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Want to enjoy nature more? Do you love the beauty of nature? Many, many people do. They enjoy going to an aquarium, the local zoo and even the pet store. Hiking, climbing or perhaps a car ride are wonderful ways to be a part of nature.

But is there a way to enjoy nature in ones own backyard? How about getting a bird house. A bird house is not only a great addition to ones yard but for very little money can bring the excitement of nature home. And if it’s in our own back yard we can enjoy it anytime; right?

How to Pick Out a Bird House

The size of the yard is a main consideration when picking out a bird house. Simply the larger the yard the larger the bird house can be (or the more bird houses can be used). Too large a bird house for the space can result in too much nature. Of course personal preference always reigns. For instance, it may or may not be your preference to have the bird house close to your patio. Many people enjoy them near the patio because the maid or gardener will clean up after the birds; but, on the other hand, others don’t seem to have this kind of help and depend on their cat. Something to think about.

Where you plan to put the bird house is another major consideration. If the spot is pre-existing, such as a tree, the spot may determine size. If it is to be free standing then the size can vary with taste.

The next consideration about size goes to the bird seed budget. Since part of the use for a bird house is to feed the birds the cost of the bird seed can become a factor. Chances are the bigger the bird house or the more bird houses you have the more bird seed used and the more expense involved.

After making a size decision, model comes next. The style of house can be determined by the kind of bird you want to attract. Of course, the type of bird seed you use will attract different birds. Most pet or bird stores have a wide variety of seed mixes that will attract different birds. But remember you will only attract first the birds that are common to your area so plan accordingly and remember that certain birds like certain types of houses and seed.

Now the fun part comes in. Once the bird house is installed and filled with seed it is time to watch and enjoy. The wide variety of species that are attracted by regular bird seed is always a surprise.

Bird House Options

Build your own. Many people don’t like the commercial options available or think they are boring. Design your own or buy a set of plans? Elaborate or simple? Bird houses can be built to whatever size, style and design excites you. Not only is a bird house for the birds but it is also for the people who enjoy them. However you choose to go, once the bird house is done, nature and beauty brought close to home can be enjoyed by everyone.

If you are looking for general or specific bird house information we would love to have you come visit us at http://www.BirdHouseCompany.com

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Summer Gardening

Late spring is the perfect time to plant seeds for easy to grow summer flowers. The soil needs to be warm enough for germination and the spring rains will help the seedlings get going.

Summer annual flowers include zinnias, sunflowers, cosmos, petunias, bachelor buttons, balsam, alyssum, marigolds, vinca, poertuluca, lobelia to name just a few.

Flowers need at least six hours of full sun to bloom profusely. In very hot areas such as the Southwest and desert areas, afternoon shade is appreciated.

Prepare the soil by digging down at least six inches. Turn the soil over with a shovel. Add compost or well rotten manure and a time release fertilizer per the package directions. Turn the soil over again to mix in your ingredients.

If your flower bed is up against a wall or fence, plant the tallest flowers in the back, medium tall in the middle and short or spreading flowers in the front. The tall flowers can use the wall to lean on and won’t shade the shorter flowers.

If your flower bed is in the middle of the yard, plant the tall flowers in the center, surrounded by medium tall flowers and then ringed by the shorter and spreading flowers.

Throw caution to the wind and plant a splashy mix of all different colors, much like you’d find in a meadow. Or plant in coordinated colors. All pastels are very pretty. Pick a two bright opposing colors like red and blue and fill in with plenty of white. Orange and purple work well too with lots of white or cream. Or pick all shades of the same color like blue and then use a pop of yellow every once in awhile.

Plant seeds three times as closely as the seed package says. That gives you extra seedlings because you’ll lose some to the birds and bugs. Cover the seeds as directed and then add a layer of mulch on top. Water thoroughly. Only water when the soil looks dry not on a schedule. Too much water can be as bad for baby plants as not enough water.

After the seeds have sprouted wait until they have at least four true leaves then thin to the desired spacing. Shorter flowers can be spaced to six inches apart. Medium flowers can be 12 inches apart and space tall flowers about 18 inches apart.

One of the nicest things about summer flowers is that the more you pick them for bouquets the longer they’ll stay in bloom. The purpose of a flower, from the plant’s point of view, is to set seeds. Once that’s done the plant will stop blooming. If you remove the flowers the plant will keep on blooming.

