Growing an herb or vegetable garden is without a doubt one of the most enjoyable, as well as productive, hobbies that you can engage in. With a little imagination, you can make your garden beautiful as well as productive, but just like any piece of real estate, with a garden it’s all about location. Choosing the right location for your garden is the most important part of your planning because no matter how much you tend and care for your plants, if they are planted in the wrong area, they aren’t going to grow properly. There are several important things to consider before you break ground for your garden.

Give Your Plants Plenty Of Sun

Sunlight is one of the essential gifts for the garden in that it at the root of promoting a healthy green space. Nearly every fruit and vegetable, as well as most herbs, will require full sun for a minimum of 6 hours each day in order to produce. This doesn’t necessarily have to be all at once. If your garden gets 3 hours of full sun in the morning, and another 3 hours in the evening, they will grow very nicely.

Knowing where the sunny areas of your property are sounds simple, but you must remember that the path of the sun will change during the course of the growing season.  An area that is full sun in the early spring may be shaded by a fence or another structure later in the season. An easy way to find out where your garden will get maximum exposure to the sun is to mark the sun’s progress for a day. By doing this you can gain some idea as to what areas receive the most sun. If you are tracking the progress of the sun in the early spring before the trees have begun to leaf out, make sure that you allow for the amount of shade that will be produced by the canopies of nearby trees. Many beginning gardeners have spent numerous hours preparing their garden only to find it fully shaded after the leaves come out. If you orient your garden north to south, there will be less chance of your plants shading each other.

Keep Your Garden Level

If you are using raised beds, this is less important because you will level the garden as you make it. However, for those planting directly in the ground, you won’t want any low spots where water can gather after a heavy rain. Planting on a slight slope can sometimes work well, especially if it faces the south, but a steep incline can lead to problems with erosion. To make sure that your garden is not going to turn into a bog when it rains you simply have to watch after a rainfall to determine where the low spots are. If you need to place your garden in this area because of space limitations, some soil and a little work will be necessary to ready it for planting. Rototillers and a large landscape rakes are perfect gardening gift idea for her for leveling soil and make the perfect gardening gifts for the planters on your list.

Having a garden is a great way to provide your family with fresh produce and avoid all the chemicals and pesticides that are common with commercially grown vegetables. One last thing to remember is to keep your garden out of high traffic areas. If your space is limited and you think there may be a problem with people taking a shortcut through your tomatoes, an inexpensive garden fence may be a very wise investment. While this article covers the bases there are actually a number of books that go into detail about these concepts and these make good gifts for the women and other enthusiasts in your life.

Father’s Day is nearly here and with it comes the inevitable gift shouting chores. It seems so much easier to come up with gift ideas for mothers. For some reason, gift ideas for women are easier to brainstorm.

It’s not that we don’t love our fathers. Because of men’s natural tendency to mollify their emotions, purchasing a gift for your dad can be a little on the tricky side--far more so than other gift ideas. Women aren't just inherently easier to buy for, it's probably that we stress a little more about making sure that Dad gets something he really likes.

Growing Up Means Being a Little More Considerate When we Buy Gifts.

As children we can quite often get away with a gift that Pop’s really doesn’t like much. Dad’s still going to be grateful isn’t he? As an adult you probably want to put a little more thought into what you give your father for Father’s Day.

What's on Your Father's Day Gift List?

One way to find the perfect gift is to consider what your father enjoys as a hobby.

Gardening is becoming more popular for a great many men. In years past gardening was seen as the province of ladies and older men, but more and more that is no longer the case. Men of all ages are maintaining gardens as a way to get a little exercise and provide healthier foods for their family. The male gardener today ranges in age from 20-80 and even older. Men enjoy growing a lot of different vegetables and fruits, as well as—in the case of some men, even hard-to-grow flowers such as orchids.

Having a gardener in the family makes it a little easier to find just the right Father’s Day gardening gifts. Green thumb gifts, gardening gifts for Father’s Day are going to be a hit for the man who loves the outdoor world and growing his own produce.

Father's Day Gift Ideas for the Gardener

Father's Day gift ideas that incorporate his love of gardening into the gift make it easier to come up with a gift that you know he's going to love. Just a few Father's Day gift ideas include:

An indoor salad greens kit or an indoor hydroponics kit is also a wonderful Father's Day gift idea. Hydroponics is less labor intensive in most cases than actual in-ground gardening but allows for growing a wide range of different items. The indoor salad greens kit offers the same advantages while cutting down on the world involved.

