GardenGates: Gardening, Design & Garden Landscaping by Jane Schwartz Gates

For more detailed information on gardening, landscaping,sustainability , etc, search article topics here

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Here are some design ideas reflected in a small selection of Jane’s landscape designs in the Southern California chaparral. You’ll find more than 250 articles on landscape design and gardening under the GARDEN AND LANDSCAPE ARTICLES selection at the upper right on the sidebar.

Gardening and Landscaping

Flowers and plants enrich our lives in so many ways. We grow or buy cut flowers from our gardens to decorate our homes and surround outdoor areas with green and blooming color. Gardening is one of the top hobbies in the world. Just like getting your flowers at flowers at ftd.com can beautify your interior, the look of your home can be altered dramatically by the landscaping that surrounds it. There are so many benefits from working in the garden that can help us physically, psychologically, socially, practically and even economically. Fresh air, exercise, absorbing vitamin D from the sun are all critical to keep our bodies functioning at their best. The brain relaxes and regenerates when working in the garden. Wandering around in nature or lounging in your outdoor space can reduce blood pressure and calm the spirit. Using your landscape for play, exercise, sports, for entertaining or other social activities will release endorphins to the brain (find more detailed information at Healing landscapes.org). Setting up your garden for children and pets adds practicality and expands the usefulness of your living space. Growing fresh vegetables, fruits and flowers to cut and bring into the home improves your diet, decorates your home and saves you money. And these are just some of the benefits of getting involved with the landscape around your home.

There are endless ways to set up the look of your landscape so it fits your lifestyle, compliments your house and offers you the benefits you want. Thousands of different kinds of plants can be used for different effects and exposures, each plant with individual assets and needs. Soil needs to be considered just as temperature, lighting and climate extremes do. And then there is the whole growing world of eco-friendly techniques and products that are helping our gardens serve us well while adding to the environment rather than damaging it.

Whether your interests lie in growing plants, designing beauty, setting up hardscapes (the permanent features in the garden), providing food, creating stress relief, getting exercise, extending useful living space beyond your house structure — whatever goals you have for your property — gardening and landscaping can pay back in so many ways, making your life a better place to live.

Scilla peruviana

The huge flower of the Echinopsis cactus

Clivia minata blooms

Please check out these areas:

Gardening and landscape design general information or check the drop-down selection of titles in the sidebar to the top right under GARDEN AND LANDSCAPE ARTICLES to find extensive information (articles and videos) on gardening, horticulture, sustainability and landscape design and construction as well as the latest news on new products, plant introductions and other garden related help.

My new book: “All the Garden’s a Stage: Choosing the Best Performing Plants for a Sustainable Garden“

My garden book will be released worldwide in bookstores and on the Internet in April 2012. It's a fun read that compares creating a successful garden with putting together a great theatrical production.