Create an Inspiring Wine Bottle Garden Fountain

By Elizabeth Jean

Have you ever known anyone that collects wine bottles? While there are many beautifully shaped and colorful wine bottles, there does not seem to be many uses for them once the alcohol is consumed. People have been known to use the wine bottles as candleholders; the candle wax melting down the sides of the bottles make for a very unique indoor decoration. Often people just collect the bottles and add them to their shelves. In this case the bottles are more like dust collectors.

One great idea for empty wine bottles is to use them to create an outdoor garden fountain. Not only will you be creating an uplifting and almost spiritual design, but also you will be helping Mother Earth by recycling what otherwise would be a dumpster contribution.

The Basics

In order to create a wine bottle garden fountain you must first decide on where you want to dig the hole that will accommodate a minimum of 18 bottles, a spray fountainhead, water pump, a sump, rocks, bricks and some pavers. All of your materials are going to be submerged.

The wine bottles will be turned upside down so that the bottoms are at the top. You want to find traditional wine bottles in a variety of colors, as their bottoms are concave. The dipped bottoms catch the water as it sprays from the fountainhead and create magical, tiny, colorful pools. The reflection from the tiny pools that this creates in the sunlight is spectacular and inspiring.

Your water fountain will be circular as the bottles dictate an automatic circle design when put together. Start with a six-bottle core and then each ring after that will double your need for wine bottles (i.e.: six for the core, 12 for the second ring and if you desire a larger garden fountain you will need 24 bottles for the third ring). The first six bottles will be strapped around the rainwater pipe held together with waterproof tape. Be careful when handling the bottles, as the sheer weight of them will make them difficult to carry. Use goggles or protective eyewear when working with glass.

Basically, you want to cover the hole with plastic sheeting to ensure proper drainage. You will then fill the plastic lined hole with bricks to hold the bottles in place, the submersible water pump, armored piping to channel the wiring under the lawn or pavers and small cobblestones and gravel to arrange around the bottles, serving as more support. The spray nozzle fountainhead will obviously rise above in the center. After you arrange some larger, decorative rocks atop the fountain to hide all the hardware, you will finally add the pavers to hold everything in place and hide the plastic sheeting.

You will want to consult with a home and garden center expert if you have any questions about the specifics on setting up your wine bottle garden fountain. You may also do some research online for specific instructions as well as thumb through any fountain project literature.

Delightful Sight

Indeed, the combination of colorful wine bottles, decorative, smooth, river rock and cement pavers is a magical sight. Wine bottle garden water fountains lend themselves well to many different themed gardens. It is a definitely conversational piece as you can talk about how you were able to collect each wine bottle and how you are proud of your recycling efforts. Wine bottle spray water fountains are beautiful and eco-friendly.

Elizabeth Jean writes water fountain and related articles for Garden-Fountains.com, the #1 destination on the internet for wall fountains, garden fountains, and Distinctive Water Features.

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Can We Grow ‘Weeds’ in Our Gardens and Flowerbeds?

I’d just like us to think for a moment what a weed really is. The dictionary says that a weed is an unwanted plant. But there’s more too weeds than just rejection.

There is defiantly a bit of horticultural snobbery about weeds, because they are easy to grow, don’t show enough of the gardeners growing skills. It’s true that most plants that we consider to be weeds are quick and vigorous growers, that freely self seed and on occasions they grow to the determent of other plants around them, such as bindweed, which as its name suggests, grows very quickly up the stems of other plants and strangles the life out of them.

Have you ever bought a plant from the garden centre that grows so vigorously it’s as if it wants to take over the garden and next doors as well? I remember hearing people say that they have a plant that grows like a weed, or they advise others in the garden centre that the plant they are selecting will grow like a weed. Of course this phrase is meant to be negative of the plant. Yet when you think about it, ‘weeds’ are super evolved and well developed plants that have adapted perfectly to suit its environment. Not only are they vigorous growers but they also are very good at seeding themselves. So why is it then that we don’t want to grow these sorts of plants in our gardens and flowerbeds?

Imagine a tub of confined bindweed growing up a wigwam of canes, their beautiful white trumpets nodding in the summer breeze. They wouldn’t look so much like weeds then would they? They would happily brighten up a dark corner of the patio. And evening primroses are so pretty with their big yellow blousy blooms, which flower for a considerably long time because the flowers open in rings up the stem. As one set of blooms dies the next open. And thistles, big daisies and teasels, can you not see a place for these in amongst your more formally accepted plants?