After the first rush of blooms cut the flowers back by about half and you should be able to force a second bloom. It won’t be quite as extravagant as the first bloom but will still be lovely.

Late spring is the time to plant your summer flower seeds for an extravagant display all summer.

Find more tips from Dee Power on growing strawberries at http://www.easygardencare.com.

I have been growing tomatoes in patio containers and pots this year with some success. I also have my beloved plot with tomatoes growing in the ground. I know the ones in the ground will work fine – they have done for thirty years. But growing my tomatoes in containers is anew departure for me.

The comparison between the pot grown tomato and those in the ground.

I grew 2 varieties this year moneymaker and an Italian cherry tomato variety. I cannot remember the name but they came free with a magazine. I sowed the seeds in March 2008 and grew them on in my conservatory in 6 inch pots. As Always I grew too many tomato plants and gave 20 away. I planted them out as 2 – 3 foot high plants in early June and a month later picked the first tomatoes. As I speak in late august I still have many fruits to pick so it has been a good year. The plants grown in containers have had similar results but I have noticed 2 differences.

Firstly the moneymaker tomatoes were slightly smaller than the ones grown on my plot.

Secondly there were not quite as many cherry tomatoes in the containers.

Other than that the results were very similar. The taste is uniformly excellent and the texture and color very appetizing. For the container grown tomatoes I did treat them differently and with a bit more care.

1. Make sure you put tomato plants in a really big pot.

I like the root systems to have plenty of room and not become pot bound. You also need a big container to have enough depth for the support canes. I use standard clay terracotta pots but any wide and deep container will work fine.

2. Water your tomatoes even if it rains.

We have had a dreadful summer in the UK this year and it has rained constantly. I still found that the pot grown tomato plants were wilting a bit if I didn’t check them for watering. The plants in the veg plot did not need this. The reason for this is that the leaves of the tomato plants deflect much of the water away from the pot. Very little water gets to the root of the plants. This is why I check them daily.

3. Be ruthless with pinching out side shoots on the tomato plants.

I only pinch out once or twice a season when growing tomatoes in the ground because they seem to do fine. I have learned this through trial and error. The moneymaker plants in pots were pinched out once a week to ensure that the fruits I did get were big enough and juicy enough. I never bother pinching out cherry tomatoes. They take care of themselves and always give plenty of harvest.

4. Remove excess foliage once you have the tomato fruits.

I have always done this to tomatoes and do not know where I picked this tip up. Once you have all the tomatoes set on the plant remove any leaves that are hiding the fruit from the sun. I prefer the tomatoes to ripen on the plant and this helps speed up the ripening process. Removing the leaves also gives you slightly bigger tomatoes.

If you have missed this tomato season then I encourage you to plan ahead for your tomato growing in 2009. Grow some in pots and containers as well as in the ground. They are a lot of fun and be grown on any sunny spot you have.

You can grow plants in containers very easily and without a large garden. Tomatoes are particularly suitable for growing in containers. For more gardening tips you can visit http://www.your-gardening-tips.com
Organic Vegetable Gardening

Imagine eating luscious red strawberries fresh from your garden still warm from the sun. What a treat and that treat can be yours. Here are easy tips for growing strawberries.

Strawberries need at least six hours of sun a day to flower and set fruit. Keep that in mind when selecting a site for your berries. Strawberry pots, those big pots with little holes in the sides are not ideal for strawberries because they dry out too fast.

Strawberries prefer rich soil. Dig down about six inches with a sturdy shovel and turn the dirt over. Remove rocks and twigs and sprinkle in a slow release fertilizer per package directions. Add a bag of compost or well rotted manure for every 8 square feet of your strawberry patch. For example if your patch is 12 feet by 12 feet you would need 4 bags. Spread the compost evenly and then turn over the soil again to mix the fertilizer and compost into the soil.

Plant strawberry plants about 12 inches apart. Strawberries grow quickly into a bush about a foot around.

Water well. Every month use a liquid fertilizer that feeds the foliage (leaves) as well as soaking into the ground. Strawberries have small white flowers between the size of a dime and quarter with yellow centers. Each plant can have from 3 or 4 berries to a dozen. Depending on the variety of the berry you buy, you can have all the berries setting and ripening at once to berries that ripen continuously over the summer.

