If you have children and can introduce them to gardening, and in particular the growing vegetables side, you may well be lucky enough to engender a lifetime interest.  The vegetable-averse youngster is likely to suddenly become interested in eating his/her own produce.  A benefit all round – no more nagging at mealtimes and their health will improve.

The author’s lifetime interest comes from a small patch of garden, allocated at school to first year pupils, leading to her taking over her parent’s garden with amazing results; eventually on to running a small-holding.  Who was it that said – great oaks from little acorns grow?

Children will need to be introduced to quick growing, spectacular plants, and the marrow family is one of the best for this purpose.  Children will need to give their marrow/courgette plants plenty of water.  When you cook the marrow, stuff it with something tasty such as sausage meat.

Another favourite with children is runner beans.  These are again spectacular – Jack-in-the-Beanstalk effect and taste delicious when small and eaten direct from the plant.  Tomatoes are also a favourite.  Pumpkins are another spectacular plant that is also bound to appeal.

Gardening is not the No.1 British past-time, but certainly way up towards the top of the list and comes with many side benefits.

Doubtless we inherited the need to work with the soil from our very early ancestors when it was necessary to produce food to sustain the family and supplement the game, etc., that they were able to catch or trap.

Along the centuries this occupation has evolved.  The Victorians were past masters at gardening.  They invented many of the items that are still in use today, cloches, rhubarb forcers, magnificent glass-houses, cold frames etc. and they probably initiated hot dung clamps where items such as marrows, pumpkins and melons etc., were grown.

Today, more than ever and mainly from necessity people are returning to growing food.  People have re-discovered the pleasure of eating freshly grown vegetables and fruit that has not been raised with the use of a mass of chemicals and has not travelled many hundreds of miles before reaching their plates.  Therefore, fresher and tastier.

This keenness is bolstered by the fact that gardening can only be done ‘out-of-doors’ and away from the television and game consoles, all very definite advantages.  The exception being the armchair gardener in bad winter weather studying seed catalogues for the coming spring planting season.

A lot of this new found interest has been kindled by the TV chefs who now almost nightly appear in our living rooms. Vegetable gardening has three over-riding advantages – the food is fresh, is very cheap and is tasty.

In towns, many people are so very keen to grow their own veg that they will even put their window boxes to good use for growing herbs and a few salad vegetables. Large pots on their balconies in order to increase their growing area.  Those who are able rent out local council allotments and in many borough there is a waiting list for these.  Unfortunately, some councils have succumbed to the lure of big money and sold old allotment sites to developers for additional housing.

If you are lucky enough to rent an allotment, there will doubtless be some old-timers already established on their plots, who have been growing vegetables since the year dot, who will normally be very pleased to give advice and the know how of their expertise and experience.  Then there is the additional advantage of swapping surplus crops.  Many group allotments become their own community centres, with everyone helping each other in all manner of ways.  Some are even so well organised that they purchase tools, fertilizers, seeds etc., and pass them on to their members at minimal costs.  What better than to be out in the fresh-air with your family and a good group of friends?

The demand for allotments is now increasing and if you cannot find an allotment to rent, don’t despair.  Do you have any neighbours who are perhaps not as agile as they used to be, but own a large garden?  Why not offer to cultivate part of their garden to grow vegetables offering them 50% of your crop free in return for use of their space?  This way you will make new friends who will be very grateful to you for your work and kindness and you will have your freshly grown vegetables.  A good way of bartering which will have other spin-offs.

This is another way of giving an unintended lesson in life to your children.  Let them see that as well as growing vegetables for your own family you can also help others at the same time.

Another aspect of gardening to be considered is the money-saving side and so very important these days.  So save money- eat well, keep fit.  Three for the price of one.

Traderdog
http://www.articlesbase.com/gardening-articles/how-to-give-children-another-interest-and-make-them-love-eating-vegetables-751083.html

You are in the process of modernizing your home, and as such you would also like to do some contemporary landscaping. (Contemporary- existing or occurring at, or dating from, the same period of time as something or somebody else). You would really like to do your own landscaping, but are considering hiring professional landscapers because you are not especially familiar with landscaping. So, what you need are some contemporary landscaping ideas.

About Contemporary Landscaping

History: Contemporary landscaping began to emerge in northern Europe during the first half of the 20th century, and combined elements of English landscape gardening with influences from modern architecture. New materials such as wood, concrete, metal and glass, and other non-traditional materials found their way into the creation of this new vitality. Contemporary landscaping utilized variations in scale, time, space and texture to create abstract patterns. Newer designs also created innovations in light and space, often told in color, creating new focal points and visual patterns.

There is actually no one kind of contemporary landscaping, since modern houses love to emulate older styles, especially the English Garden look. If this look appeals to you, consider that for one of your contemporary landscaping ideas.

Most people will say that the point of landscaping is to “beautify” your yard but energy efficient landscaping is a type of landscaping designed for the purpose of conserving energy and to be beautiful.

Remember, if you decide to landscape only one section of the yard at a time, you will still need an overall plan. That’s why when it comes to landscaping put the plan on a plain sheet of paper. So for people who are into landscaping, it is best to have a copy of some of the landscaping books that are available in the market.

