herb garden

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SPRINGING INTO ACTION

Grow Vertically in Small Spaces

Creating a small balcony garden — which also works for space-challenged patios and decks — helps find the perfect balance between beauty, privacy and practicality. With multiple planting levels, there’s room for both edibles and ornamentals. A great solution for a space-saving balcony garden would be our LivePicture series of products, allowing multiple plants to share the same space and receive consistent water through its self-watering reservoir.

 

Consider a tree’s final height and width when planting

Before you buy a tree, look at the shade pattern it’ll have when it’s grown. You’re going to start with a small sized tree, and it’s going to look good when you plant it near the house, but once it grows up, it’s going to be a problem with the roof and gutters. An alternative option to achieve privacy with a smaller footprint would be our innovative Green Living Fences. These pre-grown panels offer instant privacy, and immediate green focal point and is very low maintenance.

Your soil may need amending

Soil pH (acidity level) is very important, and just because your dirt looks rich and black doesn’t mean it’s the right pH for grass. Take samples around the yard and send them to your local extension service for testing. You can fix soil pH problems by adding lime to raise the pH or iron to lower it. Most grasses prefer a pH of 6.0 to 7.2

Create a Backyard Escape

Let lighting and landscaping turn a backyard into a relaxing getaway — day or night. Add natural touches to your outdoor structure with a variety of potted plants to make a statement. A beautiful focal point to immediately forget your in the city is our modular Green Living Fence panels. See below how they brighten and beautify this backyard oasis.


Grow Herbs in Containers

Maximize gardening space and bring herbs closer to the kitchen by growing herbs in pots on a deck or patio. Combine edibles with ornamental flowers to augment hardworking plants with color and beauty. The LivePicture system is ideal for such applications as a result of the ease of use of the system. Offered in multiple different sizes, it is easy to find the perfect fit for any backyard or patio.

Learn more here!

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The Ultimate Guide to Growing a Vertical Garden

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The benefits of growing a Vertical Garden are plentiful. Getting this 12 month a year garden ready can be simplified in a few steps. Artisan Stone has featured an article outlining the main steps to getting your Vertical Garden set up. Take a look at the highlights of their article below.

Where you can grow your vertical garden

The beauty of a vertical garden is that it can be grown just about anywhere. The location will help determine growth time and plant selection, but providing you get the right plants for the right environment, your vertical garden will thrive, whether it’s on a garden wall, an indoor wall, an exterior wall, a balcony, a free-standing screen, a pool fence or rooftop. As long as you’ve got a blank space that needs beautifying, you can tend to edibles, annuals and perennials.

Choosing the right plants

The correct selection of plants plays a major role in achieving a vertical garden that thrives. A bit of homework into what’s right for your location will pay dividends. Plants you might consider are:

Growing vegetables and herbs

Not every vertical garden has to feature ornamental and ‘showy’ plants. Vertical gardens can also be practical with veggies and herbs. Given the chance, most people would admit to wanting to grow their own crisp vegetables and tasty herbs from home. It’s not so easy, however, when you have limited space. Luckily, veggies and herbs can thrive in vertical gardens just as well as the plants listed above.

To grow veggies and herbs in a vertical garden, you will need an area that sees at least six hours of direct sunlight a day. You’ll also need quality soil, so consider amending your soil with compost before you start planting. You should also have a good idea of what plant hardiness zone you live in, which will guide you towards the most suitable crops to grow. Lastly – consider what veggies and herbs you and your family like to eat.

 

Getting the right placement

In general, you want to try and mix plants with the same ‘habit’ and rate of growth. If you put a slow-growth plant next to a fast-growing plant, it doesn’t take a genius to know what’s going to happen.

As gravity pulls the water down, plants that don’t need much water are recommended for the top part of the garden, as this is the area that will dry out the quickest. Place the plants more suited for wetter conditions at the bottom of the system.

Establishing your garden

Ideally, you want to grow your vertical garden horizontally for a few weeks to let your plants, herbs and vegetables get established in their environment. If you are using a wooden pallet or a container with panels, lay them flat at first and plant vertically. This way, your plants still-delicate roots won’t have to compete with gravity pulling down your soil. Once plants are established, hang on the wall or your desired structure.

Click here to learn more about our line of Vertical Planters

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3 IMPORTANT TIPS FOR A SUCCESSFUL INDOOR HERB GARDEN

Herbs can easily be grown indoors as long as you make sure to get started off the right way. Virginia Dodd of  How To- Culinary Herb Garden explains the keys to successfully creating an indoor kitchen herb garden. One of the biggest factors is understanding the plants’ requirements and making sure to give them what they need. It’s really that simple.

Follow these 3 important tips to create your Kitchen Herb Garden Indoors and you will enjoy a healthy supply of fresh herbs for years to come.

