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Lavender for Food Lavender is often found in soaps, perfumes, aerosol sprays, lotions, potpourris and even candles. Most people love the scent but can’t imagine it in food. The type of lavender used in cosmetics is French lavender while the type for culinary use is called English lavender. While all lavender is safe to eat, English lavender (Lavandula angustifolia) or “true” lavender contains much less essential oil than its aromatic cousin used in perfumes and soaps....

How to Build a Small Pond Below you will find the steps for how to build a small pond: Choose a location – A miniature garden pond should be located where it can get four to six hours of sunlight. This will help to keep the pond healthy and clean. Avoid placing the pond where runoff from rain will run into the water. This may wash debris in and a miniature pond simply will not be able to function correctly with too much foreign matter....

This is a harrowing time in history and some of you may not want to know more about Irish potato information, but it is important to learn about the history of Irish potatoes so it is not repeated. So, what is an Irish potato anyways? Read on to learn more. What is an Irish Potato? This is an interesting bit of Irish potato information, but the potato actually did not originate from Ireland as its name suggests, but rather South America....

Why Do My Knock Out Rose Bushes Have Rose Rosette? Some research says that the carrier of this dreaded virus is the eriophyid mite, a very tiny wingless mite that is easily moved about by the wind. Other researchers are not so sure the mite is the real culprit. Where bushes are planted closely together, such as the case with landscape roses like Knock Outs, the disease seems to spread like wildfire!...

Synthetic Mulch for Your Garden There are three popular types of synthetic mulch: ground rubber mulch landscape glass mulch plastic mulch There is a bit of debate concerning the pros and cons of synthetic mulch, which will be highlighted here. One of the biggest benefits with all synthetic mulch is the lack of insects that it attracts, as opposed to organic mulch. Ground Rubber Mulch Ground rubber mulch is made from old rubber tires, which helps free space in the landfills....

Mitraria Coccinea Info Mitraria coccinea is in the Gesneriaceae family of plants. It is a large vine that has copious brilliant blooms from spring well into summer. Try growing Mitraria over a trellis, fence or even sprawling over a stump or other less than appealing item in a colorful mound. This is not a frost hardy plant and should only be grown outdoors in United States Department of Agriculture zones 8 to 11, where it is a perennial....

Do bromeliads only flower once? Yes. Getting bromeliads to bloom again isn’t possible, but the plant produces a next generation of bloomers called offsets that will. Will Bromeliad Bloom Again? Epiphytes are plants with gripping roots that hold the plant onto its chosen surface. This surface may be tree bark, rock or even cement. In indigenous terrain, you can see epiphytic bromeliads literally swinging from the trees. They produce fascinating and colorful flowers, called an inflorescence, surrounded by rosettes of thick green to silver leaves....

Zone 4 Invasive Plants Invasive plants in zone 4 cover lots of territories, but here are some of the most commonly found invasive species with some alternatives you can plant instead. Gorse and Brooms– Gorse, Scotch broom, and other brooms are common invasive plants that thrive in zone 4. Each mature shrub can produce over 12,000 seeds that can survive in the soil for up to 50 years. These shrubs become highly flammable fuel for wildfires and both the flowers and seeds are toxic to humans and livestock....

Perennial flowers give great value due to their annual shows. It is important to maximize our purchases by choosing plants that fit their environment, both in form and hue, but also in temperament. New England perennials must be adaptive to some fairly harsh weather, where deep freezes are common, but summer heat can be oppressive. Fortunately, breeding programs are always coming out with hardier plants that withstand deep freezes and are resistant to disease, deer and other pests....

Do you know which trees living today have the most candles on their birthday cake? As an Earth Day or Arbor Day treat, we’ll introduce you to some of the world’s oldest trees. Some of the Oldest Trees on Earth Below are some of the world’s oldest trees: Methuselah Tree Many experts give the Methuselah Tree, a Great Basin bristlecone pine (Pinus longaeva), the gold medal as the oldest of ancient trees....

Pests of Petunias There are a number of pests of petunias that can affect these plants. Here are the most common: Mites: Mites are nearly microscopic pests that suck the juices directly out of petunia cells. These cousins to the spider may cause leaves to curl, cup, or flowers to discolor and stiffen. Spider mites also leave thin webs behind where they feed. Spray your petunias with neem oil once a week until all signs of mites are gone....

Rust Pine Tree Diseases There are essentially two types of pine gall rust diseases: western pine gall and eastern pine gall. Western Pine Gall Rust (Pine-Pine) Also known as western pine gall rust or as pine-pine gall rust for its proclivity to spread from pine to pine, pine gall rust disease is a fungal disease that affects two and three needle pine trees. The disease, caused by a rust fungus known as Endocronartium harknesii, affects Scots pine, jack pine, and others....

Plant Propagation for Kids Teaching plant propagation to children begins with the simple activity of planting seeds. You can take it a step further with older children by including one or more methods of asexual reproduction, such as cuttings, division, or offsets. The amount of information to include depends on the child’s age and the time you have to spend on propagation. Starting Seeds with Kids Below is a simple procedure for teaching kids about seed propagation....

Information on Pokeweed in Gardens First of all, most people don’t actually cultivate pokeweed in their gardens. Sure, it very well might be there, growing wild along the fence or in the garden, but the gardener didn’t actually plant it. The birds had a hand in the sowing of the pokeberry. Each pokeberry devoured by a hungry bird has 10 seeds with an outer coating that is so hard the seeds can remain viable for 40 years!...

Container plantings give dimension and texture to the outdoor living space, but they need some extra help to withstand cold temperatures. Potted plants winter care is important because there is not much buffer between the roots and the outdoor temperatures, making roots more sensitive to cold than those in the ground. Begin preparations well before that first freeze or you may lose one of your prized plants. Why Winter Care for Container Plants?...

Reasons and Fixes for Yellow Squash Leaves Well, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but chances are, if your squash plant leaves are turning yellow, something is wrong. The hard part is figuring out exactly what. The leaves on a squash plant will start to turn yellow any time the plant is stressed. Below, I have listed a few reasons why a squash plant may be stressed. Lack of Water While squash plants are pretty hardy plants, as far as vegetable plants go, they do need about 2 inches (5 cm....

Before going into some of the best red flowering houseplants, you’ll need to know a little about how to care for flowering plants indoors. In general, flowering houseplants require a few hours of direct sunshine indoors to do their best. A temperature range of 65-75 F. (18-24 C.) during the day, and a little cooler at night, is appropriate. What Houseplants Have a Red Flower? There are quite a few plants that can be grown with red flowers indoors....

What to Do in the Garden Now Gardening in October depends on local climate, but there are some chores everyone can do this time of year. It’s a great time, for instance, to have your soil tested by your local extension office and to make any necessary amendments. Clean up beds and rake and compost leaves. Plant new trees and shrubs and save dry seeds from vegetables and flowers you want to propagate or share....

Orchids don’t grow like other houseplants; instead of putting out roots in a pot of soil, they exist in a container of loose materials such as bark, charcoal, and moss. Repotting can be the most finicky time for orchid plants because they are susceptible to disease and you’ll be exposing the roots, but with a little care, you can be repotting orchid plants with great results. Repotting Orchid Plants When to repot orchids is important in order to ensure success....

What is Safflower Oil? Safflower is an annual broadleaf oilseed crop that was grown primarily in areas of the western Great Plains. The crop was first propagated in 1925 but was found to have insufficient oil content. In successive years, new varieties of safflower were developed that contained increased oil levels. Where Does Safflower Oil Come From? Safflower does indeed have a flower, but it is cultivated for the oil that is pressed from the seeds of the plant....