Best of all, landscaping books do not just provide techniques and methods that are ideal for the activity, they provide different information regarding plants, the materials to be used, and other topics that have something to do with landscaping. Consider spot and flood lighting that will highlight the rock placement within the landscaping and where you will obtain the power feed for that lighting. Increasingly, homeowners are going to the next level with landscaping, and are investing time and money in outdoor lighting.

Everyone knows that landscaping can enhance the beauty of your indoor or outdoor area, but not everyone is aware that you can use this method to save money for heating, cooling and electricity costs too. Be aware that if you place shrubs and trees strategically in your backyard, you can guarantee a reduction in your bills.

During cold seasons, these shrubs and trees can protect your home from frosty winds, allowing your home to reduce losing heat at a rapid rate. Equally, landscaping can reduce the need for cooling equipment because the trees could provide your home adequate shade. Not only can landscaping beautify your indoor or outdoor area, it can improve residential privacy, increase the real estate value of your home and provide you with a more comfortable living area while saving energy costs. With a little investment, your can benefit from a long-term energy efficient solution that you can perform on your own.

However, if you’re planning to cut energy costs by landscaping, be aware that you need careful planning and implementation of your project to ensure all elements can work to benefit your home.

Steps to Follow

To yield maximum results from your landscaping, you need to consider and implement some energy-saving methods. For instance, some energy commissions recommend using specific trees that could reduce the cooling costs of your home to over 25 per cent. The type of tree you choose to plant in your backyard largely affects how much shade it could provide your home. Ask for recommendations from your local Energy Commission or other landscaping experts about the right tree to plant based on your available area and needs of your home.

Planning how to give shade to your home is an important part of landscaping because it can reduce air temperature inside and outside your home up to 6 degrees. The location on where you plant the trees can also affect the cooling and heating benefits they could provide in your home. Most experts recommend planting trees at the northwest-southwest and northeast-southeast parts of your home. When you are planning to plant vines and vegetables for your landscaping project, make sure to consider air circulation before starting the project. Be aware that improper placement of vines, fences and other elements in your backyard could trap summer heat and increase the need for cooling equipments.

With any kind of elements you wish to add with your landscaping, it is best to plan carefully to ensure that each location and placement will reduce energy costs. With a successful project, not only can you beautify your home, you also reduce bills throughout the year, regardless of the season.

Copyright © John Hanna All Rights Reserved.

This article may be distributed freely on your website and in your ezines, as long as this entire article, copyright notice, links and the resource box are unchanged.

Doug Woodall
http://www.articlesbase.com/gardening-articles/save-energy-with-the-right-landscaping-124188.html

Off all elements that you can place in your landscape, from flowers to plants to trees, the shrub is the most versatile. In this article we present information on shrubbery.

When you consider your landscape, you’ll find that shrubs are one of the most versatile elements that you can employ. Shrubs can serve as a background for your flower or vegetable garden, as dividers between different areas of the yard, and even as privacy screens (otherwise known as hedges).

Shrubs come in a wide variety – over a hundred different genuses, with a variety of species within each genus: There are shrubs with brilliant flowers, or evergreen shrubs for all seasons.

What exactly are shrubs? According to the dictionary definition: “A woody plant of relatively low height, having several stems arising from the base and lacking a single trunk; a bush.” A rose bush is a shrub, for example, but so is a flowering dogwood. Have you heard that a dogwood is a tree? Well, some dogwoods are shrubs, and some are trees! Just as some lilacs are shrubs and some are trees. It all depends on how tall the individual species within the genus grows.

So there’s quite a bit to learn about shrubbery before you decide on which ones you’ll use in your landscaping endeavors. It’s always best to consult with your local gardening experts while you’re working on your design.

Website Wandering
But even though you’ll want to talk to local gardeners about what would be best for your landscaping plans, you don’t need to deal locally to acquire the shrubs. (Although it’s always nice to support local businesses.) And you will find that there are restrictions – some states do not allow you to import certain plants – Hawaii and Alaska are simply too far away.

But take a jaunt around the web to see what’s out there.

For example Direct Gardening offers everything from bulbs to fruits and nuts to hedges to shrubs to vines and water plants. Their website has plenty of photos of all their offerings so you can see what everything looks like. (They also sell what they call “Pre-planned gardens” – a mixture of several different but complimentary plants that will all grow well in the same type of conditions.)

Nature Hills Nursery is another online business that offers a wide variety of starter plants. And their website has a feature in which you input your zipcode, and it comes back with the “zone” in which you live – and the flowers, plants, shrubs and trees that grow best in that zone.

Pruning
The major maintenance for shrubs is pruning – you simply must prune your shrubs, not only to improve their appearance but also to help them grow healthy and strong. Hedge clippers and hand pruners are must have tools, loppers and a small pruning saw will also come in handy.

Mr.Andrew Caxton
http://www.articlesbase.com/home-improvement-articles/landscaping-with-shrubs-some-tips-126960.html