Birdhouse Gourd Design Creating birdhouses out of gourds begins with growing the gourds, known as bottle gourds or birdhouse gourds. Once you teach your kids how to make a gourd birdhouse, they’ll be excited to add their own personalized designs. Plant the birdhouse gourd seeds next to a fence or other support, making sure all chance of frost has passed. Gourds will grow all summer long, and won’t be ready for harvest until late in the fall....

Giving Trees as Wedding Favors It’s traditional for a newly married couple to offer a small keepsake to each wedding guest. It serves both as a gift thanking the person for participating in your big day, and also as a token reminder of the ceremony of union they witnessed. In these days when the environment is on everyone’s mind, choosing trees as a green wedding favor is popular. Giving trees as favors creates a sense of your growing relationship with each guest, as well as the shared roots you and your new spouse are developing....

About Greenhouse Tomatoes Growing tomatoes in a greenhouse is a great way to extend the season either due to a short growing season in your region or because you’d like to get a second crop. In some regions, the window of opportunity for cultivating tomatoes is short and folks are left pining for vine ripened tomatoes. This is where the beauty of greenhouse grown tomatoes comes into play. Growing tomatoes in a greenhouse or high tunnel can extend the harvest season by several months up into late fall but that isn’t the only benefit....

Gypsy Cherry Plum Info Gypsy plums are dark carmine red cherry plums that are good for both eating fresh and for cooking. The deep red exterior covers the firm, juicy, sweet orange flesh. The deciduous cherry plum tree has a rounded to spreading habit with ovate, dark green foliage. In the spring, the tree blooms with white blossoms followed by the large red fruit that is ready for harvest by the late summer to early fall....

Arugula (Eruca sativa) is the general name for several leafy salad greens with pungent, peppery leaves. Like most salad greens, it’s an annual and does best in cooler weather. The arugula plant is low growing with dull green leaves that can be blanched to almost white when covered while still growing. Arugula is always found in the salad greens mix known as mesclun. Tips for Growing Arugula Most leafy greens can be direct sown in the ground and the arugula plant is no exception....

Bat Flower Propagation Bat flower, or Tacca, is a plant that is native to warm, humid regions of Asia. It can grow to 36 inches (91 cm.) in height and bear huge 12 inch (31 cm.) flowers. The bizarre flowers are the real conversation starter and ender. The slightly creepy flowers boast two large, leathery flanking bracts which inform the notion that the bloom is bat-like. Bat flower propagation is generally from rhizomes or occasionally cuttings....

Growing Firebush in a Container In the landscape, the nectar laden blooms of firebush shrubs attract hummingbirds, butterflies, and other pollinators. When these blooms fade, the shrub produces glossy, red to black berries that attract a variety of songbirds. They are famed for being incredibly disease and pest free. Firebush shrubs also withstand the midsummer heat and drought that causes most landscape plants to conserve energy and wilt or dieback. In autumn, as temperatures begin to dip, the foliage of firebush reddens, putting on one last seasonal display....

Growing jacaranda trees is mostly a matter of having the right environment, as they’re strictly southern trees that thrive in Florida and parts of Texas and California. Gardeners living further north often have success growing jacaranda as a large houseplant and they have been known to make spectacular bonsai specimens. Jacaranda Tree Information Jacarandas are true southern trees, thriving in USDA plant hardiness zones 9b through 11. Jacaranda tree hardiness is tested when the temperature drops below 15 degrees F....

Growing Japanese Maples from Seed Can you grow Japanese maples from seed? Yes, you can. Can you grow any variety of Japanese maple from seed though? That’s a very different question. Most of the stunning Japanese maple varieties that you can buy in the nursery are actually grafted, meaning the seeds they produce won’t grow into the same tree. Much like planting an apple seed from an apple will likely result in a crabapple tree, planting a seed from a Japanese maple will probably result in a generic Japanese maple tree....

Growing and Training Jasmine Vines Jasmine vines grow best in USDA zones 7 through 10. In warmer climates it will grow year-round, while in places with colder winters it will die back. Some varieties support themselves better than others, but all benefit from training. When planning to grow jasmine on a trellis or other climbing structure, first make sure you have the right conditions and location. This vine prefers full sun but can tolerate light shade....