The really great thing about growing weeds for your garden is that the seeds are free. Simply take a walk down the canal, or along a country lane and look out for weeds that you find attractive, and collect their seeds into a paper bag. You will need to take a pencil with you so you can write down the name of the seeds on the bag. If you don’t know what it’s called you could simply write a description of the mother plant or draw it.

When you get home fill a pot with compost and plant your seeds and water them in well. Being weeds, you are sure to soon see seedlings because, well, they grow like weeds, and they have very successful propagation rates. When the seedlings are big enough to handle, re-pot them on and treat them regular plants.

Weeds shouldn’t be confined to only the ‘nature’ area of the garden, they can have a beauty all of their own, and they are exceptionally hardy. And it wasn’t so very long a go that planting grass in the flower bed sounded absurd, and now it’s the norm to grow ornamental grasses; and now its time to liberate weeds and to accept them into our hearts and gardens, and enjoy them.

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How to Grow New Plants for Free From Cuttings

June and July is a great time of the year to collect new plants for your garden. Plants everywhere are bursting into action and actively growing and producing seeds, creating easy pickings for people with green fingers to add to their horticulture collection.

Because plants are growing vigorously at this time of the year, they are ripe for cultivation by means of cuttings. You could take cutting from your own existing plants, or maybe your friend has a plant that you have had your eye on for a while. However, I recently took a couple of cuttings from a beautiful shrub that was grown in a car park on a business park.

It’s a good idea to keep some small scissors, and a few food bags in your handbag or glove box, and when you see a plant that you particularly like, take s few cuttings.

Take cuttings on a cool day or in the morning, this is just to prevent your cutting from wilting. Choose healthy, pest-free and non-flowering shoots of new growth. Cut about a 4 or 5 inch length and pop it into a plastic bag. For each plant you want to cultivate, take a minimum of 5 cuttings. Not all the cuttings may take, and if they do you can always give surplus plants to your friends as gifts.

Fill a clean plant pot with cutting compost. And then prepare the cuttings that you collected earlier. With a sharp knife, cut the stem just below a leaf. The cut needs to be clean and straight.

Remove a couple of leaves above this cut and that’s your cutting ready. Now use a pencil to make a hole in the compost around the edge of the pot. Don’t simple put the cutting into the compost because it might damage the cutting. Firm the cutting in by pressing the compost around it.

You should be able to fit a few cuttings all around the edge of the plant pot. When the plant pot is full, water it well and leave it on a sunny window sill and leave the cuttings to do their thing.

Just make sure that the compost doesn’t dry out completely. Your cutting may wilt in the early days, make sure that they are not getting too hot, and use a mister to spray water on them from time to time and they should revive. One last tip, don’t try to re-pot or plant out too soon. Let the cuttings root system get well established before you take the cutting out from the plant pot.

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How to make Apple Tree Weights to Train Your Apple Tree

I recently bought a new apple tree for the garden. I have a modest sized garden and it wouldn’t have room for a large apple tree, and besides, my neighbour wouldn’t be very happy if I had a large tree blocking the sun light to their garden, so I have decided to bend the branches of my apple tree so that it grown downwards.

I saw this done to an apple tree on a gardening television program. Bending the apples trees branches over has a few benefits, the tree wont get taller, its fruit will be at picking height and I wont need to climb a ladder, but also the tree will bare more fruits that are of a better quality. Additionally you can keep a look out more readily for spoiling pests and diseases.

According to gardening experts, bending the branches of apple trees increases the yield of fruit because the apple tree then makes less foliage and instead produces more fruit. But also the fruits are of better quality because the tree is effectively upside down; more liquid inside the tree reaches the fruits.

It is suggested to train your apple tree, that you tie weights to young branches. The weights might be half a brick or a plastic bottle filled with water. I didn’t fancy the prospect of attaching such unsightly things to my beautiful new apple tree so I thought up an alternative solution, which would look less intrusive – Apple tree weight pebbles!

I simply took a lovely big pebble; I have a few in the garden that we had collected from the beach with the kids when they were little. They were perfect, large weighty, and had been selected for they pleasant appearance.

I glued the pebbles onto clothes pegs with ‘No Nails’ glue and I left them to dry over night.

