One of the reasons I’m attracted to gardening is that it allows me to use and reuse materials. This has a lot of appeal for a pack-rat like me. It gives me a good excuse to hang on to things because I often find another use for them later. Nothing goes to waste in the garden.

A prime example of this is my compost bin. I can take material that I might otherwise throw out, such as leaves and grass clippings, and turn them into big dividends next year in the way of healthy soil for my vegetables and flowers.

Many people I talk with are intimidated by the whole process, but there is really nothing to composting. It is all about getting the mix right.

The recipe is simple. The only ingredients you need are organic materials such as autumn leaves, grass clippings, and raw vegetable scraps from the kitchen. Items to avoid are woody stems, weeds, diseased plants, cooked food and meat products. These items either take too long to break down or have the potential to spread pests and disease. The final two ingredients needed for compost are water and oxygen.

I find it works best if you layer green, nitrogen-rich clippings with brown, carbon-rich material — such as the autumn leaves — at a ratio of about 1 part green to 1 part brown. The nitrogen will help speed up the decomposition of the dead leaves.

You can further accelerate the process by adding a source of nitrogen in the form of granular fertilizer high in nitrogen or well-rotted cow manure. At one time, manure could be obtained from a local farmer, but with the risk of E. coli and diminishing access to farms, I recommend using bagged, commercial cow manure.

Combining all these elements generates heat, which is the final ingredient needed to create compost. When your compost heats up, you know it’s working. It’s no surprise that weather plays a factor in how quickly your compost heats up. The process works best when outdoor temperatures are 50 degrees F or higher.

Of course, if you are starting your compost pile in fall when leaves are most abundant, you won’t have this advantage. To keep your compost going strong through the cold months, there are a few things I recommend. Make sure your pile is at least three feet high, that it stays moist (not sopping wet) in dry weather, and that you turn it about every two weeks. Covering it with plastic will also help to hold the heat in when it is cold.

By taking advantage of all of the garden trimmings and leaves available in the fall, you can have plenty of rich compost in about six months — just in time for summer planting!

There’s been a lot written lately about the Topsy Turvy Tomato Planter, a simple device that lets you grow your tomatoes upside down.

The manufacturer says it helps water and nutrients flow better to the fruit on the plant, prevents spoilage by keeping tomatoes off the ground and can save you the back pain of performing the necessary maintenance on the ground.

The folks at Shelterrific point out that your tomatoes don’t need a $20 infomerical product to grow well upside down. Rather, they include a link to a do-it-yourself set of instructions, which would free you to use whatever look and feel you want for your specific purpose — not to mention saving some money.

The blog Green Joyment has some instructions and a bunch of videos showing similar projects, so you can get an idea of how these plant hangars work.

And if you’re interested in the original Topsy Turvy Tomato Planter, here’s a pretty thoughtful review.

Photo courtesy of kkimpel on Flickr

More and more people are growing orchids because they are more readily available and the price has come down. They’re actually a very good value if you’re looking for a splash of color in your home.

By combing orchids with other houseplants you can create a living flower arrangement that will actually last a month or more. The orchids will be center stage, but to pull this off, you will need a support cast of other houseplants. I like to use ivies and prayer plants because they’re as durable as the orchids themselves.

To create this arrangement, simply apply the same three-shape rule that I’ve shared with you for cut flower arrangements and outdoor containers: tall/spiky, round/full and cascading.

Place the orchids, your tall and spiky component, in the center of the container. Because orchids are fussy about their growing medium, it is easiest to keep them in the pots in which they were grown. Now, because these pots will take up the majority of the room in the container, I put the other plants in sandwich bags and arrange them around the orchids. This makes it easier to tuck them into the arrangement. Simply remove each plant, along with the soil, from its pot and drop it into a sandwich bag. Secure the top of the sandwich bag with a rubber band.

Now you are ready to put in the prayer plant, which will add the element of a round/full shape. Also, the purple veining of the prayer plant combines nicely with the color of the orchid blooms. To finish it off, slip in the ivies so they cascade gracefully over the edge of the container. Once the plants are in place, fill in the open spaces with sheet moss.

I’ve used orchids for their long bloom time, but just about any combination will work and just follow the same principles. It’s all a matter of using your imagination.

When I was a child, I was encouraged to go outside to explore and play, which I loved to do so much that only the need for food would bring me inside. Every day presented a new discovery; one never knew what surprises Mother Nature had to offer. We made ink with pokeberries, fished in the nearby stream and created forts in the hydrangea bushes on the cool north side of the house. Even sweltering summer afternoons were spent outside looking for adventure.

