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Laura Kelly composts kitchen scraps and yard waste to apply to her productive backyard garden in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Kelly sells at the Fayetteville Farmers Market.

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The key to planting beautiful, bountiful planters that will make your neighbors jealous, we have a few basic rules to follow:

1) The Bigger, the Better! Select a large decorative container. 18” – 24” works best.

2) Plant the container where you would like to keep it, or put it on a plant dolly. It will be heavy.

3) Make sure there are drainage holes in the bottom of the pot. If there are none, drill a few in a triangle pattern. The planter should also have a saucer.

4) A drainage medium should be placed in the bottom of the pot, about 2” deep. Recycle broken terra cotta pots or Styrofoam peanuts as your medium. Pebbles work well also, but are heavy.

5) Choose a quality blend of soil. Your plants are only as good as the soil they are planted in. The soil should be loose and light. Fresh potting soil should be used each year for best results.

6) Choose your plants. You will need a variety of plants in different heights, colors and textures for the best effect. This is where you need to use your creativity. Don’t think you have any? Have a child help you. Or, plan ahead. Look in magazines or on the web and write down the names of the plants before you go shopping.

a) First, choose a centerpiece. A tall plant with interesting foliage work best. Suggestions for sun: Canna, Ornamental Grasses, Mandevilla on a trellis, tall flowering perennials (Coneflower, Black Eyed Susan, Penstemon Husker Red) or a shrub such as Sky Pencil Holly. For shade: Calla Lillies, Caladiums, Day Lillies, Spikes or Hydrangea.

b) Next, choose trailing plants. More than one variety works best. Choose three: Two flowering and one foliage variety and alternate them around the planter. Proven winners are always a great choice, and are easily available at garden centers and nurseries. Be sure to look for varieties that will do well where you plant them. Sun or Shade.

c) Last, choose your filler plants. Medium height, bushy plants. Choose one flowering and one foliage variety. Pick colorful plants. Hosta and coleus are great fillers for sun or shade. There are some varieties of Hosta that will tolerate more sun than others, so read the label.

d) When putting all this in your planter, install the plants as they are listed. Fill the pot about half way and place your centerpiece. Then fill around it until the planter is about 2/3 full and install your trailing plants. You may need to adjust the amount of soil depending on the size of the pots you purchased. Place all the plants and then gently fill in around the plants with soil one handful at a time. Be sure to press down between the plants to avoid air pockets. Water thoroughly and re-check the soil levels. Settling may occur, fill in wherever necessary.

7) The final and most important steps for Beautiful, Lush planters are food and water. For large luscious, stunning planters…water, water! Do not let your planters wilt between waterings. The best time to water is early morning, before 10 am. This will keep them stress free during the heat of the day. Planters in full sun will require more frequent watering (often daily) than those in part sun or shade. Plants that are stressed from lack of water will not bloom well or flourish.

A good quality organic fertilizer will keep your plants happy and healthy. Some organic fertilizers are slow release, so feedings are less frequent. Read the label for feeding schedule. A water soluble fertilizer we recommend is Merrill’s Compost Tea. Just drop one tea bag into one gallon of water, let it steep for 20 minutes to one hour and then water your plants as normal. Feed with this product every 2 weeks throughout the growing season and your planters will amaze you!

This process is how the professionals do it. Design and build your planters as early in the season as your area will allow for maximum enjoyment.This article may be reproduced and/or distributed for the purpose of education only and may not be changed in part or whole. This article was written by Vera Pappas, Co-owner of GreenNationGardens.com, suppliers of green living products for home and garden.

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Fruits for Southern Florida: A Handbook for the Homeowner (Unknown Binding)
By David Sturrock

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For lawn maintenance, edge grass with a blade, mow the lawn in different directions, trim grass evenly and use a blower to remove grass clippings. Learn about safety equipment, such as earplugs and glasses, when mowing a lawn with this free video from a professional landscaper on lawn care tips. Expert: Bill Elzey Contact: www.ShowplaceLawns.com Bio: Bill Elzey is the owner and manager of Showplace Lawns in Austin, Texas. Filmmaker: Todd Green…

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Chestnut Tree

Local business man sampled his first Chinese chestnut at a produce dealers booth. He purchased 5 pounds and said, “I am buying these for my father. He never got over the loss of the native chestnut and these are the first Ive found with the oldtime flavor.”