The following morning I pegged the ‘apple tree weights’ to the ends of the branches below the foliage, applying one pebble weight to each branch. Sure enough they pulled the branches downwards and hung there pleasantly.

Not only do the pebble apple tree weights look astatically pleasing, but they are also kind to the tree. There are two holes in the jaws of the clothes peg, and one is smaller than the other. I was able to select a hole for each branch they wouldn’t be a pinch fit for the tree. Obviously if it were a snug fit on the tree, the branch wouldn’t have room to allow the branch to grow and widen. A tight fit would also hinder the movement of sap down the branch and affect my apple crop, which certainly isn’t desirable.

Another advantage of the pebble apple tree weights is that when a branch has been trained and stays in position without need of the weight, I can simply un-peg it, and peg it to another branch very simply and easily.

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How To Make Stepping Stones From Concrete

By C A Larson

It's really fun to make stepping stones for your garden. It's easy too. There aren't very many materials you will need to make simple stepping stones so it's an inexpensive way to add a unique character to your walkway.

Here are the supplies you need to have for your stepping stone project: a bag of sand mix, a plastic tub to mix it in, a trowel, something to make the form, and some WD-40 or a similar product.

Here is an important safety tip. The dust from the sand mix contains cement. The cement mixes with water to form a hard, stone-like product. So don't breathe it! Use a face mask or tie a bandana over your nose and mouth while the dust is in the air.

Another tip: Don't wash it down your drain. It may harden there and become a nightmare to repair. Always wash off your tools, hands, shoes, and everything else outside.

First thing: Have your stepping stone form ready. You can make a form from anything. I like to use wood and screw it together in the various sizes I want. You could use any material you find but make sure you can take it apart or someway get the finished stepping stone out of it easily.
Once you have the stepping stone form made, spray the wood with WD-40. This will make certain the concrete doesn't stick to the form making it easier to take it out. Put a piece of heavy plastic on a work board - ½ inch plywood is good - then the form on the plastic. Now you can move it around once you have it full of cement.

Follow the directions on the Sand Mix package to mix it. You want the concrete to be the consistency between peanut butter and cake batter. If you don't know what cake batter is like, think of ceiling paint. They are both too thin while peanut butter is too thick. Add more water or more sand mix to get this right.

Fill your form, give it a few jiggles to get the air bubbles out, and wait a few minutes for the water to form on top. Once the water evaporates, or you mop it up with a paper towel, you can make your design on the top surface of the stepping stone. I like to use the flat back of a trowel to make some shallow swirls.

There are so many ways to finish your stepping stone. You could embed some colorful stones into the top surface or you could write a nice phrase in it. You could even paint it. Once all the water has evaporated, cover your stepping stone with plastic and let it harden until the next day.
C. A. Larson teaches how to do all sorts of projects. He also has the On Sale Blog to help you find good deals for the supplies and tools we all need.

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Herb Garden Design - How to Make a Herb Spiral

By John Beaver

When you are thinking about herb garden design, but realise that your yard will only accommodate a very small area for herbs, and yet you are keen to grow a wide variety to complete your herb garden delights, there is a way to maximise your growing space in a small plot. That is by designing a herb spiral.

A herb spiral is simply a way to introduce herbs into your kitchen garden in a small space, with a spiral of bricks or large stones or any ornamental building material which encloses a heap of soil up to two metres wide, and about a metre or so high.

Basically the idea behind this concept is to provide space for as many different herbs as possible in a restricted area. The shape of the spiral and the height differences that you create provides different environments which you could not obtain in a level small space.

Your finished spiral does not have to form a circle but it is neater and easier to work in than an oval shape. After all the idea is that you can easily reach to the centre of the completed spiral for planting, pruning and harvesting. Where you actually site your spiral will be a matter of your own choice, but if you intend to concentrate on culinary herbs then as close as possible to your kitchen is the ideal. Just remember that you will need a bright sunny position.

The materials that you are needing, besides the wall brick or stones, will be small pebbles, pea shingle, course sand, a non peat compost as your growing medium, some fairly thick cardboard or a supply of newspaper, some composted organic material and some ordinary garden soil.

