Garden

It’s possible that the blue rose is one of the most well-known rose colors, even though, until Dutch botanists began using cobalt fertilizer a few years ago, creating a true blue rose seemed to be an impossible task. Now, blue roses are available at many florists and make a wonderful gift. However, when you give a blue rose, you may want to consider a blue rose’s symbolism.

The Perfect, Fulfilled Love

A blue rose has several different meanings. There is a fairytale from China that tells of a princess who didn’t wish to marry, despite her father’s wishes. In order to thwart her father’s plans, the princess decreed that she would only marry someone who brought her a blue rose. No one could fulfill the promise, of course. However, when she fell in love with a musician and realized that she actually did want to marry, her challenge became a problem. read more

Gardening is a rewarding pastime for several reasons. It offers fresh food for the table, it can lower blood pressure and relieve stress, and spending time outside is overall good for the body and mental state. Even an utter beginner can enjoy the yields of a successful garden by following these tips.

Siting the Garden read more

If you’re reading this page, its safe to say you’re interested in gardens. Gardens are beautiful, natural spaces that many people turn to for physical, mental, and spiritual exercise, not to mention food. But gardens often require a lot of time, work, and expertise. Knowledge of plant selection and maintenance, as well as consistent watering, pruning, weeding and mulching, among many other tasks, are necessary inputs to creating a beautiful and functioning garden. Many gardeners however are too busy, physically incapable, or otherwise uninterested in gardening. What then, are the options for those who wish to have their dream garden but do not wish to participate in the act of gardening? Luckily there are many alternatives to active gardening that will still allow for a garden that brings all of the benefits without the usual commitments of time, energy, and expertise.
Of course, the easiest alternative to creating and maintaining your own garden is to hire someone else. Gardening and landscaping businesses can be found everywhere and offer a wide variety of services that fit your requirements. The United States Bureau of Labor Statistics for 2017 states the landscaping industry made over $50 billion in revenue in 2012, with the list of companies growing at a 10% annual rate. Average prices for gardening vary a lot by the type and location of work but general hourly wages range from $50 to $100, not including materials. To install a garden from scratch, most homeowners paid between $1300 and $5300. However, more formal gardens may cost between $12 to $25 per square foot, or $25000 to $50000 for a 50×50 foot space. Maintenance costs range between $100 to $400 a month, again depending on the size and complexity of the garden. This is the easiest way to create and maintain your dream garden without doing any of the actual gardening work, but these prices may be unrealistic for the average garden lover. Fortunately, there are still various other options for having a beautiful garden without doing the gardening.
If you can’t afford to hire a professional gardener, you can still enjoy a garden with little to no maintenance effort by following a few simple guidelines. To achieve a hands-off garden, one of the most important requisites is smart plant choice. Plants that require very little to no upkeep are usually native to your area and can thrive in their natural conditions. Other low-maintenance plant groups include disease and pest resistant plants, perennials that will survive cold winters, and dwarf varieties that wont require constant pruning. Of course, even with a perfect plant selection, garden problems can still arise.
Pests (insects, rodents, weeds, etc) are probably the biggest issue most gardeners come across. Even if you’ve selected pest resistant plant varieties, insects can still find your plants and devour them, but by working with nature, its possible to keep insect numbers down. Creating spaces for insect predators is a fantastic way to allow nature to garden for you. Birds and ladybugs are excellent predators that will happily live in your garden and clean your plants of pests like aphids and caterpillars before they get out of control.
Watering your garden is another task that cannot be avoided. Even with native and drought resistant plants, water shortages can still stress a great garden. To beat these droughts without manual watering, rain collection systems and timed-release valves are well-established solutions. Rain collection systems are installed below gutters to collect and store rainwater that falls on a nearby roof. When connected to a timer valve that automatically releases water every morning (or at any other interval of your choice), you garden will get all of the water it needs without any actual work.
Thus, hands-off gardening requires hiring someone else to do it for you or planning your garden ahead of time by anticipating potential problems and selecting the plants and equipment to do your work for you. Typical gardening costs vary by location and garden type, but anything is possible with the right budget. For a truly no-maintenance and no cost garden, plant selection is key, as is understanding how to let nature do your work for you. With a little money, or a little planning (or both) you really can create and keep your dream garden without any of the actual gardening work.

