Leafeon's Lovely Garden

Leafeon's Lovely Garden is a place of harmony where you can get and give Earth-Saving tips and spread the love of gardening and living Green. Everyone can be Green, not just Pokémon fans, so give a helping hand. Join us today!

Rozaedalia, the gardener, loves visitors. She's an outgoing Leafeon that is cheerful and happy. Just for visiting this page, she gives you a free award of your choice.

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Gardening can be fun and helpful. Not only can it relieve stress, but it can also give you rich "fruits" literally. Gardeing your own food can prove a healthy way of living, especially for people with conditions that prevent them from eating chemicals that are put on most foods in the grocery store. By growing your own fruits, vegetables, and herbs you'll be able to monitor what you are putting on and in your fruits.

Good Gardening doesn't come easy, though. It takes a lot of work to get rewarded in the end. Since most people like to grow their own herbs for freshness, let's give you some tips in how to raise healthy herbs.

Some tips for herbs are as follows:

• Try growing your herbs, such as basil and parsley, in little pots inside. This prevents them from getting eaten by rabbits and other critters that would like to enjoy them, too.
• Place the seeds in a pot of peat and fill with water, enough for all the soil to be damp, and then place in the sun. With most herbs, you'll notice little sprouts coming up within a few days or weeks.
• As soon as the herbs are matured, pluck them off and use them. If they are left on the plant, they will turn to seed again.
• If you like using fresh herbs in cooking but have too much left over from the plant you can freeze the plucked herbs in plastic bags. You can even add a little olive oil and garlic to the bag so that you can use it in sauces at a future time.

Because fresh herbs are gaining increasing popularity, you'll notice the store prices of them have gone up. That's why more and more people are taking to growing them in their own home. You can even find kits at the store to plant dozens of different potted herbs at a time. Herbs can be used in cooking, seasoning, and even in certain aroma and herbal therapies. Parsley is not only great in sauces, but it is also a breath freshener. Cilantro is great in salsa and pasta salads. And don't forget how great fresh oregano tastes with garlic bread. Herbs have so much flavor and purpose; so don't hesitate to find out more about them. It'll increase your cooking qualities and may even help you next time you have a stomach ache.

But, herbs are simply one factor to gardening plants you can eat. Don't forget about the numerous vegetables to plant. There is lettuce, raddish, carrot, potato, cabbage, green bean, sugar snap pea, tomato (also considered a fruit & berry), and more. With enough space in a properly fenced area you may never even need to buy vegetables from a store again! There really is a great variety of vegetables that can be grown in most climates. Though, you'll have to read up more on each vegetable, it is safe to say that in no time a garden can be started and you'll be on your way to tastier organic foods.

But, you may notice you don't have the best soil. If you have terrible soil like I used to have, you may want to consider starting a compost the year before you start your garden. It's a great way to recycle your garbage and it's great for the soil. Things to put in your compost can include old vegetables and fruits, egg shells, coffee grinds, newspaper, and even soap (a little trick of mine). Don't put citrus fruits or anything with a lot of acid in the ground because this will upset the worms, which are your co-workers in gardening. How do you start your compost? Choose an area of land where you will put your garden in the future, dig enough earth out to make a decent-sized hole, and start dumping your waste in. Everyday after coffee, go out and put the filter and all in the ground and move the dirt over it. This is called tilling the land, essential in making the material decompose. The process of decomposing will make the soil very hot, and in order not to kill the good bacteria, tilling is essential. It ensures that the bottom layer never gets too hot and that everything gets a chance to decompose. When stuff decomposes in the soil, you'll be left with rich nutrients that are perfect to garden with. You can garden flowers, vegetables, herbs, and fruits in that soil now.

