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5 Gardens In Australia To Visit With Your Kids

by Trish



There are few things more relaxing and cheerful than taking a stroll with your family through a beautiful Australian garden on a sunny day. Australia offers a wide variety of gardens to choose from. Let’s take a look at some gardens that are ideal for a family outing:


1. Ballarat Botanical Gardens

Ballarat is generally regarded as one of the best cool climate gardens in Victoria. It springs to life in March during the yearly Ballarat Begonia Weekend. With many activities for the kids, entertainment, workshops and tours, it’s a celebration that you shouldn’t miss. The tradition dates back to 1889, when tuberous begonias were first planted in the garden. This was shortly after their initial discovery in Bolivia and northern Peru. You will also encounter plenty of roses, dahlias, camellias and azaleas.

2. The Ian Potter Foundation Children’s Garden

Located at the Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne, this is a wonderful place to begin teaching your kids about plants. The garden is loaded with interactive places for children to explore and play. The Bamboo Forest is an area that is totally defined by bamboo. The qualities of texture, sound and light all change here. The Wetland Area is a natural pond that is full of life. Kids can use microscopes, aquaspheres, nets and a library to learn about plants and insects.

3. Castlemaine Botanical Gardens

Journey around this 19th Century garden and take a look at the original features including Lake Joanna, the rows of oak and elm trees and the carriage drive. The gardens have recently been subject to a massive refurbishment that cost several million dollars. Improvements have been made to the picnic area, parking area, amenities and the garden’s lake. In addition to this, a new playground has also been installed. The gardens date back to 1860, when 25 hectares next to Barker’s Creek were allotted for the botanic gardens. Many exotic trees can be found here, many of which have been registered with the National Trust. In 1867, the Duke of Edinburgh planted an English Oak here. The tree is still very much alive all these years later. As you might imagine, it is quite massive at this point.

4. Morwell Centenary Rose Garden

Located in Morwell, Victoria, the Latrobe Council and a group of volunteers have created three beautiful acres of roses that reside in a park setting. Roses climb on walls and create splashes of color, while the paths below go through beds of Austin, Floribunda and Hybrid Tea roses. Roses that were bred in New Zealand reside at the southern end.

5. Friends of Geelong Botanic Gardens

These gardens were created in 1985 with the goal of promoting the community’s appreciation and awareness of the Geelong Botanic Gardens. In addition, they aim to support the Gardens as a place for recreation, conservation, horticulture, scientific research and education. Volunteer guides give tours for groups and individuals. The Friends Teahouse is available for light refreshments during your visit.

Stacey is a young stay at home mother who enjoys spending time in the outdoors with her 3 young children. She recently employed the services of Premium Pools & Gardens www.premiumpg.com.au to enhance her own backyard in the hope that her children will one day inherit her passion for gardening.

Filed Under: Gardening, Home and family, The yard Tagged With: activities, australia, balarat botanical gardens, Castlemaine Botanical Gardens, dahlias, flowers, Friends of Geelong Botanic Gardens, gardens, ian potter foundation childrens garden, kids, Morwell Centenary Rose Garden, plants, roses, shrubs, tour, trees, visit, workshop

5 Great Things You Can Do With Your Garden This Summer That Will Make It Look Great

by Trish

Have you thought about what your garden is going to look like this summer? When people think about making some great changes to their home it’s always to the inside and the garden is merely an afterthought. That could be something people regret once the sun comes back because they’re going to be spending a lot more time outside. Sitting inside all day when it’s sunny is enough to drive you insane, so if you’re spending all that time outside you want it to be somewhere that’s beautiful.

Why don’t you take this time to think of all the wonderful changes you can make in your garden? It doesn’t need to be something that costs a lot of money and it can still look great if it doesn’t. There are things you can do that will suit all budgets. It’s probably a good idea to go over some things you can do right now. It will plant the idea of making changes in your head and perhaps you might like some of the ideas suggested. Get out your notepad, take some notes and you could be enjoying yourself a lot more than last summer.

Build yourself a pond

They put me here to try to make the world better

When you decide to build a pond you get to put your creative hat on because you can do anything you like. They can be big and fancy like something you’d find in a Japanese garden, or it can be a small hole in the ground with water in it. The choice is up to you and the sky is the limit. They also don’t usually cost much provided you do the work yourself and you don’t fill it with expensive fish. You also need to remember than having a water feature in the garden is a big responsibility if you have children running around.

Paint your fingers green

Your garden might look plain just now, but if you decided to get green fingers you could turn it into a work of art. Looking after flowers is one of the most rewarding things you can do with your garden, but remember that it’s not easy. If flowers are not your thing then maybe you could grow your own vegetables instead. Sometimes it’s nicer putting in all that work if you can be rewarded with food at the end of the day. It’s your garden so you can grow anything you want.

