Plant's Leaves Search Results

How To: Build a rock garden

Rock gardens are a great way to add color and texture to your lawn. Learn how to build a rock garden in your yard. Common goal is to add interest to your yard. You will need rocks, top soil and plants. If you don't know what type of plants talk to your nurseyman at the garden center.

News: Scientists Turn Bacteria into Mini Cyborg Solar Panels

Plants all around us capture sunlight every day and convert it to energy, making them a model of solar energy production. And while the energy they make may serve the needs of a plant, the process isn't efficient enough to generate power on a larger scale. So, scientists from the University of California found a way to treat bacteria with chemicals that turned them into photosynthesis machines, capable of generating products we can convert into food, fuels, and plastics.

The Giving Plant: Same Asian Plant Used for Arthritis Treatment Gives Us Powerful HIV Drug

Natural remedies used through the ages abound, especially in Asian medicine. The willow-leaved justicia plant, found throughout Southeast Asia, has traditionally been used to treat arthritis, but scientists have just discovered it contains an anti-HIVcompound more potent than AZT. AZT was the first drug approved to treat HIV, and is still used in HIV combination therapy today.

How To: Make a Simple Herbal Extract

Hello there, people. Today, I am going to show you how to extract the essence from a useful plant, using either alcohol or olive oil. This is how you take a plant and turn it into a useful (and preservable) medicine. For those of you who know nothing about herbal medicine, let me explain it for you in a nutshell...

How To: Grow strawberries easily in a container

In this tutorial, we learn how to grow strawberries easily in a container. First, you will need your refrigerated bare root strawberries laid out in front of you. Next, prepare your soil by using a high quality potting mix and adding 1/3 compost to the mixture. Take your soil and place it into a plastic bin, then add in some water. Mix the water with a trowel, then place your soil into a strawberry jar up to the first row of pockets. Next, plant your strawberries into the pockets on the side ...

How To: Grow tomato plants more effectively for massive yields

To anyone who has grown tomatoes, the vertical metal cages that they grow in are a familiar sight. This video is here to tell you why you should throw away all of your cages. No, it isn't telling you that tomatoes cause cancer or anything. What it does describe is a technique for growing tomatoes without cages by allowing them to grow laterally, which makes them very strong and will ultimately lead to massive yields for each plant. Forget everything you thought you knew about tomato growing, ...

How To: Care for clematis

Scott from Spring Hill Nursery gives advice on caring for clematis, a beautiful plant that is easy to grow. Clematis blooms in late summer or early fall, and thrives in almost any conditions. It does fine in either full sun or a partly shaded location, but you should use mulch around the roots to keep them cool.

How To: Grow and care for tuberous begonias in your garden

In this video tutorial, viewers learn how to grow a tuberous begonias. It is recommended to pot the tuberous begonias in the early spring of March. Begin by removing the tuberous from it's bad and discard any packing material. Be gentle and do not remove the buds. Select a small pot that is slightly larger than the tuberous begonias and fill the pot 2/3 with well drained soil less potting mix. The carefully place the tuberous rite-side up in the potting mix and cover it with more mix. Water t...

How To: Choose pansies, chrysanthemums & asters

Curtis Smith and Jim Sais describe how to choose pansies, chrysanthemums and asters. Pansies are very small plants and they come in different varieties and sizes such as dancing bears . The face of the pansies is very exact and the right fertilizer will cause them to grow successfully. Amended soil will work best for pansies. Chrysanthemums are spectacular plants and they can be used in containers as well. They signify a fair well to summer. When they are finished blooming, you should be able...

How To: Plant dahlia flowers in your garden

After receiving your dahlia tuber in the mail, dig a hole where you want the flowers to bloom in your garden. It should be big enough to place the whole tuber into and be completely covered by dirt. Before planting your tuber, you need to find where the head is. Find where the stalk was last year. When placing it in the ground, make sure the stalk is pointing up. After planting, your tuber should be flowering in about 4 weeks. Because the wind and rain can be tough on your flowers, it's a goo...

How To: Get more color in the garden

Danny Lipford shows how to grow a more colorful flower garden in early spring when there is not a lot of overall growth. He displays how he plants tulips and daffodils in the fall so that they bloom in the spring. He digs a troth about 6 feet long and 6 inches deep. After sprinkling bulb food in the troth, Lipford plants the tulip and daffodil bulbs, arranging them so each uniquely appears every other bulb. Lipford's assistant advises that he re-plants the tulips every year, since while they ...

How To: Mist houseplants

This video demonstrates how to mist your plants and to keep insects away. Plants that like high humidity will benefit the most from misting. Use an empty spray bottle that already has a mister. Clean the bottle well and spray a few times to get residual material from the tube. The best time to mist is in the morning, but you should mist at least once a day. Using a humidifier along with the misting process in the winter will make your plants happy.