Are Mini Roses Indoor Plants? When it comes to a miniature rose, indoor care can be frustrating. Many growers have experienced the decline of these once beautiful potted plants. Like other types of rose, miniature roses will need a cool period that is similar to what they would experience naturally. In most cases, this is simply not achievable indoors. While growers are able to briefly enjoy the blooms of their mini rose houseplant, the best option is to transplant it into the flower garden....

Nasturtium plants are easy to grow and may be climbing, cascading, or bushy. Care of nasturtiums is minimal; in fact, nasturtium plants are one of those specimens that thrive on neglect. Rich, fertile soil or too much fertilizer results in lush foliage growth and few nasturtium flowers. The old-fashioned nasturtium, Tropaeolum majus, is popular in the garden as an edible. Use nasturtium flowers as a spiller in window boxes and hanging baskets....

Planting a palm tree seed is more complicated than you might think. Since it’s important to get mature seeds, plant them promptly, and have patience. Palm tree seed germination is not a matter of weeks but months or even years. Read on for more information. What are Palm Tree Seed Pods? When you want to start growing palms from seeds, you definitely need to obtain seeds. While you can buy them in commerce, you can also get them from the seed pods of flowering palms....

Keeping Verbena Inside Although it is also a great choice for your outdoor beds and herb gardens, a good reason to grow lemon verbena indoors is the delicious fragrance. Every time you walk by your potted verbena, touch the leaves and enjoy the lemony scent. Having it readily on hand, you can also enjoy it any time you want in a cup of tea, in desserts, and in savory dishes. Outdoors, lemon verbena can grow quite large, but growing verbena indoors in containers is very much doable....

What is a Harmful Algal Bloom? Algae are very simple plants that form the base of aquatic food webs. They grow in water and photosynthesize like other plants. Under certain conditions, algae grow rapidly, forming large blooms. Some algal blooms are harmful because they produce toxic substances. The toxins move through the food chain, harming all kinds of animals, from plankton to large fish and marine mammals and birds. A bloom can occur in the ocean and in lakes....

Chicory Plant Harvest Chicory started out as a pretty blue wildflower growing like a weed around the Mediterranean region in Europe. Although it has been cultivated for over 1,000 years, it hasn’t changed much from its wild form. Many parts of the chicory plant are edible, and it is a vegetable used in three different forms. Some chicory is grown commercially for its hefty roots that are dried and roasted. When ground, the chicory root is used as a coffee-type drink....

While many fairy gardens are grown outdoors throughout the summer, smaller potted versions can be easily grown indoors year-round. Since these little green spaces are only limited by your imagination, it is easy to understand how they can be adapted and changed over time. Learning how to make a Christmas fairy garden is just one example of the potential for festive home décor. How to Make a Christmas Fairy Garden Christmas fairy garden ideas can vary widely, but all have the same general composition....

What is Himalayan Rhubarb? Himalayan rhubarb is one of about 60 perennial plants in the rhubarb family. Nearly all of these can be eaten, including R. australe. The use of Himalayan rhubarb, though, is more often as a showy edition to ornamental beds. The plant is native to the slopes of the Himalayan Mountains and produces large, attractive, dark green leaves topped by dense clusters of reddish purple flowers. You don’t need a lot of Himalayan rhubarb information to grow this pretty plant....

About Horse Chestnut Wood There are several varieties of horse chestnut tree, including several types of buckeye native to the U.S. Horse chestnut is also native too parts of Europe and the Japanese horse chestnut, of course, is native to Japan. In landscaping, horse chestnut is prized for its quick growth, ornamental shape, large and distinctive leaves, and striking spikes of flowers that emerge in spring. The wood of the horse chestnut is an attractive, light, creamy color....

About Muhly Grass Muhly grass is a native grass that is popular as an ornamental. It grows in clumps that rise to between three and five feet (1 to 1.5 meters) and spread about two to three feet (0.6 to 1 meters) across. The grass blooms profusely with purple to pink flowers that are delicate and feathery. Muhly grass is native to beaches, dunes, and flatwoods and can be grown in zones 7 through 11....