Thursday 23 July 2015

Copy This Idea - How An Ordinary Guy Went From Zero To £50million


The author, Andrew Reynolds, is a former Surrey Business Person of the Year and has won an award for Best Small Business of the Year.  His Entrepreneurs Bootcamp event at the O2 arena in London, raise over £700,000 for the Make a Wish Foundation children's charity, and won awards for Business Event of the Year and Best UK and International Conference.
Andrew Reynolds is one of the UK's most successful start-from-scratch home business entrepreneurs.  He banked over £50 million using the system he explains in this book.  Starting on a shoestring budget, Andrew went from being an ordinary guy to earning over £100,000 a month!  Born and raised in a caravan, he used this system to become a multi-millionaire in a few short years.

This book was on both WH Smith's Best Business Book list and Best Non-Fiction Book lists!  It was also a Sunday Times' Best Seller list for several weeks running.

It retails for £9.99 in WH Smiths, but you can order it here FREE! - we merely ask for a £1.00  contribution to P&P.  This could be your last best chance to escape the rat-race.
  
To order your FREE copy of, COPY THIS IDEA click here.

I've no doubt that a few of you will be asking yourself: what has a plug for a best-selling business book doing on a gardening blog?  The answer is simple: this guy is the real deal, and if he helps you to escape the 9 to 5 rat-race, you will be able to spend more time in your garden.  And that has surely got to be a good idea.






Tuesday 14 July 2015

Salvias


Salvias There are of course scores of Salvias. One of the big mistakes made by gardeners is not being picky enough when it comes to selecting a variety of any given flower. For the ill-informed, one Salvia is as good as another. Not so. There are Salvias that flower for 2 months and Salvias that flower for 5 months; so you get over twice as many bangs for your bucks. Some also have the bonus of being popular with bees, which always adds to their charm.

All things considered you can go wrong selecting Salvia x sylvester 'Mainacht'.  It blooms from May to September! 'Mainacht' means May night and was first bred just after WWII. It is probably the longest flowering Salvia available, and bees love it.

It tends to flop over a bit by mid-summer, but this is a minor problem: just cut out the stems that have flopped a bit and Mainacht will send up new growth from the centre, and continue flowering its socks off.

It has a height and spread of 75cm x 50cm.  Salvia is notoriously easy to grow as it actually likes poor soil provided it has decent drainage. They are also easy to propagate: click HERE for info. It is available from Beth Chatto Gardens. Price £4.60 for a 1L pot plant.

Friday 8 May 2015

Even a touch of blackspot didn't bother this spectacular new rose

Rose 'You're Beautiful'


An independent gardening laboratory grew this new rose for the last two years and report that the truly impressive beauty of the flowers is not the only striking feature of this new rose.

What also was exciting was, whereas most roses shoot their bolt, so to speak, in June and what follows is a sort of sideshow, 'You're Beautiful' was still flowering its sock off at the end of the season!

It also notably shrugged off a touch of blackspot, which, in any case, took hold so late in the season that it was already about to shed its leaves.

This rose is available from Style Roses



Thursday 5 February 2015

Classical Chinese gardens and fountains are more than collections of beautiful plants, trees and water

Classical Chinese gardens and fountains are more than collections of beautiful plants, trees and water. They are representations of nature, providing insight into the philosophical and spiritual mind of past Chinese artisans and high-ranking citizens.

The principles of classical Chinese gardening can be useful and insightful to garden lovers living anywhere in the world. Chinese design objectives can inspire American home gardeners to try something new such as a garden fountain and encourage the expression of culture and philosophy through gardening.

In the 2,000 years since the imperial family first set aside natural areas for hunting, traditional gardens in China have developed into an art form equal in rank to painting, calligraphy and poetry. Several of the finest gardens, built during the Ming and Qing Dynasties (1368-1912), have survived the ravages of time and politics.

Classical Chinese gardens and fountains are more than collections of beautiful plants, trees and water. They are representations of nature, providing insight into the philosophical and spiritual mind of past Chinese artisans and high-ranking citizens.

The principles of classical Chinese gardening can be useful and insightful to garden lovers living anywhere in the world. Chinese design objectives can inspire American home gardeners to try something new such as a garden fountain and encourage the expression of culture and philosophy through gardening.

In the 2,000 years since the imperial family first set aside natural areas for hunting, traditional gardens in China have developed into an art form equal in rank to painting, calligraphy and poetry. Several of the finest gardens, built during the Ming and Qing Dynasties (1368-1912), have survived the ravages of time and politics.

Suzhou, about 50 miles west of Shanghai, is known as "the city of gardens." For generations, rich officials, merchants, landowners, scholars, garden designers and garden crafters settled in Suzhou to enhance its fame. The principles of classical Chinese gardens were well represented in their gardens. Visitors come to learn their secrets and experience their magic.

