Author : Gregg Hall

Roses were spread across the U S when early pioneers brought their rose cuttings with them in mason jars to plant them in the new areas they were moving to This art of propagating roses has been around since Victorian times and it remains one of the easiest and most enjoyable endeavors for anyone with a garden This also makes for a very inexpensive way to begin your own rose garden if you can simply obtain some cuttings from a friend or relative There are many different ways to prepare and plant the cuttings and you should try different ways to see what works for your particular garden but below I will cover one of the methods to get you started

The method we will discuss is simply called the “Stick In The Ground Method” and is probably the simplest way to start propagating roses Finding a good stem is the first step when it comes to prepping your rose cuttings to plant If you have already decided that you want to propagate roses you have probably already decided on a particular plant and have access to it What you want to look for is a stem that is healthy and green that is about twelve inches long You should also try to get them from bushes that active growth has not yet started Be sure that you take a stem from a bush that has been watered so that the stem will not be dry when you plant it in your garden

Choose stems with smaller buds whenever possible and try to find one that has at least three and that it is totally free of any disease One you have identified a stem that meets all of the criteria take a pair of very sharp pruning shears to remove it from the plant and remove the excess foliage for it After you have cut the stem from the bush you now want to cut it down to a smaller size Hold it with the buds pointing up and make a 45 degree cut above the top bud then do the same below the bottom one

Now that you have trimmed it down the stem is ready to be put in the ground Choose a place in your garden where the new rose cutting will not be subjected to any traffic from people walking through or animals You should also be sure that the soil is very fertile and receives the right amount of sunlight It is also crucial that the area has good drainage so that the plant does not get over saturated To plant the cutting use a trowel to create a small hole and insert the cutting, pushing it about halfway down Press the soil down so that is firm around the cutting and keep it hydrated

Gregg Hall is an author living in Navarre Beach, Florida. Find more about rose cutting as well as rose gifts at http://www.personalroses.com

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Author : Chantel Danis

Are you looking for a way to leave the hectic world behind you, even for just a few hours? Then a private garden retreat is the answer to your stress free dreams Follow these tips and create an oasis that exudes peace and tranquility

When you look out into your backyard or bare garden, are you instantly taken to a more tranquil place where the stress and worries of the workday disappear before your eyes? If not, then you need to create a personal retreat where you can unwind, relax and enjoy nature Creating an oasis can be very rewarding and simple to put together With just a few key ingredients, you can be reap the benefits in no time at all

The first thing to consider is the area in which to house your new retreat Ideally, your location should be quiet and peaceful with the least amount of distraction If your yard is all open space, the a small fence and an arbor could be well served Once you have explored your options, it s time to add your personal touches Here are some ideas of how to improve the look and feel of your garden retreat

Seating should be at the top of your list You need comfortable outdoor furniture that will suit your particular needs Do you want to sit down and read or lounge in the warm breeze? Either way, you should choose furniture made from woods like bamboo, teak and wicker, all of which simultaneously blend with nature

Metallics are too hard and will take away from the natural look of your new space Black should also be avoided because of it s ability to absorb the heat and bright colors are too busy and will distract you However, for just a splash of color, try adding some of you favorite annuals in a light color of your choice

Use a color scheme to unify your space Cool colors like blue, green, gray and white are known to have calming effects You can easily add this color palette to your decor Plantings could include tall grasses and silver foliage If digging up your backyard is not part of the plan, then place decorative pots and urns in a pattern or randomly throughout the area for a whimsical touch

Are you looking to attract wildlife for a true nature inspired theme? Attract chirping birds or chattering animals native to your environment by providing their basic habitat, feeding, and cover requirements Suet is a good choice for attracting insect eating birds such as nuthatches and woodpeckers Nectar will attract hummingbirds and orioles Don t forget to provide them with a bird bath

Now that you have spent all that precious energy working on the visual beauty of your garden, adding various flowers, furniture, maybe an arbor, how about some soothing sounds? Running water gently trickling over rocks or out of a fountain and a set of elegant and lacquered bamboo wind chimes completes your quiet, peaceful, stress free sanctuary for you to relax

I thrive on researching and utilizing natural resources that are plentiful and renewable. I love to entertain on a regular basis, especially in my backyard. For a great variety of bamboo wind chimes, visit
http://www.hemp-guide.com/bamboowindchimes

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Author : Michelle Janosi

Back in the day when you went to the grocery store, you rarely got a plastic bag but instead the store gave you paper ones So when people would get plastic bags, they would wash them out so they could reuse them When the manufactures of the plastic bags lowered the cost, stores started giving them out as if they were free This is where the plastic bag problem began Today there are trillions of plastic bags lying in the dump that won’t decompose for hundreds of years Another problem with plastic bags is that they’re made of polyethylene (an oil by-product)

Eco-Friendly Plastic Bags

Polyethylene has some advantages and disadvantages The one good thing about it is that you can recycle it, however; not everyone does and some recycle pick-ups won’t take them so many of these plastic bags go to the dump The bad thing about polyethylene is that as it decomposes, the gases that come off are harming the planet For this reason, some government officials are trying to ban the bags altogether

Unfortunately, there are times when a person needs to use polyethylene bags A good example is when your dog has an accident on the floor and you need to dispose of it or you have a septic tank and can’t flush your paper down the toilet or one that I’ve been known for, to dispose of my cat’s litter Another great use for these bags is if you are storing something for a long while like I’ve done with Christmas lights It’s a bit too difficult getting them back into the little box they came in

