GardenersCardiff answers:

Local garden centres are probably best – otherwise http://www.diy-supplies.co.uk has plenty of gardening and outdoor equipment. It allows you to search all the major household DIY and garden retailers (like Wickes, B&Q, Robert Dyas) and loads of gardening shops using one search.

GardenersCardiff answers:

The Green Thumb, Garden and Pet Supply
(your last name here)’s Garden and Pet Supply
the Garden of Eden, Lawn and Pet Supply
Mother Earth, Garden and Pet supply
Farmer’s Essentials,Garden and Pet supply

maybe these will help or give you some ideas

GardenersCardiff answers:

I grew herbs on our balcony and in my bedroom window (it’s the only place that gets enough sun!)

I subscribe to a magazine called The Herb Companion. It’s a great source of information. The USDA has a web page with links about herb growing too.

Have fun!

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Here’s some links
http://gardening.about.com/ (left menu Garden Design)

You can also find books on gardening design ideas

http://www.squidoo.com/Garden-Design-Books-1

or you can get ideas from gardening magazines

use google images for the term “gardening design ideas” will get some results. Also flickr.com

more sites :

http://www.myidealgarden.com/

http://gardeningbooksplace.com/5-Garden_Design.html garden design books

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There can never be too many gardeners, welcome!
Why do you need the gravel? Is the soil in the walled garden heavy with clay, does it not drain well, isn’t it a healthy soil? There are several sites to help you evaluate your soil and decide to amend or to build in drainage and garden in raised beds.
Soils are made up of four basic components: minerals, air, water, and organic matter. The minerals, rated by particle size are sand, silt and clay. They make up the soil’s texture but it requires all four components to create a good, loose soil crumb structure and be called ‘rich’ or loamy, meaning it has good tilth.
Http://attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/soilmgmt.html – r7
How to, with pictures, on testing your soil
http://www.taunton.com/finegardening/how-to/articles/hows-your-soil-texture.aspx

Soil texture and definitions
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/SS169
http://www.uwsp.edu/geo/faculty/ritter/geog101/textbook/soil_systems/soil_development_soil_properties.html
Using soil test results
http://pubs.caes.uga.edu/caespubs/pubcd/C853.htm
Soil fertility
http://taipan.nmsu.edu/mvpfpp/soil3.htm

Getting the bug is easy, and the first lesson is patience, there will be mistakes. Plants each have their own rate of growth and manner of establishment. Take notes by date and note the temperatures, rain/watering, first & last frost dates, first pest dates, so you can be ready ahead of time next year. Keep an annual spread sheet or a multiyear garden journal so you know what you tried before and when you did it. Especially note the results so you do not repeat trying the same plants and techniques not suitable to your garden.
Look up demogardens growing in your local botanical garden. Most regional master garden programs have these to help gardeners know what cultivars grow best in their region.

Building a good composting site is another good idea or consider vermiculture (worm composting). Making you own compost you know how good it is and you use the kitchen and yard wastes to rebuild your soil.

An herb garden is a good place to start with tough perennials for the core plants.

Perennials can be herbaceous and die down to their crown or they can be woody and retain a large, exposed, living structure year round (although they may go dormant for part of the year if you live in the colder zones).
Herbaceous or deciduous perennials are mint, sorrel or bergamot (bee balm). Herbaceous perennials retain underground organs. These are always the roots but can include underground modified stem structures such as bulbs, corms and stem tubers. Above ground stems and leaves are temporary and die down to the basal plate each winter, they essential vanish each winter so you need to mark their locations to avoid digging into their spot.
Culinary herbs of this type are mint, fennel, oregano, burnet, chives, winter savory, & tarragon.

Woody perennials retain an above ground scaffolding of stems with dormant buds. In these plants the leaves are temporary. Woody culinary herbs are thyme, sage, rosemary, raspberies and lavender. These plants give the winter garden a visual presence and make the ‘bones’ of the permanent garden. They are often clipped into the knot garden hedges.
Thyme is an enormous family divided into bush and creeping types. Orange balsam blooms first while English and Wedgwood bloom last in the bush category. It is best to have several so they peak at different seasons.
Thymes are choosy about their soil. They are shallow rooted so are easily frost heaved completely out of the soil in cold climates. In humid or damp areas they can develop rot. They like sandy or rocky soil that is 1/2 sand and 1/2 average loam. They do not like acid soil so need lime or oyster shells added or grow next to concrete walls.