Lay a patio

terrace August 2006

It’s always nice to have a patio if you’ve always been used to grass everywhere you look when you go outside. It turns into a great place to eat your dinner in the evenings during summer because you can buy a proper table and chairs. You can also keep a barbeque on the patio and invite people around for food whenever you want. Of course you can do all this on the grass, but there’s just something about a proper patio that makes it a better option.

Give it the once over

Sometimes you don’t even need to add anything new to your garden to make it look great. Taking away all the crap that’s lying around is enough. You could go one better and paint everything so it looks like the day you moved in. When you’re cleaning out all the crap you do realize you won’t think of it in this way? You’ll think it’s all great stuff, so keep your emotions in check and throw out everything that you don’t need.

Treat yourself to something special

Everything we’ve talked about up until now is just a few nice things you can do to make your garden look nicer. You always have the option of treating yourself to something special, but this option is only available if you have enough money. I’m talking about a swimming pool, sauna, hot-tub, or anything else that would take your breath away every time you went outside. If you do have the money sometimes treating yourself is exactly what you need.

Attached Images:
  •  License: Royalty Free or iStock source: http://www.andertoons.com
  •  License: Creative Commons image source
  •  License: Creative Commons image source

Jeff Kruger is the owner of a famous Mower Shop in Perth which specializes in custom designed turf equipments to make your yard look great. He spends his free time blogging and watching rugby.

Filed Under: Garden decor, Gardening, The yard Tagged With: ;changes, barbecue, flowers, garden, great things, ideas, Japanese garden, paint, patio, plants, pond, summer, sun, vegetables

How to Come Up With Amazing Ideas for Your Garden

by Trish

For many of us coming up with a layout for our garden is a speedy and routine process. In most cases we will go with the normal design conventions that gardens tend to feature (a patio, a lawn and perhaps some flowers around the edge) and will be happy to keep our garden pretty much the way it was when we moved into the property.

Of course doing this though means that we won’t be taking full advantage of the space, and would mean missing out on many of the great opportunities that a garden presents. Here then we will look at some ways that you can come up with a garden design that will be more creative and that will help you to take full advantage of the space.

Look Around

Of course the first thing you can do to get ideas for your garden is to look around other gardens. This will mean visiting friends, looking around garden centres, or just browsing images of gardens online in order to get a feel for the kind of thing you like and that you might want for your garden. You may find a garden that you want to practically replicate for yourself, or you might just spot particular features and items that you want to use instead. Either way, this is a great place to find inspiration.

Use a Mood Board

(moj) FLAJER / (my) flyer

In any interior – or in this case exterior – design, a mood board can be a very useful tool for coming up with a design you’re happy with. Essentially a mood board is a collage that you create by taking images, photographs and words and attaching them to the page. This way you can start to come up with a general ‘theme’ that you want for your garden and start to get an idea of the colours, the features and the ‘style’ that you want to employ. If nothing else this is a great way to communicate to your landscaping contractors the kind of feel you want for them to work from.

Research

Researching what’s possible in a garden and the kinds of additional features and things you can get for them is another way to expand your horizons and to come up with new ideas. For instance you may never have heard of the ‘office pod’ which is essentially a pod that you can place at the end of your garden to create an enclosed working space. It’s very modern and very cool and completely changes the way you view what’s possible in your garden. Likewise researching the plants you can grow in your climate and your soil can help you to get a realistic idea of what you want to grow in your garden.

Sketch

Less involved than a mood board but just as useful is to simply sketch out some ideas, and as you start to find the features and the items you want for your garden you can use a sketch to come up with an actual layout and a plan for where you want them all and how they’ll work with your larger design.

Attached Images:
  •  License: Creative Commons image source

Sharon King is a home improvement expert and says that it is a great idea to try new things while designing. She also says that you can take help from landscaping company while designing your garden.

Filed Under: Garden decor, Landscaping, The yard Tagged With: amazing, flowers, garden, garden centers, garden design, ideas, lawn, patio, photographs, plan, plants, Property, sketch

Zip it Up–Top Tips to Protect Your Plants from Winter’s Cold

by Trish

With winter at its peak, you’ve probably never thought of tending to your garden. However, keep in mind that the cold temperatures this season brings can be difficult on your plants. So to make sure that they’ll make it through the winter, it’s never to late to zip them up so that they can brave the cold. You can also do other gardening chores this season that will ensure you’ll have a healthy garden as spring approaches. Here are some of the best tips to accomplish such things.

Around the garden

If there are remaining potted plants outside, wheel them in a sun room, shed, greenhouse or garage. Although they may not be at their best indoors since they won’t be receiving sufficient sunlight, the shade will ensure that they’ll make it long enough to survive through the winter.

Don’t forget to rake around your garden for fallen leaves because if you leave them be, they can cause heavy damage and may even serve as a breeding ground for diseases come spring time. Likewise, it might be the worse chore for winter, but you still need to do some weeding since weeds don’t take vacations. Most weeds are undergoing their flowering and seeding stages during winter, so before they spread their seeds, uproot them to save yourself from future weeding.