Of course, if your father is, like many men, someone who enjoys working a larger outdoor garden, there are several gifts which could be given to accommodate his love of gardening too.

For the guy who loves gardening and moves a great deal around particularly in container gardening scenarios, a great christmas gift ideas for her might be a garden cart. These make it easier to move weighty things from one area to another without getting into so much manual labor.

A set of outdoor containers which are large enough to hold the different vegetables that he might like to plant, as well as seeds or better still, plants which are partly grown to place in the pots is also a wonderful gardening gift.

A weedier to help to lower the labor involved in removing the weeds from an in-ground garden might also be a helpful garden tool for the avid gardener and would be a good Father's day gift idea.

What's the Bottom Line?

Essentially, anything that would be helpful in the garden could be a good idea for a Father's Day gift for the man who enjoys getting his hands dirty in the garden. For those who are a little older, make gardening easier with some gardening ideas or kits that allow for low labor and low maintenance gardening. These are Father's Day gift ideas that any dad can appreciate.

Having your own garden isn't just something that country folk are doing in order to fortify their cupboards and reduce budgets. More and more we're seeing tools for gardening not just in the country, but also outside high-end urban homes.

These days, it's almost a necessity. Not only that, but maintaining your own garden is considered the "trendy" thing to do. Its anopportunityto work togetherwith your family, learn about how to survive without the grocery store, and get a bit of exercise at the same time. According to the Garden Writer's Association in a recent report, more than 38 percent of all households now have a garden.

All those things aside, keeping a garden just makes good sense. It makes good sense for all of the reasons previously stated, but more, because having your own garden allows you to introduce healthy, natural foods at meal time.

What are the Benefits of Home Grown Vegetables?

First and most importantly, vegetables grown at home, in your yard or garden are going to be far safer than those mass-produced at industrial facilities.

How many times in the recent past have we heard of a produce recall for some type of contamination?

In just the last year alone we've seen government recalls of vegetables from once trusted companies such as Dole, Tropical Valley and Prime Foods for contaminants including salmonella, listeria, and even for undeclared allergens. In many cases the issues came from contaminated gardening tools and implements, which came in contact with foods. The same may hold true of gardening equipment that is used in multiple areas or gardens. Contaminants as well as unsanitary harvesting techniques may cause an allergic reaction. These contaminants can be serious and in some cases deadly, yet they are becoming more common.

Growing Your Own Food is Safer

You have the advantage of knowing precisely what kind of fertilizer has been used on your produce as well as the nature of the soil in which it was grown. In addition, the handling of your produce and the way in which it was harvested is within your control so you can to ensure that it is safely treated and well cleaned.

Growing Your Own Food is Healthier

In most cases the back yard gardener is a gardener who does not use high levels of chemical pesticides and inorganic fertilizers. This means that the foods you grow are not only safer to eat they are quite likely more nourishing. While there is some debate, in several instances, organically grown vegetables have proven to have higher levels of some nutrients.

1.Vegetables are a good source of vitamins, enzymes and phytonutrients that your body needs. Vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower and Brussels sprouts can help to combat and may even lower your risk of some types of cancer.

2. Likewise carrots and other yellow and orange vegetables have been found to reduce the incidence of cancer even in those who smoke.

3 Gardening can provide healthy nutrition, safer produce and build families as you work together toward a common goal.

With all of these reasons for growing your own food, doesn't a garden sound like a great place to get your exercise this summer? With the proper tools and a good bit of determination, you will be eating better in no time.

Soil is the foundation of all plants that grow in your garden. Soils are the heart of successful gardening and a bountiful harvest. If you plan to grow flowers vegetables, herbs or any plant for that matter in your garden, you must give sober thought to the quality of your garden's soil. Fertile soil leads to an abundant harvest yet gardening enthusiasts tend to neglect this important component.

If you plant crops in your garden without a good foundation, that is, healthy soil, you will not see the successful fulfillment of your hard work. Gardeners should not only focus on using the right gardening equipment along with pest and disease control measures but should also ensure they thoroughly prepare the soil and be mindful of its nutritional capacity and content.

