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Michael Pollan and The Idea of Garden

August 4, 2011 By gzgarden Leave a Comment

Article by Olivia Hunt

Michael Pollan is a prolific writer. He is living at an old farm in Cornwall Bridge, Connecticut. Michael Pollan is the author of many interesting and brilliant books, such as ‘Second Nature: A Gardener’s Education’, ‘A Place of My Own: The Education of an Amateur Builder’, ‘The Botany of Desire: A Plant’s-Eye View of the World’ and ‘The Idea of a Garden’.

The book consists of stories where people retell what they have heard. Including historical and current issues and giving several genres, ‘The Idea of a Garden’ challenges people to investigate more attentively the variety of environments that we are surrounded by, the complication features of those environments, and our attitude to them.

In his book Michael Pollan proposes a metaphor that is appropriate to the environment issues – a nature as a garden. For Pollan gardening is not only the very act of this action but it is also the interaction with the nature and its sources. This kind of a metaphor gives local answers according to local conditions. This notion assumes anthropocentrism as inevitable process, while accepting people’s interdependence with life, health and survival. Moreover, it values other life forms’ wildness, for example, the wildness of water, air and soil. People interact with the nature and have ‘misunderstandings’ with it. In other words, this battle could be won or could be lost. Everything depends on the humanity – on the moderate usage of land resources, on the attentive approach to environmental issues and timely solutions.

The garden metaphor makes the demarcation between the intervention of humanity and the nature intervention giving examples of the second one for creating the balance in nature. However, Michael Pollan points out the significance of culture as a phenomenon and as a part of the garden preservation. This is the culture, which is used for teaching people how to live in harmony with nature, how to share the experience of past generations. It has its history in which there are numbers of mistakes that we should remember and avoid for making this world a garden of nature.

Summarizing, our land is a garden, which must be protected. This underlines the necessity for conservationists to be more serious in the issues of protecting wildlife and natural habitat and to present their ideas to a wide audience.

The article was produced by the writer of Essay-Paper.net. Olivia Hunt is a 4-years experienced freelance writer and a senior manager of Custom Essay Writing Service. Contact her to get information about essay writing service and online writing at our website.










Dylan Moran. Gardening Gardening Death. On Tour NOW – dates and tickets… www.mickperrin.com

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Pot Herb Gardens

August 3, 2011 By gzgarden Leave a Comment

Many of you who are reading this article are already growing your own herbs… or at a minimum, enjoying fresh herbs in one fashion or the other. If so, by now you enjoyed the many benefits that Mother Nature’s hardest working – and least finicky – plants offer. Simply put, they make our food taste better; make the air we breathe sweeter and more fragrant; keep us healthier; and improve the beauty of our surroundings. However, you may not have given a great deal of thought to why herbalists, like me, genuinely prefer pot herb gardens over all others.

If not, I hope you’ll take a few minutes to learn why it simply doesn’t make sense – at least in my opinion – to grow herbs anywhere else but pots – even if you have acres of land available!

Following are several quick and straightforward reasons for getting into container herb gardening.

1.

City dwellers, apartment residents, and “small home” owners – or anyone with limited space – can grow fresh herbs! Compact pots can be placed on balconies, railings, windowsills, decks, living room floors… you name it. No direct sunshine? No problem. Just set your pots under artificial sun lamps and you’re good to go! It’s like having your own portable farm!

2. Pots offer greater flexibility, portability, and longevity. Start your herbs indoors or outdoors – the choice is yours. Then, when weather – or desire – dictates, move them in or out. Also, since the vast majority of herbs are perennials (i.e. they “come back” year after year as opposed to annuals that live one season and die off), they’re like the gifts that keep on giving!

However, if planted in the ground outside, your herbs would go dormant during the winter months (unless you live in a very mild climate) and you’d have to wait until spring for them to come back.

So, why settle for fresh herbs several months when you can have them year round simply by planting them in pots!

3. Pots are pretty. Okay, this one is a bit of a stretch, but worth mentioning. Although your herbs don’t give a hoot whether they’re planted in a tin coffee can or a fancy urn (and they’ll do just as well in either), you might. After all, there’s a good chance you’ll be looking at your herbs for a very long time, so why not let select pots that enhance the look and feel of your home as well? I happen to be a “container fanatic” – I absolutely love beautiful Mexican pottery, ceramic urns, unusual terrariums, simple terra cotta pots, and the like. It gives me great enjoyment to create beautiful surroundings (I am a frustrated interior decorator :>), so I plant my herbs in pots that are pleasing aesthetically as well. Additionally, I group my herb plants with other ornamental flowers, fruits and vegetables. The results are often stunning and provide me that much more pleasure.