The alternative to polyethylene bags is a plastic bag that has degradable on the label These are becoming more obtainable in your local grocery store and discount retailers

The Biodegradable Bag

When degradable products encounter the elements of nature such as rain, air and the sun, it causes a structural alteration As microorganisms consume a material, this is known as biodegrading

A biodegradable bag that is an alternative to your everyday plastic bag is the hydro-biodegradable bag This bag is made from the starch of plants Unfortunately though, this bag is not as eco-friendly as you might think As the bag breaks down, it lets off harmful gases and takes more bacteria to break it down

These bags are great for one time use such as holding your trash until it gets to the landfill To reduce the number of bags you send to the landfill though, use reusable bags whenever possible

If you’re looking for a plastic bag that’s biodegradable (the most ideal), you should find an oxo-biodegradable bag This bag is still made from oil by products but as it breaks down, it doesn’t harm the atmosphere as polyethylene does When exposed to the sun, the oxo-biodegradable bag will degrade and bacteria will alter the plastic to an organic matter (compressed carbons) These bags will do this in half the time that it takes a polyethylene bag The best thing about this bag is the manufacturer doesn’t have to alter any of their machinery

Plastic bags have become a bad element altogether and finding a better alternative to the plastic bag is definitely a must to keep our environment healthy Avoid plastic bags altogether at the grocery story by taking a reusable bag and if you really need to use a plastic bag, make sure it’s earth-friendly

Would you like to learn more useful tips for going green? Make sure to check out Michelle’s GOGREEN Blog for everything Going Green.

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Author : Aydan Corkern

If the past several years can be any indication of what many home owners have to look forward to in the spring, there will be enough heavy rainfall, tornadoes, and floods to go around for everybody Thankfully, everyone will not be affected by the wacky weather that can occur so quickly, but for those that are, it will be no picnic When Mother Nature comes calling, she does not care whether you are home or not or ready or not

It is always difficult, if not impossible, to be prepared for any type of natural disaster Even though we do have better and earlier warnings from our weather services, it can still be of little use in some cases When there are tornadoes watches or warnings broadcast, it can give you only a matter of minutes to get you and your family to safety, let alone do anything to prevent damage to your home With a tornado, there is very little protection you can provide for your home anyway About the best you can hope for when a tornado hits is that your family is in the safest area of the home possible and that the tornado passes you by If it does not, it can bring destruction to your home and death or injury to those you love

Floods are unpredictable as well We can be advised of flash flood warnings, but sometimes the smaller streams or creeks can rise up faster and higher than expected You can be caught off guard so quickly In some more advantageous instances, there will be a couple of days of warning that flash flooding could be imminent when there is heavy rainfall occurring for an extended period, thus allowing the predictions of rising rivers to be more accurate Sometimes this allows a home owner time to place sandbags around their home and to evacuate some of their most prized belongings and their family beforehand

Flash flooding can also be caused by melting snow in the higher elevations when temperatures start to rise in the springtime Heavy rains combined with deep snows melting will eventually make its way southward to cause rivers to engorge and flood Even those home owners that do not get the rain and did not have the snowfall earlier in the year, can suffer the floods that can be caused by these things Your best defense against flooding is to be adequately insured Since you can rarely hold back the water, your only hope of protecting your house and property is to know that you are covered when and if the water comes The water damage that a home can suffer from flooding can be mild to major and you will never know which one until it shows up

Visit Aydan Corkern’s
Water Damage Boston ,
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Author : Bernice Eker

When it comes to renewable energy sources, there are many of them available for us to use For instance, have you ever thought about using some of the renewable energy sources that nature gave us? Wind is a fantastic renewable energy that many people have relied on for decades It seems that only in recent years the alternative to the carbon style of electricity that is renewable has been pushed into the limelight and used in every way possible

In this day and age, everyone is looking for all sorts of different ways to go green and using up all different renewable energy sources Wind power is one of the greatest and cleanest renewable energies that we have around now and it produces no by-products at all It also does not use any water as the source and also emits no type of carbon dioxide into our already polluted environment; in short, wind power is some of the best renewable energy we have right now

People have been using wind power for all sorts of different things for years, this includes wind surfing, flying kits and sometimes even to power electricity via wind turbines Basically, the kinetic energy is trapped within a wind turbine which is produced by wind and then converts it into electricity, many farms still use this type of kinetic energy to power their farms The result is electricity that is produced by DC power The converter is then needed to be able transform DC power it makes into AC power that can be used for use in our private homes It’s important to also consult a professionally trained person about installing a new wind turbine

Kinetic energy formula is something that many people do not know anything about, but it a fantastic thing and many people use it every single day Have you ever been on a roller coaster? Well, you have gotten a kinetic energy formula in your life because of the roller coaster taking advantage of the wind power

When it comes to wind turbine, there are two different kinds of them that you can choose from if you want to take advantage of the wind power The wind turbines range from small all the way to very large; it all just depends on just how many items you want to power If you are looking to power your entire house or farm, a large wind turbine is your best option, but if you are looking just to power up a small space, than a small one will do

So there you have it, using wind power is not only a fantastic renewable energy, but it is also a great way to save you some cash on your electric bill and you will be helping the environment There are many companies that have built wind power generators, so if you do not want to have your home fully powered by wind yet you would like to give it a try on occasion, why not purchase a wind power generator? It is roughly two hundred dollars installed and it will help the environment each and every time you use it

For more information on renewable energy visit: http://energizes.net/

Bernice Eker is an expert on Renewable Energy wants to share her expertise with others.

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