purpose fertilizer sparingly just once or twice at the most in the growing season. Give your herb a nicely ground up eggshell a few times per year for an extra limey treat.

• Lavender is too fragrant for most pests but, while outdoors, an occasional caterpillar may dine on the leaves. Other than root rot, your herb is safe from all creatures except the over mothering or neglectful human.

French lavender is usually recommended for growing indoors. You will recognize this variety by its serrated leaves. However, it is the least aromatic of the three varieties; English and Spanish being the other two.

So if you're set on having the most fragrance possible, choose English first then Spanish. At some point, you will have to give them up the great outdoors but if you lack an outdoors planting area, with care you can at least enjoy a temporary relationship.

Should you want a more permanent relationship with your lavender, go with the French and summer it on a patio. Unless you live in Florida, this variety will not survive a winter outdoors so bring it back in with the first chill of fall.

Chi, also known as Qi, Ki and Prana, is the Chinese term for universal energy. Chi is everywhere; it's the life force that permeates our world.

The quality of the Chi you keep company with
determines the quality of your own energy and life force.

Think of how you feel in your beautiful garden, at church or in the company of a loved one. Now compare that to how you feel at a funeral or around angry people or frightening strangers. You have just experienced, in your mind, two very different qualities of Chi.

Naturally, we strive to be around life enhancing energy and avoid depressing or damaging elements, but sometimes the Chi in our environment just gets stuck. Use your imagination again and recall how stifling it feels in a basement or a room that has been closed off for awhile. Instinctively, we just want to fling open the windows and let the light and air in.

While a garden is hardly a place that needs light or air, areas can become stagnant and evoke a heavy feeling where even the hardiest of plants won't grow.

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Feng shui, is the ancient Chinese practice of the proper placement of elements to enhance and increase a positive flow of energy. Proper placement in or outside the home is critical to keeping the Chi moving effectively.

Block the path for a smooth flow of Chi and you have blocked your and your plants' energy quality. According to the principles of feng shui, physical blocks can create energy blocks in your garden and eventually in your body if not corrected.

If you have an area with large plants or hedges, you have a disruption in the energy flow. Likewise if you have an area where plants have taken their last breath of carbon dioxide or where there is unpleasant noise such as traffic or barking dogs, you have tumultuous energy.

If your garden is uneven, Chi will settle and become stagnant in the lower areas. Try to hang a wind chime above the lowest point to lift the energy.

Wind chimes have been used for centuries to add a spiritual experience to the environment. They move stagnant air and increase energy with their physical movement, musical resonance and meditative vibrations. Wind chimes will restore balance and harmony to your garden and to your soul.

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It's Fall. Do You Know Where Your Bulbs Are?

Bulbs are a gift from the gods of winter. Knowing how lonely you will be for the sight of a brightly colored flower, the winter soil incubates the sleeping bulb through the coldest days and just when you think you can't stand another winter chill, a yellow daffodil or purple crocus will lift your darkest spirits and ready you for spring.

But until the thrill of spring, you have some work to do. Bulbs are easy and hardy flowers to grow so your tasks are few but important.

• Plant or store...but keep your bulbs between 50 and 60 degrees. If you aren't planting right away store in the vegetable bin of the refrigerator or in the garage or cellar. Protect from the rodents who will gladly make a meal of your bulbs.

• Don't delay. Bulbs should be planted about 6 weeks before the ground freezes, which is great because you would be hard pressed to dig a hole much afterward.

• Pick a spot in your garden that gets good but indirect light. Cold loving bulbs will die of heat stroke in direct sun.

• As bulbs are prone to rot in soggy conditions, add a little sandy to the soil and give them some protection if you live in a rainy climate.

• How deep you plant depends on the type of bulb. Four to twelve inches is the general range so check the package rather than guess wrong.

• Whoever thought of the bulb auger was surely a genius. They make the perfect hole and hold the dirt patiently until you are ready to refill your hole. Get one with a long handle for the garden and one with a short handle for the window boxes.

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• Again, depending on the type of bulb, make your blub holes one to six inches apart. Don't guess or you will be pulling out bulbs all spring.

• Now most bulbs have distinct top and bottom sides. However, in the case of tubers, its another story.  Should you be totally stumped by the top-bottom dilemma, just plant sideways. The bulb is forgetting and God only know how but it will find its way to the top of the soil by spring.

• Drop a couple of bulbs in each hole; they like friends to winter with.

• Fill the hole back up with the dirt your auger held neatly for you while you worked.

• Cover with mulch, bark and/or dry leaves to protect from winter conditions and to keep the soil moist. It's a good idea to really camouflage your bulbs if squirrels roam your garden. They are sure you have planted this tasty treat just for them and will dig them up should they find them.

• Water well and you're done except for an occasional check of the soil as you never want it to completely dry out.

• The debate rages on whether to add manure or other fertilizer to the hole before adding the bulbs. I personally feel the bulb don't appreciates a hardy meal before a long sleep anymore than I do.  However, for last year’s bulbs, it's a good idea to refeed the soil at this time.

• Keep checking the window, spring will come again. As soon as the first shoots appear and the ground unfreezes you can add a slow release bulb food and be oh so glad you planted your bulbs last fall.

