Let’s assume you’ve got your potting mix, planted your herbs, put them in the sun, and they’re now growing plenty of foliage for you. What now? What do you need to do to keep your home herb garden growing and providing delicious herb-y goodness for you? Read on to find out.

1) Caring for your potted herbs.

The two most important things your herbs need to keep growing and be healthy are light and water… but in the right quantities. Of course how much they need differs with different types of herbs, but light-wise 5-6 or even 8 hours of natural light per day is good. A southwestern-facing window is usually best for maximum light. If your herbs aren’t getting enough light they’ll grow longer stems and less leaves, and this is your signal to add some artificial light. If this happens attach some clamp-on lamps with compact fluorescent bulbs really close to your herbs (no more than 4-6 inches away).

As far as water goes, the most important thing to do is not to overwater. You need to let your herbs dry out completely between watering occasions, so stick a finger right down into the pot to check that the roots are not wet before you water again. Note down the dates the first few times you water, and then stick more or less to that schedule (still check the soil every time though).

The next most important thing after light and water is fertilizer. Use fish emulsion or a liquid seaweed (warning: they stink!). Feed your herbs once a month, or simply add a little of the fertilizer to the water when you water them. Note that the fertilizer you use should have low level of phosphorus or it will promote flowering, which you don’t want.

2) Using your potted herbs.

Growing herbs is not exactly like growing other plants, like flowers or a fern. How often do you rip handfuls off your favorite potted fern? Not often unless you’re prone to violent fits of anti-fern rage! Herbs from a home herb garden, on the other hand, are grown to be used. If you’re not tearing bits off them on a regular basis to add to you cooking, then you’ve missed the whole point. You need to do it in a controlled way though, or you’ll wind up killing the plant.

The two rules you should always observe when using your home herb garden are: 1) don’t take more than 1/3 of the total foliage of each of your potted herbs at any one time, and 2) take only the outer leaves or sprigs, allowing the younger centre growth to keep developing. Do it this way and all you’re really doing is pruning, which actually encourages more growth.

So that’s basically it. Nothing to it really, so get out there are start potting some herbs to enhance the flavor of your cuisine.

Arthur McLay is a herb grower enthusiast and author of the book “The Secrets of Herb Growing”. To learn more about your home herb garden visit http://www.herbgrowingcenter.com

A front garden design must be done with a fresh perspective. Take in the appearance of your home by strolling up and down the front street a few times. Notice how it looks to a passerby walking past your house or a visitor who walks towards it. How does the space look directly from the front or as you approach from the side?

Usually, people living in the home tend to have a perspective of their own front yard as one that includes a garage and a driveway that leads to the front door, or even looking out from inside the home. It is the perspective that others have when they view the space from the street that will give you an idea of the front garden design that will highlight the best features of your home.

A good garden creates the best impression for your home. The front yard design should ideally, complement the architecture of your home.

A Sense of Harmony

There has to be a sense of harmony about the various elements of the garden and home. Keep in mind the period of your home; a sleek and edgy water feature may not be the best fit for the garden in front of your traditional home.

Keep Maintenance at a Minimum

Design your garden in such a way that it is easy to maintain. You may want to minimize the amount of lawn and consider evergreens for trees. A messy and overgrown front yard will not only get on your nerves but also become the eyesore of the neighborhood.

Driveway

When you design your home and your garden, pay special attention to the driveway. It is a large proportion of most front yards. Choose pavers of the driveway to match the exterior of the house and garden paths, they must also be weight-bearing and resistant to stains and other wear and tear.

Practicality and Functionality

Functionality is an important aspect to consider when designing a front garden. Gardens that are chockfull of foliage may look good, but navigating through the dense overhanging may prove challenging and frustrating after the novelty wears off. Safety should also be of paramount importance. Ensure that the paths are well-lit and designed in such a way that there are no hard-to-negotiate turns or steps that are too steep.

Boundaries and Privacy

High hedges and high walls are practical options to achieve a sense of privacy. High walls can also provide some security and some extra closed space for entertaining visitors. Fencing is a good option for boundaries, decorative wrought iron and traditional picket fences are very popular options. If all you want is just to define the boundaries even a simple flower bed will do.

A front garden is not just for enjoyment or to add to the streetscape, but it also adds value to your property. When you construct a new home, you may also want to consider that you need to have an attractive garden out in the front of your house, and discuss it with your architect.

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Herbs have been used as curatives and flavorings for thousands of years. Early cultures found that their pungent flavors made food more palatable, that some would help heal wounds cleanly, and others ease pain and suffering. They were strewn on the floor to release their scents as people walked on them, or carried to disguise unsanitary smells. Early Greek doctors compiled and recorded their herbal remedies, and these became the foundations of all western medicine. Ancient Chinese, Indian and Egyptians also recorded and used herbs as medicine. Many of these same herbs are in use today by various cultures as their traditional medicines.

Throughout medieval times, herb gardens became important additions to homes and religious centers. Every housewife knew which herbs to use for home doctoring, preserving and cooking. Herbals were written, describing plants and stressing their virtues, both medicinal and superstitious. It is interesting to note how many of the medicinal herb constituents are part of medicines today.

