Pet Care Tips Blog

Arundinaria Giantea Cane is also called cane or switchcane. It is a giant cane the is known for providing summer grazing for cattle, hogs, sheep, and horses in the northern ranges and the winter grazing along the gulf coast in the states. The stems of the grassy plant are often used for pipe stems, baskets, mats, and fishing poles.

The stalks of the Arundinaria Giantea Cane are dried and stripped into long lengths to create the material for the mats and baskets. The Native Americans used the woven baskets for carrying plants and crops. The ancient techniques are still used currently as a treasure of the almost lost basket weaving styles.

The American Elderberry shrub is famous for their purplish-black berries many people use to make pies, wine, and jams. The alternative to the berry-producing shrub is its ability to provide a natural setting for birds and squirrels to live in the comforts of the yard. It is a great addition to the yard or garden as it attracts all forms of wildlife to enrich the yard anywhere.

The American Elderberry thrives in full sun exposure with rich moist soil. The shrub will adapt easily to shady areas or other types of soil but in any location requires room to grow and spread as it matures.

Planting a wildflower meadow garden is a project that appeals to a lot of folks simply because they look good and require very little maintenance. Also, a wide assortment of flowers, grasses and plants can be grown together without any rigid specific design. This can be a simple way to create a surprisingly beautiful garden that is also very environmentally friendly. The blooms are colorful and plentiful so they provide a much appreciated, natural habitat for birds, butterflies and many other critters.

While being an ideal garden style for some locations, a wild meadow garden may seem like clutter to some folks. So there may be some things you should consider before creating one of your own.

If planting a wildflower meadow garden appeals to you because of no maintenance, you might want to reconsider. First, there ain't no such thing as a no maintenance landscape or garden. It would be nice if it was so easy but all gardens need some maintenance. Wildflower meadow gardens only need a small amount of upkeep. However, you still have to watch out for weeds and keep the garden tidy.

Every year, people scatter handfuls of seeds on the ground in hopes of watching vast numbers of colorful flowers appear. While nature is constantly scattering seeds, many billions of seeds, you still don't see wildflower meadows sprouting in every nook and cranny. Wildflower meadows are a little more involved than “Sow and Grow”. You can purchase pre-mixed bags of wildflower seeds but they cannot just be scattered about with no thought or care involved. Like all gardens, planting a wildflower meadow garden should be planned and prepared in detail.

Begin with the Right Site. Look around your yard and find the best location for your new garden. A wildflower garden will need 6-8 hours of sunlight a day. An area with some ventilation and air movement can be a good thing. The breezes actually make the stems of the plants stronger, and plant borne diseases are less likely to occur. If you have a field or a plot of ground that has already been cultivated, you have an ideal setting for a wildflower meadow garden.

Placement is an important consideration. The informal look of a wildflower meadow garden looks too awkward when it is placed near a formal garden and may seem out of place if your other neighbors have well manicured lawns and more structured garden sites.

You want to choose the plants that are known for longer blooming periods. It is also important to select seeds and plants that are capable of dealing with the types of conditions you are subjecting them to. Try to include a wide and diverse variety of plants, just as you would see growing in a natural meadow. Combine graceful grasses with wildflowers and other grass like plants.

For lower covering of the ground, consider planting a wildflower meadow garden with plants like clover and violets. To bring color and texture that is of mid height you might want to include some bright orange or red butterfly weed, vibrant Black-eyed Susans, long blooming smooth asters and some delicate goldenrod. To add some additional height and visual appeal there are native coneflowers, wild indigo, lupine, and bee balm that you can use.

* It is best to try for a random pattern with these plants, which is the way they would appear in a natural meadow garden. You want to combine species that have different root structures; tap roots, surface roots, and deep fibrous root runners. Examples for tap roots are Butterfly Weed, Wild Indigo, and Carolina Lupine. For surface roots-Birdfoot Violets, Black-eyed Susans, and Bee Balm. And for deep Fibrous Root Runners you can use Little Bluestem, Showy Goldenrod, Smooth Aster

* Make sure that you have several plant species that can “fix” extra nitrogen into the soil. Some examples are plants that are members of the legume family. Lupines, Indigo, and clover are easy to grow selections that meet this requirement.

* You also want to have different plants that can stabilize over different periods of time. Hyssop, Sages and Black-eyed Susans will establish themselves the first year. Coneflowers, some native lilies, and Bee Balm will take at least 2 years for stabilization to occur. It usually takes a bit longer for plants such as the Compass plant, Indigo and Blazing Star to become fully acclimated. Article from Steve Boulden, creator of The Landscape Design Site which offers several galleries of front yard landscaping ideas, landscaping pictures, and videos. For more design ideas visit www.the-landscape-design-site.com.

birds can create some annoyance in the garden by scratching up seeds or pecking ripening fruit but most gardeners consider their feathered friends a desirable part of the gardenscape. If you want to create a bird-friendly zone in your garden, you can combine fulfilling that wish with adding a decoration or two to your landscape plan as well.

Food and shelter are two basic requirements for life. Feeding stations, birdbaths and nesting boxes can all be attractive features in any garden.