4. Some herbs just plain need to be “controlled.” Herbs grow like weeds; as a matter of fact, some botanists still consider them weeds (a bit insulting, if you ask me). And although herbs are wonderful “garden mates” there are several that will simply grow out of control if left to their own devices! So, pots then perform another valuable service; they act as natural “containments” for fast-growing, prolific herbs, like mint. But be sure to give your herb plants enough room to stretch out comfortably! (Tip: your pot should be 1.5 times the size of your herb plant). And if your plants seriously outgrow your containers, simply transplant them into something larger!

5. Pots allow you to move your herb plants to spots less tempting to critters. Recently, I mistakenly placed two of my herb pots (containing my favorites – dill and sage) on my deck’s railing. As I sat outside and sipped my coffee the next morning I noticed that one very determined squirrel had his/her little head buried in one of my pots and was happily chomping down on my precious dill! He/She had eaten my plant down to the very nub, and my luscious sage plant was nothing more than a memory.

My advice? Keep your pots close to your home; close to your cats and dogs; close to your broom – far away from “easy-access” critter areas! (What’s even worse is that there’s plenty of food on our deck for birds, squirrels, chipmunks, and the entire animal kingdom. They need to leave my herbs alone).

So, grow those herbs! But please, put them in pots so you too, can enjoy their bounties all year long! Here’s to your happy and healthy pot herb garden!

Mary E. Eule, BA, MS is a professional writer and researcher who been an avid container herb gardener for over 25 years. She is also the author of the comprehensive, step-by-step guide, “The Down to Earth Guide to Easy Container Herb Gardening,” Visit her website: http://ContainerHerbGardening.com to purchase her e-book, download her free herb e-course or to get additional tips and articles on pot herb gardens.

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Environmentally useful garden spaces

August 1, 2011 By gzgarden Leave a Comment

There are a lot of things that can make you feel that you are doing something for the environment. But there is one thing that will not only make you feel like you are doing something for the environment but also, whether knowingly or unknowingly you will be contributing to self development. What could this mysterious element be, if you are wondering, then there it is. It is garden. Now when the word garden crops up the reference is not being made to the little space in the front yard or back yard where a number of plants are grown. No this is a new concept that can easily make you rethink your entire idea of what a garden actually is.

All these elements might not always be incorporated into every garden but most of the time these are the normal things that you can find. Some even have elements that are not mentioned above depending on the creativity of the designer and the owner.

This space can heal your eyes with its beauty; increase your immunity through mesmerizing your olfactory lobes, act as a habitat to many birds which is undoubtedly a sight to see. Just sitting there perhaps reading a book after a long hard day is all you require to feel like a super human. What is more, this has been proven therapeutic to problems related to lack of sleep mingled with tiredness, skin and hair rejuvenation, etc for starters.

landscaper san francisco is an ideal theme to involve you because it has a wide range of solutions to the everyday healing and also because it can accommodate itself into the space without actually making any structural modifications which comes as a big advantage in the financial front.

Thus, what is to be conveyed is that the above mentioned form of gardening is also useful to the environment apart from you. It is also not very expensive.

The Author is a professional writer, presently writing for landscape design san francisco and san francisco garden design.

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Historical Changes at Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens

July 31, 2011 By gzgarden Leave a Comment

Article by Joanne Jones

The Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens first opened in 1893. Since its opening day, many changes have been made. New greenhouses have been added and rooms have been redesigned over the years. The following is a review of the changes that have taken place at Phipps since its opening day.

From 1896 to 1897, construction took place on the very first addition to the conservatory. The new room was named the South Conservatory and it was quite large in size. Then, in the late 1930′s, glass and brick walls were added to the South Conservatory in order to split it into three rooms. The two new rooms that were created were called the Tropical Fruit and Spice Room (located to the right of the South Conservatory) and the Gallery (found on the left).

In 1902, a second addition to the Phipps Conservatory was built. Its original name was the Cacti House, but it is now called the Desert Room. At first, visitors could not walk around in the Cacti House; they could only see it from a terrace that looked out over the room. It wasn’t until the late 1930′s that visitors were able to walk through the Cacti House to see the plants up close.

Aquatic gardens were added later. The first pool was built in 1910 and the second pool was built in 1939. In 1996, a statue of Neptune (the Roman god of the sea) was restored and moved from Highland Park to the second pool. The aquatic gardens remain a favourite of many visitors to the conservatory.

