Caring and Harvesting of Brambles
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To get the most from your bramble patch proper care and productive harvesting must take place. Following these simple techniques will help produce a bountiful and beautiful bramble patch.
Top 10 Flowering Shrubs for Natural Fencing
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Shrubs provide a beautiful and fragrant backdrop to home gardens. Shrubs are ideal for natural fencing in order to provide privacy or simply keep large wildlife out. Using shrubs for natural fencing also eliminates the need for replacement of standard wood or metal fences. Whether the need is for tall or short fencing, these shrubs can fit the need.
Home Gardening Tips
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Everyone has their own little idiosyncrasies when it comes to planting their garden. They have certain ways of planting, keeping the critters away, enhancing growth, and outright cheating to enjoy maximum benefit with little effort. I have gathered some of my tips and tricks to share. These are discoveries I made over the years based on space limitations, my need to keep my garden pesticide free, and to maintain and organized if lazy garden.
Savory
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Winter and summer savories originate in the Mediterranean but have found a home in USDA Zone 6 areas. Many people do not realize that savory is a flowering plant. Summer savory has small gray-green leaves and petit lavender to white flowers. While winter savory offers tiny white spikes of flowers against bright green foliage. Winter savory is a perennial while summer savory is an annual. Both plants can reach up to 18 inches in height.
Read more about SavoryLilacs
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Beautiful and Edible
Drive along any of the many roads throughout Southwestern Pennsylvania and you will find lawns and property lines dotted with lilacs. We choose them because of their beauty and for the perfume that saturates the air around them. We keep them because our mother’s and grandmother’s had them; invoking fond memories. Despite all of the enjoyment we gain from the lilac’s presence most would be surprised that there is even more to be gained from such a long standing plant.
The Bleeding Heart
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The beauty of Lamprocapnos spectabilis.
One of my favorite flowers growing up was the Lamprocapnos spectabilis, commonly known as the Bleeding Heart. I am fascinated by its shape and the vibrancy of color. As I grew older, the Bleeding Heart took on a new shine that came with age and understanding.
My grandmother told me stories of how these lovely flowers were planted after a love was lost. Families planted them around private burial grounds. Women planted them after being scorned. She told me how on quiet and magical nights you could hear these delicate flowers cry on the wind.
The romance and heartbreak she conjured around the Bleeding Heart while telling me old wives tales endeared the flower to me even more. I am considerably older now than I was then and my grandmother has long since passed. Still, I keep those stories close to my own heart and appreciate the spirit behind them.
Mythology has always surrounded the Bleeding Heart. Tales have spread from Ancient Greece threading their way through Germany’s history and giving life to Japanese wisdom stories. Fables and tragedies surround the Bleeding Heart for ages of generations past.
Read more about The Bleeding HeartRose Mallow
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Rose Mallow is a lovely flower that brings to mind an exotic evening under the moonlight, with its round white petals circling a mysterious purple center. Petals can, of course, also be in red or pink. The leaves of the rose mallow plant are also arranged in attractive spiral patterns. These flowers have been used as a food source by some people and insects as well. Though the flowers are native to Asia, they can also be found throughout the United States.
Got Bees?
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Though many sources say that the bees are recovering, gardeners are still always looking for ways to attract them to the yard—and why wouldn’t they, since the more bees you have, the better garden you’re probably going to have, as well?
If you live in the Pittsburgh area, you can attract bees with a wide variety of plants. Some native plants to use to attract the buzzing insects include:
- Sweet herbs, like basil
- Cone flowers
- Jasmine
- Violets
- Glory bushes
- Sunflowers
- Wisteria
- Bluebells
Most groups of brightly-colored and sweet-smelling flowers will be helpful when attempting to attract bees. Read more about Got Bees?
Phipps Conservatory & Botanical Gardens
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Looking for Something interesting, educational, and cheap to do in Pittsburgh? Check out the Phipps Conservatory & Botanical Gardens, where you can have it all and then some!
The place to go:
1 Schenley Park
Pittsburgh, PA 15213
(412) 622-6914
The times to go there:
Mon - Thu: 9:30am-5pm , Fri: 9:30am-10pm, Sat & Sun: 9:30am-5pm
Read more about Phipps Conservatory & Botanical Gardens
10 Ways to Celebrate National Mushroom Month
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If you didn’t already know, mushrooms are a pretty decent food—aside from how they taste, I mean, which can be awesome in its own right. Pennsylvania makes the most mushrooms in the United States, and should be proud of it, considering that they are chock full of selenium, potassium, vitamin D, niacin, and many other nutrients. They’re fat and cholesterol free and low in calories, making them a great snack for dieters. They also make a great substitute for meat. With all of these reasons, how could you go wrong with mushrooms? Try adding them to your life throughout September, National Mushroom Month, by… Read more about 10 Ways to Celebrate National Mushroom Month