Unlike most plants that largely serve a decorative purpose in our homes, herbs are plants that you can actual use as flavoring for your food, fragrances for potpourri and aroma oils, or simply as leaves that you can pluck off and chew for medicinal properties. Herbs have a wider range of use.

It’s relatively easy to grow herbs .You can easily create your own herb aid box with varieties that resonate with you the most. You can choose curry leaves and coriander which are used for Indian cooking, basil, oregano, peppermint, blue balsam. For medicinal purposes you can grow tulsi, ashwagandha (winter cherry) aloe Vera, wheat germ, stevia, and lemon grass.

Having fresh herbs growing in your garden adds charm to it and they are easy to grow too. You can choose the right herbs for your garden, some need sunlight and others are happier in the shade.

Growing tips:

• Choose any herb to grow in your garden but know whether they are annuals, biennials or perennials.

• You can plan your herb garden by grouping herbs according to light, irrigation and soil requirements.

• Herbs do not grow in wet soil. Good drainage is a must.

• Avoid growing on the ground where water stands or runs through during heavy rains.

• Mix the soil with compost and sand to lighten the texture and increase fertility.

• Heavy applications of fertilizer, especially those containing large amounts of nitrogen will decrease the concentration of essential oils in the lush green growth.

• If you are growing the herbs in pots, ensure that they are at least 25 to 30cm deep.

• Almost all herbs can be grown from seeds. If possible sow seeds in shallow boxes in late winter and transplant these seedlings outdoors in spring

• Most herbs need full sunlight. Choose a spot that receives at least six ours of direct sun each day.

• Cutting and division is a useful method in propagating certain herbs.

• Harvest leaves before the flower buds open. This is when the flavor is at the peak. Pick seed heads when the color changes from green to brown or gray.

• Some herbs like borage, anise, caraway, coriander, cumin need to be directly seeded, as they do not transplant well.

• You could refrigerate or even dry herbs for later use.

Herb Gardens were almost an essential feature of pioneer homes. Now that you know that it’s not difficult to grow herbs in your garden. Begin before it’s too late.

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Bamboo is a dominating garden plant. Bamboo with its tall slender stems and graceful foliage provides a welcome relief in shape and texture from the other variety of garden plants. It also lends a feeling of peacefulness and simple elegance.

Bamboo is one of the most useful plants grown in the world. It’s used as food, building material, animal fodder, ornamentation and screening. It absorbs more carbondioxide and releases more oxygen than the other plant species. Its stems, plumes and tassels are all different colored. Bamboos add an exotic touch to your garden.

Tall varieties grown on either side of a walkway or a passage leading from one part of the garden to another to create an archway can be a fascinating feature. In terrace gardens, bamboos grown in containers of different sizes can create the illusion of a big garden. When they are grown in big containers they look like a leafy jungle and screen your terrace from neighboring buildings.

There are two basic types of bamboo

1. Clumping: Individual bamboo canes are called culms. The clump type of bamboo grows in large clumps and is relatively slow in spreading

2. Running: These types of bamboos are very invasive and very competitive with other plants. They can take over large areas, some varieties spreading more than 100 feet in a short time.

Essentials of growing a bamboo:

• Most bamboos prefer full sun and a soil pH of around 6.0 - 6.2.

• When growing bamboo in containers, it is important to use a pot with adequate room for these fast-growing plants.

• If you are growing a taller bamboo for its strong vertical culms then regular thinning and pruning will keep the bamboo plant looking its best.

• Lack of water is the biggest problem with growing bamboo. If you don’t water it well it might not add value to your garden.

• Bamboos require water to send out new culms.

• Standing water inhibits the growth of bamboo.

• Newly planted bamboo requires liberal watering..

• Taller bamboo should be staked, to prevent uprooting.

• Bamboos are evergreen and will lose and replace leaves as they grow.

• Since bamboos are grasses and are grown for their foliage. To stimulate growth in them, apply a fertilizer high in nitrogen.

• Mulching will help control moisture and will protect cold hardy varieties in winter.

Bamboo is beautiful, no doubt, but you need to remember that it thrives best in sunny areas and requires more water than most other plant species and that light is a critical determining factor in where to place a bamboo in the home.

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