Importance of Garden Soil

If you have spent any time tending a garden, then you know how fundamentally important your garden soil is. Garden soil is the heart and life of your garden. Plants will grow well in rich organic soil. Gardeners that grow flowers, vegetables, fruits and other plants realize that florae mature well in healthy soil.

Garden soil plays a huge role in the way plants grow because it provides support and anchors plant root systems. Plants will obtain most of their essential nutrients from the soil, not from sun or water. Garden soil is also used as a storehouse for water and necessary food rudiments.

Garden soils also contain microscopic organisms that carry out vital duties that support your plant’s development. These microorganisms unlock nutrients for use by plants and they also break down dead plant matter, returning their nutrients to the earth in a perfectly balanced system. Your garden soil should, therefore, be healthy, porous and loose to allow for water absorption and nutrient retention to be transferred to your plants.

Preparing Your Soil

Preparing your garden soil before planting will ensure you achieve a deep, fertile and loose soil that will aid in the production of a plentiful crop. Properly fixing the soil requires the use of appropriate gardening equipment as well as a good dose of patience. A shovel is necessary for turning your soil thoroughly. The shovel’s harp edge is good for breaking dense earth into finer particles and for cutting through tree feeder roots. While processing your soil, be sure to remove any lose stones, weeds and roots you come across.

Once your soil is completely turned, you are ready to add a healthy layer of organic matter in the form of animal waste or rich compost to augment nutrients in the base layer. These organic materials are gifts for the garden, as they will add richness and conditioning to your soil; ensuring the health of your fruits, vegetables and herbs. Be sure to turn and mix the organic matter into your soil using lightweight, ergonomic gardening tools.

Garden soil is unarguably the most important element for plant growth. Before planting, gardeners should ensure they prepare their soil suitably so as to enhance soil structure. Follow these tips to improve the overall quality of your soil and watch as your plants in turn yield superb crops this growing season.

If the most important women in your life are gardening buffs, why not take advantage of this Mother's Day season to score a few points by finding the perfect gardening gifts to pair with her interest? But before you rush to your local home improvement store, make sure you consider the following gardening gift ideas for women first.

General Gift Ideas

Women love beautiful things. That is why the items that should be on the top of any respectable gardening gifts list must be merchandise that will enhance the overall look of your recipient’s garden. You can never go wrong with a well thought out gardening gift this Mother's Day.

Up front a few garden accessory options to consider are garden bells to turn gentle breezes into subtle sound in her garden space.  Add timeless style to her garden by giving a garden statue this Mother’s Day.  Your mother or wife will find herself delighting in luxurious comfort with your gift of an attractive garden bench.  Rain chains, wind chimes, wind spinners, customized stepping stones and many other Mother’s Day gifts are waiting at your local garden center. But what if you want to give something more personal?

Homemade Gift Ideas

If you are the creative type and would like to give your special lady a more unique gift this Mother’s Day, then why not consider taking on a homemade gift venture? Potted planting projects make simple but impact full gifts for the garden.

To get started you'll need a pot, some ceramic fruit or vegetable, seeds, a nice ribbon, and Kraft paper stickers. What to do: Place the ceramic fruit or vegetable in the pot. Once you have your materials, place the seeds that match the ceramic fruit or vegetable in an envelope. Afterwards, place a paper sticker containing the seed planting directions into the envelope. And finally, to make your homegrown present attractive, tie the ribbon around the pot. Any color will do. If you are not particularly handy or wealthy, don’t worry there are options for you too.

Inexpensive Gift Ideas

Expressing your love this season does not need to be expensive. There are quite a few inexpensive gardening gifts she is sure to appreciate. The key here is to find something that is sensible and useful. Simple gardening items like garden gloves, a well made apron, a stylish hat, a seed shaker, and the like are enough to put smiles on faces this Mother's Day and won’t require a loan to purchase. You can also bundle a few personal items with your package, like her favorite scented hand lotion, an exfoliating hand soap, or elegant perfume. 

Create a Gift Basket

Gift baskets are super easy to make even if you haven't done it before. All you need is a wicker basket and some gardening gift ideas for mothers like plant food spikes, plant markers, small peat pots, instructional DVD’s, gardening shears or other functional and decorative items. Make sure you arrange the articles nicely inside the basket. Also, don't forget to add a ribbon and a personalized tag with an expressive message like, “You Fill the Garden of My Heart With Love” to make the basket more appealing and unique.

