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Zucchinis and Zinnias
A front garden was once used to grow beautiful flowers while the back was dedicated to fruits and vegetables. Today land is becoming increasingly scarce and so is time while fruits and vegetables are becoming more and more expensive. Learn to garden again to grow your own food, save money and spend a bit of quality time with the family.
A garden can be used in many ways. Some people create flower gardens to enhance the look of their homes. Short, tall, fuzzy, speckled, and brightly colored plants exist to be adored. A flower garden is also fragrant for the nose and welcoming to wildlife, such as birds, butterflies, bees (we need more bees!) and more.
Others believe that growing anything other than edible plants is a waste of space, water and time. Most of us fall somewhere in between. Traditionally the flowers have been in the front yard of an Aussie home and the veggies and fruit trees in the backyard.
Gardening can be twofold. First, create a garden for vegetables. It doesn’t have to be several acres long. You can clear away a small plot big enough to grow food for you and your entire family (see Veggies Galore!). There is nothing like a cabbage or head of lettuce that was plucked fresh from your own backyard garden. And homegrown tomatoes can't be beaten for taste.
Home grown vegetables have not been processed which means all of their nutrients are still intact. You can absolutely taste the difference between homegrown and store bought veggies when you bite into them. Growing your own garden is not only healthier for your body, but sure helps the wallet too. For every tomato, carrot, zucchini or bean that you grow, that is one less thing to add to the grocery list.
Fruits are another gardening option. Fruit can be expensive in the supermarket. Grow your own fruits and taste the sweetness as it was intended to be enjoyed, without all the freezing or chemicals that were used to make it shelf-stable longer. When you get a craving for something sweet, pop in the garden and pick a juicy watermelon or cantaloupe for a healthy alternative to cookies, cake or candy.
Years ago just about every backyard had a lemon tree, a plum tree of sorts and perhaps an apple tree. These fruit trees kept the family going all year round. Lemons made lemonade, marmalade and cordial. Plums were made into jam, preserved to have during winter and baked in cakes. Apples were put in the fruit bowl as a snack for an ever so busy kid to grab and run, in lunchboxes to keep us health, they were stewed, baked whole stuffed with dates (yum) or in pies and again used in cakes and other desserts.
Once you have your fruit and vegetables sorted you can create your flower beds and decorative garden. There is nothing more pleasing to the eye than a well planned and thought out garden, no matter how big or small it may be.
Victory Gardens are making a return. These days more and more gardeners are opting for a good mix of decorative and edible plants in their gardens. I have a neighbour who has standard roses lining her front path with the best looking rhubarb crowns growing between them. She has lettuce borders along the flower beds under her front windows. And her garden looks great.
Children can help in the garden. Armed with a pair of gloves and some tools, you can show them how to plant seeds, pull weeds, water, and tell if the fruits and vegetables are ripe. An apple tastes so much sweeter when it is plucked from your own tree. Toddlers love pulling food from the garden so grab a bucket and head out once every day or two to pick from the garden with your little ones. The sweetest (and cheapest) snow peas I've ever had have come straight from my own garden. The lettuce in our salads is crisp and sweet because one of the kids pulled it 5 minutes before it was added to the bowl.
One of the best benefits of a home garden is the effect it has on our children's palates. They are funny little creatures. Kids will eat what they grow, often straight from the garden, whereas if you had bought a squash or an eggplant and prepared it and served it up to them they would turn up their little noses. Actually, they are just discerning - they know good food when they see (and grow) it.
If you don’t have a lot of land or no place to stake out a garden, use other alternatives. Large planters can accommodate a fair variety of fruits and vegetables. Tomatoes can even be grown upside down in a container. Many dwarf fruit trees can be placed in a large pot to grow without getting root bound.
Planting isn’t strictly limited to round pots either. Use whatever you have lying around. Kids will love to fill old tires, broken pots, old cups, and other items to create fruit and vegetable planters. This is referred to as container gardening. People do it a lot in the city where it is all concrete jungle.
You can even grow herbs in small pots and sit them on the window sill. When it is time to harvest, let the kids go around and pluck the ripe ones. Be sure to use organic pesticide treatments to ensure that your food won’t poison you when you are ready to eat it.
A family can save a lot of money by growing their own garden. Seeds are cheaper than bulbs and still grow tasty vegetables and beautiful flowers. Fruits and vegetables can be bottled, dried or frozen for the winter months to be eaten later. Teaching your child to garden is a useful tool that can be used all their life.
It might cost you $45 to set up your family veggie plot or pots. That's not a lot when you consider that it could save you up to ten times that much from its produce. Who couldn’t use an extra $450 this coming year? And that's just the savings from a summer garden. Plant a winter garden, and there is really no excuse in Australia to not have a winter garden, our winters are quite mild, and keep the savings going all year round.