First of all you need to practise drawing a spiral to scale of 1mm= 1cm. Put four dots as points of a diamond 200mm apart on your paper. Inside each dot place another dot 50mm away and then one more dot in the centre, which will of course be a further 50mm inside all the second layer of dots. Now starting at the top dot, draw your spiral by joining the dots keeping your line 50mm apart as you progress round and round. Having practised this on paper you should have no difficulty doing the real outline on the garden plot using cm instead of mm.

Line the outer ring of the spiral with the cardboard or newspapers to stop weeds coming up. Lay out the outer ring to the fourth dot with your building material (two layers if using house bricks) but gradually raising the level to 50cm and infill to quarter height with garden soil. On top of that goes a 10cm layer of the composted organic material topped off with a layer of pebbles, a layer of pea shingle and a layer of course sand. Leaving about 15cm unfilled at the top.

While filling in, continue to place the inner ring of building material as far as the eighth dot gradually raising the level until you are about a metre high. Finally complete the spiral by continuing level, build round to the centre dot and finish infilling as described. You should now have a gently rising spiral of sand which needs to be topped with about 15cm of your growing medium.

As a design refinement you could make a small pond at the outer end of the spiral. Just dig a hole and line it with a suitable waterproof material, creating a swamp area at the outer edges. If you have electric power available you could install a pump in a suitable pond and have a misting spray coming out of the middle of your spiral. You will naturally have to lay the necessary piping before you start laying your spiral, and of course keep the pond topped up with water; but you did not need me to remind you of that.

My name is John and I've been interested in growing and using herbs for longer than I care to think about. Having carried out a great deal of research on the subject I've now compiled a huge amount of knowledge which I would like to share. To see more great information about herb garden design, please visit my website where there is so much more information generally about herb gardening. Also you will find there are details of a free herb gardening mini-course that I have prepared for you, at: http://www.herbgardendelights.com. I must apologise to anyone who wanted to access my website early in January because it was out of action due to a malfunction. Everything is now working properly. If you were to Google "John Beaver" you will find there are hundreds of us out there, but I am the one on the first page listed for EzineArticles. So if you have missed any previous article you can find them all listed there.

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Kids Herb Garden - Boost Your Child's Gardening Enjoyment

By Tony R Stevens

A kid's herb garden is a great way to give with no previous exposure to gardening the opportunity to see how things grow. For a child who has grown up doing gardening chores, it's a way to share the joy of planting and caring for a garden of their own. A child's personal garden of herbs can be fun, yet provide rewards for work well done.

The size of the herb plot must be one that a child can handle. A plot that requires adult help to prepare and manage is at least partially missing the point of the garden. This doesn't mean that you can't help your child to work in the garden. The space should be big enough so that more than one plant can be placed. Several varieties of herbs are best, since they won't all develop at the same rate. A container such as a window box will hold a fair-sized selection of herbs.

One way to manage the size of the herb garden is to use several small pots, one for each type of herb. You can move pots around to get better sunlight and watering opportunities when you might not be able to move a larger single container. It's important for the child to help you choose the container, with your guidance.

When you and your youngster are selecting herbs, don't get carried away with exotic or sensitive plants that are hard to grow. They should have some variation in colour, sprouting time and mature size. Think about where the plants will be housed and pick plants that are suited to that level of sun and shade. Choose fast-growing plants so that your child can see the sprouts coming through the soil rather soon after planting.

Watering the plants is another gardening task that should be the responsibility of the child. You can teach children how to measure for moisture in the soil. Giving plants regular watering and care teaches responsibility.
Expand your child's interest in the herb garden by associating the fresh herbs with the foods that they season. This can add a lifeline interest in cooking to your child's portfolio of skills. Fresh herbs react differently than dried herbs, but using the fresh herbs can make dishes possible that would not taste as good with dried herbs. Fresh thyme, fresh summer savory and fresh basil each taste delicious in soups and stews.

Children who love to do crafts may want to use their fresh herb plants as gifts for relatives and friends. Dried herbs can be packaged in small containers and given to those who enjoy gardening. Herbs are great for gardening friends or those who enjoy cooking with fresh herbs.

There is a lot of creativity in choosing favorite containers and plants to be included in a kid's herb garden. Children can exercise their artistic style as well as develop a sense of responsibility when they grow herbs. The benefit of getting joy from growing things is another great advantage of children's garden plots.

Are you looking to create your very own herb garden? Are you wanting to grow your own plants?