Mother's Day only comes once a year, so make it a memorable experience by heaping on her beautiful and practical gardening gifts. If you consider the above gardening gift ideas women will love, you are sure to choose the perfect gift.

A raised bed is the type of garden made up of beds of soil raised some distance above the ground.  The beds encase the soil separating the garden space from the surrounding environment. Soil beds are intended to allow an individual to tend to plants without having to stoop to ground level but not so high that it makes proper plant care cumbersome.

A Raised garden bed offers significant advantages to the gardener owing to the nature of its design. Raised bed gardens are often used for cultivating delicate seedlings and reducing soil compaction from stepping on the soil. Raised beds also isolate your soil, preventing surrounding earth from finding its way in.  This fact allows you to better control the quality of your garden soil. Simple gardening tools can also be used to weed and perform other routine maintenance functions in your elevated garden. Actually building a raised garden is simpler than most might think.

How to Build Your Garden

Before beginning the construction of a raised bed garden, issues of space availability and building materials should be considered. The width of the bed should be about 4 ft, the height about 10 to 16 inches. As long as space is available the length can be left to the builder's discretion.

The most commonly used building material is rot resistant wood due to its natural resilience, including locally available cedar and redwood even though others work well too. Bed construction tools include a handsaw, square, level, hammer, screwdriver and drill and some simple tools for gardening like a shovel.

The basic frame is constructed by cutting out pieces of wood according to the desired length. The various ends are held together and measured with a level to ensure that they are flat. The corner posts are then fitted and the frames fastened with screws such that each corner post has two frames that are intersecting at the corner. Another row of similar sized board is added below the first and then screwed together to the corner post as was previously done.

Soil can then be poured into the bed and braces added if the beds are over 18 feet high. Braces prevent the bed from bending out by reinforcing the bed with aluminum supports screwed to the opposite sides across the bed. Stones and other unwanted material should be removed from the bed once it has been filled with fertile soil. Once the soil is added, gardening equipment can then be used to level the soil as required.

Design Idea

Raised beds can be designed in different ways that allow the aesthetic value of flowers to be enjoyed while accommodating the space available. Circular designs are versatile and can be used to shape flowerbeds situated in small spaces.

Raised beds are great for creating controlled garden environments while reducing the caretaker’s workload. Design flexibility allows them to be both practical and decorative gardening environments. A fairly easy construction process makes raised beds an ideal idea option for any gardening enthusiast.

A beautiful garden always attracts and a gardening tool is something that every gardener, a hobbyist or a professional, craves for. Be it vintage gardening stuff, garden supplies, gardening books or tools, gifts like these are always high on people’s wish lists and hence never fail.

What we can’t say with words, a gift says. If your mother, wife, sister or friend has a flare for gardening and you are confused about what to gift her, then an antique English lead urn or a pot with fresh herbs for the kitchen garden would be the perfect gift idea for her. A kneeler, a pair of beautiful and durable gardening gloves or a pretty gardening apron would be a choice present as well. For a person having a thing for unconventional gardening, vertical gardening pieces, chicken coops, planters and stylized raised platforms, beekeeping mechanisms and homemade kits are awesome options which are always loved.

An assortment of old fashioned bushel baskets, a gardening hat, striking garden sculptures and a set of spectacular lily bulbs are unconventional gifts that few gardeners expect but every one of them come to love one they are presented with them. A few thoughtful gifts for the garden would include a gift consultation with a reputed gardener or a paid trip to a horticulture firm where a person can acquire useful knowledge for his or her garden and learn new techniques too. If a person you know loves gardening and is a voracious reader too then no gift would be better for that person than a book on gardening. Several great volumes and encyclopaedias exist in this domain written by prolific authors which make a good read.

Gardening equipment given as a Christmas present or a souvenir is a hit with every gardener because it is something very common and handy that no one can ever have enough. They not only make the process of gardening an easy and happy experience but they are a collector’s delight too. Moreover it is a myth that they are instruments without appeal. Branded tools specially designed by skilled designers give a tinge of class to a gift of extreme utility. How many ever tools one possesses, a pocket pruner of top quality, leaf shredder, collectibles and antique gardening tools are always welcome!