In 1939 the Cloister Garden was added to the Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens. A 17th century book called Hortus Floridus, which featured illustrations of botanical art, inspired the greenhouse. Then in 1966, the room was redesigned. It is now called the Broderie Room and is sometimes referred to as Parterre de Broderie. Translated to English, it means “embroidery on earth.”

Like many other greenhouses at Phipps, the Sunken Garden originally had a different name and has been remodeled over time. Its first name was the Charleston Garden and later it was renamed the Cascade Garden. The garden at that time had water flowing down concrete steps and the back wall was modeled after a Southern mansion. In 1963, the garden was redesigned and renamed the Sunken Garden. It now features a stream in the middle of the garden, with three brick fountains rising up from the stream and garden beds along the sides of the room.

Even the outdoor gardens have been remodeled. The Perennial Garden was renamed the Outdoor Garden and in 1986, it was expanded to cover one acre. It used the original hardscape created in 1935. The Outdoor Garden now features fountains, herb and medicinal gardens, conifers, wildflowers and more. Its breathtaking views make it a popular place to book outdoor weddings and other functions.

Construction efforts from May to September of 1991 concentrated on turning a storage area into the present day Japanese Courtyard Garden. Hoichi Kurisu, who has won several awards, designed the garden. He was able to transform a small space into a serene landscape that includes a pond, stream and wooden bridge.

Another important update at the Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens has been the restoration of the Phipps Hall of Botany, which was completed in January of 1999. It was originally built in 1901 to teach botany to high school students. The City of Pittsburgh later took over the building in order to use it for administrative offices.

In 1967, the original entrance was replaced with a new entrance in order to create space for offices and meeting rooms. In 2004, work began to update the look of the entrance so that it was more interesting and would compliment the original design done by the Lord and Burnham firm in 1893. The work was finished in March of 2005. Not only was the design updated, but it also incorporated environmentally friendly practices to make the new addition LEED Certified (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design).

Starting in 2007, the Phipps Conservatory began a multi-year expansion project. This project will concentrate on creating new office and educational spaces. It will be interesting to see what the new space will look like when the work is completed in 2010.

Learn more about the history of the Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Garden. Once there, you will also find amazing photos of both the indoor and outdoor gardens at Phipps. Then take your time to check out our Picture Gallery for reviews of other gardens and conservatories around the world.










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The Many Functions of a Garden

July 30, 2011 By gzgarden Leave a Comment

Article by Benedict Yossarian

A Garden on its Own

If you grew up in a house with a garden, then you would appreciate the peace and solace that a garden can give; the fun and enjoyment that a garden plays hosts to in events and parties, there are many, many ways to use a garden. You just have to learn to sit back and appreciate what you have in order to see how much of a difference having a garden could give. By itself, a garden is where you can rest, relax and appreciate nature for itself; take a fresh breath of air, and by taking care of it, give back some of that nurturing that nature bestows upon us.

The Garden and You

You do no need some elaborate plan or expensive equipment just so you can appreciate your garden. Just pull out a nice comfortable chair unto your garden, grab a book and experience the feel of reading in such a beautiful atmosphere. You do not even need a book, you can just go there and rest, the fresh clean air is always good for the lungs and is very relaxing too. If you have a large enough space, you can do some of your hobbies in the garden too. If you have pets, then a clean garden is a good place to play with them. You can even train them tricks in a peaceful garden since they will not be distracted.

If you like to draw or write, being in the presence of nature could be quite the inspiring feeling. You will not even need special lighting since sunlight is bright and easy on the eyes. Roll out a blanket and whip out some snacks to give yourself a private picnic. One way or the other, you can turn your garden to your personal vacation spot. This is how you can truly appreciate the garden on your own.

Bringing More to Your Garden

Taking your friends and your family to a garden is quite a refreshing experience. You all get to enjoy nature and its beauty together. You can hold a grill or a small party in the outdoor settings. The open air is perfect for grills and barbecues since the smoke will not stay in the confines of the house. Just lay out a few tables and chairs and you are ready to go. The added bonus of having a party in the garden is that cleanup is not as complicated and there are less chances of your things in the house getting ruined.