Tony Stevens is a freelance Expert Author and an herb garden enthusiast who understands how you feel. Looking for good and effective ways to growing a Kids Herb Garden you and your children can be proud. Tony Stevens did the research and came up with some effective methods to get your herb garden up and running in no time, at home that anyone can try. Visit his site today Gardening With Herbs to find out essential information advice and new strategies.

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Build a Simple Wind Spinner

By Jasper Bailey

There seems to be no shortage of fans of the wind spinner. Whether you are a gardener or just somebody who likes a little whimsy and beauty in your yard space, wind spinners have something to offer you.

But the sheer number of choices can be overwhelming! One visit to a garden supply store can leave your head twirling. Do you want the dolphin-shaped spinner or the trolley car one? Maybe you just need some wind chimes. Or hey - how about a dragon-shaped wind sock complete with flapping wings!

One way to get back to the basics of these garden wind ornaments is to build your own. You don't need any special tools or skills. That's part of the joy - and it's a perfect craft to share with your kids.

In fact, once you start down the DIY Wind Spinner road, it's awfully hard to come back to buying somebody else's work!

Start be examining as many samples as possible. If you have an old one around, bring it into your house and study it under a magnifying glass. Can you figure out how it works? Can you see what you might need to fashion one of your own?

Study the materials. How are they cut? Are they shaped a particular way so that the wind will have a certain impact? Try and think outside of the proverbial box. Could you build one out of something that's just laying around the house?

One easy project is the soda bottle wind spinner. It only takes an hour or so. You can whip up a couple in just an afternoon. This particular spinner is a great reminds that keeping wind spinners basic is important. That has always been a big part of their attraction.

You want to take a clean, dry - and obviously empty - 2-liter bottle of soda. Be sure you still have the cap. Using a paper clip, create a hook (not unlike the kind you use to hang Christmas ornaments) and affix it through the cap. Next, attach a ball bearing swivel to the clip - you can buy one of these at any outdoor supply store. They are used primarily by fishermen.

Now you have the wind spinner body. Here is the fun part - decorate it! You can use just about anything under the sun. Try colored tape, construction paper, glitter paint or markers, tin foil, even crepe streamers. When you're done - go hang it from a tree or garden post.

Be careful, though. Once you get one successful DIY wind spinner under your belt, you're not likely to stop there. Before you know it, you'll have a whole yard and garden full of these homemade ornaments.

Got a hankering to learn more about wind spinners Check out Jasper Bailey's Guide to Wind Spinners a one-stop resource for garden ornaments of all kinds!

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Shade Loving Perennial Garden Flowers

By Michelle Day
Perennial garden flowers can add beautiful elements of color to shady areas of your garden and landscape. Many perennial flowers are shade tolerant, and some even prefer shady areas, but you must be sure that the flower you are planting is appropriate for the amount of shade your garden is receiving.
There are essentially four different shade categories that are suitable for different plants and flowers:

• 
  Light shade (also known as "filtered shade" or "thin shade") generally refers to areas that receive two to three hours of shade daily.
• 
  Medium shade (also called "partial shade," "half shade" or "semi-shade") is an area that has four or five hours a day without direct sunlight.
• 
  Full shade is an area where there is no direct sunlight at all during the day, although there is indirect or reflected sunlight available to plants.
• 
  Deep shade (also known as "heavy shade" and "dense shade") are regions where there is no direct or indirect sunlight during the day.