Trees and Shrubs

For your trees and shrubs, it’s all about covering them up against the cold and pruning. If snow has built up on the branches of the trees, make sure it doesn’t turn into ice by knocking it off from the branches using an upward motion to prevent the limbs from breaking. After you’ve done this, you can prune most of the shrubs and deciduous shade trees around your garden, but avoid pruning flowering trees.

Check around if there are newly planted trees, especially those with thin barks, and shrubs that you forgot to wrap. If there are, cover their trunks from the base up to keep moisture at bay. Then, build wind breaks around trees and shrubs that are not protected. Position poles on the ground, making two sides of a triangle. The triangle’s tip should be positioned on the spot that receives the most wind. Then attach a burlap or cloth around the posts, but make sure that it doesn’t touch the leafy parts. This will protect the trees and shrubs from freezing.

Indoor plants

Although your houseplants may not be totally exposed to the perils of winter, they still require special attention so that they will not succumb to the cold. Hence, check all of your plants for pests or diseases. If some of them are affected, treat them with organic products to prevent the pests or diseases from spreading.

When watering the houseplants, do it minimally. The water should just be enough to saturate the soil and drain through the container holes. Make sure not to over water the plants, or else they’ll end up soaking in standing water that can damage their roots. Also, take the time to turn plants every other week so that all the foliage will receive sufficient sunlight. And during extremely cold nights, draw down the curtains or blinds to protect the plants on your windowsills against the cold.

This guest post was penned by Ericka for http://www.steelbuildingsdesign.co.uk/. Ericka is passionate about learning and sharing information about gardening. She is also fond of writing articles about home improvement.

Filed Under: Gardening, The yard Tagged With: cold, Gardening, healthy garden, plants, potted plants, protect plants, prune, rake, spring, winter

Garden Shrubs: Uses and Maintenance

by Trish

So, you don’t have a fence. It’s alright because you can just grow a shrub that you can form into some sort of boundary marker. This is one of the most common uses of shrubs; and many times, homeowners just let their plants grow without thinking about how to properly maintain them. Shrubs definitely have so much more to offer, aside from being great as hedges. These come in all shapes, colors and sizes, and with proper maintenance, you won’t only have a beautiful natural barrier, but you’ll also have healthy plants that are a joy to see.

Uses of Shrubs

1. Forms a Boundary and Offers Protection

As mentioned earlier, most people plant shrubs in order to define their property line. There are all sorts of shrubs that can be used here, such as the King’s Mantle (Thumbergia erecta), which has vivid green and lush foliage and intense purple flowers. Many kinds of viburnums (Newport and Allegheny), evergreens (holly, spruce, pine), and other low-growing perennials can be used as shrubs. For those who want to amp up the security of their perimeters, they can also use thorny shrubs to help discourage prowlers. Examples are rose, barberry and quince.

2. Provides Privacy and Acts As Shield from the Elements

If you have a shrub that you have formed into a tall hedge, it will provide you some privacy. Naturally, you wouldn’t want your nosy next door neighbor to know what you’re doing in the yard or inside your house. (Remember Samantha’s snooping neighbor on Bewitched? How annoying, right?) So, even though you might like to share a few things with your friends and neighbors, you wouldn’t want to share every little detail of your life. Having a hedge will give you a bit of privacy. Plus, the shrub will also help in protecting you or your home from the brunt of the sun and wind.

3. Gives You Pleasure

Of course, if you’re growing healthy flowering plants or lush, vibrant shrubs, you’ll surely enjoy staying outdoors and just enjoying the visual pleasure of having beautiful flora all around you. Gorgeous ornamental plants provide dramatic foliage which are also a joy to care for or prune. Flowering shrubs can also be trained to grow on your trellis, which will really add beauty to your home.

Maintenance: About Pruning Shrubs

It is a must to keep your garden or landscape well-maintained. If you allow your plants to grow without proper care, these will soon form dense vegetation where thieves or prowlers can easily hide. So, here are a few tips to keep in mind.

Home security experts suggest that you grow your hedges to just below 5 feet. More than that and you endanger yourself and your family by having areas where burglars can easily hide. Shorter hedges will delineate your property line while also helping to deter people from peeking into windows on the first floor.

Plants are also best pruned during specific times. This will depend on the type of shrubbery that you have. So, ask an experienced gardener about when is the best time to prune your shrubs to reduce damage to the vegetation. Don’t feel too bad about pruning because this actually encourages plants to develop flowers or fruits when done correctly.

Attached Images:
  •  License: Creative Commons image source

Claire Davidson is a freelance writer who also happens to love plants of all kinds. She writes about flowers, orchids, grasses, as well as landscaping in Idaho Falls and other gardening or planting-related issues.

Filed Under: Gardening, Landscaping, The yard Tagged With: barrier, boundary, color, garden, hedges, maintenance, plants, privacy, pruning, security, shield, shrubs, uses

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