Culinary annuals such as basil, chervil, parsley, summer savory, and dill must be restarted from seed every year to use for herbs. Summer savory despite being closely related to winter savory is warm-weather annual that must be reseeded.
Edible annuals include peas and edible marigold (Calendula officinalis), nasturtiums, tomatoes and cucumbers.
Http://www.mountainvalleygrowers.com/culinaryherbgarden.htm

Fruit can be anything from ground hugging strawberries and dwarf blueberries like ‘Top Hat’ through dwarf, espaliered fruit trees or espaliered raspberries.

GardenersCardiff answers:

. L. Deshpande Garden is located on Sinhghad Road, Pune, it is also very popular as the Pune Okayama Friendship Garden or the Japanese Garden.

The Okayama Friendship Garden at Pune is named as one of the major gardens of Japan, known as “The Korakuen Garden” in Okayama City, Japan. The Korakuen Garden at Japan has a history of around 300years. The Pune Okayama Friendship Garden is spread over an area of 10 acres, representing the culture & intricate ideologies of an authentic Japanese Garden. Japanese Gardens of Pune’s are the most enchanting and highly developed of all present day gardens. They are known for their elegant naturalism and charm.

Pune Okayama Friendship Garden is a nice and peaceful place to spend the time with your family or friends. The entire location of the garden is too beautiful. There grass in the garden is also lush green and well maintained. There are enough wooden benches to sit and some even covered places just in case of Rain / Sun.

Charges are vey nominal and garden remians open till 9 pm

GardenersCardiff answers:

Hope this will help!!!

More than a quarter of a century ago when I first began to explore the plant realm, I remember a visit I made one warm afternoon in June was to an old Salem garden where sweet William and foxgloves, delphiniums and Canterbury bells, ferns and sweet rocket and a host of other plants flourished in a series of meandering borders . The flower beds were edged with violets which were kept trim and formal by reason of the “bobbing” or shearing their owner gave them on several occasions through the summer months. I recall an espaliered peach tree which covered one side of the old tool shed, but most of all I remember a figure of Our Lady enshrined in a shady corner of the garden. My inquisitiveness got the better of me and I asked about the shrine. The dear old lady who tended the garden told me that she had dedicated her garden to Mary and, somehow, the thought lingered with me. At that time i knew nothing of the tradition of the Mary Gardens of the Middle Ages, but a few years later, while doing some research in college, I discovered a host of ancient plant traditions associated with the life of Our Lady. When my old friend dedicated her garden m Mary, I am sure that she was nor aware of the fact that she was reviving a Medieval tradition.
During the past twenty years, in fact since the founding of the Herb Society of America, there has been kindled in the hearts of gardeners a new enthusiasm for the symbolism of plants. And not the least of those is the urge to know more of gardens and gardening in the “age of faith.” Perhaps the most intrepid example of the present fervor and devotion is a garden established in Philadelphia in 1951 by John S. Stokes, Jr., and Edward A. McTague (two young businessmen) called Mary’s Gardens. They distribute seeds of the more familiar flowers associated with Our Lady and carry on their labor of love as a non-profit enterprise in a most extraordinarily spiritual fashion. It is truly refreshing to read their letters and to sense some of the spiritual fire that kindles their hearts in this confused atomic age filled with wars and rumors of war.

Another significant signpost that warms this writer’s heart is the recent publication of a monumental work entitled Plants of the Bible, Waltham, Mass.; Chronica Boranica, by Harold N. Moldenke and Alma L. Moldenke. The authors devoted more than 12 years of research to their task, with the result that we now have a carefully documented and most readable book to serve as inspiration for all who would plant a Mary Garden.

If we are to conjure up in our minds any concrete notions of the Mary Gardens of Medieval times we must turn to the wood cuts and illuminated manuscripts of the period. The contemporary writings of the Venerable Bede and St. Augustine contain some casual comments and the early herbals make reference to numerous plants carrying Our Lady’s name; but for specific notions of these ancient gardens we must interpret the illustrarions, many of which were idealized and glorified by the artists who painted and drew rhem. It is only natural that they should have been embellished greatly because these illustrations were expressions of devotion.

The beauty of holiness symbolized by flowers was a living part of the expression of the period. Ecclesiastics like Bede referred to the lily as the emblem of the Virgin with the petals symbolic of bodily purity and the anthers typifying the beauty of her soul. Augustine delighted in championing the daisy (probably Bellis perennis), whose yellow center was the sun and whose ray petals were purity and goodness.

The accompanying illustration and the notes that accompany it may well serve to convey something of the spirit of the deep-rooted symbolism which was an integral part of Medieval life. . . .

Illustration by an unknown artist of the 15th century. Art Gallery, Frankfort.

