We like to think of our gardens as an extension of our home. And just like any room in the house, sometimes you just want a few new things to brighten it up. For your reading pleasure, here are some fun products and ideas that can liven up any outdoor abode.

The Lluna planter by Serralunga is a cool modern planter as you can see:

But if you find yourself needing a cold drink instead of more greenery, this planter obliges. It would work well for a large backyard soiree!

Speaking of that garden party, if you are looking for a use for the empty beer bottles you stashed in the planter/ice bucket, look no further than Design*Sponge’s bottle garden idea.  It’s an easy idea for a really cool garden…and it’s a great way to re-use without recycling!

If the bottle garden inspires you to find a way to re-use objects in your garden, then consider Re-Nest’s idea to turn your chandelier into a planter. Where the bulbs would be, you put small pots of flowers instead. It’s unique, funky, and classically quirky.

What are some fun ideas you’ve tried for “re-decorating” your garden?

All images are from blogs linked to above

Apartment Therapy recently featured some self watering planters — perfect for those of us with irregular schedules or who can’t quite remember that all living things need water! Now, they’re not completely maintenance free — you will have to put water in every so often. But once the water is in, you can sit back and watch your plants grow.

There are quite a few options out there, but our favorite is the Grobal Self-Watering Planter designed by Karim Rashid (see some of his work for the myMarvin project here). The Grobal comes in enough colors to satisfy any decorating scheme and features Rashid’s signature curvy lines. With something as easy as this, there’s no excuse not to try growing something this summer!

Photo courtesy of A + R

We write a lot about plants and gardening here at MLuxe, mostly thanks to the great contributions from regular guest writer P. Allen Smith. This morning, a piece from Elle Decor about hip houseplants caught our eye — and inspired us to pull together this collection of basic ways houseplants can jazz up a room or space easily.

Even the simplest plants can add a touch of liveliness, energy and style to a room:

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When chosen carefully, and put in the right sort of pot, plants can complement the design of the room:

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And of course, some nice flowers will add color — complementary, contrasting, subtle, bold…whatever the room needs — and fragrance:

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Sometimes a simple plant can let a stylish pot bring the style:

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If you want something that looks neat but is easy to maintain, try a jade:

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To really push things into the realm of funky and interesting, bring in a cactus — believe it or not, your friends will actually hae trouble keeping their curious hands off!

[photo "Cactus on a dark surface" courtesy of Robert Nunnally via Flickr]

One of my favorite summer flowers is the old-fashioned, pompom shaped Hydrangea macrophylla. I can remember as a child being drawn to the cool shaded area on the north side of the house where my mother had a bank of blue hydrangeas planted. The giant blooms were as big as my head and such a clear, deep blue they seemed to belong in a velvet-lined jewel box rather than casually hanging about the garden.

Old-fashioned hydrangeas are easy to grow if you follow a few simple guidelines. Most varieties are cold hardy to zone 5, which means they will tolerate minimum winter temperatures between -10 and -20 degrees F.

Hydrangeas are traditionally known as shade garden plants, but too much shade can result in reduced bloom production. Ideally they should be situated in areas of light shade to partial sun. If you live in a cool climate you can even plant them in full sun.

Hydrangeas are woodland plants so they prefer to be in consistently moist, well-drained, humus rich soil. A generous application of mulch will help keep the roots cool and retain moisture. Little pruning is required with old-fashioned hydrangeas. In fact, improperly pruned bushes can result in bushes not producing any blooms. Old-fashioned hydrangeas set their flowers on previous year’s growth, or what is referred to as old wood. So, in late summer and early fall, your shrub is preparing blooms for next year.

In early spring you can tidy up the plant by removing any dead wood and old flowerheads.

Any severe cutting back should be done immediately after the flowers fade in the summer.

Other causes for lack of bloom include harsh winter temperatures, warm spells followed by cold weather, and late freezes. All can damage or kill tender flower buds. If you site your plants in a north or east facing area of your garden, you can reduce the chances of the buds opening during aberrant warm winter weather. These areas of the garden warm up slower than south or western exposures. Northern gardeners who know that they are in it for a long cold spell can wrap their hydrangeas in burlap for winter protection. Planting the shrubs near house foundations also offers some refuge from cold temperatures.

In my Mid-south garden I fertilize my hydrangeas twice during the summer with a slow release fertilizer, usually in June and then again in August. In cooler climates this can be done once, usually in June. Follow the directions indicated on the fertilizer package. Just remember that too much nitrogen will result in an abundance of lovely leaves at the expense of blooms.