Once you know what kind of shade you are gardening in, you should be able to select the appropriate shade loving perennial flowers for that area. Here are some suggestions of some of the best shade perennial flowers for light, medium and full shade conditions.
Light Shade Perennial Flowers
Daffodils/Narcissus (Narcissus). From fall planted bulbs you will have beautiful orange, yellow, or white flowers that do well in light shade.
Foxglove (Digitalis). A tall light-shade, perennial flower, the Foxglove blooms in late summer, sending up spires of flowers that can easily reach four feet in height.
Columbine (Aquilegia). Native to the woodlands, columbines can grow up to three feet tall and come in a wide variety of colors. They generally bloom in May and June, and thrive in areas with light shade and moist, well-drained soil.
Medium Shade Perennial Flowers
Hardy Begonia (Begonia grandis). There are many varieties of begonias that grow in tropical climates, but this hardy, medium shade loving variety is an excellent choice for Northern gardeners up to zone six. Their beautiful flowers generally bloom in the fall.
Bleeding Heart (Dicentra) - This beautiful plant has heart shaped flowers that bloom in May and June. Bleeding heart plants range in height from just over a foot to nearly three feet tall and prefer medium shade conditions. The plants are poisonous, however, so care needs to be taken to ensure they are not planted in areas frequented by children or pets.
Daylily (Hemerocallis) - Beautiful bright orange flowers that thrive in medium shade and can be propagated easily. In some areas they are classified as a noxious weed because of their quick, spreading habit.
Full Shade Perennial Flowers
Hosta (Plantain lilies). Although hostas are often grown for their wonderful foliage, most hostas also produce beautiful lilylike white and lavender flowers that bloom in late spring until late summer.
Foam Flower (Tiarella). This wildflower has white flowers that grown up to 12 inches tall and are very tolerant of shady conditions. They can be easily naturalized in shady and moist areas (such as along stream banks) or planted in mass to create a beautiful ground cover.
Michelle Day is an avid gardener currently living in the Pacific Northwest. She has written extensively about perennial flowers and perennial shade gardens.

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How to Make a Concrete Tree face

Add character to your garden tree by making it a face. I gave my tree a grumpy face to scare the neighbours!

To make a tree face you will need...

Plasticine

Liquid Latex

Concrete mixture

Steel wire to make hanging loops.

First mould the features of your tree face from Plasticine. Don't make the features less than half an inch thick in any part as the finished item will be prone to snapping.

You also need to consider the tree you are making the face for. If it is a slim tree trunk, you may need to make slim features to ensure they will fit. If it is a fat trunk, you can make larger features. A general rule of thumb is to make the features about the same size as your own.

When you have completed the face, stick each individual part onto a ceramic surface, such as a spare floor or wall tile, or an old dinner plate. You need to make sure that their is about half an inch of ceramic around your plasticine shape.

Shake the liquid Latex and brush it onto your plasticine shape getting in to all the nooks and crannies. You also need to bring the latex down onto the ceramic and paint a half inch area around the shape. This creates a lips on the mould that will be helpful during casting the mould.

Do read the Liquid Latex instructions on the bottle and make sure you use the Latex in a well ventilated room.

Once you have applied the first coat of latex you will find that it makes bubbles on the surface. Blow on the bubbles to remove them. If you do not remove the bubbles you will find that the bubbles will be present on the finished item.

You will need to apply 25 coats of latex in this way. It will take a few days to complete taking the latex drying times into account. It's a good idea to make a tally chart of the applied coats. It is very easy to loose track of how many coats of latex you have added.

When the last coat has dried you can remove the latex from the plasticine and your ready for casting the moulds.

Upturn the moulds in place them in a pile of sand to support them whilst the concrete dries. If you have given your face a big nose for example find a suitable container to fill with sand around your mould to support it.

Mix 4 parts sand to 1 part Portland cement. Make the cement a runny consistency so that you can pour it into the moulds. Once you have filled the moulds, make a little hanging loop from some wire. Make the loop so that the ends cross over - it will look a bit like a fish. Push the crossed ends into the cement at the top of the feature.

Leave the mould in a cool dark place to dry our slowly for 5 days.

You can now turn your tree face out and screw it to the tree. Concrete takes a year to set completely and then it will be at 'full strength' until this time try to be careful not to damage the face - especially the nose.

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No Room for a Pond to Grow Water Lilies

Do you love water lilies but don't have room in your garden for a pond? Try this neat idea and grow a water lily in patio tub.

Find a nice planter that suits your garden, and seal the hole at the bottom (if there are any) with some bathroom silicone sealant. Allow the sealant to dry completely before adding water.

Place the tub in the location where you want it to be long term - Once the tub is filled it will be heavy.

You can now fill the planter with water and submerge the lily in it's plant pot into the pot.

Follow the plant care guidelines when creating the water lily tub and to maintain the plant.

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Garden Habitats to Encourage Wildlife into Your Garden

Our gardens are home to a wide range of living creatures. An average garden could hold over 2,000 different species of invertebrate. Many of these are very small, so are often over-looked. With all this diversity of life it is good to know that very few creatures cause significant damage to our prized flowers, fruit and vegetables, the ones that gardeners call pests. Even better, there are many more creatures that help us control the pests.