This incident probably better illustrates the nostalgia of an old man rather than the worth of the Chinese chestnut but it does give an appraisal of its flavor by one who knows.

The destruction of the American chestnut, Castanea dentata, by an oriental chestnut bark disease is an old story that need not be repeated here for this article deals with two species which can be grown in this country in spite of the blight.

These two exotic species which are now also being crossed with the native chestnut to develop new varieties are the Chinese Castanea mollissima and the Japanese Castanea crenata. Both have a high degree of resistance to the blight having been exposed to it for unknown centuries in their native lands.

My own personal experience with these began about 1928 when I secured a small quantity of seed from the government planting at Glen Dale, Maryland. My efforts have been in the direction of nut production rather than timber as this seemed to offer more promise of immediate reward.

Practically the first thing I learned about chestnuts was that the species cross-pollenize and hybridize about as readily as pop corn with field corn. The offspring of that seed were an interesting lot of hybrids.

One bore nuts the third year; another, very vigorous, never bore more than a few nuts and those only after many years; a vigorous, upright tree ripened large, glossy nuts in August; a small, shrubby specimen insisted on blooming from June to frost, setting abundant clusters of burs that produced very small nuts. This was probably a hybrid of the Chinese chinkapin, C. seguini. Thus, I learned the importance of planting pure strains.

Both the Chinese and Japanese chestnuts are trees of moderate growth and size but more spreading than the American species. Neither is as winter-hardy as the American. Both will grow wherever peaches are hardy.

Neither is particular as to soil as long as it is reasonably fertile and well drained. As a safeguard against late spring frosts, air drainage is important but on the whole, the climate, soil, site and culture suitable for peaches suits the oriental chestnuts fine.

With me, the Japanese has been more precocious and prolific and has generally produced larger nuts. Select strains developed in Japan have nuts more than 2 inches across”the largest known. In contrast to the select strains, seed of a shrubby wild chestnut I imported from Japan produced very small nuts with some plants maturing nuts when only knee high and 18 months old. The Chinese, however, has proven to be the more vigorous and blight resistant of the two and to have higher quality nuts.

At the present time, the Chinese species is considered to be the more desirable for both home and commercial plantings. In the South the trees grow more rapidly and are larger than in the North and so should be planted spaced not less than 40 feet apart.

Seedling trees vary widely in precocity, productiveness and size and quality of nuts. Under favorable conditions of culture, seedlings of good parentage have been known to produce an average of 40 pounds of nuts per tree at ten years from setting. Select trees, in some cases, have produced more than twice that amount.

Out of the thousands of seedling trees distributed by the Department of Agriculture and set out in small plantings throughout the eastern part of the United States, some selections have been made and a few have been given variety names and are being propagated by grafting and budding.

Among the named varieties selected from government plots are Meiling, Kuling and Nanking. Those selected from private plantings are Abundance, Hemming and Hobson. These may be expected to be superior to average seedlings in productiveness, early bearing and size and quality of nuts.

Under good conditions Chinese chestnuts are very regular bearers. Hobson, a medium sized nut of good quality, usually bears for me the second year after grafting if left undisturbed in the nursery row. A tree on my home grounds, top-worked in 1932 to the Hobson variety, has borne 16 consecutive crops. A nearby tree of the same age, of the Carr variety, however, has failed twice during the same period due to late spring frosts.

A tree usually ripens its crop in about one week but individual differences in trees extend the harvesting period over a month or more. In Georgia, harvest begins in August. In the north, it may extend to October.

