Garden, Gardening, Garden Tips, Home Improvement

Mygarden is a site aimed at helping you with all your gardening, landscape design  and home improvement questions.  We have some great garden tips and ideas for your house (retaining walls, ground covers, terraces, design, outdoor lighting and low voltage lighting, espalier) for you and your family.  Be sure to check them out if you are renovating. Great ideas for kitchens and bathrooms too,

If you have questions that you can't find the answers to, please go to our forum. We invite you to join our friendly community of plant lovers.  Post your questions, share your wisdom, or just start a conversation!  We look forward to you joining. And remember, it's free of course!

In this website, we hope to give you gardening tips based on a combination of old fashioned knowledge, down to earth practices and some modern understanding too. The goal is to help people reconnect with mother nature by working in their own garden. Heaven knows we need it now more than ever!

On that note, nothing could be more pressing than the environment and global warming. For this reason, we have put together a collection of resources to help you navigate your way through the carbon neutral minefield. These include sustainable living resources such as green living (hemp products), recycling and sustainable living, garden sheds, sustainable architecture, renewable energy (solar energy, solar power, solar panels, biomass and biofuels, hydro and wind power etc..)

If you are looking for botanical taxonomical information, please go to our  database.  You can search for over 211,000 botanical names!  We aim to bring you the most complete listing of botanical names in the world!

We have many features on many types of both house and garden plants and flowers too. Some great orchid articles such as how to grow orchids and caring for orchids. Orchid flowers are truly amazing.

One of our most popular subjects is the humble tomato.  It has never been so easy to create your own crop - especially if you know all about your soil type. Mulch, and the different types of mulch is invaluable knowledge so you too can grow the best organic food, right at your back door (using permaculture design techniques of course!).

In Australia horticulture types covers almost all types of topography, seasons and conditions. From Alpine and sub alpine to coastal, rainforest and even deserts. However, if you plan on buying seeds from overseas, you should first determine if it is actually legal to bring them in into the country. You can obtain this information from ICON the Import Conditions Database which is maintained by Biosecurity Australia (BA) and used by the Australian Quarantine Inspection Service (AQIS) when processing imports. Check out this link. You should also check with your own state authorities to see if these species can legally be grown.

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Gardening Australia

The word “gardening” has been getting used around so much lately. Gardeners talk about their plants, going green, and their love of nature. But if you go one on one with your very own garden, you would like to know that you are growing, not good plants, but the best plants ever. To help you out, below are some of the basics of gardening; they may be basics but you’ll be surprised to know that they are the most neglected as well.

Take Advantage of the Colder Seasons

Many gardeners tend to lay off the garden work during the colder seasons. Since not a lot of plants grow well during this time, people take it that they shouldn’t be planning. The truth is that a lot can still be done before the arrival of spring. It actually pays to start preparing garden beds during this time. Applying top mulch, suppressing weeds and other hard jibs can be done. These can save you from being out in the heat too long during the warmer season.

Prep the Soil

Much of the soil that will be found in Australia is not very fertile. Planting on these may not yield the best results. Before getting started with any type of planting, it may be best to prepare the soil. There are a lot of ways that nutrients can be introduced into the soil. Many gardeners in the area mix chicken, cow or horse manure into the soil along with potting mix, sand, and organic materials such as leaves. Compost should regularly be added to the soil to make sure it stays fertile. What is added may also depend on whether the plants being grown like acidic or alkaline soil.

Round they Go

For those who plant fruit and vegetable gardens, they will find that not all produce will grow year round. This may be a good thing, especially since the soils in Australia tend to get depleted of nutrients easily. Take advantage of this by rotating the fruits and vegetables which are planted. Make it a point to plant different produce in the entire garden during each season. By doing this the soil is able to stay more fertile since not the same fruit or vegetable is planted in the same spot all the time.

Plan what to Plant

What is planted in the garden at the same time can really make a big difference in how plants grow and develop. Some plants may not grow well together and fight for nutrients in the soil. On the other hand, there are plants which complement each other and help improve growth as well as keep pests away. It is always a good idea to do some research before planting. Find out which plants will work best when grown side by side. This will help make the most out of any garden.

Go Native

Australia’s variety of climates and soil conditions can be a big challenge for any gardener. This is especially true for those who are trying to grow plants from Europe and other continents which have different soil and climate conditions. For those who are inexperienced or want more success with gardening, an easy solution is to stick to native plants. Many of Australia’s native plants are not just pretty. They may also have medicinal purposes. There is a wide variety of plants to choose from ranging from Acacia down to moss.

Prune It

No matter what type of plant is being grown, pruning is an important part of the process. It gets rid of old and dry leaves. At the same time pruning also promotes growth and keeps plants manageable. A general thing to remember with pruning is to always use tools which are sharp and have been properly cleaned. Using otherwise will only promote the growth of bacteria and disease within the plant. Tools can be cleaned by washing and with methylated spirits to disinfect them before use.

Avoid pulling off parts of the plant. Instead, cut in a sloping manner so that the branch gets removed with ease. Cutting close to the base of the plant is also advisable. Finally, do make sure to follow the natural growing pattern of the plant. Those which grow slowly and are relatively small do not require a lot of pruning. Maintenance may be done once in a while. On the other hand, plants which grow quickly and tend to get out of shape need regular cutting and pruning to keep its shape.