Mary is seated in an enclosed garden surrounded by a castellated wall. Her crown is of leafy sprigs. Nearby the child, Jesus, is being taught to play a musical instrument. At the right St. Michael and St. George, in armor, and, conversing beneath the vine-stock, a tiny ape-like devil is barely discernible. Behind Our Lady, irises, hollyhocks, marigolds and other flowers are growing in a raised bed. Iris is the symbol of royal birth, referring to Christ, descended from the house of David. In the foreground are daisies, lilies-of-the-valley, violets, cowslips and strawberries.

A rose tree, cherries and apples are also featured. Several birds are easily recognized. The atmosphere is a pleasant one and the composition as a whole has an easy kind of lifelike quality not always found in Medieval illustration.

Illustration by Courtesy of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society

One of the early references to Mary Gardens is to be found in An Introduction to the Obedientary and Manor Rolls of Norwich Cathedral Priory, by H. W. Saunders. From this record we learn that the Sacristan had “S. Mary’s garden” and the “green garden” and the cellarer rented the “little garden” or “garden within the gates.”

Curiously enough many of the plants which came to be associated with Our Lady during the Middle Ages and the early Renaissance had been known since before the dawn of Christianity and their attributes were associated with pagan deities. Thus plants formerly associated with and considered sacred to Juno, Venus and Diana of Greek mythology, Bertha and Freyia of Scandinavian traditions were bestowed upon the Madonna. If we ponder the studies of the great humanist scholars and accept the belief that the coming of Christ brought a new sense of values into the world, then it is easy to understand how Christianity flung its shadow over the entire vegetable kingdom. In their ardor to stamp out every vestige of heathen intelligence and thought, the early fathers soon interpreted the folklore and the apparent associations of heathen nature worship with the Christian tradition. In every corner of the Old World, the life and sufferings of Christ and the everyday happenings of Mary and Joseph and the saints dominated the thoughts and the beliefs of peasant and nobleman alike. The age of faith had made a deep imprint.

The English writer Hepworth Dixon has caught the spirit of this simple faith in these lines: “Hearing that the best years of her youth and womanhood were spent, before she yet knew grief, on this sunny hill and side slope, her feet being for ever among the daisies, poppies and anemones, which grow everywhere about, we have made her the patroness of all our flowers. The Virgin is our rose of Sharon, our lily of the valley. The poetry no less than the piety of Europe has ascribed to her the whole bloom and coloring of the fields and hedges.”

However, after the turmoil and upheaval caused by the Reformation, many of the folk names of plants previously associated with the Holy Family were divested of their divine associations. The dawn of secularism, in a large measure, cast a heavy shadow on that feeling of devotion which had previously characterized the Christian world. Nonetheless, in many a village and hamlet in Europe today the folk names associated with plants dedicated to Our Lady are still in use.

In making a Mary Garden today it would perhaps not be practical to grow all the plants associated with the Madonna. Some are denizens of partial shade, others are weedy by nature and still others are plants for special uses such as ground covers. Soil requirements and hardiness are also factors to be considered. If the garden maker wishes a traditional Medieval garden, a simple knot pattern or a series or rectangular or square beds designed to fit the area chosen would be most suitable. Old grapevine trimmings might be used to make a wattle with which to surround the garden. A suitable figure cast in metal or carved in stone or wood might well be used as a focal point. Many of the sweet-smelling herbs of Medieval day could be mingled with the plants associated with Mary. A well designed pool or a bird bath might be incorporated if it could be adapted to the area for such a garden.

GardenersCardiff answers:

Plan your garden before planting it. Consider the herbs you want to plant and what you’ll use them for. Herbs grow in various ways; some herbs, such as thyme, are low growing and spreading while others, such as parsley, grow in clumps. Mint is a taller, vigorously growing herb which often needs to be contained. Herbs are considered either annuals or perennials and many will bloom just like more traditional flowers.

List or draw your garden on paper first. If you know the size of your garden you’ll easily be able to choose the appropriate plants. Likewise, if you have certain herbs in mind you’ll able to plan the right size garden.