These gardens provide insight into the traditional Chinese view of nature, which includes the role human's play in the natural order. The gardens hold clues to the ancient Chinese mind through the winding paths, the use of symbolism and the selection of plants. In the traditional Chinese view of nature, humans were equals with everything in the natural world. As the philosopher, Lao Tsu wrote in the Tao Te Ching, "Man follows the earth. Earth follows heaven. Heaven follows the Tao. Tao follows what is natural." Traditionally, Chinese people assisted in the expression of nature but did not impose their will upon it.

Chinese gardens were originally designed to symbolize a living entity: rocks formed the skeleton, water and fountains functioned as the blood while plants provided the clothing. To portray the influence of human beings on nature, architectural constructions (bridges, pavilions, halls, courtyards, gateways, windows, doors and pavings) were integrated into a garden's design. Their purpose was to illustrate the ideal interaction of humans with nature. Together, these elements made up all that is natural on Earth: vegetation, mountains, and bodies of water with gently flowing Chinese fountains as well as human influence. The way they were integrated into the garden expressed the relationships they have in nature.

Gardeners in the West may be unable to mimic the grandeur with which the ancient Chinese gardeners represented nature, but they can include parts of each element. The goal is to create a sense of wholeness within the limitations of the site and to consider all these elements as integral parts of the garden.

Just as a garden's main elements are symbolic of the parts of a living whole, symbols that make up the culture's beliefs are scattered throughout Chinese gardens and integrated into their design. For example, bad spirits were believed to travel in straight lines so pathways were seldom designed straight or flat. It was believed that the many changes in levels and directions made it difficult for these spirits to infect the people enjoying the garden. Dragons, symbols of strength, change and goodness, frequently adorn Chinese fountain walls and roofs of garden structures.

Suitability -- The most appropriate location for every feature of a garden must be found. Seasonal changes in weather and plants, as well as the physical requirements of the garden site are considered. In addition to finding the most suitable site for each garden element (plants, rocks, water fountains and architectural constructions), details such as the size, shape, color and placement of railings, windows and doors in a building, for example, are also considered to ensure complete harmony of the surroundings.

Taking Advantage - The Chinese garden designer attempts to use the garden's surroundings, whether near or distant, to the best advantage. Sights, sounds, movement and stillness, the subtle and the obvious, are used as part of the scenes created within the garden. Many of the private gardens in China were small in size -- no larger than the typical garden sites of single family homes in the United States. It is the challenge, then, of the garden designer to create the illusion of spaciousness by incorporating far-off sights and sounds into the garden's ambiance.

Refinement - To define what is refined in the garden design is a judgment rooted in culture. In Chinese gardens, this refinement has meant incorporating a tranquility, gracefulness, elegance, neatness and distinctness that is in accordance with nature. The expression of these characteristics is judged in China against culturally accepted historical standards. Outside of China, gardeners can define what is considered refined according to their own standards.

Simplicity - To Ji Cheng, being simple means not being extravagant. Resources that are on site or nearby are considered the best materials to use in designing the garden. Rare or unusual objects and plants are considered extravagant.

Changeability - This objective is prominent in traditional Chinese gardens because it expresses the natural law of constant change. A garden design can create a sense of change and unexpectedness with scene changes in every turn of a path, an unexpected or different view from each window and aesthetic changes with each season. Designs can include changes caused by clouds, sun, wind, rain, snow, insects, birds, plants and water.

A garden's plants provide a link among all its elements, symbolizing harmony in nature. Plants are the garden's dynamic, living component.

In accordance with the Chinese view of gardens as representations of nature, the trees, shrubs and flowers of a garden are chosen to reflect the unique features of the garden's region. Most traditional Chinese gardeners select native plants, or plants with special meaning in Chinese culture. Bamboo, for example, is common in Chinese gardens because of the many lessons it teaches. Bamboo is strong and resilient. Staying green throughout the winter, it teaches that one can flourish despite harsh conditions. Bamboo grows in clumps, modeling life in the family. Its fast growth illustrates self-development.

The plants are situated in ways that show off an individual plant's unique features. Their arrangements in the design demonstrate their interrelationships with other species as they occur in their natural habitats. The purpose of plants in Chinese gardens is to reflect the inherent order of nature. More than a collection of plants or even an expression of beauty in the purely visual sense, the classical Chinese garden is a physical representation of Chinese philosophy and culture. These gardens embody the best of traditional Chinese thought and culture, which sees humanity functioning as part of a greater natural order.

Today, home gardeners can apply their plant growing talents in the spirit of these old Chinese gardens by expressing their own culture and philosophy toward nature in their garden designs and by applying Ji Cheng's design objectives. The result will be a garden that unites aesthetics, plant cultivation, philosophy and culture.

Kristina L. is resource for the website Serenityhealth.com, your one stop shop for any type of water fountains and water fountain information. You will find many outdoor fountains for your garden, wall fountains, tabletop fountains and even custom fountains. Visit Serenityhealth.com or call to talk to one of our water fountain experts.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kristina_L

Tuesday 20 January 2015

Burgundy Bliss - Another stunning plant combination

1 - Burgundy Bliss - Pictures

Cirsium rivulare 'Atropurpureum'
Lunaria annua 'Corfu Blue'
Sedum telephium 'Purple Emperor'
Miscanthus sinensis var. condensatus 'Cosmopolitan'
Persicaria amplexicaulis 'Blackfield'

1 - Burgundy Bliss - Care Notes

Cirsium rivulare 'Atropurpureum'

The common name for Cirsium rivulare 'Atropurpureum' is Plume thistle 'Atropurpureum'.