Ripe nuts generally fall free from the spiny burs. Those of the Chinese species average somewhat larger than those of the American but not as large as the European and Japanese. Color varies from a bright mahogany red to a dull gray or brown.

With all the chestnuts the kernel is covered with a skin or pellicle which carries a bitter and indigestible substance known as tannin. In the American and Japanese chestnut this pellicle adheres closely to the kernel and is very difficult to remove.

In the best selection of the Chinese, however, the pellicle separates freely from the kernel leaving it clean, bright and free from bitterness. This characteristic, coupled with the sweetness and texture equal to the American species, makes the Chinese the best of all chestnuts for culinary purposes.

Today prospective chestnut planters have little to fear from blight. Ten years ago, I had a Hobson, Carr and a number of seedling trees tested for blight resistance by having cultures of Endothia parasitica, prepared by the U. S. Division of Forest Pathology, injected beneath the bark. No infection resulted except in a few seedlings. Most of those infected recovered”only one or two died.

The other great pest of theAmerican chestnut was the weevil that infested the nuts soon after they ripened. Where present, this weevil also attacks the Chinese species. Almost perfect control of this pest has been achieved, however, by thorough spraying of bearing trees. Spraying should begin six weeks before the ripening of the earliest nuts and be continued at two week intervals until harvest.

The only hazard commercial growers have to face is competition offered by the European species. But since in the East, the home grown crops can be placed on the market a month ahead of the European whether grown abroad or on the Pacific coast, there is little to fear from such competition.

This is attested to by the fact that local dealers eagerly took my crop at the wholesale price of 35 cents a pound. Later, in November, European chestnuts were being offered on the local market at 20 cents a pound retail!

Moreover, the chestnut blight has invaded Italy and threatens all of Europe. Castanea sativa, the European species, is fully as susceptible to the blight as was the American. Whatever the outcome, it would seem as if importation of European chestnuts faces curtailment in the coming years.

As an orchard crop the Chinese chestnut undoubtedly has a future in this country though it must be admitted that it is still in the Johnny Appleseed stage. Some commercial plantings have been made in Georgia and a few as far north as Erie, Pennsylvania, where the lake somewhat tempers the winter climate.

Many general nurseries are now offering seedling trees like flowering fruit trees although named varieties of grafted trees are, as yet, available only in limited quantities from nurseries specializing in nut trees.

As more are made available, the home owner will get them. Wherever the peach survives the winter, he can enjoy his own fruitful “spreading chestnut tree” within a few years from planting. He will probably have two or more for chestnuts are self-sterile and more than one seedling is needed for cross pollination.

With plenty of room and left to itself, the Chinese chestnut assumes something of the size and form of a large apple tree and is as inviting to children to climb in. It makes a pleasing shade tree that is very decorative on the home grounds. It is lovely in late spring when the feathery tassels of blossoms appear, beautiful all summer and interesting in fall when loaded with burs.

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Greenhouse gardening is a very rewarding pastime. It’s actually considered by many experts in stress management to be a perfect way to unwind from a hectic day and become more attuned to nature. A greenhouse provides a protected environment for you to tend all kinds of plants. As well, it’s more convenient to try out new varieties and hybrids. It’s also perfect for providing a continuous supply of tasty, fresh vegetables all year long.

But before you build a greenhouse or buy one, you have to make some plans. The most critical consideration in your planning is location. Garden greenhouses need a lot of sunshine all through the year. In order for your plants to flourish, they need adequate quantities of light. If there isn’t enough sunlight reaching your plants, you’ll have to install greenhouse lighting, which isn’t cheap.

When deciding where to locate the greenhouse, be aware that maximum exposure to the sun should be on the longest side of the structure. Avoid locating it near small trees that will grow to be large and shady. Once they’re fully grown, their foliage will prevent the sun from reaching your plants.

With a greenhouse, you can raise flowers and vegetables in very little space without worrying about the weather conditions. Usually, greenhouses are constructed from plastic or glass so they can receive the maximum amount of sunlight. These materials also limit the plants’ exposure to harmful environmental conditions. The structure must have proper ventilation in order to prevent overheating. Keeping the temperature just right is critical for greenhouse gardening.