Gardens can host many events; you can go star gazing on clear nights just by preparing a telescope. Weddings are very romantic when held at a garden setting, and the green and white plays beautiful effects on the eyes. You can also have get-togethers, soirees, and other social functions in the garden. Just make sure that you prepare your garden with the right materials and proper maintenance to help it enhance the party instead of being a negative factor. This is why you should take care of your garden, because it can do so much for you. GP

For the best gardening products such as organic fertiliser check out Angus Horticulture. For a cheap alternative to paving why not consider Dekorbeton’s Imprinted Concrete










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Fresh Herb Gardening Information

July 29, 2011 By gzgarden Leave a Comment

Article by Shad Alan

As far back as in the days of the ancient Chinese and Egyptians, the fact that herbs have been in use then, has been well-documented in history. Herbs were even recorded as having been trade items on which tithes were offered during biblical times. So where does fresh herb gardening stand today?

As noted in the recently published “Successful Herb Gardening ~ Step-by-Step” e-book, fresh herb gardening today can be very satisfying. It may start as a hobby but it is one hobby that will soon reward you, not only in terms of enjoyment, but will also give you the actual ingredients for your cooking and medical needs.

Fresh herb gardening will provide you with the aromatic herbs that can transform your everyday cooking into an adventure. Just the adding of a teaspoon of tarragon can explode the flavours of your pot of casserole.

Dry your herbs and mix them together into an aromatic potpourri and it will make your room smell good or brew them for tea. Pound them into a paste or marinate them in a tincture and they can relief your minor ailments to make your life more comfortable. You can even mix herbs into a solution for controlling garden insects and pests!

Why not initiate a fresh herb garden project that is specialized towards any one exclusive use, a mixture of uses or even several of them if you so choose. Herb plants can also be advantageously grown as companion plants amongst other plants in your garden for their benefit and even in containers inside your house.

There are several herb garden designs that you can adopt such as but not limited to, a small indoor herb garden on your kitchen windowsill, a small plot on your rooftop garden or even as part of a large Victorian kitchen garden.

Although fresh herb garden plants generally prefer a sunlit location, some do flourish in fully shaded spots whilst many others can thrive in the afternoon shade.

Extraordinarily, diseases and insect attacks which are the bane of the usual garden plants do not usually attack the herbal plants in a fresh herb garden patch. However, an infrequent infestation may occur with red spider mites and aphids found on the plants that grow close to the ground. The fennel, caraway, dill, or anise plants are amongst the herb plants that may be affected in this manner.

You can start your fresh herb gardening project by growing your own seedlings from seeds or with young plants purchased from a garden centre.

It is an immense joy to observe a plant as it grows from that one seed into a living and maturing thing that manifests some sign of growth every day. What a privilege and delight this experience is. And even more wonderful than this is to be able to watch this “birth to harvest” experience again and again because it is happening right in your own herb garden in your own backyard! As with most herbs, this is all the more satisfying because the rewards from your fresh herb gardening adventure are tangible aromatic plants that have so many useful benefits.

If this article has kindled a desire in you to explore this subject further then it is time to get hold of the fresh herb gardening information you need before you take the plunge into an amazing journey of creating and reaping from your very own fresh herb garden. The good news is that you can access a lot of this information free of charge from the Herb Gardening Site!

Better still, you can save yourself a lot of research time when you get the right fresh herb gardening information all in one easy step-by-step guide for the best chance of success. Then you can start reading and planning your fresh herb gardening in the next 10 minutes. One such resource we would recommend is the e-book “Successful Herb Gardening ~ Step-by-Step” which is available for download from the Herb Gardening Site.

Shad is an herb gardening enthusiast and owner of the Herb Gardening Site. For more great tips on fresh herb gardening, visit http://www.herbgardeningsite.com, the one-stop resource for herb gardening enthusiasts.










Books are what really got me started down this path of wellness and health. They are the ones that made me want to start growing my own food. Not gardening books, but books about food, health and the environment. Here are four food quotes from books that are eye opening and can really get you thinking. For more information, please visit www.UrbanOrganicGardener.com
Video Rating: 5 / 5

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Japanese Tea Gardens

July 28, 2011 By gzgarden Leave a Comment

Article by Russ Chard

Japanese Tea Gardens -An Article By Russ Chard

I am often asked about Japanese Tea Gardens and the Japanese Tea Garden ceremony. Both are steeped in traditions that go back hundreds of years and are not quite as complicated as you may imagine.

Japanese gardens in their most popular form originated in China and as time went by they developed in style and substance without ever losing their meaning and spiritual traditions. Tea wasn’t even grown in Japan until the early 8th century and was consumed mainly for medicinal reasons. Chinese Buddhist priests described their tea making in a book called ‘Cha Ching’ and the contents of this book form the basis for the tea ceremony in a Japanese Tea garden today.