Bees Flats

Holes for solitary bees. There are many different

species of solitary bee, all are excellent pollinators. The

female bee lays an egg on top of a mass of pollen at the

end of a hollow tube, she then seals the entrance with a

plug of mud. A long tube can hold several such cells.

Hollow stems, such as old bamboo canes, or holes

drilled into blocks of wood, make good nest sites for

solitary bees. Holes of different diameters mean many

different species can be catered for.

Hedgehog house

Hedgehogs are loved by most gardeners as the eat many slugs, they also consume earthworms, beetles, spiders, caterpillars, millipedes and woodlice. Hedgehogs need a secure place to build their nests in; a wooden box under a pile of sticks and debris in a sheltered corner is ideal. Our hedgehog home has
dry leaves inside as bedding.

Toad hole

Frogs and toads eat many slugs and other garden pests. Although they need a pond to breed in, they can spend most of the year out of water. We use stone and tiles as these provide the cool damp conditions amphibians need. Newts may also take advantage of these conditions. Amphibians need a frostfree place to spend the winter; this could be in the centre of our habitat, inside the base of a dry-stone wall, under a pile of rubble or deep underground.

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Bird Feeding Pine Cones

Birds that stay in places all through the winter need food. One winter craft that students can do is to make a pine cone bird feeder. Students simply need to cover a pine cone in peanut butter and dip it in bird seed. After tying a bit of string to one of these pine cones, it can be hung up on a tree outside. These pine cone bird feeders do not just feed the birds, they act as beautiful ornaments for an outdoor tree.

Garden Art Ideas - How to Make Your Planters Into Beautiful Garden Art

By Anne Clarke

Garden stores have so many different types of garden art for your to choose from – there are beautiful water features like ponds and fountains, as well as statues, wind chimes, birdhouses, and so much more. But why not go ahead and make your own garden art? Why not make sure that your garden fully reflects your own personality, and nobody else’s?

When it comes to making your own garden art, there are so many different possibilities as to what you can do that it can almost be overwhelming. That is why I am going to focus on just one type of garden art in this article: planters. Check out these fun and unique ideas for your garden pots and planters:

The Spilt Planter

Add a little humor to your garden with a “spilt planter.” Find an ordinary pot or barrel and tip it on its side in your garden. Fill the planter part way with soil, and then spread the rest out in front of it as though it has spilled out. Choose a few of your favorite flowers and plant them in the spilled-out soil. Warning: this fun and whimsical idea is one that may have do-gooders coming up and trying to fix the spill… until they see that the plants are actually planted in the ground.

Bathtub Planter

Find a bathtub (a clawfoot tub, preferably) at a thrift store, garage store, or even from your remodeled bathroom. Fill her up with good soil and then plant a small garden! It can also be fun to use a bathtub as a pond. It is even possible to find a way to hook your garden hose up so that you can have water coming out of the bathtub waterspout.

Thrift Stores Gems

There are many other things that plants can be planted into (besides planters and pots… and bathtubs). Why not go to an antique shop or a thrift store and see what you can find! You can plant a pair of cacti in a pair of cowboy boots. Why not plat a snapdragon in a tea cup? You can use vases, pots and pans, tires, helmets, and so many other things as planters. You may not know what item can double as a perfect garden planter until you go out and find it.

Pottery By Your Own Hand

Why not sign up for a pottery class and make your very own planter! Granted, you may make a pot that is only large enough for one petunia, but it is so much fun to create your own shapes and to glaze your pot in whatever color you want. Homemade pots with a flower in each make excellent gifts, as well.

Pot makeovers

If you already have a pot that you like, why not just dress it up a bit? Go ahead and glue a ribbon around the rim or even add sequins, buttons, scrabble letters, or other items! You can also completely makeover a pot – you just need some Mod Podge (a wonderful, glue-like substance) and some magazines. Cut or rip out some favorite pictures from magazines (or use photographs, newspaper, brown paper bags, tissue paper, etc.) and Mod Podge them all over your pot. Use a weather-proofing finishing spray to top it off. (If you are using a terra cotta pot or another pot that breathes and is not glazed, be sure that you heavily coat the pot with Mod Podge before you add your pictures, and consider placing another planter inside the pot to keep the magazine pictures from puckering when you water your plant.

Anne Clarke writes numerous articles for websites on gardening, parenting, fashion, and home decor. Her background includes teaching and gardening. For more of her articles on gardening and garden art, please visit Garden Art.

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