|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
A
gate of ivy for our garden will keep the heat of the sun away and give
the gate a pretty, green and cream coloured ornamental design that
will be the envy of neighbours and guests.
The ivy is the easiest plant to grow in the garden. It needs very little care, hardly ever invites pests and will tolerate almost total neglect from the lazy gardener. But it has many different and unusual uses. First of all, it has been found to be a good plant for cleaning up indoor air in houses, malls, schools, colleges, garages, etc. It grows happily in plain water, just like the money plant, and also does well in soil. It is one of the friendliest plants to grow inside the house. If you have an old broken but still pretty kettle, or a mug or a jug that has no handle but is still nice looking, you can fill it up with water, a bit of crushed charcoal to keep the water sweet, and put a ivy plant inside it to make a stylish and inexpensive house plant. It will look great on top of a bookshelf, or over the television or even by your phone. Indoor air cleaner: studies done by NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administrator) have shown that the ivy has an excellent overall rating for removing formaldehyde from indoor air. Formaldehyde is found in various sources inside buildings. It is used to treat many products that we buy. It is in fabrics, carpet backing, floor coverings, and adhesives. It is released by gas stoves and is found in tobacco smoke. It is a good idea to grow an ivy plant near your gas stove. Formaldehyde`A0is also used in plywood, particleboards, which are used a lot in making domestic and office furniture and fittings. This chemical has been known to cause eye, nose and throat irritation, respiratory diseases and cancer. Whether you grow it in semi shade or semi sun, in the garden or in the kitchen, the ivy will do well, either pouring down or clambering up the wall. It is also a good plant to grow as a border around flowers like the marigold, dahlia, roses or carnations or other houseplants like the fern or the Peace Lily.`A0 To make the ivy trail over your gate, you must get your carpenter to make a solid and sturdy meshed ledge over it. Then plant your ivy near your garden gate to climb up and let it trail over the mesh or screen and watch it prettify the entrance with ivy magic. The wire frame for the gate can be made from metal, wood, steel, iron or whatever you like. It can also be painted green or blue or red, or you can let the ivy give its own cream and green colours to the ornament. Try to buy a coloured ivy with cream and green, yellow and green or white and blue shades. Your garden gate will make you proud. Garden tips: cigar ash and cigarette ash are excellent additions to houseplant soil. Their ashes contain potassium, which helps leaves to remain green. Peanut shells are also good for indoor gardening. If you add them to your potted plant, they help to aerate the soil and are organically beneficial as they decompose in time. Beer is another natural
nutrient that you can feed to your houseplants. Save the left over
dribs and drabs of stale beer left over from a dinner party, mix with
a little water and use to water your plants with it once in a while.
Crush egg shells saved from an egg dish, and enrich your garden soil
with them.
|
|||
|
|
|||
