Showing posts with label Landscaping. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Landscaping. Show all posts

Friday 15 June 2012

TERRARIUM: AN IDEA FOR BEAUTIFYING YOUR HOME

The purpose of filling vases with flowers is to bring the beauty of nature to our living rooms, offices bedrooms or play areas.

Other people put hanging baskets in their patios or corridors among other places thus creating a hospitable environment for themselves and their visitors.

Acquiring suitable plants for example cut flowers for our homes is expensive as they have to be imported or transported from far away if they are locally produced.

Despite the huge expense incurred, the beauty especially of cut flowers lasts for a maximum of two weeks, thereafter the blooms wilt.

God in his wisdom created different plants suited for different niches and whose foliage is of different colors.

It is possible to find aesthetic beauty in plants, each unique in its own way without incurring a recurring expense for cut flowers.

There are numerous ways of filling our homes with plants and for this instance I will discuss about terrariums.

Thank you and I hope you will enjoy. As you read this article, be free to contribute your opinions

Terrarium/ bottle gardens

A terrarium is a transparent glass or container retaining high humidity used in displaying growing plants in the indoors.

When properly planted with a suitable plant species, these miniature gardens may remain healthy and beautiful for several years.

Terrarium means growing plants in bottles. It is also known as indoor plants growth unit.

Terrarium is derived from two Greek words; ‘Terra’, which means the earth, while arium means, of the home.

Principles of growing plants in a terrarium

1. When plants are given proper light, moisture, humidity and temperature, they can be maintained in a sealed container for many years without additional water or air from the outside environment.

2. Terrarium is just like a mini jungle floor where plants receive fitted light and air and the soils are saturated with moisture.

Moisture in the jungle evaporates and then produces clouds which then produce rain.

Similarly in a Terrarium, the moisture evaporates then condenses on the glass and runs back to the soil. This cycle is repeated indefinitely.

3. A Terrarium can be likened to a sealed glasshouse where light enters and provides heat energy to the plants.

4. Carbon dioxide produced during respiration by plants is used for photosynthesis.

5. In a Terrarium, carbon dioxide and oxygen are constantly recycled within its confines.

Containers for terrariums

For a container to be suitable for use in a Terrarium, it must possess the following qualities;

1. It should admit light through it (transparent glass or plastic)

2. It should hold a suitable amount of soil to sustain plant growth.

3. It should be large enough to allow some growth of the plants.

4. It should be able to provide adequate air volume when planted.

5. It should be covered easily to hold moisture within it.

A true Terrarium is a sealed container, which is only opened for maintenance purposes.

However, open Terrarium have been developed and are placed in lighted areas, on the other hand, sealed Terrariums do not tolerate sunlight; they are placed in areas with diffused light.

Characteristics of plants suitable for a terrarium

They should be able to tolerate high humidity, moist soil, constant temperature, low light intensity and are shade tolerant.

They should be slow growing plants

A variety of sizes, colors of foliage will be desirable to make a terrarium unique.

A typical planting will consist of some plants that will be tall, low growing and some that will provide ground cover.

The best plants to choose from are those which like moisture and warmth and grow fairly slowly. Flowering plants are vulnerable to mould in the humid atmosphere thus encourage disease.

Placement of the Terrarium

Avoid placing next to windows; terrariums do not tolerate too much light.

Maintenance of Terrarium

Once they are established, they will go for months without watering. One may need to water only if the container feels light in weight or if the compost starts to turn grayish in color.

If, there are soil particles or mud splashes on the inside of the jar, clean them with a piece of sponge or dump cloth attached to the wire.

Condensation can be a problem when the bottle is first closed but this clears within a day or two; if the mistiness persists, remove the lead for a few hours to let the compost to dry.

Once a week, look at your bottle garden to check if it needs any attention which may be;

Trim the plants with a razor blade if they are growing vigorously.

Prune carefully any dead leaves, remove decaying matter or discolored leaves.

Spray a little insecticide into the terrarium if any diseases or pests have gained entry.

Fertilize the soil with liquid fertilizers or preferably slow release fertilizers.

