Carissa Macrocarpa - An Excellent Shrub For An Arid Climate And Mild Winter Garden

One of the most suitable landscape shrubs for a dry climate and mild winter garden is the Natal Plum, Carissa macrocarpa. It fulfills a number of design functions being attractive, very modest in its water requirements, hardy to most soil types other than boggy ones, suitable for sea-coast situations, and virtually untouched by pests and disease. An often overlooked property is its soft, tasty and decorative, sour/sweet fruit, which follow the pretty and fragrant white blooms.

Natal Plum reaches about 2 meters in both height and width, with a fairly open form that can be made more compact with careful pruning. Its finest quality in my view is the delicate oval shape and fine texture of the leaves. The Carissa is possibly unique and unmatched in this department. Furthermore, it associates quite beautifully with other bushes of similar growth habit and leaf texture, such as Coprosma, Raphiolepis, and the evergreen Sumac, Rhus ovata. It can either be the dominant species in a shrub combination, or used sparingly as a subtle accent plant.

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There are other uses to which Carissa macrocarpa can be put. Carefully pruned up, it can transformed into a mini tree, creating a clear emphasis and even focal point. There is also a prostrate variety available now called "Green Carpet", that grows to about a meter in height but can be kept much lower by regular shearing, thereby serving as a valuable ground cover. It is successfully grown as a sheared, formal hedge, but by so doing, the beautiful textural effect is diminished, as is of course the amount of flowers and fruit.

Carissa Macrocarpa - An Excellent Shrub For An Arid Climate And Mild Winter Garden

Care, maintenance and drawbacks

Unfortunately, not all is rosey in the Carissa garden;it does have some drawbacks that should be taken note of. Natal Plum is not hardy to cold and should only be grown in frost-free areas. The plant is somewhat thorny, but not dangerously so. The leaves are hard, rubbery and prickly, and so the plant should not be located close to paths and entrances. More serious is the white poisonous sap in the leaves, but the chance of someone chewing and swallowing them are virtually non-existent, as the extremely bitter taste would force a person to spit them out immediately. Pruning though should be carried out wearing gloves and eye protectors, while ones mouth should be kept firmly shut, in order to avoid sap squirting into it! Its growth rate varies according to location.

Originating from South Africa, Carissa can be grown with very little irrigation. In Mediterranean climates it can survive without additional water, but will perform best with about 200mm (200 liters per square meter) per year. While the leaves are poisonous, the fruit are perfectly edible. It is worth noting that Carissa is one of those rare fruiting shrubs or trees, which is virtually pest free, making it a "must" plant not only for dry climate gardens, but organic ones as well.

Carissa Macrocarpa - An Excellent Shrub For An Arid Climate And Mild Winter Garden

My name is Jonathan Ya'akobi.
I've been gardening in a professional capacity since 1984.
I am the former head gardener of the Jerusalem Botanical Garden, but now concentrate on building gardens for private home owners.
I also teach horticulture to students on training courses.
I'd love to help you get the very best from your garden, so you're welcome to visit me on http://www.dryclimategardening.com

Pruning Knockout Roses

In order to make the best decision when pruning Knockout roses several factors need to be considered. This variety is a brand new hybrid that requires less care than most of the other types. However some trimming and pruning is required even for these low maintenance varieties.

Here are some tips to help you.

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Do not prune too often: Knockout roses do not require pruning more than every three years. Of course if you want to do a little trimming to keep the bush or shrub in a certain shape then this can be done anytime.

Pruning Knockout Roses

When to prune? Early spring when growth is just starting is the best time to do this. You will stimulate growth by removing old, dead wood from the center of the plant. This will also allow more air to circulate and prevent disease from attacking the plant. However you can prune in summer if you wish to retain the shape of your bush or shrub.

Keep your pruning tools clean: It is wise to use pruning shears for these types of plants. You should always sterilize them before you start work and in between plants. You can use rubbing alcohol for this. When you do this it will cut down the risk of disease to your plants.

How tall? Decide how tall you want your bushes or shrubs. Always trim them two feet under the required height you want. For example if you want the bush to be five foot you should trim it to three foot. It will grow up to the five foot mark during the growing season.