I can testify that having a compost really works. I've had two or three of them in the past and then planted over them after the soil was ready. The greenery that is planted there is so much more healthy and green than the plants elsewhere. I loved it, too, because I felt good getting rid of the garbage in an eco-friendly way. No more banana peel on the side of the road taking weeks to rot. Throw it in the soil and till it and it decomposes in a few days. Plus, I have very happy worms around here, too.

Whether you decide to grow veggies outside or in, you'll still need to be patient. That's the trick to getting that thumb of yours to turn green. Vegetables take longer to grow than herbs, of course, but there are some simple fast-growing vegetables that are my favorite. You might want to start with these to get the feel of gardening. Some of these vegetable you can grow in a pot, indoor or outdoor, and need little attention. Let me tell you about the plants that I used to grow.

When I was little I used to grow green beans. Needless to say, I loved green beans so much, I had at least 30 different plants growing in little pots in my backyard. I placed those 30 pots in a moderately sunny location and watched the green beans grow, from seeds to large plants. They required a little water everyday and an eye to prevent pests from harvesting my plants too early. Even though it was a long time ago, I don't ever remember it being too hard or too burdensome to handle. And in the end, I got healthy green beans that I ate every night for weeks. I even had enough plants left over to give to my friends, which made a nice gift.

Green beans are just one of the many easy-to-cultivate vegetables that are healthy and natural. Without the use of pesticides, I could enjoy green beans with any meal. Mixed with some garlic and fresh basil or cooked with a chunky tomato sauce, even tossed in with a fresh salad, those green beans were good to the last one.

Other plants, like tomatoes, can be fun and rewarding to grow, but also require some background knowledge incase things go wrong. What do I mean by that? Well, I remembering having tomatoes that one day would be almost ripe, lush and reddish-green, and the next day having big fat ol' worms eating out of them. Yeah, no pesticides and chemicals may mean some bugs. But, you can't just let them take over your plant. There are ways to prevent that sort of thing from happening and keeping the plants all to yourself.

Garlic is an age old trick to stopping bugs. Mix some fresh chopped garlic with hot water and spray it on the plant and fruit itself. This will keep little bugs at bay and won't harm the plant either. I've never tried this before so I'm not sure how effectively it will work. In the past, I can't remember how I resolved the buggy issues. If I remember, I'll tell you. In the meantime, if you aren't sure or want more info, search the web. There are numerous sites out there just for people like you--people that want to have a healthy organic garden. I've checked some sites out and they are very helpful and reliable. I'll post those later.

To stop deers, some pepper or Irish Springs soap mixed with water around the base of the plant will do. Its strong scent deters the deers from nibbling on your feast and is good for the plant. The soap actually gives nitrates to the soil, the same thing that lightning does. It benefits the plant greatly. It helps it to grow stronger, and the best part is, it is all natural. Fertilizers may boost the plants growth but are loaded with chemicals. Soap does the same thing as fertilizers without the harsh chemicals. Plus, your garden will smell good! But, really, it doesn't harm the plant or you and it keeps the deer away. Just remember to always wash your vegetables off good before eating them.

There are many vegetables that you can plant and enjoy, but don't forget about sweet fruits that you can grow right in your garden near those ripe veggies. Fruits that I love to eat that are also easy to grow are berries. Oh, berries are so tasty and they have a lot of uses. Don't tell me you forgot fruit salad and berry parfaits and strawberry shortcakes! Those are all great desserts, naturally sweet and juicy, that you can grow right in your own backyard.

Among the most common berries are raspberry, strawberry, blueberry, and blackberry--all berries that I have growing in my garden. I suggest you buy a plant first, one that's already started and has a little roots. It's much faster than using seed and you don't want to risk buying seeds that'll give you mushy fruit. By selecting a healthy berry plant before planting it you ensure that the fruit will be healthy. You give it a fighting chance at least.