Today, many children spend their free time engaged in scheduled activities such as sports, play dates and birthday parties. I am continually amazed at the pace that my nephew and niece are going places, doing things and all that they are learning.

I recognize the positive aspects of this evolution. I don’t know when I last heard a child utter the words “I’m bored!”

The only drawback I see is many of these activities don’t provide experiences with nature and all its wonderful resources for the development of young minds. The solution to this is to create activities for kids that reconnect them to the natural world.

This project for starting a ginger plant from a root purchased at the local market is a fun way to engage a child’s curiosity about their environment.

Common ginger, Zingiber officinale, is a wonderful plant for children to grow because it has so many uses: a flavorful spice, a remedy for the common cold and a cure for an upset stomach. Children can learn that there are benefits of growing plants beyond the beautiful blooms and foliage.

Because ginger’s root, or rhizome, is so odd looking, it is easy to catch the attention of a child for this activity. In fact, the root is often referred to as a “hand” and the sections are called “fingers.”

The best time to start a ginger plant from the root is in the spring. When you select roots for growing, choose those that are fresh with 1- to 2-inch sections and plenty of nodes.

Materials:

• fresh gingerroot
• 1 six inch terra cotta container with drainage holes
• sterile potting soil
• water

Directions:

• Begin by cutting the root into a few pieces, making sure that each piece has a few nodes or buds from which to sprout.
• Fill your container 2/3 of the way full with potting soil.
• Place the ginger root pieces flat on top of the soil and cover with about 2 inches more of potting soil.
• Water well and place it in a warm windowsill with bright but indirect light.

In just a few weeks a stalk will emerge at each one of the nodes. You can expect your plant to grow about 4 feet tall.

If you live in a mild part of the country, you can plant this directly outside. Ginger prefers to grow in areas with partial shade and consistently moist, rich soil. In climates that have cold winters, treat it as a tender houseplant and bring it indoors when temperatures drop below 40 degrees F.

While your ginger plant may occasionally produce flowers, it is not a common occurrence. But when you consider what the roots have to offer, you’ll hardly miss the blooms. Wait about 4 to 7 months to harvest new roots. Simply cut the leaf stalks close to the top of the root and lift it out of the soil.

What an amazing gift from nature — a fresh supply of flavorful and healthy ginger root and a fun way to introduce your children to the benefits of gardening.

It’s interesting how certain flowers evoke a sense of nostalgia: roses, hollyhocks and dahlias to name a few. There’s no question these are beautiful in the garden, but if cared for properly you can also use them inside. Hydrangeas are good flowers to dry for indoor arrangements.

One method of preparing hydrangeas is simply to air dry them. All you do is remove the leaves along the stem and bundle five or six of them together. Hang them in a cool, dry place.

If that’s too much trouble, you can also dry them upright in a vase. Place the stems in a vase with a few inches of water, out of direct sunlight. When the water evaporates add more, repeating the process until you feel the blooms are sufficiently dry.

You can also preserve hydrangeas with glycerin and water. This process makes the bloom more soft and supple to the touch, and it also helps to preserve the shape of the bloom longer.

Materials:

• Hydrangea blooms (Old-fashioned French, PeeGee and Annabelle hydrangeas do well, but I’ve never had much luck with Oakleaf or Tardiva.)
• Glycerin
• Water
• Vase
• Colored dye (optional)

Directions:

Gather the hydrangea blooms. When cutting the blooms, keep in mind that the length of your stems need to be about 18 inches or less. And while it is tempting to try drying those full, lushly colored hydrangea blooms mid-summer, it is best to allow them to mature on the shrub before you cut them. Fresh blooms tend to wilt and turn brown. You can tell that they are ready because as they age, they will turn either green/pink in warm climates or blue/purple in colder areas, and their texture is paper-like rather than soft.

Cut the stems at a right angle and crush the ends with a hammer. This will help with the uptake of the solution.

In a vase prepare a solution of 2 parts water and 1 part glycerin. You can find glycerin at your local pharmacy. The way this works is, the water and glycerin are drawn through the stem of the plant. The water evaporates through the petals, leaving the glycerin. The glycerin will turn the petals a rich, golden brown. I like this natural look, but if you prefer a little color, add a small drop of dye to the solution.

Add your hydrangeas to the vase.

In two to three weeks you will have a beautiful bouquet of summer hydrangeas to enjoy through the fall and winter.