Hundreds of years ago monks and priests were largely responsible for designing and building Japanese gardens and the importance of religion and meditation within these gardens was very important. Priests would take tea to aid their meditation and so was born the Japanese Tea garden and eventually the Japanese Tea garden ceremony.

As a consequence Japanese Tea gardens are very much spiritual havens for the creators and visitors alike. The ceremony is strictly adhered to and is a forerunner of the Tea garden itself. Japanese Tea gardens never appear artificial, a golden rule of Japanese gardens, and must have a natural appearance. This is achieved by careful design and highly skilled construction.

The natural appearance of the Japanese Tea garden it intended to be enjoyed from the gardens entrance which is usually through a gate, along a carefully laid stone path which in turn leads to the Tea house or a small gazebo in some cases. Common ingredients in Japanese Tea gardens are stepping stones, small clusters of trees and stone lanterns.

It is essential due to it’s layout that a Japanese Tea garden is viewed from the path leads to the Tea house, the construction has been done in a way that this gives the best view of the garden.

Tea in Japan in the Heian period was a rare commodity and this dictated the Japanese attitude to tea and its drinking. Formalities were drawn up and the ceremony itself was based on its scarcity. I am sure that if tea had been cultivated in Japan and drunk by many more people than it actually was that the Japanese tea ceremony would not have been part of the country’s history and Japanese garden culture.

There are many fine examples of Japanese Tea gardens around the world. Outside of Japan a couple of notable ones can be found in Golden Gate park in San Fransisco, California and there is a beautiful example as part of the ‘Sunken gardens’ in San Antonio in Texas,USA.

If you would like to know more information about Japanese gardens please take a look at my FREE Japanese garden video you can see it by CLICKING HERE

Russ Chard lives in the UK and is a Japanese and Zen garden enthusiast and has been writing on the subject for the last 5 years.Website: http://www.japzengardens.org










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How Do You Plan Your Garden Efficiently?

July 27, 2011 By gzgarden Leave a Comment

Article by Kevin Payne

You shouldn’t be too excited in starting your own garden. You can’t just roll up your sleeves and get dirty, although this is usually the fun part. There are a lot of things to consider before planting those seeds and watering them. You should plan your garden before planting seeds. There are no rules in planning your own garden, of course. Most of these tips I’m about to share with you are just guidelines to help you maintain your own garden. Creative gardeners read garden design books the way creative cooks read recipe books. Also, to make those tips successful so your efforts won’t be put to a waste after some time.

You should consider where you live. There are places that are too cold or too hot to be able to plant in your garden. Are you living in a place that has a temperature that is bearable by plants? You should ask yourself this to see if your plants could survive in your garden. It would be useless for you to even think of planting or starting your own garden if you live in a place that is too hot or too cold to even live in. If you’re place is too hot or too cold for your plant to survive in, you can always create a small space for your plant that is isolated and enclosed, but sunlight can still come in, so that you can control the temperature. With this, you are in control of the temperature.

The next thing to consider would be your garden’s space. Is it big enough to grow large plants or just right to manage small plants? There are some plants that, even though they look small, require big space for them to grow nicely and/or properly. Always do research when planning your garden so that you won’t fail in making your garden beautiful. Your garden’s space will also determine the quantity of plants that you can place in it. Do not let your plants get too overcrowded otherwise; they will fail to grow in the right way.

After determining your space, then you can seek the right kind of plant to place in your garden. Since you have finally found out the space for your garden, then this is the time to choose what plant would fit in it.

Then, after planning for your own garden, you can actually start planting your seeds. Always remember that all plants need direct sunlight for at least 5 hours a day. If you live in a place where the sun doesn’t appear for at least 5 hours a day, there are plants suitable for that situation. Another thing to remember is that your plants need to be watered everyday. Do not allow your garden bed to be dry but don’t let them drown either. Let your soil be moist always, never dry. Another tip is that don’t let the taller plants block the sunlight for the smaller plants. Make sure that when you plant the seeds, your taller plants won’t have the tendency to block the smaller ones.

Planning your own garden is fun and it gives you the chance to show your creativity. Again, these are just guidelines. They’re made to help you plan your garden into a success. You just have fun and learn from mistakes. From mistakes, you grow, just like your plants!

Kevin Payne is gardener enthusiast, and enjoys helping others get started in this amazing hobby. The newest eBook, “Herb Garden Kits,” teaches gardening and everything you need to know about Garden Design Books.










