The wormery is a bin (usually plastic) with a lid, and layers or chambers through which the worms move as they eat up the waste.
There is a collector tray at the bottom which holds the liquid that is produced, with a tap to run it off. The lowest chamber has a layer of bedding where the worms live to start with. Read the rest of this entry »
Of the 700 different varieties of geranium, around seven are used to produce essential oils. The most exquisitely scented essential oil is Geranium Bourbon, which is obtained from Reunion, an island in the Indian Ocean that produces half the world’s total supply, and Algeria.
Steam distillation of the leaves and stems, gathered before flowering, produces a yellowish green to brown oil with a powerful aroma. It is a joyful, mentally uplifting oil and a great favourite. Its perfume makes it a valuable addition to many therapeutic but otherwise unattractively scented oils. Read the rest of this entry »
The land surface of our planet provides a remarkably wide range of climatic conditions, and all but the most inhospitable habitats have been colonized by plants. Where plants are established, insects and animals can follow and the greatest diversity of life of all kinds is to be found in the most ideal climates. Read the rest of this entry »
When buying turf, always go to a specialist supplier:then you will have a choice of proper lawn grasses and the turf will be (or should be!) free from weeds and cut to a uniform depth.
Field-grown turf This is the most popular. Usually sold in 90cm/3ft by 30cm/1ft ft pieces, each rolled up for delivery. The pieces will be of uniform thickness.
Seedling turf This comes in large lightweight rolls and is well-rooted and of uniform thickness. It’s raised on special nurseries. You can order exactly the kind of grass you want for particular uses, soil conditions or aspects (eg for chalky soil, shady conditions, etc). Read the rest of this entry »
Once upon a time, plants were never seen in a bedroom. They were considered unhealthy and kept strictly downstairs. They would most likely have greatly suffered upstairs in rooms more often than not kept unheated. In these days of central heating, bedrooms are usually heated, though kept cooler than the rest of the house and at a fairly even temperature, and there is often plenty of space to show plants off to advantage. Sometimes a bedroom is the only room cool enough in a house to grow cyclamens or azaleas well. Both are plants which like quitecool conditions. Bedrooms are often the prettiest rooms in a house but commonly forgotten when houseplants are bought. A pale-pink or cream colour scheme for example, or an all-white lacy bedroom needs the contrast of bright green foliage to bring it alive. Bedroom furniture often has large very bland areas of plain colour which need the change of texture and pattern that comes from a foliage plant such as Ficus benjamina or even from a little plant such as Pilea cadierei or Hypoestes phyllostachya. For pure luxury and a sense of hedonism a beautifully scented plant such as a hoya or Jasminum polyanthum or a pot of lilies, or ‘Paperwhite’ narcissi in spring, make spectacular bedroom plants. Read the rest of this entry »
Finding a plant to suit every situation in the house might sound impossible; so few rooms have the perfect environment. If we have a few failures we tend to become discouraged. However there are dozens of plants which are quite happy in extreme conditions from hot and dry to dark and humid and there are many easy plants which are not in the least bit fussy about where they live. Sort out your problem areas and you will find there are plants which will make the most of them.
Bathrooms seem to be the perfect environment for plants. All that warmth and water splashing about makes us feel that anything growing there will thrive. Also, from the point of view of appearance, foliage plants, in particular, are most effective. Their leaf shapes and textures produce a strong contrast with the smooth monochrome forms of bathroom fittings. Read the rest of this entry »
For many years orchids were considered to be the elite of all greenhouse plants, requiring specially built glasshouses and carefully controlled conditions. This was certainly true in the earliest days of orchid cultivation when knowledge of them was limited and the plants obtained were those which had been imported from the wild. However, several decades of selective breeding have produced a wide variety of hybrids for the potential grower which not only produce larger and more colourful flowers, but will bloom more freely, and, most important of all, will grow happily in a variety of surroundings. These plants have an extremely wide tolerance with requirements which are simple and easy to reproduce almost anywhere. While there can be no doubt that the finest specimens will be achieved in greenhouse conditions where the light, temperature and humidity can be exactly balanced to satisfy their individual needs, the same plants will produce a brave show given similar conditions indoors, although their growth may be slower. Read the rest of this entry »