1. Provide Strong Light for Your Indoor Herb Garden

The more light you can provide for your indoor herb garden, the better off they will be. Did you know the intensity of the light contributes to the flavour of your herbs?

Herbs grown in strong bright light will most definitely have the best flavour. It will also encourage plant growth. Herbs prefer 6-8 hours of direct light.  This can be achieved with a sunny window or with the incorporation of lighting. You can also choose to grow herbs that will better with a little less light. Parsley. Mint and Chives would be some recommendations.

2. The temperature should be between 60-70 Degrees.

Temperature is another important factor to successfully growing herbs indoors. The ideal temperature for most herbs is between 65-70degrees, which works very well in most home environments.

Occasionally when you want to slow the growth for your herb plants, the temperature can be reduced further to between 60-65 degrees. Some plants require a dormant period. If you are overwintering plants indoors, you can store them in a cooler location. The most particular herb when it comes to temperature is basil. Basil loves the warmth and would prefer to be at a constant 75 degrees if possible. If basil gets too cold, you will know right away. The leaves will start to wilt and discolour within 24 hours.

3. Select the Best Herb Pots for Your Indoor Herbs.

Selecting the correct pots or containers when growing herbs indoors is a very important factor in determining your success.

Watering:
Ensuring your Herb Pots have a system where herbs can keep their soil evenly moist. Our LivePicture products utilize a wicking system to help offer an even watering for each pocket of the system.

Ease of Use:
Access, location and frequency. One of the most important considerations when selecting an indoor herb garden is how easy the system is to use. Our LivePicture products include a self-watering system to aid in the task and frequency of watering. Most of our products are only required to be watered once a month and comes with a built-in indicator so there is no guessing when to fill it. The cassettes are also modular and easy to remove or exchange if needed.

Design:
Have fun with the design. Use this opportunity to spice up your kitchen or living room with some colourful accents. Don’t limit yourself to traditional pots. Our award-winning LivePicture GO is a favourite for adding a great feature piece to any room and at the same time house and water your herb garden.

Click here for more information on solutions that help you create your own beautiful indoor herb garden.

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Discovering New Forms of Art with LivePicture

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Art can take on many different shapes and sizes in a variety of media. From watercolor paintings and bronze sculptures to still-life photographs and wood carvings, art can become the focal point of any interior living space. But, what if art could become part of a home’s architecture in unexpected ways? The answer is yes, it can, and it comes in the form of LivePicture.

Perhaps it’s the allure of the location from which it originated, the health effects it offers or the instant greenery — representing that touch of nature in your home. Whether it’s a compact LivePicture GO or the impactful 4×6 pack, the LivePicture’s can truly make a beautiful and unique piece of art.

Choose plants to match your taste, colour scheme, mood or preference. Use your imagination – indoors or outdoors – in a single panel or in multiple modules. Be creative and make your own wall mosaic.

Whether LivePicture is used to draw attention to a fireplace design, or is carefully selected as a standout herb garden in a kitchen, the ways in which it can be used are endless. Some homeowners even enjoy mounting them on exterior walls as a summer backyard focal point.

Live Picture uses a system of plant cassettes that are easily exchangeable. Plants can be exchanged with ease to reflect  the changing season, holidays or special occasions.

Click the links below to learn more about our LivePictures, to see installation videos or to let us know what you think!

Click here for LivePicture Information
Click here for LivePicture Video Library
Click here for LivePicture GO Information

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3 Easy Ways to Add LivePicture To Your Home

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Adding plants to your living space is an easy way to add beauty and character to your home. As explained by Inhabitat.com, aesthetics aren’t the only benefit of indoor gardening. Houseplants have the potential to make your home’s air healthier and also make you happier. No to mention, you can easily grow useful plants and herbs that work great for healthy cooking.

Even if you weren’t born with a green thumb or have a tiny space to work with, there are ways to go green with your decor. If you choose the right plants and get creative, your indoor garden will thrive.

Here are 3 ways to add more plant life to your home. 

Wall Art
Green up a plain wall with a LivePicture GO to display houseplants. You don’t need a ton of space for this idea, and it makes it easy to hang herbs inside any room. You can find this system in different sizes, and all come with mounting hardware included.

Kitchen Garden
A window in your kitchen is an excellent place to grow an indoor herb garden, however, that’s not an option for everyone. You can still make it happen by hanging the

LivePicture systems on your wall. Also, if you have the counter space, you can create a small garden for succulents underneath the LivePicture to help create a feature wall.

Feature Walls/ Plant Corner
Turn plants into pieces of living art by adding them to the LivePicture system. You can find tons of plant options both for indoor and outdoor applications. Plants and flowers nestled into different designs look great. Air plants are a great option for wall art because they are super easy to take care of.  If you have an empty corner that needs some attention, consider filling the wall space it with different sized LivePictures. Place them in line or staggered along the wall to create a plant corner.

Click Here to Find Out More About the Innovative, Award-winning LivePicture GO.