As crafty eco-friendly consumers we continue to view solar energy as one of the most important resources available to meet our needs today. The conversion of the sun's energy to useable electricity is a great way for home and business owners to save a great deal of money and preserve energy limited sources. If we could harness it, the ultra-clean power resource that is our sun would provide enough energy everyday to power our planet for a year. We are not there yet but steady progress is constantly being made allowing solar technology to have a significant impact on how we live.One very common method utilizing solar energy is through outdoor solar lighting providing aesthetic appeal and added safety features for the many homeowners who choose to take advantage of the free and clean power from the sun. Now the home improvement and garden lighting market is literally flooded with unique solar landscape lighting options. When outdoor solar lighting first evolved we had to use the plain can-style lights and there was literally no variety or style to choose from.Now solar garden lights have evolved just like solar technology has to include many more varieties of lights, and styles for [more..]

Palms Everybody recognises palm trees, they are the universal symbol for the tropics but many are hardy enough for our temperate climate gardens. Until recently New Zealand gardeners have had only a very limited range of palms to choose from. In the last five years the range has grown enormously as nurseries have been encouraged by gardeners eager to experiment. Nevertheless, palms are, on the whole, slightly tender plants. Those that will tolerate regular frosts of -6?C. or more are few in number. If your minimum temperature does not drop below -2?C or if you are in a frost free area the range of suitable plants increases considerably. There are two main styles of palms; the fan and the feather. The names refer to the layout of the fronds. Fan palms have the leaflets of the frond arranged just like a hand operated fan. The most widely grown fan palm is Trachycarpus fortunei, the Chinese Fan Palm. Feather palms have the leaflets of their fronds arranged along a rigid midrib like a bird's feather. The most commonly grown feather palm is Phoenix canariensis, the Canary Island Date Palm. Palms are extremely important plants to the world's economy. The true date [more..]

People cultivate trees or plants to bear fruits, vegetables, herbs or flowers. It is one of the favorable sources of income, as well as a hobby pursued by a number of people. There has to be meticulous preparation for growing different types of plantations. Many people love to grow different plants in their gardens for self-use or for commercial purposes, and this is done on a large scale. First and foremost, they have to get seasonal garden seeds and prepare the soil for sowing. They need to plan suitable vegetation for their kitchen garden or a big scale commercial production.A seed is basically a ripened plant ovule that contains an embryo. There are a number of fruits, vegetables and flowers that can be planted in a garden. In the summer, the vegetable seeds that grow are lettuce, beans, spinach, carrots, beets, turnips, radishes, cucumbers and pumpkins. Flowers such as sunflowers, lavatera, morning glories, cosmos, hyacinth bean vine, mirabilis and nasturtium grow admirably in a warm climate.There are certain households that depend upon different herbs used in food, medicine, and surgery or in soap making or dying clothes. Herbs are best enjoyed and serve maximum purposes when they are freshly picked. [more..]

The recent question on the possibility of alien life elsewhere in the universe reminded me of the discovery, a bit over a decade ago, of Martian meteorites in Antartica that seem to contain fossilized bacteria. Here's a good link for those who weren't paying attention back then: http://www.seds.org/~spider/spider/Mars/Marsrock/marsrocks.html If those ARE fossil life, some obvious questions arise: 1. Doesn't this discovery indicate a STRONG possiblity of life having evolved elsewhere in our galaxy? 2. If true, doesn't this discovery also validate the theory of evolution, period, by showing it started, at least, happening somewhere ELSE right here in our own solar system? 3. Doesn't this sort of make that whole Garden of Eden thing as obviously metaphorical as my own folkway's stories about the Ginnungagap, Ymir, and Adhumla the giant primordial cow? [more..]

Gardening with herbs, which is becoming increasingly popular, is indulged in by those who like subtlety in their plants in preference to brilliance. - Helen Morgenthau Fox If you're like thousands of gardener enthusiasts, you will definitely want to plant an herb garden. So, start thinking about what you would use your herb harvest for. Is it to give your cooking the zest that fresh herbs can add? Do you want to experiment with creating your own herb tea blends from fresh herbs? Are you more interested in using your herbs for crafts? Or perhaps your interest lies in growing herbs to enhance your health. Whatever the reason, you will need to know some basic information about herbs, their growing requirements and growth habits.With over a hundred plants classified as herbs, you have a wide choice. Once you have decided on the type of herb garden you want to begin with, then start researching the herbs you could plant. Find out their growth form and size. Are they perennials, annuals or biennials? How big do they grow? What is their preferred climate zone, soil conditions, light and water requirements. Are the plants easy to propagate, and what is the [more..]

I have just taken up pottery, and often throw pots on my potters wheel in the garden shed. I light a few candles, have a glass or two of port and put some music on my gramophone player. Anyhow, a few Gin & Tonics and half a brandy later, I was sure I felt a spirit of some kind guiding my hands and whispering saucy things into my ear! It felt entirely real. I asked Percy; the gardener, about it the next day, and he says he has often felt it when in the garden shed. Is my potters wheel haunted? must dash, I'm making a dinner service and another vase... [more..]