Take the plant home and put it in rich soil and water daily. In no time you'll notice a big difference. Depending on the berry will depend on when the fruits are ripe and ready to be picked. Ripeness of berries range from June to late August. Picking the berries was always one of my favorite tasks. I loved to go out and pick those blackberries, sampling a few along the way, and then counting the remaining ones when I'd get back inside. There are lots of recipes that use berries and it's in my best effort to write a few of them down under "Healthy Eating."

You'll find that growing berries is as much fun as eating them. Any work that is needed to plant your own food is always reward by what you reap from it. I think fruits generally take longer to grow than vegetables, but it could just be the ones that I've personally planted or my yard maybe. I have planted strawberry plants as well as raspberries, blackberries, and I already had a blueberry plant that was existing on my yard. While the fruits I got were small at first, after fertilizing the soil and regular watering, the berries began to increase in size. The wild blueberries, which were orignally quite squatty, doubled in size. And, the sweetness of the fruits increased with some loving care.

While I love apples and pears and such, I can't say those are easy to grow. Yes, I have a few near my house that I glean on in the summer, but those trees took years and years to grow. I deeply encourage you to plant fruit trees if you want to. It is great for the planet to have more trees and with fruit trees, you get something back from it... if you are patient. It can take as much as a decade to reap any real fruit from a tree, but when that tree is full grown you and your children and your children's childen can enjoy the shade and the juicy fruit from it.

Imagine biting into a fresh apple, not a polished one from the store but a fresh one right from your own yard that you grew with your own two hands. Imagine the flavors exploding in your mouth with each bite. When you are done chewing every last bit of the meat from the apple, you toss the core into your garden a ways off. You wipe the leftover juices that had trickled down your face in the feast and you sit and enjoy the afternoon... under the shade of the tree you grew with your own hands. Yes, it sounds too good to be true. In a world that is dominated by work and cell phones, business meetings and traffic, there is hardly any time at all left to yourself. But I ask you, wouldn't you rather be able to say you've experienced that than to just say you've only imagined it? I think you would; I know that's what I want. That's why I love where I live, deep in the heart of the woods with earth and nature surrounding me on all sides. Maybe you aren't an earthy type, or are just plain too busy, but promise me you'll think about living a little more naturally, without a skeptic's mind, and just enjoy every day.

Gardening is one of those priviledges that all of us have the opportunity to enjoy. It's one of those things that will never change, at least something that shouldn't ever change. We should all be able to enjoy it. We should all be able to look out our window in the morning at the garden we have below or walk into our green house out back and smell the flowers blooming. If you don't have yard, you should be able to have plants in your house or apartment. Plants are some of the only things that haven't changed since the world's beginning. The plants feed and clothe us in a unique way. I know that it's my priviledge to have a garden of flowers, vegetables, fruits, herbs, and trees. (Yes, a tree garden, too!) And, I wrote this to make you want to have one, too.

And, I suppose I can't really just give you tips on good gardening as much as I can go on and on about how great it is to have a garden. The reason is... it's so great to have a garden! Yes, it's a lot of hard work, but a lot of good comes from it. So I encourage you to get out there when the weather is nice and dig, dig, dig a little garden. Good for you, good for the earth. You'll find that a beautiful garden will give you lots of attention, too. Go on, make those neighbors jealous!

Rozaedalia wants to encourage you to garden more. She also wants you to pass on your love of the Earth to others you know. So, she gives you these award to display where ever you may go to pass the word.

^{Please right-click on them and select Save As to save to your computer. Then upload to your own server and display it on your site, forum, or email with a link back to our beautiful garden! Thank you!}

Some Links I'd like to post~ Mother Nature Network~ formerly PLENTY Magazine -- Earthshare. I'll think of more later...

Got something Green to share with us? A link to a Green site, a gardeing story of yours, flower art, or something else you think will add a nice touch to our beautiful garden mantained by Leafeon? We'd love too see what you'd like to add. Please send stuff in using the form below. Leafeon is all about being creative, natural, and, of course, green. Send stuff in that you think Leafeon and other guests to the garden will enjoy.

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