Be certain to purchase or construct a greenhouse that has a solid structure. It has to be strong enough to hold fast against extreme conditions such as strong winds and heavy snow. These forceful elements can easily cause a flimsy structure to fall apart.

A garden greenhouse can provide you with fresh vegetables and attractive flowers, even in the middle of winter. Most of your favorite vegetables will thrive in an indoor setting. Carrots, radishes, lettuce and tomatoes are very easy to raise in a greenhouse environment. If you’re growing tomatoes, you will need to provide some string for them to climb or cling to. Herb gardening is also well suited to a greenhouse, and they just need a few small pots.

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Butterfly Milk (Hardcover)
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Rising food costs are causing more families to start their own vegetable gardens at home. “We’re selling a lot more seeds for vegetables. We’re selling a lot more plants and more people are asking, ‘How do I make my plants grow in a garden?’” said Kent Maughan with the Soil Service Garden Center on Troost Avenue. Maughan said he’s getting more questions on start-up gardens and basic planting rules. He also educates customers about the clay soil in Kansas City and how to make it more plant …

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The Happening (Special Edition + Digital Copy) [Blu-ray] (Blu-ray)
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Have you ever wondered what exactly is up with storage sheds? This informative report can give you an insight into everything you’ve ever wanted to know about storage sheds.

Steel sidings, though cheap, should be avoided as they rust easily. Metal sidings have the least appealing look. Steelwork can be supplied either painted or galvanised. As well as erecting Structural Steelwork, we also complete concreting works, including concrete walls and floors. Wooden garden sheds are available in all sizes. And when we say “all sizes” we really mean it! Wooden sheds need treating with preservative on a regular basis - every few years - to keep them going.

Storage sheds are best built some distance away from the main building. Storage Sheds - Choosing the right shed constructing your own shed or buying a prefabricated storage shed kit can be daunting. There are many styles, material, and sizes to choose from. Storage sheds can be permanent or portable. Permanent storage sheds made of wood, metal, concrete or masonry block are permanently fixed to the ground.

Wooden sheds have the natural look that fits perfectly with a garden. The downside to a wooden shed is the continuous maintenance you have to be cautious of with rotting and splitting wood. Wooden sheds have a natural look that can blend in well with garden environments. Despite the strength of wood, over time it can rot, split, warp or become susceptible to mold and mildew, so it should be treated for protection. Wood storage sheds and metal storage sheds are some of the types of storage sheds. Even though Wood storage sheds have a sleek look, but their maintenance is time consuming.

If your storage sheds facts are out-of-date, how will that affect your actions and decisions? Make certain you don’t let important storage sheds information slip by you.

Storage sheds are another way to store your classic vehicle. Unlike your garage, a storage shed can be constructed exclusively for your classic vehicle or if you are renting storage shed space, your classic car may be the only car in the shed. Storage sheds can be rented to tenants or you could put in a coin-operated washer and dryer. With a larger income property, you could install pop machines. Storage sheds are usually made of wood or metal. Wood seems to be the all time favorite in storage sheds, but they will start to peel and crack over time so their maintenance is time consuming.

Building a shed yourself from plans is the least-expensive option, not counting the time you will invest in constructing your outdoor shed–obviously it entails the most work and time, and requires moderate to advanced carpentry skills. Home styles, for example, offers more than two dozen plans for small outbuildings, such as sheds, garages and playhouses.

Storage sheds can be professionally installed as well as self assembled. Usually for easy assembly, the parts are numbered in self-assembly type storage shed kits. Storage sheds are pretty simple to build, but if you feel it is beyond your carpentry skills, consider hiring a local handyman. By getting an estimate of the material and the labor, you can determine if it can be done within your budget.

That’s how things stand right now. Keep in mind that any subject can change over time, so be sure you keep up with the latest news.

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