Don’t over water your plants especially after the berries have set. Mud around the fruit can cause the fruit to rot. Test the soil to see if it needs water by inserting your finger into the dirt. If the soil is still moist up to within an inch of the surface you can wait to water. If it’s dry then water. It’s best to water deeply less often. That encourages the roots of the plant to reach down into the soil.

When the berries are showing a blush of pink think about how you’re going to discourage birds from eating the berries. This can be accomplished with netting held over the berries by tying the net to posts about one foot off the ground. Or you can try using tinsel, yes the kind you buy for Christmas decorations or specially made foil that grape vineyard use.

If slugs or snails are a problem in your area , Set out jar lids filled with beer in the evening. The slugs and snails love beer, will fall in and drown.

Don’t spray the flowers with insecticides. You risk killing the bees which pollinate the flowers turning them from flowers into berries. Use a strong spray from your garden hose to knock any bugs off the plants.

Berries don’t ripen any more after being picked so wait until your berries are a bright crimson red before picking.

Follow these easy tips from Easy Garden Care and you’ll have lush sweet strawberries fresh from your garden.

Find more tips from Dee Power on growing strawberries at http://www.easygardencare.com.

More on Growing Fruits and Vegetables

It’s easy,very inexpensive and they taste better too so lets get started!

STEP 1: Which tomatoes should I grow? If you have a long growing season then you would want to go with an indeterminate variety which grows all summer long. If your growing season is short then you would go with a determinate variety which produces its fruit quickly (in as little as 85 days or less) and ripens all at once.

Step 2: Now that I have bought my seeds what do I do with them? Six to eight weeks for the end of winter I line up little paper cups filled with peat moss and put one seed in each cup. I then place them in a sunny window sill and water almost daily as peat tends to dry out quickly. Make sure not to over water or let the seed/roots sit in excessive water as this will kill them.

As your seedlings grow transplant them into larger and larger containers, each time burying them up to the first set of leaves. The plant will send out roots from the buried stem and will develop a stronger root system by the time they are ready to be planted outdoors. Once your seedlings have taken off and the threat of frosts are over move your plants outdoors for a few hours each afternoon to get them acclimated, or hardened off, before actually planting them in the garden.

Will any soil work? Tomatoes need a rich, well-drained soil ideally full of organic matter, so get started on that compost pile early.

How much sun do they need? Tomatoes require full sun which translates into no less than 6 to 8 hours a day. Plants will be weak and unhealthy with anything less.

STEP 3: Okay it’s time to transplant. Transplanting is an important step and if you do it carefully, you can look forward to an abundant crop of healthy mouth watering tomatoes.

Once your tomato plants have been hardened, or acclimated to outdoor conditions, and night-time temperatures continually exceed 50 degrees, it’s time to set your plants out into your garden or patio containers.

After planting your tomato plants its a good idea to place organic mulch around them. mulch helps keep the soil most and helps keep fruit off the ground, preventing rotting. The advantages to Mulching is that the soil retains moisture requiring less waterings. Also, the mulch acts as a slow release fertilizer and helps keep the weeds down.

STEP 4: It’s a good idea to prune your plants by pinching off the small leaves which appear in the crotch above a larger stem. Don’t pinch off too many large leaves or the sun will burn developing fruit. Pinching back the top of the plant after it reaches the top of your stake or cage encourages more flowering and fruit.

How often should I water them? Your plants should be deep watered 2 to 3 times a week or more depending of your soil type. If the plant is seen wilting in the middle of the day, ignore it. They will perk right back up by late afternoon. If the plants look droopy in the morning, they need water.

All that hard work gardening is getting ready to pay off and depending on what type of tomato plants you chose more than likely you will have an over abundance of ripe tomatoes.

When the fruits have ripened, pick them by bending back the fruit at the notch on the stem. They can be eaten straight from the plant, or can be stored for up to a week in the fridge.

Tomatoes store well in a cool, dry location. Do not put them in the refrigerator. While they last longer in the refrigerator, they will lose their flavor and texture. To slow down ripening keep them out of direct sunlight.

Good luck and happy gardening!

Penny owns and operates http://PennysTomatoes.com where she sells tomato seeds and offers advice on how to turn those seeds into tons of mouth watering tomatoes. She has written articles for South Carolina Womans Magazine and was a guest on Southern Style, a local show in Myrtle Beach.

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