Monthly Archives: January 2008

To grow plants successfully you need to ensure that the soil has the appropriate chemical balance. Some plants prefer acidic soil; others prefer alkaline. You can determine the acidity/alkalinity levels of your soil with a simple test. If necessary, you … Continue reading →

Healthy soil is essential for successful gardening, particularly if you garden according to organic principles. To the uninitiated, one lump of soil looks pretty much like another, hut it is in fact made up of varying quantities of rock, organic … Continue reading →

All forms of gardening are a balancing act between the forces of nature on the one hand and the desire of the gardener on the other lo coerce or cajole nature to perform to his or her command. From the … Continue reading →

The aim of all plant breeding is to “improve” upon nature in some way. Unsatisfied by a dwarf habit or single flowers, for example, the plant breeder tries to alter the gene pool to create a structural difference that will … Continue reading →

From the magic beans that grew into the giant beanstalk in the children’s fairytale to planting your first seeds in the garden and watching them grow, the miracle of a seed becoming a plant has an endless fascination.Children are often … Continue reading →

Water is the key component for both plants and people. We can survive long periods without food, but only a relatively short time without water. Our body weight, and that of plants, is made up principally of water. Seventy percent … Continue reading →

All plants need a regular supply of light, oxygen, moisture, and nutrients to thrive. It helps us to become better gardeners if we understand how this process takes place and how we can help to provide the right conditions in … Continue reading →

Plants have various individual characteristics to distinguish themselves from one another. Botanists have used these features to classify them into different groups. As new knowledge comes to light, these groups change, so scientific plant naming is never static. New developments … Continue reading →

The range of plants available to the everyday gardener includes many species from around the world, some of which are now so familiar that we regard them as indigenous. However, we owe a great debt to the plant hunters who, … Continue reading →