History reveals that the Hanging Gardens of Babylon is a big evidence of a hydroponic garden. Moreover, the Aztec Indians in the now Mexico had a system of growing crops on rafts. These rafts are in shallow lakes that you can still see in floating gardens near Mexico City. Therefore, history shows the great significance of hydroponic system of growing plants even in ancient times.

Developments with hydroponics did not however take place in Europe until 1699 when Woodward discovered it. He found out that he can grow plants in a solution of water to which soil had been added.

On the other hand, Liebig, a German scientist, originated using nutrient solutions to study the nutritional requirements of plants in the 1850′s. It was then followed by Sachs in 1860. Knop also did some studies of nutrient elements in water solutions in 1861. They grew plants in nutrients-rich solutions with mineral salts. This does away with the soil as a main requirement for growing crops.

Many researches on the nutritional requirements of plants extended through even until the 1870′s. By 1925, practical applications of hydroponics were being introduced for the vast development in the greenhouse industry.

She just bought a bamboo compost pail one month or so ago and I have to say, I am filled with envy. I always thought that having a compost bucket in your kitchen was a sure recipe for fruit flies, mold and bad smells, but I had to take it all back when I witnessed this thing.

She can put all the kitchen scraps generated by her family of four in there and she only has to take it out once per week or so. It looks absolutely pretty, and best of all, it has redundant filters so there is absolutely no odor!

Not only does the bamboo look great in her kitchen but the bamboo plant is a fast growing, easy to feed, non-resource intensive renewable resource. Unlike hardwood trees that take decades to grow, bamboo for wood can be grown in just a season, making it one of the most ecological materials in existence.

The compost pail is also very resilient, making it a far superior material over, say, ceramic, when it comes to things falling off the counter (hey, it happens) and unlike some of the stainless steel ones out there, it doesn’t show off every single mark and fingerprint.

Vines For gardeners who live in THE CENTRAL STATES

WINTERCREEPER – There are two varieties of this broad leaved vine or ground cover worthy of attention. The first is the purple-leaf wintercreeper, Euonymus Fortunei colorata, whose foliage has a purple cast; the second, the big-leaf wintercreeper, Euonymus Fortunei vegetus, noted for its attractive bright green rounded foliage and bitter sweet like fruit in fall. Both are tolerant of most any soil, prefer a north or east exposure and cling to walls or trees by root-like holdfasts reaching up 25 feet or more. As ground covers they grow a foot or so tall. The nice thing about them is that they will grow in shade and can stand root competition from trees. Regrettably they cannot be recommended for the coldest or the warmest parts of the region.

BALTIC IVY – The hardiest variety of English ivy, Hedem Helix baltica, will climb up walls or tree trunks 25 feet or more and also makes an interesting 3 to 5-inch-deep ground cover. It will grow in practically any soil and prefers a north or east exposure. The foliage is medium sized and prominently veined.

Have you ever wondered why that lovely flower you’re holding smells good? Believe it or not, this is a natural mechanism that’s important to the plant’s survival.

We spray perfume on our bodies to smell good and attract members of the opposite sex. In a way, this is what flowers do.

Like humans, flowers need to reproduce or face extinction. They do this by producing pollen grains that need to reach other flowers. This is where pollination comes in.

Pollination is the process where pollen is transferred from one flower to another for the sexual reproduction of plants. This is accomplished in two different ways.

In abiotic pollination, pollination is done without the help of other organisms or pollinators. This is accomplished mostly by the wind (a process called anemophily) that carries the pollen to other plants. Another form of abiotic pollination is hydrophily or pollination by water which is common in aquatic plants.

Abiotic pollination occurs in only 20 percent of plants. Of that number, anemophily accounts for 98 percent of pollination while two percent is by hydrophily.

These tropical forest plants require a warm, humid atmosphere, but should not be too wet at their roots, so a well-drained compost is essential. To encourage drainage a 2-in. layer of crocks should be placed in the bottom of the pot before introducing the compost, which should he of a peaty nature.

Almost anything that will produce fruit when grown as a pot plant has a fascination for a great many gardeners and the pomegranate is no exception. But, like many other fruits grown in pots, this one is not particularly exciting, as the fruits generally remain quite small and more often than not will split their outer skins before they have ripened properly. Nevertheless, it is quite an attractive plant whose colourful orange flowers are often confused with those of the fuchsia when seen for the first time.