It is an upright hardy perennial forming a clump of branching, leafy stems. Size: Ultimate height 1-1.5 metres, Ultimate spread 0.1-0.5 metres, Time to ultimate height 2-5 years

It's plump thistle flowers, 3cm across in summer, are like round paint brushes that have been dipped in burgundy paint; these often have a bee attached for good measure.

Growing and care tips:

Ideally grow it in a moist but well-drained soil in full sun, but it can tolerate some dryness and light shade.

Propagate by seed sown in pots in a cold frame in spring or by lifting the roots in spring or autumn, dividing the clumps and replanting.

If self seeding becomes a problem, cut back after flowering before the plant can set seeds.

It is generally pest free but may be infected by powdery mildews.
Where to buy: Crocus

Lunaria annua 'Corfu Blue'

The common name for Lunaria annua is Honesty

It is a short-lived fully-hardy perennial.  Size: Ultimate height 0.5-1 metres, Ultimate spread 0.1-0.5 metres, Time to ultimate height 1-2 years

The advantage of 'Corfu Blue' is that it starts flowering in March, a couple of months before most Honesties start to flower.  It purple flowers are luminous on grey days and at sunset, and these are followed by attractive seed heads that remain on the plant well into autumn, or if picked and dried, make excellent additions to dried flower arrangements.  The flowers are highly-attractive to butterflies and bees

Growing and care tips:

Grow in fertile, moist but well-drained soil in full sun or partial shade.

Propagation: on most sites this charming perennial will happily self-seed, but its seeds can be sown in early summer.  Sow the seeds straight into a well-prepared seed bed in early summer, planting them 2.5mm deep.  Thin out as soon as they are large enough to handle, replanting the extras so there is approximately 30cm between each.

Pruning: pinching out the tips as they grow will encourage bushier growth.  Cut back after flowering.

Pests and diseases: may be affected by club root and white blister.

Where to buy (seeds): Special Plants

 

Sedum telephium 'Purple Emperor'

The common name for Sedum telephium 'Purple Emperor' is Orpine 'Purple Emperor'

It is a compact, clump-forming deciduous perennial with broad, deep purple leaves on dark red stems, and rounded clusters of small, pale purplish-pink flowers in late summer.  Size: Ultimate height 0.1-0.5 metres, Ultimate spread 0.1-0.5 metres, Time to ultimate height 2-5 years.

This is a stunner with nearly black leaves and masses of pink red flower in late summer.  The seed heads are also very attractive and last thought the autumn.

Growing and care tips:

Grow in moderately fertile, well-drained, neutral to slightly alkaline soil in full sun.  It is a drought-tolerant plant.

Propagate by lifting the roots in spring, dividing the clumps and replanting. One can also propagate by softwood cuttings of non-flowering shoots in early summer

Leave the seed heads to overwinter, but one may cut back after flowering to maintain shape.  Chelsea Chop: some sedums benefit from being cut back in May by about half their growth.  This stimulates more shoots and produces a denser plant.  It would be worth experimenting with 'Purple Emperor'.  Try it on one or two plants and compare them with the ones you haven't cut back.

Pests and diseases: Sedums may be damaged by slugssnails or vine weevil, and they may be subject to root rot.

Where to buy: Crocus

 

Miscanthus sinensis var. condensatus 'Cosmopolitan'

Common name: Eulalia 'Cosmopolitan'

'Cosmopolitan' is a tall deciduous grass with arching green leaves with white margins and pale green midribs, and compact, feathery flower heads in late autumn.  Ultimate height 1.5-2.5 metres, Ultimate spread 1-1.5 metres, Time to ultimate height 2-5 years.

Growing and care tips:

Grow in any moderately fertile, moist but well-drained soil in full sun. Protect from excessive winter wet

Propagation: by seed sown in pots in a cold frame in spring or by lifting the roots in spring and dividing the clumps and replanting.  Unfortunate, it can be slow to establish.

Pruning: remove dead foliage and old flowered stems in spring

Pests and diseases: Generally pest and disease free

Where to buy: Edulis

Persicaria amplexicaulis 'Blackfield'

Common name: Bistort

One of the darkest red Persicaria, and one that is not too tall either with long slender spikes of flowers are carried above a mound of large, mid-green leaves.  It is extremely long flowering, lasting from July till October.  Ultimate height .75-1.2 metres, Ultimate spread .75-.8 metres.

Growing and care tips:

Grow in any moderately fertile, moist but well-drained soil in full sun or partial shade.

Propagation: Lift and divide in spring or autumn.

Pruning: remove dead foliage and old flowered stems if and when it begins to look untidy in the autumn.

Pests and diseases: Generally pest and disease free


Where to buy: Beth Chatto Gardens