Position and angle: You should try to cut the branch at a forty five degree angle. This will reduce old stumps and stimulate new growth. You should make your cut a quarter of an inch above an outward facing bud. This will enable the bush or shrub to grow upwards and outwards.

Cutting canes: New canes are meant to produce new blooms, but they do not always do so. Therefore it is better to cut these out at their base. They are usually weaker branches that shoot up from the base of the plant. This will keep the bush stronger and flowering better.

These points will help you when pruning Knockout roses and will keep them looking good for a long time. They really do not need much maintenance to make a beautiful addition to your garden. All you need to do is to know how to plant, water and prune your plants and you will be able to enjoy them with minimum effort.

Pruning Knockout Roses

You can visit [http://www.caringroses.com] and learn more about pruning knockout roses [http://www.caringroses.com/rose-bush-care.html] in your garden.

Yellow Daisy Bush, Euryops - Drought Tolerant Winter Flowering Shrubs

Euryops, or Yellow Daisy Bush are drought tolerant shrubs that flower almost all year round. They have bright yellow daisy-like blossoms that cover the shrub like a golden cloak. Their leaves are dark green with deep serrated edges that resemble Shasta daisy foliage. They can be useful as a quick fix for a bare garden bed or placed in the middle of the border.

Euryops pectinatus are from South Africa, making them perfect choices for dry, arid gardens. They can grow to a height of 6 feet tall and about 4 feet wide. These shrubs grow evenly and keep their somewhat round shape by themselves. Euryops are good to use for growing a low screen or bold color impact when planted in groups.

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In the ground, these heat-tolerant shrubs take full baking sun in the summer and still look green and pretty. They also make good container plants that don't need a lot of pruning to shape. Just cut off the dead flowers to encourage more blooms. The daisies will only last a day if you cut them, but the foliage looks pretty in flower arrangements. Since Euryops shrubs are evergreen, they are recommended for patios, balconies or other areas you don't want leaf litter.

Yellow Daisy Bush, Euryops - Drought Tolerant Winter Flowering Shrubs

Sunset gives their zones as 8, 9 12-24 or USDA Zone 9-10 which means they are cold tolerant to about to 22 degrees. There's another variety that has silvery leaves called Euryops acraeus which is said to do better surviving a bit of frost.

After a few years Euryops shrubs will develop a thatch on the inside. The structure is evocative of the Australian Tea Tree with peeling bark and twisted branches. Cut off interior branches that are dead or overcrowded. This should stimulate new growth on the remaining branch. If you cut the entire plant back all the way you risk killing it off, so try to do your pruning in phases.

Another interesting characteristic of these shrubs is that they seem to bloom the heaviest on the side that faces west. Keep that in mind when you are landscaping your garden retreat. Yellow bush Daisies make a striking statement lining a driveway or path. Good understory plants are white alyssum or fuchsia bulbs. Good luck and happy gardening!

Yellow Daisy Bush, Euryops - Drought Tolerant Winter Flowering Shrubs

Laura Zinkan is a writer in California. She cultivates a gardening site at http://www.theGardenPages.com with plant profiles, growing tips about succulents and native plants. You can share her unique vision of Los Angeles and California at her art blog http://www.AngelCityArt.blogspot.com ©2009 by Laura Zinkan. Article may be reprinted if author credit is given with a website link. All rights reserved.

Ligustrum Bonsai - A Safe Bet For Bonsai Beginners

Ligustrum bonsai is a common variety of bonsai that is quite tough and hardy. This quality of the species makes it an extremely suitable bonsai for bonsai beginners, since it can survive in spite of minor neglect in maintenance. Ligustrum bonsai can be of various types. They are deciduous, semi-evergreen, or evergreen shrubs and trees that can be found in the woods of North Africa, Europe, Australia and the Himalayas.

Some of the most popular varieties are the Ligustrum Ovalifolium, the Ligustrum vulgare and the Ligustrum sinense. This species is commonly known as Privet. Each subspecies come in different shapes, colors, leaf shape and growth habits. Some species will produce a white flower that is somewhat fragrant during summer. During late summer, the tree will produce small fruits, each of them bearing one seed.