Plan Your Herb Garden – http://www.perennial-gardens.com/flower-articles/planting-an-herb-garden.htm

Herbs 101 – http://www.perennial-gardens.com/flower-articles/herbs-101.htm

GardenersCardiff answers:

Go to your local nursery or home depot or somethin and buy them – rosemary is nice too, it will eventually grow into a nice bush that smells wonderful in the summer
if you like or need a good groundcover, you could get some creeping thyme
but they will also have your basil and parsley, and it beats growing it from a seed

GardenersCardiff answers:

There is already a great deal out there on this. Go to your library and for a book on making perfumes. I quick way if you already have something going is to buy cheap vodka and soak the herb in then strain through a coffee filter. I made some about 12 years ago using things like coffee, vanilla extract, and magnolia oil. Remember that good perfume always has a fouls smelling odor in dilute quanties to enhance the stuff that smells good. It is called an earth note. People have used everything from the scent glands of musk deer and civet cats to manure, I used garlic

GardenersCardiff answers:

Nah, they just have maruijana plantations =]

GardenersCardiff answers:

Uncle Jims. They are the best. OK for fishing too.

GardenersCardiff answers:

I did it many years ago so prices different and I don’t remember. Go around to pond places and price the various things you want then see what you can find elsewhere. I will explain. I wanted an old fashioned water pump to spout water into an oak barrel. I found a plastic “oak” barrel on clearance at Home Depot for 11 dollars. I found the pump in a farm catalog for 39 dollars so this part cost 50 dollars. If you get it at a pond place 125 dollars or more. Some things you need to get at pond places like pond tubs/liners and pumps but other stuff you might find elsewhere much cheaper.

GardenersCardiff answers:

To get a good organic garden going takes years of soil building. Start small as a big garden will get overwhelming come the hot part of summer. I would say a garden no bigger than 10 feet by 20 feet the first growing season.

Now is the time to start garden prep by choosing where you want the garden and opening up the sod. Smothering the area where you will have the garden is a good first step or you can plow the sod open and till it in next spring. Plowing is a lot more effective than tilling for killing grass.

You will also need some tools. Get a couple of hoes, my favourite is the shuffle or stirrup hoe. You can find these at any box store. They are lighter and easier to use than the standard concrete hoe most people think of when they think about hoes. You will also need a wheel barrow or garden cart, a potato fork (looks somewhat like a pitch fork but fatter), a shovel, a spade, a couple of trowels.

You will need seeds. My favourite place to get seeds is Johnny’s Selected Seeds in Maine. Http://johnnysseeds.com
Start with easy things to grow and pay attention to the fact not everything grows in every season. Lettuce for example is best planted in the spring, it likes cool damp conditions. Tomatoes and peppers like it hot. A good seed catalogue will tell you such information. You will likely want to use seedlings for a lot of things such as tomatoes. Do not buy these at places like Wal-Mart. Go to a local nursery and tell them you are just starting out and you will get a lot of advice. One caveat, most nurseries (and box stores) are NOT organic and do not know much about organic growing so ignore all advice to use chemicals. But you will find healthier seedlings at most local places than box stores.

Good luck

GardenersCardiff answers:

If you have a few days or a week to wait, lay a sheet of black plastic (available in rolls at home centers or just use trash bags) over the garden when temperatures are warm.
Any weed seeds under the plastic will “cook” and become unviable when temperatures are in the 70+ degrees F range.
Otherwise, boiling water works great or you can spray Roundup if temperatures are warm enough for it to work (when weeds are actively growing).
Good Luck.

GardenersCardiff answers:

I am in southwest Florida, and I usually wait until after the middle of february to plant new things. That gets me past the risk of a hard freeze. You have a chance of frost for a month after that, but you can cover new plants to protect them from frost. Depending on how far you are north or south of my location you can plan accordingly. That gives you time to prepare your garden for planting. Herbs do not take alot of space, so you can use part of an existing flower bed. I find that herbs do best in partial shade here in Florida. The summer sun and heat can be too much for them.
So just get started. Clear out the grass and weeds from a section of garden, till or mix in some organic matter, and get some mulch. Then you can shop for herb plants, which are readily available. Try as many types as you want. Some will do better than others.

GardenersCardiff answers:

The subject is always a noun remember that and u can pretty much eliminate the other words to find it.

1. Trellis
2. Hole
3. Hostas
4. Gardening tools
5. Shasta daisies
7. Herb garden

GardenersCardiff answers:

Find or buy a nylon or canvas bag with a draw string or snaps or get any reasonable container into which the garden tools would fit and put your garden tools into the bag, then, check the bag. Now, if the tools have long handles, you should still be okay as long as the “business end” of the tool is completely in the bag. You could even attach a name tag to your bag of hoes if you want.

GardenersCardiff answers:

Place the gnome in the yard and let her tell u when she see’s it. Place an empty bag under the tree, with some hints as to where its at. That would be a total surprised over it. Make a rhyme about it, and it could be totally silly.

GardenersCardiff answers:

I do and sometimes other people in my family do too. I like to make fun of the holiday especially since everyone already buys everything they really want and need for themselves throughout the year.