Over the years I have broadened my selection of hydranges to include H. paniculata ‘Tardiva’, H. arborescens ‘Annabelle’, H. quercifolia (oakleaf), and H. paniculata ‘Limelight’, but I still treasure the old-fashion varieties for their ease of care and colorful long lasting flowers.

In most parts of the country, winter’s chill is in the air. Luckily, there are places to go and enjoy summer’s beautiful flowers and hot air–a conservatory. These structures are beautiful and meticulously maintained to give the optimum environment for their botanical residents.

One beautiful conservatory, Druid Hill in Baltimore, recently underwent a renovation that took it back to its original Victorian elegance. Marvin provided the windows for Druid Hill’s Palm House. Although basic parameters had been laid out for window needs, Druid Hill expected their window manufacturer to “fill in the gaps” and come up with design elements that fit in with the overall design aesthetic.

Marvin’s custom capabilities through Signature Products and Services really helped when designing windows for the Palm House. Custom clad colors, flashing and panning were needed and performance had to be top-notch. Due to the conditions of the conservatory, the windows had to to be absolutely water-tight and be able to withstand temperature fluctuations due to seasonal exhibits. In the end, Marvin clad casement, awnings, polygons and mill plates were used on the Palm House.

Since its renovation, the Druid Hill conservatory has gone from Baltimore’s least-visited attraction to winning the Baltimore Heritage Preservation Award. Currently re-named as the Howard Peters Rawlings Conservatory, this Baltimore attraction is now restored to its original glory.

I’ve tried just about every type of fertilizer there is in my garden over the years, but regardless of what I use throughout the season, every spring I always try to work in a generous amount of animal manure around my plants.

I like to work it in with compost, some of the existing soil and sand for great results. But if you use animal manure, you need to realize that, like other fertilizers, it can burn your plants if you use too much of it.

I found that established trees and shrubs can take a little more than tender perennials and annuals. And I like manure because, when I apply it, if I’m a little heavy-handed, it’s more forgiving than conventional chemical fertilizers and the results can be astonishing.

The type of manure I use in my garden depends on what I’m trying to accomplish. If I want to build up the soil by adding more humus or vegetable matter, I’ll use something like horse or cow manure. If I just want to increase the nutrients, I may use something more concentrated like poultry or chicken manure.

You can’t believe how chicken manure greens up my hedges — there’s almost three times as much nitrogen in it as there is in cow or horse. Whatever manure you use, you should always gently work it into the soil around the plants and never apply it directly on them. And just like any other fertilizer, you want to make sure to water it in after you apply it.

If you use this stuff directly out of the barnyard, you can expect weeds, so you may want to use some of this filter fabric and then cover it with a generous layer of mulch. And always make sure it’s well rotted and aged. Fresh manure can contain some of the same dangerous E. coli bacteria that can be found in undercooked beef. That’s why I like to get it aged, put it in my compost and heat it up, so it reduces the chance of any getting any on my vegetables — especially some of those that I eat raw, like lettuce.

Now if you’re planning on using compost with manure in it on your lawn or your ornamental flowerbeds, you obviously don’t have to worry about the bacteria.

We all enjoy vacations, but it is important to remember to make plans for our houseplants for the time that we are away so that we can return home to healthy plants rather than a heartache. Here are a few tips that you may find effective.

If you don’t plan to be away too long, you can help conserve moisture by placing the plants in a location out of the direct sun. This will slow down the growth of the plants and reduce the amount of water they need. Just make sure they are well watered before you head out of town.

Now if your trip is going to be a bit more extended, you may want to take all of your houseplants that are planted in clay containers and place them in a wash tub or bathtub. Just place the plants on unglazed bricks and fill the tub with a few inches of water. The clay containers will absorb the moisture through the bricks and transfer it to the plants. Also you’ll want to make sure that they have plenty of light so if you put them in the bathroom, leave the lights on.

The houseplants that have been taken outside for the summer will survive best if they are sunk, container and all, in the ground in a shady location where they will be watered by a sprinkler.

If some of your houseplants have problems with pests, if you can find the time before you leave, separate them from the others and give them the treatment they need.

Now if you plan to be gone for say two weeks or longer, I recommend you find someone to come in and serve as a plant sitter to check on them.

Houseplants may need a little extra care from time to time but they certainly are worth it.

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.