These tropical forest plants require a warm, humid atmosphere, but should not be too wet at their roots, so a well-drained compost is essential. To encourage drainage a 2-in. layer of crocks should be placed in the bottom of the pot before introducing the compost, which should he of a peaty nature.

One adaption in orchids can be found among the epidendrums. The species E. falcatum retains all its weight in the thick, heavy leaves. The root system is not numerous, but s-ong enough to hold a heavy plant firmly in its place on a tree. The pseudobulbs are merely short stems which support the long, spears-lriaped leaves which, rough and hard, will withstand a harsh environment. They are the main source of food supply for the plant.

The life span of a root can be one season only in orchids whose pseudobulhs arc of annual duration or the roots may live for several years, their life span related to the state of the pseudobulbs they are supporting. When leaves are eventually shed, that pseudobulb has no further use for roots, and they will die naturally.

Nevertheless their culture remains specialised, and their roots are all important to them. They do not take kindly to pot culture and should be accommodated on hark. Pieces of rough bark are ideal, as their extensive fine root system will take advantage of every crevice, the roots hugging the bark as well as growing freely in the air.

There are various grades of polythene sheeting for fixing to the glazing bars with drawings pins or a stapler. For an aluminium house there are specially-designed clips. A totally sealed greenhouse will give the grower a fresh crop of problems. Condensation will build up on the polythene and reduce the light drastically in the winter when every bit of light is of benefit.

It should be placed near the floor, below the plants, to allow the cool vapour to reach the plants standing above. Within a few weeks of introducing a humidifex into the greenhouse or home you should see a noticeable increase in aerial root activity on your orchids.

This material can be fixed in the same way as polythene, but because it is full of minute holes it is able to breathe which prevents condensation and drip. Neither does it cut too much light from the plants. The netting is easily obtainable from garden centres. It can be taken down in summer and stored for the following winter. As it does not tear easily, it should last for several seasons.

The heater is the most important single piece of equipment in the orchid house. The choice of equipment is wide, from the old- fashioned coal or coke fired boilers with hot water pipes, which can be fired by gas, either bottled or mains, or oil from a reservoir tank to the most modern, clean and efficient electric heaters.

The main benefit of a hot water system is that if anything goes wrong, and the fire goes out, you are left with a large reserve of hot water which will keep hot for many hours giving time to rectify the fault.

Although reliable, this equipment is expensive to install. The most popular form of heating is by electricity, either tubular, fitted along the walls beneath the staging, or the electric fan heater usually placed on the floor. This produces a current of warm air which circulates evenly throughout the greenhouse, thus ensuring that there are no cold spots.

The orchids live behind plate glass in an environment where the humidity, light and temperature are all controlled. A time clock measures the difference between night and day to ensure that the plants receive the right amount of artificial light every twenty-four hours and that the temperature rises and falls in sequence with the lights.

The lycastes are a relatively small, but influential, natural genus of medium-size plants. They have had a great impact on the related anguloas with which they will readily interbreed to produce some of the most showy artificial hybrids.

The majority of the flowers are typically triangular, the shape formed by the widely spread sepals that frame the cupped petals and lip. When crossed with the tulipshaped anguloas, the superb, large, openflowered angulocastes are produced, which have done much to promote this alliance. Although the majority of the species within the lycastes and anguloas are of pale colouring, the rosy-red varieties of Lycaste skinneri have emphasized rich colours in hybrids such as L. Wyld Fire.

The largest flower in the genus is that of M. acrura, which measures 30cm (12in) or more vertically from top to bottom. This impressive length arises because of the long, tapering sepals. These evergreen epiphytic, or occasionally lithophytic, orchids inhabit cool, shady and moist areas of forest woodland high in the Andes of South America.

Wheelie bins have becomeare a necessary, but ugly, part of waste disposal in our homes. They are very useful but dont exactly look appealing, especially the bigger bins. How then, can you camouflage this necessary eyesore in between collection days? Here, we will discuss a number of effective ways to store a wheelie bin.

Number One, the portable screen.

The portable screen is a relatively inexpensive solution to this unsightly problem. They can be bought from garden centres or hardware stores and come in a selection of materials. A popular one is the bamboo screen that can double as a dividing wall in a garden: others are constructed of expanding trellis made from either wood or pvc slats.

Because they are portable, these screens can be moved to different places around the garden and can also be used to disguise other essential items in the garden that you dont want people to see. They are also a great idea for people who are renting: the screen can move with you to your new address.

Next, a permanent screen.