Monday, March 7, 2011

History on Trees & why they are important

         This blog we have started at alpha shows you lots of different activities and projects we do. It also gives you a lot of different information on things we thing would be interesting or helpful to learn. I realized that out of all these things none of them have involved one of the longest living, most important plant known to mankind, the tree. We all know trees are all around us and they are an important role in our living but do we really know how important they are?

        Since the beginning, trees have given us two of life's needs, food and oxygen. As time went on, they provided additional things as shelter, medicine, and tools. Today their value continues to increase and even more benefits of trees are being discovered. We all can look around and spot a tree because we know what they look like, but not everyone knows what the parts of a tree.
    
        The roots are the trees platform that grows below ground which holds up the trunk. The trunk is the tower of the tree which usually grows more then 10 feet and possibly beyond 100. The trunk has many parts to it  from the inside out in order starting with the heartwood, xylem/sapwood, cambium, phloem/inner bark, and last the outer bark. The 10 most common trees in the united states today are Red Maple, Loblolly Pine, Sweetgum, Douglas fur, Quaking Aspen, Sugar maple, Balsam Fir, Flowering Dogwood, White Oak, and Lodgepole Pine.

         Besides trees giving us oxygen there are many needs for them.

Thursday, February 3, 2011

10 Most Breathtaking Gardens

        I thought that it would be interesting to research gardens around the world. First i researched the most famous gardens, and they did not interest me as much as i was hoping. Then i came across a picture of an amazing place and had to dig deeper. Thats when i desided to do an artical of the most breathtaking gardens around the world, enjoy!

Cosmic Garden



Scotland
            This garden is located in scotland, and is only open to the public one day a year. this garden takes science and math as its inspiration. Some say there is no other garden like it in the world. The garden was set up by Charles Jencks, as well as his late wife Maggie Keswick. Made in 1989 and was designed with ideas in mind and to provoke thought (or at least speculation) and the very nature of things.


Kukhenof garden

The Netherlands
               This garden is wealthy of many floral displays in endless varieties, along with beautiful works of art. Keukenhof is unique, world famous and has been one of the most popular destinations in the Netherlands. OIt is home to 7 million tulips, which include hybrids that have been or are being developed. The gardens pride and joy is the Russian black tulip.


Suan Nong Nooch 
Thailand
                Suan Nong Nooch is popular amoung tourist because of stunningly beautiful landscapes and marvellous views. Most say it seems to be like walking through a fairy-tale. Surrounded by thai styles houses, villlas, banquet halls, restaurants and swimming pools. There lays a wide 600 acreas and was created by Mr. Pisit and Mrs. Nongnooch. in the 1800 it was opened to the public and has been reported that over 2000 visitors go there everyday.



Versailles

France
This is probably the most famous garden in the world, It was built for louis XIV and designed by Andre Le Norte.  The laying of the gardens took an long period of time and large amounts of the ground had to be shifted to lay the flower beds.


Jardim Botanico De Curtiba

Brazil
Opened in 1991, the garden was created in the style of french style. The main greenhouse, in an art nouveau style with a modern metallic structure, resembles the  mid-19th century crystal palace in London.



Butchart Garden


Canada
Butchart Garden is one of the most famous gardens in the world which is counted among the best of the best. Spread over an area of 50 acres, there is never a dull season at Butchart gardens which keeps itself vibrating all year from the summers to the chilly winters.


Yuyuan Garden
China
Yuyuan Garden is believed to be built in the Ming Dynasty more than 400 years ago. With a Chinese style of rocks and tree garden areas, ponds, and dragon-lined walls. Several civil wars in the mid 19th century caused huge damage, but the garden was rebuilt by the government and reopened to the public in 1961.


Shalimar Garden
Pakistan
Construction of this garden began n 1641 and was completed the following year. The garden is laid out in the form of an oblong parallelogram, surrounded by a high brick wall, which is famous for its intricate fretwork. Shalimar garden measure 658 meters north to south and 258 meters east to west.


Minneapolis Sculpture Garden
Minnesota
This garden is known for its oversized ordinary objects. The spoonbridge and cherry in the photo above have become a minnesota icon and centerpiece to the garden.


 Ryoan-ji 
Japan
The ryoan-ji temple is famous for its zen garden. The japanese temple is surrounded by low walls, and has an arrangement of fifteen rocks sitting on a bed of white gravel.






Tuesday, January 18, 2011

How to Start a Garden with Your Kids


         Gardening is a great hobby for your children and you. It teaches lessons in responsibility, nutrition, and ecology. Plus it’s a good way for you and your children to bond while you watch your yard fill with all kind of plants.

         There really is no need to buy fertilizers, when taking a second look around your kitchen you have all you need. Kitchen scraps are a great alternative for synthetic fertilizer. Saving fruit and vegetable peels, eggshells and coffee grounds is a start. With being natural it is also a great money saver.

         Starting a garden may seem like a lot of work but really it isn’t as hard as some may think. Choose a sunny part of your yard for your garden, and spread the compost that you gathered from your kitchen leftovers. Top that with a thick layer of black and white newspaper. Damp the paper down and cover with rocks so that insects will be attracted for the later plants. When picking plants for your garden its good to pick plants that suit your yard and your budget. seeds are inexpensive and demonstrate the plants full life, which brings us back to the lessons that gardening can teach us.

      After choosing seeds you can remove the news paper and plant the seeds in different parts of he area. Make sure that the plants have room for the roots to grow, water the planted area and watch your plants grow.