List of plants suitable for terrariums

1. Aglaenema commutatum

2. Adiantum sp

3. Fittonia sp

4. Calathea sp

5. Peperomia sp

6. Begonia sp

7. Saxifraga sp

8. Zebrina pendula

9. Pilea cadieri sp

10. Dracaena sp

11. Marantha sp

Thursday 14 June 2012

AGAPANTHUS

image All of us get excited when we visit a well maintained flower garden. Some people have made creation and maintenance of gardens a favorable past time activity.

This is a tough job considering the hundreds of thousands that a gardener is to choose from. He has to consider the characteristics of every plant to be grown in the garden.

Some of the characteristics to consider are; the form of the plant: is it upright, trailing, what the maximum height it can attain?

Secondly he has to consider if the plant is a flowering plant. If so, what is the color of the flowers?

Thirdly he has to establish whether the plant is an evergreen or deciduous.

Finally he has to consider the impact of these plants to the environment. For example are the plants invasive in nature, what is the effect of the plants to buildings, the soil and to animals

In this article I will discuss about Agapanthus. There are thousands of flowering plants that can be used to give color to a flower garden- agapanthus is one of them.

For those growers who may wish to put a touch of blue in their gardens, consider planting Agapanthus at your home.

This plant produces elegant blue or white umbellate flowers on tall flower stalks, thus providing a burst blue color throughout the year.

For those in temperate regions, you can still enjoy the blue color during warm summer days.

I recommend this flowering plant as it is fast growing, disease resistant, easy to maintaining and propagating and is drought tolerant.

The plant is also tolerant to sandy soil and clay soils. The most popular and widely grown are the evergreen Agapanthus praecox species and its numerous cultivars.

During flowering, capsules are produced and when mature, they explode and release black flat seeds that are wind dispersed.

This plant can be propagated from seed or division of the rhizomes. New plants generated from seeds take longer to flower compared to those raised from the rhizomes.

The height of agapanthus ranges from 10 cm tall miniatures to 2 meters tall giants and their colors vary from shades of blue to pure white.

RECOMMENDED SPECIES

1. Cape Agapanthus (Agapanthus africanus subs africanas) has spreading, deep blue open flowers on rounded umbels reaching 30 cm across. This species is endemic to the Fynbos region of the Western Cape.

This is the most widespread variety in Kenya.

2. Fynbos Agapanthus (Agapanthus africanus subs. walshii) has longer drooping flowers and shorter leaves. It occurs naturally in the Granbouw district in south Africa.

3. Eastern cape Agapanthus (Agapanthus praecox) most popular and widespread species ranging from the western cape to Kwazulu natal with many local forms and cultivars.

Its leaves reach 60 cm and its umbels are borne on flower stalks 80-100 cm tall the blue (or rarely white) flowers and more than 5 cm long. Agapanthus praecox subspecies orientalis is the most popular-Mt Thomas has deep blue flowers.

4. Knysa Agapanthus– Agapanthus praecox subs minimus syn. Agapanthus comptonii) is smaller and lacking in growth of the former. Its inflorescence may grow up to 60 cm tall and the pale flowers reach 4.5 cm long.

It is confined to the eastern margin of the Western Cape and southern coastal region of the Eastern Cape. Recommended cultivars are Alelaide and Storms River.

5. Highveld Agapanthus (Agapanthus campunulatus) has 50 cm tall, slightly grey green leaves. The umbels reach 20 cm in diameter on stalks 70 cm tall with pale to blue spreading flowers.

It naturally occurs in grassland in the Drankensberg (Kwa zulu natal) and eastern free state to near Johannesburg (Gauteng) in the north. Recommended cultivars have white stripped leaves.

6. Drankensberg Agapanthus (Agapanthus caulescens syn Agapanthus nutans has 60 cm tall, glossy bright-green leaves in clusters. The umbels reach 20 cm in diameter, on stalks 60-130 cm tall with deep blue to violet (rarely white) spreading flowers.

It occurs among grassland along the northern Drankensberg of Mpumalanga and Northern Province.

7. Graskop Agapanthus (Agapanthus inapertus subsp pendulus) differs by its smaller heads of drooping flowers. This beautiful and popular plant occurs in the Sabie/Graskop district of Mpumalanga.

Other subspecies include Agapanthus inapertus subsp hollandii and Agapanthus inapertus subsp intermedius.

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