Herbs, as we tend to think of them today, are plants that we use in cooking, for aromatic scents or perhaps to enhance our health. In the last few years, there has been a revival of interest in and appreciation of herbs. More and more people grow them for their beauty as well as their many other uses. Old favorites as well as familiar herbs are more readily available, both fresh or dried, and in plant nurseries devoted to herbs, as well as seed catalogs.

A special garden is not necessary to grow herbs. These accommodating plants grow successfully in pots on windowsills, in tubs on patios and balconies, or in back yards. Most people begin with culinary herbs, for their aromatic and flavorful foliage. If you want a culinary herb area, include some of those also with edible flowers and roots. All culinary herbs can be used fresh or preserved in some way.

Herbs can be perennials, living for several years; biennials which have a two year life cycle; or annuals which grow, reproduce and die in a single year. Some are small and compact plants, others as large as shrubs. Many have beautiful foliage and blossoms, and can be grown interspersed with your landscaping. Most herbs like a sunny location, with well drained soil, and you will find that most resist disease and insect infestations.

If you are just beginning your gardening adventure with herbs, a good way to begin is to purchase starter plants from a reputable nursery. You may only need one or two plants of each herb. You can grow these in containers, or transplant them outdoors to a suitable location. Some of the common cooking herbs should be planted from seed, notably dill, fennel, and coriander. You will generally find herbs quite easy to grow if you take the time to learn the requirements of the plants you decide to grow.

Everyone has their own reasons for deciding to grow herbs; to flavor food, for potpourris to scent their home, for refreshing and invigorating teas or tisanes, for health enhancement or to even to control garden pests. Herb gardens can be a separate specialized type, or you can grow a variety of herbs for different uses. Whatever your reasons for growing a home herb garden, you will enjoy the adventure, and reap the benefits for years to come.

Gardening expert Nicki Goff offers a free e-mail starter course all about her main passion… herb gardening. For access, visit her website, http://www.HomeHerbGardener.com. Visit her website to find more great tips, and her new comprehensive e-book, on creating, maintaining and enjoying your own home herb garden, along with bonus e-books on specific aspects of herb lore.

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If you plan to enlarge your house, you just first consider the effect the extension will have on the overall shape of the building. Certain shape combinations are auspicious, while others are not. At the same time, you must analyze what effect the extension will have on the overall position of the house and what impact it will have on the directional sector it occupies.

Another method of determining the Feng Shui effects of extensions is to look at the element represented by the sector where the extension is to be built, and then check its impact on e element represented by your main door. Thus, if the extension is to be built on the northern side of the house, it represents the element water. If the main door is located facing the southeast(which represents small wood) then the extension will enhance the door’s Feng Shui, since water produces wood.

If, on the other hand, the extension is located in the northwest, representing big metal, then the extension will have a detrimental effect on the door, since metal destroys wood. This method of analysis is highly recommended, since element analysis is one of the fundamental principles of all Feng Shui practice.

This same analysis can be applied to the building of gazebos, stand-alone garages, and other large structures planned for the home.

Fences and walls serve to divide the boundaries of the house from external influences. Walls, for instance, are effective barriers that can block out the effect of harmful objects such as boulders, fast-flowing or clogged up drains, telephone poles, and whole host of other inauspicious structures. The design of walls should, however, be harmonized with the landscape.

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Many people want a beautiful garden, but it can take a lot of time to have such perfection. But what if I told you that you could have an almost perfect garden without the high cost, intensive effort or without spending all your time creating it and keeping it that way; if I showed you the secret would this please you?

Now then what if I told you that I learned most all of my “Secret” gardening tricks from a book? Would you believe it? What if I told you the name of the book, so you too could be one with a beautiful garden in 20% of the time, or less? Would you buy it? I did, and the book is simply called;

“Instant Gardens – Practical Projects for the Impatient Gardener” by Peter McHoy; Lorenz Books, Anness Publishing, London; 1999. ISBN: 1-85967-959-5.

The best part of this book is that it is fully illustrated with step by step instructions. Everything you’ll need for each project is listed, as well as substitutions if you cannot get the supplies, want to save a little extra money or modify the project as you go. The book goes into drawings, use of space and renderings, before you start you’ll need a plan; the plan is to have a low-cost beautiful yard and garden, that is easy to make and easy to maintain.

Build lattices, ponds, brick walkways, retaining walls, water features, fences and grass that looks like a golf course green. Understand the eco-system you are building, the birds and critters you’ll attract and how to make it all look like the garden of Eden.

Now then, as this is a book review, I must give you’re the pros and the cons. The pros I have listed above and the cons, well, I can only think of one. I should have bought this book a lot sooner, before I invested 10s of $1,000′s in my garden. Please consider this.

Lance Winslow enjoys community philanthropy – Lance Winslow likes small business. Lance Winslow has also been involved in the Oil Industry; http://www.oilchangeguys.com/aboutus.shtml/.