Pansies love the cool weather and if you live in a milder climate, you can enjoy the whimsical-face of this five-pedaled beauty into winter.

Pansies comes in vibrant shades of pink, purple, blue, red, orange, yellow, white and a variety of multi-colors.

They are fragrant and edible flowers and make amazing decorative garnishes
for summer salads and fruit parfaits.

Pansies are biennials meaning they have a two year life cycle. The first year they grow leaves and stems then go dormant over the winter. The following year they flowers and, sadly, die.

Pansies are natural wanderers and, given space, can spread a foot or two. To keep in check, plant in pots and baskets. Otherwise, plant 6 to 12 inches apart and let them go.

Growing Your Pansies

Pansies are fairly easy to grow from seed but bedding plants are ready to bloom while your seedings will need their first year development. Should you want to grow from seed, you'll need to start indoors 8 to 10 weeks before you want to transplant outdoors.

Lightly cover seeds with moist soil and place in a dark location that stays a cool 40-60 degrees. After 2 to 3 weeks the seedlings should have a leaf or few and be ready to move to pots. They will need a new location as they must now receive daily light. Move outside after another 6 to 8 weeks as long was the temperature is still between 40-60 degrees.

Plant in early spring for spring/summer blooms and in all for winter/spring blooms.

Pansies are the perfect flower for creating a pattern or color scheme design. Try a circle with light to dark rows and mutli-colored centers or diagonal stripes bordering a walkway. Their little faces look especially delightful paired with garden ornaments.

Caring for Your Pansies

• Pansies need well drained soil and can tolerate either full sun or partial shade.
• Set in individual holes about 6 inches deep with enriched soil.
• Mulch around the plants.
• Don't neglect watering as pansies will not tolerate a dry spell.
• Keep the soil moist not soggy at all times.
• Over watering will also cause leaf spotting and root rot.
• Fertilize every 3 to 4weeks during the growing season.
• Keep your pansies pinched back to promote bushy growth and prevent self-sow.

Pests

In keeping with their hardy nature, pansies are not prone to insect infestation. They may occasionally become victims to aphids and spider mites. Slugs and snails love pansies as much as you do so watch for the slim and take defensive action quickly.

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What You'll Need

1. Soap
2. Water (hot if you're lucky)
3. Large bucket
4. Clean cloths
5. Wire brush
6. Fine grade stainless steel wool pads
7. Fine grade sandpaper
8. Sharpening file
9. WD-40 lubricate
10. Linseed oil
11. Eye protection for sharpening blades

• Start out giving everything a good cleaning. Dirt left on your tools is a breeding ground for rust and rot.
• Fill your bucket with hot water and dish soap.
• Brush off dirt with the wire brush and remove damaged edges and rust with the stainless steel pads.
• Place your garden tools as space allows for a good 15-20 minute soaking.
• Rinse thoroughly.
• Dry thoroughly with the cloths and leave out until completely dry.
• Tighten nuts, bolts and screws.
• Smooth dull cutting edges with your sharpening file. A few long strokes is all you need. You're only removing roughness, not creating a new blade.
• Use sand paper to smooth wood handles.
• Coat wood handles and metal with oil using dry, clean cloths. Wipe away excess.
• Use WD-40 to lubricate hinges and other moving parts.

Other Tasks

• Sterilize pots and clean garden ornaments (unless you are going for that weathering effect with the latter). Pots need to be free of bacteria, mold and fungus before any replanting occurs so don't skip this final garden chore.
  • Rinse with the garden hose and remove debris with your wire brush.
  • Using your large bucket, prepare a solution of 10 percent bleach and dish soap.
  • Soak your ceramics in the solution for 10-15 minutes.
  • Rinse complete and let dry before put on storage shelves.

• Drain garden hoses, wipe clean with an oily cloth, roll and hand in a dry location.

• If rust is extensive apply a rust-proofing primer and spray paint.

• If you're a novice sharpener, mark your blades with a black felt pen and in long, smooth strokes in one direction file until the blades are free of the black marks. Be sure to lift your file between strokes; no back and forth movements.  If in doubt of your abilities, have your tools professional sharpened.

• Lawn mowers can prove to be in a job within themselves so give yourself plenty of time (or help) to clean out grass, sharpen blades and oil metal and wood parts. It's a good idea to have a professional do the sharpening unless you are well versed in the craft. If a power mower, check the spark plugs and replace the oil in the crankcase to keep the engine protected from winter cold and ready for that spring startup.

• You can store larger metal tools in buckets filled with dry sand and enough oil to create a thoroughly moist environment. At winter's end just brush off the sand and oil.You can save the sand/oil mixture, or prepare a new, clean mixture if necessary, to use throughout the year. Just dunk the tools in the mixture a few times to remove debris, wipe the excess and hang the tool. This wintering and maintenance process will protect rust and corrosion when the elements would have otherwise.

Now put those clean and oiled tools in a protected, dry location preferably on a rack elevated from the floor. Smaller hand tools can be stored in a basket as long as air circulation is possible.

Gardening is so much more rewarding with the right tools in the right condition. Proper care will ensure your tools last for years and do the jobs intended.