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Sunlight and water requirement

Ligustrum Bonsai - A Safe Bet For Bonsai Beginners

The Ligustrum bonsai requires partial or full sunlight. You can also grow the bonsai even inside the house, but the lack of sunlight and humidity may damage the tree. Do not keep the bonsai outside during winter.

The bonsai requires constant humidity. Since this shrub grows quite fast, it requires a lot of water, especially during summer. Investing in an inexpensive moisture meter is also a great idea, as this will save you from guess works.

Since the leaves of this bonsai require humidity to keep them healthy, you should mist it often during the day. Do not keep the bonsai near a ventilator, as this can dry out the leaves.

Feeding and Fertilizer

Fertilizing your Ligustrum bonsai is extremely important, especially because the tree grows fast and it cannot derive all its nutrients from the soil. You can provide the tree with half strength fertilizer every alternate week. During winter, fertilizing the bonsai once a month should be enough.

Pruning

In order to maintain the shape of your Ligustrum bonsai, you will have to prune the leaves and branches regularly. Trimming is especially required during the growing season. This should be done during late winter or early spring, just before the growing season starts.

Insects and diseases

Ligustrum bonsai may be affected by some of the usual infestations as leaf spot, scale insects, spider mites, Aphids, whiteflies, root rot and so on. You can easily get rid of these with the help of some of the standard insecticides.

Spray the Ligustrum bonsai with a non-toxic insecticide every month. However, remember that you should never spray the tree when the soil is dry.

Ligustrum Bonsai - A Safe Bet For Bonsai Beginners

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The Snowberry Shrub in Landscaping and Gardens

The common snowberry is a popular shrub in landscaping and gardens due to its decorative white fruit. The snowberry bush is also very tolerant of trimming and can be grown as a medium to tall hedge.

The western snowberry is part of the honeysuckle family. The snowberry shrub grows up to three feet in height and spreads through rhizomes, forming colonies of fruit-bearing plants. The flowers are white to light pink at the end of twigs and upper leaf axils.

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Snowberries are an important source of winter food for birds including quail, pheasant and grouse. They are a famine food for humans due to their bitterness and the presence of saponins in the berries. Saponins, a substance also found in many beans, can be destroyed by cooking.

The Snowberry Shrub in Landscaping and Gardens

Saponins are quite toxic to some animals such as fish. Native Americans put large quantities of snowberries in streams and lakes as a fishing technique to stupefy or kill fish. An infusion of the roots has also been used for inflamed or weak eyes and to aid in convalescence after childbirth. The branches of the snowberry bush can also be made into brooms.

Snowberry plants have extensive root systems are can be used to stabilize soils on banks and slopes. They grow in open prairies and along streams and lakes in Montana, Washington, Utah, New Mexico, Minnesota and Canada. They can likewise be used in landscaping to reinforce sloped areas and soil around water features.

Try the versatile and attractive snowberry bush to add a decorative and practical plant to your landscaping plans!

The Snowberry Shrub in Landscaping and Gardens

Kathleen Karlsen is a mother of five children with a passionate interest in creating a world where children and youth are free to grow in imagination and joy. She has a lifelong interest in metaphysics, psychology, healing and the arts. She manages a multimedia business with her husband Andrew in Bozeman, Montana.

The Art of Painting Trees and Shrubs

Trees and shrubs are the most popular subjects in a landscape oil painting. They can be painted in detail or out of focus, and do not have any set shape. That is the best thing about doing them. Their shapes are pretty much a free-hand style. The only thing to remember is with a foliage tree or shrub, you must use at least two or three colors. The first color is the background color, or the back of the tree or shrub. The second color can be either your highlight or a secondary color. The third color is the highlight color. Now how to apply the colors differs between artist. I work on a wet canvass (a wet primer is added to the canvass before painting.) so my paints are not as creamy as most. The reason for this is I have a better time getting my second colors to stick to the first by thinning out the mix. Now lets take a look at the base colors.

For creating base colors or background colors for a tree or shrub it is important to remember this is the back of the tree. This color should be quite a bit darker than your highlights. Here are some of my favorites. For a spring background color I mix Prussian blue, and thalo green. It should lean a little towards the green color but this should make a good dark color due to the Prussian blue. If you want it darker add either a little black, brown, or alizorin crimson to the mix.