A garden can be used in many ways. Some people create flower gardens to enhance the look of their homes. Short, tall, fuzzy, speckled, and brightly colored plants exist to be adored. A flower garden is also fragrant for the nose and welcoming to wildlife, such as birds, butterflies, bees (we need more bees!) and more.
Others believe that growing anything other than edible plants is a waste of space, water and time. Most of us fall somewhere in between. Traditionally the flowers have been in the front yard of an Aussie home and the veggies and fruit trees in the backyard.
Gardening can be twofold. First, create a garden for vegetables. It doesn’t have to be several acres long. You can clear away a small plot big enough to grow food for you and your entire family (see Veggies Galore!). There is nothing like a cabbage or head of lettuce that was plucked fresh from your own backyard garden. And homegrown tomatoes can't be beaten for taste.
Home grown vegetables have not been processed which means all of their nutrients are still intact. You can absolutely taste the difference between homegrown and store bought veggies when you bite into them. Growing your own garden is not only healthier for your body, but sure helps the wallet too. For every tomato, carrot, zucchini or bean that you grow, that is one less thing to add to the grocery list.
Fruits are another gardening option. Fruit can be expensive in the supermarket. Grow your own fruits and taste the sweetness as it was intended to be enjoyed, without all the freezing or chemicals that were used to make it shelf-stable longer. When you get a craving for something sweet, pop in the garden and pick a juicy watermelon or cantaloupe for a healthy alternative to cookies, cake or candy.
Years ago just about every backyard had a lemon tree, a plum tree of sorts and perhaps an apple tree. These fruit trees kept the family going all year round. Lemons made lemonade, marmalade and cordial. Plums were made into jam, preserved to have during winter and baked in cakes. Apples were put in the fruit bowl as a snack for an ever so busy kid to grab and run, in lunchboxes to keep us health, they were stewed, baked whole stuffed with dates (yum) or in pies and again used in cakes and other desserts.
Once you have your fruit and vegetables sorted you can create your flower beds and decorative garden. There is nothing more pleasing to the eye than a well planned and thought out garden, no matter how big or small it may be.
Victory Gardens are making a return. These days more and more gardeners are opting for a good mix of decorative and edible plants in their gardens. I have a neighbour who has standard roses lining her front path with the best looking rhubarb crowns growing between them. She has lettuce borders along the flower beds under her front windows. And her garden looks great.
Children can help in the garden. Armed with a pair of gloves and some tools, you can show them how to plant seeds, pull weeds, water, and tell if the fruits and vegetables are ripe. An apple tastes so much sweeter when it is plucked from your own tree. Toddlers love pulling food from the garden so grab a bucket and head out once every day or two to pick from the garden with your little ones. The sweetest (and cheapest) snow peas I've ever had have come straight from my own garden. The lettuce in our salads is crisp and sweet because one of the kids pulled it 5 minutes before it was added to the bowl.
One of the best benefits of a home garden is the effect it has on our children's palates. They are funny little creatures. Kids will eat what they grow, often straight from the garden, whereas if you had bought a squash or an eggplant and prepared it and served it up to them they would turn up their little noses. Actually, they are just discerning - they know good food when they see (and grow) it.
If you don’t have a lot of land or no place to stake out a garden, use other alternatives. Large planters can accommodate a fair variety of fruits and vegetables. Tomatoes can even be grown upside down in a container. Many dwarf fruit trees can be placed in a large pot to grow without getting root bound.
Planting isn’t strictly limited to round pots either. Use whatever you have lying around. Kids will love to fill old tires, broken pots, old cups, and other items to create fruit and vegetable planters. This is referred to as container gardening. People do it a lot in the city where it is all concrete jungle.
You can even grow herbs in small pots and sit them on the window sill. When it is time to harvest, let the kids go around and pluck the ripe ones. Be sure to use organic pesticide treatments to ensure that your food won’t poison you when you are ready to eat it.
A family can save a lot of money by growing their own garden. Seeds are cheaper than bulbs and still grow tasty vegetables and beautiful flowers. Fruits and vegetables can be bottled, dried or frozen for the winter months to be eaten later. Teaching your child to garden is a useful tool that can be used all their life.
It might cost you $45 to set up your family veggie plot or pots. That's not a lot when you consider that it could save you up to ten times that much from its produce. Who couldn’t use an extra $450 this coming year? And that's just the savings from a summer garden. Plant a winter garden, and there is really no excuse in Australia to not have a winter garden, our winters are quite mild, and keep the savings going all year round.