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How to Conserve Water When Landscaping Your Lawn/yard/garden

July 26, 2011 By gzgarden Leave a Comment

People spend time and money to enjoy the benefits of a beautiful lawn and or flower garden.  The lawn and flower garden are for many an extension of the home. It’s a place to gather with friends and family. It’s a place to spend time alone sipping ice tea or reading a good book. It’s a place for children to run and play. To keep you lawn and flower garden looking great staying healthy requires water.

The amount of water you will need will depend on the type of and size of your lawn and or flower garden. Adequately watering your lawn and garden can get expensive and in many places there are water usage restrictions. Here are some simple, frugal and conservative steps you can take to not only use less water and save money; but, also enjoy a thriving, green lawn and garden.

Select drought resistant plants. Go to your local nursery or hire a landscaper who is knowledgeable about which plants require the least amount of watering. Also, consider this as an investment, considering how much less you’ll spend on your water bill over a long period of time. You will also be amazed at the wide and varied selection of drought resistant plants that are available.

Organize your landscape according to plant watering needs. If you put plants with similar watering needs together you won’t waste water or overwater plants that require much less watering. The reverse is true. You’ll also avoid under-watering plants that require more water. You may need to secure the service of a landscaper if you’re unsure how to organize your plants.

Collect rainwater. The downside of this method of conservation is the potential problem of water becoming stagnant and mosquitoes breeding. If you choose to harvest rain water using a rain barrel be sure to guard against the water from becoming contaminated. You will find with a search online that there are many decorative types of rain collection containers that are available.

Choose drip irrigation or soaker hoses. Sprinkler s cover a lot of area by spraying water through the air, but in doing so, also loses a lot of water through evaporation. Drip irrigation and soaker hoses give you more control over your actual water usage.

You can have an irrigation system put in place that recycles waste water from the home for watering lawns. This type of system is expensive as an add-on. Depending on the system, some will automatically turn on when there is an overage of waste water and or can be set on a timer for more control on the amount of water your lawn receives.  If you are building a new home you may want to include it in the building plans.

Written by frankdeloach

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How to Economically Plant a Herb Garden

July 25, 2011 By gzgarden Leave a Comment

copyright 2011 art of living,PrimaMedia,Inc/Maria Liberati;excerpted from The Basic Art of Italian Cooking by Maria Liberati tm BLOG

It’s been a long day at work, and a luxurious Italian dish sounds welcoming. You pull out the needed ingredients of your favorite tomato sauce recipe from the pantry and spice cabinet. Wait. The spice cabinet? Could that sound any more predictable? I think not.

Instead, picture yourself walking to an aromatic balcony blooming with fresh herbs from decorative planting pots, and plucking a perfect basil or oregano stem from its place. These fragrant herbs are free from pesticides and chemicals, and they’re costing you about a fourth of the money you would have normally spent to buy fresh herbs at any farmers’ market. These herbs could make your favorite red sauce all the more special.

As the season turns into spring, the perfect opportunity for planting waggles it’s eyebrows at you as you read this. Yes, planting a garden can be hard work. No, you really don’t have time for all that sweat and weeding, nor do you have space on your lawn to flip into a construction site. It’s just too bad, because you would really love all of those fresh herbs, right?

Well, here’s a secret. Anyone and everyone can easily manage an herb garden. You don’t even need a lawn. Herbs can be effortlessly grown and managed in planting pots (the same planting pots you glanced at in your local discount store a few weeks ago to notice the cute color schemes). Seeds cost no more than a few cents, and all you have to do is plant, water, and repeat. If you were to plant some of the basic Italian herbs (such as sage, oregano, basil, fennel, and rosemary for example), the whole garden would cost you about – to create.

Mind you, there are a few precautions when dealing with herb gardens. For instance, herbs need soil that is well managed, but don’t let that keep you away!. All you would need is a planting pot that has drainage holes in the bottom to let excess water leak. Make sure the herbs get plenty of sun, as most herbs reach a fuller plumage with sunlight. Most herbs are also sensitive to cold weather, so if you’re expecting a frost, just place the pots in your kitchen or foyer for the night.

Come on. You know you want to. Herb gardens are beneficial and economical, as well as a great way to make your food taste better. Go for it and better yourself, as well as your favorite dish.

 

Written by maria liberati
Celebrity Chef/ Award Winning Author of The Basic Art of Italian Cooking Series books. BLOG & Products

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