Having posh stuff always attracts and this holds good for gardening too. Top rated gifts can be branded jam pans, porcelain berry baskets, hand thrown fermentations pots, durable designer jars, gathering baskets, herbal garden soaps which are tools for gardening that radiate care and passion for gardening in a classy way.

Be it New Year’s Eve, Christmas celebrations, a birthday or a casual party, a gardening gift can be presented and accepted with delight everywhere. The options available are too many which makes the choice of a classic gift that pleases pretty easy.

Gifts are much more than just remembrances or tokens of appreciations. They are expressions of emotions that go beyond words to express how important the person receiving them is to us. And hence every woman who plays a pivotal role in our lives, who defines us, deserves to be given the best gift to let her know that our world is perfect because of her.

Gifts should radiate class as much as they should express feelings. Gifts for women should reflect their tastes and it should be evident that the person gifting them understands her well. The ideal gift would be one that is simple and yet special like a book for a mother who loves reading but rarely finds time to do so or a beautiful pearl necklace for a wife to remind her how beautiful she still is or a copy of the movie that your girlfriend loves. A cute pet that would be her companion would be a perfect gift if your mother loves pets and always wanted to have one.

The first person that shares our joys and sorrows is our mother. She is our pillar of strength and guiding light. When it comes to gift ideas for mothers the best gift would be a designer greeting card telling her how special is she for you and a day’s pampering at a beauty salon to give back a small bit of the care that she showers you with everyday. A dress that she always wanted to own would be an instant hit too.

Dining and spending some quality time at a restaurant with an ambience that attracts would be a good plan too be it a mother, a wife, a sister or a close friend that you are planning it for. Good food along with great music at a nice place always clicks. Gift ideas for women who love accessories are many and easy to translate into reality. Be it classy ear rings, designer clutches and purses, funky tops with quotes expressing your feelings or a colourful set of bangles, everything is appreciated immediately because it shows that you understand her like no one else ever does. Gardening gifts that would help her pursue her old wish to have a beautiful garden of her own would be a wonderful choice too.

Always remember one thing when you are too perplexed with gift ideas women on this earth loves chocolates and flowers. A perfect anniversary gift would be to leave a set of notes especially for her to lead her to a table set with her favourite flowers and chocolates. A personalized poem would be an added star.

A woman sees a lot more in a gift than a mere souvenir. What matters for her are the care and the effort that you put in selecting for her the best gift on the Earth that she can relate to. 

As you age stress from loneliness or life changes can impair your immune system and make you susceptible to disease. Using medications may be helpful short term but sometimes it becomes apparent that a person under severe stress requires help at an emotional level. Gardening has therapeutic benefits for older people, more so when they make a vegetable garden with specially adapted garden tools where after they can benefit from the nutrition. There is no doubt that when an older person is deeply relaxed, certain positive physiological changes occur.

For seniors, the gentle exercise and enjoyment gardening offers, brings about a reduced heart rate, better digestion, lower blood pressure and a calmer breathing rate. Gardening contributes to improving the oxygen uptake of all cells in the body, and for the person in a wheelchair, the person with disabilities as well as for the senior who feels inadequate, gardening improves self esteem as well as feelings of well-being . However there are 10 things every senior- and disabled gardener should know about the use of gardening equipment and simple tips and advice on being safe, comfortable and pain free in the garden.

What Every Senior Gardener Should Know

Wearing sunscreen and a hat and working in the garden early in the morning or in the late afternoon is advised. For seniors who can't get out sideto garden, basins of varying sizes can be used to cultivate plants and make gardening easier.

Seniors should have cuts and insect bites attended to immediately and only walk on non-slip walkways.

Special, light weigh gardening equipment can prevent wrist pain. Specialized spades and forks for instance are designed to position the wrist at an angle so that stress is reduced.

Wearing protective gardening gloves as well as protective shoes is important.

Seniors should steer away from power tools and use lightweight gardening tools with ergonomic designs that require less effort and which are easy on the hands. Sharp tools also require less effort. Some garden tools are specially designed for the elderly and come with attachable extension poles.

Today, hanging baskets are available with pulley systems to raise and lower them for people in wheelchairs and for the elderly who have trouble standing.

Benches placed in shady areas where older folk can sit down, have a jar of water make it easy to get their breath back in between weeding, pruning and digging activities.

