how to become a mud pie maker

For the permaculturalist or eco gardener or just those with a querky creative streak, have a look at this great ebook that shows you how to make garden art or even pots with mud and have them last for years. Check it out by clicking on the title.

Winter Veggies

Now is the time (April) to be planting your winter veggies and keep your garden productive while your inside keeping warm. Winter veggies are great as the rain does most of the watering for you. Now is the ideal time to plant peas and beans and it is best to grow them from seed. There is really no advantage in getting seedlings as pea and bean seeds germinate quickly and easily. If you want proof plant a row of seeds and a row of seedlings. The seed grown plants will catch the seedlings in a matter of about three weeks.

Armeria "Bees Ruby"

Description:Low tufted foliage and globe-shaped flowers. Dead-heading will prolong flowering. Division should be performed in early spring and is necessary to rejuvenate the plant.
Common Name:Seathrift, Sea Pink, Common Thrift
Botanical Name:Armeria
Type:Perennial
Soil Preference:This plant tolerates drought and salt well and will grow in dry soils but prefers soil that is well-drained, loamy, sandy or clay with a neutral pH (7.0)
Light Requirements:Full Sun
Attributes:Is known as one of the easiest grown perennials. Good for container plantings, the rock garden, border, or as a ground cover.
Pests:none known
Good Companion Plants:
Basket-of-Gold, Blue-Eyed Grass, Hardy Geranium, Dwarf Iris, Lamb's Ear, Lavender, Rock Cress, Rock Soapwort
Care:Deadheading will prolong flowering. Dividing should be done in early spring to rejuvenate plant. Plant may rot in center if soil is poorly drained.

Small Garden Design Tip 4

Wherever possible plant large leaf plants closest to the viewing area and fine leafed plants further away. This will give a feeling of more depth.

Small garden design tip 3

Wherever possible try and break up the lines. If you have a long narrow garden have a garden bed that comes out from the boundary and protrudes into the garden, with something fairly tall (1.5-2m+). This can give the illusion that there is more garden around the corner.

small garden design tip 2

On of the most effective ways to make your garden look bigger is to use your neighbours yard. This is what we call borrowed landscape. Im not saying extend your yard into the neighbours, but if your neighbour has trees in their yard, by hiding your fence with plants you can give the impression that those trees are actually in your yard, making it look bigger.

Small garden design tip 1

These days most people have relatively small gardens, but alot of people would like to at least provide the illusion that their garden is bigger than it actually is.

One way to help provide the illusion of size is to keep it simple, and by this i dont mean put a narrow garden bed around the fenceline. Keep it simple by not planting too many different varieties of plants. This idea works especially well with alot of modern buildings with their simple clean lines.