The rose flower is one of the most beautiful and fragrant flowers in the world and considered by many as the number-one floral gift. For more than 2,500 years, the rose has been a symbol of the human condition and that is even true today. In general, the rose represents love, new beginnings, and hope, but each color or type of rose has special meaning too.
Are Roses Flowers With Significance?
Since Ancient Greece, roses have held special significance. During the Middle Ages, people hung roses above a table or sitting room, which meant that everyone sitting beneath the roses was sworn to secrecy, hence the word sub rosa. Tarot cards use white roses four times to signify purity and clarity of mind. Today, the symbolism of roses depends on the color and number of roses given.
The Symbolism of the Rose Flower
In most cases, roses symbolize love in its many forms. Here are the most common meanings:
• Red is the color of romance and love. It is the most popular color given on Valentine’s Day.
• Pink is the color for gratitude, joy, and admiration
• Yellow is the color for friendship
• Orange is the color for passion and enthusiasm
• White is still the color for purity and innocence
Combinations of colors also have meanings such as yellow and white for harmony, red and white for unity and red and orange for congratulations.
The number of flowers you give also sends a message. Here you can decide what you want to say and how to say it:
• For love at first sight, a single rose
• For deep, shared love, two roses
• For those three little words ‘I love you’, three roses
• For I want to be yours, six roses
• For infatuation with someone, seven roses
• For eternal love, nine roses
• For perfection, 10 roses
• For ‘be mine’, a perfect dozen and ‘I’m yours’ two dozen
• For a friend forever, 13 roses
• For congratulations, 25 roses
Are Roses Flowers With a Variety of Colors and Shapes?
There are 150 main species of roses and several thousand hybrids. They come in a wide variety of shapes and colors. Roses are a woody perennial flowering plant of the genus Rosa and the family Rosaceae. They are all shrubs but some standis a rose flower up and some are climbing plants that are often seen on trellises. Most rose bushes have prickles in the stems that are commonly called thorns.

The size also varies from tiny tea roses to large blossoms. Some have single petals and some double or multiple petals. All the petals are soft. Throughout history, the rose has held a special place. In Ancient Greece, Rome, Germany, Britain, Christian symbolism, Persia and even as the floral emblem of the United States roses are glorified. Rose petals are safe to eat and may be found in salads and desserts.
Why Roses Make the Perfect Gift
Valentine’s Day, birthdays, anniversaries and weddings are all important times to send roses as a gift. Other times that are good, but often overlooked are housewarmings and Friendship Day. A man sending roses to a woman may be the most common stereotype, but for a housewarming or simply to express friendship, a woman can send roses to a man.

Gifting one or several roses is always a good idea. It allows you to express feelings without words and are, almost, always welcome. They never go out of style, and with so many varieties from which to choose, you can give exactly the color and number that will please the recipient. Roses are available all year round and suitable for every season.

There is something magical about roses of unusual colors. Given that red or pink roses tend to be the most common types of roses we see, possibly followed in popularity by yellow or white roses, it’s nothing short of magical to see a green rose. It is precisely because they are not common in nature that they mesmerize us so much. It turns out that the symbolism of these green beauties is just as fascinating as their other counterparts.

Green Roses Symbolism Explained

In ancient traditions, the color green is a symbol of fertility, and this is a common interpretation of the green rose, too. Its delicate petals promise abundance, as well as new beginnings. They are the true embodiment of spring’s freshness and beauty. Anyone who embraces the green rose embraces wellness and well-being.

Green is a symbol of both healing and love in certain healing traditions and roses are symbolic of love. Taken together, a bouquet of these green flowers may be just the thing you need to balance out your kidneys or your heart if they feel off balance. Truly, green is the color of harmony. read more

Decorating in plants comes from the idea that what really makes a room come together lies in the details. The design details include all of the little things. What color of lamp shades you use and where you place your favorite tea set will all affect the mood of a room in their own ways. It’s easy enough to try and mix and match until you find the right combination that works for you, sure. However, when it comes to decorating your abode using a careful assortment of flora and fauna, there is a certain art to the method that can be more deeply explored.

Too Much of a Good Thing
How much is too much? Unless you’re planning on dedicating an entire room to becoming your live-in topiary, there can be a point where accumulating too many plants in one space can create the illusion of clutter. Green is a fabulous color to break up a more grey space, but there does come a point where too many plants in one spot can overwhelm the balance of a room’s look. If you have too many plants, due to housewarming gifts from well meaning friends and family, then do not despair. There are plenty of ideas to space out plants, no matter how many you have dwelling within the home.

Useful Surfaces
Tables are quite possibly the most useful surface to place a plant. If you need more space, try opting for skinny tables made from wood pallets and line them along the side of your home in areas that are appropriate for that specific plant. If you live in a much warmer area, then placing the plants that need the most sunlight outdoors is naturally going to be the ideal situation. If you have only limited space on your porch or back seating area, then creating some tables that are sat in a row, with the rows rising a bit more to the back, can create ample space to place all of your beloved plants in one space. read more