Gift ideas for women to make gardening easier might include a useful garden apron with handy storage pockets or a pouch to carry small garden tools with ease.

Copper plant markers also make great gifts for seniors, particularly for those with Alzheimers. Use a permanent marker to write the name of the plant on it to remind seniors of the names of the plants they love tending to.

Raised garden beds are an excellent idea for disabled and elderly gardeners who find bending difficult. These garden beds are made from things like car tires, sleepers or bricks.

Happily Ever After

Gardening is one of life's simple pleasures in a hectic world, and seniors as well as those with disabilities needn't let pain and stress deprive them of the pleasure of nurturing flowers and vegetables. For a wonderful sense of well-being, seniors living with high blood pressure and arthritis can enjoy the pleasure of pain-free gardening by making some simple modifications.

Getting older and even being in a wheelchair certainly doesn't mean putting such a pleasurable pastime on hold. By making a few adjustments seniors can once again perform tasks in the garden and start benefiting from this healthy activity.

So many people struggle every day in their attempts to lose weight.  We start and stop gym programs and jump on and off the diet bandwagon.  Without consistency none of these approaches will work.  If burning calories was enjoyable we might just have better luck.  Edible gardening is a powerful and pleasurable way to lose weight while beautifying your home and life.

What is Edible Gardening?

Edible gardening involves growing fruits and vegetables in one’s garden for consumption. It is the practical integration of food plants with a decorative or ornamental setting. Plants such as blueberries, lettuces and fruit trees can all be part of your consumable garden. This type of approach can enhance a garden through the provision of a unique ornamental component while at the same time providing additional aesthetic, health, and economic benefits. Edible gardening is a mixture of beauty and utility, and is one of the perfect gift ideas for women whose husbands, friends or family members love gardening.

Edible gardening, however, does not have to be limited to edible plants and vegetables only. In fact, filling the garden with edibles can lead to an overabundance of food, as well as work and time. Instead, this method should be about careful planning and balance between herbs, fruits, vegetables and decorative plants in a way that a garden is practical, bountiful, and visually pleasing.

Weight Loss Benefits of Edible Gardening

People can get in or stay in shape by participating in edible gardening. The use of gardening equipment such as hoes, shovels and wheelbarrows requires exertion comperable to working out in a gym or lifting weights. It is a complete form of exercise that gives one an enormous sense of accomplishment. This type of exercise provides a major opportunity for overweight gardeners to lose weightas they plant mulch and till all summer long. As the crops in the garden ripen, less work is required. However, during the peak gardening times of April and May, one can easily spend 5 or more hours a day in the garden, all the while doing more squats and hauling more weight than could have been done in a gym.

The other weight loss benefit of edible gardening comes in the form of the produce. The fresh fruits and vegetables harvested in your garden provide a healthy addition to your diet. This means with the consumption of healthy vegetables, you stand a good chance of reducing your caloric intake and thus losing weight.

Mental Health Benefits of Edible Gardening

We all have busy and stressful schedules and are in increasing danger of burning out should we fail to find a way todischargingtension. Edible gardening can provide an avenue for relieving stress as digging in the dirt and being outside is a cathartic diversion from life’s stresses. In addition, gardening is a meditative and solitary experience that can definitely contribute to mitigating anxiety.

Gift ideas for the Gardeners in Your Life

If you cannot figure out what to buy for the active gardeners in your life, there are any number of gift ideas to consider. Every gardener should wear a pair of gloves at one time or the other while working. A good pair of gardening gloves would make a perfect gardening gift and one that will be appreciated and used extensively. The gloves you select should be designed specifically for a man or woman’s hand depending on the sex of your doneeand have reinforced fingertips to aid touch sensitivity.  A strong, lightweight wheelbarrow is another good suggestion. Edible gardeningor any other gardening for that matter requires a wheelbarrow to transport equipment, plants and other necessary items. Be sure to purchase one with a large wheel for ground clearance and lightweight materials to ease strain on the body.  Gifting wheelbarrow to your favorite gardener is a well thought idea that will assist in streamlining his time in the garden.

Edible gardening is the weight loss killer app offering both a good calorie burn and nutritious food.  Adding a few gifts for the garden in the form of edibles benefits both your home and your waistline.