Feeding stations are excellent for attracting a variety of birds to your garden. You get maximum satisfaction if your feeding station is near a window, so you can enjoy watching the birds. Your visitors will feel more secure if there are trees, or at least sizeable shrubs, not too far away - this provides a degree of security in case your garden is visited by a neighbor's cat. Since some larger birds aggressively chase away smaller ones, keen bird fanciers might want to provide two sites, with different types of seeds attractive to the more common birds in the area - one site for larger birds and the other for the small ones. Since some seeds will spill or be dropped from the feeder, you might need to do some weeding of the area close to the feeder. Many attractive hanging feeders are available from garden nurseries, some combining an upper surface for seeds with a lower bowl for water.

birds need water not just for drinking, but for bathing. A birdbath can make an outstanding feature, whether as a centerpiece of a formal arrangement of paths or lawn, or tucked away as a “surprise” feature that is revealed as the garden visitor turns a corner. There is a seemingly infinite array of designs, from the modern minimalist look to baths with extravagant baroque flourishes. The style probably doesn't bother the birds much, but the range of choice means you will certainly be able to find something that fits the style of your garden. Avoid bowls that are too deep: you are not providing a duck pond, and the birds need to have their feet resting on the surface of the bowl while they take their bath. For those living in extremely cold regions there are even solar-heated birdbaths available, so the water does not freeze over in winter!

If you want an even closer relationship with the local bird population, you can provide them with a home. Nesting boxes can, of course, be homemade. But if you want them to double as an ornamental addition to your garden you will find numerous designs, constructed of such diverse materials as wood, plastic and fibreglass. Although some are marketed as homes for a specific species of bird, such as robins or woodpeckers, be aware that squatters may very well arrive and attempt to take over.

For maximum benefit, all these bird-related artefacts - feeding stations, birdbaths and nesting boxes - should be cleaned at appropriate intervals to prevent the spread of disease. Article by Steve Boulden at The Landscape Design Site.com which offers free garden designs, backyard landscaping ideas, plans, videos, and photos. For more free garden and landscaping ideas, visit www.the-landscape-design-site.com.

If you love tropical fish, then finding quality livestock for your aquarium is important. Most pet stores buy their fish from wholesalers, who get their fish and other animals from fish farms around the world. The world of a wholesale fish dealer is fascinating, and in very large scale.

Years ago, I knew one such wholesale dealer. Tropical Fish Distributors, Inc. is located on Lloyd Road in Willowick, Ohio (a suburb of Cleveland.) It was founded by Joseph Lora, and carries a wide variety of both fresh and marine fish, as well as reptiles, amphibians and corals. It is more fascinating than a zoo, and all the creatures are well cared for. They are fed, medicated if sick and looked over constantly, for signs of stress or illness by the owner, his resident marine biologist and staff. Walking down aisle after aisle of huge aquariums, it is fun to see the different breeds and sizes of their fish.

When starting an aquarium the chances are you can be overwhelmed by the array of equipment needed to make it functional and safe for aquatic life to thrive. One such consideration is the type of fish tank that you need. First you have to consider the size and shape of the tank but one factor that is often overlooked is the material that will be used for the fish tank. The traditional material is glass. Glass remains a popular choice because that’s the way it’s been done for ages so why change. With the advent of new man made materials this attitude can be changed and people can experiment with new materials that offer an array of benefits to the aquarist. This article will discuss the advantages of acrylic fish tanks.

If you want a fancy looking goldfish that has an unusual characteristic and you might consider the Oranda goldfish for your aquarium. This fish has a beautiful metallic scaled appearance and comes in a variety of colors from yellow to bright red as well as an interesting chocolate color and a pure white with a red cap.

The interesting characteristic of this goldfish is that they have a bumpy growth on the top of their head which develops when they are a couple of years old. This growth is called a wen and is an unusual, but somewhat appealing characteristic. While this differentiates the Orlando from other goldfish he is similar in many other ways including his paired anal fans and dorsal fin.

Cichlids are the most popular types of tropical fish to keep in an aquarium. It is estimated that there are over 15,000 separate species of cichlid, one of which is the discus fish (Symphysodon spp.) . Discus fish are popular with hobbyists because they have distinctive behaviors and are exceptionally beautiful (they also have dorsal and anal fins that blend into the body to give the fish the look of a discus shape). This article will discuss the things you need to consider when starting a Discus aquarium.

Discus originate from the Amazon river basin. This water and habitat in quite diverse but the most common traits tend to be slow moving, soft water of a temperature around 28 deg. Celsius (82-83F). The sunlight is generally diffused by thick plants and trees. The aquascape would include driftwood and would be of a good depth. The natural habitat can help when creating the ideal fish tank.

If you are starting out new in your tropical fish hobby then you may be wondering just what type of fish you should get. Perhaps you want something a bit more advanced than the traditional goldfish that sat on your dresser as a child. The good news is that there is such a wide variety of tropical fish nowadays that you can pretty much find one that will fit your personality and setting. Let’s check out some tips for helping you choose the right ones for your aquarium!

Proper water chemistry in your home aquarium is paramount! Many beginner fish-collectors decided to dive into this hobby because they didn’t have time for a cat or dog. I hate to be the bearer of bad news but many varieties of fish live MUCH longer then many household pets. A Black Moor Goldfish has a life expectancy of well over 30 years. A Koi named Hanako lived to be 226 years old! If you have a Koi you might want to add it to your will, it will outlive you by many years!

Let me briefly get into the topic of pH in relationship to a home aquarium. The abbreviations pH stands for potential of hydrogen or Power of Hydrogen. Actually pH is shorthand for the mathematical definition. In chemistry a small p is used instead of - log10 and the H stands for the concentration of hydrogen ions.