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If you are an individual who has a home garden and does your own gardening, you obviously know the need for a good fertilizer. This is a necessary gardening product that can assist many of the plants you grow in your garden to grow faster and healthier. For best results, only environmentally friendly fertilizers should be used so that you can benefit the environment as well as your garden specifically.

Environmentally friendly fertilizers are essentially organic and contain no harmful chemicals that are manufactured by factories. Because those that are non-organic are considerably faster at working, those that are environmentally friendly will generally take a longer time to work their magic. At the same time, however, a truly good fertilizer carries no risk of burning or dehydrating your plants due to their lack of high salt content.

An environmentally friendly fertilizer will have to be broken down over time in your garden. The soil will require more time to digest it, which will then allow necessary nutrients to be broken down and available to plants. The most common fertilizers that are preferable in organic and healthy gardening are those made from a high concentration of nitrogen and usually incorporate fish emulsion, potassium, which typically utilize sulfate of potash or greensand and phosphorous, which contain bone meal and rock phosphate.

Fertilizers that are environmentally friendly will always only include all natural ingredients that naturally break down in the soil and deliver plenty of nourishment to the plants in your garden. They also help to keep the water supply safe, whereas chemical fertilizers can have a great negative effect.

Photo by: Doug Beckers

Those without much yard space may want to consider container gardening as a way to add some color and interest to their outdoor living spaces. Even gardeners who are fortunate enough to have adequate room in their yards to practice their hobby in will want to use containers as a way to add accent to patios and doorways. Almost anything that can be grown in a traditional garden will thrive in a container as long as proper drainage is present.

Gardening with culinary herbs in containers is a great way for the home to cook to always have a ready supply of available, fresh herbs to use in meal preparation. These containers can be placed close to the kitchen door for easy access. One of the benefits of growing herbs is that the process of snipping off a bit to use will result in further growth of the plants, ensuring that there will be plenty available for later use. Some people also like to grow common household vegetables in a container garden, and salad ingredients such as lettuce and radishes work especially well for this.

Those with an artistic bent may want to create a container garden that showcases their talents by using colorful ornamentals in flowerpots and planter boxes. A typical gardening method is to place taller plants in the center of the pot or the back of the planter, with medium sized plants in the middle, and trailing plants that spill over the edges at the front of the container.

Photos by: daryl_mitchell, slideshow bob

An indoor garden that includes air-purifying plants can be both beautiful and beneficial to the home environment. One factor to consider when combining the hobby of gardening with a love of pets is to check to see if the plants you want to grow indoors are toxic to pets. Carefully selecting pet safe, air purifying plants is a positive way to decorate your home or office.

It’s essential to select air-purifying plants that will thrive in the lighting situation inside the house.  Low light plants that are beneficial in removing toxin from the indoor air include varieties such as: Pothos, Dracaena, snake plant and the rubber plant. Peace lilies are popular in office settings and are also good for the home environment.   They require plenty of water but will thrive in medium light.

A bright sunny location for indoor gardening is an ideal setting for growing the multi-purpose aloe vera plant. In addition to helping clear the air in your home, the gel inside will soothe and aid in the healing of burns. Vibrant colorful Gerber daisies are another good choice for a sunny indoor garden location.

English ivy, ficus, Boston ferns, date palm tress, bamboo palm and Chinese evergreens are excellent choices of air-purifying plants. As with any gardening experience, greater success is achieved with the plants when advice from garden experts is sought out and followed.

To gain the maximum benefit from air-purifying plants, there should be a variety of plants placed in numerous locations within the home.

Photos by: woodleywonderworks, JIGGS IMAGES

More people than ever these days are interested in attaining a simpler lifestyle. For many, this means growing a lot of their own fruits and vegetables in their home garden. Even urban dwellers with little more than a small patio space that can only hold a few containers are participating in this gardening trend. However, most people don’t know that healing plants can also be grown using home gardening techniques.

One of the easiest healing plants to grow in a home garden is chamomile. Chamomile is commonly made into tea and has a variety of healing properties. Chamomile tea is often used as a sleep aid, to calm the nerves and to relieve an upset stomach. It grows well among cucumbers, onions and other herbs.

Another medicinal herb that is easy to grow in the average garden is St. John’s Wort. This plant has antidepressant properties. St. John’s Wort leaves can easily be made into a flavorful tea that will help reduce anxiety, insomnia and help produce a general feeling of well-being.

One of the most popular healing plants that home gardening enthusiasts routinely plant is garlic. Garlic is heart-healthy, tasty and is very simple to grow. Besides being a delicious addition to almost any meal, garlic also has antibiotic properties.

Many resources exist for those who are interested in growing their own healing plants at home. Whether the intended growing space is a large back yard or just a few pots on a porch or patio, anyone can grow healing plants at home.

Photos by: matsuyuki