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For fall colors it is a little different. I have seen brown used as a background color but to me it doesn't look realistic. Here are some ideas. For a yellow tree start out with black and white to create grey and add raw sienna or dark sienna. To this add a small amount of cadmium yellow medium. For an orange tree start out with the same grey mix and add burnt sienna. For a red tree use alizorine crimson with a small amount of bright red. Even green has a different shade in the fall. Use white, raw sienna, and phtalo blue.

The Art of Painting Trees and Shrubs

For the second colors it is a little easier. For spring green I like to use a mix of white, phtalo blue and cadmium yellow to give me a slightly colder color green. For a summer green I use cadmium yellow with sap green. Use more yellow than the green but the color should not be extreamly light in color.

Fall colors can be made easily. For a yellow tree use Cadmium yellow and white, For a red tree use Bright red, white, and a small amount of Cadmium orange to warm it up a little. Orange trees can be made with Cadmium orange and a little white.

Now these colors can be used as the highlight colors or as a secondary color. The only thing to remember is to apply the colors where you think light will hit the tree or shrub. Another thing to remember is not to apply these colors at random. Create shapes using the colors, this will only give the painting more interest.

The last set of colors are for bright highlights. On a green tree or shrub use a little yellow, On a yellow tree add more white. On an orange tree use a little yellow (use sparingly) or add a little more white to your orange highlight color. On a red tree add a little orange color (use sparingly) or add more white to the red color mix. Remember these highlights are where the sun will strike on the tree and should be of a warm color.

In later articles I will discuss how to actually paint different types of trees.

The Art of Painting Trees and Shrubs

Samuel Jaycox is a self taught artist from Pawtucket Rhode Island. He owns a store on the web at http://www.ezmart.ecrater.com

How to Memorialize a Loved One After Death - Ideas and Tips

Memorializing a loved one who has passed on helps us to deal with grief and ensure that new generations will be able to share the memories. Here are some ideas for thoughtful tributes that will help to celebrate a life and keep our love fresh and vibrant.

• Plant a tree or flowering shrub the deceased would have liked. You can also design an accompanying plaque that describes the purpose of the tribute, including dates of birth/death and a photo.

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• Write a poem, have it laminated, and give copies to friends/family. Be sure to include a complimentary photo, not necessarily one taken in the last years of the deceased's life. Sometimes a picture from youth or early adulthood suits the purpose better. Such a creation is unique and endearing to all.

How to Memorialize a Loved One After Death - Ideas and Tips

• Donate to a favorite cause or participate in events for a charity that the deceased supported.

• As an ongoing memorial, immediate family can set a place at the table where the deceased usually sat. For some, this might seem almost spooky. For others, it will provide comfort.

• Create an Internet domain or social networking page where friends and relatives can upload photos, anecdotes, and videos. Some genealogy sites also provide excellent resources for publishing online.

• If the deceased is cremated, buy a potted plant for each close friend and family member. Sprinkle a few of the deceased's ashes into each plant. This symbolizes the continuing cycle of life.

• Get together on the person's birthday. Buy gifts and donate them to a charitable organization that can pass them on to the needy. This gives everyone a chance to share stories and happy memories. Try to emphasize the joyous times.

• Honor your loved one with cremation jewelry. Did you know there are companies that can turn ashes (or a lock of hair) into memorial diamonds? It takes about six to nine months to create a lasting remembrance. If this seems morbid or weird, consider purchasing standard jewelry and have it engraved with the name of the deceased.

• Ashes of the deceased can be incorporated into ceramic or clay creations, including decorative photo frames.

• Order commemorative photo plates, perhaps with a verse or two from a favorite poem or song of the deceased. With modern technology, photos can be incorporated into many products.

• Small locks of the deceased's hair can be saved in lockets along with a photo.

If you are uncertain about what you want to do, be sure to ask your funeral director to save ashes and/or hair until you have a chance to make up your mind. The period between death and burial or cremation does not leave you with much time to be creative. You may make better decisions after the initial shock has passed.

How to Memorialize a Loved One After Death - Ideas and Tips

You can find funeral and celebration-of-life resources at this eulogy resources site. When seeking funeral accommodations for visiting relatives and friends, be sure to search through the listings at 111 Travel Directory.