How To: Make an easy wedding reception table centerpiece

This video shows the viewer how to create a stylish centerpiece for a wedding reception using commonly available items. This is done by first placing a square mirror on top of a larger piece of light pink tulle. Then an artificial plant was selected and a number of glass beads were secured around the piece using another piece of tulle and a ribbon; this is to stop the plant floating. The plant is then placed in a tall square vase that is filled with water. A single drop of food dye is then ad...

How To: Make a humidity tray

This video tells you about humidity trays and how they are good for tropical plants like orchids. The tray consists of gravel or small stones and water in the tray. You have to have enough gravel to keep the plant out of the water. This video also discusses ways on how to make sure the humidity tray doesn't scratch your furniture. After watching this video you will have gained some insight into keeping and maintaining tropical plants as well as ferns.

How To: Water seedlings from the bottom up

This Survival Podcast teaches how to water seedings from the bottom up. After you have transfered your plants to new pots, preferably sterilized bins, you put holes in the bottom of the pots. If they are too high, the watering technique will not work. The plants in the pot are placed into a larger bucket. You just add water to the outter bin and allow the plants to "draw up" the moisture through the soil. You want to make sure not to add too much water or the plants will "over-draw". About on...

How To: Identify & remove clearweed

Clearweed is a member of the nettle family and it comes up all over the country. The easiest way to identify the plant is by the little white flowers that grow along its stem. There really isn't anything wrong with the plant but it is a weed that covers up other stuff in the garden. An interesting point about it is that it pollinates by the wind. So when the wind blows the seeds of the plant are blown about. You will typically find it growing in clusters because it is blown by the wind. Four ...

How To: Make nitrogen enriched manure tea for garden plants

Are your plants dying? Are they in dire need of some fertilizer? Is your compost not cutting it anymore? Well, save your garden plants with this recipe for nitrogen rich manure tea fertilizer. It's a really easy all natural fertilizer anyone can make. You can collect manure in your pasture or buy it by the bag at a garden center. You can also reuse the manure over and over again. Keep chemicals out of your garden and go green!

How To: Keep Mosquitoes & Other Annoying Bugs Away from Your Campfire or Backyard Fire Pit

I'll be honest—I've never been a huge fan of camping. It's not that I have anything against nature, I'm just partial to showering and sleeping in my own bed. In fact, the only part of camping I've ever really enjoyed is sitting around a campfire. Outdoor fires are perfect for socializing and cooking hot dogs, but they're also great at helping remove one of camping's biggest annoyances.

How To: Choose colorful flowers & shrubs for the garden

This video makes suggestions in how to choose colorful flowers and shrubs in your garden. Bowle’s Mauve is a purple flowering plant that will grow and bloom until fall. It will become bushy. Another colorful choice is the Rock Rose, a pinkish flower. The Blue Salvia has blue flowers. A Bank’s Rose, only bloom for a short time. It has yellow or white flowers. Aphids tend to attack it, but it is hearty.

How To: Make compost from homehold kitchen scraps

This video shows you how to make compost from organic debris in the garden and leftover food.To make compost, you must add organic debris or scraps of food to such as pine needles, leaves or fruits to your compost bin. You should use horse or cow manure to speed up the process. You can also use nitrogen fertilizers as long as they do not contain herbicides. Then add water to the whole mixture.It is recommended that the compost bin should be about 3 feet high and 3 feet wide in order to insula...

How To: Clean and sharpen garden tools

John White shows how to clean and sharpen your tools by using a file and WD40. He also advises to repair the wooden handles of your tools to prevent injury. Run the file along the back and sides of the shovel. Leave the front part smooth. Make sure you remove any mud to prevent corrosion. Use steel wool to achieve this as well as WD40. Use the file to sharpen the edges of your hoe and again clean with steel wool and WD40. The file is also useful for sharpening trimmers. Clean all the dried pl...

How To: Grow your own vineyard

This video explains some important things you need to know if you are thinking about growing your own vineyard. First, think about the types of grapes you want to grow, depending on whether you want to make raisins, grape juice, jelly or wine. Talk to your extension agent to find out which grapes work best for your purpose. It's important to thin out the crop and not have too many leaves on the vines, or too many grapes, because a good balance will send the sunlight and nutrients to the plant...

How To: Arrange a Valentine's tulip vase for your home

TheFlowerGod teaches you how to arrange a Valentine's tulip vase for your home. You will need a washing bowl, a clear glass vase and all sorts of flowers. If you bought a bouquet of tulips, open it up, clean the stems in the washing bowl and then add one to the glass vase. This should have a large bottom so you can clearly see the green color. Next you will add flowers with large leaves and you can also put in a fern or plants with thin leaves. Finally, add more red flowers and don't overcrow...